Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ ‘fake banter’ blasted in ‘Live’ debut

Mark Consuelos has made his highly anticipated debut on “Live” — but fans are divided by his first official appearance as co-host.

Consuelos, 52, is now hosting alongside wife Kelly Ripa, also 52, on the hit daytime show after he was tapped to replace Ryan Seacrest, 48, who exited the program after seven seasons.

“Live With Kelly and Ryan” has been rebranded as “Live With Kelly and Mark,” with millions tuning in Monday morning to see how the real-life lovebirds would do sharing the screen.

Consuelos has frequently filled in as Ripa’s co-host over the years, but one Twitter user claimed he appeared jittery during his official debut.

“Mark, lighten up please,” they declared. “You seem so nervous. You’ll be great!”

Meanwhile, others accused Ripa of constantly interrupting her husband during the broadcast.

“I am so happy to see Mark & Kelly this morning … But Kelly could [you] PLEASE LET HIM TALK!!!” a fan fumed. “OMG! Let him start and finish a story his way … It’s the only way it’s going work.”

“Every time Kelly interrupts Mark, take a shot!” a second sniped.

Elsewhere, another viewer was left unimpressed by the married couple’s affectionate displays.

“Last time I watch,” the angered armchair critic complained. “I can go to the mall and watch teenagers kiss LESS!!! THE BEGINNING OF THE END.”

Another appeared eager to flip the channel, declaring: “Painful … They NEVER say anything of substance … just fake banter!!”

However, other longtime “Live” lovers relished Ripa and Consuelos finally sharing the table as permanent co-hosts.

“Congrats to you guys for a great show today,” one swooned. “I’m glad to see a long-lasting celebrity marriage being woven into a show together.”

Another impressed viewer enthused: “I really haven’t watched much since COVID but with Mark on, I will be watching all the time! Loved the show today!!”

Prior to the broadcast, Ripa and Consuelos — who have been married for 27 years — were seen leaving their Manhattan home and heading to ABC’s studios for their first day as co-workers.

The couple have been in the headlines since it was announced in February that Consuelos would replace Seacrest. Ripa, meanwhile, has been co-hosting “Live” since 2001.

The show’s longtime producer Michael Gelman recently told Variety that it made sense for Consuelos to join the show alongside his wife.

“The concept of the show was always a faux husband and wife, right? I have described it where it’s these two people, they’ve woken up and now they’re having coffee, and then their friends are coming over who happen to be celebrities, and we’re all having a good time,” Gelman declared. “Now, it’s just graduated to a new level of reality, which is a real husband and wife.”

“When we were booking Kelly, we were booking Mark. He’s been here. He’s done it dozens and dozens of times,” the powerhouse producer continued. “People have always been fascinated when he comes on because you’re not just hearing two friends. Now you’re hearing things that are going on in real relationships, like, ‘You were snoring last night.’ People like that, so it wasn’t a hard decision.”

However, Ripa told the publication that she didn’t initially think Consuelos would be a good fit as her permanent co-host.

“We’d be the last people on earth to suggest ourselves to work together for anything,” she spilled.

However, she claimed that ABC “seemed pretty set on Mark” and no other names were ever floated as potential candidates.

“They were putting the data in front of us like, ‘Do you realize how much you’ve worked together in your careers?’ And it actually really started to make sense to us,” Ripa told Variety. “I keep saying to myself that it’s one of the great, weirdest social experiments that the audience can experience with us.”

Ripa eventually realized exactly why the audience loves to see her and Consuelos on-air together.

The couple is known for sharing details about their personal lives on social media — but they’re still undecided if they’re going to be sharing any intimate knowledge on-air.

“I think we’ll find out what’s off-limits, probably in real time, which can be very compelling or disastrous,” Ripa told Variety.

Meanwhile, Consuelos told the Hollywood Reporter that he and his wife have not yet had “an official conversation” about what exactly would be off-limits.

“There’s definitely a bucket of stuff that we can talk about. And like any marriage, there’s a bucket of stuff that you don’t wanna talk about. I don’t think there’s a lot in there that would be even interesting in the non-talk-about bucket, but no, I trust her. I really, really trust her. I think she trusts me,” he said. “I know where the line is, and I don’t plan on crossing it, and she doesn’t plan on crossing it either. So, I think it’s all in good fun.”

Consuelos believes he and Ripa will bring something to the TV that’s new and exciting for viewers at home.

“I don’t think it’s been done. I think there’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, do ‘Morning Joe.’ That’s a different show, though. That’s very much news,” he told THR. “So it’d be unique and as much of that is a married couple on TV with a unique perspective.”

“Live With Kelly and Mark” airs weekdays on ABC.