Thirty-something year old syndicated morning talk show Live has remained a household staple with steady ratings. This morning saw Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest walk on stage announcing Seacrest’s permanent co-hosting residency alongside Ripa (since 2001), changing the name to Live with Kelly & Ryan.
“Ryan is a quintessential broadcaster and at the top of his game,” said Ripa in a statement, according to Variety. “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.”
Following Michael Strahan’s sudden exit from the show in 2016 and onto ABC’s GMA, Live recycled many co-hosts throughout the year, including Seacrest for a post-Oscars edition of Live, and now he’s ready to take on daytime-TV full swing, saying, “Not only is Kelly Ripa one of the most talented live hosts in broadcast TV; she’s also become a very dear friend to me over the years. It’s consistently been my privilege and pleasure to work alongside Kelly with all her incredible talents, charm and humor,” Seacrest said. “I’ve been so fortunate in my career to be a part of some incredible TV programs, and I’m excited to join daytime’s top entertainment talk show, and most important, I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather share this new chapter with than Kelly Ripa – she’s a dream broadcast partner, and I can’t wait to start,” Variety reports.
With the move from LA to NY, the multi-talented entrepreneur Seacrest will work on building a radio studio at WABC-TV where Live is taped. Seacrest confirmed that he will still oversee his weekly Top-40 radio program and a daily radio show on KIIS F.M in LA. Seacrest also serves as an executive producer for E!’s Live From the Red Carpet franchise and as annual host for ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
Apart from broadcast, Seacrest owns a production company Ryan Seacrest Productions (RSP) in LA, where he produces scripted and unscripted shows, most notably E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Shahs Of Sunset and Shades Of Blue with Jennifer Lopez.
Watch Kelly & Ryan announce their new partnership as co-hosts of Live With Kelly & Ryan.