MEREDITH VIEIRA TO HOST NEW SHOW ON NBC
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DAYTIME TALK
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The rumors are true! After months of speculation about former TODAY show co-anchor Meredith Vieira being considered for her own talk show, the veteran journalist has moved on to shooting the proposed series, sources confirm exclusively to Us Weekly.
Insiders tell Us that Vieira, 59, is currently filming the pilot for her NBC show, which is in the vein of Katie Couric's ABC daytime talk show. The series has not yet been picked up, but if and when it is, it would air sometime in 2014.
New York Times journalist Brian Stelter -- author of the controversial morning show tell-all Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV -- first reported in his Media Decoder blog in January that the Dateline NBC contributor was "in talks" with NBCUniversal for a syndicated talk show to premiere no sooner than September 2014. NBC declined to comment on the rumors at the time, but Vieira hinted earlier that month that she was working with the network on a new project.
Announcing the end of her run on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which she has hosted since 2002, the View alum said she wanted to focus on other aspects of her career. "It's been a great 11 years," she said in a statement on Jan. 11. "I am about to embark on a new adventure with NBC, and I have a digital venture which will be announced shortly. This just seemed like the right time to make the move."
If Vieira's series is picked up, it could compete with her former show The View, or with Couric's show Katie, Stelter reported in January. Vieira replaced Couric on TODAY in 2006, after nine years as a cohost on Barbara Walters' daytime series. She later left her co-anchor post in 2011 but has remained with NBC as a contributor to Dateline NBC and Rock Center With Brian Williams.
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