‘The View’ sets return date, ‘taking a little time’ to replace Meghan McCain

Almost all the ladies are back for “The View.”

Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines will return to the table on Sept. 7 to kick off the 25th season of the daytime talk show, ABC announced Monday.

But they’re leaving one seat open when they return from a month-long hiatus: the one previously held by Meghan McCain, who left in early August after constantly finding herself at odds with her cohosts.

ABC is “taking a little time” to fill her open position, the network said, but vowed to continue “the mission of dynamic conversations with diverse points of view.”

Instead, the show will rotate through a series of conservative fill-ins, including former Utah congresswoman Mia Love, Condoleezza Rice, S.E. Cupp, Carly Fiorina, Eboni K. Williams, Mary Katharine Ham, Alyssa Farah, Cameran Eubanks and Gretchen Carlson.

Political commentator Ana Navarro will return, and previous hosts will appear every Friday to celebrate a quarter century on the air. Star Jones, an inaugural host for nine years, will kick off the reunion.

“The View” will also return to its Manhattan studio with a live audience for the first time since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“25 years is such an incredible milestone,” executive producer Brian Teta said in a statement.

“We have so much planned to honor this amazing platform that Barbara Walters created. I can’t think of a better way to kick off that celebration than by welcoming the co-hosts back to the iconic View table and to have them in front of a live studio audience again. We have some truly exciting plans to celebrate this anniversary all season long.”