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All My Children's EP Ginger Smith On: New Head Writers, Five Year Story Time-Jump & Michael E. Knight!

Courtesy/TOLN

Courtesy/TOLN

On last night’s broadcast of the TOLN Soaps Live with Michael Fairman, on the Blog Talk Radio network, the executive producer of All My Children, Ginger Smith was the very special guest for a lively chat and interview about all things Pine Valley in front of the camera and behind the scenes including: why the decision was made to fast forward the story five years into the future from the ABC finale of the series, if Michael E. Knight might truly make a return to the series as Tad Martin, and what Ginger could reveal about the new scripts from the new writing regime, and what is to come when AMC return to film brand new episodes next month after their summer hiatus.

Later in the show, Ginger also took calls from fans of the series asking questions ranging from a possible return of Susan Lucci, to if Brooke and Adam will get married now that Dimitri seems to be taking a liking to Brooke, what the plans are for the destructive character of Colby played by Brooke Newton, and much more!  Here are a few quotes from Ginger on some major subjects of interest!

GINGER on the decision to time jump the reboot of AMC five years ahead: “I knew in my head, I would definitely time jump that kid because then you would have the opportunity then to progress the young kids. Not that I don’t love young children, but in order to tell contemporary story, which All My Children has always done generationally, I thought if I got them to the teenage years, what I would do then?  It was going to be a challenge no matter what, but I knew it would be difficult to do a direct pick-up from the end of the ABC Network final episode of the series.  I thought it’s just easier in to do the time jump and it opens it up and gives us an opportunity to tell different stories and go in different direction. However, I was also concerned that for the core audience, we were still knotted to those stories.  There is nothing worse than taking a journey and then they cut off the story, and we don’t acknowledge it anymore, and than I feel cheated as a viewer.  So it was really important not to exclude anybody, or make them feel cheated, but progress the story and the show forward in a contemporary way.”

GINGER on what fans can expect from the new writing regime and the new episodes that will go into production:  “I love the new writing regime, but first a big ‘thank you’ to Marlene McPherson and Elizabeth Snyder for jumping on this train as it was full steam ahead. They jumped off and gave us a great starting point, and now I have Lisa Connor and Chip Hayes who are head writers.  What we decided to do when we come back from hiatus is … and we will have a lot of scripts done is … we will be doing a little bit more of a cliffhanger, while keeping the mystery, keeping the humor, and keeping the romance alive, and also giving the audience some surprises with actors and characters that may be returning to the scene!  That was really important to us.  We have an opportunity with this shooting schedule that we have to bring some actors in and out and, and that will be our intention as we continue our production schedule, and as we start back up in August. By next week, it will start to get crazy as we gear up!”

GINGER on the possibility that Michael E. Knight will return as the beloved Tad Martin to the series anytime soon:  “I will say this about Michael Knight. He is one of my truest best friends, and he has been my lifeline, even when I started this job. There would be days I would call him late at night and go, ‘Oh my God!’  I adore him. Sometimes the timing isn’t necessarily right when you start another project … you have a commitment, you have family commitments, job commitments. Am I saying he is coming back? I am saying he knows that the door is always open.  You know what?  I think there is a good possibility of that, and you know what I say? If we start talking about the character a lot on the screen, that is what the fans have to start paying attention too!”

To listen to the broadcast to hear what Ginger had to say about the above and more, check out the TOLN Soaps Live with Michael Fairman player below!  Let us know what you think about Ginger’s comments about upcoming story and the writing change? Do you think it will improve the show? Who do you think Ginger may be bringing back to Pine Valley? Are you hoping that Michael E. Knight will be far behind? Do you think it was a good idea now that you have seen many episodes of the reboot of the series, to time jump the series five years forward? Comments below!

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Michael, it was a great interview and Ginger comes across like the right person for the job! She’s enthusiastic and knowledgeable and yet she listens to the fans, probably more than ABC did. I got the impression we’ll see more of Eden Riegel and Alicia Minshew soon, which would thrill me. I also loved what she had to say about Zach and Kendall because there is more story to be told there and anything that’s new and fresh that AMC’s writers can come up with for them is okay with me. It all sounds very promising. Thanks for an informative & fun interview.

Loved it! MEK will be back I truly Believe he will be back! As far as Characters and Actors coming back! Boy that could be quite the list! I hope one of them is Ryan WITHOUT Greenlee, Jackson, Kendall, Krystal…..Great Interview and can’t wait to see what the new writers have in store!!!

