Riverdale: Mark Consuelos Returning for Final Season

Mark Consuelos is coming back to Riverdale. The actor, who played Hiram Lodge as a series regular in Seasons 2 through 5 and appeared as a guest star in Season 6, will reprise his role in the thirteenth episode of the series' final season, "Chapter One Thirty: The Crucible". The episode, which is directed by series star Madchen Amick, is schedule to air on Wednesday, June 28th.  According to the episode synopsis, Hiram's arrival in Riverdale is a surprise — and it's met with suspicion by his daughter, Veronica (Camila Mendes). You can check out the episode synopsis for yourself below.

HIRAM LODGE (MARK CONSUELOS) ARRIVES IN RIVERDALE / MÄDCHEN AMICK DIRECTS — Panic ensues after Archie (KJ Apa) and the gang learn that Mrs. Thornton (guest star Frances Flanagan) is accused of being a communist.  Cheryl's (Madelaine Petsch) father Clifford (guest star Barclay Hope) forces her to out gay students at Riverdale High or risk losing power over the Vixens.  Meanwhile, Hiram's (guest star Mark Consuelos) surprise arrival to town is quickly met with suspicion by Veronica (Camila Mendes), and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) devises a plan to get around a boycott of comic books.  Lili Reinhart, Casey Cott and Vanessa Morgan also star.  Mädchen Amick directed the episode written by Janine Salinas Schoenberg & Will Ewing.

Amick recently appeared on LIVE with Kelly and Mark to talk about the episode and directing Consuelos in his return as Hiram, joking that "he's got a lot of potential" before talking about what it was like to have him back on the series as well as sharing a behind-the-scenes video of Consuelos' wrap on the episode — which also appears to be his character's wrap on the series. You can check that video out for yourself above.

What Else is Mark Consuelos Doing After Riverdale?

With Riverdale in its final season, Consuelos has already lined up other roles. In addition to co-hosting LIVE with his wife Kelly Ripa, Consuelos is set to appear in The Girls on the Bus, an upcoming political drama created by Amy Chozick and Julie Plec and produced by Berlanti Television. The series, which is inspired by Chozick's 2018 memoir Chasing Hilary, stars Supergirl alum Melissa Benoist and is set to premiere later this year on Max.

Will There be a Season 8 of Riverdale?

While Riverdale has been a fan favorite series on The CW since its debut, Season 7 of the series will be its last. It was announced last year that the series would end after Season 7 and thus far, it's been a wild ride. The season has seen its core characters stuck in an alternative timeline in the 1950s, a setting that series showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa previously told ComicBook.com was a perfect place to go because of how closely tied that era is to the Archie comics characters.

"It is true, though the Archie started publishing much earlier than the 1950s, the decade that most people associate with Archie comics is the 1950s for whatever reason. The Archie comics, they're so nostalgic, and I think when people think of time periods, they think of the 1950. Through the lens of nostalgia. So that was one big thing," Aguirre-Sacasa said. "Absolutely. And even when we've done their iconic comic book costumes from the past, even though they were technically the 1940s, whenever anyone would write about it, they'd say, 'Oh my God, they're wearing their 1950s outfits.' So, it was sort of like, 'Okay, well, that is ... 'And even when we were pitching Riverdale, and this is true, when we were pitching Riverdale to try to do a TV show, the executives would say, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute. Is this a show set in the '50s?' And it's like, 'No, no, no, it's set in present day.'  So, there was that."

He continued, "The other big thing that felt really resonant is the 1950s were when the modern idea of the teenager was born. Teenagers really didn't ... Teenagers as we know them, and as consumers of popular culture, as consumers of movies and television and comic books and things like that, that really ... The birth of the American of the modern American teenager was the 1950s as well. So, it felt like, "Oh, well that's Archie." I mean, that is Archie. So, it felt like this is the time period, this is actually the time period. So those were also things that kind of resonated with us and why we landed on this time period. Also later ... and the world is roiling later in the '60s with counterculture, with the civil rights movement, with the sort of a gay liberation movement and things like that. And it felt like in terms of our thematic, which is the wholesome sweet innocent facade, and then the darker, more dangerous, more fraught themes and issues bubbling underneath, it felt like the '50s sort of suited that to a T."

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW. "Chapter One Thirty: The Crucible" airs June 28th.