The past year has been quite a whirlwind for the daytime chat show The View and its lineup of co-hosts, with Megan McCain making her exit after a calamitous and rumor-mongering four-year stretch, and stalwart moderator Whoopi Goldberg taking sporadic absences regarding a network suspension in one case and filming for a new TV show in another. Now, it looks like The View may finally be set to semi-permanently fill the conservative-leaning void that remained after McCain bowed out, and with a past guest host who was a member of former President Donald Trump’s staff.
It would appear as if ABC execs are in the last leg of contract negotiations to add Alyssa Farah Griffin to The View for Season 26 this fall, according to Variety. No deals have been fully locked down just yet, so there is technically a chance things will change up before an official announcement goes public, but the outlet's sources seem convinced that things will be finalized and shared with fans sooner rather than later.
The 33-year-old clearly has the resume to back up being the show’s more conservative voice, seeing as how Farah Griffin was the press secretary for Mike Pence from 2017-2019 ahead of taking on the same role for the Department of Defense from 2019-2020. She then became the White House’s director of strategic communications under Donald Trump in April 2020, where she stayed until leaving the White House altogether at the end of that year, post-election. Months after her time in Washington D.C., Alyssa Farah Griffin joined CNN as a political contributor, having turned a new leaf on her feelings about Donald Trump in the aftermath of his electrion-denial fracas and the January 6 insurrection.
Farah Griffin has been at the center of recent rumors regarding a possible hosting announcement coming soon, and she’s reportedly the reason why comedian and this year’s Oscar co-host Wanda Sykes chose not to be on the show despite having previously scheduled an appearance. As well, social media hasn't been overwhelmingly enthused about Farah Griffin's potential future on The View, but that's par for the course.
While no one from The View or ABC has confirmed Alyssa Farah Griffin’s involvement as a permanent co-host in Season 26 — a show spokesperson merely said to stay tuned in lieu of any current announcements — fans can likely expect to hear something big in the next month or two ahead of the season’s official start.
Confirmed to return for Season 26 are Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, who rejoined as co-host in 2020 after leaving in 2018 to join the Good Morning America family. The quartet was joined by part-time co-host Ana Navarro, but her efforts in auditioning for the permanent position were not successful, which reportedly left her feeling disappointed.
The View airs weekday mornings on ABC. Head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows will be popping up ahead of any new hosts joining the show.
