The search for a replacement for Regis Philbin as the co-host of Live is reaching its later stages, according to the Wall Street Journal, which is reporting that multimedia marvel Ryan Seacrest, actor Mark Consuelos (the husband of current Regis partner Kelly Ripa), and Bravo VP and Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen are the finalists for the position.

Seacrest would be a slam-dunk choice if he wanted the job, but his current assignments are both plenty lucrative as it is, and based in Los Angeles. And while Consuelos would have obvious chemistry with Ripa, he already likely has enough trouble coming across as not subordinate to his wife in his daily life, without extending the problem into television.

But Cohen could be a shrewd pick for the job, assuming he’d be willing to give up his executive duties at Bravo. In his early on-camera work as host for reunion specials of various Bravo reality shows, he was awkward and a bit stiff, but he’s loosened up as time has gone on, and Cohen is typically downright giddy on Watch What Happens Live. The people at Disney, who will make the final choice on the Regis replacement, must have noticed the higher ratings for this year’s edition of the Miss USA pageant, which Cohen co-hosted.

A curious footnote to the rumors came Tuesday in Page Six, which reported that the brass at Comcast, the new owners of Bravo, is secretly hoping that Cohen gets the Live gig. Unnamed sources told the gossips that while Comcast likes his work on Watch What Happens Live, Cohen’s new bosses aren’t as pleased with his behind-the-scenes track record, and believe that it’s somehow undignified for an executive to have become a celebrity in his own right. This seems almost completely backwards to me, since Cohen is decent if nothing special as a host, but deserves primary credit for developing the Bravo brand in reality programming, particularly the Housewives franchise. It just goes to show that people will say and do dumb things when jealousy comes into the picture.

Tags: andy cohen, bravo, kelly ripa, live, live with regis and kelly, mark consuelos, real housewives bravo, regis philbin, ryan seacrest, watch what happens live