Live With Kelly and Mark had an exciting announcement about some of their future episodes – they’re taping them on the West Coast! Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos shared plans for the upcoming shows that will be taped in Palm Springs, California.
In a Live With Kelly and Mark video posted on the show’s Instagram account on November 1, Ripa announced, “The rumors are true… we are bringing the show to Palm Springs!”
Consuelos added, “We’re doing the shows from The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa.” Ripa gave a rundown of the guests in store for the four shows they’re taping off-site: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Don Johnson, Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Mark Harmon, Caroline Rhea, Justine Lupe, and Kyle Richards. There will also be performances from Neon Trees and Bishop Briggs.
Ripa, who played Hayley Vaughan on All My Children (1990–2002, 2010), also announced a “Roper Romp,” with members from the Palm Springs Mrs. Roper group. She explained that it’s “people like me that dress like Mrs. Roper [from Three’s Company] in real life all the time.”
Their executive producer, Michael Gelman, noted the hope to get a big group of people dressed as Mrs. Roper and “maybe break a record.”
Live With Kelly and Mark will tape four shows in Palm Springs on November 10 and 11 and they will air from Monday, November 11 to Thursday, November 14.
In a November 4 interview with The Desert Sun, Ripa and Consuelos shared some of their Palm Springs memories, including their first visit 10 years ago for a birthday party at the Merv Griffin Estate in La Quinta.
“We were just gobsmacked by how beautiful it was, by the perfect weather, the crystal blue skies, the mountains, the people, everybody was in a good mood, the fruit trees. Everything about it appealed to our sensibilities,” Ripa said.
She added, “Every opportunity we got to go back, no matter for how brief, and it was always brief, always a two-day trip, a 24-hour trip, we would leap at the opportunity to take it just because it meant more to us to be there than the travel time to get there.”
Their family did get an extended stay during a two-week spring break vacation to “see if we like Palm Springs for more than 72 hours.” Ripa called it “heaven.” The vacation gave them the chance to explore galleries, go to Palm Springs’ weekly VillageFest, and go to restaurants like Workshop Kitchen+Bar.
“This is one everyone is excited about,” Ripa said of taking Live to Palm Springs. “Sometimes we’ll do remotes, and it seems like, oh boy, logistically this is going to be tough, or wow this is going to be a lot of work. Everybody universally is excited about coming to Palm Springs.”
Consuelos, who played Mateo Santos on All My Children (1995–2002, 2010), is looking forward to some golfing while on location. “I’ve asked the director if in between commercial breaks I can start hitting,” he said.
The couple also hinted that this could provide a glimpse of their future life. “We’re trying to show what our retirement will look like. His days occupy golfing. Me learning to play bridge. Us hiking together. You golfing more,” Ripa said. “We’ve got our whole lives mapped out, we can almost see it.”
In a November 6 interview with People, Consuelos said, “We manifested this. We really, really did. It’s one of our favorite places. I think we started talking about it and we were just joking. We were like, ‘We should do the show there,’ to [Michael] Gelman.”
He added, “We talked about it so much that I think it got their attention in Palm Springs, and it just kind of happened.”
Ripa also cleared up any rumors about her and Consuelos relocating to the West Coast. “What’s so funny is it’s been reported, and I don’t know where in a couple of tabloids that we are moving there,” Ripa said. “My uncle has called me to congratulate me on moving to Palm Springs. I’m getting all of these phone calls from people saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re finally moving to California after all these years.’ And I’m like, ‘We’re going for four days. Everybody calm down.'”
