Both ‘Live’ and Good Morning America are ABC programs and the anchors regularly fill in for one another when on sick leave, but this is the most permanent connection between the two staffs.
George Stephanopoulos specifically cited ‘the way that you and Kelly (Ripa) all stepped in while Robin (Roberts) was away with her transplant’ as an example of how Strahan was already a part of the show.
‘It’s a family and we appreciate you guys too,’ Strahan said of him and Ripa.
His introduction at the top of GMA’s second hour this morning was brief- with a crowd cheering him in and gag gifts like an alarm clock and a giant coffee mug from his new colleagues- because he had to get out of the studio quickly to head uptown to the ‘Live’ studios to be there in time for the 9am show.
When he sat down next to Ripa on ‘Live’ an hour later, he said that the introduction was ‘good, it was quick’.
‘Hopefully it’s a match made in heaven,’ he said.
Strahan will formally start with GMA next week, working for the morning show a few times a week, but no one specified what time and filming constraints would be imposed in order for him to make his double shifts work.
Pre-taped segments with live introductions, creative use of the various ABC studios in Manhattan, and scheduling Strahan in the first hour of GMA could all be used as possible ways to make the situation work. The addition of Strahan to the Good Morning America crew became more and more likely ever since Josh Elliott left on March 30.
Strahan took over as Regis Philbin’s permanent replacement in September 2012 and the show’s audience responded with a strong ratings surge.