Kelly Ripa Finally Reveals Her New ‘Live’ Co-Host, And Her Pick Isn’t All That Surprising

A little over a year after Live with Kelly and Michael co-host Michael Strahan surprised everyone by leaving the show for Good Morning America, Kelly Ripa has finally announced his permanent replacement. Ripa, who initially protested Strahan’s departure, has pressed on with a number of guest hosts — including Jimmy Kimmel, Megyn Kelly and Andy Cohen. Others, like Rob Lowe and one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, have been thrown around as potential Strahan successors. (Okay, the turtle was just wish fulfillment on our part.) But now the cat-that-looks-like-Ryan-Seacrest is finally out of the bag!

CNN broke the news before Monday’s broadcast that Ryan Seacrest, who has guest hosted Live five times since Strahan left last year, will become Ripa’s new permanent co-host on the program. Yes, that’s right — the man behind American Idol, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and practically every E! Live from the Red Carpet special is getting yet another television hosting gig. And seeing how Live is one of the most popular syndicated daytime talk shows around, this means Seacrest will have a presence during nearly every hour of broadcast or cable television imaginable.

Ripa initially teased her Twitter followers about the announcement on Sunday with a short video. Holding a coffee mug with the show’s logo and a big question mark on it, she said, “Tune in tomorrow. Trust me!”

— Kelly Ripa (@KellyRipa) April 30, 2017