Mark Consuelos, who plays Hiram Lodge on Riverdale, steps down from role

Mark Consuelos, who was a series regular on CW show Riverdale, has stepped down from his role as Hiram Lodge.

Consuelos debuted as Hiram, father to Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) in season 2 of the teen drama. His final appearance is on Season 5 episode "Riverdale: RIP" that will arrive on Netflix India on Thursday.

Riverdale executive producer and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa spoke about the actor's exit with Deadline recently.

"So tonight’s episode is Mark’s swan song playing our hunky villain Hiram Lodge on Riverdale after four insane, glorious years. From the moment Mark joined us, he was up for literally anything, a hundred percent committed to making Archie’s life a living hell. And what’s funny is, Mark couldn’t be more different from Hiram," he said.

Consuelos thanked Aguirre-Sacasa and the Riverdale team for the time he spent working on the series.

Hiram was one of the primary villains on the show – a nemesis to Archie (KJ Apa) — and was exiled from the town in the latest episode by Veronica.

Riverdale is based on the infamous Archie comics, and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios alongside Berlanti Productions. The show's first season premiered in 2017.

Conseulos has previously starred in the ABC sitcom All My Children, Ugly Betty, Pitch, Broad City and American Horror Story: Asylum. He has also held a role in My Super Ex-Girlfriend, the 2006 film starring Uma Thurman.