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Prospect Park Proposed Plans For AMC & OLTL: 30 Minute Episodes, Shooting in Stamford, CT!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

As we head towards the New Year more details of Prospect Park’s plan to finally put All My Children and One Life to Live online are coming out or, shall we say, perhaps leaking out?

In the latest issue of Soap Opera Uncensored, Nelson Branco relates that through his inside sources and leaked documents it has revealed that Prospect Park intends on shooting AMC and OLTL in studio spaces in Stamford, Connecticut, and that sets are currently being designed!  In addition, the Prospect Park plan calls for there to be half hour episodes of both shows, with four new episodes a week and a recap show on Friday’s.

The licensing fees between Prospect Park and ABC have also been reportedly revealed by SOU which illustrates that All My Children was valued at half a million more dollars than One Life!  Even though, as we all know, One Life was performing better in the ratings than AMC in the last few years of both shows network TV existence.

Additionally, there is an executive summary of the outline of the plans from Prospect Park posted by Branco which apparently contain more details into what Prospect Park powers-that-be Jeff Kwatinetz, Rich Frank, and Mike Lang are thinking and how they are constructing bringing the beloved soaps to the web.   

Of note:  Prospect Park has yet to put out an statement to enlighten the media and the fans “officially” on what is going on.  At any rate with this report, do you think Prospect Park is going to succeed in getting All My Children and One Life to Live online?  Weigh-in!

 

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Maybe our prayers will be answered!

I certainly hope so, thank you Michael for keeping us posted. Have a great holiday.

Still not getting my hopes up but I like the CT connection.

I think it will be easier to get the cast back together for OLTL than for AMC, so if they are smart they will age all the kids in Pine Valley to high school and focus on them. This way they can use new talent as they hopefully get more veterans to return.

Cautiously optimistic!

Sounds like a good start. I am not sure why they are going to film in CT as everyone is in Los Angeles. However, I am joyed at the prospect of David Canary possibly being on AMC again as he lives in CT and he stated that he did not want to commute to CA.

Sounds nice, but I wanna wait and see what Prospect Park has to say….and how long it takes them to say it.

I agree

Sorry, gang-not buying it until SOMEONE says something officially

I don’t believe a word of it! If they come back, they will not be the same shows they were before.

Stamford, Connecticut? Why there? Wouldn’t it be more profitable being shot in New York, not to mention easier travel for the actors?
I’m not knocking the return of All My Children, but I’m having my doubts if this is going to work.

GOD BLESS US EVERYONE…MIRACLES CAN HAPPEN… Keep praying.. ONE LIFE will LIVE AGAIN!!!

I’m with you let’s keep praying that it works out
I’m going crazy not seeing my All My Children Family &
One Life To Live family.

Absolutely my prayers continue!!

I also want to know who will be interested on being on both of the shows as some of the actors have gone on to other shows.

My mom will be thrilled, but I am less so. I am happy with Cartini at GH and love the OLTL characters that have crossed over. I would hate to have McBain and the Mannings leave Port Charles.

I agree with you also but the only two Cramer
women are on #GH & Blair doesn’t have alot
of show time. John McBain I doubt he would
Leave #GH because he’s under contract maybe
He can do both shows he wouldn’t need much air time
I just need them to show him reunited with his son.

Most of the OLTL actors are now West Coast Based, so there would be some recasting going on. By Erika’s holiday letter on her website, it seems as though she’s finally letting go of Viki and ready to move onto other things.

One of the other things that worries me is that OLTL and AMC were basically 35 minutes and the rest of the hour were commercials. If we end up getting an 18 to 20 minute show, it’s really not worth it.

One thing that could be helpful though is for PP to look at something I just experienced on Hulu which was the idea of giving viewers the options to watch a program with the commercials interspersed like normal, or to watch all the commercials before the show started and watch it uninterrupted.

And … there’s always the whole Nelson Branco thing. Not the most reliable of sources. I trust you a lot more, Michael.

bold & the beautiful is a half hour show & w/o commercials it is about 18.5 minuets & it’s been like that for years………..

Both OLTL and AMC started out as 30 min. shows. It was in the mid 70’s when it was the trend to expand. The shows have suffered for a decade for lack of character driven and too many newbies. This should happen before they went off the air and went back to the basics to survive. Y and R started out as a 60 min. show so it would not make sense for them to cut back. Believe it or not. some shows in the 50’s and 60’s were 15 min and sometimes 45 min.

i was watching when amc & oltl was 1/2 hour & then expanded to 45 mins & then an hour…………

It’s ALL gossip until someone confirms from PP…. and the fact that NB makes you BUY his scoop is all the more reason to doubt… just beefing up his wallet at Christmas?
Isn’t this how the initial deal was mostly killed? Gossip started making the rounds… “leaks” and such… and then poof… gone!

I am still very skeptical about the whole thing. I will not be watching a watered down version of either show, which if it happens that is what it will be. Actors have relocated and moved on, so there would be a lot of recasts. And it even sounds like Erika Slezak would not be back. Nope don’t want to watch either one.

Prospect Park has always been awful at notifying the public. Never saw a worse company for that. But if they actually do this, it would be fabulous. I am very cautiously optimistic as well. However, we don’t know which actors would still be available, and if PP can afford them. I saw Walt Willey at a comedy performance in Tampa the day after the last AMC aired. He indicated not everyone had even been contacted- and that he’d be willing to go to the online show for a decent salary (I don’t remember his exact words). For a brand new company, the “right money” might be difficult. I’m not counting my chickens.

After reading over the plan, i’m very optimistic. There’s lots of stuff that makes sense and takes approaches that i’ve felt would be best and lo and behold they’re doing them. I had hoped that rather than just sitting on the shows all this time that they were still working quietly on things behind the scenes and it appears that’s precisely what’s been going on.

Since before the soaps were actually cancelled, i’ve said that the 60 minute, 5 shows a week, 52 weeks a year format was killing soaps – both financially and creatively…turning them into television sausage factories with no breathing space or time to recharge batteries and take a break to map out the next season. The shows started as half-hourlies and they weren’t lacking in quality by any means. The 30 minute format, four days a week, 42 (not 52) weeks a year is a winner and a step in the right direction. Not just as a cost saver but keeping the shows tighter and allowing all aspects of the creative team to be more focused on their respective crafts resulting in a better show.

Plans to include partnering with an already established successful internet platform, partnering with a cable channel to simultaneously keep the shows on television screens, taking advantage of the foreign distribution market: all present and accounted for! Getting back to that 4×30 min eps a week (not counting the recap episode) allows for a cable channel to either air the shows daily or weekly presenting those four episodes as a two hour weekly program if that works better for their scheduling or audience preference.

For the most part my faith in PP is renewed, but two things bug me: (1) Writers: who is selected for the writing staff will in many ways affect how successful the reboots are. Someone like Dena Higley back in the chair would ruin these shows and i fear she may be chosen due to her fi-core status. (2) Even though it looks like they’ve already been working on getting a lot done, i don’t see how they could logistically in the time they supposedly have been granted by ABC to get the writing team in place, get the shows written and cast (they need to have a solid idea on the cast they’ll have to work with for the writers to effectively do their jobs) to the point where the shows could be in production by the end of February (Correct me if i’m wrong but basically “pre-production” vs “production” stage basically broils down to when the cameras start rolling, right?) Timewise, that’s a rather unrealistic goal and a bit of a fool’s errand…and that’s what i didn’t like about PP’s plans the first time around – they kept insisting the new versions would be ready to air right after the shows ended their network runs and that was never a realistic goal by any stretch of the imagination.

By the way, looking over to the right hand margins on my screen, i’m wondering if the “RIP” icons next to AMC and OLTL should perhaps me changed to “In a coma”

Good point but remember these are soaps and just like soap characters come back from the dead, so can the shows themselves!

I’m a believer in the saying “Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me”. That being said, I’ve already been fooled once. I’m optimistically doubtful, I guess you could say, especially since Erika Slezak has reported that she has not heard a word from PP (but luckily, she says she is ready and willing to work). Until an official announcement is made, and the actors confirm it, I can’t allow myself to believe it.

Too late, pp. We’ve moved on. GH is too good to now bother with 30 minutes on a computer.

I thought so at first. “Villains of Port Charles” has been less and less important to me. I wached GH since 1963, and while it can be entertaining, it’s not the “must watch” TV it always was.

I am cautiously optimistic also! what a fantastic Christmas present this is!! I really miss my Pine Valley and Llanview families!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I hope its true i miss One Life To Live And All My Children! Hope Jess/Tess come back

Jess/Tess may return,but it will probably be a recast,since Bree Williamson is now on Haven.

Being the format will be 4 half hour shows a week, I do believe that is more reasonable to start out with, that they will succeed , this time around..

I’m not going to hold my breath waiting.

if pp does somehow pull this off, amc nor oltl will be the soaps that we knew & loved……………for one thing too many actors have moved on to other projects & contracts……………

yep… IF this actually happens, neither show will ever be the same… there will be so many re-casts we won’t even recognize it… the OLTL I loved for years is gone…

Still not going to get too excited until I see and hear something offical. But going to be cautiously optimistic!

Again they are being secretive and what about the characters? Many have moved on and many don’t trust Prospect Park and I can’t say I blame them.

I’m a bit torn on this. I mourned OLTL for almost a year now and have really enjoyed the successful transition to GH that has kept a pulse beating in Llanview and Pine Valley in some small way. I’d hate to see that taken away from GH. On the other hand, I’d love to see OLTL revived, even if for thirty minutes at a time. (And AMC for its fans, too.) PP would really need to do a great job with the reboots because a sloppy job would just add insult to these already-disrepected-by-the-network-shows.

Only time will tell. Unfortunately PP messed with my head last year with all their promises with NO payoff. Therefore, I will take an “I’ll believe it when I see it” stance. We shall see…

Glad for this but still remaining on the skeptical side. One thing I do wish they aren’t doing is a recap show on Friday. That is one thing we do not need.

Soundz like Prospect Park is finding ways to make reboots of AMC/OLTL financially profitable. That is the only way these shows will have a chance of coming bac!

Stamford, Ct is an interesting choice. Probably alot less expensive than renting studio space in NYC and it is close enough to New York for cast and crew in the city to get there. Also, Location shooting could be done easily-I’m sure Stamford could pass for Llanview or Pine Valley quite well.

Fabulous news. Has anyone been to Stamford, CT? It is a mini-NYC. Gorgeous city, great neighboring towns. I would think actors in NYC would love the short commute to Stamford if they live in NYC. Shorter than getting from here to there IN NYC! Love how Prospect Park didn’t “give up the ship.” Bring back OLTL and AMC! Take the characters willing to return, and we will learn to love and cherish the new characters. Good luck to Prospect Park. Blair can start her new life with her kids, Vicki can return as matriarch, and new blood and new energy will magnetize the show with new vigor and hope! Love the hope, say your prayers and keep your fingers crossed, too!

I am hoping that this will become reality. 1/2 a hour a day would be good to start. My question is that many of the original actors of both shows has moved on to LA to do other projects and are they going to uproot to CT? I find it interesting that Stamford CT is the site location of filming. Do you guys realize that many daytime shows such as Maury and other talk shows are preduced in Stamford because it is inexpensive? I would also like to know if OLTL is coming back online, will Natalie and Michael McBain ever resolve their relationship issues now that he is officially Liam’s father? McBain seems to move on in Port Charles GH without a thought about Natalie and his son. I hope that McBain would move back to Llanview if the show goes back online.

They have had a chance to see what is out there, and would love to get a call of a longtime gig. Even JPL (Rex) regrets moving to LA.

If this does happen, I wonder who will be the head writers and executive producers. Will they be able to organically have the stories pick up where they left off? Will they know the characters and the history? Will the production value be the same as it was before?

Hard to believe it when noone has even mention they have been hired.Why build sets then?Walt Willy said he has only heared what we have heard.Seems to me he would know unless they are going to cast unknowns.Then I wouldn’t watch.If they can’t be the same don’t wanna see themJust hope its not another ploy by ABC and PP to finally killed them for good.One article mention PP would have 10 years rights.Good way for ABC to blame it on them if it don’t work out again.Timing is really strange to me.ABC need another excuse since time for rights is gonna be up.AMC should already be back to aBC,There year was up in September.

Like many others…I am cautiously optimistic.

I hope this all works out. There’s no reason to take back Todd and Starr but maybe John will need to go home. Natalie will be with out her partner. Unless they have her single for now. If the shows are shorter they wont need a huge cast either. Obviously Rex & Gigi wont be back to OLTL. And Jessica will need to be recast since Bree Williamson is on a new show. Matthew might need to be recast too since Eddie Alderson moved to LA. Then over at AMC Darnell Williams is still on contract with YR. Debbie Morgan was just let go & they should let DW go too because AMC was so good again with Jessie and Angie. JR needs to be recast and I vote for Forbes March. There are others who may not want to come back.

Thank you Mr. Fairman for keeping us posted. Not sure about other soapers, but I’ve been ocding on info about it. I’m still being cautious and reserved about the whole thing. The sticking pt for me is as others, the location part of CT? A lot of the actors went and settled in LA. I’m thinking PP had to go big to jump start both soaps. Meaning bring a huge chunk (popular & veteran actors) of both soaps back on the air. W/alot of the actors elsewhere, I wonder who they hired to jump start the soaps again? Not trying to be too negative, just wouldn’t make sense to set it up to fail. I’ll still play the wait and see game.
You’re the best Mr. Fairman!:) Have a happy and healthy Holiday!!!

Now there’s news that former AMC writer and producer is set to be the show’s executive producer. More promising news!

I hope oltl comes back! I will take it in any form. 30 min. is fine with me. It started out that way when I first started watching in the 70″s. I hope Erica and Robin come back. Robert, Kamar…and so many more. I hope it happens, and soon!!!

A lot would depend on who PP manages to get as EP and writers. If they are recycled hacks that seem to always get a job regardless of the damage they have done on other shows, forget it. They either need tried & true writers that know the show and the history OR fresh talent that can revive the characters without making them unrecognizable.

It’d be nice if they come back. I’d watch.

Let’s start with Trevor St. John tied to the bed…oh, wrong website. 🙂

Great if it happens…I’m a bigger fan of OLTL though.
Just wondering how that would work with Roger Howarth and Kristen Alderson contracted to GH.

please erika you can;t not let viki go oltl won,t be the same with out her

All My Children and One Life to Live were not just titles or brand names. They were shows that were lovingly created and produced over a multitude of years. Both shows boasted veteran actors portraying cherished characters that fans grew to love over the years. If they are serious, truly serious about producing online episodes of One Life to Live and All My Children, then where is Agnes Nixon? How about the incredibly talented team of Frank and Carl- currently busy by breathing new life into GH? Also, do the new producers plan on including Susan Lucci, Erika Sleazack, and a host of talented, veteran daytime performers? Without the real people behind One Life and All My Kids involved, then all you have is a show with the same title, nothing more.
I am a HUGE Days fan (hardly ever watched All My Kids, and only watched One Life during its last years); however, I could never even think about watching a version of Days that wasn’t helmed by Corday. Yes, he has made his share of big time mistakes over the years, but the show is his family’s creation and his involvement is beyond the sake of a business deal.
Besides- soaps belong on broadcast. Cancel Katie- boring- and bring 30 minute episodes of both shows back to ABC. The ratings would be through the roof.

It would be great to be in Llanview again! And see Viki especially! I’m curious how much it will cost to watch on-line. If it happens will it be a packaged deal for both soaps or if you just want to watch one soap & not the other? Or two separate prices I wonder. It would be nice if it were for free but I don’t think so…We have been watching our soaps for free all these years.We never had to pay to watch them on T.V.I guess being on-line
is a whole different thhing…I hope they are not yanking our chains AGAIN!

Thinking that Prospect Park will produce and ABC will air.

Glad to see this! ABC’s talk shows are failing/have failed, while faithful fans still pull through and bring back their soaps! ABC should be ashamed of themselves, as they brought about their own failure!

IS JOHN MCBAM GOING TO PROSPECT PARK?

WILL HE STAY WITH GH?

SAM+JOHN

Why not tape in LA
Most actors are there anyways

I can’t wait to see All My Children again! Thank you! When is production going to start?

All My Children

Carol Burnett Talks About Being a Superfan of ‘All My Children’ on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’

In a heartfelt reunion, of sorts, the one and only Carol Burnett appeared on Monday March 25th episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.

Burnett had first met Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo) back when they all appeared on All My Children together. Carol played Verla Grubbs first in 1983 and then again in the 90’s.

Host Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) noted to Burnett that “we go back a long time”. She also described Burnett’s character of Verla Grubbs, “extraordinary in every way.”

Carol’s love for All My Children is well-documented, hence legendary soap creator, Agnes Nixon, created the role of Verla for Burnett.

Photo: ABC

Speaking on how her passion for All My Children began, Carol told Kelly and Mark, “It started with my kids. They would watch at noon. I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I sat down and I started to watch and I got hooked!”

