After 25 seasons of being a moderator on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg is taking a hiatus from ABC’s hit daytime talk show.
According to TV Insider, Whoopi Goldberg’s “The View” co-host Joy Behar announced that the actress and talk show moderator is taking a break from the show to film the new Amazon Studios series “Anansi Boys.” It is the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel. “If you’re wondering where Whoopi is, the girls’ got a [TV show] she’s making,” Joy Behar declared on the latest “The View” episode. “And she will be back when she finishes whatever she’s doing. So she’s gone for a while.”
In Whoopi Goldberg’s place on “The View” was CNN conservative commentator, Alyssa Farah Griffin. TV Insider noted that “Anansi Boys” is a six-episode limited series through Prime Video. It is currently filming at FirstStage Studio in Leith, Scotland.
Prime Video revealed that “Anansi Boys” follows Charlie Nancy (played by Malachi Kirby), who is sometimes known as Fat Charlie. He is a young man that is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. “But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that he was Anansi: Trickster God of stories (played by Delroy Lindo). And he learns that he has a brother.”
Prime Video says that Charlie’s brother Spider is also played by Kirby. He enters Charlie’s life and is determined to make it more interesting. This means making Charlie’s life a lot more dangerous.
What is Whoopi Goldberg’s Role in ‘Anansi Boys’?
In “Anansi Boys,” Whoopi Goldberg will play one of the show’s key antagonists, Bird Woman, who is the God of Birds. The character is described as being part of the pantheon of gods who make up the mystical World Before Time. The is “a place that isn’t a place. Where the animals who are gods still walk. A place of incredible beauty, magic, and danger.”
Whoopi Goldberg issued a statement about her “Anansi Boy” role. “I have been a fan of this book for a very long time. And when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it. To help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic.”
Gaiman also said that when he first wrote “Anansi Boys” decades ago, he imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman. “I wasn’t able to meet her until 2018 when she interviewed me with some of the ‘Good Omens’ team at New York Comic Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s read of ‘Anansi Boys.’ And that it was one of her favorite books.”
Gaiman went on to add that sometimes things feel planned and inevitable. “And we are incredibly lucky. She’s going to be scary.”
