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Amidst Labor Dispute AMC & OLTL Writers Have Been Told To Keep Writing!

Courtesy/TOLN

Courtesy/TOLN

Hot on the heels of the news early this evening that The OnLine Network and Prospect Park’s All My Children and One Life to Live will have to start their hiatus earlier than expected … tomorrow,  due to the labor dispute with I.A.T.S.E., someone close to Prospect Park has informed On-Air On-Soaps that, “All the writers for both AMC and OLTL have been told to continue writing, and they have been told to write long-term story!  So obviously, Prospect Park is not planning to stop production on the soaps.”

We will keep you posted on more news and developments as they come to light!  For now, as was stated in the official statement from TOLN, 40 episodes of All My Children and One Life to Live will continue to roll out as planned through September.  If the labor dispute is settled come the time the shows are scheduled to return from hiatus in August, then new episodes will go into production as planned.

So AMC and OLTL fans, do you feel hopeful knowing that the writer have been given an edict to keep churning out story for when the shows goes back into production? Or, do you feel otherwise? Weigh-in!

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IATSE needs to back off. They are one of the reasons production companies go north of the border and creative people lose jobs down here. They’re greedy and despicable.

I could NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE and I have said the exact same thing on other sites as well as this one as soon as the story broke. IATSE locals are NOTORIOUS for creating dissension, stirring up trouble and making problems where there are NONE TO BE HAD. I have worked with them on a daily basis since 1997 and while there are wonderful members and lots and lots of decent locals, there are plenty of scumbag chapters out there who think it is okay to try to shake down productions.

does anyone else think it’s coincidental that they cut back on episodes to only 2 per week, and then announced the shutdown. It seems like they were trying to buy time for the show, by having episodes to run until September, but they gave us a bogus line about people not having enough time to watch 4 episodes per week. I could be wrong, but it just seems fishy to me.

I agree that the show cutbacks was not due to fans having to “catch up”. That was spin & anyone with a brain could see it. It just felt insulting that they pretended they were doing fans a. “Favor” by reducing. Just tell the truth. Yes, I think it was an effort to stretch out the shows longer because they saw the writing on the wall. Also think it was an effort to give production a break. Now they’ll have a real long break. I want these shows to succeed, but fans have been through the wringer at this point. What reason do they have to really invest when the bad news just keeps pouring in. Reassurances don’t seem nearly as convincing.

Yes, little worried that what has been taped so far is all we will see. I am trying to be optimistic but it’s one thing afterwards another right now

I agree. why would we be unable to “catch up” with 4 half hour shows a week, when for years, when the shows were on the network, we were able to keep up with 5 one hour shows weekly? makes no sense.

I thought it sounded odd at first, but I have seen fans on twitter and facebook said they are not caught up or just got caught up, You would thinking being online would be easier to catch up but guess not, I fell so far behind on Hot In Cleveland I quit, and that was just one day a week.

I never believed any of their story about cutting back episodes. I have never fully trusted PP.

Never believed it either

I did not believe it was about fans being able to catch up. When I re-read their statement I believe it is more so they can 1. Produce better quality shows with good story and production and 2. Allow NEW viewers a greater chance to ‘catch up’ without a huge number of shows to watch in order to do so.

But, I trust PP more than abc/d…

The shows were taking a hiatus anyways, they just took it early.. Just like the Prime Time shows taking summers off,I wasn’t worried.

You people have no idea what you’re talking about. When you say things like “we’re used to doing blah blah blah” or “it’s only four episodes a week”, you’re forgetting that what YOU do now and what PEOPLE IN GENERAL did back when they were on TV are NOT representative of OUR CURRENT REALITY. Just because YOU find it easy to cram in two hours of internet television watching a week doesn’t mean everyone else does. This is an entirely new way of watching episodic television and believe it or not, setting one’s DVR or VCR and watching something on television has nothing to do with when someone can or will be able to watch something online. Your own limited experiences are not the norm. You are NOT the people they are worried about! This has NOTHING to do with YOU. They are concerned with the pace of the shows being too fast for new or more casual viewers to handle, given the amount of content there is. This is not a lie designed to keep a deep dark secret quiet, kids. This is actually the real life situation they are finding themselves in, and for you to be all “ooooh, there’s a conspiracy” is imbecilic and embarrassing for other soap fans. They told the truth, just freaking deal with it and shut up and watch the shows already.

What puzzles me is why they billed themselves as Anytime TV- not just Daytime anymore. All of their episodes are archived so that anyone who wanted to start watching could watch from the beginning and anyone who missed an episode could get caught up. It seems to be a bit of a stretch that they would be that concerned about a casual viewer. Having the ability to watch online anytime makes it that much easier than watching on TV at a set time, or on your DVR or VCR which had to be programmed. Online does all the work for you, we just have to watch. I watch both soaps as well as GH online, and I manage to do it at various times during the day, and if I miss a day, I just get caught up later. Time will tell if there is anything behind these changes. I do hope they will continue for years to come.

I certainly hope that their differences can be resolved soon. We have come too far to lose hope now! I myself will continue to support these shows. as far as the writers, if they were told to continue writing, then there is hope. I think that what we need to do now, is to continue to support these shows and to continue to keep them at the top of the charts. Lets keep our suit of armers on!

Melissa-I agree. Right now, this isn’t our fight. The sad fact is that labor disputes have happened in the entertainment industry for years. Right now, our ONE and ONLY job is to support AMC and OLTL

Troy you are so right. The Writers Guild of America lead a strike in 1988 that lasted 153 days before an agreement was met. The IATSE dispute is probably not very serious. Hopefully they can get this resolved quickly. Our job is to support and PROMOTE both AMC and OLTL. The fans must rally behind the shows to demand a speedy resolution.

I agree 100%. I love and believe in these shows and will continue to support them completely. This is simply another growing pain in the transition from TV to the net.

I love All My Children and One Life to Live and respect Prospect Park for making them come back again for us. Thank you. Please keep them on. I’ve been watching since I was 17. I’m 57 now. I love the online shows, I can take my laptop with me anywhere in the house and watch them, and do my chores! I just wish they would have not include new cuss words because that’s not necessary since that’s a daytime show that my child likes to watch with me and is the next generation of fans to keep watching but hopefully there is a continued show to keep watching. I love a story unfold every day. I love to see the terrific actors and the terrific stories. I love them. I love them. Please don’t take them offline very long. Thank you actors, actresses, writers, crew, Prospect Park! THanx!
I’ll check huluplus everyday for a new episode in each soap, AMC, OLTL.
You’re terrific!!

I feel the same as you do Esther, and agree with everything you said.

As stated, I’m grateful to PP for bringing the shows back to “life.” I’m grateful the writers are still writing. I will NEVER stop watching. But the constant off-screen drama has got to stop!! PP knows how serious the fans are about their shows. They need to show a little more sensitivity.

It’s a soap we shouldn’t be surprised by the drama on or off screen 🙂

So far I would say the drama behind the scenes has surpassed anything they’ve come with ON the screen –
I hate to say this, but I almost wish the shows would revert back to abc-tv – they could still be a half hour, back to back. A “daily soap” serial needs to be on every day, that is what a soap is. I am not an expert on One life to Live as there were times that I didn’t watch it (although I have watched every on line episode so far) but as far as ALL MY CHILDREN, it honestly and sincerely needs work.

Johnny – I do not want abc/d anywhere near either of these shows EVER again! I would like them to be every day like they used to be. The best chance of that happening is for us to continue to watch and support them.

Laurie, I have to agree with you on this one. I respect PP for doing there best to bring the soaps back to us so I don’t really complain that much, No body else tried like they did to keep All my Children and One life to live alive and bring them back to us soap fans, But like you I can do with out the swearing and the boozing they seem to be doing a lot of that on OLTL and Snoop did not have to smoke that dope, My other complaint is that I want them to spend less time on the younger ones and pay attention to the characters who are the real ones who made those soaps what they are, My favorite place to go was always Llanview FIRST, Pine valley, and of course Port charles and Salem, I want these wonderful places to go on forever, I have watched them since there beginning.

I feel better knowing they are not stopping, but hope this gets resolved and we get them back 4 days a week instead of two, I need more

Hope they make it to sept. isnt that when they might get a cable channel to air repeats? I believe lifetime, bravo, or mtv would be the perfect channels to air them. or even tv guide channel.

PP sponsors a comedy show on USA called Royal Pains and seems to be doing
well and no disputs there..Why not relocate our soaps here? Just a thought…

Yeah…that would be another good channel.

TV Guide channel would be PERFECT! Y&R will no longer be shown on Soapnet, it’s gonna be on TV Guide Channel this fall. TV Guide channel is looking for content, getting the soaps would be a MAJOR boon for TV Guide channel and a major boon for Prospect Park as far as another revenue stream.

I forgot about Y&R moving there from soapnet. A soap block with Y&R and repeats of the reboot could be a ratings winner here. Thanks 4 the reply.

Just want it settled and for them to continue. Nothing makes a difference to me until such time as they start taping again or make an “official” announcement that everything is okay with the unions and PP. We’ve been lied to by so many over the years that unfortunately, some poor honest soul will no longer get the benefit of a doubt. Good luck to all.

Many are thinking a law suite or other nonsense..
It is only a ””dispute””
It is not even known if or of not it has happened, it very well may be that it never happened..
It is a union dispute, unions are always disputing something..

If the writers keep writing, it’s no guarantee that the soaps will stay in production. I’m glad the other unions are cooperating. I’m sure the employees want to keep working. I hope PP don’t give in to the union’s demands, because if PP caves, we’ll still lose our shows if they can’t afford to produce them. And all the employees would lose their jobs, not just the people in IATSE.

Maybe PP could raise the money they need on Kickstarter? I’d chip in a few bucks.

Andrea-you’re looking at this too simplistically. I’m not sure what the answer is, but this needs to be settled QUICKLY, because PP has investors they have to answer to here as well.

Yes, that’s probably true. They need to keep their funding. I’m not really sure if the union is being hostile or just trying to make good on the agreement, but they don’t seem to be having a problem with the rest of the unions, as far as we know.

i think they should keep it on the air so we can enjoy, also they should stop toying with us fans ,they just bought it back so leave it alone plz

back some time ago when PP cut the showsto 2 shows a week and even before they aired I mention this and said “how is this little no show production copmany going to produce 2 shows weekly with all those actors and writters and staff they have to pay ?? with no real backers to bring in dollars?? ” i also stated that if no real money was comming in how was PP going to pay the set workers ?? but all the PP cheerleaders on line tried to blast my ass and call me a hater now look at this ..baby you dont have to be Olivia on GH to see the future on this ..PP need to sell these shows to a company that can handle it or do like Oprah and geta partner that is making money

According to PP, before they launched, they said they had more than enough investors and had to actually turn some away(???) I don’t get that either, but they said it. They say they have strong investment backing, and it’s obvious they are getting the ad dollars as we see Apple products displayed ALOT on both shows, as well as the during the commercials: Ford, Microsoft, etc.

I think the money is there, I think PP under-estimated the pace of production for soaps or the audiences appetite for them. PP is use to producing 22 shows a year from their other projects, soaps are a completely different beast.

Your logic is flawed. If they did not have the money (like you say) then why would the I.A.T.S.E. be saying they spent over their contracted budget? Because that is what is happening now – nothing about not having enough money. They do have partners…

They aren’t a ‘no-show’ production company. They production Royal Pains for USA, Wilfred for FX and numerous other shows. They have worked with a lot of hollywood A-listers too. This dispute isn’t about their cash in hand/backers, it is a union audit and is a typical dispute in the entertainment field.

i have no control

I was very disappointed when the episodes for AMC went from 4 days to 2 days. It is very easy to watch and keep up with either way, but I prefer 4 days. My gosh they’re only 20 minutes long. Two days a week is not enough. I am putting all my faith in PP to get whatever behind the scenes issues resolved. I don’t think they would work this hard to get this new venue off the ground, only to shut it down again. There are so many loyal and dedicated fans out there. Lets be positive for all the actors of the characters we love !!

Don’t feel hopeful. Sorry for all actors crew and fans.

I hope all will work out,love them even more on Hulu,cuz writers are able to write what real people would really say,and snoop smoking a joint on air was priceless lol

Let web series be a new era for non-union television. Unions delayed things back in Nov. 2011, and now they want more money (or whatever is due to them) even though this is all new to everyone, and it may have been hard to gauge? How is anything new to survive if you lock it into the past?

I’m one who has never been on PP side, but this is ridiculous with the stop-go’s-stop-go’s!

PP is not the one causing the ”’stop-go’s-stop-go’s!””
As a mater of fact PP said ”keep writing” despite the union dispute.

And the 2 day is wanted by a great number, perhaps not by you or me, but by numerous others.

I believe this union tiff we be over quickly..
Then hopefully a clear road ahead for PP 🙂

That is positive news … keep writing and working on those long-term story arcs. The OLTL and AMC reboots have been far superior to the last few years the shows aired despite all the Frons/Disney efforts to destroy them. PP has accomplished a remarkable job and I earnestly wish them every success. Perhaps ABC could right the wrong deed after canceling Katie by paying PP to produce the soaps and restoring AMC to 1pm, OLTL to 2pm and move GH to its pre-Katie spot of 3pm. Hope the mouse rodent will chew on and digest my suggestion! LOL 🙂

As quoted above, “All the writers for both AMC and OLTL have been told to continue writing, and they have been told to write long-term story!” The critical phrase here is “long-term story.” PP seems committed to the shows and so am I!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always feel hopeful with Prospect Park, they are so not like ABC who didn’t even care what happened to the soaps, PP has never given up, and as you can see they are still fighting for the shows. I support them 100%.

I read a lot of comments about not trusting PP. While I think the “binge watching” was ridiculous- what about when we watched 2 hour shows, many people watched 10 hours on the weekends- but no one called it binging. That said, PP is all we’ve got. I’m so grateful to them for bringing back our soaps. We have OLTL and AMC back. I am a long-time union activist and was on a teacher union executive board for 35 years. That said, in order to keep our shows alive (and the jobs they create) all sides have to give. These shows are new and the people who went to work for them knew there would be lower wages, at least for a certain period of time. Please be reasonable.

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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