Jacquelyn Mitchard made it big when The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen for the first Oprah’s Book Club pick in 1996. Eighteen books later, after losing all of her investments in a Ponzi scheme, the bestselling author is turning toward Oprah again, or rather the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Mitchard has entered “Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star.” If she wins, she’ll get a daytime talk show on OWN called “Oh, Jackie!”
To view Mitchard’s audition video (and vote!), click here. (The most popular online audition videos will go to the next level in the competition, which culminates in a competition series on TV.)
A shot from MItchard's audition video
Mitchard elaborated on her talk show concept on her blog:
And that’s what I would want to do—a daytime vision of Joy Behar with a little more snap and slapstick a la Ellen DeGeneres (there is only one Ellen and long may she reign), with some stories that are really stories (like Oprah’s story about Janni, a seven-year-old schizophrenic, who is the beautiful and tragic daughter of two of my dear friends). There would also be some visits that are really visits, in the manner of James Lipton on ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio,’ although perhaps not quite so … er, long-winded and worshipful (sorry James; really, still ask my son Marty to be on one day when he’s famous!).
Do you think Mitchard would make a good talk show host? In our experience, she’s certainly friendly. When she interviewed the author in 2006 for novel Cage of Stars, BookPage contributor Amy Scribner wrote that “Mitchard exudes a down-home energy and humor that belies the tough subject matter she often tackles.” [Continue reading the interview.]
What other authors would make great TV hosts? If her hilarious tweets could count as an audition, I’d vote for Jennifer Weiner.
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