The Oprah Winfrey Show (often simply referred to as Oprah) is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions, which is the longest running daytime talk show in the history of American television.
Broadcast from Chicago, the show premiered in the USA on 8 September, 1986. The show will air until 2011: in a 2007 interview with Larry King, Oprah announced that she will not renew her contract, thus ending the show after 25 seasons.
The Oprah Winfrey Show originally premiered in South Africa as a flagship programme of the new SABC3 in 1996, beginning with the 10th season (the first nine seasons did not air in South Africa). It ended its run on the channel in 1999.
It was picked up by rival broadcaster e.tv, who aired it from 2000-2004 (Seasons 14-18). It returned to SABC3 on Monday 4 April 2005, at 16h50, beginning with Season 19.
Season 24 premiered on SABC3 on Tuesday 19 January 2010, at 17h35. New episodes air daily, on weekdays.
Synopsis
Filmed daily in front of a live studio audience Oprah incorporates her life with her interviews and hosts both celebrities and real people in her studio.
Her celebrity interviews focus on the careers, latest news and private lives of her guests and her shows about regular people focus on everything from physical and psychological health, spirtuality, topical stories and world-changing events.
In addition to her talk show Oprah has launched various other syndications of her brand including O Magazine, Oprah's Angel Network and The Oprah Book Club.
Oprah's Book Club has been a platform for the careers of many best-selling authors including Isabel Allende and John Steinbeck. The show also launched the talk show Dr Phil as a spin-off from the guest appearances Dr Phil McGraw made on Oprah first.
The Oprah Winfrey Show is known for its diversity of guests and subject matters, publicity stunts and philanthropy.