The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history. The show was highly influential, and many of its topics have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show did not attempt to profit off the products it endorses; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club. Oprah had its roots in A.M. Chicago, a half-hour morning talk show airing on WLS-TV, an ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago. Winfrey took over as host on January 2, 1984 and, within a month, took it from last place to first place in local Chicago ratings. Following Winfrey's success in—and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for—her performance as Sofia in the film The Color Purple, on September 8, 1986, the talk show was relaunched under its current title and picked up nationally. For the premiere, the show's producers tried rigorously to book Miami Vice's Don Johnson as the first guest, even trying to bribe him with Dom Pérignon and a pair of rhinestone sunglasses. All attempts to book Johnson failed and Winfrey decided to "do what we do best, and that is a show about and with everyday people". The topic for the premiere show was "How to Marry the Man or Woman of Your Choice". Oprah was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000. In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time. In November 2009, Winfrey announced that the show would conclude in 2011 following its 25th and final season. The series finale aired on May 25, 2011.