“Live with Kelly and Michael” airs its fourth consecutive “After Oscar Show” Monday morning — live from the Dolby Theatre in LA (9 a.m./Ch. 7).
Each of “Live’s” three previous “After Oscar Show” telecasts have grown in viewership; last year’s hour snared nearly 6 million viewers — “Live’s” biggest audience (for any telecast) in over nine years.
“There’s always a lot of pressure when you keep breaking your own record,” says “Live” executive producer Michael Gelman. In addition to the special’s annual “Fashion Panel” (Maria Menounos, Carson Kressley, Lawrence Zarian), Monday’s “Live” will feature Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris joining Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, a Flo Rida performance and a number featuring hoofers from “Dancing With the Stars.”
Harris is a big get; he’s a friend of “Live,” having co-hosted the first “After Oscar Show” with Ripa and filled in before Strahan joined.
“Neil was willing to commit to waking up [Monday morning] and since I know I have him … we’re off to a good start,” says Gelman, who will also try to snag a winner or two from Sunday night’s Academy Awards to appear on Monday’s show (as Octavia Spencer, Christoph Waltz and Lupita Nyong’o have done in past years.)
“We’ve been talking to every nominee and trying to get them to commit,” says Gelman. “Most of them say that they’ll see how they’re feeling. If they go out and party [after the awards], then getting here at 6 a.m. is tough.”