After a decade-long hiatus, Rosie O'Donnell, TV's queen of nice, returned to the airwaves on October 10 with the debut of "The Rosie Show." The move to Oprah Winfrey's new cable network was risky, especially in the eyes of O'Donnell's agent. He wanted his client to sign with an established network like NBC. The older, wiser and outspoken O'Donnell disagreed.
"I'm going to be 50 in May," O'Donnell said today on Canada AM from the set of "The Rosie Show" in Chicago..
"Half of my life I've watched her [Oprah]. Half of my life I've learned how to tap into my emotions watching her. I've looked up to her, as many women have, for two decades," she said.
O'Donnell is certainly no stranger to TV.
O'Donnell was last on daytime talk when she did a stint on "The View."
Her earlier venture, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," turned the talk show host into a household name. It also won O'Donnell six consecutive Emmys during the show's run from 1996 to 2002.
Picking up the reins of her talk show career put O'Donnell on edge for a short time.
"The first few days I was nervous," O'Donnell said.
"I've had a decade off, so I was like ‘Wow. I hope I can remember how to do this.' But after a while it's like riding a horse or a bike," she said.
Since the variety program's premiere on Oct. 10, O'Donnell, an executive producer on the show, has tackled topics from her renewed, menopausal sex drive to police brutality at the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Celebrity interviews, musical performance, behind-the-scenes reality TV segments and O'Donnell's standup comedy have also been included into this mix.
"I started doing standup at 16. I've done it for a very long time," said O'Donnell.
"Getting back in front of a live audience feels really natural to me. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do it again," she said.
O'Donnell's youngest children, however, were less enthusiastic about their mother's new plans.
"My oldest son is 16. He's the only one who really remembers when I used to be on TV," said O'Donnell.
Her other children, which include Chelsea, 14, Blake, 12, Vivienne Rose, 9, and foster child Mia, 14, had no clue what O'Donnell's show would be like or how it could change their lives.
"They said ‘You think people are going to watch you talk?' I do," replied O'Donnell. "I really do."
