“Live With Kelly” fans have been waiting for almost a year to find out who Kelly Ripa's co-host would be after the controversial departure of Michael Strahan and now an answer is finally coming. There have been quite a few contenders over the past months as the show brought on numerous guest co-hosts, and the reported pick may come as something of a surprise.
Rumors about Ripa's co-host have swirled for months
Of course, many fans figured that Kelly Ripa's co-host would end up being someone like Anderson Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, or Andy Cohen if she could hand-pick anybody.
Unfortunately, those three favorites all have other gigs that seemingly preclude them from taking on the “Live With Kelly” gig.
Other supposed contenders included Fred Savage and Jerry O'Connell, and Josh Groban was said to be in the running as well. Interestingly, none of those guys have ended up with the job. According to TVLine, Ryan Seacrest will be Kelly Ripa's co-host. Seacrest is known to many television viewers as the prior host of “American Idol,” and he's racked up a number of other entertainment gigs as well.
Seacrest has co-hosted with Ripa several times
CNN reports the news of Seacrest being Ripa's co-host now as well, and the official news will come Monday morning during the “Live With Kelly” broadcast.
Ryan has co-hosted with Kelly a handful of times over the past year, but viewers would not necessarily have guessed that he would land the full-time gig.
Reports indicate that Seacrest will move to New York full-time when he begins the job. He currently has a place in Manhattan, but he has called Los Angeles his home until now.
He will continue his numerous red carpet specials with the E! Network, and he will also keep going with his iHeartMedia radio shows.
Fans had wondered if a decision would ever be made
Ryan has had a reputation for years for being one of the busiest guys in the entertainment business, and that will be an even more accurate description as he takes on “Live With Kelly” as Ripa's co-host.
Some of the show's fans had started to wonder if a permanent co-host would ever be named, as the ratings with Kelly in the lead and rotating guests seemed to be doing well win the ratings. However, it looks like they are ready to move forward with one steady team after all.
Will “Live With Kelly” viewers embrace the decision to bring in Ryan Seacrest as Kelly Ripa's co-host? Will this partnership go more smoothly over the long term than how things played out with Michael Strahan?
