Regis Philbin Replacement: Who Will Fill His Seat?

Who will fill Regis Philbin’s seat on ABC’s Live! with Regis & Kelly?

Here are 10 names making the industry rounds as potential pairings for Kelly Ripa. Some of these celebrities been previously reported and others are new. At least a couple, we’re told, are non-starters. ABC, unfortunately, has no comment. Here’s what we think:

– Ryan Seacrest: You can’t have a major talk show vacancy without his name coming up. He could clearly handle the job. The trick (as is the case with several names below) is working around his existing deals.

– Jeff Probst: The Survivor host is a superb interviewer, he has co-hosted the show in the past, and his contract is up this year.

– Mario Lopez: Another former Live! co-host. We’re told he’s potentially a popular contender, but that his deal with Extra may hold things up.

– Chris Harrison: The Bachelor host is already in the ABC family. If he can handle crazed bachelorettes, surely he can work with sweet Kelly, right?

– Mark Consuelos: Yup, Kelly’s husband. He’s an actor and reality show host. We’re hearing he’s an unlikely choice.

– Chris Cuomo: The 20/20 host is another ABC insider.

– Anderson Cooper: Woulda-coulda-shoulda. He’s busy trying to get his own daytime talk show off the ground.

– Billy Bush: Like Lopez, there’s an entertainment news program deal to work around — this time, with Access Hollywood.

– Neil Patrick Harris: Considered a fantastic substitute co-host on the show. But would he want the gig?

– Mike Rowe: Now this is an interesting name. The Dirty Jobs host and Deadliest Catch narrator has a ton of female fans. Could this blue collar man’s man pull off the celebrity bantering and hamming it up with Kelly? Why, this could be his toughest job yet.

Bonus: Here’s some names floated by other publications: Nick Jonas, Bryant Gumbel, Glenn Beck, Tom Bergeron, and Larry King.

And, yes, all those who are supposedly being considered are men (though one publication did mention Jane Lynch).

Keep in mind that when Kathie Lee Gifford left Live, similar lists circulated the media as producers began to reach out to prospective talent. And you know who wasn’t named on any of those lists? Kelly Ripa.

ABC has Offered Good Morning America Co-Host Position to George Stephanopoulos

ABC has offered George Stephanopoulos the coveted job of co-hosting "Good Morning America" and intensive negotiations are underway, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The network's chief Washington correspondent has not yet accepted the job, and the talks involve not just the level of multimillion-dollar compensation, but also the details of his duties if he replaces Diane Sawyer. Stephanopoulos was in New York this week, and Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, was there for an affiliates board meeting. Sweeney met with ABC News President David Westin, who made his final pitch for Stephanopoulos.

The network has already turned its attention to who will replace the other contender, Chris Cuomo, as the "GMA" news anchor if Stephanopoulos, as expected, accepts the offer. Executives have staged taped sessions with three female staffers -- Kate Snow, JuJu Chang and Bianna Golodryga -- who have substituted in that role to see how they interact with the co-hosts.

As the discussions have dragged on for weeks, Stephanopoulos has pushed for a role reshaped to spotlight his interest in politics and hard news rather than feature segments. The sources, who declined to be identified discussing internal personnel matters, cautioned that the negotiations are complicated and the two sides might fail to reach agreement.

"We've made our timetable clear from the start, that this would be a four-month process," ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said Thursday. "We're still in that process, and we'll make an announcement as soon as we can."

The onetime Clinton White House aide has also pressed to hang on to his current job as the host of Washington-based "This Week" for as long as possible, although ABC executives do not believe he can handle both programs over the long term. ABC has not yet turned to the question of who might succeed Stephanopoulos on the prestigious Sunday show.

The clock is ticking on the negotiations because Sawyer is slated to take over "World News" from Charlie Gibson, whose last day as anchor will be Dec. 18. Sawyer is expected to start the following Monday, December 21st, with little fanfare.

The reassignment of Stephanopoulos as Robin Roberts's partner on "GMA" would be a risk for both him and the network. In the 13 years since he left politics, Stephanopoulos has grown in stature as a Sunday host and ABC's go-to guy in Washington, and he recognized from the start that the lighter, fluffier part of morning-show life was not his strong suit. With Sawyer leaving a sizable void in the morning program, which perpetually trails NBC's "Today," bringing in a big-name star has obvious appeal to Westin.

But Stephanopoulos's likely promotion coincides with an effort by Westin's division to beef up the morning show's first hour with hard news, and to add more consumer information -- about health care and personal finance, for instance -- to the 8 a.m. hour, which often features cooking and fashion segments.

In a sign that ABC executives are looking toward a future with Stephanopoulos, they have been talking to Cuomo about new opportunities at the network. Cuomo, an alternative choice if the talks with Stephanopoulos break down, is being courted by other networks.

The job he is likely vacating can range from a straight headline reader to traveling field correspondent, as it was for Cuomo, who recently reported from Afghanistan. Some ABC insiders say the network will probably pick a woman who has children, given the sizable female audience. The choice could create a ripple effect, just as Stephanopoulos's move might eventually result in a vacancy at "This Week." Snow, for instance, now co-hosts the weekend edition of "GMA," while Golodryga is the weekday program's business correspondent.

Will Three Gays Head Up Good Morning America?

With Diane Sawyer making her decade-long exit from Good Morning America, all of New York media wants to know: Who will take her place? Depending on who ABC picks, the network's morning show could become the gayest place on television.

By comparison, NBC's Today and CBS's The Early Show are pretty straight chat fests. (Okay, we've heard the gay rumors about Early's weatherman Dave Price, too. He's single and lives in NYC with his dog. Uh huh.) But on GMA, you've already got Robin Roberts and Sam Champion, both of whom are out among colleagues, but not viewing audiences (at least, they don't make it anyone's business).

That leaves Diane Sawyer and Chris Cuomo as the resident heteros, making GMA a refreshing half-gay. But what if ABC filled Diane's spot with another family member?

Already, financial lez Suze Orman has raised her hand to ABC brass letting them know she wants the job. But "insiders" says ABC wants a dude to replace Diane (who's leaving to take Charlie Gibson's evening anchor chair) and sit next to Robin, "restoring" the male-female duo main hosting construct.

"A short list of candidates," says the Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold, "is widely believed to include This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, World News Saturday anchor David Muir, GMA Weekend co-host Bill Weir and GMA news anchor Chris Cuomo."

Funny, then, that Weir already has the gays speculating And so does Muir.

Not that adding another 'mo would really change GMA's formula of news, entertainment, and crossing and uncrossing legs. But it'd be nice to wake up every morning and see Chris Cuomo quivering among the Gs.