Kelly Ripa has the drama category covered, having starred as All My Children character Haley Santos from 1990 to 2002. Now she's set to once again have the comedy category covered, thanks to a funny new ABC series inspired by her real-life work relationship with her Live! co-host Ryan Seacrest.
Variety reports that ABC has issued a pilot order for Work Wife, a prospective series that tells the story of a platonic male-female team whose professional success, personal friendship, and ability to share deodorant makes their lives work. Set in the world of real estate, the single-camera series will follow Dani and Scott, who have taken the leap to start their own team. Now feeling the stress of being the boss, they have to rely on the yin and yang of their dynamic more than ever to keep their professional and personal lives afloat.
In addition to the connection between Ripa and Seacrest, Work Wife was also inspired by the relationship between The Real O'Neals duo Casey Johnson and David Windsor, who took over Work Wife writing duties from Michael Ian Black and will be executive producing the series.
Seacrest is also set to executive produce via Ryan Seacrest Productions, as is Ripa, who signed on with her real-life husband Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo Santos, AMC) and Albert Bianchini under their Milojo brand.
Ripa and Seacrest currently co-host the syndicated ABC morning show Live! with Kelly and Ryan. Ripa has been with the show since 2001, while Seacrest joined as a permanent co-host in 2017. Deadline reports that the pair originally set up Work Wife at ABC during the 2018-19 development season.
As soap fans know, Work Wife isn't the only comedy attached to Ripa. The actress previously starred in the network's sitcom Hope & Faith, which ran from 2003 to 2006.
What do you think about Kelly Ripa signing on as a recurring character in Work Wife? What are your thoughts on the "larger than life" nemesis she is set to play? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