When Carol’s family decided to travel through Europe during one summer, the comedic legend recalled thinking, “How am I going to last if I don’t know what’s going on in Pine Valley?” She revealed she had a friend, “who sent me a telegram to the (different hotels) on Fridays to bring me up to date.”

Photo: ABC

In a hilarious moment from the segment, Carol recalled receiving a late night telegram while in Lake Cuomo when there was a knock at her hotel room door from the hotel manager who was shaking.

Carol related what it said, “Erica is still in a coma. Mark slipped again and ran away from rehab.” As Kelly and Mark broke into laughter, Burnett continued, “Chuck has learned that Donna is carrying his baby, who was once a hooker.”

Check out Carol explaining how she became an AMC Superfan below.

Now, let us know, did you enjoy Carol as Verla Grubbs? What show do you consider yourself a Superfan of? Tell us in the comment section.

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All My Children

Malachy McCourt, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and ‘All My Children’ Actor, Dead at 92

If you watched Ryan’s Hope through its 14-year-run, you know that Kevin the bartender became a beloved “member’ of the Ryan clan on the defunct ABC daytime drama series. The character of Kevin MacGuiness became so loved by the fans because of the actor who portrayed him, Malachy McCourt.

Sadly, according to his wife Diana McCourt to The New York Times, Malachy passed away on Monday from a heart condition and battling cancer. The actor was 92-years-old.

Playing Kevin on Ryan’s Hope was not much of a stretch for McCourt, because in his lifetime, he was the owner of 1950s Irish pub Malachy’s on Third Avenue in Manhattan. Known as one of the city’s great story-tellers, patrons from longshoremen to the actor Richard Harris would stop in and talk all things Irish with . On Ryan’s Hope, Kevin was best friends to “Ryan’s Bar” owner, Johnny Ryan (Bernie Barrow) and he tried to keep Delia (Ilene Kristen) on the straight and narrow.

Photo: ABC

In his soap opera career, McCourt also was widely-known for his role of Father Clarence McCourt on All My Children especially come Christmastime. Was Clarence, actually St. Nick? That was always the proverbial question. McCourt also appeared on the New York soaps: One Life To Live, Search For Tomorrow and Another World. Other roles included: Devil’s Own, Brewster’s Millions, The Molly Maguires, and Starman, to name 

Later in 2006, Malachy ran for governor of the state of New York as a Green Party candidate. He tackled social issues of the time including being an advocate for gay and lesbian groups to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Photo: ABC

McCourt’s childhood was recounted within his brother Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes, which detailed their mother’s attempt to raise the four of their surviving seven children in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. Later, Malachy wrote his own memoirs: 1998’s Monk Swimming, and 2000’s Singing My Him Song.

Malachy is survived by his aforementioned wife, Diana, daughter Siobhan McCourt; sons Malachy Jr., Conor and Cormac; stepdaughter Nina Galin; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Share you remembrances and condolences for Malachy McCourt via the comment section, but first check out this scene from a 1983 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” featuring the late actor with Ilene Kristen.

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All My Children

‘Live with Kelly and Mark’s’ Annual ‘After the Oscars’ Show Brings Backstage Interviews, Fashion Review and Red Carpet Arrivals from Movie’s Biggest Night

Monday morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the talk show’s annual Oscar post show.

However, this time it would be Consuelos’ first time as the co-host of ‘Live’ for an Oscars episode. Mark took over the gig from Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife back in April of 2023 and since then the show has seen a ratings spike hitting several all-time highs.

The After the Oscars show opened with a tribute to the movies were the former All My Children stars took on iconic roles from: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct to Barbie and Ken in Barbie, to the Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller role’s in the romantic comedy Something About Mary and more.

Courtesy/DisneyABC

During After the Oscars, Kelly and Mark were shown in clips backstage as the first stop for the newly-anointed Academy Award winners including: Finneas and Billie Eilish and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Bachelor host, Jesse Palmer was the talk show’s guest correspondent who spoke to the nominees, and celebrities as they were entering the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.

Singer Andy Grammar took to the stage and performed on Live’s  After the Oscars show as well, and Project Runaway’s Elaine Welteroth shared her thoughts on the night’s Oscar fashion.

You can watch the full ‘Live with Kelly and Mark After the Oscars’ show below, plus the full movie parody below that. Now let us know, what do you think of Kelly and Mark’s first post-Oscar show together on ‘Live’? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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