Andy Cohen Leaving ‘Watch What Happens Live’? Is The ‘Housewives’ Honcho Ready To Join Kelly Ripa?

Andy Cohen is reportedly parting ways with his reality talk show, Watch What Happens Live.

According to Radar Online, an inside source revealed that Cohen has been doing the show for so long that he wants to try something different. Does this mean he’s going to join Kelly Ripa as her new co-host?

“Andy is over [Watch What Happens Live],” the insider explained to Page Six. “He’s been doing that show forever. He wants to do other things. Taping every night at 11 p.m. is cramping his style.”

Although Cohen is planning on leaving his longtime show, he isn’t completely abandoning it. Instead, Cohen is replacing it with Look Who’s Hosting Live.

The new show will invite celebrities to host each week. Although it isn’t clear how long Bravo wants to produce the series, it will help smooth over Cohen’s exit.

At the same time, the new show also provides the network an opportunity to try out possible replacements.

With Cohen reportedly leaving WWHL, the Daily Mail is reporting that he might be set to join Ripa on her morning talk show.

Cohen has been working on his show since the summer of 2009 and has hosted alongside Ripa on multiple occasions. Given their chemistry together, many have speculated that Cohen wants to become her new co-host.

That being said, Bravo has since denied rumors of Cohen’s departure.

“This is untrue,” a network spokeswoman shared. “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as host is continuing on the network and [was] recently renewed for another season.”

ET Online reports that rumors of Andy Cohen’s exit started after Bravo announced the new show. Instead of being a replacement series, as many suspected, Bravo reps explained that Look Who’s Talking Live will act as a “companion show to WWHL, not as a replacement.”

If Cohen is not leaving his talk show, then the chances of the Housewives honcho joining Ripa as her new co-host are slim. After all, Cohen’s busy schedule would make it all but impossible for him to appear alongside Ripa every morning.

Apart from Cohen, it is thought that Rob Lowe has the best chances of landing the new gig following Michael Strahan’s controversial exit.

“I hosted it with Kelly and had the time of my life,” Lowe stated in 2012. “I love her… I love being able to talk to an audience every morning like that and just being fun, counter-punching, being silly, and talking about cool stuff.”

In addition to Lowe, Anderson Cooper’s name has also been thrown into the mix. Cooper recently hosted with Ripa and proved that he would be a great addition to the show.

Speaking of Cooper, he does have a great relationship with Cohen. According to Zap2it, Cohen and Cooper have been friends 20 years and enjoy spending a lot of time together.

In fact, Cohen and Cooper recently launched a new tour, AC2 Live: Deep Talk and Shallow Lies, in which they go around the world and discuss a wide variety of topics, from entertainment to news.

“Spent yesterday with @bravoandy planning shows in ##NewOrleans 6/24, #Austin 6/25, #stlouis 10/15,” Cooper posted alongside a picture of him and Cohen on Instagram.

Cohen and Cooper first met each other when a friend set them up on a blind date. Although a relationship never materialized, the two have since become best friends.

“We were set up by friends 20 years ago, and had a phone conversation,” Cohen revealed in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. “Nothing really grew of it, but we became friends.”

Tell us! Who do you think should join Kelly Ripa on Live – Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper, or Rob Lowe? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via Bravo]