Since Jenny McCarthy quit the broadcast in 2019, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve has used Lucy Hale and Liza Koshy in New York with Ryan Seacrest, and Ciara in Los Angeles. This year, Rita Ora got the nod in Times Square and Jeannie Mai took over in L.A. (this might also be due to Ciara’s pregnancy — I cannot imagine wanting to be anywhere LESS than a fake New Year’s Eve nightclub party in L.A., other than perhaps a real New Year’s Eve nightclub party in L.A…. or, in fact, Times Square).
Rita’s does not look like a particularly fun job — all this person usually does is say, “It’s a DREAM COME TRUE to be here,” “Are we ready to MAKE some MEMORIES,” and “Can you BELIEVE the ATMOSPHERE here in Times Square!!!!” And indeed, she checked all those boxes. But she has personality, at least; I wish they’d hand her Ryan’s segments, because he’s as boring as blank page at this point.
