A rare look behind the scenes of 'The View'

NEW YORK CITY -- For years, the ladies of The View have put personal conversations on national TV, but now, we're getting a look at what happens behind the scenes before the hosts take the stage.

The audience showed the co-hosts a lot of love on Valentine's Day, but the real story is about the talented people who quite literally whisper in their ears.

Just a minute before show time, and executive producer Candi Carter was firing up her troops.

"This control room is like the central nervous system of the show," she said.

After more than two decades of hellos and a few memorable goodbyes, The View has become familiar to millions. But the job of keeping it fresh belongs to just a few people.

There's the co-hosts, of course, but there are also key players you never even see.

"A host may have a hair in her eye or maybe there's a wardrobe malfunction," Carter said. "I'm in their ear. 'Hey, fix that. Pull your hair back.' A lot of the times, there's breaking news. We're telling them in their ear, the president just said this, or this just happened."

The show is enjoying its highest ratings in two years after what Whoopi Goldberg called a "revolving door" of co-hosts.

"I think it put us in a very odd position," she said. "So once the table got settled and, you know, we're in a very interesting political cycle. I think it has gelled."

A new boss also helped bring welcome stability.

"People are talking about the show again," senior executive producer Hilary Estey McLoughlin said. "Some people like the show, and some people don't like the show. But they're watching the show."

McLoughlin spoke from the room where the staff debates the "hot topics" with the co-hosts before each show.

"We actually pick the topics based on their conviction and passion for the topic," she said. "We don't hand them the topics. We don't tell them what to talk about. We don't tell them what to say."

Discussions continue in the dressing rooms and during the show.

"A lot of times, what we're planning upstairs has nothing to do with where we end up," co-executive producer Brian Teta said. "But that's OK. That's actually part of what makes The View great."

Teta has worked with David Letterman, McLoughlin with Rosie and Ellen, and Carter spent 15 years with Oprah Winfrey. And together, they're bringing you a whole new View.