Mark Consuelos is making an impact on daytime television…
The 52-year-old Mexican-Spanish actor joined his wife Kelly Ripa as co-host of the syndicated Live with Kelly and Mark on Monday, April 17, taking over for longtime co-host Ryan Seacrest.
Seacrest left the show on Friday, April 14 after six seasons.
The debut week for Live with Kelly and Mark managed the talk show’s strongest ratings and largest audience in three months.
According to live+same-day Nielsen data, the show averaged about 2.4M viewers and a 1.7 Household rating, which is Nielsen’s key syndicated measure. That’s the highest for both since the week of January 16.
Live also improved year-over-year in both total viewers and in the demo. Versus the same week in 2022, the show was up 6% in ratings (1.7 vs. 1.6) and 8% in total viewers (2.4M vs. 2.3M).
Consuelos and Ripa played especially well in the show’s home market of New York. The couple’s premiere week marked Live‘s most-watched week in nearly three years with 254,000 people tuning in same-day. The show hasn’t managed a bigger New York audience since May 2020.
Mark Consuelos will be going live in a little more than a month…
The 51-year-old Mexican-Spanish actor will replace Ryan Seacrest as the co-host of the syndicated daytime show Live with Kelly and Ryan.
On the Oscars red carpet with Vanessa Hudgens, Consuelos, who was joined by Seacrest and wife Kelly Ripa, revealed that he’s officially beginning his gig as co-host on April 17.
“I couldn’t be more honored or excited,” he said.
It was announced last month that after a six-year run, Seacrest would be stepping down from his co-hosting slot.
“It’s bittersweet,” he shared on the Oscars red carpet. “We have such a great relationship and friendship and working relationship. Mark is going to take over and he and I have the same kind of relationship. It’s going to be an exciting last few weeks.”
Ripa added with a smile, “Nothing will really change between the three of us. It’s just that Ryan will get to have his coffee later.”
In a statement announcing his departure last month, Seacrest — who will keep hosting American Idol, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Evewith Ryan Seacrest, his syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest daily radio show and the American Top 40 countdown — said working with Ripa has been a “dream job” and one of the highlights of his career.
“She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other’s lives, I will miss our mornings together,” he said, also thanking the show’s executive producer Michael Gelman and the crew. “We’ve made memories to last a lifetime, met some of the most incredible people and had the warmest welcome into the homes of so many viewers across America. It’s been a memorable ride and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.”
Mark Consuelos will be spending a lot more time with wife Kelly Ripa.
The 51-year-old Mexican-Spanish actor will replace Ryan Seacrest as the co-host of the syndicated daytime show Live with Kelly and Ryan.
After six seasons, Seacrest announced on Thursday’s episode that he would be departing.
Ripa, who has hosted the show since 2001, will be joined by her actor husband, Consuelos, and the show will be rebranded as Live with Kelly and Mark.
Seacrest plans to head back to the west coast where he’ll remain part of the ABC Entertainment family, continuing to host American Idol and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest will transition this spring as he prepares for American Idol live shows in Los Angeles.
Seacrest said on today’s episode that he’ll occasionally fill in as a guest host on Live with Kelly and Mark, but didn’t say how often.
“Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career. She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other’s lives, I will miss our mornings together,” said Seacrest. “I also want to thank Michael Gelman and the entire staff and crew – we’ve made memories to last a lifetime, met some of the most incredible people and had the warmest welcome into the homes of so many viewers across America. It’s been a memorable ride and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.”
“I’m so grateful to have spent the last six years beside my dear friend of too many decades to count and will miss starting my days with Ryan,” said Ripa. “Ryan’s energy, passion and love for entertainment is one-of-a-kind.”
“Goodbyes are never easy, but we look forward to welcoming Ryan back regularly with open arms. As a fan-favorite guest host for years, Mark is no stranger to the ‘Live’ family. Having him join the show is so special for us and we’re sure that viewers will feel the same,” said Michael Gelman, executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan.
Seacrest had initially signed on to host the show for three years and ended up staying on for six.
This season, “Live with Kelly and Ryan” is the No. 1 daytime talk show ― network or syndicated ― in Households, Total Viewers and Women 25-54. “Live” has ranked as the top daytime talk show for 56 straight weeks among Women 25-54.
The 51-year-old Mexican & Spanish actor will appear in HBO Max’s The Girls on the Bus in a recurring role.
