Joy Behar Takes Brief Leave From The View for Europe Play

Longtime co-host Joy Behar will temporarily step away from the ABC daytime talk show "The View" for a multi-week trip to Europe, where she will perform in her stage play. Behar, 83, announced the planned hiatus during the show's "Behind the Table" podcast on Tuesday in a conversation with executive producer Brian Teta.

Behar explained she will fly to Paris this week before traveling to London, where she will spend a second week performing in "My First Ex-Husband" at the Boulevard Theatre in London's West End. The play features Behar and actress Jackie Hoffman as two American women alongside two British actresses. Behar's final scheduled appearance on the main weekday broadcast will be this Thursday.

The show has arranged for several guest co-hosts to fill the panel seat during her absence. Producer Brian Teta announced that comedian and former "The Talk" co-host Sheryl Underwood will fill in for two days. Journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher will also join the panel, as will regular contributor Ana Navarro, who typically appears only on Mondays and Fridays. In a scheduling shift, moderator Whoopi Goldberg will appear on Friday episodes, a day she usually has off.