‘Live With Kelly’: Who Will Be Ripa’s New Co-Host?

Now that Michael Strahan has left Live with Kelly and Michael, who will be the new co-host seated next to Kelly Ripa?

In the midst of the negotiations to keep Kelly Ripa from leaving Live With Kelly and Michael, Ripa insisted that her BFF Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper replace Strahan or she would leave. Now that all remnants of Michael Strahan’s tenure on the morning show have been removed, including his name from the title of the show, everyone wants to know who will replace Michael Strahan?

Right now, a cornucopia of guest co-hosts will be joining Kelly each morning starting with Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel already has a successful late night gig, so this appears as more of an opportunity for Ripa to usher into her new role as solo host. Other first week co-hosts include Jussie Smollett, Cedric the Entertainer, David Muir, and Daniel Dae Kim.

Week two of Kelly’s single hosting life ends with her perfect co-host: her BFF Andy Cohen!

So does this mean that Andy Cohen will be her new permanent co-host? Odds are no. As he told US Weekly, he really only has a small window of free time that he obviously wants to spend with his pal Kelly Ripa.

“I have 10 jobs!” Cohen said. “I have my own late-night talk show that’s on every night at 11 o’clock!”

Most of all, he is most likely there for moral support of his good friend. No doubt, Ripa needs this now that they need to find someone to replace Michael Strahan.

Ripa explained to People that she and her producers have precious little time to find a co-host before summer is completed. This is why Strahan had to finish earlier so that they could begin the tedious process.

“What we’ve explained to them is, ‘Well, if you had asked us, we would have told you, ‘Guys, we need to start looking, because we have summer hiatus, we have vacation time. We need to find people. If we’re going to have this list narrowed down at least to a manageable size by the fall, we need to start now’… Nobody consulted us initially.”

Finding chemistry is so key to the success of a morning talk show. People Magazine had reported that a source inside gave some possibilities of who could replace Michael Strahan.

“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. She 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.”

Anderson Cooper’s name continues to come up. He is one of Kelly’s BFFs and the two get along incredibly well. Anderson is not only a seasoned reporter, but his socialite family tree and personal charm make him a perfect candidate for witty banter and fun on a morning talk show. Anderson continues to insist that he is happy at CNN and his occasional reports on 60 Minutes. Yet, he may decide to branch out and try something new. Besides, he has stated that “it would be a dream to work with Kelly.” Sounds like he would not need too much persuading. He may have a goal to host a late night talk show and a stint on Live with Kelly is the natural stepping stone.

Meanwhile, the carousel of co-hosts is going to immediately begin with each one scrutinized and evaluated. As important as viewer opinions are, Kelly’s co-host chemistry will either make or break the show. This is why it is so important to find the right replacement for Michael Strahan.

Fans of Strahan can start to look for him to occasionally appear on Good Morning America, until he is full-time in the fall.

Who do you think should replace Michael Strahan?

[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images]