‘SEA’ YA AT 9, KELLY
Ryan new co-host
RYAN Seacrest was a shrewd and effective choice to join Kelly Ripa on Monday as the new co-host of her longrunning morning show, “Live With Kelly,’’ now rebranded, predictably, as “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
“Today, the next chapter of the ‘Live’ story is about to be written,” the 46-yearold TV personality said on air before she made the big reveal.
Moments before Ripa brought Seacrest out on stage, she said to him off-camera, “This is it! Is your mic on? I’m so excited for you. Are you nervous? Don’t be nervous. You look great!”
Seacrest, 42, had no reason to be nervous. Not only did he host “American Idol,” one of the most popular TV series in history, for 15 years, but he expanded his television reach in 2005 to include the emcee spot on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” And he hosts two radio shows, “American Top 40” and “On Air With Ryan Seacrest.”
Seacrest can more than handle his new assignment after playing referee between “Idol” judge Simon Cowell and dozens of dejected “Idol” contestants — and working with divas such as Mariah Carey on the New Year’s gig.
It helps that Seacrest is already pals with Ripa (pictured, inset). The warm camaraderie on display was a long time coming.
News of Michael Strahan’s unexpected departure from “Live!” for “Good Morning America” led Ripa to skip the show for two days last spring in protest of the way ABC handled the situation.
Strahan’s last episode with Ripa was May 13, 2016. Since then, Ripa has had a rotating roster of fill-in cohosts, including Seacrest, Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper, Fred Savage and Jerry O’Connell.
Is Seacrest going to set the world on fire? Hardly. Thanks to “Idol,” he started at the top, in 2009 becoming the highest-paid realityshow host to date, with a $45 million contract. He can well afford to coast, and the “Live” gig provides a safe place for his bland appeal to take root.
Is Seacrest going to dress up in drag on Halloween as executive producer Michael Gelman frequently asked Strahan to do? Unlikely. He doesn’t have the gumption.
Is he going to make Ripa feel insecure or threatened by his star power? Never. On “Idol,” Seacrest demonstrated his knack for absorbing Cowell’s abrasiveness and Paula Abdul’s buffoonery; he knows how to stay out of the way of the star who craves the spotlight.
So, in the end, Ripa and Seacrest, who closed the show with a glass of champagne each, might make a good team, creating a sunny and cheerful camaraderie that persuades “Live’s” extremely loyal audience that everything is going to be all right at 9 a.m.