Kelly Ripa has tried doing it with Michael Strahan, Josh Groban, and NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan — but when will she decide on which guy will fill Regis Philbin’s chair on a more permanent basis? Kiernan, who co-hosted Live! With Kelly three times this spring, is not giving up. He revealed how much he wants it once again last night at the after-party for a screening of The Campaign, hosted by the Peggy Siegal Company at Sons of Essex, where it seemed appropriate for him to brainstorm his own campaign for the gig. “We should put it out to Madison Avenue focus groups,” he joked to Daily Intel.
Kiernan doesn’t have to worry as much about Seth Meyers anymore, but he is concerned about competition from other comedians. “I think the job is a great fit for me, but I’m not the same candidate as some of the comedians who’ve been on, and the actors who’ve been on,” he said. “If they decide that they want someone who is a broadcaster, with that skill set, I think I’m in a good position. But I can’t compete with Martin Short, you know what I mean?”
Kiernan said he is willing to do more callbacks when the show is back from its hiatus in the fall, when he guesses they might do more tryouts. “I feel like if they had struck on the magic formula, they would have done something about it by now,” he added.
Until then, Kiernan has his agent making his case “as often as he feels comfortable!” But he doesn’t want to apply any more pressure than that, because “I know they’ve been assaulted by so many requests, and I don’t want to complicate things further. I’ve made it clear I want the job, almost to the peril of my job at NY1.” The local channel is “a little worried,” he admitted. “But I’ll handle it when it actually becomes a problem.”
