ABC names ‘GMA3’ anchors, officially replacing T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach

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ABC News has settled on replacements for scandal-ridden former co-anchors of “GMA3: What You Need to Know” T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach.

DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim will take their places at the anchor desk alongside Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who was also co-anchor with Holmes and Robach.

Morgan joined ABC in late 2022, while Pilgrim has been with the network since 2015, according to her network biography. Pilgrim was previously co-anchor of “Good Morning America Weekend” editions and will leave that show in order to co-anchor “GMA3.”

The new anchor team brings a new level of diversity to the show. Pilgrim is Asian-American and essentially replaces Robach, who is white. Morgan is Black, as is Holmes.

“GMA3” airs at 2 p.m. eastern. The timeslot had been the longtime home of “The Chew,” which was canceled in 2018.

ABC originally opted to fill the slot with “GMA Day” starting later that year and co-anchored by Michael Strahan and Sara Haines. It then rebranded the show as “Strahan & Sara” in early 2019 and again to “Strahan, Sara and Keke” in 2019 after Keke Palmer joined the team.

The show was put on hiatus in 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic when many TV shows were forced to stop using studio audiences.

ABC replaced it with “Pandemic: What You Need to Know,” initially meant as a temporary newscast designed to fill the hour and help disseminate the influx of news related to the pandemic. Ashton was originally paired with only Robach.

Holmes was later added to the cast and eventually the show was renamed “GMA3: What You Need to Know” and began focusing on other topics.

“Strahan, Sara & Keke,” meanwhile, never returned to the network. Strahan remained as co-anchor of “Good Morning America” proper and Haines was given a role on “The View” as well as hosting the primetime game show “The Chase.” Palmer exited the network and has since been tapped to host NBC’s “Password.”

Scandal arose at “GMA3” in late 2022 when it was revealed Holmes and Robach, who were both married at the time, were involved in a consensual relationship. Both were reportedly separated from their respective partners.

Initially ABC let them continue to appear on the show. It was not immediately clear if the pair reported their relationship to ABC management, though Disney policy typically only requires such disclosures if one person in the relationship has management or other responsibilities over the other, so such a disclosure may not have been required given that the two held similar, if not identical, roles as co-anchors.

Management eventually yanked them off the air after more details of the relationship emerged and accusations of improper workplace conduct were reported by other staffers. This included allegations that Holmes had other workplace romances with subordinates as well as rumblings that Robach allegedly drank alcohol at work.

In the meantime, reps for both anchors began talks with ABC about their future at the network. There were reports that Robach, in particular, felt ABC was looking for reasons to fire her — with her claiming the alcohol in her dressing room was provided by high-level execs at the network.

The pair eventually negotiated exit packages from the network on undisclosed terms.

Both Robach and Holmes’ camps have reportedly reached out to other networks and production companies about TV jobs, but so far none have come to fruition.