''Windy City Live'' (WCL) is a local daytime

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

that is broadcast on

WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North Stat ...

and based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It premiered on May 26, 2011 as a replacement of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'' which retired that month and is produced by WLS-TV (ABC 7 Chicago). The talk show is filmed in front of a live audience weekdays at the ABC7 Studios in the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

on State Street. Current and original hosts are Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini. In November 2019, Windy City Live aired its 2,000th live episode with multiple special guests and performances. Windy City Live maintains strong viewership ratings, and has been nominated for and won numerous Chicago Emmy awards. On July 21, 2021, WLS-TV cancelled Windy City Live. Production was ceased on September 3, 2021.

Concept

''Windy City Live'' combines talk, entertainment, celebrity guest appearances, localized Chicago interests, and more in a 60-minute show. Original co-hosts Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini are joined by guest contributors

Roe Conn Roe B. Conn (born June 6, 1964) is an American talk radio host based in Chicago. Career Roe's first radio gig was Saturday overnights on WDUB in Granville, Ohio. Early in his career Conn chose to use the on air pseudonym Robert Thomas, believi ...

, an American talk radio host, and television producer Hank Mendheim. Ji Suk Yi had also served as a contributor and later co-host of the show until her departure for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' in 2018. In July 2018,

Bonnie Hunt Bonnie Lynn Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host. Her film roles include ''Rain Man'', ''Beethoven'', '' Beethoven's 2nd'', ''Jumanji'', ''Jerry Maguire'', '' The Green ...

, former host of ''

The Bonnie Hunt Show ''The Bonnie Hunt Show'' is an American syndicated talk show hosted by Bonnie Hunt. It premiered on September 8, 2008. The show's second and final season premiered on September 8, 2009. It was announced on December 7, 2009 that ''The Bonnie Hu ...

'', co-hosted ''WCL'' with Chiaverini while Warner was away on vacation.

Segments

*'Four-Star Chicagoans' is a segment that features a local Chicagoan making a difference in the community weekly. *'Pillow Talk' is a segment where viewers submit a question online seeking advice on relationships or personal issues and if featured on-air, a prize is offered. *'2 Minute Warning' is a segment hosted by Chiaverini featuring a series of rapid-fire questions intended to trigger humorous responses from well known personalities.

Celebrity appearances

Through the years, celebrity and special guest visits on ''Windy City Live'' have included:

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...

, Chance The Rapper,

Dan Abrams Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

, David Muir,

Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and ''Primetime'' newsmagaz ...

Tory Burch Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerf ...

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...

Valerie Jarrett Valerie June Jarrett ( Bowman; born November 14, 1956) is an American businesswoman and former government official. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. She previously served as the senior advisor to U.S. ...

LaVar Ball LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA ...

, Masi Oka,

G Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, ''These Things Happen (G-Eazy album), These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number& ...

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

Garry McCarthy Garry Francis McCarthy (born May 4, 1959) is the interim Chief of Police in Willow Springs, Illinois and previous Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election. Ear ...

Shea Couleé Jaren Kyei Merrell (born February 8, 1989), known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, musician, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. I ...

, Sinbad,

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

Jay Pharoah Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. Pharoah was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 201 ...

Brett Eldredge Brett Ryan Eldredge (born March 23, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer, signed to Warner Music Group Nashville. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart, three of ...

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

Michael Pfleger Michael Louis Pfleger (born May 22, 1949) is an American Catholic priest and social activist located in Chicago. Since 1981, he has been pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, a Black parish in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood. He has been ...

Carla Hall Carla Hall (born May 12, 1964) is an American chef, television personality and former model. She appeared in the fifth and eighth seasons of ''Top Chef'', Bravo's cooking competition show. She was a cohost on ''The Chew'', a one-hour talk sh ...

, Chris Redd,

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...

, Pat Quinn,

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

Brian Urlacher Brian Urlacher (; born May 25, 1978) is an American former football linebacker who spent his entire 13-season career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where h ...

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

, and more. On November 13, 2018, Michelle Obama previewed her newest book, '' Becoming'', in an interview with Warner on the show. The Chicago interview took place the same day her national book tour kicked off at the

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

with

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

Production

The show is filmed in front of a live audience weekdays at 1 p.m. CDT based at ABC7 Studios in downtown Chicago. The running time is between 40–45 minutes per episode. Tickets to participate in the live audience are free of charge and available online first-come, first-served. Matt Knutson has been the executive producer since 2015. The ''Windy City Live'' set was once home of ''

'' until 1988, before it moved to

Harpo Studios Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. It is the sole subsidiary of her media and entertainment company Harpo, Inc. The name "Harpo" is ...

in West Loop, Chicago. Following the end of ''Oprah'' in 2011, Windy City Live initially replaced the 9 a.m. CDT time slot in Chicago on WLS-TV.

Reception

''Windy City Live'' is currently in its tenth season. Early ratings peaked at viewership of over 105,000 Chicago households per episode. In recent years, viewership has remained steady with strong ratings among women 25 to 54. The talk show's social media presence remains strong with over 344,000

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

and 38,000

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

followers. Its

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel has nearly 32,000 subscribers with videos highlighting Chicago food, celebrity impressions, and highlights from daily episodes. In 2016, ''Windy City Live'' won a Chicago/Midwest Emmy in the program category of best interview/discussion. The following year, Ryan Chiaverini won a Chicago/Midwest Emmy award for best Program Host/Moderator in his role on the series. It is the talk show's fifth Emmy award overall.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, tt2372876 Chicago television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 2011 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings