Live! With Kelly Ripa Sweepstakes May Be Down To The Final Three

Since the departure of television host guru Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa has been in the running for a newright hand television talk show man. Apparently that decision is not too far off.

Although Saturday Night Live fixture Seth Meyers was the first potential suitor to spend an entire weekwith co-hosting with Ripa, word through the gossip grapevine has it that multi-platinum recording artistJosh Groban and retired New York Giants All-Pro turned Fox Analyst Michael Strahan are also still verymuch in the shows' running.

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"We're having people back who we're liking and we're taking names off the list, but we're not in a realtime crunch," says showrunner Michael Gelman. "I still wouldn't call anything a shortlist yet, but we'refinding people we love, the ratings are holding up, Kelly's doing terrifically with all these cohosts, sowe're continuing."

Gelman also went on to reveal the main attributes that they are searching for in Ripa's counterpart. "It'sa million things we're looking for, but obviously someone who compliments her, someone who haschemistry with her, someone who can handle the show on their own when she's away with a new hostand someone who's going to grow with us, just like she did 12 years ago when we found Kelly,"

Gelman also stated. "She's ended up being a terrific talent and hopefully, she's leading the show for thenext 20 years."
As the September deadline comes near, Gelman said that are indeed "always getting closer" to a finaldecision. However, do not hold your breath for too long because he also implied that they are in norush to make any brash moves. Gelman claims "We want to find somebody, but we're going to wait tillit's right."

Whether Strahan trades the pigskin, Groban tones down the Opera, or Meyers relinquishes his bag ofSNL tricks, filling the half a century old shoes of the great Regis Philbin will be no easy task.