All My Children
Beloved Soap Stars Left Out of 2021 Primetime Emmy Broadcast In-Memoriam Tribute
Last night, during the presentation of the 73rd annual Primetime Emmys broadcast on CBS, the annual In-Memoriam segment brought with it so many households names in a year that saw so many legacy talents and more pass away.
The tribute was performed by Leon Bridges and Jon Batiste to Bridge’s song, “River”, and as the images of the departed played across the screens from Cloris Leachman to Cicely Tyson, to Ed Asner to Michael K. Williams, and more, it was clear that several of the major late daytime soap stars were not included in the on-air tribute as well as other omissions.
Now granted, we know they will all be a part of next year’s 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in-memoriam segment, but still these actors were a part of this community and not only appeared on the soaps, but other shows as well.
Those that daytime fans noticed were not included were: Michael Nader (Ex-Dex Dexter and Dimitri Marick, Dynasty and All My Children) Stuart Damon (Ex-Alan Quartermaine, General Hospital), Ray MacDonnell (Ex-Joe Martin, All My Children) and Jay Pickett (Ex-Frank Scanlon, Port Charles).
From primetime MIA action were: Michael Constantine (Ex-Room 222), Tanya Roberts (Ex-Charlie’s Angeles), Director, Richard Donner, writer Larry McMurty, and DMX, to name but a few.
However, the Television Academy did list all of its members who died on their website in the In-Memoriam section, because due to time constraints, they could not possibly showcase everyone.
What do you feel about the omissions of Nader, Damon, MacDonnell, Pickett, and more from the In-Memoriam tribute? Let us know in the comment section, but first watch the segment.
Damon’s primetime Prince Charming notwithstanding, as these are the primetime Emmy awards, arguments could be made for Constantine and Nader. Otherwise, the main issue with the In Memoriam section was too much focus on the musicians and not enough focus on the screen caps of the deceased.
No major controversy here.
Just as the Emmys, Daytime Emmys, Oscars, and other such award shows are, in essence, popularity contests and “buzz-fests,” that mentality often extends into their In-Memoriam segments as well as (frequently) the nominees/winners. Despite the strides made by soaps as an entertainment genre over the decades, culminating in the unprecedented (and never to be seen again) heights of popularity and buzz for GH’s Luke and Laura phenomenon, daytime TV has always been, and will always be, considered a second-class citizen. The fact that there are only four such soaps on the air clearly adds to their perceived irrelevance. I have felt (and stated in these pages) that the soap categories in the Daytime Emmys are virtually impotent and meaningless as the population base for the genre is, again, just four soaps.
A case can be made for the four actors featured in this story to be included in any such In-Memoriam tribute, partly because, as mentioned, some had made forays into primetime, primarily Michael Nader (Dynasty) and Stuart Damon (Cinderella). And Ray McDonnell spent decades on AMC, as did Damon at GH, but the Emmy braintrust didn’t seem to notice or care.
Just like high school has its two-tiered system of popular kids and unpopular ones (often nerds and objects of bullying), so it is with entertainment television. Now, however, there is another distinction: primetime network TV has become irrelevant in the eyes of Emmy voters, in favor of outlets, such as HBO, NetFlix, Apple, Showtime, etc. There continues to be a dearth of nominations for network TV shows and its stars. Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU continues to turn in outstanding work year after year, but she and her show have been ignored by Emmy voters for quite a few years. I put her acting talent against anyone acting today and in recent years. (She WAS nominated 8 times and won once. So there’s that….)
Sadly, the disrespect continues…
Jamesj75, I agree with EVERYTHING you wrote brilliantly. Emmys are nice for the recipient but I don’t respect them anymore. Mariska is a prime example. What about excellent Kelli Giddish as the complex, heroic Amanda Rollins on SVU… never even nominated! Or the magnificent Kelly Bishop, passed over SEVEN SEASONS as the divine Emily on GILMORE GIRLS? Ridiculous. Meanwhile, every year it’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Boorstein, and others winning OVER AND OVER again. Years ago, Candice Bergen had the class to not put her name forward after several wins. My mother puts it best: “He/She just has to show up on the set to get nominated!” And when Chadwick Boseman passed, he got far more coverage than the legendary Olivia de Havilland, Neil Simon, or Kirk Douglas the same year. You bet it’s political. At least the Oscars has gotten it right lately (Rami Malek, Renee Zellweger, Daniel Kaluuya). Always great to see you in print, James!
Soaphound, what a day brightener your reply is! I am thrilled that you saw fit to reply to my somewhat lengthy, somewhat tangential rant. Always good to see your remarks here as well! Glad you like Mariska, too; and you’re right about Kelli Giddish and Kelly Bishop — all amazing actresses.
You’re right about the same actors/actresses winning year after year, in lieu of some spectacular, yet overlooked performers. It’s happened over decades. I got tired of seeing John Larroquette (Night Court) win every year. Same with some daytime actors. I also agree with you about the coverage in these segments of certain actors over others. Your term, “political,” is right. On a plus note, I also liked the recent Oscar winners you mentioned.
I realize that all of this is subjective, and tastes vary, but we can see the trends…
Take care, Friend!
That’s OK, we the daytime fans will always remember them with love and appreciation of their fine talents.
Actually, I did see Stuart Damon on the written list at the Creative Arts Emmys, but apparently the main show would rather waste time with unfunny comic bits and silly banter. It was always thus.
The argument could be made that the Daytime Emmy also excludes performers that haven’t worked in Daytime, it is what it is. Is there still stigma? I don’t hear it as bad as it use to be, especially now where there’s all this platforms for actors, and at the end of the day, they are actors, producers, writers and directors and creative people in the Entertainment Business. Actors are Actors first, they are not Soap, Sitcom, Prime time or streaming Actors. They are just Actors, ok said enough. and I agree with what I read below that now this in memoriam are more about whose singing then whose Pass away, I wish they would just play some beautiful song and just show us whose gone then we having to “see” the performer of the tribute.
Perhaps one way to deal with the length of the segment and the risk of oversight is to simply list only those individuals who had received Emmy nominations or honorary Emmys during their lifetime in the on-air “In Memoriam” segment. A longer list could be on the Academy website.
more people know the actors than the PR people or writers, even Jean Smarts husband was there and he was really just a bit player/guest star on shows he was on. skipping Tanya Roberts, Michael Constantine, and our soap guys (maybe minus Jay Picket, no offense) was really bad.
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.
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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