UPDATES BELOW
It's still all conjecture and rumor, but reports state that CNN is floating a possible Kathy Griffin/Coop television program. According to Deadline, the hour-long special was filmed in front of a live studio audience, with Jeff Zucker in the room, at the Time Warner Center in New York City. Could this mean that the famously camp duo of New Year's Eve could have a new CNN special to cement their undying bond?
Well, not everyone thinks that's a good idea. Joe Concha at Mediaite wrote a scathing rebuttal to the idea, saying:
"Having the comedienne on once a year is almost one time too many. Having her on with Cooper--who has already failed doing the light stuff during his recently-cancelled syndicated talk-show--could be an exercise that would run out of "shocking" content so quickly, become so awkward, so utterly awful (considering the network, the venue), that it could ultimately be an error so egregious that CNN and Jeff Zucker might never recover."
Ouch.
But the even more tititallating report, also from Deadline, is that Coop was approached by NBC to replace Lauer as host on Today by the end of the year. We know that Anderson really wanted a morning talk show slot--and was disappointed when it didn't work out with his other gal pal, Kelly Ripa. But could this be the reason? He was intended to strengthen Today all along?
But don't forget: He was also rumored as a possible replacement for Alex Trebek on Jeopardy. The moral of this story? Everyone wants a little bit of Anderson Cooper. If we have learned anything from watching his ambitious media climb, there might just be enough to go around. And he'll land all three. And he'll still go diving with crocodiles.
UPDATE: NBC says Lauer not out, Coop not being groomed for Today.
After yesterday's rumors The Wrap reports that Today exec producer Alex Wallace came out with this statement: "We are not considering replacing Matt Lauer. As we've said before, Matt is the best in the business. We want him in the 'Today' show anchor chair for many years to come."
Plus, it seems that no one has actually approached Cooper about replacing Trebek. Everyone just spreading rumors to show how in demand the silver fox is these days!
