Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest Specialize in Small Talk and Big Ratings
That’s what you’re signing up for.”
Through the first 10 weeks that have pitted Ms. Ripa
and Mr. Seacrest against Ms. Kelly in the 9 a.m. slot, the ratings provide evidence that audiences agree with the strategy.
It seems that what works at 9 a.m. is a liability in late night: NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” has lost viewers as it sticks
with a fun-and-games atmosphere, while its more politically engaged competitors, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS and “Live!
Ms. Ripa, a former soap opera actress, joined “Live” in 2001 as Mr. Philbin’s co-host, replacing Ms. Gifford.
And Mr. Gelman is still here today, three decades later, as he oversees an incarnation of “Live” co-hosted by Kelly Ripa
and Ryan Seacrest, who are keeping the mood light in a time of divisive politics and fraught discussions of social issues.
Across her 16 years on “Live,” Ms. Ripa has often mined her life with her husband, the actor Mark Consuelos, and their three children for material.