Fans of Live with Kelly and Ryan star Kelly Ripa were thrilled to learn she would guest-star on the first episode of Riverdale after the show’s winter break, but they weren’t expecting this explosive debut!
Riverdale fans got a taste of what to expect when the teen drama returns thanks to a new promo for the show’s next episode.
Pop Culture reported that along with Archie attempting to make his way to the Canadian border and Veronica potentially sharing a romantic moment with Reggie, Ripa will debut as the mistress of Hiram Lodge.
Hiram is played by Ripa’s real-life husband of 22 years, Mark Consuelos.
In a teaser for “Chapter Forty-Four: No Exit,” Ripa is seen staring down someone, but it is unclear who, as she holds a gun in front of her. It was not shown who she was aiming at in the promo.
Ripa’s character, Mrs. Mulwray, is described as “confident and tough, she is Hiram Lodge’s alleged mistress. She’s a beautiful, icy, femme fatale who gets caught up in a conspiracy that’s much bigger than she initially realized.”
The episode is the ninth installment of Riverdale’s third season.
Ripa joked to E! News that she’s been preparing to play her husband’s mistress for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soh4H9kL2m8
The couple’s son Michael plays the young version of Hiram Lodge in a case of brilliant casting as Michael Consuelos is almost a carbon copy of his handsome father.
Ripa loves the show so much that instead of using a photo of her own family for her 2018 Christmas card, she used a photo of Consuelos posing with his TV wife and daughter, Marisol Nichols and Camila Mendes, along with a shot of her actual family which include son Michael, daughter Lola, and youngest son Joaquin.
“Like every Christmas card in the history of our family, it was my idea, and I just got tired of fighting with my kids over them sitting down to just take a picture,” Ripa quipped on Instagram.
“I mean, I start as early as June trying to get sort of a family holiday photo, and it’s always a fight, it’s always a struggle, and I was just looking at my husband’s TV family, and they’re so beautiful, and Camila Mendes and Marisol Nichols are so nice, and they didn’t mind being on our family holiday card, and I said let’s just use the Riverdale family. They look great!”
Riverdale returns to the CW with all new episodes on January 16.
