Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ on Monday, April 14. Photo: ABC
Live with Kelly and Mark broadcast from their new studio on Monday, April 14
Hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos praised the space before welcoming Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams as the new studio’s official first guest
They teased they’d offer viewers a tour of their new dressing rooms in a future episode
Same show, new set!
For weeks, Live with Kelly and Mark has been teasing a move to their new studio, after leaving their Upper West Side digs — where the New York City-based show broadcast for 37 years — in March. And on Monday, April 14, hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos finally got to show off their hit daytime show’s swanky space, broadcasting live from their new studio in the Walt Disney Company’s new downtown headquarters.
“Welcome to our brand new studio!” Ripa, 54, said at the top of the show. “Wowee! … What do ya think?”
The space was a major technological upgrade from their uptown studio, and from the atrium in the new building where Live temporarily broadcast last week.
“It sounds good!” Consuelos, 54, added. “It sounds like a stadium!”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos showing off the new set for ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ on Monday, April 14.ABC
With the relocation came a brand new set, backed by a gorgeous shot of the Brooklyn Bridge to mark their new lower Manhattan locale. A modern wood desk with rounded edges and a built-in monitor took center stage, Ripa and Consuelos sitting behind it in new cream-colored stools.
The bookshelves that previously had framed the pair have gone, giving the space a more open feel. On the floor, seemingly made up of all LED screens, a marble-like frame tile sat surrounded by light wood floors.
Audiences who have been to the studio will also notice that the two-level seating remains the same, but has seemingly been expanded. Déjà Vu, the show’s announcer, is a little higher up, too.
“I feel like I’m looking down on my subjects,” she joked, as Ripa called her “Déjá the Queen” with a laugh. “It’s beautiful. I’m getting used to it, but it’s gorgeous!”
Déjà Vu (top left) talks with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on the first broadcast of ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ from their new studio.ABC
Props were given to Live‘s Production Designer Mike Fagan. “We should point out that Mike Fagan is still with us, he did not quit. He did an incredible job. He is extraordinary,” Ripa said, instructing the camera to show Fagan so they could “give him his flowers.”
“You’ve outdone yourself, Mike,” Consuelos said. “This is absolutely stunning.”
And while Ripa was proud of Fagan and his team, she revealed she was surprised they finished on time. “I got to tell you, I lost a lot of money to Mark Consuelos because I did not think we would be here today,” she told him, admitting to her husband. “I owe you a lot of money for sure.”
The new studio at ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.ABC
The pair then pointed the audience to Sammy, Live‘s golden retriever statue. “That’s the one thing we took from our old studio. Our beloved studio dog,” she said.
“I’m glad we brought him with us,” Consuelos chimed in. “Or her, I’m not sure. It’s hard to say.”
Before the move, Ripa and Consuelos told PEOPLE about bringing Sammy with them. The dog has been a part of the Live studio since 1997. “This dog is the same age as our son Michael,” Ripa said. “And they both look really good for their age!”
She went on to reveal what was coming with her, showing off the Disney Legend honor she was awarded last August. “The reason I’m bringing this with me downtown is because that building is so like, sparkly and Disney-fied, I feel like this is on brand,” Ripa said. “I feel like it’s a good use.”
“Also, I feel like in my house, it feels very showy and I don’t want to show off my accolades,” she explained. “Plus, I know one of my kids will pinch this. So it’s going in a safe place in a sparkling new studio.”
The new studio at ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.ABC
The final Live with Kelly and Mark filmed in the Upper West Side studio aired on Tuesday, April 1.
Over the years, Ripa and Consuelos had made many memories in that studio. She joined in 2001, co-hosting with Regis Philbin after Kathie Lee Gifford’s exit. When Philbin retired in 2011, Ripa hosted alongside Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest before Consuelos nabbed the gig in 2023.
Before joining the show in an official capacity, both Ripa and Consuelos had spent plenty of time at 7 Lincoln Square, the building (at 67th St. and Columbus Ave.) where Live had lived for the past three decades. The two actors filmed All My Children in the area, and often made appearances as guests on Live.
The studio has also been where the pair’s three children — Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 22 — had “grown up,” Ripa told PEOPLE. “We owe a lot to this place. And it’s going to be hard to replicate.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings).