All My Children
Andy Cohen Says Of "Real Housewives" Franchise: "I Think It Has Replaced The Modern Soap Opera In A Weird Way For A Lot Of People"

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com
Bravo’s Andy Cohen, creator of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and all the rest of the “Housewives” series within the franchise, and the host of the late-night celebrity talker Watch What Happens Live, appeared on CBS Sunday Morning just a few days ago promoting his new book, “The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year.”
When discussing with the shows anchor including: Charlies Rose and Gayle King why the “Real Housewives” franchise has fascinated so many in the viewing audience, Cohen says, “I think “that the Housewives” have replaced the modern soap opera in a weird way for a lot of people.”
Noting of daytime dramas, Cohen related: “Scripted soap operas, there’s only a couple on the air now, and truth is stranger than fiction, which is part of the reason why I love my book actually, because things that happen to us in real life… you couldn’t write this stuff. It certainly holds true with all the Beverly Hills housewives, and all the rest.”
Watch the interview with Cohen from CBS This Morning after the jump! Then let us know, do you agree that the reality series franchises are the soaps of our time? Does Andy make a good point? And remember, he is a big fan of Susan Lucci (Ex-Erica Kane AMC, Devious Maids)! So, comment below!
He is a dreamboat !!
This I agree with, the RH franchise has the glamour that soaps can’t afford to show today.
ANDY IS AN IDIOT!!!!!! THERE ARE FOUR DAYTIME SOAPS LEFT ON THE AIR, NOT TWO!!!!!!
he said a couple…….not two specifically….ok……there are 2 couples…….for cryin out loud…….4 compared to 10 almost a decade ago is a couple……he should have said a few……shoot him…….crucify him……get a life
He’s a self deluded ass! HE has probably never worked on a soap, not likely even seen one. There is no comparison. Soaps are written by skilled writers, crafted by industry professionals, utilize many skills like set design, fashion and lighting, and have REAL actors who practice their craft and take it seriously. Many have gone on to have huge careers on TV, movies, and on Broadway. Reality TV, which it is NOT, is a bunch of narcissistic sociopaths winging it thinking they are important, when they should seek professional help. How come any moron can write a book now days? His comments are insulting to soap fans and we should be outraged. I am.
PS Put out the RIP sign. OLTL & AMC are never coming back.
Dream on Andy. I have no interest in Real Housewives but I love my daytime soaps. I’ve never watched Real Housewives and never will. I love Eileen Davidson but won’t watch for her either.
Exactly the way I feel about it, too…word for word.
Same here, Judy.
These junk housewives show appeal to gay men who love soaps but that doesn’t mean Cohen should try to take away those gay men who also love soaps.
I’m a gay man who loves the soaps and the housewives hold absolutely no appeal for me or my boyfriend.
gay man…….watch them both…..
Andy’s right…I watch them all!
me too
You may compare them to a primetime soap but those so called housewives you cant compare to daytime unless you air original episodes 5 days a week…then we will talk Andy!!!
Andy you are very annoying my friend, I love my daytime soaps. Real House wives are trashy has beens with plastic faces botox and fake boobs. These woman like the drama, and there 15 minutes of fame. If I want drama and romance I will watch GH and The YOUNG AND The Restless. Andy is cute, but not gorgeous. I am a gay man, smart good looking and a loving wonderful smart boyfriend.
Claudio,
A-M-E-N to what you’re saying!!!!! I don’t think that Andy has a C-L-U-E about soaps. At all. There are only 2 reality shows that I REALLY ENJOY watching…DWTS and Big Brother. The rest of ’em I cannot stand!!!!! Claudio…I’m sorry but I DO NOT find Andy cute…at all. And I think that Andy is BEYOND ANNOYING!!!!! Furthermore, as far as men go in general, Andy is SO NOT my type!!!!! I’ve ALWAYS PREFERRED older men!!!!! As in…men older than me…LOL!!!!! Bottom Line Here: Andy needs to STFU!!!!!
Claudio…Happy Holidays to you and your boyfriend. Peace.
If this guys ego was any more inflated he would float away.
Agree, totally. All of Andy’s shows are total trash. I used to sorta like Andy’s talk show, but now his massive ego has ruined the show.
These shows feature completely orchestrated scenes and events, not exactly what I call “reality”.
NONE of these women would even look at each other outside these “reality” shows.
Never watched those types of shows and probably never will. In my opinion watching the “supposed” lives of other people has nothing to do with engrossing yourself in a fictional town with fictional people. A key point would be a level of attachment…I would assume you can “like” or “side” with a reality show person…but you don’t form the attachment that you can develop for a character/characters when you’re a regular viewer of a scripted soap.
Well said…i watched one episode with Eileen D. to see what its like and thats about 1 hr of my life ill never get back!!!
jimh…lol…I guess curiosity got the best of ya!
GHs Helene will use mind control on a programmed Jason who will help Faison escape…Faison and Dr. Liesl will go on the run…Helene remains in PC disguised with a Dr.Liesl mask…sorry to go off topic but id thought youd like to know!!!…lol
did you read spoilers jimh or are you predicting…because as of today’s episode you’re right on point!
I dont read spoilers…i love suspense…reading spoilers ruin the fun…i like to predict…right or wrong its fun…ive done it for years…mostly wrong…lol…but its still fun…see ya later!!!
oh I know you don’t report spoilers…I’m used to your very often spot on predictions! I was joking by implying your prediction was soooo good this time you must have! But we’re still going to have to wait and see if your Helena/Dr. O (yet another mask…could it be??? lol) look into the future comes true. If Helena could pull off a German accent complete with oozing sarcasm and biting wit…the mask alone should win an emmy! 🙂
You couldn’t pay me to watch Real Housewives of (anywhere). Really, there is no comparison. I could not care less about those shows or the people on them.
NEVER will that CRAP replace a talented cast of actors and gifted writers!
that is so very much true,real housewives will never replace real acting
Totally agree!!!!
I agree…Lisa and Eileen are the closest that will ever come to a daytime soap. We need to hang onto the 4 on air!!!
“OH ! how INSULTing”
I won’t even read the article
“…in a weird way”
yep
Serial is the cornerstone of all of daytime
I don’t agree at all! Scripted soaps are way better than these vapid, trashy housewives shows!!
Merriam-Webster defines the word, “housewife” as a MARRIED a woman who stays at home, does cleaning, cooking, etc., and does not have another job outside the home or a MARRIED woman in charge of a household.
So I ask you, where does Brandi Glanville fit in? She is divorced, no?
These woman are a FAR CRY from a “housewife.” That being said, this whole “Real Housewives” franchise amounts to nothing more than the laziness of the world we now live in. Why is reality television so popular? Because people are not sophisticated enough to follow a good, scripted show and, if you need evidence of this, I present to you KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS
Hallelujah for cable and network dramas!
Sorry, I hit the button before finishing my thought.
The Kardashian crap and this Honey Boo Boo crap and Dancing with the Stars crap is insulting and a slap in the face to real TV viewers. But just like all those that believed everything that Oprah said, like she was some kind of prophet, they cannot think for themselves. They are not mature enough to follow a scripted show. I bet the people that watch any of the above would be just as delighted to pull up a chair and watch a train wreck or a car on fire.
What has happened to the world we live in? Movie studios and networks recycle old intellectual properties and do not create anything new because of this world of instant gratification and shock and awe, not to mention the insane popularity of celebrity worship.
Totally agree! What a sad statement of what is actually watched…these are like train wrecks
I love Andy but his comments were ignorant about soaps. I am a fan of both RH and soaps but they are both scripted which is what Andy should have admitted. NeNe Leakes going to a coffee shop to have an arguement with Kenya Moore is no different then Mariah running into Abby at Crimson Lights on The Young & The Restless. Both shows have producers, editors and actors. One genre is more blatantly honest about what you’re getting yourself into when you tune in.
Um, I thought Housewives was scripted fiction.
When Housewives first started, I thought it was about a group of friends who were housewives (married women who didn’t have outside jobs).
I would rather watch OLTL or AMC.
Bravo’s Andy Cohen, creator of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and all the rest of the “Housewives” series within the franchise//
He needs a ”reality” check .. lol
He knows he is talk junk and he needs to say that , he’s just pushing his show and book.. And BRAVO is not a prime network..
The Real Housewives, is trash …… and is known as trash reality … lol
In a way, he is right. As much as people complain about these shows, they continue to grow and add other cities to their roster. And the fab, over the top parties are only what soaps dream of now. Add the catfighting, glamorous clothes, hunky husbands and exotic trips, and they ARE basically soap operas lol haters can hate, but Nene and Co are laughing all the way to the bank. And they keep it fresh by adding a new housewife here and there every season, so this is true lol
Lets see if this ‘overrated- with an ego bigger than her booty’ Nene has the longevity of a Susan Lucci or a Tony Geary…remember Jersey Shore…we are seeing not as much of those freaks and in a few years they will be long forgotten like most reality stars…wheres is Jon from Jon and Kate plus 8 for example!!! Reality shows have a few years and will fade in popularity just like the disco ball…lol
I agree with Andy, the housewife shows are way more entertaining than any trite soap opera. Soaps ran out of new ideas twenty plus years ago. Budget cuts also killed soaps for me, I am not interested in watching endless dreary hospital corridors or other dull sets. Andy wAs a huge soap fan. His first book discussed at length how he and his parents stopped watching soaps, then turned on the TV years later to be disappointed in his fave show, AMC.
I dont see any new ideas on these reality serials which are only partially real…those big splasy parties and beautiful party gowns are all rehash of daytime soaps…whats new to offer here: some botoxed boob enhanced lady desperate for 15 minutes of fame holds a party or dinner event Bravo pays for and invites all her costars…someone says someting that insults the other and argues…they talk about it for weeks…suddenly the bad girl is friends with the good girls bff…i checked each of these shows and its all the same thing on each show…the only difference is the title…by the way…HOUSEWIVES? Several arent even married…lmfao!!!
I do think that reality television has replaced the soap opera in many ways. It would be stupid to deny. I don’t like that it has though. I hate reality television. I think soaps still offer things that reality television can’t. These shows don’t have any attractive men for one thing.
That might be true, but-
reality TV is cheap, in more ways than one LOL ..
Reality TV is not story telling..
Reality TV is also scripted in many cases..
Reality is shock value..
Reality TV and a soap are two different thing..
– soaps have class and dignity–
– reality is mostly trash..
just the way I see it 🙂
I don’t see daytime soaps as classy vehicles. I see trashy trite storylines told over and over, baby switches., people sleeping with their inlaws, endless adultery. I am not a prude but these stories got old twenty years ago. Soap acting is mostly bad and dialogue is embarrassing.
It is a bit like saying a fast food hamburger is the same thing as steak served at a five star restaurant — sure they are both beef, but a good steak is something you savor, while a burger with its fat and grease is usually eaten quickly because it may taste great on the way down, but your stomach is unsettled for the rest of the day. Same with reality television, it is the junk food of the airwaves— what is next believing porno films should have a category at the Academy Awards?
I understand Andy is promoting his already successful book and “his” Housewives brand, but how egotistical and disrespectful, OK, unmindful. Oh, and if he means the Housewives brand is getting tired and thus is getting more and more scripted and contrived…
The daytime dramas have been carefully constructed with arcs and top writers for decades, the east coast actors are often stage/Broadway artists, the west coast actors have certainly been dedicated to the travails of the field and all take their portrayals seriously. I don’t think daytime soaps are obsolete, just going through a transition, as nothing can replace them. Lastly, how interesting that The Doctors on Retro TV is becoming so popular, those little half hour episodes now airing, circa ’68 are a real revelation.
Andy is delusional. Those tramps on housewives are either real or playing it up for their own reality shows. Soap operas are and art! Eileen should be ashamed to be attached to this garbage!
I find it that he would say that. Half of that mess is scripted. Andy please go sit down somewhere. Soaps are far better than Real Housewives! My mom likes real housewives of Atlanta but would never chose it over a soap. I don’t know why he would say that knowing that they don’t compete against soaps. Just because ED and LR are on the show you think it replaced soaps No. Real housewives to me is a bunch of high school drama. With grown folks acting a fool. Why say that when you are trying to capture the soap audience.
I have commented before that the Real Housewives are like Menudo to me. But I don’t even know where Menudo is anymore…please just end it all gracefully.
All My Children
‘All My Children’ Movie Writers for Lifetime Revealed: Ron Carlivati, Jamey Giddens and Leo Richardson

This week began and as reported with a spotlight article on Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos and how their production entity, Milojo, has been teeing up the All My Children reboot with Lifetime.
The L.A. Times featured the married couple, co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark, and former All My Children cast members (where they met and fell in love) about their plans to bring two All My Children movies to Lifetime and how they are working with the Agnes Nixon estate to make it come to fruition,
On Wednesday, it was revealed by Daytime Confidential, that All My Children reboot producer, Andrew Stearn handpicked none other than Ron Carlivati (ex-head writer, One Life to Live, General Hospital and Days of our Lives) and Jamey Giddens (who is the new co-head writer of The Young and the Restless, following his tenures on the writing teams of Beyond the Gates and Days of Our Lives), as the two scribes who will bring the first of two of Kelly and Mark’s All My Children movies to the page.

Photo: IMDb
RON CARLIVATI AND JAMEY GIDDENS CONFIRM THEIR BOARDING THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE PROJECT
The second installment is said to be written by primetime writer Leo Richardson whose credits include: Star, Katy Keene and more recently the Penn Badgley (ex-Phillip Chancellor IV, The Young and the Restless) starring series, You.
Richardson also wrote for three years on the U.K.’s long-running soap, EastEnders. All My Children revival fans will recall Richardson’s name was attached as the writer for the first incarnation of the All My Children movies, entitled, Pine Valley.
Ron Carlivati took to X and confirmed he is indeed boarding the All My Children movie project. Carlivati shared, “So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting Jamey Giddens and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!”

Photo: Jeremy Smith/imageSPACE
Jamey Giddens confirmed DC’s announcement by taking to his account on X and expressing, “I’ve been booked and busy in 2026. Thanks to Andrew Stearn, the Agnes Nixon estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for entrusting Ron Carlivati, and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime!”
Some fans seemed to question how Giddens could be writing for the first All My Children movie at Lifetime, when he is the new co-head writer at The Young and the Restless with Dan O’Connor. Jamey answered that head on via X and explained, “We turned in our All My Children script months ago. My sole focus as of this past Monday, is Genoa City, Wisconsin! #YR”
ERICA KANE, MARIA SANTOS AND HAYLEY AND MATEO SANTOS TO APPEAR IN THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE REVIVAL?
In the planned stories, Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane and Eva LaRue’s Maria Santos will be two characters whose lives we will get to see for the first time since the series was canceled by ABC back in 2011 after 41 years on the air. As well, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos confirmed they will make brief appearances on-screen; one could assume as Hayley and Mateo Santos.
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” shared Mark Consuelos to the LA Times. “All My Children gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”
So, what do you think of Ron Carlivati and Jamey Giddens getting nod to write the All My Children movie #1 script and Leo Richardson #2? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
All My Children
‘All My Children’ Revival Updates: Lifetime EVP Speaks on Why Proposed Movies are Great Fit, Mark Consuelos Wants To ‘Give Back’ to Fans

The All My Children revival via movies at Lifetime is still in the works from former series stars and marrieds, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, through their production company, Milojo.
The co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark were featured this week in a Los Angeles Times article which detailed their efforts to bring some of the citizens of Pine Valley back to your screens.
As previously reported, and reaffirmed by the L.A. Times, the All My Children movies will be set in the present day and focus on what beloved characters such as Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue) are doing now. In addition, Kelly Ripa confirmed that she and Mark Consuelos will also appear on screen briefly most likely appearing in their signature soap roles as Hayley and Mateo Santos.

Photo: ABC
ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIES BRING NOSTALGIA THAT CAN BE MADE TO FEEL NEW AGAIN
Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network said of the All My Children reboot, “Lifetime is always interested in shows that kind of tap into a powerful nostalgia that can be made fresh for today’s audience. There’s a whole generation of women that have missed these stories and these characters.”
As for working with Kelly and Mark on the Lifetime movie versions of the soap, “They’re exactly the kind of partners you want at a brand,” expressed Bryant. “They’re trusted voices because every day they’re talking to their audience, which, a lot of times, is our audience. They bring a real credibility and have an authentic point of view. You meet Kelly and Mark and kind of what you see is what you get, and I think they bring that same authenticity to their development standards.”
Albert Bianchini, executive producer for Milojo, says he knows All My Children is so wildly popular with the fans of daytime. That was punctuated when seeing it in person, and how the energy was off the charts back in January of 2025 when Kelly participated along with Susan Lucci, former head writer, Lorraine Broderick and casting director, Judy Blye Wilson in a conversation with Andy Cohen at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

© Steven Bergman/AFF-USA.COM Credit: AFF/Alamy Live News
“I’ve never seen a crowd like that in my life. People were lined up around the block, recalled the Bianchini. “Everyone wanted to know, ‘When is (All My Children) coming back? We want more.’ We got to see that in real life and Kelly got to feel it in real life, and it made so much sense. I just know that the minute it gets out in the world, people will want more and more and more. There’s just a love there.”
Kelly Ripa added that they are, “working closely with Bob and Sarah Nixon, who are also serving as producers.” She recalled, “She (Agnes Nixon) was so far ahead of her time. She covered topics that weren’t being covered. It was extraordinary the audiences that the show drew, and she served them real stories that were affecting Americans across the country but weren’t necessarily being represented anywhere.”
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” shared Mark Consuelos. “All My Children gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”
THE CANCELLATION AND STOPS AND STARTS OF ALL MY CHILDREN REBOOTS
All My Children aired on ABC from 1970 to 2011. It got a second chance at life when Prospect Park resurrected the show and brought it to The OnLine Network and Hulu for one season in 2013.
Recently, the series made a return through the estate of Agnes Nixon and is streaming internationally on BEONDTV and through their partnership with PlutoTV Canada with episodes starting in 1995. Fans hope original episodes will some day soon be available in the U.S. as well, but that could prove more difficult since ABC owns the rights to the episodes stateside.
Now 13 years later, while there is no word yet on a definitive production start date to the two movies at Lifetime, all the people involved seemed determined to make it come to life.
So, what do you think of the executive vice-president of Lifetime and LMN being enthusiastic about Kelly and Mark’s All My Children movie revivals? Are you wanting to see this come to fruition? Kelly and Mark seem to have made this a very high priority. Do you hope that by 2027 we might be able to get this to the finish the line and into production? Weigh-in via the comment section.
All My Children
‘All My Children’ Episodes to Stream on Pluto TV Canada
Starting on May 1, All My Children fans in Canada will be able to see classic episodes of the beloved former ABC soap opera when they stream on Pluto TV Canada.
Pluto TV picked-up the All My Children Channel that the Nixon family has created in partnership with BEONDTV +. The show which aired for 41 years on ABC and ended on the network in 2011, had so many memorable storylines and characters; the least of which is the enduring run of Erica Kane played by soap icon, Susan Lucci.
As previously reported, starting with episodes from the year 1995, which was the 25th anniversary of the soap. Pluto TV Canada viewers will be able to catch 8 episodes on repeat per day. With the success of the venture, the Nixons are hopeful that they will bring viewers many more years of the show to come.

Photo: ABC
Sarah Nixon, producer, shared with Michael Fairman TV exclusively, “We are thrilled that Pluto TV has launched All My Children in Canada! Let’s hope the engagement from our incredibly loyal fans across the border will encourage ABC to bring it to the U.S.! We share what Aggie (Agnes Nixon) always felt, that it is the enthusiasm and love from the fans that has kept this legacy beloved and relevant – to this day!”
In addition, 0ne week ago, during Susan Lucci’s visit to Los Angeles promoting her book La Lucci, she was joined by her former Pine Valley castmates, Rebecca Budig (ex-Greenlee, AMC, now Taylor, B&B) and Eva LaRue (ex-Maria, AMC) and the trio posed for a pic. At that time, LaRue shared via Instagram, “NEW All My Children channel streaming classic episodes 24/7 now on Pluto TV Canada! Fingers crossed to watch soon on Pluto US.”
That was also confirmed this week by TV Watercooler’s Jeevan Brar who took to X and expressed, “The All My Children channel begins streaming this Friday, May 1 on Pluto TV Canada.
So, Canadian viewers, excited about Pluto TV’s All My Children channel? United States fans, hopeful from Sarah’s message that perhaps soon, we can see the beloved soap once again as well? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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