<\/p>\n
The View<\/a><\/em>\u2018s Season 29 premiere episode, which aired on September 8, is the show\u2019s biggest debut in five years.<\/p>\n According to Variety<\/a>, which first revealed ABC News\u2019 numbers, an average of 2.602 million viewers tuned in to see the series\u2019 fall return, which featured all six returning panelists: Whoopi Goldberg<\/a>, Sara Haines<\/a>, Joy Behar<\/a>, Ana Navarro<\/a>, Sunny Hostin<\/a>, and Alyssa Farah Griffin<\/a>.<\/p>\n The numbers also reveal that the Season 29 premiere was a 7% increase over the Season 28 premiere, which earned 2.42 million. The full Season 29 premiere week\u2019s average was a reported 2.32 million and a 1.51 rating, beating NBC\u2019s Today\u00a0<\/em>Third Hour<\/em> (which had 1.963), Today With Jenna<\/em> (1.384), and\u00a0NBC News Daily<\/em> (1.245 million).<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t much of a dropoff week to week, either. The site reports that for the week of September 15, the second week of Season 29\u2019s run, the average daily viewership was 2.311 million, still beating those top three competitors.<\/p>\n The View<\/em> premiered with an episode full of \u201cHot Topic\u201d discussions, including\u00a0Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0contentious congressional hearing<\/a>,\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0\u201cDepartment of War\u201d and planned Chicago takeover,<\/a> the rash of adults taking sports game souvenirs from children and becoming the instant ire of the internet, and the panelists\u2019 summer vacation plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n The View<\/em> returned under discomfiting circumstances, after the White House indicated that the show could face cancellation as a result of Behar\u2019s pointed comments about Donald Trump.<\/p>\n In response to his claims that the former president, Barack Obama, had committed \u201ctreason,\u201d Behar said, \u201cHe\u2019s so jealous of Obama because Obama is everything that he is not: trim, smart, handsome, happily married, can sing \u2018Let\u2019s Get Together\u2019 better than Al Green<\/a>\u2026 and Trump cannot stand it. It\u2019s driving him crazy. Green is not a good color [on him].\u201d Her words were aired during the July 23 show, which aired before the summer hiatus began<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response, a spokesperson for the White House said, \u201cJoy Behar is an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.\u201d The spokesperson also said the show had its \u201clowest ratings\u201d in years and Behar \u201cshould self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump\u2019s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air.\u201d<\/p>\n There have also been signs that the same Trump-appointed FCC chairperson who targeted\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> and briefly resulted in the show\u2019s suspension by ABC would set his sights on The View<\/em> next<\/a>.<\/p>\n Looks like the ratings, at least, are on the way up in Season 29.<\/p>\n