Could Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest Be Sitting Further Apart?

We're all for social distancing, but Live with Kelly and Ryan continues to take things to the extreme, making for some supremely awkward visuals.

Since returning to the studio last September, the show has employed a split screen to make it appear that the two hosts are seated right next to each other, but it falls apart in the long shots, especially when they welcome an in-studio guest — as they did this morning when Bethenny Frankel joined the duo (above).

There's something about watching three mic'd-up people speaking in raised voices just so they can hear one another that feels contrary to the normally relaxed feel of the long-running show.

And although the split screen works remarkably well in the show's opening segment (except for when one of the hosts reaches past the middle of the screen), attempts to extend it for remote interviewees have bordered on total absurdity.

It's quite the contrast to fellow daytime talker Drew Barrymore's space age setup for remote guests, where you really wouldn't know they were in two different locations unless they acknowledged it (which, admirably, they do).

One more reason for us all to get vaccinated, so Kelly and Ryan can once again sit together, and Live can go back to being the touchy-feely show we know and love.

Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.