Jerry O'Connell Really Wants That Live! With Kelly Ripa Co-Hosting Job

Source tells E! News the celeb is campaigning for the gig

The battle of who will take a permanent seat next to Kelly Ripa has gotten extra competitive.

Ever since Michael Strahan's surprising exit from Live!, ABC executives have brought in a number of guest co-hosts to take on the morning show alongside Ripa, which also offered a pseudo audition for those who were up to the task.

And while we've already learned of a few stars who are eyeing that gig full-time, E! News has learned that yet another celeb is fighting for the spot.

"Jerry O'Connell really wants the job. He's made no secret that he would love to do it," a source tells us, adding, "He gets along great with Kelly and they have great chemistry. He's hopeful. He's having anyone he knows put in a good word."

A spokesperson for the show declined to comment on co-host speculation.

O'Connell isn't the first to voice his eagerness to jump in that seat full-time. Christian Slater recently gushed about the gig during an appearance on Ellen.

The actor talked to host Ellen DeGeneres about his recent stint of guest-hosting on Live! With Kelly. "I love it, I live about, you know, six blocks away from there," Slater told DeGeneres of the studio's location. "It's one of the greatest jobs ever, so yeah, Kelly, I'm available! Let's do it!"

Not only would it be convenient for him, he also wouldn't mind who his every day colleague would be. "I love her, she's amazing," Slater gushed about Ripa.

Ripa's search for a new co-host after Strahan left continues, but for now she has launched a contest allowing anyone to try out for the role. Other candidates include Neil Patrick Harris and Fred Savage, but Anderson Cooper, a popular choice, took himself out of the running.

"We need to start looking because we have summer hiatus, we have vacation time. We need to find people," Ripa told People in May. "If we're going to have this list narrowed down at least to a manageable size by the fall, we need to start now.'"  

However, according to a source, there now may be less of a rush to fill the seat permanently. As the source explained, ratings did not dip this summer—which they often do—so for now, there is no sense of urgency in finding a permanent co-host.

So while we wait to find out who ABC picks, tell us who you want to see sitting next to Ripa below in the comments!