‘Live With Kelly and Mark’: Big Change Made to Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Talk Show

Even more changes are coming for Live with Kelly and Mark. After the ABC morning talk show officially changed its title following Ryan Seacrest’s exit in April, Live kicked off Season 36 Tuesday with an all-new opening featuring married co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Conseulos.

Ahead of the season premiere Tuesday, the show’s producers shared the new intro on social media Monday, teasing on Instagram, “Check out our new show open! New season starts TOMORROW! Tune in!” The intro, which was also uploaded to YouTube, features the show’s iconic theme song and sees the happy couple, who tied the knot in 1996, as they begin their day at home, showing them brushing their teeth in their pajamas, going through several outfit changes, and eventually walking out the door and heading to their New York City studio, where they are greeted by the studio audience. Producer Michael Gelman also makes an appearance in the new intro, as well as DJ Déjà vu.

Season 36 marks the first full season with Consuelos as co-host. Consuelos, who has made several appearances and even guest co-hosted throughout the long-running talk show’s history, was named co-host in April following the exit of Seacrest. Seacrest left the show to pursue other opportunities on the West Coast after first joining Live in 2016 as Michael Strahan’s replacement. He initially signed a three-year contract but remained on the show for a total of six years before announcing his departure.

Amid his exit, Live with Kelly and Ryan was renamed Live with Kelly and Mark as Consuelos began his co-hosting duties in April, with his debut on the show billed as “the beginning of a new chapter.” During his debut, Conseulos told his wife, “Thank you for trusting me to be your co-host,” adding, “Thank you America, thank you – Hayley and Mateo forever,” a reference to their characters on All My Children, the soap opera on which they first met.

Season 36, Ripa and Consuelos’ first full season together as co-hosts, kicked off Tuesday with special guest Derek Hough, who joined the couple to dish on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. The premiere also saw a performance from the music group SHINEDOWN. Scheduled guests for premiere week also include Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Etheridge, Josh Gad, Shinedown, Phillip Phillips, Nikki, and Brie Bella and more. Season 36 also kicks off the new trivia game segment Stump Mark, during which trivia callers will attempt to stump Consuelos with their two statements – one true, one false.