Looking forward to what the new writers will bring to the table! It’s exciting and I’m loving the show. I still miss Greenlee, Ryan, Tad and others, but hopefully many of them will come for a visit.

who the hell cares about ginger smith. the show is horrible now. amc has to bring back cameron mathison susan lucci liza and greenlee. if they dont amc will be cancelled again. the new jr sucks. they should recast jr again. amc needs to bring back kendall full time. bring back the characters will love. then i will be watching amc again. if not the show will fail. also michael knight needs to come back. i know he is busy with other projects.

Then you didn’t even bother to listen to the interview, did you? Ginger has been in contact with everyone you mentioned-it’s just that the timing isn’t right right now for various reasons. I’ve said this from the beginning, people need to get ABC’s AMC out of their heads

I totally disagree with you, respectfully, Gino. Kendal (Alicia Minschew) is on another online soap as the star, Erica (Susan Lucci) has 2 TV projects, Ryan Matheson has a million projects. I think JR is fine, the old JR is on another soap. I think we are doing qutie well without the people you mention. I love the new AMC. Would I love to have “Tad” back- more than anything. But he is not willing to come back now. The show is exciting, vibrant, and the writers are respecting the audience. and history. There are a few history gaffs but hopefully those will be cleared up.

lol true Troy, especially like it’s last five years! ugh! Zarf and Erica’s “un-aborted” baby? Sigh.

I, for one, care about Ginger Smith! I think this NEW All My Children (as well as OLTL) is great and doing a wonderful job. And as with any recast – they need time. Instead of complaining, you could be grateful these shows are back AT ALL.

I really hope Kendall is one of the characters that will be back as a regular. I would be happy to have Tad back as well. I like that she said they will be going in fresh new directions and hope that refers to a creative , romantic story for Zach and Kendall. I’m excited about the new writers and hopefully a change of course with some of the storylines–particularly Zach’s .

I agree, Tad should be back on there for sure. And Kendall for good also, need Zach and Kendall in each other’s orbits again!

I really do hope MEK will be back as Tad. Dixie is lost without him. Someone needs to save her from Billy Clyde:) Love the new format and hoping to see Erica and Jackson at least come for a visit .

since Erica (La Lucci) is busy, I wish they’d just bring Jackson back for now. Walt Willey says he has not been asked. What’s up with that? I was not happy to hear that, but maybe they can’t afford more stars right now. They should talk to him, though.

Very disappointed that Canada cannot watch AMC. We got hooked on a few episodes and now nothing. Not fair. Lots of viewers in Canada

From what I understand, both AMC and OLTL are available in Canada on ITunes

The show needs a little work, some might say A LOT of work – the writing is flat, the sets are limited – every scene is either Jane’s Coffee Shop or Chandler Mansion. No park scenes, no lake scenes, no street scenes, just Jane’s Coffee Shop.
So, on a positive upbeat note, I hope the new writing team can add some zest to these rather Zipless scenes – and of course, it would be great if Michael E. Knight could reprise his role as Tad Martin. Susan Lucci as the iconic Erica Kane would be a welcomed addition. I don’t know if it will happen but it would be nice to see these characters return.

I thought is was a great interview. I am hoping that they do bring Alicia back. Would lov
to see her and Thorsten bring their magic back to the show. Would love to see them in
a story line with lots of adventure and romance.

Michael, it took a couple of sittings to get through the interview, but I truly appreciated Ginger’s positive attitude. AMC is in good hands

If I can only have a little part of Kendall, Ryan, Greenlee, Krystal, Jackson, and Tad- I would be in heaven. A little is better than none. What would be ground-breaking good production is if Leo came back for Greenlee. It would be a dream come true of epic proportions! One can only wish!!!

Cecile, not to worry. You have missed absolutely nothing. This show sucks. If you want good writers, get the ones who worked on TV. Altho the convoluted Erica kidnap/stolen identity story, currently on Soapnet, has to be the absolute dumbest story I have seen in my entire life. We are to believe that someone who is not Erica can just step in her shoes and become her. When will the writers give the viewers credit for a modicum of intelligence? Never, I guess. But back to the re-boot, this is absolute torture. Said I wouldn’t watch but caved out of curiosity. Rob has potential, he’s a sexy little guy. And, of course, Vince is always a master at what he does and he’s great to look at. Love Jill, Debi and Darnell. That’s pretty much it. But they are all really wasting their great talent(s) on this piece of crap. Even Thor has been downgraded as an actor. He is embarrassing to watch on this and I adored him on TV. If they don’t do something drastic, like clear out most of the new cast, this is surely doomed. Bring back the triangle, Kendall, Zach and Grif. At least they will spice things up a bit. Get Opal a gal pal (but not Lucci, please). I still stand by what I originally said. This thing is not going to fly. The whole look of the thing is really one big eyesore. So Canada, you are missing nothing.

I hope you have stopped watching.

Jas, AMC is definitely not trash or crap. It has definitely returned as if it never left. Ginger wouldn’t have it any other way and Agnes is behind this all so I find your comment to be way off. The look and feel is still there so I don’t know why anyone would bash this beloved series and the actors. It is plain disrespectful. Ginger knows what she is doing and I think anyone who wants their ABC AMC back needs to really let it go. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there’s a line that gets crossed anytime one is not happy with what they see. What is more outrageous is that even with how successful the reboot is, there are viewers who are never satisfied and wreak havoc any chance they get. I always say any true fan will support the show and love it unconditionally. Give it a real chance and have respect with commenting if you don’t like what you see. Michael thank you so much for all that you do, the five year gap is genius and I agree AMC is in great hands with Ginger.

I ended up going to bed instead of staying up for the interview. If I had called in, I would’ve asked about the possibility of Ross Chandler returning now that the Cortlandt/Chandler feud has been revived (what is Robert Newman doing these days?). As a viewer of AMC since the summer of 1980, I was quite impressed with Ginger Smith. I’ve been loving the reboot anyway, but hearing how much she loves the show and her favorite story line being Cliff & Nina just made me appreciate her even more!

My response to the highly intelligent Ricky Ortega is: 5 year gap. Let’s see, JR or AJ or whatever his name was was about 7 when the series got cancelled. Let’s see. How about a math lesson. 7 plus 5 equals ??? Genius you say. Well, clearly genius you are not. 7 plus 5 = 12. So AJ is 12. And clearly a brilliant student to already be in high school, huh? I’m being disrespectful? No, I’m just expressing my opinion which, when last I heard, living free in America (barely anymore) I am free to express. I have done so. Don’t need vigilante Ortega on my case for that. Secondly, of course Agnes is on board with this. $$$. Get it. And she’s very, very old. Perhaps not of the soundest mind. Again, $$$. As for ABC AMC, I don’t give a rat’s fanny about the networks. Hardly ever watch anything on them. Just the news to get the weather forecast. But the look and feel of AMC was so wonderful when they were on ABC. This is so unbearable to watch. Watching on the internet sucks – big time. That’s my opinion. I am entitled to it as you are to yours. But may I suggest you invest in some back to school time instead of focusing so heavily on AMC. Sounds like you need some refresher courses and perhaps need to also get a life.

Ginger has been doing amazing with the handling of All My Children. She’s really holding true to the origins of the show and making it a much more contemporary, but attractive series. Since the relaunch, I have not been able to miss a single beat of the series. The casting has [for the most part] been brilliant. And I hope that when the show returns to production next month we’ll see even more veteran faces and veteran characters. That would be awesome! But I have zero complaints about the series thus far!

As per the new writing regime, Marlene and Elizabeth were stellar as head writers of the series. And I have faith in Lisa and Chip to continue on with the great writers both previous scribes have done.

You don’t have to torture yourself by watching.lol
The new shows are GREAT!!!!
Since soaps always rapidly age kids,it’s suprising that AJ and Miranda aren’t in their mid twenties after the time jump.
The show was pretty aweful on abc the last few years until they were cancelled(then it got much better).

All My Children

51st Daytime Emmys: Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa Receive Talk Show Host Nominations

On Thursday, nominations were announced in the Outstanding Talk Show category for the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards. 

Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) coming off his first-year as co-host of ‘Live” with real-life wife, Kelly Ripa scored his first Talk Show Host nomination along with Ripa who has been nominated previous times.

Joining Mark and Kelly in the race are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, Sheryl Underwood, The Talk and
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall.

Photo: CBS

As previously reported, The Talk is coming to its end when its upcoming 15th and final season ends in December of 2024.

The 51st annual Daytime Emmys are slated to be broadcast and stream live on CBS and Paramount+ on Friday night, June 7th

Look for the full list of nominations to drop on Friday morning at 12 noon ET/9 am PT.

So, are you rooting for Kelly and Mark to win their first Talk Show host award together? Comment below.

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All My Children

Mark Consuelos Celebrates One-Year Anniversary as Co-Host of ‘Live’ Alongside Kelly Ripa

Today, April 17th marks a full-year since Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) took over the co-hosting duties of ‘Live” alongside his wife, and longtime co-host, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, All My Children).

Consuelos replaced Ryan Seacrest who are six seasons decided to be back on the west coast full-time. For Consuelos, now having the opportunity to work off of Ripa as co-hosts has been something of adjustment for him, but viewers have been eating it up.

Live with Kelly and Mark has remained the No. 1 entertainment talk show on television over the past year, growing 3% in average total viewers to 2.23M per episode.  It is also the most-watched daytime talk show in the last year in key demos of women 18-49 and women 25-54. All of this, since the real-life marrieds teamed-up.

Photo: ABC

Speaking with Deadline, Kelly Ripa shared why the two are gelling on-screen, “I do think that there is something very possibly relatable about our relationship. We have disagreements like a normal couple, and we’re not afraid to let them unfold on the air and in front of America, and I think people find a lot of themselves in that.”

Mark weighed in how he has progressed as a host, and what he could improve at, sharing, “I’d like to get better at my interviewing skills. I’d like to get better at reading a teleprompter…I think I’m getting better at throwing to commercial. The other day in the middle of the show as we go to commercial, my sign off was ‘See you guys around.’ I mean, the show wasn’t over. The most obvious thing to say would be, ‘We’ll be back right after this.’ But I just said, ‘See you around.’ So we went to commercial and one of the producers (goes) ‘What was that?’ I don’t know… So for the next few sign offs, as a joke, I’d say ‘See you around.’ We got a kick out of it.”

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, Kelly has given huge props to Mark, “I find Mark utterly compelling, really interesting, super funny, and he’s bold in a way like nobody else. He says what’s on his mind. If he’s thinking it, he says it.  I’ve done this a long time and oftentimes people will adjust their natural personalities to pander to what they think the audience wants to hear, and Mark will tell people what he thinks, and he doesn’t care if it’s not a popular opinion. It gives him an edginess that I think is really missing in the landscape today. Everybody’s so afraid to say anything, and Mark is unafraid to say exactly what he’s thinking.”

In a statement, Debra O’Connell, President News Group and Networks, Disney Entertainment shared, We could not be more thrilled with how Mark has seamlessly joined the show family as permanent co-host. His undeniable charisma and his and Kelly’s natural chemistry are evident as they deliver the laughs and smiles to our viewers each morning. We are incredibly proud of how Live has continued to evolve and that the audience is responding so enthusiastically.”

So, do you think Mark Consuelos is the best co-host his wife Kelly Ripa has ever had on ‘Live’? How would you say he is doing as co-host after one full year on the job? Comment below.

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All My Children

Susan Lucci Joins the Cast of Jonah Hill’s Movie ‘Outcome’

Look who will be part of the ensemble cast in motion picture and film star Jonah Hill’s new film project! That’s right, none other than Susan Lucci (ex-Erica, All My Children).

According to Deadline, the daytime television icon joins other notables including Laverne Cox and David Spade who have been added to the cast of Outcome. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Matt Bomer (ex-Ben, Guiding Light) and Cameron Diaz.

In Outcome, which is written by, and will be directed by Hill, the dark comedy centers around Reef (played by Reeves), a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip from his past.

Photo: JPI

Soap fans know that following her iconic run as All My Children’s Erica Kane, Susan went on to be featured in Lifetime’s Devious Maids in the role of Genevieve Delatour.  Since her Pine Valley days ended (when AMC was canceled in 2012), Susan has appeared in numerous shows and made numerous appearances.  n December of 2023, Lucci was awarded the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo: JPI

Outcome will debut on Apple and is an Apple Studios production. The film marks the latest collaboration for Hill and Apple Original Films, who are also developing a Grateful Dead biopic with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, to be directed by Scorsese, with Hill starring in it and as one of the producers of the project, as well.

So, intrigued to see what kind of role Susan plays in Jonah Hill’s new film ‘Outcome’? Comment below.

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