Stay-at-home moms and dads, get ready for “Live With Kelly & Ryan Seacrest.”
On Monday, Kelly Ripa (finally) named Seacrest the new permanent co-host for her Disney-ABC syndicated daytime talk show. The search took quite some time (by design, if you ask executives) — her former partner of four years, Michael Strahan, left the show nearly a year ago.
Ripa tried out 67 guest co-hosts over 195 original episodes before deciding on Seacrest. TheWrap has measured the Nielsen TV ratings of every single one: Click here for the ratings average of each guest co-host, and go here for every individual episode ranked.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be here with you,” Seacrest told Ripa.
Seacrest has guest hosted “Live” five times since Strahan departed the show. Ripa teased the big reveal before the first commercial break and finally named the former host of Fox’s “American Idol” as her new co-host. He started immediately, joining Ripa for the remainder of the program.
The show attempted to keep Seacrest’s identity a secret and even showed footage of him hiding in a car as it pulled into the studio on Monday morning. Despite the attempts to surprise viewers with the identity of Ripa’s new co-host, the news was reported early Monday morning by CNN’s Chloe Melas.
Seacrest is no stranger to ABC as he also hosts “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on the network. He will host the show from New York Monday through Thursday and typically spend the rest of the week in Los Angeles, according to CNN. The Friday episode is usually taped in advance.
Ripa teased her announcement on Sunday, posting the following not-so-cryptic message on Twitter:
We're going to need a bigger mug. #TuneInToLive #BigAnnouncement #LiveKellyCohost pic.twitter.com/QRKQ9S9NGn
— Kelly Ripa (@KellyRipa) April 30, 2017
We all got the hint, and now she’s got a co-host.
Check out the announcement above.