For Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos, The Quest To Revive 'all My Children' Is Personal

Since starting Milojo, nan accumulation institution she runs pinch her husband, Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa has learned 1 very large lesson: “Everything is imaginable and yet thing is possible,” she says. “All astatine nan aforesaid time. It’s benignant of amazing.”

The couple, who famously met successful 1995 connected nan group of “All My Children” while playing Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos and now co-host syndicated greeting talk show “Live With Kelly and Mark,” person go very adept astatine trading their ideas. The difficult part, Consuelos says, is getting a show “over nan decorativeness line.”

“It’s a numbers game,” he says. “And we’ve learned that. It conscionable can’t beryllium 1 aliases 2 things you’re moving on. It’s gotta beryllium 4 aliases 5 things because usually 2 aliases 3 of those, particularly successful nan scripted area, are not gonna make it complete nan decorativeness line. You’ve sewage to person a batch of irons successful nan fire.”

To that end, Milojo consistently has a wide assortment of projects successful motion. “We’re conscionable mining for golden each nan time,” Ripa says. “The measurement nan manufacture is perpetually shifting, it’s astir harnessing thing astatine nan correct time. You don’t want to beryllium up of nan curve. You don’t want to beryllium down nan curve. You wanna beryllium correct successful that saccharine spot, and that’s what I find to beryllium nan astir challenging.”

Consuelos credits his woman pinch coming up pinch nan mostly of nan ideas. “When I americium reference a book aliases a magazine, I intuitively ever fig retired successful my mind’s oculus a measurement that I deliberation we could bring this to nan mini screen, nan large screen, a theater, what person you,” Ripa says. “I’m ever looking astatine a measurement to move thing I find compelling into thing I deliberation group whitethorn find compelling.”

Ripa‘s podcast “Let’s Talk Off Camera,” which she began successful 2023, is now successful its 4th season. Hulu bid “Squatters: Get nan F — Out of My House,” which premiered successful June, was inspired by an article Ripa publication successful Vanity Fair. Even existent life is sometimes fodder: The thought for 2009 TLC bid “Masters of Reception,” which followed nan family down a elephantine wedding reception venue, came erstwhile nan mates attended a wedding and connected his measurement backmost from nan restroom Consuelos returned to nan incorrect reception. Other shows for illustration ESPN’s “Running With nan Wolves,” which follows nan mates arsenic owners of an Italian shot team, thin into Consuelos’ emotion of sports.

Kelly Ripa.

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

“You person to beryllium nimble successful this business and you person to beryllium capable to pivot always,” Ripa says. “And I deliberation that’s astir apt our strongest suit.”

Their latest project, still successful its nascent stages, is bringing nan mates backmost to their roots. They are processing “All My Children” movies for Lifetime. The long-running ABC soap, which premiered successful 1970, went disconnected nan aerial successful 2011, but emotion for nan show remains strong. Consuelos estimates that connected immoderate fixed time half of nan “Live” assemblage is made up of “All My Children” devotees. Ripa marvels astatine nan number of adults they meet who are named Hayley and Mateo. “That’s erstwhile I realized really agelong agone I was connected ‘All My Children,’ ” she says. “‘Because I’m gathering big women who are named aft my character. It’s chaotic to me.”

All that anecdotal grounds came to life when, successful January 2025, Ripa, Susan Lucci (who played Erica Kane), casting head Judy Blye Wilson and caput writer Lorraine Broderick participated successful a speech hosted by Andy Cohen astatine nan 92nd Street Y. Albert Bianchini, executive shaper for Milojo, says nan power of nan arena was palpable.

Mark Consuelos.

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

“I’ve ne'er seen a crowd for illustration that successful my life,” he says. “People were lined up astir nan block. Everyone wanted to know, ‘When is [‘All My Children’] coming back? We want more.’ We sewage to spot that successful existent life. And Kelly sewage to consciousness it successful existent life, and it made truthful overmuch sense. I conscionable cognize that nan infinitesimal it gets retired successful nan world, group will want much and much and more. There’s conscionable a emotion there.”

They are moving intimately pinch nan property of Agnes Nixon, who created nan soap opera. “She was truthful acold up of her time,” Ripa says. “She covered topics that weren’t being covered. It was bonzer nan audiences that nan show drew, and she served them existent stories that were affecting Americans crossed nan state but weren’t needfully being represented anywhere.”

The movies will beryllium group successful nan coming time and attraction connected what beloved characters for illustration Erica Kane and Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue) are doing now. Ripa says she and Consuelos will besides look connected surface briefly.

These imaginable movies make a batch of consciousness for Lifetime, says Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and caput of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network. “Lifetime is ever willing successful shows that benignant of pat into a powerful nostalgia that tin beryllium made caller for today’s audience,” she says. “There’s a full procreation of women that person missed these stories and these characters.”

Lifetime has antecedently collaborated pinch Ripa and Consuelos connected respective “Ripped From nan Headlines” movies. “They’re precisely nan benignant of partners you want astatine a brand,” Bryant says of nan couple. “They’re trusted voices because each time they’re talking to their audience, which, a batch of times, is our audience. They bring a existent credibility and person an authentic constituent of view. You meet Kelly and Mark and benignant of what you spot is what you get, and I deliberation they bring that aforesaid authenticity to their improvement standards.”

For Consuelos, bringing “All My Children” backmost would besides beryllium very personal. “It’d beryllium awesome to springiness nan fans thing that they’ve been yearning for truthful galore years,” he says. “ ‘All My Children’ gave maine my family. I met my woman there. It gave maine my commencement successful nan business. It gave america truthful much. It would beryllium a dream to beryllium capable to springiness back.”