All My Children
DAYS Deidre Hall On Soaps: "The Two ABC Shows, AMC & OLTL Were Canceled By a Man Who Was Not Very Knowledgeable About What He Was Doing!"
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
Why do soap fans love Days of our Lives Deidre Hall (Marlena) so much? One of the main reasons is because she has always been a champion of the genre, and its enduring art form, and respects and understands its legions and millions of loyal fans!
In an interview promoting her appearance this weekend at She: Art Expo For Women in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Deidre talks about the state of the industry including its future, where she related her thoughts about former ABC Daytime Chief, Brian Frons who canceled two iconic shows.
Deidre shared, “The two ABC shows, All My Children and One Life to Live, were canceled by a man who was not very knowledgeable about what he was doing. He thought it would be cheaper to do a game show or reality show. It isn’t about budgets. Women have been watching these shows for so many generations they are invested. They’ve shared them with their grandparents and grandchildren. It’s their touchstone, it’s their family.
The reason we are their family is because we’ve been there for viewers almost 50 years. We were there when they came home from school and Grandma was in the kitchen with our show on, when they went off to college and had something in common with their roommates watching the show. We are there when people go into rest homes, on holidays when nobody comes to the table. We know our audience really loves us. We’re family. The ABC executive, who is now gone, didn’t get that. We’re never going off the air. There will always be a wonderful place for soap operas.”
When asked what she thought about the soaps now being online, (AMC and OLTL) Deidre’s sentiments were, “I don’t know if you can ask your audiences to go to the smaller screen. They are used to having you right there in their house. We don’t ask you to pay for it (the daily show); online needs the audience to pay a dollar (soaps on iTunes are 99 cents per episode download). It’s a different way to do business.”
So what do you think about Deidre Hall’s comments about what soaps mean to people? The mistake made by ABC canceling All My Children and One Life to Live in favor of cheaper forms of programming, that to this day, that decision has caused such a ripple effect in so many ways? And the way fans are trying to get use to the new format of the revival of those two series AMC and OLTL online? Comment below!
Love her. That is why Deidre is one of my favorites.
I think she’s right that there will always be a place for soaps-just hope TPTB know that too. There are lots of primetime shows I have watched for a season or two, then stopped watching, but I have been watching soaps for decades. So I have definitely stuck with them. I do think being on everyday helps, because when a season ends I may not pick it up again or even week to week for some shows.
She is 100% right on with her comments, that’s for sure. ABC-TV made the biggest blunder in television History by canceling both AMC and OLTL.
Personally, I’m not crazy about the on-line inceptions, but it’s better than nothing. AMC on-line feels more like a spinoff than a continuation, but I keep watching and am trying to hope for improvements.
Diedre Hall is also correct that asking people to pay to watch on-line is different from the days of coming home after school and your show was on in the Living Room. The whole ambience has changed, and part of the “charm” of a daily soap was that it was on daily at the same time, making it a daily serial. You followed faithfully and didn’t have to worry about missing an episode because another “character” would probably fill you in on another day. It’s just not the same anymore, and of course, times have changed, and our viewing habits have become modified as well.
That being said, I am happy to see OLTL and AMC have extended life on the Internet, and I am hoping to see some writing improvements.
not a hundred percent right hulu is free
Well, I was just generalizing. Yes, HULU is free, but I pay for Hulu PLUS, so that I can watch the shows on my (through my) tv set, it’s not the same to me watching it on the computer although at times I watch clips that way.
Many people prefer on the go ”smaller” screens, iPads and phones..
Most all TV are now also internet TV’s and that brings all on the internet, including the soaps, on the big tv screen..
Also, internet devices as Roko bring the soaps to your tv, as do Play Stations etc..
For the people who do not know how to put the internet soaps on their tv, they need to inform themselves.. Watching internet soaps on a TV is just a click away.
The ones that can’t, the worlds media moves on into the internet 21st century and some will be left behind; life is not always fair..
So- Deidre Hall , needs to update her life and inform herself that even though soaps are on the internet , the future, they are available on tv, and still many prefer to watch on their iPads and PC’s ..
Completely agree. We watch AMC through Hulu Plus on our living room TV and Y&R via traditional broadcast. There is little difference between the two experiences — except for the bonus that I can watch AMC when I travel domestically (maybe internationally, too, one of these days!). Progress is good.
Even if you watch the soaps on regular hulu, you can spend $15.00 for an HDMI cord to hook your laptop/computer to your tv screen. I do that whenever I watch anything on hulu. Beats paying $100.00/month on cable.. that’s for sure.
This is absolutely true. I didn’t watch AMC or OLTL, but I was just watching the SOD Awards from 1999 last night, on footage I had transfered from VHS to DVD… and it made me sad to see that there used to be so many soaps and now there are only these few left. And to see that those soaps aren’t the same either, because they’ve all caved to hiring cheaper actors who don’t feel right, instead of giving us the soap we all loved and had to watch.
I watch DAYS and GH, and while GH is certainly trotting out its vets… DAYS is unrecognizable with John & Marlena on, in character and together or at least the rooting couple, without Bo and Hope, Jack and Jennifer… It just makes me sad, because like she said… it is about family to us as viewers. Deidre’s always understood that, I think. It’s why she was the one who started the fan events. She got that we think of them as a part of our lives, and that in giving something back, whether that is an event or respect from TPTB, you have our support.
I love her & agree with her. While I am glad to be able to see the soaps online nothing can ever replace having them on my big beautiful flatscreen tv in my den or being able to watch tv in bed!
If your television has the correct ports…you can connect your pc to it with an HDMI cord and watch it on the big flatscreen.
I’m happy about the cancellations. Because now we have more cutting edge serials online. Though, OLTL could be better than it is right now. But I love the state that both series are in and feel safer knowing Prospect is in control!
prospect park only owns the lease the do not own the show, and feeling comfortable with them is a joke, they have no clue either about what they are doing at all!!
Loving Prospect Park and their vision. OLTL has a tighter cast focusing on fan favorites, no useless filler. The stories are getting better and better on both shows. Thrilled!
HA Prospect Park has done a phenominal job,and if they stop production tomorrow,I would still say it.
They did something awesome they brought AMC and OLTL back from the dead in great soap opera fashion.The roadblocks were put up and these under dogs did it any way.Are things 100 % no,but it’s way better than some of it was under the old regime(poison pancakes anyone).This is a work in progress and with a few cast additions(when they can coordinate),it will only get better.
I watch them more now than I did then.
She is SO very right! My theory is that as a little boy he felt deprived of his momma’s attention because of soaps, so as soon as he had the power he took revenge. lol I’m sorta joking, but he for certain had no knowledge of the power of soaps. Ratings go up and down. To come in and take two daytime shows that had made it through everything that was thrown at them, and each lasted 40 something years; was ludicrous. He could have taken them to 30 minute shows for awhile if he wanted an hour slot to try out even MORE talk/news/gossip shows. We live in reality everyday. Soaps are our way of escaping our reality, and feeling connected to those characters. General Hospital has lasted 50 years. If he touches that one after the huge mess he made with OLTL, and AMC, someone needs to take his power away!
She’s awesome! I agree with her statements about ABC’s blunder, but disagree about her assessment about going online. I prefer the mobility of watching my shows online or on my phone. I even watch GH and Days online. (And many men have been watching these shows as well…even though most probably won’t admit it)
It is True, as proved by the resurgence of oltl and amc,they are our connection, and bf didnt know what he was doing when he canceled them.
She’s right. Older viewers will not watch in big numbers on computers, mainly because they don’t own computers. I watch my mom’s favorite. I would never give it up, especially for shows that feature foods I would never eat.
PP needs to focus on the future of the soaps..
The new/now generation who will be the ones to keep the soaps thriving are internet bound..
Daytime tv is struggling to keep going..
The world runs on computers and most every household that have children of any age have/need a computer for their children’s education, school class rooms are internet ready..
Every collage student owns a computer..
Most All younger working class own a computer..
I feel bad for the older who are left behind because computers are not of the world they know, live in..
But- there is a great number of elderly who do have computers..
And there is no need to watch by computer, that is a preference for many..
There are internet tv’s and many devices that bring the internet on to the tv screen.
The younger need to help the older get the internet on their tv’s .. So, many ways to do that..
And it is inevitable some will be left behind, and that sad ..
My mother is 82 and uses her laptop every day, she surfs the net..
She also watches the internet soaps on her tv because I bought her a Roku, and she loves it.. 🙂
I wish all had access!!!!!
PP is a joke, ill say it again this company will not be around in the near future, everyone blames ABC for the AMC and OLTL cancellation of the shows, I do not know many 80 plus year old women who use a computer, most older ladies I know watch the tv, the quality on a computer is NOT the same, its like watching the best movie on a phone…does NOT even compare!!!
I know many older folk who would be insulted by that thinking.
CT don’t bother this chick is nothing but a troll!!
I agree, there is something comforting about watching a show that’s been around for 50 yrs., we watched it with our Grandmas, we watched it with our moms, we discussed it with our friends at school, like they were real people! And some of the actors are still on the show, and we know their histories, we were young when they were young. We’ve grown up together. I love the character development you get with a soap, like no other genre. Can’t have long, drawn-out conversations in a movie, you’ve got 2 hrs. to tell the story! Soaps have all the time in the world to build up characters and make you care. I love soap actors more than any other “stars” because they are just more accessible to their fans and I feel like I “know” them. As for on-line, I don’t mind watching a soap that way, I just wish I could fast-forward through some things, LOL
ABC made the mistake of hiring Brian Frons and then he was let go, soap fans need to realize that mistakes happen and they learn from it, ABC is not the bad guy, they thought they hired someone with intelligence and they were wrong!!! Many companies hire people who are not competent and then just let them go after.
It was more than just Frons….and he got his orders from somewhere above…
Still he was the one who pulled the trigger if he did not want to do it he could have said no and quit, as he got fired anyway!
deidre hall i love you so much. what a nice lady and terrific actress. deidre is straight to the point. i agree with her comments. brian frons is an idiot. cancelling both shows was a huge mistake. i hope abc chokes on it. abc will never admit there mistake in cancelling both soaps. thank you prospect park for bringing all my children and one life to live back. like stefano dimera says bravo. lol.
abc made the right decision, by cancelling one life to live and amc. i want to see more reality shows and game shows on abc. gh will be cancelled early next year. i know that, for a fact. gh is not a good soap anymore. poor writing and awful storylines. time for gh to go. deidre hall needs to mind her own business. she works for nbc. who the hell cares about deidre. she is a diva and wants attention. go away deidre. we dont want your opinions at all deidre. i only watch cbs soaps. dont watch days anymore. deidre your days are numbered on days of our lives. i hope you get fired again. when you got fired a few years ago. days was much better. now it sucks again with you.
How do you know it sucks if you don’t watch it? (Btw, it doesn’t suck and is the best it has been in a long time.) I am not the biggest Deidre fan, but you have issues.
As if anyone cares about what this “lisa” thinks.
Don’t you dare start on Electra Woman or suffer the consequences.lol
btw lisa seems to repeat herself quite a bit doesn’t he?
Love what she said! However, you can watch these shows on your computer free of charge on Hulu. I happened to purchase Hulu Plus so I can watch it on my TV.
ABC may have problems going forward. If there are a lot of women out there like me, I don’t plan on watching any new ABC shows daytime or nighttime. I say new because I want to keep support the shows I already watched. Castle being one of them with Nathan Fillion (ex-Joey-OLTL). The others are also soap like shows. Grey’s, Scandal. General Hospital is a given! No DWTS, or comedy shows. When these are canceled, then no more ABC for me.
What? I hold a grudge! 😀
I hope that ABC is regretting the decision, and that CBS and NBC are taking notes!
Enough, please. Quit acting like ABC is the only network to cancel daytime soaps. Geez, be grateful the shows were revived and brought back elsewhere. In case you forgot, CBS (in tandem with P&G) pulled the plug on two of the longest running programs in TV and broadcasting history in the prior two years. Those soaps are now gone, probably forever. No grudge against CBS for that? And NBC has axed 5 or 6 soaps within the last 30 years. It’s not just ABC, folks.
I happened to watch the 2 shows that ABC canceled. If I want to choose to not watch ABC, that’s my right.
I am grateful the shows are back. I make sure to watch every week. That does not mean that I have to support a network that thought nothing of bringing in someone to over see daytime, then let him run the shows into the ground. They gave no thought to their long time employees, and even less thought of the people who have watched the soaps for 40 or more years.
ABC didn’t even try to save the soaps. They raced to replace them with garbage that has now been canceled.
Chris, first – yes there is some anger at CBS and NBC for their cancellations. The big difference is that those networks had to do it ‘in tandem’ as you said, with the owners of the shows (P&G). abc/d owned their own shows, so it was completely their decision and all grudges are against only them.
BUT, it wasn’t just the cancellation of these two shows at the same time. It was also the way they tried to justify their decision. When they said most people didn’t want scripted programming anymore – that was a lie. When they said most people wanted more reality – that was a lie. When they said most people want informational shows – that was a lie. When they said not enough people watched – that was a lie. Okay, maybe they were just misinformed and used a LOT of bad and incorrect data – but they were wrong on every count. They basically told a large segment of their audience what they wanted to see and believed they could ‘train’ us to watch what they put on.
I watch only GH on abc/d now – and if that goes…
I have noticed ABC primetime ratings have dipped quite a bit in the last two years. Granted, part of that could be that the primetime shows quality has gone down.. but maybe a small part could be a boycott of all things ABC.
I FULLY AGREE WITH DEIDRE HALL. SOAPS ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, THEY ARE HERE TO STAY. I’VE BEEN WATCHING THEM FOR OVER 45 YEARS.
Folks, please try to understand already- Daytime soaps are NOT charities. Networks don’t/won’t keep them on the air out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re not dedicated to preserving the genre. TV is a bottom-line business, and the soaps have to make $$$ (or at least break even) for their networks/producers in order to stay on the air. As long as they can do that, they should be ok. But if ratings keep slipping (especially among the key 18-49 female demo that pays the bills, thus resulting in less ad revenue coming in), networks will have no choice but to consider cheaper alternatives.
Please don’t be naive. I sure am not. Yes, it would be very unfortunate if/when it comes to that, but that’s just the way things work. Almost nothing lasts forever. I hope things turn around, but if GH keeps going and staying downhill, don’t think for a minute that ABC won’t begin to look at other options. Same with NBC if DOOL starts to go sharply down again. At this point, though, I think that DOOL is safe through at least 2015-16 to mark its 50th anniversary, which would be good. That’s JMO.
Also, I think that for AMC and OLTL to have any hope of a long second life, PP must have some kind of successful regular TV deal in place to defray the costs. Only Internet ad revenue won’t be enough to keep the shows going, IMO. Obviously, I don’t know all the financial details and I’d like to think differently, but the low ratings on OWN can’t be a good sign for the future of the shows and airing on TV. Again, JMO
She’s just as delusional and naive as many soap fans. The truth is that daytime soaps are business properties, not nostalgic photo albums. Yes, it’s very sad to see any soap that’s been on for 40-50 years or more be cancelled and I feel deeply for longtime viewers of those shows. But if a show is no longer earning (or capable of earning) enough ad revenue for its network and/or production company to offset the high production costs involved (a major factor, like it or not) these shows are going to be in jeopardy of getting the axe. That’s just the way it is. You’re wrong Deidre, it IS and WILL ALWAYS BE about budgets. I wouldn’t feel too comfortable about GH’s future right now.
I’m not defending Brian Frons, who obviously had major input into that decision in 2011. But to be fair, he was not the highest level executive at ABC/Disney who made the final call to cancel both AMC and OLTL. Frons did not have THAT much power. He had to get it through Anne Sweeney, Bob Iger, and others I believe. Frons was simply the face of the cancellation decision and soap fans needed some villain to release their wrath on. (btw, I’m not related to Mr. Frons nor do I have any connection to ABC, ESPN, or any other Disney network/property. I’m writing this as a totally impartial observer of all of this.) Also, did Frons have anything to do with CBS/P&G pulling the plug on GL and ATWT? How come there’s no criticism of those entities? (No relation there either.)
And Deidre, I’d be very careful saying something authoritative like “We’re never going off the air”, which leaves you with zero wiggle room. Almost every show or genre comes to an end at some point in time, whether it’s next year or 5, 10, 20+ years from now. I sincerely hope those words don’t come back to haunt her.
Real soaps as opposed to continuing dramas were never just about a television show– true daytime dramas were an experience based in connection. Connection between the viewer and the characters on screen. Connection between actors and their fans. Connection between those who gathered together to watch at the same time, whether it was neighbors watching on 12 inch B&W t.v., or young women watching on college dorm lounges sets or snuggled up in your pj’s on the sofa with your pet cat while sick.
When these shows go on line or are offered on cable at any time of day, or whatever new format is out there– to me they are longer soaps in the classic sense. They are just product– to be consumed by the masses usually in isolation, looking at their screen tiny or large– just another television show.
Yes continuing dramas will always exist, but real soaps, true soaps, the soaps DH is talking about, will never be the same because this generation has no idea about connecting to anything but to a IPhone– what passes for connection nowadays is laughable– even now, me writing to a bunch of strangers my thoughts will never replace sharing these same thoughts face to face to my friends.
So, I understand what DH is talking about, but in this day and age, between the screen replacing people in our lives, and suits taking over control of soaps– the golden age of the true daytime drama is coming to an end– the genre of continuing dramas will go on but not the experience of watching a soap, daily, during the day, one show at time. And If you missed it– you missed it– you had to watch everyday if you wanted to see the big twist or a lover’s first kiss. That kind of soap watching is over. The family feeling DH was talking about is slowly being replaced by sensation seeking trend following culture that has the attention span of a fruit fly—-so I am glad I got a chance to experience real soap watching at its best and finest—-
You are absolutely right. I also believe that is why these Soaps are struggling today. The writers are having a hard time truly connecting with the audience. The Imagination of storytelling is no longer there. Getting a good storyline for a show has become a joke because a lot of these networks are hiring these young writers who for once were probably not a reader as kid to understand what it means to have the imagination of bringing a character to live. I’ve stopped watching. The storyline are a bore and the so call young actors can’t act except dress for the part. I find myself looking for old classic “SOAPS” like DOOL on YouTube because believe me, the writers knew what they were doing back then and the actors OMG knew how to bring those characters to live and make us believe.
I love Deidre Hall and her character Marlena. Just like on DOOL she is a supporting mom and grand-mom; she is very supportive of the Soap genre.
Marlena is now a great-granny for starters.
second- I agree with Deidre Hall – except – she needs to be more accepting of other platforms. I can watch my DAYS on Android or iPhone…and perhaps one day – someone may come calling for her to have her own talk show or series like Mr. Kevin Spacey has his on Nteflix….
Third – Soaps are NO WHERE near extinction – look at the hubba ratings of OWN’s “The Haves and The Have Nots” – that is CLASSIC soap writing at its best. ALL the soaps are UP in ratings across the board from last year. Just the ebb and flow of the industry. Brian Frons was hasty for canceling but ABC should be ashamed for letting that travesty happen. I happened to see OLTL and AMC on OWN this week and I like what I see!
She really gets it! Days was there when I got home from school, when my boys were babies and I was a stay at home mom, when I was sick, and now when I am retired! In fact, Days has been more reliable than my husband was! I do miss some of the other soaps…. Guiding Light’s Reba & Shane, for instance! Days needs their super couple back! Where’s John? Where’s Bo?
I love Deidre Hall and hope to see her receive her star on the Hollywood Walk
Of Fame next year!!! Does Melody Thomas Scott have a star? I hope she MTS
does’nt roll her eyes at Deidre’s good fortune! People need to learn to be nice
like Deidre. DH is a small part of a great show. Days is great with and without
her, but I will always support her. Some people sound like they support the
soaps according to their favorite network. I support my soap because it is
exciting day after day. Deidre was asked a question and she answered. She
could have rambled on about DOOL, but did’nt. She has class and clearly
supports the soaps in general. She did us all a favor by speaking!!! I will do
you all a favor by saying. Do’nt be a YawneR when you can stay wide awake
for DAYS.
Deidre obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Instead of trying to support the online soaps, she’s dissing them. She’s saying their audience has to pay for the shows online, which is not true. She obviously doesn’t even know they’re being shown on OWN now, on TV not just online. She obviously feels threatened by web soaps, but she needn’t worry — there’s room enough for everybody. Deidre, do your homework before you speak!
She is spot on. Only a lot more polite than I am. Brian Frons is the man who referred to an entire fan base as “soap terrorists” not dedicated or loyal and diehard but “soap terrorists”. He had zero respect for the genre the actors, writers and audience. THANK GOD he’s gone
Love most of what she said. I do hope someone has since informed her of the free option to watch these shows AND that there are a number of ways to watch them on a television versus a computer.
All 3 networks have cancelled soaps as audiences and revenue dwindled. The Chew has been successful and the network gave an hour back to the local affiliates. I say ABC is happy with their decisions. Cannot bring myself to watch online soaps, when something is over it is over. The only thing I miss on All My Children is Tadd Martin and MEK. Deidre Hall is protecting her turf, naturally she does not support online programming as the salaries are so much less.
she obviously knows this business better than a lot of executives!
i have to agrre with Deidre. i have been watching Days since the early 2000’s with my grandma and i have always been a fan of Days and of Deidre and Drake. u go Deidre tell it like it is. 🙂
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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