‘The View’ Posts Instagram Flashback Pic With Barbara Walters For This Heartfelt Reason

The View posted a flashback photo that included series creator Barbara Walters to Instagram for this stunning reason. The post was a way to honor the show’s founder and one of her greatest television creations as the series heads into its 23rd season.

The ground-breaking daytime talk series debuted on ABC 22 years ago, and the show posted a photo of the original cast, along with Walters, as a way to commemorate the occasion. Shown in the photo is then-moderator Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, Joy Behar and Walters.

The View premiered on August 11, 1997 with its original panel set in place. The show’s original opening credits featured a voice-over from Walters, who explained the show’s premise. “I’ve always wanted to do a show with women of different generations, backgrounds, and views; a working mother (a tease for Vieira), a professional in her 30s (Jones), a young woman just starting out (Matenopoulos) and then somebody who’s done almost everything and will say almost anything (Behar). And in a perfect world, I’d get to join the group whenever I wanted.”

The show was based around the premise that four or five women from different walks of life would be able to intelligently discuss the topics of the day, mixing humor with intelligent debate.

The topics during the original episodes of the series, through until today, focus on politics and social issues as well as pop culture.

Throughout the show’s run on ABC, The View has had a total of 22 permanent co-hosts. These include Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, Joy Behar, Lisa Ling, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Jenny McCarthy, Rosie Perez, Nicolle Wallace, Raven-Symone, Michelle Collins, Candace Cameron Bure, Paula Faris, Sara Haines, Jedediah Bila, Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain and Abby Huntsman.

Walters, alongside show producer Bill Geddie, created the series. Geddie departed in 2014 and Walters the same year.

Upon leaving the series, Walters hosted special 20/20 episodes and the documentary series American Scandals on Investigation Discovery. She also hosted her wildly popular interview series, which normally preceded the annual Oscars broadcast, 10 Most Fascinating People, in 2014 and 2015. Walters’ final on-air interview was with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in December 2015.

The Inquisitr recently reported that Walters has been unwell, and that her health has been rapidly declining. The legendary newswoman is reportedly wheelchair-bound, frail and suffering from dementia, per Radar Online.

The View is currently on a summer hiatus. The show will return to ABC in September. Its current panel of hosts includes Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Meghan McCain, Abby Huntsman and Ana Navarro.