Connect with us

General Hospital

29

80's Soap Opera Drama in Development From John Stamos and Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron!

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

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!

Leave a comment | 29 Comments

29 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

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 .

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Kim Coles as Whitley

Days of our Lives

Airdate: 7-24- 2023

Popular