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BBC reports, "Do US daytime soap operas have a future?"

Courtesy/Getty/ABC

Courtesy/Getty/ABC

Our dwindling American daytime soap opera scene has everyone talking including Britain’s main outlet, the BBC.

In a report and perspective from Peter Bowes in the L.A. bureau, he spoke with among others, Mal Young the producer behind the British soap hits, EastEnders and Coronation Street and Robert Thompson a professor in pop culture at Syracuse University.  Here are some excerpts!

Mal Young is currently in Los Angeles developing a soap opera for primetime US TV, and details that Americans are yearning for more dramas about real life. “One of the shows that I’m developing out here is to tap into that. A British-style soap opera, with real people, real issues, working class blue collar families and not the Dallas and Dynastys and the Desperate Housewives.”  Young believes US viewers would buy into a Coronation Street or EastEnders set in small town America.   “I think they’re ready to go on story-telling journeys in drama and see themselves. We haven’t seen the demise of the soaps. We’ve seen the demise of a certain type of them but as a machine, as a business, a cost model, they’re so effective as long as they’re done with a great heart and they’re relevant to the audience. I think they’re ready to go on story-telling journeys in drama and see themselves.”

Professor Thompson offered up his thoughts on the the fractured daytime landscape: “The future of the daytime-type soap opera is not in the daytime. That ship has sailed and I think they are going to be gone pretty soon. However, I think there is a possibility, especially in the new economics of television that the telenovela model, the five days a week, cheaper budget kind of thing could at some time be tried in this country and work.”

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Ok then, ABC listen up, just move “One Life To Live” to primetime and all will be forgiven.

My comment refers mostly about ITV’s Show “Coronation Street” Britian’s longest running soap program. In the UK, it airs in the evening, not daytime.

Haha Brian! I’m with you!

“‘A British-style soap opera, with real people, real issues, working class blue collar families and not the Dallas and Dynastys and the Desperate Housewives.’ Young believes US viewers would buy into a Coronation Street or EastEnders set in small town America. ”

That interesting, and right up Agnes Nixon’s alley! OLTL was developed with a similar concept in the beginning – the contrasts between social classes.

A soaps fan just pointed out the other day that elaborate sets of sprawling mansions aren’t necessary. (But really, I do love Llanfair, La Boulaie and the Buke mansion!)

I am in total agreement with Jen. Plus, this is America, NOT England!

they should just keep them there where they are. Getting rid of them are really stupid.

I don’t think Young gets it. A “soap opera” with real people is a reality show. That’s not what I want. She continues, “I think they’re ready to go on story-telling journeys in drama and see themselves.” No, I am not so narcissistic that I want to see myself. Enough with the reality show crap. I want to be entertained, and the perfect model for that is OLTL, not what Young is proposing. And Thompson teaches at the same university from which Frons graduated.

Notice the “telenove
la” stands to make the networks more money!”

yes, we have enough rality in lives these days,bad economy,high price gas,people losing jobs,war,how much people can take? they need some scape and soaps provide that for them. I am sick of talk shows and reality shows,we need our soap daily,so we can battle with realities in our lives.keep them ABC or you go to trash can.

Actually, I agree. I think people want drama, but they want it to be relevant to their lives, what is going on in society, and addressing social issues of the day. Characters need to be warm and emotional. Not overly melodramatic, but they have to drawn you in and make you feel for the characters. That would be interesting to do it at night 5 days a week. I think some people (like myself) would watch it in the evening – if it were decent. For example, I like the show Brothers and Sisters – it is done well. I could watch that in the evenings more often. Young is definitely on to something. Love to come work with you on this 🙂

Umm…RJ. Brothers and Sisters IS a soap!

you know its been on for 40 yrs somebody is watching i’m one of these somebodies..
OLTL is my day time family.

I guess i’ll be grieving after OLT goes dark in janurary hard to believe both it and AMC will be gone this makes me wonder which of the remaining soaps will be next to get canceled.. I read a few years back that fox was looking to get in on soap operas but haven’t heard anything since then wouldn’t that be great if fox picked up OLTL and AMC.

Isn’t Britain one of the countries that uses soaps as a lead in to primetime programming? I know my mom watches Y&R here at 4:00 pm (and sometimes 6pm on Soap Net) and the 6pm airing on Soapnet, comes on right before programming that I would watch such as reruns of Chicago Hope on AmericanLife, and stuff my mom likes on CBS. If instead of airing them during the day, what would happen if you aired them instead of the news at 5pm or 6pm? I mean, who cares to see the news at 5pm, 6pm and then again at 10pm (or whenever it comes on because I avoid local news like the plague if I can help it) especially when you have a variety of ways to get it?

Daytime soaps are a dead formula, but the genre isn’t dead. I’d say maneuver the times you air them and you’ll find the ratings increase, by how much I do not know, but it can’t hurt to try right?

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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