Mark Davis/Getty ImagesLive! With Kelly and Michael is keeping it in the ABC family with its first guest cohost after Michael Strahan exits the show. E! News has learned Jimmy Kimmel will sit alongside Kelly Ripa on the Monday, May 16 show. Strahan is leaving the daytime talk show on Friday, May 13 after four years.
Kimmel hosts ABC's late-night Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Strahan's exit from the morning series to join Good Morning America took everybody—including Ripa—by surprise. His exit was originally announced as taking place in September, but after a few days the show officially announced he would exit before the summer and the search for a new cohost would begin this summer.
"After meeting with the producers of both Live and Good Morning America, and after speaking with Kelly and Michael, we have decided on a plan that best advantages both shows for the future. To that end, Michael's last day on Live will be on Friday, May 13, which not only gives the show the chance to have a nice send-off for him during the May book, but to also immediately begin the on-air search for a new co-host," a show spokesperson told E! News in late April. "This plan also allows GMA to start integrating Michael into the show more often this summer before his full-time start in September."
After ABC announced Strahan was moving to GMA, Ripa didn't appear on-air opposite Strahan for several days. Strahan hosted the show along with guest hosts Erin Andrews, Shay Mitchell and Ana Gasteyer before Ripa returned. During her first appearance back, she addressed the elephant in the room.
"Guys, our long national nightmare is over…I'm going to be completely honest: I'm fairly certain that there are trained, professional snipers with tranquilizer darts in case I drift too far off message. I first want to honestly, sincerely thank you for welcoming me back to this show," she said. "The love, the show of support to this bizarre time has been really overwhelming. I really needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company, I earned the right—and let's be honest, I know half of you called in sick to be here, so we get each other. In that time, I gained some perspective. I always speak from the heart. I didn't want to come out here and just, like, say something I might regret. What transpired, though, over the course of a few days has been extraordinary in the sense that it started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration and, most importantly, respect in the workplace."
She went on to thank the Live! team for understanding and said she has received apologies for not being told about the plan to move Strahan over to GMA. "I am thrilled for Michael. I am thrilled for you. This is a tremendous opportunity and I couldn't be—and we couldn't be—prouder of you and everything we have accomplished together," she said.
When Regis Philbin left the series—and when Kathie Lee Gifford did prior to him—the show had a rotating batch of cohosts brought in to test out chemistry with the remaining host. Rumors have already been swirling that one of Ripa's pals, like Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, could permanently fill Strahan's seat, but no decision has been made.