From getting swallowed by a whale to launching people into space during a geomagnetic storm, Mark Consuelos‘ guest star stint on 9-1-1 has been nothing short of memorable.
“Tonight, I have to point out, is, I think, it’s my final episode of my arc on 9-1-1,” Consuelos told viewers on the Thursday, October 30, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark. “It comes to a thrilling conclusion.”
His wife and cohost, Kelly Ripa, has been such a fan of his 9-1-1 performance that she wants his character, tech billionaire Tripp Houser, to get his own spinoff. “I love you on this show,” she gushed before sharing her idea for the potential series. “You bumbling through outer space. The Bumbling Astronaut.”
Live executive producer Michael Gelman went on to ask Consuelos, “Do they kill you off?” Playing coy, he replied, “You gotta watch tonight.”
Ripa chimed in, adding, “Mark’s not gonna tell you. Yeah, you gotta tune in to see if he dies.”
However, Ripa claims to be just as clueless about Tripp’s fate as fans are. “I don’t even know if he dies. He’s told me nothing,” she insisted.
Disney/Christopher Willard
9-1-1 Season 9, which premiered last month, kicked off with the 118 saving Tripp’s life after he was swallowed by a whale while kayaking. Although the rescue was a group effort, Tripp rewarded Hen (Aisha Hinds) by inviting her on a spacewalk with other everyday heroes. Hen agrees and asks Athena (Angela Bassett) to join her.
Ignoring warnings from his staff of a dangerous geomagnetic storm, Tripp sends the group into the stars, only for things to go awry when debris causes their vessel to lose contact. The show’s October 23 episode ended with Hen, Athena, and their fellow astronauts taking shelter in the International Space Station, just as another wave of debris heads their way.
“Obviously, it’s an awful decision. Anybody who’s of sound mind would say, that’s really dangerous and there’s souls in that spaceship,” Consuelos exclusively told TV Insider earlier this month of Tripp’s reckless actions. “But I believe the way I justified it is that he had made a career of rolling the dice and steamrolling and taking big chances and always kind of landing on his feet.”
He continued, “He does ask, ‘What’s the percentage? What’s the percentage chance?’ And they said it’s 43.8%. I said, ‘I’ll take those odds.’ I’ve probably made decisions with worse odds than that and that’s the way he rolls. And so it’s as simple as that.”
Adding to the drama is the fact that Tripp’s fiancée, Tricia (June Diane Raphael), is one of the astronauts in danger. “Now that you bring that up, that’s really, he’s morally questionable, this guy, which I love,” he joked before describing Tripp and Tricia’s relationship as “transactional on both sides.”
“I think his relationships with people are probably all the same,” Consuelos explained. “It’s probably transactional, and he sees what this person can do for him, and he’s a bit of an egomaniac and a narcissist. So I don’t know if he considers other people that much.”
Live With Kelly and Mark, Weekdays, check local listings
9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC
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