Kelly Ripa & Ryan Seacrest Go to ‘Top Gun School’ in Brilliant New Teaser for Their ‘Live After Oscar Show’

Lights, camera, action: Kelly Ripa (52) and Ryan Seacrest (48) released a new teaser in advance of their annual Live After Oscar Show. In the sneak preview, the talk show hosts had a chance to show off their acting chops by reenacting scenes from the Oscar-nominated film for Best Picture, Top Gun: Maverick. 

While the star of the movie, Tom Cruise, was unable to help them on their quest, the co-hosts got a little bit of help from the “next best thing”: a fake Tom. In the three-minute teaser, Ripa and Seacrest are seen sporting their best green flight jumpsuits and helmets. The mission at hand? The talk show hosts have to prepare to take over the Live event.

But in order to do that, they must enroll in Top Gun school. With the help of a Tom Cruise lookalike, they’re supposed to train for the big event—however, Ripa and Seacrest are not here for it. 

“Tom realizes we’re just interviewing celebrities, right?” Ripa says in a mock sit-down interview.

From trying to apply makeup in a jet to almost drowning in the underwater program, the morning show duo somehow manage to graduate from training school. And the teaser ends with a Top Gun: Maverick-esque logo that reads, “Live’s After Oscar Show.”

In an exclusive interview with People magazine, Ripa raved about her co-host’s acting in the skit. She revealed to the outlet, “Ryan is just so, so good at these skits. It just tickles me every time I watch him because he really commits and gives his all!”

The Live Wire author added, “I’ve said it a thousand times: If Ryan wanted to take a 900 percent pay cut, he could have been one of the best actors.”