The View's 25th Season Premiere Elicits Strong Reactions From Viewers

"The View" kicked off Season 25 with a live in studio audience on September 7, and fans were quick to notice Meghan McCain's absence. (McCain announced her departure from the talk show in July, explaining she wanted to spend more time with her family.)

As hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin went around the table and chatted about their summer vacations, Twitter lit up with the new vibe amongst the women. One fan wrote, "Thank goodness Meghan is gone I can watch the View again without my nerves being shot at the end." Another added, "Welcome back without toxic Meghan!" One penned, "A relief not having to listen to Meghan whine, argue, yell and interrupt." One user observed Twitter's discussion of "The View" sans McCain and wrote, "I have never seen so many peeps so happy that Meghan McCain is off the view."

Even though McCain's absence gave fans something to talk about, how did "The View" celebrate 25 years on television? Keep reading for more details.

Whoopi Goldberg opened the 25th season of "The View" on September 7 and it was definitely a milestone worth celebrating!

"Today is historic for a couple reasons," she said. "It's the first time in almost two years that we're actually back in the studio with a live audience. It's also the premiere episode of 'The View's' 25th season." She then rattled off a few facts from the past 24 seasons, including that this episode was their 5,374th show and the first episode premiered on August 11, 1997. There have been 22 co-hosts, 10 different tables and four hosts had babies while on the series. Talk about digging through the archives!

Despite all of the milestones Goldberg mentioned, all of the women seemed to agree that the six interviews with "sitting or future presidents" is the most impressive. "Not everyone lasts 25 seasons," she added. "It's kind of amazing. There's always more to come." We can't wait to see what the show has in store this season!