Live! With Kelly officially named it’s winner in the Coast-to-Coast Co-Host Contest: Michael Buckley, 37, married gay male and pop-culture YouTube blogger.
Buckley edged the contest over Will Tant, a model and professional surfer of approximately the same age and of ambiguous sexual orientation.
Both finalists were East-Coasters, in a top five that included one black female, a Brit, and a punky SoCal long-hair.
In the end, viewers whittled it down to the most attractive male (Tant) versus the most flamboyant (Buckley). Both suffered from a perceived lack of character depth, and fell flat when paired next to Kelly’s regular guest co-hosts during the week-long contest.
Particularly telling was when the contestants were asked to interview Jerry O’Connell, with Josh Groban in the background as Kelly’s actual co-host that day. A distinct hint of desperation filled the air, with O’Connell and Groban emerging unscathed.
Within the finalist options, Buckley certainly came across as the most “high-energy,” and perhaps the most likable and capable of holding down the Co-host position. However, his self-indulgence would likely wear on viewers, and he appears to have little to offer in life-experience or charisma beyond his openly gay lifestyle and pop blogging.
Celebrity psychic, Sylvia Browne, told Kelly in a recent appearance that she had not yet met her long-term co-host. This may be further discouraging to producers, who may feel pressured into selecting one of their current candidates after the Coast-to-Coast contest flopped, failing to produce the ideal new host.
Live! is said to be booked for the remainder of the Fall, and producers will likely continue to gauge ratings and other factors to pick the new official host next year.
d.anderson 2012
