Oprah wants to give Dr. Oz his own talk show

By Kimberly Nordyke

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oprah Winfrey has her heart set on a talk show for Dr. Oz. A spokesman for Winfrey's production company, Harpo Prods., declined to confirm a report that Winfrey is developing a talk show featuring the heart surgeon for fall 2009.

But sources said Winfrey has had her sights set on a daytime talker hosted by Mehmet Oz for a while. In fact, the talk show mogul had originally been eyeing a fall 2008 launch but decided she wanted more time to let audiences get more acquainted with him, sources said.

Winfrey has been featuring Oz frequently on her show, a strategy similar to the one she employed with Phil McGraw and Rachael Ray ahead of their talk show launches. Oz, vice chair of surgery and professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University, even hosted an episode practically by himself recently.

Oz also has hosted such Discovery Health programs as "Second Opinion With Dr. Oz," and Discovery Communications featured him in its video reel Tuesday at its "upfront" presentation to advertisers in Los Angeles.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter