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Denver Post: "OLTL soon to announce deal to live for two more years"

By Michael Fairman

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This weekend The Denver Post’s, Joanne Ostrow has an article about the state of daytime titled: It’s a New Dawn for Daytime as Sun Sets on Oprah, 2 Soaps.” In it, she discusses the current cost-cutting measures soaps and other daytime programming are going through to endure, and how As the World Turns and Guiding Light recently faded to black.

However, there was one very  interesting quote that Ostrow reported: “ABC owns its soaps, unlike the CBS relationship with P&G.  ABC’s One Life to Live is soon to announce a deal to live two more years.”

Ostroff also interviewed TV Guide’s Michael Logan, who offered up this interesting comparison in how networks and advertisers view the soaps, when in fact even soaps are higher in ratings then some Emmy Award winning primetime television dramas.  Logan stated, “Mad Men, draws some 2 million viewers a week on AMC while As the World Turns was canceled with 2.5 million watching five days a week.”

The Post goes on to say,  “The industry is in flux, scrambling for new economic models, determined to find less expensive ways to draw audiences. Network executives don’t talk about creating mass hits; they talk about efficiently filling airtime.”

So let’s hope this One Life to Live deal will give the struggling soap a chance to climb the ladder in the daytime ratings , so that it can live more lives.

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As long as they keep hiring talent like the Ford brothers will not help them. After Friday’s show I have my doubts that it should. Some how drivers ED isn’t my idea of a soap. Nor is watching the texting for almost an hour! Sorry if they want to use the kids like this send them to the Disney channel.

A nice six pack abs only gets you so far.

here’s a quote from Nelson Branco’s “The Soapgeist” for Sept 27, 2010 about the Driver’s Ed scene…

“whether it’s Todd and Téa sailing around New York City or Darren taking a driver’s lesson (which was hilarious, btw). On this show, looks are just as important as what’s script deep.”

I thought it was pretty funny as well.

Why would they be signing a two year deal? ABC owns all three of their soaps. This soonds suspect to me.

Why do so many people dislike the Ford family? I have watched this show since 1984, and i quite like them. I can’t wait for the father to appear. I think people should give them a little more time and see where things go. I think we were meant to dislike Robert Ford, and since so many people do, haven’t the producer done their job?

I do not necessarily dislike the Ford family, I just think there are too many of them brought on and way too soon. I like Ford and James, Nate is okay, but Inez is totally miscast. Had they stuck to just James and Ford, it may have been okay. Heck, they could have stuck with Inez and Nate and left the reveal of their ties to her other two sons til MUCH later…..after we had more of a chance to get invested in any of these characters. Too much, too soon, bad casting with Inez, and what appears to be vets pushed aside in favor of this new family. I think those are some reasons The Fords are not going over as well with the most viewers.

I think they will find redemption if they pull back on their airtime for a while, re-cast an age appropriate actress to play Inez, explain more of the backstory in terms of INEZ as top why she left her two boys in favor of saving herself and Nate. So far Inez has been presented as a likeable enough character, but that is hard to believe when you think of her having left her two oldest sons with an abusive father. Why? Why didn;t she take them? Get them out of the situation? Getting fans to like her is going to be an uphill climb. She left two kids in a n abusive situation while she escaped with only one of her sons. Mother of the year she is not!

happy to see oltl renewed for two more years

So, TPTB are “scrambling for new economic models, determined to find less expensive ways to draw audiences”…Really? Why not try this…cater to your loyal, long-time fan base (you know who we are, the ones who have stood by the show through thick and thin) and GET RID OF THE DEAD WOOD!…all the new characters, like the shirtless brothers and their “oh, woe is me” mother, and the newest heroine of the show, Dani. (maybe just less airtime for her). Get back to the veterans, ES, RSW, HBS, RS, KD and JvD (even though he hasn’t been on OLTL as long). They are the absolute heart and soul of the show and the reason OLTL has lasted 40+ years, and brought the show to where it is today. They are excellent, talented actors who are still at the top of their games and absolutley more than capable of carrying major storylines of their own. Oh, and the only reason I and many, many others still watch the show. This will keep your loyal fans, maybe draw new ones and save money at the same time. This is just a thought though.

MIchael Logan’s comment comparing the ratings of ATWT to Mad Men is narrow-minded and doesn’t tell the full story. Yes the ratings are slightly higher, but ATWT has absolutely no resale value – Mad Men gets revenue from DVDs, foreign rights, and will be packaged for syndication at a whopping cost for the network. Also, what are the production costs? Soaps costs lots of money to make them look good, I’m sure Mad Men costs more, but again the costs are offset by other forms of revenue than just network advertising.

I love soaps and have been watching since the late 70s, I tape Y&R every day and will not miss an episode so I’m not a soap-hater, but I’m a realist. A lot of the soaps simply don’t know how to tell good stories any more and that’s why they’re going off the air.

I think one of the biggest problems with the soap industry is that the writers are not staying true to the characters on the show, and they aren’t listening to their audiences anymore. They spend way too much time focusing in on the younger demographic, and are neglecting their hard core, long-time fan base. Look at AMC for the biggest example of this…..the writers have completely desimated this once glorious show, and it is completely unwatchable. Although, I don’t understand why OLTL is always the show that people are under fire for….it’s one of the better soaps on ABC. It’s the Y&R of the ABC network, in my opinion. I do believe they need to spend more time focusing on their veterans and less time with the younger actors, but it’s still a great show. Teen stories are for the summer time…..It’s time to wrap all this Ford Family and Dani drama up. Let’s focus on Vicki, Dorian, Bo, Clint, Nora, Marty, John, Blair & Tea….Oh, and bring back Lindsey. I think she and Clint could raise a lot of hell together.

I agree with you Torrey. That is exactly what I was talking about in my post above. STOP THE INSANITY already with the teen stories. I DO NOT care about Destiny and Darren and Dani and Nate and their drivers ed. class. These scenes were absolutely ridiculous and a waste of time. I FF through all the teen-scenes. Starr, Cole, Langston and Markko were enough, all the newbies are OVERKILL!

OLTL will get some of the viewers who used to watch “The World Turns” and I will watch it when Reva (Kim Zimmer) debuts this week on it.

OLTL may get some of the viewers who used to watch ATWT, but I sure as hell won’t be one of them. For me as well as other’s, there is no other soap that can replace ATWT.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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