Tuesday morning, the “Good Morning America” crew said goodbye to 2019 and hello to “20/20″… or, rather, 2020. ABC talent across the news and entertainment divisions joined the “GMA” hosts to greet a new decade by looking back on the history of a franchise that spans a few decades itself, focusing on Barbara Walters’ iconic “this is 20/20” line.
The “GMA” team premiered the sendup in the 8:00 a.m. ET hour, asking, “Barbara… what year is it?”
From there, years’ worth of footage of Walters delivering her signature line rolled, followed by some of ABC’s stars giving the phrase a spin on their own. Sofia Vergara of “Modern Family,” Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest said, “This is ’20/20.’”
So did “Bachelor” contestants and Stephen A. Smith. Even Whoopi Goldberg gave it a try, asking, “Do I get the job?”
The spoof comes at a good time for the flagship news program, which is in its 42nd season. Notably, “20/20” improved over 2018’s ratings in 2019: Total viewers went up 8%, from 4 million to 4.3 million, according to Nielsen data. The ABC program beat NBC’s “Dateline” in total viewers for the first time in three years.
Watch here to see ABC’s stars usher in the new year with a tribute to Walters.