Can Hollywood Moms Out-Gab The Ladies Of The The View?

Do we need another version of The View? CBS says we do. But this one is Moms Only.

Here’s the lineup: CBS Early Show anchor Julie Chen (who happens to be married to CBS’s CEO), Roseanne actress Sara Gilbert (who developed the show and will co-produce, and who has two children with her partner Allison Adler), Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete (an actress, radio host, wife of an NFL player, and co-author of Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching the Game!: A Woman’s Guide to Loving Pro Football), Leah Remini, and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

The show doesn’t have a name yet, but it does have a time slot — the one vacated by As The World Turns. The head of CBS Daytime had this to say about it:

“We were looking for a new format that would speak to the core audience but also have the topical and entertainment value to go even broader. This panel is not a bashful bunch; they are outspoken on any issue you put on the table. It promises to be an hour of television with timely discussions, unfiltered opinions and a lot of personality.”

A new format? The View was launched 13 years ago. That said, why not, right? Daytime may already be a ladyzone, but there is more promise in this concept than another soap (no matter how potentially empowering.)

Back when The View debuted, Caryn James wrote in The New York Times:

The idea of women talking to one another on daytime television is not exactly radical. The idea that those women should be smart and accomplished is still odd enough to make ”The View” seem wildly different. It actively defies the bubbleheads-‘R’-us approach to women’s talk shows.

So far, CBS’s answer to The View seems more actress-centric than Babwa’s lineup, though like The View, that could change. And then there’s the overt focus on motherhood, either a nominal differentiation point or a nod to Mama Grizzly-esque “mother’s intuition.” Given that this show’s conception of it is pretty inclusive — including with a lesbian mom partially in charge and onscreen to boot — we’re inclined to give this one a shot.

In the meantime, let’s see if it inspires the parodies that The View has in its decade-plus of existence. Here’s one of our favorites.