Beloved All My Children alums and real-life couple Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley Santos) and Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo Santos) have joined the Lifetime family. The husband and wife team will be producing two true crime films as part of the network's Ripped from the Headlines series of movies.
"Kelly and Mark have been important voices in popular culture for the past twenty years and we are so incredibly pleased to have them become a part of the Lifetime family," says Paul Buccieri, Group President, A+E Networks. "We look forward to seeing their creative vision brought to life through these projects."
Adds Tanya Lopez, EVP of Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network, "I am beyond thrilled to welcome Kelly and Mark and their company into the Lifetime family. We feel like Kelly and Mark have our same sensibilities and instincts for good storytelling. We know our ripped from the headlines slate will be energized by their enthusiasm and we all look forward to bringing these timely stories to their fans."
The two as-yet-untitled projects, which are set to debut in 2021, will be executive produced by Ripa and Consuelos, via their Milojo Productions, alongside Albert Bianchini.
Share Ripa and Consuelos of their new Lifetime partnership, “As longtime true crime fans, there is nothing more thrilling than tuning into a Lifetime original movie. We are so excited to be working with Paul, Tanya, and their incredibly talented team to bring these Ripped from the Headlines stories to the screen.”
According to Deadline, Lifetime's 2020 Ripped from the Headlines slate has brought in serious ratings. The films Stolen By My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story, Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer, Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story, Neighbor in the Window, and You Can't Take My Daughter (which starred The Young and the Restless alum Lyndsy Fonseca [ex-Colleen Carlton]) reached more than 25 million total viewers from January to April on Lifetime and LMN.Milojo Productions has developed and produced for networks including Bravo, Logo, VH1, E!, CMT, HGTV, TLC, and Discovery. The company produced the Emmy-nominated documentary The Streak for ESPN and the critically acclaimed documentary Off the Rez for TLC, and has also been involved in such projects as Masters of Reception, Homemade Millionaire, Dirty Soap, Cheer, Secret Guide to Fabulous, Secret Guide to Summer, Fire Island, and the NewNowNext Vote election specials with Wanda Sykes. The company is currently in production on Family Reboot, a docuseries for Disney+, and Exhumed, a true crime series for Oxygen.
Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa famously met on the set of All My Children back in 1995, when Consuelos landed the role of Mateo Santos, a sexy hunk who swept Ripa's Hayley Vaughan off her feet. After starring on AMC (Ripa from 1990 to 2002 and Consuelos from 1995 to 2001), the pair went on to find major fame, Ripa as the co-host of Live! with Kelly and Ryan, and Consuelos as the star of series like Riverdale.
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