The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to as The Oprah Show or simply Oprah, is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains one of the highest-rated daytime talk shows in American television history.The show was highly influential to many young stars, and many of its themes have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events.Oprah had its roots in A.M. Chicago, a half-hour morning talk show airing on WLS-TV, an ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago. Winfrey took over as host on January 2, 1984, and, within a month, took it from last place to first place in local Chicago ratings.Following Winfrey's success in—and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for-her performance as Sofia in the film The Color Purple, on September 8, 1986, the talk show was relaunched under its current title and picked up nationally.Oprah was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time.