With Michael Strahan on his way out of Live! in just a couple weeks, attention has now turned from the current co-host to Kelly Ripa’s next co-host.
After Strahan initially made the announcement that he’ll be leaving the program to become a full-time anchor on Good Morning America, Ripa took a few days to deal with the shock and anger over the way in which this decision was handled.
She then returned on Tuesday, explained herself a bit and acted like everything was all good with Strahan.
A few hours later, Strahan’s departure was moved up from September to May 13.
But forget the former New York Giants star for now (something Ripa clearly would like to do).
Who will fill Strahan’s seat on Live until a permanent replacement is found?
“The network does have a long roster of people who will step in to guest host,” a source tells People Magazine, adding:
“They’ll do the same thing they did when they found Michael … they’ll rotate a bunch of people in.
Okay, but can you give us a few ideas of who those famous people will be?
“Expect to see people like Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Josh Groban and Seth Meyers. They all came on a lot last time and she loved them,” the source teases.
“[Ripa] is really close with Anderson and Andy and she loves them. But she’s open to trying a bunch of different people. It was clear she really liked the process last time.”
A recent report claimed Ripa might actually quit if the co-hosting gig were not given to Cooper and Cohen.
But she’s making a ton of money (at least $ 15 million per year) and she must know that Cooper is busy with the election on CNN and Cohen is contracted to Bravo.
We don’t see her just up and walking away.
This mole can’t predict how long it will take to officially replace Strahan, either. But the show will not be in any kind of rush to do so.
“Who knows how long it will take though,” says the insider. “They’re prepared to keep cycling people through even if its not resolved by the fall.”
Who do you want to see sitting alongside Ripa in the future?
Consider the following options and weigh in below:
