E! Network previously announced that it would continue on with "Fashion Police" despite Joan Rivers' sudden death earlier this month. The show is currently on a hiatus but will return next year with brand new episodes.
According to reports, producers are currently searching for a new cohost to join Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos. A source close to production told PerezHilton.com (via Radar Online) that "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes was in line to replace Rivers on the show.
According to Radar, producers feel Leakes has "great comic timing" and they want to diversify the cast. It was previously rumored that fellow comedian Kathy Griffin was a front runner for the gig.
"Kathy [Griffin] has been told if she wants the gig she can have it because Melissa [Rivers] wanted someone who her mother would have approved of," a source told the Daily Mail. "Kathy will probably take the position but they are still working out the deal."
However, Griffin, who attended Rivers' funeral on Sept. 7, denied that she had pitched herself for the job.
"It's disgusting. It's not true. And I know that stuff shouldn't even bother me at this stage in my career. I thought I heard it all, but that one hurts because it's as far from the truth as you can get. I would never take Joan's job," she said on "Larry King Now."
According to Radar, the current cohosts are not happy with E! allegedly trying to add a new cast member. A source told the site that Kelly Osbourne thinks it would be "pointless to continue on with the show. Kelly says that anyone that you try to replace Joan Rivers with will fail miserably."
E! announced in a statement that Rivers' daughter Melissa had given her blessing on the show moving forward without her mother. Reportedly it's expected to return Jan. 12, just in time for the Golden Globes.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Joan Rivers and, for the last two weeks, have turned our attention to honoring her memory on all of our platforms," the statement read. "We have also thought long and hard about what Joan would have wanted as it pertains to the future of 'Fashion Police.' We decided, with Melissa Rivers' blessing, that Joan would have wanted the franchise to continue."
