The queen of daytime television, Oprah Winfrey, recently announced that she would no longer be offering life advice to housewives all across America as she ends production of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah Winfrey Show has aired, with high ratings, for over two decades. The last show is scheduled to air September 11, 2011; hopefully I will be there and she will just feel like giving away Audi’s on a whim, but I digress. Now this might be a lot to handle for Oprah cult followers, not seeing her everyday and all, but she’s attempting to make amends with her very own network.
Oprah is bursting forth with her second attempt at a television network. She sold Oxygen, her first network, to NBC for $925 million dollars, which is now home to uplifting and empowering shows like Bad Girls Club and Snapped. The Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN Network, a joint business venture with Discover Communications and the television legend, and is set to debut on January 11, 2011.
Of course, in keeping with Oprah’s behavior in past years, she will also have her very own show on the network called, Oprah’s Next Chapter. The daytime queen goes nighttime dancing queen with her late night show that will air two to three times a week. Although many would caution against this venture, considering the stiff competition already present within the nighttime lineups, it’s Oprah and everyone knows she will do just fine in her transition.
On OWN you can expect to see many shows that have stemmed from the brain of this entertainment powerhouse. Shania Twain jumps aboard the train with her very own reality show on the OWN Network as well as Oprah’s best friend Gayle King, who will have a reality show based on her life as a radio personality. Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind, will profile larger than life celebrities, like Lady Gaga and she will even have her very own “star search,” with Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star, a competitive show seeking the next Oprah of sorts, because we all know there will never be another Oprah, unless of course there’s another Ellen.
Oprah certainly looks forward to this venture, telling USA Today, “This is a dram I’ve been carrying around for years. What I want to with OWN is take what I’ve established in daytime-inspiring people, giving them hope, and a few cars—and build on that 24/7.
