After Michael Strahan announced that he would be leaving Live! with Kelly and Michael in order to join Good Morning America full-time (and the ridiculous controversy that ensued after that was completely concocted by the media; I won't even get into that because I just think it's all so ridiculously stupid), everyone has been 'a-buzzing about who should fill his vacant seat next to longtime female co-host, Kelly Ripa.
Some say Ripa's husband Mark Conseulos would make a good co-host, but I find that to be a very boring choice. They're already married, so I'm sure they see enough of each other at home, plus Conseulos isn't exactly that well-known (in fact I had to quickly Google his name after seeing him on a list of potential new co-hosts to check if that was indeed the name of her husband). I mean, I'm not saying Conseulos would be a terrible co-host; I haven't seen him on the show in quite a long time, but I just think that would be a very meh choice.
Among a few other names thrown out there that include Mario Lopez (please God, no), the only two that seemed to resonate with me in the slightest were Neil Patrick Harris and Anderson Cooper, both of whom have significant television experience, are well-known enough to draw in a new set of viewers and are entertaining to watch.
I love Neil Patrick Harris, we all do, but I just don't see him committing to a daytime morning talk show. He's definitely funny and lively enough to bring some color back to Live, but I feel like he would have better things to be committing to than a daytime morning talk show. But, who knows. It could happen. Anything can happen. I never would've predicted that a former NFL player (who continued to cover NFL events while at Live) would be the one who would be chosen as Ripa's permanent co-host, but he was.
The better choice, however, would be Anderson Cooper, in my opinion. Why do I think this? Well, he too is funny and lively who always has something pertinent to say. He also had his own syndicated daytime talk show, Anderson, that I loved and thought had the potential to become the next Oprah, but it was unfortunately cancelled after only 2 seasons. So he's both funny and lively AND already has had his own daytime talk show, so daytime TV viewers already have an appreciation for him (and I love for him, I hope). Not to mention that he has hosted his own news show, Anderson Cooper 360, on CNN since 2003. Cooper being the one to take the seat next to Ripa would also be perfect timing, considering his contract with CNN reportedly expires this November. He did, however, do both Anderson and 360 at the same time, so it could also be feasible for him to do both Live and 360, but who knows.
Strahan was initially supposed to depart in the summer, allowing for time afterward to bring in guest co-hosts to screen test with Ripa like they did in 2011 when Regis Philbin retired from the show (Philbin left in November 2011 and Strahan only became the permanent co-host in September 2012, so they spent quite a bit of time choosing a replacement), but he is reportedly now leaving Live on May 13, allowing for quite a bit of time to find a replacement. Or, as I'm hoping it goes down, gives them enough time to realize that Live! with Kelly and Anderson is the right way to go.
Live! with Kelly and Michael airs weekday mornings, check your local listings.
No comments:
Post a Comment