The beauty and the gap are officially the new it-pair on Live!
Kelly Ripa introduced ex-NFL star Michael Strahan as her new co-host Monday morning on Live! With Kelly and Michael.
“As a guest co-host, Michael’s chemistry with Kelly was off the charts, and continued to grow each time he visited the show,” said Live EP Michael Gelman. “The interaction between the co-hosts always has been what makes this show different from any other on television. Kelly and Michael’s ability to play off of one another and just plain have a good time together creates great TV for the audience.”
Ripa’s former co-host Regis Philbin stepped down last November and she has hosted the show solo since. During that stint, 59 different men and women co-hosted alongside Ripa in Philbin’s former chair. The network still wanted to seek out a permanent host and a list of serious candidates was narrowed down to three: Strahan, SNL vet Seth Meyers, and classical singer Josh Groban, apparently, Strahan has landed the job.
Strahan lives in Los Angeles and will commute weekly between New York, where Live! is filmed. The former New York Giant also works on Fox NFL Sunday, which also shoots in Los Angeles.
Live! With Kelly And Michael is distributed in national syndication by Disney-ABC Domestic Television and produced by WABC-TV.