LIVE with Kelly and Mark has made major show changes to engage the audience, The U.S. Sun can exclusively report.
The morning talk show hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been including more participation from the audience during recent tapings after getting lackluster reviews from fans.
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An eyewitness at a recent taping revealed to The U.S. Sun: "From the get-go, there was a whole 30-minute montage video played before the show started filming of recent and old clips of their time together on the show that was filled with memorable moments.
"Then, Kelly and Mark were engaging with the audience throughout the entire taping.
"It was like the audience needed to feel camera ready at any moment because they would never know when they were going to be called out."
The insider at Live with Kelly and Mark, who attended a pre-taping on May 30, provided multiple instances where the hosts encouraged audience participation
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"During the opening monologue, Kelly called out to the audience for any Gen-Zs and put them on the spotlight.
"She then asked if there were any single ladies in the crowd and also if there were any couples who track each other on their phones," the insider noted.
In another instance, the executive producer selected an audience member to perform the show's regular Trivia Dancer segment live in the studio rather than airing a pre-recorded video submitted by a fan as it has done in the past.
MEET & GREET
It didn't stop there. The eyewitness told The U.S. Sun that the married hosts "constantly interacted" with the audience during commercial breaks.
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"During one break, Kelly and Mark faced off in a ping pong match in front of the audience as a form of entertainment," the insider said.
"It was random and not even part of the show, but it was fun to watch them battle each other when they weren't being filmed."
Then, the duo posed for some pics with fans after the producer cut to break.
The insider continued: "It seemed like they were very caring and wanted to make a point that the audience was seen in an effort to win them over."
Finally, at the end of the show, "Kelly spoke into a microphone thanking everyone who came out and gave a special shout-out to those who stayed for both the 9am. taping and the 10am.
"They invited everyone to come back and attend a future taping."
LISTENING TO VIEWERS
Kelly and Mark's efforts to engage with the audience more come as no surprise after the show received lackluster reviews.
Fans have noticed that there has been no audience for quite some time, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then, the audience was slowly being brought back.
The U.S. Sun previously reported that the show struggled to fill seats at their pre-recorded tapings - some of which were for episodes not airing until two months later.
Last month, fans spoke out on Twitter about the audience situation.
Before Mark joined as permanent co-host on April 17, viewers at home begged: "Bring the audience back please!!!"
When it finally happened, viewers at home noticed that it was once Mark took over full-time.
One person tweeted: "So was Ryan Seacrest the reason why they never brought back the studio audience for Live With Kelly and Ryan because now with Kelly and Mark they finally brought them back."
Also early on when Kelly's husband replaced the American Idol host, fans spoke out about how the mom of three and the Riverdale star would just talk about themselves.
Someone on Twitter wrote: "I don't see this show lasting... I'm not interested in watching a spinoff of NY Housewives...."
Another user tweeted: "Right out of the box talking about those ‘kids’- boring and unbearable."
A third reacted: "Let's see how long @LiveKellyRyan lasts w/Mark joining her. Kelly is annoying enough as it is.
"When she and Mark get together they overshare about their private lives which is inappropriate for TV. It's a morning show and kids are watching."
CALLING OUT THE AUDIENCE
Now more than ever, Kelly and Mark are making it a point to call out people in the audience to share their opinions.
On the May 31st, episode, Mark asked a 21-year-old fan in the live audience about his opinion on breaking the guy code while discussing the Vanderpump Rules scandal.
Prior to this, on May 17, Kelly called out an audience member for rolling her eyes at her.
The TV personality exclaimed: “I just got an eye roll from a kid who isn’t even mine!”
Hands thrown up in the air, Kelly insisted to the girl in the crowd: "I saw it! I see all eye rolls!"
The camera cut over to the young girl, as those around her smiled and laughed.
During another live episode, Mark put the spotlight on a young man wearing a Michigan State University Spartans T-shirt.
The host's youngest son Joaquin, 20, attends the University of Michigan, making them huge supporters of the Michigan Wolverines.
Mark shouted: "I see a Michigan State guy back there!"
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Kelly then spotted the man and jokingly said: "Oh, you're provoking us!"
In another effort to satisfy its at-home viewers, the show has asked them to submit comments and questions to their website, LivewithKellyandMark.com.
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