Launching May 1st, the series sounds somewhat like a preview of the talk show, focusing on issues like “health, nutrition, parenting, and wellness.”

Continuing with that health theme, Poland Spring water is on board as the launch partner for the web series.

AdWeek’s Sam Thielman spoke to ABC News president Ben Sherwood about the show, and asked what Couric’s role at the news division will look like over the next few months:

He pitched a show to Comedy Central executives that would remake political-debate programs like The McLaughlin Group with comedy and celebrities. He would do a monologue like Carson and feature assorted stars tackling current affairs. The very first guest during the first taping, in a studio on East 23rd Street in New York, was a Republican TV executive at NBC named Roger Ailes.

Matt Lauer asked him about that directly in an interview:

“What kind of conversations have you had with NBC about joining the Today Show?” Lauer asked.

“Oh, they didn’t tell you?” Seacrest quipped.

“You didn’t answer the question, and I want names and dates,” Lauer responded jokingly.

Palin worked as a sports anchor in Alaska, and following her 2008 run alongside John McCain, she signed on as a contributor for Fox News. NBC’s Lester Holt made the announcement about Palin’s appearance on the show last Friday, but only confirmed this weekend that she would be guest-hosting. The choice has not gone unnoticed by fellow MSNBC employees.

The Palin pick was part of the discussion on MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry“ this morning, with Harris-Perry asking her panel of guests if the rumor (which by then was fact) was, “Real or fake?”

“I hope its fake,” said one, while another chimed in about what we all know: “NBC is doing that as counterprogramming to Katie Couric guest hosting “Good Morning America.”

In an open letter to Current viewers, Gore and co-founder Joel Hyatt wrote “We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet. We are more committed to those goals today than ever before. Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.” Olbermann had complained about technical issues on his set and squabbled with the network over his role in its coverage of the Republican primary, though he ultimately agreed to anchor those segments.

A source familiar with the decision-making process at Current said the choice to terminate Olbermann was based on what the network felt were violations of three tenets of his contract: a series of unathorized absences, a failure to promote the network, and disparagement both of Current as a network and of its executives individually. The source said that Olbermann missed 19 of his 41 working days in the months of January and February, and that Olbermann was told that if he took a vacation day he had requested for the night of March 5, it would be considered a breach of his contract. Olbermann took the day off, and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm ran a two-hour edition of her show, the War Room, in his place. The charges that he disparaged the network likely stem from the disputes over election coverage, when Olbermann said in a public statement: ““I was not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions. They know it and we know it. Telling half the story is wrong.”

In a series of Tweets after that letter was released, Olbermann sharply criticized Current’s leadership and said that he would sue the network, writing:

I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV. Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.

It goes almost without saying that the claims against me implied in Current’s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently. To understand Mr. Hyatt’s “values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,” I encourage you to read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain. http://nyti.ms/HueZsa

In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.

“Piers did not challenge Robert Zimmerman the way a professional journalist should,” tweeted during the broadcast, adding “@piersmorgan Allowing Rob Zimmerman to spout unchallenged lies further poisons a tense moment in American history. Be professional.”

Morgan responded just as his show ended, tweeting “Oh Toure, you’re such a tedious little twerp,” adding a characteristic dig at his opponent’s follower count. “ps @Toure – 71k tweets for just 57k followers? Ouch. Ever get the feeling you’re doing a LOT of jabbering but nobody’s listening?”

Touré continued to slam Morgan’s interview, tweeting things like “Rob Zimmerman’s story makes no sense after video of George walking uninjured & unbloody thru Sandord PD,” and “If at a crucial moment in American history, ie now, you allow people on your show to spread misinfo & lies you are damaging America.”

“With respect @Toure – I don’t think I’ll take professional journalist lectures from a ‘bull-dodging rodeo clown,’” Morgan responded.

“@piersmorgan Glad you’ve seen my George Plimpton show,” Touré said. “You should watch my interview show where I challenge people on bs when they spout it,” then explained Morgan’s reference by adding “On my show I’ll Try Anything Once I was a bull dodging rodeo clown & a skydiver & a sumo wrestler & a snake & bee wrangler & movie stuntman.”

Touré then zinged Piers for his own TV silliness, tweeting ”Not sure what my hosting I’ll Try Anything Once has to do with anything when @piersmorgan was a pawn on Donald Trump’s show.#GlassHouses‘”

Morgan issued a rather narrow challenge. “OK @Toure – we’re on. Get to my CNN bureau in NY between 3-5pm ET and we will do this debate on air tonight. Deal?” Morgan tweeted, then goaded “Come on @Toure – everyone’s waiting. You man or mouse?”

“I’m on MSNBC today, doing Tamron & Dylan’s shows. That’s my 2-5pm,” Touré responded.

Morgan taunted Toure awhile with Britishisms like “all mouth, no trousers,” while Toure pointed out that he was unavailable because he had to go to his, you know, job. Finally, Morgan asked “OK @Toure – when ARE you available? Stop the excuses & the bull…. – give me a day and let’s debate this on CNN,” to which Touré replied “Tuesday.”

Something must have happened to Morgan’s trousers (whatever that means), because he responded “Tuesday is Primary night @Toure – can do it Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.”

“Ugh. No can. Mon Fuse. Wed Iowa. Thrs St Louis. Fri MSNBC,” replied Touré, exposing the real weakness in the 21st Century’s new “booking by flame-war” procedures: you can’t really do both things well. “I’ll have Sheila call your booker…also YOU GOT PWNED!”

The fill-in, joining George Stephanopoulos, Josh Elliott, Sam Champion and Lara Spencer comes as “Good Morning America” continues to chip away at the perennial morning show leader, “Today,” where Couric spent more than 15 years. During the week of March 12, the younger viewer gap between the two shows was the smallest since July 2008.

We hear Roberts will make mention of the fill-in during the 8am hour of tomorrow’s show.

However, Rivera did not retract his offensive statement.

“I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin‘s death as George Zimmerman was,” Rivera said last Friday on “Fox & Friends,” a position he repeated later on “The O’Reilly Factor.”

“I apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my ‘very practical and potentially life-saving campaign urging black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies,’” Rivera wrote in an email to Politico.