Early Reviews Give High Praise for 'The Rosie Show' Debut

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the majority of critics agree that Rosie O'Donnell's new talk show 'The Rosie Show' will be successful in helping Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network overcome its rather unimpressive debut.

'The Rosie Show' debuted last night on OWN and airs every night at 7:00 pm ET.

Says Hollywood Reporter Tim Goodman, "The thing to know about Rosie O'Donnell is that she gets it. She's done a standard talk show - her own, which ran for years. She's done The View a show calculated in so many ways. O'Donnell knows the formula at work in these kinds of shows. So when she signed on with Oprah to get back in the game with her own show on Oprah's OWN, there must have been a part of her that knew she could do something vastly different, perhaps even fresher."

Goodman continues, "After tonight's debut of The Rosie Show, I can only hope she doesn't let anyone tamper with it. Because it's a little crazy. The Rosie Show is, in fact, something of an oddity in that it looks haphazard and thrown together (though it's not, despite being live on the East Coast). It looks - and in the tightly packaged world of talk shows, this is a crime - like a lot of fun." 

Chicago blogger David W. Quinn writes,  "It was a little rough around the edges. However, unlike most shows, the show is live...Rosie did ultimately deliver a great show. There were some good jokes, a great musical number, and a fabulous first guest with Russell Brand.  Oprah of course had to do a special appearance, because Rosie could be just the thing that Oprah's network OWN needs."

Linda Stasi of the New York Post agrees. "Oprah gave her a second chance to save her career. And, ironically, if last night was any indication, Rosie might be the one who helps Oprah do the same for her struggling network.  I, for one, am tired of the same middle-aged smug men and 30-something skinny women who think that saying four-letter words means they're hilarious dominating talk shows. When Rosie's on, she actually is hilarious. Welcome back."

Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman maintains, "Winfrey had said that she wanted O'Donnell to be herself, and her new hire lived up to that expectation with perfectly familiar results. Whether that familiarity will translate into viewers seeking out OWN will probably require a little more sizzle as The Rosie Show moves forward." 

 

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