My closest friends know that my favorite TV show is The View. I’ve watched it for years; even when I was in the workforce, I’d tape it. I’ve even got a View coffee mug. Not since my sister-in-law, Barbara, and I attended Oprah’s show in November 1986, when it was taped in DC, have I been so intent on attending another live show. For years, I’ve had my eyes on The View.
Whoopi Goldberg has served as moderator since the show’s creator, Barbara Walters, retired on May 14, 2014. Depending on the topic, Whoopi offers enthusiastic commentary or sits with her elbow on the table, face resting in her hand, looking bored or making faces to elicit a laugh from the audience.
Over the years, I’ve seen the turnover in cohosts. Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos were on the original team. Others who have come and gone are Lisa Ling, Sherri Shepherd, Rosie Perez, Sarah Haines, and Rose O’Donnell. The current team members are Whoopi Goldberg, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and the program’s longest survivor of turnovers, Joy Behar.
Twice in the distant past, I had the opportunity to get tickets to a taping of the show, but bad timing prevented me from attending. Some weeks after I had requested tickets, the second time, one of the show’s staff members phoned me, extending four tickets for the Halloween show; audience members were expected to wear costumes. That would have been fantastic, but it, too, was a missed opportunity.
While contemplating whether to sign up one more time for tickets, I did some research. What I discovered lends truth to the adage,” Everything is not as it seems.” And so it is with The View.
I read dozens of reviews by ticket-holders: those who waited in line to attend a taping and those who were lucky enough to get inside. Here’s what I know – and what I learned.
The taping takes place at ABC studios in New York on 57 West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Tickets can be requested on the website https://1iota.com/show/385/the-view. Once on the site, select a desired date on the calendar and click Request Tickets. You may apply for up to four tickets, and when approved, you will be notified via email.
If your side job is scalping and you request tickets with the intent of selling them, forget it. The tickets are free, but they are also non-transferable. The person who registers and requests tickets must be in attendance. ID will be checked. Guests also go through security screening.
Remember that just because you book one of those outrageously priced hotel rooms near the studio (the least expensive one I found was $400 per night) and then travel to the Big Apple by plane, train, or automobile to attend The View doesn’t mean you’ll be admitted. Tickets are issued in excess of capacity, and being a ticket holder does not guarantee admittance, nor is preference given to out-of-towners. That’s why it is essential to read the ticket guidelines.
The View has a dress code for live audience members. “Guests are encouraged to dress ‘upscale casual’ and look trendy. No tank tops, large logos on hats or shirts, t-shirts, shorts, or solid white or solid black tops.”
As if the revelations from people who have “been there” were not enough to change my mind about wanting to attend a taping, I read the book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View. Written by award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh, it promises to deliver “the gossipy, real-life soap operator behind the show,” and it does. Interviews with the cohosts disclose bickering, ego-tripping, and hiring and firing of cohosts. In addition, revelations come to light about the personalities of the cohosts — some unyielding, others fragile — and the backstage shenanigans, including Star Jones’ wedding fiasco, Elizabeth Hasselback’s meltdown, and Rose O’Donnell’s putdowns and temper tantrums. It is all there on every riveting page. Prepare to be surprised. I was.
In the meantime, I bulleted below some of the comments I read by reviewers and, where necessary, edited or paraphrased.
- Being a ticket holder does not guarantee entry, even if you arrive early. Guests are advised to arrive by 9:30 a.m. sharp. Standby/same-day tickets are handed out at the audience entrance. To increase your chance of getting a standby ticket, you should arrive and stand in line before 8:30 a.m. The wait can take one to two hours, so dress appropriately for the weather.
- A 72-year-old woman wrote: My friend had the tickets in his name. He arrived very early, at about 8:15. [The staff] promptly cut off the priority ticket line at 9:00 a.m. I arrived at 9:03. They told me to go to the “standby” line. After 10 minutes, they said people in the standby line should leave because they were filled to capacity. The attendants didn’t listen to my reasoning that my friend was in line waiting for me even though my friend also tried to reason with them. They were rude and unaccommodating. We had ordered the tickets way in advance. I will never again attempt to get tickets to The View.
- Another person wrote: It doesn’t matter how early you arrive and get in line. I showed up at 7 a.m. so we could be the first ones there and get front-row seating, but that didn’t matter. They [the staff] sit you wherever they feel like it. I was furious. We were the first ones there but were assigned to the last row behind the cameras. And if you need to use a restroom during the wait period, you must wait to be escorted.
- Regarding the taping, the hosts could have cared less if they had a live audience. We were merely props. They could have run a laugh, applause, or other soundtrack and never missed us. There was an opportunity to ask the cohosts questions during commercial breaks, but they pretty much ignored the audience. I have been a fan of The View since day one and am greatly disappointed with the experience. I would not recommend the trip; it is better to watch from home.
- Donna Brazile was the guest on the program, and the audience was promised a copy of her book, which I was excited about. After the show’s end, when we were instructed to leave, I asked one of the staff members about the book to no avail.
- I’ve been to The View a few times. 1iota gives out Priority and General Admission tickets. It doesn’t matter what kind of ticket you have. The staff members who check in the audience decide where they seat you. I don’t find that fair and don’t think it’s worth seeing The View in person because of this process; instead, watch it on TV.
- I signed up for my tickets online and met great people in line. We were admitted into the studio around 9:45-ish. You get one chance for the bathroom, so TAKE IT! Taping takes an hour; then, you’re quickly kicked out of the studio. The staff will not allow people to use the bathrooms after the show.
- It was a View Your Deal Day, and [that segment] is not taped in front of the live audience. We sat there for about fifteen minutes while Sarah taped it backstage. You also wait outside for a while before being admitted inside. There’s no awning or anything to protect you if it’s raining or very cold.
- I’m so disappointed. Thank goodness my husband & I were in NYC for three days because I would have been furious if I had gone just for this show. We received priority tickets, which meant nothing, and we had to stand in line in the rain.
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Barbara Walters died on December 30, 2022. Long-time fans of The View will always appreciate the program’s innovativeness and Barbara’s tagline, “I’ve always wanted to do a show with women of different generations, backgrounds, and views.” And so she did.