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Kelly Ripa Co-Host: Does Jerry O’Connell Officially Have The Job?

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 05:27 PST, Nov 1, 2016

Are we one step closer to finding out who Kelly Ripa’s co-host is? As we know, Jerry O’Connell has been a fan favorite for a while and has vouched that he wants the job. Yesterday, O’Connell seemed to get a huge opportunity at Live! with Kelly that his competition missed out on.

The recent show in question was Kelly’s Halloween special, which saw the two dress up in Halloween costumes. It’s presumably a big deal that Jerry O’Connell was called upon to guest co-host because it might have been a test to see how he would be if thrown into a classic Live! situation. The Halloween episodes over at Live! are exhaustive in that they go all out with multiple costume changes, so it takes a co-host who’s quick on his feet.

Since he was given the special opportunity, does that mean Kelly Ripa’s new co-host is Jerry O’Connell? While there’s nothing official yet on who her host will be, it looks like a perfect match. During the show, audiences and viewers at home got to witness their chemistry and also see how well they looked together. The two dressed up for the Halloween episode as the Joker and Harley Quinn, which were arguably two of the most popular Halloween costumes this year thanks to the popular WB movie Suicide Squad.

The two also dressed up as the popular anime characters Pikachu and Ash. Later in the show, they had another change as they dressed up as characters from the widely celebrated play Hamilton.

Check out Jerry O’Connell and Kelly Ripa showing off their Halloween costumes.

https://youtu.be/nbKOW7MB1YQ

It seemed like Kelly Ripa was pleased about Jerry O’Connell as well. As AOL reports, the star has guest co-hosted on the show a number of 13 times, which is almost as many as Ripa’s original favorite, Anderson Cooper. This last show might have been lucky number 13 for the actor.

Of O’Connell, Kelly said, “Not only was he perfection on camera, he was perfection off camera.”

It sounds like Ripa is priming the audience and viewers at home to get used to Jerry O’Connell.

Additionally, a huge hint that Kelly Ripa’s co-host might be Jerry O’Connell is the star’s ability to take whatever Live! throws at him. While the costume change is a huge part of the show’s history, O’Connell has consistently proved that not only does he have excellent chemistry with Kelly Ripa, but that he’s also up for anything. For instance, he also performed on the show with Kelly for the special episode. The two co-hosts, along with Matt Bomer, performed a special rendition of “Kelly’s Halloween,” which seemed to wow the audience.

As the Inquisitr reported, Jerry O’Connell was excited about the possibility of having the job months before it became a real competition.

“I would do anything Kelly asks. She is the sweetest… I loved hosting with her. I’m in awe of her.”

The potential permanent co-host also told Extra that he was impressed by Kelly’s ability to balance family life with a full-time gig like Live!

“She has it all figured out as a parent. It’s incredible to see how she’s found balance with career, marriage, and parenthood.”

If he’s being so complimentary towards Ripa in that respect, it could be assumed that O’Connell has been weighing his options for a long time. If anything, ABC has already said that they’re taking some time to pick a replacement for Michael Strahan, but maybe this sealed the deal?

Do you think Kelly Ripa’s co-host will be Jerry O’Connell?

[Featured image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images]

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