Oprah better watch her back. A new daytime talk show with a national reach has arrived in Chicago and has the potential to give the queen a run for her crown. “In The Loop with iVillage” relocated to Chicago from Orlando in September 2007 and has settled in at NBC. In addition to covering a broad range of topics, from kitchen to coochie, over the course of the hour-long live gab fest, “In The Loop with iVillage” has also gained a reputation for treating its studio audiences like royalty, often loading them down with goods to go.

Of course, a show such as this would be nothing without hot hosts, and “In The Loop with iVillage” can claim that as well. “The Apprentice” hunk Bill Rancic heats up the set, while fellow “Apprentice” Ereka Vetrini supplies the perky factor. But there’s no question that its driving force is Kim Coles, whose combination of humor and humanity, is the great big beating heart of the show. After trading tips on New Balance shoes (we both love our 992s), we got down to business in between bites of lunch.

Gay & Lesbian Times: How is Chicago treating you so far?

Kim Coles: I love Chicago. Chicago is treating me great!

GLT: Had you been here before?

KC: I’ve been here before, but never longer than two or three days at a time – and certainly never to live. The people are so warm and friendly and genuine. I’m not saying that L.A. people aren’t friendly or genuine, but usually they want something from you if they are being warm, genuine or friendly. But Chicago’s spirit, the Midwestern spirit, is amazing. You saw it in the hallway [of the station where a woman waved and shouted “Hey!”] I think that some of it has to do with me being Kim Coles, but I think none of it has to do with me being Kim Coles. I there’s just a genuine concern and care for people. People have been very helpful. If I say I need something – “Oh, I can introduce you to the guy who can get you the such and such from so and so.” There are a lot of connections that happen.

GLT: You are co-hosting “In The Loop with iVillage” with Bill Rancic and Ereka Vetrini. What has that experience been like for you?

KC: It’s been a wonderful experience. For me, it’s been a culmination of all the things that I’ve ever learned. So it’s team spirit that I learned in the theater and when you’re doing a sitcom. It’s live interaction with an audience that I learned when I was a stand-up comedienne. It’s life-experience that I’ve learned just from living on the earth. All those disciplines and wisdoms come together and I bring that with me to the show each day.

GLT: The show has some fascinating segments, including one on cooking. Do you like to cook?

KC: No. I’m learning a lot. I take some of the recipes home. And when I get up the nerve, I get them done. I’m loving it because part of loving cooking is being around it all the time and knowing what to do. I’m learning what to do in a new and wonderful way. There was a simple whitefish with a spinach sauté that I made, and it was just divine. I went and bought the kind of oil that the guy used, and I followed the recipe to the letter and it came out fantastic.

GLT: There is also a [women’s health] segment titled “What’s Up Down There?”

KC: (laughs)

GLT: Has that also been a learning experience for you?

KC: It is a learning experience. I’m one of those people who are very doctor friendly. I have lots of doctors and experts for different things. If I break a nail, I go to the doctor. I love health information, and I love that we’re giving the information away in a way that’s sort of informative, but we have a sense of humor about things. We keep it light, so that there’s nothing too heavy. And even if the information is serious, we’re delivering it in a way that is with love and concern and to give you another take on things that is not just out of a medical book.

GLT: Do you think that doing a talk show in Chicago, home of Oprah Winfrey, works in your favor or works against you?

KC: I feel that it works in my favor. Listen, nobody does it better than Oprah, so it’s wonderful to be in her backyard and to be swept up in this. She’s had success and she’s good luck. Also, because there hasn’t been a talk show launched from here in a long time … . You’ve got Steve Wilkos and Jerry Springer, but they’re a different kind of show. You haven’t seen a lifestyle-type show launched in a while, and in particular from Chicago, so it feels like people here are open to it and warm to it.

GLT: They’re also old pros at this because they’re used to going to talk shows since the days of Phil Donahue.

KC: Right. We have a lady who comes to the audience every day – not to diss Oprah in any way – but she says that she enjoys coming here because we have giveaways almost every day. On the “Oprah” show you have to wait for “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” and we have “favorite things” almost every day. They might be smaller; we’re not giving away cars or redoing people’s houses yet, but we are giving away DVDs and toys for the kids. So you can come here and have some fun. So it feels good to be in her backyard.

GLT: Would you say that co-hosting on “The View” and hosting the “Real Gay” show on Logo, which featured interviews with the GLBT cast members of reality shows, prepared you to co-host “In The Loop with iVillage”?

KC: Yeah. I actually had a talk show deal for a while that we did some test shows for but they never went anywhere. I thought that I would lead into this area before but when that got stomped on, I thought, “Oh, never again,” and the Logo channel called me and it was great. I got an opportunity to interview all of these great people and I was sort of the center of it and I was making them look good.

GLT: You looked like you were having a good time.

KC: I was having a great time and learning a lot. So, I thought, I can do this. I’ve had several opportunities in my career where I could dabble in it. I also co-hosted a show with Tom Bergeron back in the day called “Fox After Breakfast.” It was a show very much like this, done in New York, in a loft space in the ‘90s. So I’ve had a chance to dabble in it enough to know that I would like this.

GLT: Speaking of “Real Gay,” would you say doing that show earned you extra points in the GLBT community?

KC: (laughs) I think that I’m gay friendly. I know I am. I live in the middle of West Hollywood, I live in the middle of Boystown. I have lots of gay husbands (laughs). I hope that that brought me in even more. I participate in charities for the GLBT community.

GLT: Have you always been aware of a gay following?

KC: Maybe because I live in the neighborhood, I’m aware that the following is there. I also know that that community usually embraces women that are funny and diva-esque, especially if you are a woman of color. I’ve always known that I’ve been embraced and hope to continue to be.

GLT: Are there any plans to have any of your former “Living Single” co-stars, such as Queen Latifah or Kim Fields, make a guest appearance on “In The Loop with iVillage”?

KC: I hope so! Once they have a project, once they’re on their way through Chicago, I’m sure they’ll all come through. In fact, T.C. Carson, one of my cast-mates is from Chicago. I’m certain that he’ll come through one day and sing or something. So they all have an open invitation.