Look at the happy partners! Oh, right — this is an old photo.
When he waves goodbye for good on May 13, Michael Strahan will prove tough for “Live!” to replace — at least from a likability standpoint. We looked at Positive Q Scores the industry uses to rate how highly people think of a celebrity.
Michael Strahan: Let’s start with the departing host. The former NFL great boasts a very strong 21 Positive Q Score. That’s a full four points better than anyone else on our list of possible replacements, and a hell of a lot higher than Kelly Ripa‘s uninspiring 13. No wonder he’s always smiling.
Joel McHale: Mathematically, McHale is the best replacement on our list, as he has the most comparable-to-Strahan appeal among young adults — particularly women 18-34, a needed demo for “Live!”
McHale’s lackluster scores among the female 50-plus segment can be offset by Ripa’s skew to the demo. A perfect match!
Positive Q Score: 17
Total Familiar: 21
Anderson Cooper: Everyone loves Anderson Cooper, right? Well, not entirely.
About 14 percent of those polled by the Q Scores Company consider the CNN personality one of their favorites. And almost-everyone knows Cooper — his 66 familiarity score is tops on our list.
Cooper’s appeal skews older, which means those who like Ripa should also like Anderson.
Positive Q Score: 14
Total Familiar: 66
Taye Diggs: Diggs not only has camera-ready looks, he’s a genuinely charming fella. We doubt any women in the studio audience or watching along at home would complain about seeing Taye everyday. His Positive Q Score makes him a pretty safe choice.
Positive Q Score: 13
Total Familiar: 45
Deion Sanders: The NFL already produced one big star for the series — Sanders could be its next. (Insert your own joke about “Primetime” heading to daytime here.)
As a football player, “Neon” Deion is beloved by men — not the show’s key demo, but it sure worked for Strahan.
Sanders and Diggs are tied with the same Positive Q Score among those 18-plus. The two gentlemen actually have an eerily similar recognition level as well, separated by just one point. (Diggs tops Sanders in the order we ranked the two because of rounding differences.)
Positive Q Score: 13
Total Familiar: 46
Mario Lopez: The “Saved By the Bell” alum hosts seemingly every other show, so what’s one more?
Lopez falls just below the Kelly Ripa Line, and his 12 Q Score is nowhere near Strahan’s 21. But the actor behind A.C. Slater is quite well-known, and as we already mentioned, he’s not exactly lacking experience.
Positive Q Score: 12
Total Familiar: 62
Mark Consuelos: Potential nepotism at its finest!
Ripa’s husband has co-hosted “Live!” many times, though his relatively low recognition and so-so-at-best Q Score could keep him out of the passenger seat permanently. Though, speaking of driving, wouldn’t that be a convenient New York City carpool?
Another saving grace here could be Mark’s strength among millennials, a trait he shares with McHale.
Positive Q Score: 11
Total Familiar: 20
Regis Philbin: Thinking Reg might come back to his former show? Not so fast. Philbin’s Positive Q Score among millennials is a mere 5. Have they forgotten the glory days of Regis and Kathie Lee?
Positive Q Score: 9
Total Familiar: 61
