Rosie Live

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title: "Rosie Live" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2000s-american-television-specials", "television-pilots-not-picked-up-as-a-series", "2000s-american-variety-television-series", "2008-television-specials", "american-live-television-series", "american-english-language-television-shows", "rosie-o'donnell"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_Live" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]

FieldValue
genreVariety show
developerRosie O'Donnell
writer{{plainlist
directorRichard Jay-Alexander
starring{{plainlist
countryUnited States
languageEnglish
executive_producer{{plainlist
producer{{plainlist
runtime60 minutes
cameraSingle-camera
company{{plainlist
channelNBC
released
related{{plainlist
::

| genre = Variety show | developer = Rosie O'Donnell | writer = {{plainlist|

Production

The show was produced by Universal Media Studios in association with O'Donnell's KidRo Productions. Rosie O'Donnell and David Friedman were the co-executive producers. The show was broadcast live in accordance with O'Donnell's preference for live programming instead of tape.

Guests

Ne-Yo and Alanis Morissette were the featured singers. Liza Minnelli and Gloria Estefan performed duets with O'Donnell. The Lombard Twins tap danced. Anti-Gravity performed a spinning act. The special also included performances by Rosie's Broadway Kids and guest appearances by Kathy Griffin, Conan O'Brien, Jane Krakowski, Harry Connick, Jr., Clay Aiken, Rachael Ray and Alec Baldwin.

Jennifer Cody appeared in a skit featuring O'Donnell as "Officer Lockstock" and Cody as "Little Sally", a reference to the off-Broadway show Urinetown. (Cody's husband, Hunter Foster, was in the original cast of Urinetown and was on the writing staff for Rosie Live.)

Reception

Critical response

The show received almost universally negative reviews from critics. The Los Angeles Times critic Mary McNamara wrote, "For those of us who are, and remain, Rosie fans, who think The View will never quite recover from her departure, who think her desire to resurrect the variety show was, and is, a great idea, disappointment does not even begin to describe it." TV Guide critic Matt Roush panned the show as "dead on arrival," while Variety wrote "If Rosie O'Donnell and company were consciously determined to strangle the rebirth of variety shows in the crib, they couldn't have done a better job of it than this pre-holiday turkey."

Ratings

The program finished in third place in its time slot, ahead of ABC and The CW but behind Fox and CBS.

::data[format=table] | Episode Number | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | Rank (Night) | Rank (Overall) | 3.5 | 6 | 1.2/4 | 5.25 | #3 | #11 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | "Special/Pilot" | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Cancellation

Initial plans were to, if the show had been successful, use the special as a pilot episode for a series of new Rosie Live episodes beginning January 2009, which would have made it the first traditional variety show to air as a regular series in the United States since The Wayne Brady Show in 2001, and the first on NBC since Marie and the infamous Pink Lady and Jeff in 1980. However, Rosie Live did not return due to poor ratings.

References

References

  1. Varley, Eddie. (November 18, 2008). "BWW TV: Rosie 'Heats it Up' for NBC Variety Show Promo & How to Win Tickets". BroadwayWorld TV.
  2. "Happy Holidays - NBC Site".
  3. Oldenburg, Ann. (October 10, 2011). "Rosie O'Donnell's back in the talk game".
  4. McNamara, Mary. (November 26, 2008). "Rosie O'Donnell's 'Rosie Live': What was she thinking?". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  5. Matt, Roush. (November 27, 2008). "Roush Dispatch: Rosie Live, Dead on Arrival". TV Guide.
  6. Buckman, Adam. (November 29, 2008). "Rosie Bomb Blast". New York Post.
  7. (November 27, 2008). "TV Ratings: 'Criminal Minds' Steals Wednesday for CBS". Zap2it.
  8. US Magazine. (November 29, 2008). "Rosie: There Will Be 'No More' Variety Shows".
  9. "CNN Video". CNN.
  10. Bauder, David. (December 3, 2008). "Rosie's dreams of TV variety comeback are dashed".
  11. de Moraes, Lisa. (December 3, 2008). "'Dancing' Sweeps Away Thanksgiving Week". [[The Washington Post]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

2000s-american-television-specialstelevision-pilots-not-picked-up-as-a-series2000s-american-variety-television-series2008-television-specialsamerican-live-television-seriesamerican-english-language-television-showsrosie-o'donnell