Fox News' Roger Friedman writes:

What I'm told is that Ben Silverman and Jeff Zucker like the idea -- and it's a great one that Rosie's had for a long time. The new show could turn out to be a 2009 version of Carol Burnett or even "The Ed Sullivan Show.'

The latter would even be better with Rosie presenting it all live -- as in not on tape -- from a Broadway theater, possibly on Sunday night. The show would have skits but more importantly O'Donnell could feature all kinds of acts from comedy to drama to music -- exactly what's missing from prime time.

And what would be cooler than O'Donnell introducing famous folks who are in the audience but don't necessarily want to do an interview? You could have Leonardo DiCaprio wave to the crowd while a new hot teeny-bopper group like the Jonas Brothers or a classic act like Cyndi Lauper performs live on stage.

Sources tell me that O'Donnell has been kicking this idea around since 2002. No one does live TV better than this comedienne, and with the potential for some kind of controversy every Sunday -- something outrageous or cutting-edge -- NBC would be certain to grab big numbers.

According to Huffington Post, NBC isn't the only major network making a play for the ex-View moderator. CBS is (or was) also said to be interested in giving the ratings magnet her own series, but at this point, NBC is said to have the upper hand.

Last update: 01-29-2009 20:31