September 8, 2026, marks exactly 40 years since The Oprah Winfrey Show launched into national syndication from WLS-TV in Chicago. The milestone arrives weeks after Oprah Winfrey returned to the city for a Harpo Productions reunion at Navy Pier, and months after Amazon secured a multiyear licensing deal for the show’s full 25-season archive, extending the program’s reach into a new era of streaming distribution.
Key Takeaways
- The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered in national syndication on September 8, 1986, from WLS-TV in Chicago, running for 25 seasons and 4,561 episodes through May 25, 2011.
- Oprah Winfrey returned to Chicago in August 2026 for a 15-year Harpo Productions reunion at Navy Pier, making a rare public appearance alongside longtime partner Stedman Graham in the couple’s first joint outing in nearly seven years.
- Amazon and Harpo Entertainment announced a multiyear deal on April 27, 2026, giving Amazon’s Wondery network exclusive distribution and advertising rights to The Oprah Podcast, the full Oprah Winfrey Show library, and the Oprah’s Book Club and Oprah’s Favorite Things franchises.
- The show remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history, averaging 12 to 13 million daily viewers at its peak.
- Variety ranked The Oprah Winfrey Show 17th on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time in 2023.
A Chicago Talk Show That Reshaped National Television
The Oprah Winfrey Show’s roots in Chicago run deeper than the 1986 national launch. Winfrey arrived in the city in 1983 after Dennis Swanson, the new general manager of WLS-TV, recruited her from WJZ-TV in Baltimore to host A.M. Chicago, a half-hour morning talk show that was last in local ratings and losing to Phil Donahue’s syndicated program. Swanson had seen a tape of Winfrey and recognized something the ratings at the time did not reflect. Winfrey took over as host on January 2, 1984, and within a month, A.M. Chicago moved from last place to first in the Chicago market.
By 1985, the program had been renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and expanded to a full hour. That same year, Winfrey earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her role as Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, raising her national profile. King World Productions approached Winfrey about taking the show into syndication. With encouragement from film critic Roger Ebert, Winfrey accepted. On September 8, 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show launched nationally, and WLS-TV’s bet on a 29-year-old anchor from Baltimore became one of the most consequential programming decisions in American television history.
The show quickly surpassed Phil Donahue’s audience, doubling his ratings and establishing itself as the dominant force in daytime television. Over 25 seasons, the program taped 4,561 episodes at Harpo Studios on Washington Boulevard on Chicago’s Near West Side. At its peak, The Oprah Winfrey Show averaged 12 to 13 million viewers daily. In 1993, a prime-time interview with Michael Jackson drew 62 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched broadcasts in American history at the time. The final episode aired on May 25, 2011.
Winfrey’s Return to Chicago Brought Former Harpo Colleagues Together at Navy Pier
Ahead of the 40th anniversary, Winfrey returned to Chicago in August for a reunion with former Harpo Productions colleagues at Navy Pier. The event, organized as a 15-year reunion marking the time since the show’s final episode, drew former producers, crew members, and staff who had worked across the show’s quarter-century run. Former producer Jill Van Lokeren documented the evening on LinkedIn and posted images from the gathering.
The reunion carried a second layer of significance. Winfrey appeared alongside longtime partner Stedman Graham, marking the couple’s first joint public outing in nearly seven years. Winfrey and Graham first met at a charity event in 1986, the same year the show launched nationally, and have been together for four decades. The couple, who got engaged in 1992 and later called off the engagement, have kept their relationship private for most of that span and were last seen together publicly in 2019.
Chef Art Smith, who served as Winfrey’s personal chef for years before opening restaurants in Chicago and elsewhere, hosted the dinner at his Navy Pier restaurant, Reunion. Winfrey addressed the gathering in a speech captured on the restaurant’s Instagram account. “I cannot even believe that as of next month, September 8, it will be 40 years since we first launched The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Winfrey told the room. “Thank you for being the greatest team ever.”
Amazon Deal Extends the Show’s Archive into the Streaming Era
The anniversary also coincides with a new chapter in the distribution of Winfrey’s content library. On April 27, 2026, Amazon and Harpo Entertainment announced a multiyear deal placing Winfrey’s media properties under Amazon’s Wondery podcast network. The agreement gives Wondery exclusive distribution and advertising rights to The Oprah Podcast on audio and video platforms, including Prime Video, Amazon Music, Fire TV Channels, and Audible. The podcast, launched in December 2024, expanded to two new episodes per week starting in July 2026 under the new arrangement.
The deal also includes licensing rights to the complete 25-season library of The Oprah Winfrey Show, along with Winfrey’s Oprah’s Book Club and Oprah’s Favorite Things franchises. Amazon has not yet detailed how the show’s archive will be presented on its platforms, though the company has indicated it is exploring new formats for the library. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The arrangement positions Winfrey alongside other high-profile creators in Amazon’s expanding podcast ecosystem, including Jason and Travis Kelce, Dax Shepard, and Keke Palmer.
The Show’s Legacy Remains Tied to Chicago
The Oprah Winfrey Show was produced entirely in Chicago throughout its run. The first three seasons were produced at WLS-TV’s studios before Winfrey moved production to Harpo Studios, a facility she built on the Near West Side that became one of the city’s most recognizable media landmarks. Harpo Studios was sold in 2015 and later demolished to make way for redevelopment, but the show’s connection to Chicago remains embedded in the city’s cultural identity.
Former WLS-TV general manager Dennis Swanson, reflecting on the show’s 40th anniversary for ABC7 Chicago, recalled the moment he first saw Winfrey’s audition tape and his decision to hire her despite the polarized racial climate in Chicago at the time. Winfrey herself has acknowledged the risk Swanson took. “He took a chance on me at a time when everybody told me, don’t even go to Chicago, because Chicago is one of the most racist cities,” Winfrey has said. Swanson’s reply, as he has recounted it, was characteristically direct: “Don’t change a thing.”
FAQs
When Did The Oprah Winfrey Show First Air Nationally?
The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered in national syndication on September 8, 1986, from WLS-TV in Chicago. Winfrey had hosted the local predecessor program, A.M. Chicago, since January 1984.
How Many Episodes Did The Oprah Winfrey Show Produce?
The show produced 4,561 episodes across 25 seasons, airing from September 8, 1986, through May 25, 2011. All episodes were taped in Chicago, first at WLS-TV studios and later at Harpo Studios on the Near West Side.
Where Can Viewers Watch Old Episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show?
Amazon secured licensing rights to the full 25-season archive as part of a multiyear deal announced in April 2026. The company has not yet announced a specific format or release date for the library on its streaming platforms.
