‘Live’ is back and it’s Kelly Ripa’s show
As it was before, so shall it be again, as the show formerly known as "Live with Kelly and Michael" returned to the air Monday, sans host Michael Strahan and rebranded as "Live With Kelly."
This is the show's second go-round being hosted exclusively by Kelly Ripa, who first joined the ranks in 2001, co-hosting with show originator Regis Philbin, before hosting the show solo after Philbin's retirement in 2011.
The name change is the latest in the "Live" saga that began with the April 19 news that Strahan would be departing the show for "Good Morning America," in September, news that Ripa wasn't informed of until shortly before the public announcement.
After sitting out two episodes of the show coupled with a prescheduled vacation, Ripa returned to the show with a brief monologue about workplace respect. Strahan's departure date was moved up and he concluded his four-year tenure with the show on Friday.
The series wasted no time, returning to the "Live With Kelly" moniker, announcing the new name and logo change on its social media outlets Sunday night.
The new logo is simple, with its gold and blue text and, not insignificantly, built with "Kelly" as its foundation.
"Live With Kelly" also took to Twitter to make sure that fans took care to update their DVR recordings, to make sure they didn't miss a single episode due to the name change.
This was not the first name change in "Live" history, nor will it be the last.
The series that began as "The Morning Show" before transitioning to the far more recognizable "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee," also saw life as "Live With Regis" before "Live With Kelly" and "Live With Kelly and Michael."
The search for a new "Live" co-host will begin imminently.
More:
Kelly Ripa calls for workplace respect and gets an apology as Michael Strahan decides to exit early
Michael Strahan says goodbye to Kelly Ripa and "Live"
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