Larry King Retiring, Says Ryan Seacrest Should Replace Him

By On 06/29/2010 · 8 Comments · In American Idol, Ryan Seacrest

Larry King has officially announced on his website that he will be ending CNN’s  Larry King Live this fall.

King will continue to host specials for CNN on on “major national and international subjects.”

Larry King Live had a rating slide of 37% between the 2nd quarter of 2009 and the same period 2010.

According to the Associated Press, King has said if it was up to him, Ryan Seacrest would be the best choice to fill his shoes.

There’s been speculation that King would be leaving for several months now, with America’s Got Talent’s Piers Morgan and CBS News Anchor,  Katie Couric floated as possible replacements.

Personally, I think CNN will hire an interviewer with more gravitas, able to handle hard news interviews with domestic and international movers and shakers…

Read King’s statement after the jump.

Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live.

Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.

I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.

I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.

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  • Willis

    I think Ryan should totally do this. It would be a fitting win after how hard he works. This would give Ryan the opportunity to get the scoop interviews.

  • dfeeel2

    Idk why, but i think Ryan is REALLY intelligent, and actually really strong at interviewing, more then Idol projects.

  • http://www.madzionist.com negativo

    Larry has become a living parody…probably a forced retirement that’s about 5 years overdo.

    Ryan can do much better than CNN, so I would recommend he not wallow at that has been network.

  • http://mollyblogsidol.wordpress.com Molly (aka sparklesgirl2)

    I wonder if this is at all related to Ryan’s announcement that he probably won’t be renewing his radio contract after this season… hmmmmm.

  • Kirsten

    Personally, I think CNN will hire an interviewer with more gravitas, able to handle hard news interviews with domestic and international movers and shakers…

    Whoever they are hiring is replacing Larry King. The guy has been out of it for years. Forgetting who he was interviewing. Asking bizarro questions. Mispronouncing all sorts of things. Completely clueless to the subject at hand.

    Anybody who can be coherent and remember the names of guests would be an improvement. Let Anderson Cooper handle the movers and shakers.

    I say no to Piers because he’s an a$$ and I’ve seen quite enough of him on his numerous reality shows and clips from that Apprentice show. Surely, he has lots of pictures of somebody in the compromising positions. Come to think of it, wasn’t he an editor of some tab rag back in the UK? CNN can do better than that. Much better.

  • Nina1

    Larry King creeps me out, so I have managed to watch him only rarely. I can’t really see Ryan doing this and continuing with all the political interviews, but can see him doing a Hollywood interview show. There are, however, too many of them already, so…
    I don’t know why he would want to do this with all the irons he has in the fire.

  • lucy

    Surely, he has lots of pictures of somebody in the compromising positions. Come to think of it, wasn’t he an editor of some tab rag back in the UK?

    Good point. He undoubtedly has many many pictures of people in compromising positions, lol. Suggests that working for a UK tab is probably a good way to kickstart the rest of your career!

    As for their only needing to make the show better than Larry K has been, though, I kind of disagree. I’m sure they want to try to build ratings by improving it from where it’s gone in the fast few years as Larry’s brain has slowly leaked out of his nose, or ears, or wherever it’s been leaking from. Maybe they think that the uber-annoying Piers M can build the ratings because people will tune in for the supercilious nastiness? Not sure that will work, but not sure that it won’t, either. Being a complete jerk seems to be one of the surer-fire ways to make your talk show popular. Will be interesting to see if it works in this case.

  • bean99

    I don’t know why they’d even keep the show. It’s a dinosaur and their network is hurting in the ratings. Ryan would be fine but think it would be a mistake for him to do it.