10 Celebrities Who Should Replace Michael On “Live!”

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9. Chris Harrison

Chris is well known for being the host of the popular reality series, The Bachelor and Bachelorette. He’s a great candidate to replace Michael because he’s already in the ABC family and The Bachelor is only a “seasonal” show that happens once a year, so he definitely has time during the off season to co-host alongside Ripa. In fact, Harrison was a front runner in the handful of men that were talked about when Kelly was looking for a co-host back in 2011. We think ABC producers should revisit this idea!

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8. Lance Bass

This former N’ Sync star co-hosted alongside the Meredith Vieira Show for the entire second season. He opened up the show alongside Meredith to discuss the hot headlines of the day, with other panelist like Lilliana Vazquez, Yamaneika Saunders and Megan Colarossi. The show was recently cancelled which means Lance will have a lot of free time! Now that he’s accustomed to daytime television, maybe he can fill Michael Strahan’s shoes on the Live! show?

Andrew H. Walker/REX

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7. Nick Lachey

Here’s another boy band singer who should be thrown into the mix. Nick Lachey was the front runner of the platinum selling band 98 Degrees. Even though he doesn’t have any hosting experience, Nick has been in the celebrity circuit for quite some time now and he’s been working in front of the camera for a while with his own reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica alongside his former wife, Jessica Simpson, as well as Lachey’s: Raising the Bar with his brother and he had a recurring role on the popular show, Charmed. And who knows, maybe he could take the stage and do some regular performances on the show? Just sayin…

Broadimage/REX

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6. Mario Lopez

The former Saved by the Bell actor has left acting and been floating around in the reality television circuit for quite some time now. Mario is now considered to be a qualified television host after hosting the entertainment news magazine show Extra for many years, as well as America’s Best Dance Crew and the second season of The X Factor! He also did a stint on Dancing with the Stars so we know he can handle the pressure! Mario would be a sight for sore eyes that early in the morning, so we think he should most definitely be considered as a replacement for Michael Strahan on Live!

Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

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5. Mark Conseulos

Mark Conseulos is no stranger to being in front of the camera. In addition to stepping in occasionally to co-host with his wife over the past 15-years, he used to be a soap star on daytime television! In fact, working on the set of All My Children is where he met Kelly and the two began dating. They’ve now been married for over 20 years! Kelly and Mark obviously have great chemistry, so it’s plausible he’ll be in the running to take over Michael’s position on the Live! show.

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4. Ryan Seacrest

This radio personality has quite a few hosting gigs under his belt. In addition to hosting his radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, he has hosted American Idol, three kids games shows: Gladiators 2000, Wild Animal Games and Click. He hosted the first season of ESPN’s Radical Outdoor Challenge, NBC Saturday Night Movie, red carpet events for E! and the reality program Ultimate Revenge. Ryan’s time on American Idol even earned him an Emmy nomination and he won an Emmy for producing Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution! In addition to hosting, he created the American Top 40 countdown program and is a producer for popular television programs like Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It’s hard to tell if Ryan would mesh well with Kelly Ripa on a daytime talk show, but it’s worth a shot! He’s no stranger to interviewing celebrities and probably got some great celeb contacts!

Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX

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3. Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris has a strong fan base from his time on How I Met Your Mother. In addition to working in front of the camera, he’s also got a great stage presence from working on Broadway. He is comical, funny and quick witted, just what the show needs. Think of all the adorable kid stories he could share on the show! Even though the NPH variety show, Best Time Ever, got cancelled, Neil Patrick Harris proved he can hold his own and host a show. Although this one might be unlikely because of his hectic acting schedule, Harris would be hard to tie down for a full-time gig.

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2. Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen is no stranger to hosting and he’s got a strong background in television production. He’s definitely qualified for the job! Oh, and he just happens to be great friends with Kelly! Unfortunately, he’s already publicly stated that he wouldn’t be joining Kelly Ripa on stage for a full time gig anytime soon because of his busy schedule from hosting his own talk show called Watch What Happens Live, as well as hosting and producing Bravo’s reality franchise, the Real Housewives. Cohen has definitely earned some gold stars for being able to host those Real Housewives reunions, talk about interviewing some tough subjects! Even though he’s stated he won’t be joining, we can still hope, right?

A photo posted by Andy Cohen (@bravoandy) on Apr 21, 2016 at 5:27am PDT

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1. Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper no doubt has first dibs on replacing Michael if he wants it. He’s got the broadcasting experience, history with Kelly and was even endorsed by other talk show hosts like Andy Cohen! In addition to being a great friend of Kelly’s, Anderson Cooper is a well-respected and seasoned journalist who knows the whats-what of everything. Cooper could definitely bring a lot to the table with his journalistic credentials to discuss hot news topics. He is no stranger to sitting in front of a camera and he even briefly hosted his own daytime talk show called Anderson Live. He currently works as a primary anchor on CNN for his news show, Anderson Cooper 360. Despite his busy schedule with CNN, he has co-hosted alongside Ripa 10 times since January 2014 and when these two get together on camera, it’s just natural!

Source: Bravo TV

Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!