Kelly Ripa Co-Host Search Continues, Frontrunners Could Wait ‘As Late As May’ To Ink Deal
The Kelly Ripa co-host search is still on and sources say that it could still take execs months to announce their choice. The decision about who will occupy the seat next to Kelly Ripa could be made “as late as May,” a source tells E! News. This means that Kelly could host Live! with guest co-hosts for a year before finding “the one.”
Over the past six months, more than 51 people have joined Ripa on Live! So far, only a few have had really great chemistry with the talk show host. Despite the endless rumors about Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper being the frontrunners, producers have remained rather tight-lipped about who will get a contract for the co-hosting gig next to Ripa.
Kelly Ripa’s former co-host Michael Strahan left their morning talk show earlier this year and took a job on Good Morning America, according to Entertainment Tonight. The move surprised Ripa, who was reportedly blindsided by Strahan’s decision to leave Live! Since that time, the co-host seat next to Ripa has been somewhat of a revolving door, seeing various guest co-hosts — from Jimmy Kimmel to Megyn Kelly — each morning.
As viewers of the show continue to tweet their favorite co-host candidates, here is one such vote for Christian Slater to be a replacement co-host to take the chair next to Ripa.
@KellyRipa for #Live ~ LUV @ChristianSlater???? as Perm #CoHost! There’s an EASE between you that isn’t FRANTIC like w/ #JerryOConnell????! — Bonnie Cozzetto (@COZZEB) November 12, 2016
Actor Neil Patrick Harris has mentioned to E! News the wonderful perks of working for a daily morning show such as his co-hosting experience seated next to Ripa as a candidate on Live!
“The fun thing about Kelly is that you get to show up at 8:30, be on TV at 9, shoot the breeze, meet some fun people and then you’re out by 10:07. So it’s a nice gig, but I wouldn’t want to do it all year long.”
Another Kelly Ripa guest co-host, actor Jerry O’Connell, has publicly mentioned his pick for Kelly Ripa’s morning show, according to People Magazine. Despite being considered a frontrunner himself, O’Connell said that he would vote for Andy Cohen to take the co-host seat on a permanent basis.
“My vote is with Andy Cohen. I saw him on there and I thought he was really good. His parents came, he told funny stories, he’s an author. I don’t know how you top Andy Cohen. I got a lot of competition.”
No timeline exists on the matter of signing a replacement for former co-host Strahan according to a show representative quoted. While many people thought that an announcement would have been made by now (or even in the weeks following Strahan’s departure), the decision this time around seems far more serious.
“We’re happy with how things are going so far with the co-host search. There is no timeline for the selection of the new co-host,” a rep for the show told Fox 411.
Clearly the executives over at Live! want to get it right. And in the meantime, Kelly Ripa seems to be doing fine as the holidays approach. From Ripa’s Instagram account, she simply has been marking the passage of time and hanging out with family during the official search for a new and compatible morning show co-host. This past weekend, Kelly posted a photo of husband Mark Consuelos and their two sons Michael and Joaquin.
Who do you think Kelly Ripa’s new co-host should be? Who has been your favorite guest co-host so far?
[Featured Image by Peter Kramer/AP Images]
