Larry King, who announced yesterday, Tuesday, June 29th, that he’s leaving his CNN show in June, told Bill Maher on King’s show last night who he thinks would make a good replacement for himself.
It’s Ryan Seacrest.
Here’s the transcript:
MAHER: Who do you — who do you want to sit there after you go, if you had your druthers?
KING: I’m a — can’t be objective.
MAHER: I have a job. I’m just kidding.
KING: I can’t be objective. I can’t be objective because I don’t know his feelings, his interest in politics. But Ryan Seacrest, who is on his way to Paris right now.
MAHER: I like Ryan.
KING: He is curious. He is interesting. He is likable.
MAHER: But I never knew — maybe he is interested in politics.
KING: See that I don’t know.
MAHER: Isn’t that a key part of the job?
KING: That’s what I mean. If he has a great interest in politics, I would recommend him.
Separately, Nellie Andreeva at Deadline.com writes that CNN’s own Anderson Cooper may be an obvious choice for replacing King.
Aside from Cooper, other possible replacements for King include Joy Behar, "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and "America’s Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan, the story says.
Finally, in a controversial post, TVWeek Open Mic blogger Chuck Ross tells why he’s not pleased with King lately in a piece titled "Larry King: Hero or Hypocrite." To read it, please click here.
When Larry King was hired by CNN he already had many years hosting a similar talk show on national radio. That is what CNN needs. Someone who knows how to host a talk show and make it interesting. Joy Behar and Piers Morgan fawning over guests is not going to get ratings. Howard Stern is one of the best interviewers out there. He is what they need.