Kelly Ripa: Is ‘Live’ Co-Host Announcement On The Horizon?

Kelly Ripa’s co-host search for a new Live with Kelly partner is winding down as Ms. Ripa’s summer season of Live guest hosts comes to a close. With the fall television season right around the corner, an announcement of Kelly’s new permanent co-host is anticipated at any moment. The latest reports concerning Ripa’s selection of Live co-host estimate her final choice will be made public in short order.

Is recent fan favorite guest co-host Fred Savage poised to pocket the prestigious position? The former child actor and Wonder Years star returns to Ripa’s side next week to put in what is assumed to be his ultimate dry-run as interim co-host on Monday, August 29, and Tuesday, August 30. Are you hoping for Mr. Savage to be revealed as Ripa’s new permanent co-host on the beloved Live with Kelly morning talk show?

Although other recently praised Live guest co-hosts like Watch What Happens Live‘s Andy Cohen, actor Jerry O’Connell, and popular newsman Anderson Cooper won’t be reprising their former fill-in appearances with Ripa during the last week of August, Kelly has a full docket of exciting guest hosts scheduled to round out the month.

Following Savage’s late August turn, Dancing with the Stars diva Carrie-Ann Inaba will be playing the part of Kelly Ripa’s co-host on Wednesday, August 31. Renowned contemporary classical singer (and former Kat Dennings beau) Josh Groban sits in as Kelly’s counterpart on Thursday, September 1. Ripa will then finish off the week with celebrity basketball player Dwyane Wade as her Live with Kelly co-host on Friday, September 2.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Kelly Ripa’s co-host position has been up for grabs since former sidekick Michael Strahan left the Live show back in May to try his luck at Good Morning America — the steady stream of substitution hosts began once Michael took his leave.

At the time, Ripa spoke to People magazine of the frequent media attention and on-set stress surrounding Strahan’s departure. Since then, she’s valiantly attempted to right the ship of the WABC-TV broadcast known to viewers as Live with Kelly and Michael for the past four years.

“I’m not dealing with monsters. I don’t think of anybody as a monster or out to get me. But sometimes stability and dependability can be misinterpreted as passive. Like, ‘Oh, we don’t have to worry about her, she’s fine. She’s fine.'”

Ripa’s longtime Live producer, Michael Gelman, was quoted in DuJour regarding Strahan’s sudden Live exit. Gelman gushed to the mag of Michael Strahan’s on-screen compatibility with Kelly, a trait that Gelman says puts him head and shoulders above other television personalities.

“Michael has charisma, a big, warm, playful personality, and has the rare ability to be himself on camera,” […] “But he also has that special hard-to-define quality, that ‘x-factor’ that makes him stand out.”

For his part, Kelly’s one-time comrade Strahan didn’t seem too perturbed about his Live to GMA switch. While much was made in the press of the supposed animosity growing between Ripa and Michael earlier this summer, Strahan insists that he has the utmost respect for Kelly as co-host and told DuJour that he experiences the same stumbling blocks as many other people.

“I realized that a lot of people go through their struggles and have their doubts and fears. I think our fears and insecurities and even our successes fall into the same little boat.”

Do you think Fred Savage is primed to take the Kelly Ripa co-host role? Are you holding out hope for Jerry O’Connell, Andy Cohen or another guest host to grab the coveted Live with Kelly co-host chair? Let us know your ideal choice for Kelly’s co-host winner in the comments section below.

[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images]