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‘Desperate Housewives’ Creator, Marc Cherry Speaks on His Admiration for Erika Slezak and Her “Astounding Acting”

By Michael Fairman

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Photos: CBS and JPI

This week, Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives, joined Rebecca Budig (Taylor, B&B) and Greg Rikaart (Leo, DAYS) on the latest edition of Soapy. During his sit-down chitchat Cherry opens up about his love of soap operas, his writing process and more.

Throughout the conversation, Cherry shared that he used to watch the ABC line-up of shows and in particular, All My Children and One Life to Live, noting the likes of Susan Lucci (ex-Erica Kane), but also the iconic courtroom scene of Karen Wolek on One Life to Live and then getting to meet Judith Light in person.

In addition, Cherry had very special words for the incomparable Erika Slezak, who played Victoria Lord for more than four decades on One Life to Live and is set to debut on General Hospital this fall in a brand new role. He shared his thoughts on what made Erika so exceptional in his discussion with Rebecca and Greg.

Photo: JPI

Cherry stated, “You know who is also great? I got to see Erika Slezak on One Life to Live do some astounding acting. And the biggest thing with soap opera writing sometimes is the writers do a lot of exposition and will go, ‘Remember, the time you told me when we were in Greece about the affair,’ and I know that is part of the requirement to keep fans and in approaching it, but Erika Slezak could do that exposition and make it seem 100% real.”

He went on to say how daytime stars have often been perceived as less than, as compared to motion pictures or other television stars, simply because of the day-part and the target audience. Marc explained, “That to me is one of the interesting things about the daytime drama industry, if you would have taken these people out and just given them the opportunity on a movie, or you know a primetime show, they would be perceived so differently. They are amazing artists who might not be regarded as seriously as some other people, because they were doing their work at shows directed towards housewives at home in the afternoon. And that’s one of the other things, is learning to have respect because there’s some truly amazing talent in every sector of the industry.”

Photo: CBS

Fans can listen to Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart on Audacy or wherever podcasts are available and can watch full video episodes weekly on the CBS Brand YouTube Channel.  The show is produced by the Paramount Multiplatform Production Group. The podcast is executive produced by Mike Benson. Andrew Pemberton-Fowler serves as producer.

Make sure to tune-in next week for the Tuesday, August 26th episode when Rebecca and Greg welcome Greg’s Y&R family, Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) and Tracey Bregman (Lauren Fenmore Baldwin) to the talk series.

So, what do you think about the comments made by Marc Cherry on the greatness of Erika Slezak and his fondness of the ABC soaps of the past? Let us know below, but first, you can check out the entire episode of ‘Soapy,’ and/or the clip following it where Cherry talks about Judith Light’s memorable courtroom scene and his love of the soap genre.

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It is so true what he said about Erika Slezak. I found an episode of OLTL dated 3/7/77 on YouTube the other day. There was a scene she did in the hospital cafeteria with Doris Belack as Ana Craig. They were pure perfection. Even though they were on a set with extras around them it was so believable. The little things that Erika did were masterful. It was while Viki was distressed over baby Kevin’s kidnapping. She continued to make wonderful acting choices for so long and we were lucky to witness them. Looking forward to seeing her on GH.

So true! OLTL in the day had some very strong actors… and writing. Emotional, heartfelt, suspenseful. I think it is because of the stage training.

So true

Could Marc Cherry be asked to restore some life into those daytime dramas that are lacking in strong character-driven story, or that need help moving on from a whirlpool trapping them in repetitive plotting?

Erika Slezak is the master. Watching her create a character is absolute magic. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss One Life to Live.

I cannot wait to see what Erika does with whatever she’s given at GH.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Kelly Monaco Reveals She’s Six Months Sober

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Kelly Monaco

Longtime General Hospital favorite, Kelly Monaco (ex-Sam McCall), took to her Instagram on Tuesday, September 15 and shared that she is six months, seven days sober from alcohol. Monaco played Sam for 21 years on the ABC soap opera.

Accompanied by a screenshot from the I Am Sober app that tracks the progress of anyone struggling with or trying to not drink, Monaco wrote, “Now the whole 6/7 thing makes sense! #duces.”

Monaco has kept a very low profile since her final episode on General Hospital aired back on October 30, 2024, when Sam had a shocking heart attack and died. It was later revealed that Daytime Emmy nominee, Jeff Kober (ex-Cyrus Renault) injected Sam’s IV with a fatal dose of digitalis.

Photo: JPI

KELLY MONACO HAS KEPT MORE TO HERSELF SINCE LEAVING GH

This year, Kelly has posted on her Instagram account a total of four times, most recently to celebrate her mother, Carmina’s birthday, who turned 70 just four days ago.

Jumping into the comment thread on Kelly announcing her sobriety were several of her former GH co-stars including Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny, GH) who shared, “Love this. Congrats! 👏👏👏,” Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jax, GH) who just posted the hands up and heart emojis, and Lexi Ainsworth (ex-Kristina, GH) who wrote, “So proud of you 👏 badass.”

Kelly Monaco, Dancing with the Stars

Photo: ABC

DANCING WITH THE STARS BEGINS NEW SEASON; KELLY WAS THE SEASON ONE CHAMP

With this season’s Dancing with the Stars about to kick-off tonight, in which Kelly was the first-ever celebrity winner in season one and returned for an All-Star version, might we hear from her on her picks or thoughts on this year’s batch of contestants?

One thing has remained a constant with Kelly’s unwavering fan base, they want her back on General Hospital, because as we know in the soaps, many characters somehow come back from the dead, so why couldn’t Sam?

Share your thoughts for Kelly and her six months of sobriety via the comment section below and if you would still like to see her back on General Hospital or even another soap opera within the next few years. 

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Soap Alums Remembered During In Memoriam Segment at 78th Emmy Awards; Patrick Muldoon Omitted

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In Memoriam Emmys 2026

During last night’s 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, as it does every year, the television academy paid tribute to those in the industry that they’ve lost over the last year; since the previous Emmys held each year in September.

Starting with an emotional tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara by three of her co-stars, Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy and Dan Levy and Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin, the segment then dovetailed into Noah Kahan performing “Bridge over Troubled Water” as the faces and the names of those being remembered were shown on the screen.

Daytime soap alums, who either stayed in the genre for the majority of their career, or went on to primetime success as well, were honored including: Anthony Geary (Luke, GH), Hayden Panettiere (Sarah, OLTL, Lizzie, GL, Juliette, Nashville), James Van Der Beek, (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek, and Stephen, ATWT), Gil Gerard (Alan, The Doctors), June Lockhart (Mariah, GH), Patricia Crowley (Mary, Port Charles and GH), Randolph Mantooth (Clay/Alex, Loving and The City, and Richard, GH) and Jon Cypher (Alex, ATWT and Arthur, Santa Barbara).

Photo: TVAcademy

THOSE HONORED AND THOSE WHO WERE NOT

However, in a glaring omission, the producers of the In Memoriam failed to include Days of our Lives beloved star, Patrick Muldoon who played the OG Austin Reed and also Richard Hart on Melrose Place. Muldoon passed away in April of this year at 57.

After Kahan concluded his performance, a special tribute to Rob Reiner began with Jamie Lee Curtis taking to the stage to share some warm words about her late friend.

In a ironic and sad twist, Curtis shared ,“Last week, Robbie won an Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series for his beautiful work on The Bear, and he now holds the record of 48 years for the longest gap between acting Emmys, which was previously held by his father Carl Reiner, at 37 years.”

Reiner, who along with his wife, Michele Reiner were killed by their son, Nick Reiner, is currently awaiting a decision if he will stand trial. Prosecutors on Tuesday, shared they will not seek the death penalty if he is convicted at trial, but instead life in prison. Curtis said of Rob, “He was generous and kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all. We all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.” The Emmys then faded to black and went to commercial break.

So, were you happy to see those who you know from their work in soap operas included in the 2026 In Memoriam tribute at the Primetime Emmys? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, in case you missed it, you can watch it below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Break Up After Realizing They Can’t Trust Each Other

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Jason and Britt

Trust issues were cited as the reason for the break-up of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) on the Monday, September 14 episode of General Hospital, ending the their complicated romance once and for all.

The episode began with the pick-up of Jason and Britt’s argument over Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) at the Quartermaine boathouse. Britt is in disbelief that Jason continues to take Anna’s side, and that he will not back her up as her witness, as she wants to report Anna’s attempted murder of her to the PCPD.

Jason tells Britt that Anna had been pushed to the brink through the mental torture she’d endured while held captive at Wyndemere, and accused Britt of doing nothing to save her, when she knew exactly what was going on as she was at Wyndemere as well. Britt told Jason that she’d been a victim of Sidwell and Cullum too, and by the time she figured out what was happening to Anna, they had moved her somewhere else.

Courtesy/ABC

BELIEF SYSTEM BROKEN

Then, Jason clearly lets Britt know he doesn’t believe her version of what transpired. An enraged Britt fires back at Jason in disbelief, that he is siding with Anna instead of her, when he was on Mount Emerson and saw for himself how Anna was planning to kill her. Suddenly, Britt wants to know if Jason would have helped Anna cover her tracks, if Anna had killed her.

Next, Jason argued that Britt seemingly needs to believe Anna would have killed her when he knows deep down Anna would never have murdered her. Jason thinks Britt is trying to absolve herself of her own guilt and complicity in keeping Anna locked up.

Britt shouts “You need to believe that! Otherwise, you’d have to admit that your friend is unhinged and dangerous. And she would have killed someone you say you love!” Now at a complete impasse, Britt walks out on Jason realizing they don’t trust each other and calls it quits.

Tristan

Courtesy/ABC

PICKING UP THE PIECES

Later, Jason finds Carly (Laura Wright) at the Metro Court, and while in an elevator fills her in that he doesn’t trust Britt, and that as much as he loves her, he doesn’t trust her like he does Carly. Britt is back at the hospital.

A concerned Tristan (Dean Geyer) tries to talk to her about what transpired with Anna. However, Britt clams up and walks away from any discussion.

Now in the General Hospital teaser video for the action on Tuesday, September 15,  Jason ask Carly (over beers and a game of pool) “When you lie for a living, how long before you start lying to yourself? Take a look at that below.

Let us know, are you glad that Jason and Britt finally called it quits? What about the reason that the couple broke-up, over Britt knowing about Anna being locked-up at Wyndemere and Jason not willing to back Britt about Anna trying to kill her? Is Tristan the next man for Britt? Let us know your thoughts 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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