The final episode of "Oprah" airs on Wednesday after 25 years of tips on positive thinking, interviews with a parade of celebrity guests and Oprah's own self-effacing tell-alls of her struggles with body image and weight loss.
Guests on her show — in tear-stained confessionals on her couch — were transformed into champions of a cause. When Oprah, with her gilded touch, proclaimed enthusiasm for a product on the show, it turned into one of the public's "favorite things."
"We have eight phone lines and they were ringing off the hook for days upon days, night and day," said Joe Calderone, a spokesperson for Serendipity, after the New York dessert specialty restaurant got its first nod from Oprah in 2003 for its frozen hot chocolate. "When you get a plug by somebody who has so much influence and with so many people who truly live by what she says is good, it's overwhelming."
The content of Oprah's last original show on Wednesday has been kept under wraps, though it's rumored to have a star-studded lineup of guests building on this week's appearances from Tom Hanks and Dakota Fanning. All over the city, bars and restaurants are hosting viewing parties with drink specials that pay homage to the end of one of America's most beloved talk show hosts. Here are some places to watch — and drink an Oprah-tini — around 4 P.M.:
Oprah: The Final Show at the Paley Center for Media Ron Simon, curator at the Paley Center believes that Oprah may be the last broadcaster to truly change the conversation. "She brought together a very diverse audience of races, classes, and generations under her very big tent of talk and empowerment. This sweeping multicultural variety of viewers seems almost impossible these days in our digital media environment," he wrote in an homage to her called "Oprah: The Last Broadcaster." Fans interested in a quiet and laid-back time can watch the finale at the Paley Center starting at 4 P.M. In Midtown Manhattan.
Watch Oprah's final show at Vynl Guests at this kitschy, '50's-themed restaurant can sip $7 Moscow Mules — one of Oprah's favorite drinks — while saluting their daytime heroine. A large projection screen will guarantee that Oprah fans can get a good seat, while happy hour prices will assuage the sad news of the last hour of "Oprah." TVs go on at 3 P.M., in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.
Watch the Final episode of the much loved Oprah Winfrey show! at Therapy Oprah fans can say farewell al fresco (assuming the weather holds) on Wednesday at the Bed-Stuy Therapy Wine Bar. A drink they will call the "Oprah-tini" — a blood orange martini — will be served for $10 as viewers gather to watch a large projection screen in the bar's backyard. "Raise a glass and shed a tear for Ms. Winfrey," reads the event invitation on Facebook. Therapy indeed! In Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
Oprah Winfrey's Final Show at Splash This Chelsea club scene staple is setting aside the go-go dancers and untz-untz music for the afternoon to celebrate the end of "Oprah." With the help of a giant screen — and likely some laudatory drinks — revelers can toast Oprah while pre-gaming for a night of clubbing. "Witness this historic hour" with Splash at 4 P.M. sharp. In Chelsea, Manhattan.
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