Live with Kelly moves into its third week of searching for a new co-host. Kelly Ripa will welcome a few familiar faces to the desk including Anderson Cooper and her husband, Mark Consuelos.
Ripa parted ways with her former co-host Michael Strahan on May 13 as he prepares to join Good Morning America full-time this fall. The early exit for the former NFL star, who was scheduled to leave in September, allowed Live to start its on-air search for a new co-host immediately with the hopes of having the list narrowed down by the end of summer.
Here are the guest co-hosts for the week of May.
‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Returns on Monday
Ripa will celebrate Memorial Day with Empire star Jussie Smollet, who returns for his second stint as guest co-host. He and Ripa sat down with NCIS star Michael Weatherly and sang karaoke together. Smollett was also thrilled to interact with Live‘s executive producer, Michael Gelman.
“I have waited all my life to sit on this chair and say, ‘Gelman!'” he told the audience, impersonating former lead host, Regis Philbin. “You know how awesome that is? Gelman!”
On Monday, he and Ripa will welcome Mariah Carey, who is promoting her new Las Vegas residency at Caesar’s Palace. “Mariah #1 to Infinity” opened on May 6 and will run until September 11 with performances on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.
Common Makes His Co-Hosting Debut on Tuesday
Six-time Live guest Common will get his first shot at co-hosting the show on Tuesday. He most recently appeared last month to promote Barbershop: The Next Cut and challenged Strahan to a break dance-off.
Sitting next to Ripa, he will speak with Maya Rudolph about her upcoming NBC variety show, Maya and Marty, co-starring Martin Short. Common and Ripa will also compete against the winner of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Ripa’s Number One Pick Anderson Cooper Joins Her for Two Days
Ripa would make Anderson Cooper her new co-host in a heartbeat if she could, but the former daytime host is under contract with CNN through at least the 2016 election. He also is “very happy” with his job at the cable news network as he told his and Ripa’s mutual friend, Andy Cohen, on Watch What Happens Live last month.
Cooper last served as Ripa’s co-host on April 5. Next week, they will sit down with Gloria Estefan on Wednesday and hear a performance from X Ambassadors. On Thursday, 2 Broke Girls star Beth Behrs talks about her Broadway production, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City and indie duo Alexander Jean performs.
Ripa’s Hubby Mark Consuelos Finishes Out the Week
Ripa welcomes her husband Mark Consuelos to co-host on Friday’s show. It may be his last time guest co-hosting for awhile as he gets ready to star in the new Fox drama, Pitch, which premieres this fall. They will chat with actress Laura Linney (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) and So You Think You Can Dance judge Paula Abdul.
Consuelos has served as his wife’s guest host more than 40 times since 2005, but don’t expect him to join the show full-time. Ripa told Vanity Fair in 2012 that her husband values their marriage too much to take that position.