The View‘s Halloween episodes are among our last remaining sources of serotonin. Unfortunately, 2024’s ‘The Viewing’ has been canceled due to the November presidential election. Producer Brian Teta confirmed the news on the Behind the Table podcast.
No costumes, no hammy segments where the hosts act out horror skits, nothing. They’ve got a good reason, however. Teta told Joy Behar, “I’m going to announce something today that’s going to upset a portion of the audience, but I think it’s going to make you happy.” Prepping Halloween special diehards for the blow, he said, “This year, because it’s only a few days before the election and we need to be live, the hosts are not going to dress up for Halloween.”
Behar, whose best costume was as Carl Fredrickson from Up, added, “We’ve done it every single year for 28 years” and sadly revealed, “It’s always annoying for us.” This is crushing, mostly because it’s a whole lot of fun for us. The show previously skipped the costumes in 2020 but has committed to the tradition since.
We get it, though. The costumes aren’t dollar store pieces, they’re fully-fledged costumes often with elaborate makeup. That probably means early calls for the hosts and longer than usual in hair and makeup chairs.
The View will still acknowledge Halloween, it just won’t be with the flair usually seen. “They’re iconic, it’s great, I’ll try to bring it back next year,” Teta promised. “The problem is, those shows are a huge undertaking, we have to do them on tape. Part of what our show has become and what it is right now, we can’t be on tape three days before the election.”
The show has been critical of Donald Trump’s campaign and sees covering the election in as much detail as possible as the number one priority. “It’s too important,” Behar said. “I don’t mean to be grandiose, but we do have some influence on people’s thinking. We need to use every single minute on this show to inform the public about how dangerous he is. It’s hard for you to do that while dressed like Pinocchio.”
Kamala Harris was featured on The View in early October to discuss her campaign and Trump’s response to Hurricane Milton. “Trump is lying, claiming that the Biden administration is withholding aid from the areas where Republicans live and that FEMA funds are being redirected to migrants,” she said. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg has also publicly skewered Trump on several occasions. Suffice it to say, that the table is not a safe space for the former President.
While election coverage from one of the ladies dressed as Pinocchio would probably fix many major global problems, it’s understandable the producers and stars want to lend as much credibility and seriousness to their coverage as possible. This is an important moment in history, one where voters must decide if letting a wannabe fascist dictator back in the White House is okay.
Luckily for us, ABC has plenty of footage of past Halloween broadcasts. The most recent of which was the cast’s 2023 celebration of Disney’s 100-year anniversary. But if that’s a bit too PG for your tastes, their Stephen King-inspired episode was also hilarious.
Published: Oct 17, 2024 09:37 am