Mornings are going to look a little different at Good Morning America. Next Monday, the chat talk show is leaving Times Square Studios after more than 20 years for a new location, according to Parade.
To celebrate the show’s last week at the iconic television studio, Good Morning America stars reflected on their first days and memorable moments over the years.
Serena Williams was the show’s first guest at Times Square Studios
In September 1999, Good Morning America broadcast from Times Square Studios for the first time, ABC News reported. Fresh off of her first U.S. Open win and Grand Slam title, Serena Williams was the morning show’s first guest. On Monday’s show, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts remembered Williams’ interview and who the tennis icon brought along with her.
“Serena Williams — she just wins the U.S. Open. Our studio is brand-spanking new, and she comes in, and she talks with us,” she said in a video posted to the show’s Instagram. “She had a little dog. I think her dog’s name was Jackie. Jackie’s all up in my face. But I just remember … the energy and just looking around, going, ‘This is our home?’ All these years later, it still feels that way.”
‘Good Morning America’ co-anchors remember their first days
Monday’s nostalgic show had many Good Morning America anchors remembering what it was like stepping into Times Square Studios for the first time. Co-anchor Michael Strahan, who joined the show as a substitute anchor and correspondent in 2012 before joining full time in 2016, recalled finding the environment “overwhelming” in the beginning.
“The bright lights, the personality, the energy, how intimidated I was when I walked through the door. A lot of thoughts were going through my mind,” Strahan said in an Instagram video posted by the show.
Co-anchor George Stephanopoulos remembered a gift he received on his first morning on the show in December 2009, Good Morning America reported.
“One of my first interviews was with [former senior adviser] David Axelrod, who was working in the White House at the time with President Obama. They sent me a big alarm clock for my first day,” he said in a video posted to GMA’s Instagram.
And chief meteorologist Ginger Zee, who joined GMA Weekend in 2011 and transitioned to the weekday show in 2013, said her first day was otherworldly.
“My first time in Times Square, coming to this studio, was magical,” Zee said in a video posted to the show’s Instagram. “I mean, truly. I pulled up at the stoplight on 44th, I just remember looking up and thinking, ‘This cannot be my life.'”
Where will the show be broadcast from now?
The show will broadcast from downtown New York City in Hudson Square, per Parade. The Hudson Square building is home to The Walt Disney Company’s new headquarters for its NYC business.
Good Morning America follows The View to Hudson Square, as they moved to the headquarters last summer.
