General Hospital
80's Soap Opera Drama in Development From John Stamos and Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron!
Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com
80’s soap opera is making a comeback on cable TV with none other than former GH star John Stamos (Ex-Blackie Parrish).
Deadline is reporting that Stamos has partnered with producer Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for a cable drama series chronicling the fame and excess of daytime soaps in the 1980s.
The untitled drama, now in early stages of development, will be inspired by the experiences of Stamos, whose acting career was launched in 1982 when, at the age of 18, he landed the role of Blackie Parrish on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital.
Described as “Boogie Nights in the soap world,” the drama will explore the colorful and often dark world of soaps as it follows the journey of a young man thrust into soap stardom, during a decade defined by Reaganomics, greed, excess, indulgence and materialism. As a newly minted teen idol, he will struggle to balance his family life, working at his fathers restaurant and maintain his humble upbringing while navigating the temptations of sex, drugs and fame.
Stamos will executive produce alongside Zadan and Meron through the duo’s Storyline Entertainment. This is the latest collaboration for Stamos, Zadan & Maron who previously teamed to produce the Emmy-nominated miniseries Beach Boys: An American Family and the TV movie, Martin and Lewis.
Zadan and Meron are prepping their next NBC musical, Hairspray Live! and are working with Aaron Sorkin for NBC’s first live drama, a 2017 broadcast of A Few Good Men.
The news of this 80’s soap opera themed concept is not the first of its kind. GH’s Kimberly McCullough has also been hard at work at her “Hey Day” project which is about a young actress trying to make it in the soaps during this decadent decade.
What do you think of the 80’s soap build around the life and times of a young man influenced by Stamos’ early soap career? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
it sounds like must see tv to me, this is a great idea, and if its on cable then it can be more racy, a behind the scene of a soap, w/ a hot young new comer, drugs, excess, fame, if done right it could be juic;y.!
love it , good writing, acting and creativeness is better then these stupid reality shows.
Really? This is basically the idea Kimberly McCullough had years ago. Come on now…
What would be truly wonderful is if they could get some actual soap stars to be in this soap. What are Kim Zimmer or Erika Slezak or Susan Lucci doing??? How about Robert Newman or Matthew Ashford??? Hey a soap fan can dream can’t he???
Zimmer and Newman are doing off broadway now. Lucci just finished Devious Maids (she would be PERFECT.) Ashford is on The Bay now on Amazon but actors these days can pull double duty.
I love John…and I love this news. What I don’t love is his Julius Caesar hair cut/do. All he needs is a circlet of laurel leaves.
Too funny, CeeCee!!!! Speaking of coiffures, what did you think of Scotty and Julian’s dueling examples of bad hair days on Thursday’s GH episode? As they stood side-by-side in the jailhouse, it was all I could do to stifle my laughter at these overgrown boys with the juvenile-looking top thatches!
HaHa, Shay. I think Scotty’s hair ‘swings’ that way naturally. On him, it looks cute in a boyish -kind-of -way…it suits him.
Julian’s? So not natural !!
Cee, John is so handsome he could have a mohawk and the chicks would still be dialing his digits!
SMH…I don’t get it..I truly don’t.
This show sounds almost identical to the show that Kimberly McCullough has been promoting. Coincidence? Hmm.
I was thinking the exact same thing as you.
Where was he when GH needed some support for their 50th anniversary show.
Suddenly Blackie Parrish is important to him. I did not know who John Stamos was before he was Blackie Parrish.
I will support Kimberly 100% but not Stamos, I will not be watching.
Um, remember a movie called Soapdish? Same concept.
No one will be watching. Because no one cares about daytime soap operas any more.
Yup, Stamos ripped off McCullough.
Yelp!!!! A total rip-off. Why did his project get approval and not Kimberly MCcullough?
It would be great if the series was broadcast in daytime instead of prime time. Late afternoon would be preferable.
just shows the inequality in the entertainment business when JS can hook up with producers and get a concept similar to what KMc has been working on without a struggle while Kimberly has to first make a pilot and then sell it on her own with no backing
I’d like to check this out. Soaps were so great in the 80’s and early 90’s, this sounds fun.
I hope it works out for John. I would tune in. I hope it catches on and he sticks it to Valentini for not including Blackie on the 50th anniversary program!.
Hi, my Timmmy.
Why was John called Blackie? Was there a story behind that name? I must look him up. I don’t like doing it, though.
Was he ‘attached’ to a core family? I just know him as “Uncle Jesse”….. Love that show; even as an adult.
Later, Timmmy.
I understand that they call him Blackie because of his jet black hair.
@Sly.
Hey, Sly,
Thank you. Smiles!!
