Rosie Views MSNBC Deal

Tue., Nov. 6, 2007 9:12 AM PST by Sarah Hall

Rosie O'Donnell could soon be giving Larry King a run for his money.

The former View cohost is in talks to join MSNBC as the host of a new prime-time show on the cable news channel, sources say.

The show would likely focus on current events and would premiere in time for O'Donnell to offer her distinctive take on the upcoming presidential election.

O'Donnell's rep had no comment on the situation.

NBC would not confirm details of the negotiations but published reports suggest that O'Donnell's new show would be slotted during the 9 p.m. hour, where she'd face off against CNN's Larry King Live and Fox News' Hannity & Colmes.

The show would replace the low-rated Live with Dan Abrams, which in turn recently replaced the similarly low rated Scarborough County.

In a speech she gave Sunday night at a book signing in Miami, O'Donnell alluded to her new gig, saying she would soon be competing with "the guy with the suspenders and the long, long face," according to a podcast posted on lyingonthebeach.com.

Various reports quote network insiders as saying talks are still under way and that issues such as the size of O'Donnell's paycheck and whether she would also be seen on NBC have yet to be hammered out.

Since abruptly departing The View in April, O'Donnell has been weighing a number of offers and was at one point a frontrunner to take over hosting duties on The Price Is Right. (Drew Carey was ultimately selected for the job.)

However, when it came to selecting her next source of employment, she has been taking her time.

"Here's the thing. I don't really need a job. I'm in a weird position. I don't need the money," she wrote on her blog in June.

"I know you're not allowed to talk about money in America, but I'm just saying I don't."

In the meantime, O'Donnell is due to return to FX's Nip/Tuck for a fourth-season guest arc, reprising her role as unfortunate lottery winner Dawn Budge.

The outspoken TV personality has also penned a memoir titled Celebrity Detox, which was released last month and debuted at number five on the New York Times' bestselling-nonfiction list.