Consuelos will portray a major Hollywood action star-turned-politician who joined the presidential race after a Twitter poll said 46 percent of Americans would vote for him — regardless of party affiliation.
From writers Amy Chozick and Julie Plec, The Girls On The Bus centers on Sadie McCarthy (Melissa Benoist), a journalist who romanticizes Tim Crouse’s Boys on the Busbook and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign for the paper of record. Sadie hits the trail and eventually bonds with three female competitors, Grace (Carla Gugino), Lola (Natasha Behnam), and Kimberlyn (Christina Elmore). Despite their differences, the women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town: the battle for the White House.
The political drama also stars Brandon Scott, Griffin Dunne, Leslie Fray, PJ Sosko, Becky Ann Baker, Kyle Vincent Terry, Tala Ashe, and Richard Bekins.
Chozick and Plec developed the series and serve as executive producers alongside showrunner Rina Mimoun, Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter.
Consuelos most recently appeared in Season 2 of Hulu’s hit comedy Only Murders in the Buildingin the role of Mabel’s (Selena Gomez) father. Additionally, he portrayed Hiram Lodge in multiple seasons of the CW’s Riverdale.
His other television credits include All My Children, Queen of the South, Hope & Faith, and Ugly Betty.
Mark Consuelos is returning to his soap opera roots…
ABC is in early development onPine Valley, a primetime version of the network’s beloved daytime drama All My Children, with the 49-year-old half-Mexican actor and his wife Kelly Ripa executive producing alongside Andrew Stearn and filmmaker Robert Nixon, son of the late AMC creator Agnes Nixon.
In the All My Children followup, written/executive produced by Leo Richardson, a young journalist with a secret agenda comes to expose the dark and murderous history of a town named Pine Valley only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families. The series explores all the secrets that come with the Kane and Santos family names.
Kane was one of AMC’s founding families, with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) becoming one of television’s most popular characters. Ripa and Consuelos, who played Hayley & Mateo Santos on the original series, executive produce via their Milojo Productions alongside the company’s Albert Bianchini. Stearn executive produces through his Andrew Stearn Productions. The company is based at ABC Signature, which is the studio on the project.
Pine Valley will feature a new generation of characters and some old favorites. There are currently no deals in place with original cast members, but the plan is to invite a number of them to make an appearance, with Ripa and Consuelos also possible making a cameo.
Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children aired for 41 years on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011, originally in a half-hour format before expanding to hourlong episodes in 1977. The series was set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont.
Pine Valley plans to continue the original series’ legacy of tackling difficult issues and being inclusive. AMC was the first series to comprehensively address the Vietnam War and to have a character undergo a legal abortion. The soap also featured a transgender storyline a decade and a half ago.
As it will be in primetime, Pine Valley will have a heightened tone and will wink to the daytime soap genre similar to how the CW’s Jane the Virgin paid homage to telenovelas.
The 49-year-old half-Mexican American Spanish-born actor/producer and his wife Kelly Ripa have signed a deal with Lifetime to produce two new movies for the network’s Ripped from the Headlines slate via their Milojo Productions banner.
Consuelos, Ripa and Albert Bianchini will serve as executive producers for the untitled projects, which are set to debut in 2021..
“Kelly and Mark have been important voices in popular culture for the past twenty years and we are so incredibly pleased to have them become a part of the Lifetime family,” said Paul Buccieri, Group President, A+E Networks. “We look forward to seeing their creative vision brought to life through these projects.”
The network’s 2020 Ripped from the Headlines slate has been a ratings boon for Lifetime. Stolen By My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story, Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer, Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story, Neighbor in the Window, andYou Can’t Take My Daughter reached more than 25 million total viewers, from January – April on Lifetime & LMN1, according to Nielsen Live+7.
“I am beyond thrilled to welcome Kelly and Mark and their company into the Lifetime family. We feel like Kelly and Mark have our same sensibilities and instincts for good storytelling,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP of Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime & LMN. “We know our ripped from the headlines slate will be energized by their enthusiasm and we all look forward to bringing these timely stories to their fans.”
Milojo Productions, which has developed and produced for networks including Bravo, Logo, VH1, E!,CMT, HGTV, WeTV, TLC and Discovery, has produced the Emmy-nominated documentary The Streak for ESPN, and critically acclaimed documentary Off The Rezfor TLC, both which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The company has been involved in such projects as Masters of Reception, Homemade Millionaire, Dirty Soap, Cheer, Secret Guide To Fabulous, My Diet Is Better Than Yours, Secret Guide to Summer, Fire Island, and the New Now Next Voteelection specials with Wanda Sykes.
