TV networks pass on Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’ ‘desperate’ return bid
Major TV networks are steering clear of former “GMA3” co-hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach as the disgraced lovers “desperately” attempt to get back on the air, The Post has learned.
CBS Media Ventures — the syndicate arm of CBS that’s responsible for daytime broadcasts like “Dr. Phil” and “The Drew Barrymore Show” — recently turned down a talk show proposal from the duo, according to sources close to the situation.
Ditto for CNN, which was pitched last month by Holmes and Robach’s talent agency, CAA, insiders said.
“If they did a talk show, what would they talk about? What’s their expertise — infidelity?” a skeptical TV expert said, opining, “They’d take anything. I think they’d host a game show at this point.”
Holmes and Robach also have approached entertainment companies including Fox Entertainment and Fox Television Stations for a syndicated show and met with executives for “general meetings” on “various opportunities” that were not necessarily limited to a dedicated talk show, a source said.
“I don’t think the talks are serious at all,” said an insider close to Fox. “CAA set up these meetings and everybody took them. I don’t think anyone is serious. I don’t think there’s any there there.”
Reps for CBS, CNN and Fox — which shares a common owner with News Corp., the parent of the New York Post — did not comment. Reps for Holmes and Robach did not comment.
A source close to the situation said Holmes and Robach are in the process of meeting with other media companies.
Last week, Page Six reported that Holmes and Robach have been “pitching a show a la Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos” and that they approached the producers behind “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
While the couple have been “selling their chemistry,” Page Six sources noted they previously had more of a “brother/sister chemistry” and that “now they’re selling sex” — which might not work.
Further details of Holmes and Robach’s pitch have been described as “vague” by insiders, with a TMZ-style gossip show also floated as a possibility. One source said Robach and Holmes have told execs they “can be whatever you want us to be.”
“One thing’s for sure,” the insider said. “They can’t do news.”
The pair are no longer “credible” as newspeople, the source opined, citing a flurry of reports that included leaked photos of their adulterous affair, as well as allegations that Holmes had prior affairs with junior staffers at ABC News.
Those reports spiraled into an investigation by ABC News, which ultimately led to their ouster from ABC News in January. The network did not disclose the findings of the probe, but both Holmes and Robach hired lawyers to negotiate their exit packages at the time.
One source close to the couple — who most recently turned out to run the New York City Half Marathon together on Sunday — said the press and paparazzi following their every move appear to have clouded their judgment as they try to claw their way back into TV.
“They think they are Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,” the source said. “They think they are superstars. It’s insane. They are not as famous as they think. Nobody is going to watch them. America does not like adulterers.”
“Taking a meeting is not selling a show,” the source added. “It’s almost like amateur hour and they should know better. They think that if someone takes a meeting, they’re interested.”
The couple’s mad rush to get work comes after ABC News gave the pair severance packages to decamp from the network.
The amount of their severance could not be learned, but sources told The Post that it isn’t enough to sustain the co-hosts indefinitely — especially given their high-flying lifestyles and messy, public divorces.
Following their dismissal, Robach and Holmes were spotted on a romantic getaway in Mexico last month before returning to run the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday.
Last week, Robach quietly finalized her divorce from actor Andrew Shue, with the pair amicably dividing their assets through mediation.
Holmes is still in the midst of settling his divorce from lawyer Marilee Fiebig, whom he married in 2010. The estranged couple are parents to 10-year-old daughter Sabine.
