Kelly Ripa joining Riverdale as Hiram Lodge's mistress

Riverdale is getting a family affair.

Kelly Ripa is joining the cast of the CW teen drama as Hiram Lodge’s alleged mistress, EW can confirm. Ripa first broke the news on Instagram on Tuesday, posting a photo of herself in a form-fitting dress posing in a noir-ish setting with a high-backed chair and a silver-tipped cane.

“It’s a family affair……..Hiram’s mistress. 23 years of auditioning for a role i was born to play. Coming soon to the @thecwriverdale,” she wrote.

Ripa will guest star as Mrs. Mulwray, a woman the CW describes as “confident and tough.” As Hiram’s supposed mistress, Mrs. Mulwray is a beautiful, icy femme fatale who finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy much bigger than she initially thought.

Astute film fans will note that Ripa’s character name is borrowed from Faye Dunaway’s Oscar-nominated role in Chinatown (1974). Dunaway’s character was named Evelyn Mulwray, and she was also a femme fatale caught up in a conspiracy that quickly spun out of her control.

The guest star announcement is yet another fun in-joke for pop culture fans who have seen everyone from Madchen Amick to Luke Perry to Skeet Ulrich to Molly Ringwald make winking nods to their past careers. Ripa is playing a mistress to her real-life husband Mark Consuelos, who portrays the scheming businessman Hiram Lodge. The couple met when they were both appearing on the soap All My Children.

This isn’t the first time Riverdale has seen a bit of Consuelos-Ripa family casting. On this week’s episode, “The Midnight Club,” which airs Wednesday night, Ripa and Consuelos’ son Michael will portray a young Hiram Lodge in an extended flashback.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

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