TV Whoopi Goldberg on break from The View 'for awhile' to film Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys View co-host Joy Behar announced the news on Tuesday's show. By Andrea Towers Andrea Towers Andrea Towers is a former assistant editor at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2016. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on April 12, 2022 04:54PM EDT Looking for Whoopi Goldberg on The View? You'll have to wait a few weeks, but don't worry — it's for a good reason. During Tuesday morning's show, co-host Joy Behar opened the discussion by addressing the fact that five women were sitting at the table — and Goldberg wasn't one of them. "If you're wondering where Whoopi is, the girl's got a movie she's making! And she will be back whenever she finishes whatever she's doing," Behar explained. "So she's gone for awhile." EW has confirmed that the EGOT winner will be taking a break to film Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, Amazon Prime's adaptation of Gaiman's popular 2005 book, after officially joining the cast last week. On Tuesday, The View shared an Instagram post confirming that Goldberg was filming for the rest of the month in Scotland and would return to the show on May 2. Although Behar called her co-host's new project a movie, it's actually a six-episode TV series. Goldberg has been a longtime fan of Gaiman's, even putting his book on her 2021 summer reading list for The View. In the series, she'll play Bird Woman, a.k.a. the God of Birds who is seeking revenge on the show's titular character, African trickster God of Stories Anansi (The Harder They Fall's Delroy Lindo.) Malachi Kirby (Small Axe, Devils), Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Cecilia Noble, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and Don Gilet also star in the series. Whoopi Goldberg. Heidi Gutman/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images "I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic," Goldberg said in a statement after her cast announcement. On Monday's show, CNN conservative political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin filled in as go-guest host. The View has not officially announced if there will be any kind of temporary co-host during her absence. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Neil Gaiman fan Whoopi Goldberg joins Anansi Boys TV series in key role as God of Birds Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys to become Amazon series separate from canceled American Gods Mr. Nancy officially recast for Anansi Boys series with The Good Fight's Delroy Lindo