Who Will Be the Next Oprah?

Oprah Winfrey announced earlier this week that her last show was coming in the year 2011, and the one question on everyone's mind is who will be the next big thing of talk shows?

Some potential replacements are Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz, both protégés of Winfrey's, or Ellen DeGeneres. However, while ratings for Dr. Phil's show are still high, audiences are starting to dwindle and have gotten bored of his tough love. Dr. Oz has only been on the air since the fall, but the ratings have been holding steady so far. But how long can a health-oriented show go on without repeating the same issues?

However, Oprah seems to think that the next queen of talk shows will be Ellen DeGeneres. Agreeing with that is daytime TV host Jerry Springer, who says, "Ellen is probably in the best position to move into that role."

Although DeGeneres's current show is more entertainment-oriented than Winfrey's, it has greater potential than Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz's shows.

By the time "The Oprah Winfrey Show" goes off the air in 2011, it will have been on for 25 years.