Jon Kelley is apparently following in the footsteps of Anderson Cooper and Ahmad Rashad.
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ABC has tapped the former Extra weekend anchor to helm its The Mole revival, Daily Variety reported Monday.
The new non-celebrity The Mole edition is reportedly scheduled to premiere Monday, May 26 at 10PM ET/PT, according to Variety, which added the show's fifth season will be paired with The Bachelorette's fourth season. Rejected The Bachelor eleventh-season suitor DeAnna Pappas will star in The Bachelorette's fourth season, which Variety reported could debut Monday, May 19.
ABC ordered 10 episodes of The Mole in January, and it's been four years since The Mole's most recent installment -- Celebrity Mole Hawaii -- aired in early 2004.
Cooper helmed The Mole's first two editions, but reportedly wasn't available to host its ABC revival due to his current gig with CNN, which also prevented him from hosting the show's celebrity editions. Instead Rashad hosted The Mole's two watered-down celebrity installments but reportedly wasn't asked to return for its revival.
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In addition to working as a weekend anchor on the syndicated entertainment news program, Kelley has also served as the lead anchor for Fox Sports Net's The National Sports Report and Baseball Today.
Stone and Company Entertainment -- the new name of Stone Stanley Entertainment, the production company that produced The Mole's first four seasons -- will produce The Mole's revival.
ABC is expected to announce its Summer 2008 primetime programming lineup early this week, Variety reported.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio