Mark Consuelos is about to make his 9-1-1 debut!

He and Kelly Ripa kicked off Thursday’s Live with Kelly and Mark by reminding viewers of his appearance on the ABC procedural during its Season 9 premiere. Ripa highlighted the “big deal” that is her husband and co-host’s guest arc, which Consuelos said is “a few episodes” long.

“You play the fantasy role of my life,” Ripa teased. “I’m finally married to a tech billionaire.”

More specifically, Consuelos plays Tripp Houser, who Consuelos joked is “a nice guy” and ” a billionaire with a heart of gold.”

“It starts out—when I read the script, I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘What?'” he recalled. “And then I just kept reading. And it got better and better and better.”

Consuelos explained that in tonight’s episode, Tripp is “casually kayaking out in the harbor” and taking a board meeting out on the water when things take a turn. In a clip from the episode, Tripp is seen telling his co-workers via a video call, “Well, you tell the board I will not be intimidated by them. My IQ is 150. My resting hear rate is 41. I got the telomeres of a 22-year-old gymnast. I will eat them for lunch.”

Boy, does Tripp eat his words, because right at that moment, a whale swallows him whole.

Following applause from the studio audience, Consuelos quipped, “He had me at whale.”

Consuelos told Live that he “had such a fun time doing it,” and recalled a conversation he had with 9-1-1‘s showrunner Tim Minear while filming.

“He said, ‘Listen, I just want to make sure [you know] that we weren’t punking you. That actually happens.’ I go, ‘I know, I love it,'” Consuelos said. “And this character is so fun to play. He gets himself in a lot of trouble. And, man, that show takes really big swings. They do some outlandishly fantastic things on that show.”

Ripa reiterated that this seemingly far out storyline “actually happened,” and “started sending [Consuelos] clips of people being swallowed by whales while kayaking.” Consuelos said Minear “assured” him that “this actually happened,” which he was “very aware of.” Luckily, Ripa joked that she was “all in” on Consuelos’ story arc.

“I was like, wait, my tech billionaire husband suddenly gets swallowed by a whale? What will I do?” she deadpanned.

After Consuelos urged fans to “tune in tonight,” Ripa exclaimed, “I will be front and center!”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings. 9-1-1 Season 9 premieres tonight at 8/7 c on ABC, with next-day streaming available on Hulu.