Milojo is currently in production onFamily Reboot, a docuseries for Disney+ and Exhumed, a true-crime series for Oxygen.
“As longtime true crime fans, there is nothing more thrilling than tuning into a Lifetime original movie,” Kelly and Mark added. “We are so excited to be working with Paul, Tanya, and their incredibly talented team to bring these Ripped from the Headlines stories to the screen.”
Hulu has put in developmentMexican Gothic, a drama series based on Silvia Moreno-Garcia‘s bestselling horror thriller novel, from the 49-year-old half-Mexican American Spanish-born actor/producer and Kelly Ripa’s Milojo Productions and ABC Signature, where the company has had a deal.
Milojo acquired the rights to develop the fantasy fiction novel for television in a competitive situation.
Published by Del Rey in June, Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada, a young socialite who travels to the Mexican countryside and the mountains of Hidalgo in hopes of rescuing her cousin, who has recently married into a reclusive mining family, after receiving a frantic letter in the mail. Noemí seeks to unveil the family’s violent and menacing secrets, but her confidence is quickly threatened and there may be no escaping the walls of her strange, new home.
Ripa previously recommended the book to her Instagram followers, calling it “Sublime horror for your summer reading. So good i bought the hard copy and the download to read in the dark.”
Moreno-Garcia will executive produce with Milojo’s Ripa, Consuelos, and Albert Bianchini.
“We feel like we hit the literary jackpot, and cannot wait to bring Silvia’s gorgeous writing to life, together with Hulu,” Ripa said.
Born in Mexico and now residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Moreno-Garcia is the best-selling author of Gods of Jade and Shadow, Certain Dark Things, Untamed Shore, and other works.
Additionally, Moreno-Garcia has edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning, She Walks in Shadows.
“I am excited to see the novel come to life and to meet the talented, diverse crew and cast members that will take us on this journey,” Moreno-Garcia said.
The 46-year-old half-Mexican actor has joined the cast of the CW’s Riverdaleas a new series regular for Season 2.
Consuelos will play Hiram Lodge, a ruthless, handsome, charismatic businessman who is coming back to Riverdale after weathering a financial scandal that almost destroyed him.
He is there to reconnect with his wife Hermione (Marisol Nichols) and, especially, his daughter Veronica (Camila Mendes), who is the apple of his eye.
Consuelos, who rose to acclaim after starring as Mateo Santos on ABC’s soap opera One Life to Live, most recently co-starred in Fox’s baseball drama series Pitch.
His other television credits include Queen of the South, Kingdom, Alpha Houseand American Horror Story: Asylum.
USA Network is set to premiere the second season of Queen of the South, starring the 33-year-old Brazilian actress, on June 8.
Inspired by the global best-selling novel La Reina Del Sur by internationally acclaimed author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Season 2 follows the journey of Teresa Mendoza (Braga) and the sacrifices she must make not only to survive, but to make it to the top of the drug world. Where will she draw the line when her moral code and her destiny are at odds?
In addition to Braga, Queen of the South also stars Justina Machado, Hemky Madera, Veronica Falcon, James Martinez, Joaquim de Almeida, Peter Gadiot, Carlos Gomez and Mark Consuelos.
The NBCUniversal-owned cable net will premiere Queen of the South on Thursday, June 8 at 10:00 pm ET.
The 46-year-old half-Mexican actor and his wife Kelly Ripa will develop the book Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech as a scripted television series, according to Variety.
ABC Studios optioned the book, which will be released by St. Martin’s Press on May 23.
Ripa and Consuelos will executive produce along with Albert Bianchini through their Milojo Productions banner, which is currently under an overall deal with the studio.
Milojo also produces the upcoming Logo unscripted series Fire Island” and has previously developed several shows with ABC Studios.
The book, written by journalists Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravens, introduces readers to the female entrepreneurs and technologists who are building the next generation of tech start-ups, investing in each other’s ventures, upending male hacker stereotypes, and rallying women and girls everywhere to join the digital revolution.
According to information cited by the authors, just 2.7 percent of venture capital-funded companies have a female CEO, while 94 percent of venture capitalists are male and mostly white. In addition, 56 percent of women in technology drop out mid-career and only 18 percent of undergraduate computer science degree recipients today are women , which has dropped from a high of 37 percent in 1985.
Seacrest left the show on Friday, April 14 after six seasons.
