The New Star of Court TV

Wed., Mar. 7, 2007 4:07 PM PST by Sarah Hall

Star Jones Reynolds is ready for her day on Court.

After her unceremonious exit from The View last year, Reynolds has returned to Court TV, the network where she began her television career, to host a new daily talk show.

Reynolds will preside over an as-yet untitled series focusing on legal issues within the pop culture world, the network said Wednesday. The show is expected to debut this fall.

"I am very excited to join the Court TV and Turner Broadcasting family," Reynolds said in a statement. "My goal is to inform, empower, educate and entertain viewers."

In addition to her hosting gig, Reynolds was named an executive editor at the network.

After earning her law degree in 1986, Reynolds joined Court TV in 1991 as a legal commentator during the William Kennedy Smith rape trial. From there, she worked as a legal correspondent for NBC's Today and Nightly News, before moving on to become the chief legal analyst for Inside Edition during the O.J. Simpson trial. (Reynolds also covered red carpet events for E! Entertainment from 2004-05; E! Online and E! Entertainment are divisions of E! Networks.)

In 1997, Reynolds teamed up with Barbara Walters as one of the original hosts of The View, along with Meredith Vieira and Debbie Matenopoulos, and held her seat on the show up until last summer, when she was abruptly tipped off the sofa.

Rumors that Reynolds' View days were numbered began as soon as it was announced in April 2006 that Rosie O'Donnell would be replacing Vieira as moderator.

Since it was common knowledge that there was no love lost between Reynolds and O'Donnell, viewers wondered how the rivals would fare at sharing the daytime airwaves.

As it turned out, they never did.

In June, Reynolds made an unscheduled announcement that she would be leaving the show, taking everyone, even Walters, by surprise.

"The View is now moving in a new direction, and I will not be returning this fall—but wherever I go, I will carry a lifetime of memories with me," Reynolds said in her final appearance on the show.

That wasn't all she had to say on the subject, however.

In a subsequent interview on Larry King Live, Reynolds said she was "hurt" by the way her tenure on the show ended.

"I feel like I was fired," Reynolds said, explaining she learned her contract was not being renewed just four days before it was announced O'Donnell would be joining the show.

"I was told in April and then for two months I was told 'You can leave on your own terms,' and I decided to tell the truth," she said. "Actually, they said, 'You can make up a story,' and you the audience didn't deserve me making up a story. That's not fair."

Walters said she felt "betrayed" by the way Reynolds made her exit.

"We gave her time to look for another job and hoped that she would announce it on this program and leave with dignity," Walters said on The View, following Reynolds' departure. "But Star made another choice."

Now that choice has brought Reynolds full-circle back to the network where she got her first taste of television.

Reynolds will also be making a guest appearance on the season finale of NBC's Law & Order: SVU, along with her new Court TV colleague, Nancy Grace and Ludacris.

A lawyer in real life, Reynolds will merely play one in the show, which airs May 22.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is my favorite show on television, I have never missed an episode since its premiere," Reynolds said in a statement. "When I was asked to appear on the show I immediately accepted the honor without hesitation."