‘View’ co-hosts Shepherd & McCarthy explain exits

In the first new episode of “The View,” the morning chatfest’s Sherri Shepherd and fellow Chicagoan Jenny McCarthy got to give their spin Monday on their pending departures from the show.

Shepherd claimed she and the program’s producers had mutually agreed on her leaving “months ago,” in order to allow the comedian and actress to pursue a new direction in her life.

As for McCarthy, the South Side native coyly hinted she would soon be able to reveal her own new TV home — which sounded very much like another talk show format, where she could be “more like myself.”

Stay tuned.

†Speaking of “The View,” while Sarah Palin has just been renewed for a second season on her “Amazing America” show on the Sportsman Channel, the former GOP vice presidential candidate has noted she could be a potential choice — to bring a new conservative voice to “The View,” now that a couple of vacancies have opened up.