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| Oprah Winfrey with her friend Maria Shriver |
According to RadarOnline.com Winfrey is hoping her good friend Shriver will come on board with OWN for autumn. Winfrey is also hoping that Shriver’s presence will boost the ratings on her failing network.
When “The Rosie Show” was conceived O’Donnell said it should be filmed in New York but Oprah insisted it stay in Chicago. As the ratings continued to be poor Winfrey decided to axe the show, as well as laying off 30 staffers.
The source said “Oprah knows she needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat, literally.
“She has been in discussions with Maria for a very long time about doing a news/special interest driven show for OWN. However, Oprah has ramped up the pressure in the past several weeks.”
However there are also reports that Shriver’s not entirely convinced yet. The insider said “Maria definitely wants to get back to work, but she has to make sure that it's the right project. With her son Patrick about to graduate from high school in the next few months, she will have only one other child, Christopher, living at home with her.
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“It's highly unlikely Maria would get her own show though, she doesn't want that amount of responsibility, period. Oprah has told Maria that she could do specials for the network with an emphasis on the human interest issues that she is passionate about. Oprah admires and respects Maria so much, and she thinks her viewers can relate to her.'”
The source continued “Oprah called Maria recently, and said in her most serious voice, 'look Maria, I'm sinking, and I need you to do a reality show for OWN.'
“She carried on for 2-3 minutes about what the show would be called. Oprah is quite the actress, and Maria was just silent, and Oprah eventually burst out laughing, and said, 'ha, I had you, didn't I? I would never ask you to do a reality show, but if that shouldn't stop you from volunteering to do it.”
They added “Maria has been assured that any project she would do for OWN would be filmed in Los Angeles, or a location that was convenient to her. Oprah is cognizant of the fact that Maria needs to be close to Los Angeles for her son.”
