NEIL PATRICK HARRIS JOINS KELLY RIPA AS GUEST CO-HOST ON "LIVE! WITH KELLY," NOVEMBER 28-DECEMBER 2, 2011

NEW YORK, NY - Award-winning actor NEIL PATRICK HARRIS will return to New York City to join Kelly Ripa as guest co-host on "LIVE! with Kelly" for five shows, November 28-December 2, 2011.

Harris is a favorite on "LIVE!" and has filled the co-host chair next to Ripa on multiple occasions. Among the guests sitting down with Ripa and Harris are the inimitable Betty White; "SNL" and "Up All Night" star Maya Rudolph; "Desperate Housewives" actress Marcia Cross; supermodel Molly Sims; and actresses Angie Harmon and Kristen Johnston. The week also will feature musical performances by Avril Lavigne, Hot Chelle Rae and Cobra Starship, plus a special demo by Science Bob.

Harris currently stars as Barney Stinson on the hit CBS sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother," a role which has garnered him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor, and a Critics' Choice Award for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Earlier this year he starred in the live-action/animated feature "The Smurfs," and he can currently be seen onscreen in "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas." On television, Harris gained notoriety as the title character in "Doogie Howser, M.D." Additional television credits include an Emmy Award-winning turn on "Glee." Harris served as the host of the 63rd Tony Awards (Emmy Award), the 65th Tony Awards, and the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. A veteran of the theater, he recently tackled the leading role of Bobby in the New York Philharmonic's concert production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" at Lincoln Center. Additional Broadway credits include "Assassins," "Cabaret" and "Proof." Harris made his theatrical directorial debut with "I Am Grock" at the El Portal Theatre, and he has subsequently directed productions of Jonathan Larson's "Rent," at the Hollywood Bowl, and "The Expert at the Card Table" at the Broad Stage.

"LIVE! with Kelly" is executive-produced by Michael Gelman, and is distributed in national syndication by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Produced by WABC-TV in New York, "LIVE! with Kelly" airs in more than 200 markets across the U.S.