Jimmy Kimmel to host first ‘Live!’ with Kelly Ripa after Michael Strahan exit

It’s already been reported that “Live with Kelly and Michael” is going to be ending a little bit earlier than expected on Friday, May 13; with that in mind, there have been plenty of questions regarding just who her first guest co-host could potentially be. For one, we particularly know that whoever comes up in the early going is going to be the subject of great speculation as to whether or not they could become the next co-host of the show.

Based on the latest bit of information that we have now from ABC, it feels more like the network is punting on this than doing anything to give you answers right now. Jimmy Kimmel is going to come back to New York (he tapes his late-night host in Los Angeles) to guest-host the May 16 episode of the show that will mark the first without Michael Strahan. There are obviously two big takeaways from this announcement right now:

1. Kimmel is not going to be the new co-host, as he already has a job that is probably more of his dream than being the co-host of a morning talk show. This seems to just be a way for “Live!” to come back on the air with Kelly Ripa, and not have to worry for at least the first day about how could be the new co-host.

2. This is also a way for the show to continue to get strong ratings. Kimmel has diehard fans, and many of them will tune in to see what the latest permutation in the show is.

At some point over the course of the summer, we assume that ABC will figure out who their new co-host will be and announce it in time for the fall.

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