One year in to her network-owning adventure and Oprah Winfrey seems to be finding out that fans just want her back where she belongs: in interview mode!
Although it had a grand kick off, Oprah’s OWN network has been fledgling since its January 2011 launch. One year later and the network’s highest rated show has been her new globe-trotting interview series, “Oprah’s Next Chapter.”
It didn’t hurt that the Queen of Talk started off her new series with an in-depth sit down with controversial Aerosmith front man- turned- “American Idol” judge, Steven Tyler, for the show’s premiere earlier this month.
According to the New York Daily News, “Oprah’s Next Chapter” is OWN’s most-watched program, with an average of 924,000 viewers. And nabbing the top spot for anything on the network since its launch is her “Next Chapter” interview with televangelist Joel Osteen, which reeled in a whopping 1.6 million viewers.
Now, the show will soon expand from one night a week to two, starting off with a trip to Haiti with actor Sean Penn, which will air in two parts on Sunday and Monday night.
A press release for the show also reveals upcoming guests will include a two- part interview with motivational speaker Tony Robbins — featuring a fire walking Oprah!
There will also be a two-night look into the lives of Hasidic Jews of Brooklyn, which includes a one of a kind interview with four Hasidic mothers and wives. And later this season, Oprah will don her comfiest pajamas for a slumber party at Southern chef Paula Deen’s Georgia estate, before traveling to India with Deepak Chopra.
According to CNN, Oprah said of her recent visit to India: “I would have to say it’s the greatest show on Earth. I’ve never seen anything like it. India, I’ll be back again and again.” She also called her time there “one of the greatest, if not the greatest, experience I have ever had.”
Oprah has tried to be an on-air presence on OWN from the beginning, but couldn’t get really serious about it until her daytime talk show ended last May.
Since OWN’s launch, she has been featured on shows such as “Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes,” “Oprah’s Masterclass” and “Oprah’s Lifeclass,” but this is the first show in which she’s gone back to her full-on interview mode.
It seems to be working.
Based on the ratings, it’s clear that Oprah is finally back where viewers want her.
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