The good, the bad, and the weird of daytime talk show hosts

When it comes to daytime television, Oprah is royalty. Sure, her track record is not spotless. However, her popularity is undeniable. Oprah is a beloved icon of television, one who was able to start her own magazine, TV network, you name it.

Whoever he was paired with, Regis was a staple of daytime television for decades. His high energy made him a great fit for getting you going during your day. There was an infectious verve to watching him do his thing, and even his quirks were fun. Plus, he was always a delight when he dipped into late-night TV when he went on David Letterman’s show.

After her sitcom days were behind her, Ellen became the queen of daytime TV. Her show began in 2003 and was the top daytime talk show for over a decade. Now, her reputation has started to fall by the wayside, and the rumors are discouraging. Maybe Ellen isn’t fun to work for, but her success as a TV host was definitely undeniable.

Is Drew Barrymore a good TV host? Also, when will we adjust to the idea that Barrymore, once a huge movie star, is now hosting a daytime TV show? Her show has only aired for a couple seasons, and they’ve given her a co-host now in Ross Matthews, but Barrymore’s spacey, almost avant-garde approach to being a TV host has put her in the “bizarre” and “good” categories at the same time.

If you are looking for the next star in the world of daytime TV, the heir to Ellen’s throne, look no further than the first-ever “American Idol” winner. Clarkson seems to have found her strong suit. In fact, she’s already won two Emmys for her hosting work. Her show is syndicated, but it’s replacing Ellen’s show on NBC networks that aired Ellen’s program once it ends.

John Oliver knows it, and we know it too. Williams’ show is borderline performance art. We can’t say she is a traditionally “good” host. Williams has definitely been fascinating, though, and also at times controversial.

Banks has been very successful. Her modeling career? Unimpeachable. The memes she’s created with “America’s Next Top Model?” Undeniable. That being said, she was less qualified as a talk show host. While it did last five seasons, Banks never really worked in the daytime talk show realm. Her talents are better used elsewhere.

Strahan was a Hall of Fame football player, but instead of just going into the world of sports television (which he does do), Strahan has become successful as a general TV personality. He replaced Regis as Kelly Ripa’s cohost, and then moved over to working on “Good Morning America,” although his spinoff was cancelled. Just stay away from sitcoms, Michael.

Brady is built for extemporaneous television performing and emceeing. That was clear from the time he was on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” These days, he’s in the daytime game show realm, hosting “Let’s Make a Deal.” Before that, though, he had a short-lived but fairly good titular daytime variety show as well.

Couric is more on the journalistic side of things and less of a Wayne Brady type. She’s been a newscaster and a contributor to “60 Minutes.” However, she’s also been on “The Today Show” and had the daytime talk show “Katie” for a few years as well. Was it the perfect fit for her? Maybe not, but she’s a television natural so she did show her chops.

Sometimes, a famous person simply flops as a talk show host. That’s what happened with Danza. He had some success in sitcoms — though he was never great, if we’re being honest — but hosting a talk show was not his strength. It only lasted for 330 episodes, which in the daytime talk show realm where five episodes air most weeks is not a lot.

Walters was a television legend. She started on “The Today Show” as a writer in 1961 and eventually started appearing on the show and then became a co-host. When she became a host in 1974, it was trailblazing for women in television. Then, of course, she would go on to be one of the faces of “The View,” which she also co-created. That show helped change the landscape of daytime TV once again.

Donahue paved the way for shows like Oprah’s, talk shows that often featured hard-hitting discussions and more serious topics. They weren’t just about chatting with a celebrity, though there was plenty of that. Donahue was the king of the genre for decades. He was also a staple of television for a long time, as “The Phil Donahue Show” aired from 1967 until 1996, and in the end he hosted over 7,000 episodes.

Douglas was a musician who decided to try the whole daytime talk show thing in 1961. By 1963, “The Mike Douglas Show” was nationally syndicated, and that would remain the case until 1981. You know that clip of Tiger Woods golfing as a toddler? That was on his show. He was also early on Barbra Streisand. In the end, most of the biggest names in TV and music during that era would end up on his show.

Provocateurs like Morton Downey Jr. don’t get TV shows anymore (outside of a certain cable news channel), and that’s probably for the best. However, his impact on TV cannot be denied. Downey was abrasive, unlikeable, and aggressive. He was also largely fearless and frequently fascinating. Downey would smoke and yell and is considered the pioneer of “trash TV.” We are no fans of Downey as a person, but his impact on daytime TV is undeniable.

Frankel’s daytime talk show was the biggest swing and a miss in recent memory. Her show only lasted one season, which was frankly one too many. The “Real Housewives” alum was not qualified for the role, and it was readily apparent from the get go.

To one generation, Kathie Lee is synonymous with co-hosting “Live!” alongside Regis. That alone would have made her a staple of the genre. Then, she moved onto “The Today Show,” where she and Hoda Kotb turned the fourth hour of the show into a wine-fueled hang that became a source of both fun and parody. This finally won her a Daytime Emmy for the first time in her storied career.

Nobody ever did more for the Koosh Ball. Rosie was kind of like Ellen before Ellen, in terms of popularity and style. She was the “fun hang” of daytime TV. The show won five times for Outstanding Talk Show at the Daytime Emmys, which is impressive given that it only ran six seasons. Of course, she also spoiled the end of “Fight Club” for some reason, so it wasn’t all perfect.

Morton Downey Jr. may have been the godfather of “trash TV.” Springer was the master, or perhaps the ringmaster. No topic was too salacious, no fruit hung too low. If certain DVDs were to be believed, sometimes it was too hot for TV. Springer became a massive celebrity, and while his milieu is polarizing to say the least, he’s been as impactful as any daytime TV performer.

White did it all on TV in her almost 100 years of life. She was a sitcom legend, but also a daytime TV host. In the early days of television, she produced and hosted “The Betty White Show.” It ran from 1952 until 1954, making the “First Lady of Television” one of the first daytime talk show hosts of all time. Naturally, as with seemingly everything, she was quite good at it.