Kelly Ripa Co-Host: ‘Live’ Star May Never Replace Michael Strahan

Will Kelly Ripa ever replace Michael Strahan with a new, permanent co-host on Live with Kelly?

It appears the Live star may have never intended to fill Strahan’s spot with a lasting replacement. According to reports, the ongoing Kelly Ripa co-host situation — which recently surpassed the 10-month mark — could be a permanent condition all its own. Ripa has co-hosted Live beside a rotating slew of celebrity co-host guests since Michael left the show on May 13, 2016. Now, it seems the constant state of co-host fluctuation may be here to stay.

While Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, is a frequent fixture on Live with Kelly — often guest hosting the show with his wife — longtime Live viewers seem stumped on Kelly’s lack of a solid co-host almost a year after Strahan’s departure. In 2016, continual Live guest co-hosts like Fred Savage, Anderson Cooper, and Jussie Smollett were bandied about as possible replacements. Apparently, those co-host rumors might have been just a ratings ruse.

As reported by Celebrity Insider, Ripa’s current format of constantly changing Live guest co-hosts may simply be her preferred co-host format going forward. Who needs a constant side-kick, anyway? Not Ripa.

A new, permanent Kelly Ripa co-host reportedly isn’t expected to keep the Live audience ensnared — at least not in the same way that Ripa’s perpetually rotating cavalcade of substitute co-host stars does. CI claims this unresolved co-host M.O. leaves Live with Kelly viewers in an ongoing state of curiosity, further driving Ripa’s TV viewings.

“It seems as if the new format with a new guest co-host… every week has been keeping the audience members on their toes, curious to see who will be next and what they have to bring.”

E! News even chimed in on their reasoning why Kelly Ripa is better off without a constant co-host. The rotating co-host format provides Kelly with a fresh-faced foil for each new Live show. The friction between Ripa and a new guest co-host provides the programs’s viewing audience with a change of pace in morning news entertainment.

“Everyone becomes a judge each time a new face appears next to Ripa’s, adding an entirely new dynamic to the show.”

RELATED POSTS FROM THE INQUISITR

Kelly Ripa Named To New Jersey Hall Of Fame, ‘Live’ Co-Host Struggle Continues

Kelly Ripa’s Co-Hosts Ranked, Is Megyn Kelly Posing A Threat To ‘Live’?

Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos Send Son Michael Off To College

Do you think the constantly changing co-host scheme works in Ripa’s favor?

Tune in to Live with Kelly next week to find out for yourself.

Mark Consuelos will again join his wife to co-host the show on Monday, March 27. Actress Busy Philipps will join Kelly in co-hosting Live on Tuesday, March 28. Actor Christian Slater guest co-hosts Live with Kelly on Wednesday, March 29, and Thursday, March 30, and Josh Gad finishes off the week with Ripa on Friday, March 31.

Party of Five star Scott Wolf will receive the rare honor of being a week-long Live guest co-host when he pairs up with Kelly Ripa for a week of airings from Monday, April 3, through Friday, April 7.

Below, watch a hilarious segment where Kelly Ripa describes receiving a concerning note from her son’s teacher. The clip comes from Kelly’s recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

What do you think of Kelly Ripa’s ongoing resistance to finding a new, permanent Live with Kelly co-host? Do you still miss Michael Strahan on Live? Should Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, just accept the co-host position full-time? Let us know what you think of Kelly Ripa and the Live with Kelly co-host situation in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]