Kelly Ripa: Host search behind Michael Strahan’s early exit

NEW YORK – Kelly Ripa says Michael Strahan is leaving their morning talk show earlier than originally planned so a search for his replacement can begin.

It was announced last month that Strahan would depart “Live with Kelly and Michael” to join ABC’s “Good Morning America” full-time in September. But that timeline was moved up to Friday after Ripa took a few days off amid unhappiness over the way Strahan’s departure was communicated.

Ripa tells “People” magazine that a search for Strahan’s replacement needs to get underway before the show’s upcoming summer hiatus. She says they need to have the list “narrowed down to at least a manageable size by the fall.”

Jimmy Kimmel, Fred Savage, Seal and Andy Cohen are scheduled to step in as guest co-hosts in the coming weeks.