BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 29: TV show host Rosie O’Donnell speaks during the ‘The Rosie Show’ panel during the OWN portion of the 2011 Summer TCA Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 28, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
As Oprah Winfrey’s channel OWN struggled during its first year, executives pointed to two bright lights on the horizon: an interview series hosted by Winfrey herself, and a Rosie O’Donnell talk show. The former has had some occasional spikes of media buzz, most recently when Winfrey interviewed the family of Whitney Houston, but the latter never quite caught on, despite near-monthly monthly revamps. And so it is that today, OWN announced that the ax would fall on The Rosie Show. “It was a great year for me — I wish the show was able to attract more viewers — but it did not,†O’Donnell said in a statement. “So I am headed back to my home in New York — with gratitude. On we go!â€