Live With Kelly and Ryan is going Canadian again — just in time for the country’s 150th birthday. Fresh off the addition of Ryan Seacrest as its new co-host, the morning talk show will trot across the border for two episodes filmed at the Oakes Garden Theatre in Niagara Falls, Ont.
The show visited the city in 1996, with then-hosts Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee, and in 2006 with Philbin and current co-host Kelly Ripa.
“Live has had a wonderful relationship with the city and the people of Niagara Falls. Our two previous visits are among out favourite Live remote broadcasts,” executive producer Michael Gelman said in a statement.
This time around, Regina-born Orphan Black star (and suspected shape-shifter) Tatiana Maslany visits June 5, with pop singer-songwriter Erin Bowman performing.
The next day, America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel and former Castle star Nathan Fillion are the guests — they’re from Toronto and Edmonton, respectively. Taking the stage is rapper French Montana, who performs his latest single Unforgettable with Swae Lee.
Fans can get tickets to the broadcasts at KellyandRyan.com.
Live With Kelly and Ryan added Seacrest earlier this month, replacing former NFL player Michael Strahan after a series of guest co-hosts. The one-two punch of Ripa and Seacrest was a hit with viewers when the revamped lineup debuted — ratings were the show’s highest in nine weeks in the U.S., up 18 per cent over the previous week. Live airs on ABC and CTV.
Retro grade
Talk about a Throwback Thursday. Fox and City debut two retro-tastic game shows tonight: Beat Shazam, an updated Name That Tune, and Love Connection.
Jamie Foxx hosts Beat Shazam, in which teams of two battle each other to see who can identify hit songs first. The winners go up against the song identification app Shazam for the chance to win a cash prize.
Love Connection follows, with Andy Cohen hosting. The Cupid-approved show features single men and women looking for someone who transforms them into human heart-eye emojis. The singles and their matches dish on their dates, and if the single chooses the same match as the audience he or she get $10,000. If not, they must choose between love or money.
A travesty of Justice?
Apparently airing four shows from a TV franchise in the same season makes for market saturation. Who knew?
To wit, NBC has cancelled Chicago Justice — the youngest in the set of shows including Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med — after just one season. All the other Chicagos survived the cut. Chicago Justice debuted March 1 with 8.7 million U.S. viewers, but wrapped up May 14 with 5.7 million.
