Rosie O'Donnell is returning to TV and she's determined to make her mark at primetime with her new show called Rosie's Variety Show.  The former moderator of The View will host the said program live from New York at 8pm ET/PT on November 26.  The one-hour event, which will air on NBC, is considered as a precursor to a regular variety skein fronted by O'Donnell that would bow in the new year.

According to Variety, Rosie's Variety Show will feature celebrity appearances, musical appearances and comedy sketches.

"We want to show people that variety can be done in a new and inventive way for 2008," Craig Plestis, NBC Entertainment's exec vice president for alternative programming, said in a statement. "We hope to do it in ways you haven't seen before. It's going to be the YouTube of variety shows.."

Rosie's Variety Show marks O'Donnell first potential regular TV gig since her stint on The View, where she boosted the show's ratings and attracted controversies with her liberal views and strong personality.  She became a polarizing figure to many conservatives and her strong opinions resulted in several notable controversies including an on-air dispute regarding The Bush administration's policies with the war in Iraq resulting in a mutual agreement to cancel her contract.
"The key to reinventing variety starts with the talent.  And Rosie was the perfect person for this," executive producer David Friedman said.  "She was already doing a variety show in daytime. Once we got Rosie, we were already ahead of the game."

“Given what's going on in TV and with the economy, we need to entertain people and make them laugh," Friedman added.

In addition to The View, Rosie O'Donnell is also credited for The Rosie O'Donnell Show, where she spent six years as host and executive producer, and the medical drama Nip/Tuck, where she recently appeared as a recurring character.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Variety
(Image courtesy of NBC)