Dealing with the hurt and of Laura missing, Leslie and Rick Webber adopted Blackie Parrish. I dont ever know that anyone questioned why he was called Blackie? You think the Webbers would have asked when he was adopted what his real name is? I dont know. Its like Valerie Spenser. She is half black but not ONE character has asked her why she has color? DUMB!
I forget what program I was watching, but John Stamos himself said that he was invited for the 50th, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from going back to GH. He said he wanted to do it.
Thats cool to hear. One gold star for Mr. Valentini.
I’d much rather see current soaps return to 80’s style storytelling.
If I remember correctly, Stamos’s previous series ‘Grandfathered’ (FOX) was cancelled after just one season. Y-e-p.
Sexism in tv world. Kimberly and John had both same ideas. Kimberly had it first and gets shot down. A male John has same idea and gets a pilot .
Breaking News
51st Daytime Emmys: Outstanding Daytime Drama Series Nominations
On Thursday, the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards revealed nominations in several key categories via four entertainment news programs: Access Hollywood, E! News, Extra and Access Hollywood.
Three of the four announcements were major categories in the field of Daytime Dramas.
The nominees in the Outstanding Daytime Drama Series category are: The Bay, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, Neighbours and The Young and the Restless.
Photo: JPI
General Hospital won this category last year, and has the most all-time wins for a series in this category. For the first time, the beloved Australian-based soap opera, Neighbours is now eligible for competition due to its reboot which streams on Amazon Freevee.
Photo: AmazonFreevee
The 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out in ceremonies in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Friday night, June 7th.
Previous categories announced tonight via the entertainment news outlet included: Lead Actor and Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
So, what do you think about this year’s nominee for the Outstanding Daytime Drama Series? Who do you think should win? Comment below.
Breaking News
51st Daytime Emmys: Tamara Braun, Finola Hughes, Katherine Kelly Lang, Annika Noelle, Michelle Stafford, Cynthia Watros Score Lead Actress Nominations
The nominations were revealed for the 51st annual Daytime Emmys. in the prestigious Lead Actress in a Drama Series category by Entertainment Tonight.
This comes ahead of tomorrow’s full list that is set to be unveiled at 12noon/9am PST on Friday.
In the running for this year’s Outstanding Lead Actress are Tamara Braun (Ava, Days of our Lives), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, The Bold and the Beautiful), Annika Noelle (Hope, The Bold and the Beautiful), Finola Hughes (Anna, General Hospital), Cynthia Watros (Nina, General Hospital) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, The Young and the Restless).
Photo: Getty
Previous winners in this category include GH’s Finola Hughes, Cynthia Watros and Y&R’s Michelle Stafford. Days of our Lives nominee had won in the Supporting Actress category twice in her career.
Earlier, the Lead Actor nominees were revealed and you can find them here.
Make sure to be with us Friday night, April 19th for the Michael Fairman Channel’s 10th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special beginning at 5 pm PT where we chat live with some of this year’s nominees.
So, what do you think about this year’s Lead Actress nominees? Comment below.
General Hospital
More of the Story on ‘General Hospital’ Star Josh Kelly’s Latest Film Role in ‘The Workout’
We had previously shared that General Hospital’s Josh Kelly was taking three weeks away from his role of Cody Bell to a shoot a role in an upcoming movie entitled The Workout.
Josh originally revealed his role in the film during an episode of GH castmates, Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson’s (Spinelli) podcast.
Now Deadline has filled in some of the blanks, and shared some intriguing intel on the premise of the film and its back-story. The film stars Kelly along with Peter Jae, and UFC Fighter, Ashlee Evans-Smith. Other cast members include The Bay’s Kristos Andrews.
Photo: ABC
In The Workout, two army rangers set out to create a workout video, but their plans are abruptly halted when a mob hit interrupts their filming. Tragically, one of the rangers loses his wife in the attack, sending him on a relentless mission to take down the mob and anyone who stands in his way.
The film from James Cullen Bressack, almost did not get financed. Apparently, ten days before his birthday, Bressack made a post on Instagram about the feature and production, casting, and financing came from the post … illustrating the power of social media. After the post gained traction, a producer provided financing and actors expressed interest in joining the project, leading to a quick production.
Photo: ABC
In a statement, Bressack shared, “As artists a painter paints, a musician makes music, a writer writes, but as filmmakers we have to ask permission to create. It’s time to change that narrative. This film spawned from a necessity to create. We create. We tell stories. We play pretend. I’m excited to take this journey. This is the truest form of collaboration and a community of friends coming together to make something fun. While our industry has had a rough time recently with strikes and a possible strike looming in the future, it’s nice to remind ourselves why we got into film to begin with. To have fun telling stories.”
No word yet on when The Workout will be released.
So, looking forward to seeing this collaborative effort featuring GH’s Josh Kelly? Comment below.
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