Joy Behar announced she will leave ABC's "The View" for a brief hiatus to perform in her play overseas, trading the daytime talk show's Hot Topics desk for stages in Paris and London.
The co-host revealed her plans during an episode of the show's "Behind the Table" podcast, where producer Brian Teta confirmed that fill-in hosts would cover her chair. Fox News reported that Behar will fly to Paris this week, spend a week there, then take the Channel Tunnel to London for a second week performing at the Boulevard Theatre in the West End.
The play is called "My First Ex-Husband." Behar will share the stage with actress Jackie Hoffman, with the two playing American women opposite two British actresses.
Teta told Behar on the podcast that her absence would require some creative scheduling. He laid it out plainly:
"This is your last podcast for a little bit, because next week you're not going to be here."
The roster of fill-in hosts includes Sheryl Underwood, left-wing podcast host Kara Swisher, and Ana Navarro. Underwood previously filled in during co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin's maternity leave. Whoopi Goldberg, who normally takes Fridays off, will appear on the show on Fridays during Behar's absence.
Behar also noted that the show had made her "bank" weekend episodes before departing, a sign that producers wanted to minimize any gaps in content during her time away.
Behar described her itinerary with evident enthusiasm during the podcast. She laid out the full trip:
"I fly to Paris this week, and then I go take the tunnel to London after a week, and I'll be in London a second week doing my play, 'My First Ex-Husband,' at the Boulevard Theatre in the West End. We have Jackie Hoffman and I [playing] the two American women talking, then we have two British actresses. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
The New York Post reported on the hiatus as well, confirming the overseas theater commitment. The Washington Times noted that the absence amounts to a two-week break from the show for European play performances.
No specific return date has been announced, though the timeline suggests Behar will be back after roughly two weeks abroad.
For regular watchers of "The View," the fill-in lineup offers a familiar rotation. Navarro already co-hosts on Mondays and Fridays. Underwood is a known quantity from prior stints. Swisher brings a tech-media perspective that skews firmly to the left, consistent with the show's editorial center of gravity.
The media world has seen no shortage of personalities stepping away from their platforms, whether temporarily or permanently. Public feuds and departures among media figures have become a recurring feature of the landscape, from cable news to podcasting.
Goldberg's decision to cover Fridays is a minor scheduling concession. She typically skips the end-of-week taping. Her presence keeps the panel from losing two of its most recognizable faces at once.
"The View" has long served as a reliable generator of headlines, less for its analysis than for the on-air collisions between its hosts and the subjects they discuss. Behar herself has drawn regular criticism from conservatives for remarks on religion, politics, and culture that range from provocative to flatly inaccurate.
The Fox News headline on the story referenced a separate incident in which Behar was "rebuked by co-hosts after claiming Jesus did not proclaim himself as the Messiah." The article body did not elaborate on that exchange, and no additional context was provided. It is worth noting only because it captures the kind of recurring friction that defines the show's public profile.
Whether Behar's two weeks away will be noticed by the audience or quietly absorbed by the fill-in rotation remains to be seen. The show has weathered longer absences before.
For the rest of us, it's a reminder that "The View" keeps going whether any particular host is in the chair, and that the takes will keep coming, from Paris or from the West Side of Manhattan.
