‘Tamron Hall’ forced to scrap live show after studio fire, ‘The View’ hosts also evacuated

“Tamron Hall” was unable to air a new episode April 10, 2024, due to a fire that broke out in the show’s New York studio.

Instead, the show was forced repeat its solar eclipse-themed show from Monday, April 8, 2024.

Host Tamron Hall made a live, on-camera appearance before the tape rolled in front of a black video wall explaining about the fire, which triggered an evacuation of the network’s Upper West Side complex where “ABC World News Tonight” and “The View” also are produced.

“Hi everybody, welcome to the show,” Hall said on air. “I know this looks a little different around here. I am in fact live in front of a black screen because we have had something happen that’s never happened in the five seasons of the the show. We are not able to air the show scheduled for today.”

The New York Fire Department was called to the scene of the fire, which was a grease fire that started in the on-set kitchen about 90 minutes before the show was scheduled to go live.

Hall indicated the show was now working on cleanup and would return Thursday, April 11, 2024, with new episodes.

Later that day, Hall’s next-door neighbors at “The View” entered the studio at the start of their live show to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. 

“We don’t know who started it. We don’t know what started it,” said moderator Whoopi Goldberg at the top of the show.

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She later clarified that “Tamron did not start the fire.”

Photos of “The View” team out on the sidewalk were also shown. “World News Tonight” production later the day was not affected.

All audience members, talent, crew and other staffers were evacuated without any injuries reported.

This would be the second significant fire at the ABC and ABC News production facility on West 66th Street, which also serves as world headquarters for the network’s news division. 

Back in 2007, the studio that “Live with Regis and Kelly” and WABC’s “Eyewitness News” shared at the time was heavily damaged by a fire. The fire heavily damaged the station’s main news set. 

Newscasts were produced from alternate locations and “Live” used the studio for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” which was located down the street at the time, while repairs were made.

ABC and Disney are preparing to move from 66th Street to a new, purpose-built building in Hudson Square. Many operations, including “Live with Kelly and Mark,” “The View” and “Tamron Hall” are expected to move to the new building over the summer of 2024. ABC News is not expected to move until 2025.

Disney actually sold the complex where “Tamron Hall” and “The View” are produced in 2018, but leased it back from the new owners until the new building could be completed.