As Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest introduced their weekday ABC morning show “Live With Kelly and Ryan” Wednesday, there was the usual audience cheer. But the duo was quick to admit that all was not as it seemed.
The camera then panned to the audience seating area to reveal that the noise was in fact coming from a handful of the hit show’s producers, who were cheering at the top of their voices to make it sound like there was a full crowd in attendance.
The missing live audience, it turned out, was in line with The Walt Disney Company-owned ABC’s new policy, starting Wednesday, that its New York-based morning shows will no longer have live audiences for the foreseeable future as companies move to take precautions against a backdrop of an increasing number of coronavirus cases in New York. The number of cases has now surpassed 200.
“That shouldn’t stop everyone from watching from home because, let’s face it, you can’t go anywhere else,” joked Ripa from behind her desk. “Our show must go on so let’s do this thing.”
It was a similar story at “Good Morning America,” which has the slot before “Live With Kelly and Ryan.” Cohosts Michael Strahan and
The camera then panned to the audience seating area to reveal that the noise was in fact coming from a handful of the hit show’s producers, who were cheering at the top of their voices to make it sound like there was a full crowd in attendance.
The missing live audience, it turned out, was in line with The Walt Disney Company-owned ABC’s new policy, starting Wednesday, that its New York-based morning shows will no longer have live audiences for the foreseeable future as companies move to take precautions against a backdrop of an increasing number of coronavirus cases in New York. The number of cases has now surpassed 200.
“That shouldn’t stop everyone from watching from home because, let’s face it, you can’t go anywhere else,” joked Ripa from behind her desk. “Our show must go on so let’s do this thing.”
It was a similar story at “Good Morning America,” which has the slot before “Live With Kelly and Ryan.” Cohosts Michael Strahan and
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