Jenny McCarthy just landed a coveted seat, replacing the existing Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and now joining Barbara Walters as the next co-host of “The View!”The former PLAYBOY playmate was named to join the cackling panel of the ABC talk show.

Barbara Walters created “The View” in 1997 and has since served as a co-host, made the widely expected announcement on the air.

It has been a good week for the 40-year-old McCarthy, who just announced that she is dating, NKOTB, Donnie Wahlberg!

“Yes, they recently started dating and are having a lot of fun,” another pal tells Us. “They had a blast 4th of July hanging out with a bunch of their friends.” A rep for Wahlberg had no comment.

Other co-hosts of “The View” include Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg.