Live with Kelly and Mark may have just begun its 37th season on September 3, but the team behind the popular syndicated morning show is preparing to lose a network fixture: WABC-TV’s Vice President of Programming and LiveArt Moore, the executive director responsible for production.

Speaking to DECIDER in the show’s green room, Moore, whose last episode was part of the Live Team, which airs Friday, September 20, describes his departure as “bittersweet” and praises his colleagues for being the “hardest part” of his departure. When asked about his retirement plans, Moore jokes that he doesn’t have any, which he says is “the exciting part about it.”

“I said, ‘No more meetings, no more appointments.’ I just want to do nothing for a while,” he notes. “Then, of course, I’ll get into new things. I need a gray period.”

Fortunately, Kelly Ripa, who tells DECIDER that she and her co-host Mark Consuelos “both deny Moore’s resignation,” insists that she will “always” have a seat for him at her Let’s talk off camera Podcast on which Moore appeared last week.

“The origin story of Art Moore is the most interesting story I’ve ever heard,” she muses. “Really.”

While both Moore and executive producer Michael Gelman have witnessed the changing of the guard — or rather, the change of co-hosts — several times, Gelman sheds light on a key factor that characterizes the dynamic between Ripa and Consuelos.

“Well, they sleep together,” he teases.

Gelman emphasizes in all seriousness how Live “has always been a kind of pseudo-married couple scenario where these two interesting people sit next to each other every morning and drink coffee together.” But the fact that Ripa and Consuelos are married evokes a certain authenticity that Gelman says today’s viewers crave.

“But that is a real Husband and wife, and in this day and age of reality TV where everyone wants things to be more real, what used to be a part-time gig for Mark is now a full-time job for both of them, and it’s just amazing,” he explains. “The chemistry is undeniable and it’s real. I mean, it’s real life.”

Still, Ripa and Consuelos tell DECIDER that they take little to no work home with them.

“It’s so funny. Before we started working together, I would be filming somewhere and I would tell her about my day and she would tell her about her day,” Consuelos recalls. “We talked a lot about work. (Now) I would say we don’t talk about work at all – just rarely.”

Ripa points out, “Most of the time we don’t talk about work at home anymore because we already know what happened. So it’s not like we have to update each other.”

The two admit that if something “seems funny” to them, it can come up in conversations at home.

“Or sometimes a quiz caller gets in his head and he figures it out. ‘I can’t believe she tricked me.’ That’s what happens,” Ripa explains.

Consuelos, who joined Ripa as co-host last April, reveals what he learned in the first season.

“I’ve learned that if I mess something up, it’s no big deal because you have a whole new show the next day to mess it up again,” he jokes. “I think I’m a little more forgiving of myself when I mess something up or misread something, which happens almost every day. I think I’m a little more comfortable doing the interviews. I used to be so scared.”

Ripa praises Consuelos’ “easy and seamless” transition into the role, claiming “it took him about three days to get to the same level where he was comfortable.”

“All the things he was worried about, we didn’t worry about because from our perspective he was doing everything exactly right,” she says.

As for what’s new this season, Gelman tells us that they “evolve this show every year.”

“I’ve always said we like evolution, not revolution, because people know what to expect,” he adds. “They want continuity. But at the same time, we try to make improvements.”

Gelman points to changes in the show’s signature “Stump Mark” segment, including new graphics, and also raises curiosity Live‘s upcoming Halloween show, for which he said meetings have already been held and filming has begun, as well as “many big Christmas programs,” such as their “annual sweater show.”

Regarding a talk show like Live fits into today’s streaming-centric TV landscape, Moore argues that Live is “different from most other talk shows”, it to “the Seinfeld of talk shows.”

“We’re all about nothing. (People) know it’s safe to tune in. We’re not going to get into controversy, we’re not going to ask trick questions to get something out of the guests that they don’t want to talk about. It’s just fun,” he says. “So I think there’s a place for that and I think that’s really what’s kept us going all these years. The viewers know what to expect, the producers have done a very good job of moving the show forward and still keeping the basic format.”

Gelman agrees, describing the show as a long-standing “stronghold of positivity and fun.”

“That’s what we do. We offer an alternative program to the news that we follow… So we are a kind of refuge for people when they want to escape all the hard things in life,” he says, describing the show as “very family-oriented.”

“It’s family-oriented, and we’re one big family, and we radiate that, and it’s real,” he explains. “We try to appeal to the same people at home.”

Consuelos mentions that she grew up with The Phil Donahue Showand described the show as “probably the biggest influence on him as a (co-host) of a daytime talk show,” aside from watching his wife co-host Live for over 20 years before his arrival.

“When I’m somewhere local, I can reach out to her and at least build a connection with her, watch the show and see what she’s wearing and I feel closer to her,” he says. “So this show is my favorite show.”

Ripa describes herself as an “enthusiastic Judge Judy viewer,” noting that despite her work schedule preventing her from tuning into live daytime content, she still calls herself a “huge fan of Sherri Shepherd.”

“I love her. I’m always rooting for her. She’s my friend, so we keep in touch off camera,” she says. “Every now and then, when I’m doing a long dress rehearsal, I get to watch her show. And I’m always so impressed by her ability to get through. She gets through. Those are my two big ones: Judy and Sherri.”

Live with Kelly and Mark is broadcast on weekdays. You can find your local program on the website.