One of daytime television’s most recognizable voices has officially made broadcast history.
With the launch of the latest season of ABC TV’s “The View,” Joy Behar marked her 28th year on air. She’s broken the record for the most talk show seasons hosted by a woman in American television history. While dozens of panelists have cycled through the iconic table over the last three decades, Behar remains the single constant link back to the daytime staple’s inaugural broadcast.
Joy Behar Had a Surprising Reaction to Her Historic TV Milestone
With the launch of the latest season of ABC’s The View, Joy Behar marked her 28th year on air, breaking the record for the most talk show seasons hosted by a woman in American television history. The historic milestone marks a full-circle moment for the veteran presenter, who originally joined the panel in 1997 as a temporary substitute host for show creator Barbara Walters.
What started as a short-term gig has transformed into a dominant daytime legacy, cementing Behar as an irreplaceable fixture of American broadcast TV. It’s an achievement that even Walters couldn’t have predicted when she first tapped the Brooklyn-born comedian to fill in on days she was away from the desk.
Behar told People Magazine, “I feel old, really old. I know I don’t look old, but I am.”
She added that the achievement was “amazing!. I’ve been on longer than Regis [Philbin] and longer than the Jolly Green Giant!”
The talk show host recalled telling “The View” creator Barbara Walters that they were going to “get old” on the series. Behar said Walters responded, “You’re going to get old anyway. So you might as well spend it on television. She added, “As always, she was right.”
Was Joy Behar Always a Full-Time Panelist on ‘The View?’
GettyWhen Joy Behar was hired by Barbara Walters to co-host “The View,” her role was only part-time. She would sit in when Barbara Walters was off two days a week.
Behar recalled, “I was a part-time co-host on the show at first When Barbara took her two days off, then I would be on.”
The series premiered in August 1997 with Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Debbie Matenopoulos at the table, with Behar as a fill-in co-host. Its taken Behar almost three decades on-air to realize how to participate in panelist dicussions alongside a rotating series of fellow co-hosts.
She admitted, “It took me 28 years to really understand how to do this show. It’s a volleyball game.”
Behar added, “This is what I always tell them. Don’t be thinking this is a golf game. It’s not a golf game. Don’t come here with your one stick. No. You have to bounce the ball around.”
Behar’s historic 28-season run on The View proves that her sharp comedy and unapologetic commentary remain the heartbeat of daytime TV. Decades after stepping in as a temporary fill-in, her record-breaking seat at the table is completely unmatched.
Joy Behar co-hosts “The View” with Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Alyssa Farah Griffin. The series airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.
