Welcome to “Live With Kelly and Ryan.”
Ryan Seacrest has accepted the gig as a permanent co-host on the show, Ripa revealed on Monday. The news ends a year of speculation following Michael Strahan’s tumultuous departure from the program. Seacrest has previously appeared as a guest on the show five times since Strahan’s exit.
“Ryan is a quintessential broadcaster and at the top of his game,” Ripa said in a statement. “I am thrilled to start my mornings with him every day, and we are so fortunate at ‘Live’ to have him join the family. Ryan is a close friend and his star shines as brightly off camera as it does on. His tremendous success is only matched by his impeccable reputation. Plainly said, everyone loves him, and so will our daily viewers.”
Calling Ripa “one of the most talented live hosts in broadcast TV,” Seacrest said he was “excited to join” the show. “I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather share this new chapter with than Kelly Ripa,” he said.
She hinted at the news in an Instagram post on Sunday, where she displayed a mug with a question mark on it and wrote, “We’re going to need a bigger mug. #TuneInToLive #BigAnnouncement #LiveKellyCohost.”
The dozens of guest hosts since Strahan left after the May 13, 2016, show have included CNN mainstay Anderson Cooper, Bravo’s Andy Cohen, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, Fred Savage, Neil Patrick Harris and Priyanka Chopra.
After learning on April 19 last year that Strahan would leave to join “Good Morning America,” Ripa did not appear on the next day’s show when her co-host of four years announced the news, and didn’t come back until the following week.
“I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts,” she said when she returned on April 26. “After 26 years with this company, I earned the right.”
With Reuters
