The View may be missing one of its key co-hosts, but the show brought in an “OG,” as Whoopi Goldberg put it, to make up for Joy Behar‘s absence at the Hot Topics table.

Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin were all seated at the Hot Topics table this morning, where they were joined by Star Jones, who got to experience the show’s new studio for the first time.

She joined the table Wednesday, the third day this week without Behar, who missed her usual Monday (Feb. 3) show but was noticeably absent from both Tuesday (Feb. 4) and Wednesday’s broadcasts.

Yesterday, the ladies carried out their Hot Topics chats as a party of four, but also welcomed guest Bill Gates in the studio. The Microsoft founder struck a dire tone when he warned of the next impending pandemic while reflecting on COVID-19.

“The pandemic, sadly, was fairly predictable,” he said. “And it won’t be the last pandemic. The next one could be far more severe.”

He also told the ladies that the U.S. should “be more prepared” than we were in the early days of Covid.

“I’d still say that’s [the] number one [issue]. You can worry about nuclear war, you can worry about AI. There’s plenty to worry about,” he said. “It’s up to the government to think ahead on behalf of the citizens. So, a pandemic, there’s a lot that we should be doing.”

While we regretfully didn’t get to see Behar ask her own questions of Gates yesterday, we’ve got out fingers crossed she’ll be back on the show in no time. Here’s what we know about why she’s missing and when she’ll return.

Where is Joy Behar?

Behar is missing from today’s episode of The View for the third day now. While she missed the Monday show as usual, she was absent from both Tuesday’s show and Wednesday’s show. At the top of this morning’s episode, Goldberg explained why a different guest was seated at the Hot Topics table: Jones, a former View co-host who appeared on the show between 1997 and 2006.

“Do not try and adjust your television set! Joy is not here today, but joining us at the—” she said, then stopped to acknowledge the disappointed reaction of the studio audience, saying, “I know, I know,” before gesturing to Jones and telling them, “But look! One of the OGs, the fabulous Star Jones.”

Goldberg told Jones, “Welcome back,” as Jones exclaimed, “It’s nice to be back! This is the new stuff up in here,” referring to The View‘s new studio, which they moved into at the start of Season 27 this past fall.

“Studio looks a little different, table looks a little different, but the camaraderie is the same,” Jones said, which earned a hearty round of applause.

Photo: ABC

When will Joy Behar be back on The View?

Behar will hopefully be back on the show later this week. On yesterday’s show, Goldberg told the audience, “All kinds of stuff is going on today. Joy is not here. She’ll be back tomorrow, we think.” Unfortunately for View fans, we have to wait a bit longer to see the fiery co-host.

How to watch The View:

To watch The View, you’ll need to do so through ABC, the show’s home network. The View airs on ABC every weekday at 11/10c. You can also stream The View through the ABC website with a valid cable login or on platforms including Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV.