When former NFL star Michael Strahan abruptly departed Live! With Kelly And Michael last month, he left a wide gap in the morning show’s Game Of Thrones-esque wall of impenetrable, blank-eyed smiles. (He also apparently left co-host Kelly Ripa so upset that she had to take a week off from the show, before eventually returning so that she could un-person Strahan from the program herself.) Now, Page Six is reporting that the long-running series might have found the latest shiny toothed, rictus-grinned homunculus to take over the chair vacated by Strahan (and Regis Philbin before him): TV star Rob Lowe.
The deal is apparently still in early talks, but it’s hard to deny that Lowe’s chipper, indefatigable persona seems like a natural fit for the relentless positivity of morning TV. (Also, he does have free time on his hands right now.) And if “Kelly Ripa!” doesn’t roll as smoothly off his tongue as “Ann Perkins!” once did, at least we know that Lowe is an accomplished veteran when it comes to dispensing health and lifestyle advice to his waiting fans: