All My Children
Hollywood Reporter On Surprise Daytime Soap Ratings Resurgence! Could More Soaps Be On The Horizon?
Courtesy/THR
Now here is an exciting piece from a mainstream outlet who has their pulse on what is happening in the current state of the daytime soaps, and that forecasts and suggests some very good news may be on the horizon! Could this mean the revenge of the soaps?
The Hollywood Reporter took a look at how a year after ABC’s much maligned and mistaken decision to cancel both One Live to Live and All My Children, that the remaining four daytime dramas are seeing an uptick in the ratings and more!
Bill Carroll, VP and Director of Programming at Katz Television Group weighed on the subject saying, “What’s happened is the core audience realized these treasures might go away. They decided they’d better watch, or the shows are not going to be there.”
Frank Valentini, executive producer of General Hospital (and formerly of One Life to Live) commented on consolidating the soap viewing audience, which was a goal of recent casting moves. Valentini stated, “We brought three actors from One Life to Live to General Hospital, so I’m sure we brought some fans over.” In addition, Valentini cited other recent improvements to GH such as: storylines don’t drag out as long, portrayals of women that are more contemporary, and that there are fewer flashbacks and more intrigue, romance and humor.
In an “I told you so” moment for soap fans, THR mentions the following stats: “ABC’s All My Children replacement The Chew is averaging 2.4 million total viewers. That’s competitive with GH, but in the key demo of women 25-to-54 (which is what advertisers care about most), Chew generates only a 0.9 rating, about one-third less than GH delivers. Katie also is failing to attract as many women 25-to-54 as GH. (ABC’s other soap replacement, the lifestyle self-help show The Revolution, already has been canceled.)
In the end, it was exec Bill Carroll who made the most profound statement when posed the question that given the soaps resurgence, could this mean new dramas soon will be coming to daytime? Says Carroll, “At some point in the future, the trend will once again be soap operas.”
So soapers, what do you think about the statements made in the piece? Valentini’s and Carroll’s comments? Are you enthusiastic about daytime soaps’ future? Or pessimistic? Let us know!
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Yeah, but are the networks coming to the same realization? It does the soap fans no good, if the major networks dont see the error of their ways, and fix the mistakes that they have made…..And I’m sorry, I don’t want a new soap, I want my OLTL back!!!
Yes… OLTL is still missed very much, and I too would like it back…. but until then, GH is make me very happy with all the recent improvements.
Yes, I agree. Bring back OLTL. Look at the reboot of Dallas on TNT. It is a huge success.
ONE LIFE TO LIVE NEEDS TO BE BACK…LIKE YESTERDAY.
I too want OLTL BACK!!! GH may have added 3 actor/actresses from there but they destroyed the best couple-John McBain & Natalie Banks (IMO) and will not watch GH as long as they are doing this. The story involving John McBain is unbelievable, knowing the story line from OLTL and I just can’t stand to watch it. Glad to hear the soaps are doing well tho’! PLEASE just fix the JOLIE story, FV/RC!
Totally agree with you….that is the main reason why I gave up on watching and supporting GH. It was nice to see the characters on OLTL join the canvas on GH, but at the cost of destroying the characters….uh no! They killed off baby Hope & Cole…then quickly throw John & Sam together….and one of the final straws, killing off Tea’s baby that she had with Victor, I lost my cookies…
I am happy with the end of Jolie. I know GH is safe from Natalie.
Yessssss! Shout it from the rooftops! From Bill Carroll’s lips to fans ears!
Hiphip hopray! ********
I am an eternal pessimist. It is easier to be a glass-is-half-empty kind of gal then to have high expectations and be disappointed all the time. 🙂 That is really nice for The Hollywood Reporter to do this article considering they had many here wanting their heads for their shoddy commentary on the Daytime Emmys not too long ago. That being said, this is what I have been saying all along, as quoted: “Says Carroll, “At some point in the future, the trend will once again be soap operas.” Whether the networks will get into their thick heads that the… Read more »
I have watched soaps for almost 50 years. I for one love them and am very attached to the characters. This was a false maneuver by ABC that said soaps were dead. They have lost thousands of viewers and if they cancel GH I am permanently done with ABC along with millions of viewers who absolutely love that show. I have a very small amount of hope to get the cancels shows back and would love some kind of a combination. GH talks about Pine Valley and Llanview and shows respect to the loyal viewers. I have not patience left… Read more »
Bill Carroll is full of it when he said soap fans realized we could lose these treasures so we started watching again. WE WERE ALWAYS HERE- the networks were the ones that cancelled our beloved shows, forcing us to go to the remaining soaps to get our fill of daytime drama. Instead of splitting the viewer pool among 8 or 9 soaps as they once did, we are down to four- there aren’t more viewers just less soaps competing for the same viewers. And his words sounded more like a threat to me- watch these remaining shows or they might… Read more »
When and if daytime soaps make this resurgence, there will have to be a LOT of differences! No ridiculous back from the dead stories…no teenagers desperate to be mothers and wives…no villains who ALWAYS triumph..etc. Soaps went wrong and viewers turned away for a reason. Give us honest to goodness heartwarming stories like Gilmore Girls. Give us a campy funny sophisticated hybrid like Desperate Housewives. Give us a crime soap that blends Criminal Minds with long gone Edge of Night. You dont need bloated casts of 40 contract players. Give us a prime time sized cast. They dont have tir… Read more »
And seriously…get back to writing for characters that people root for. And romance! That breathless anticipation for favourite couples to get together is what drew soap fans in. It was not plastic surgeried psychos, mobsters who murder, violent graphic rape scenes, etc. People want to escape and be entertained!
The soaps need to be brought back, but I do think that, besides GH, the remaining soaps need to fix their writing. Storylines on the shows, notably Days, are very dull and bland. Since there is nothing new, viewers will tune out.
Couldn’t agree with you more about Days. The writing on that show is extremely boring & predictable. I find myself nodding off just watching it.
Exactly, I know many people who fall asleep because the writing is predictable! Seriously! We already knew Gabi would get pregos with Will’s child and we know now that Sami will choose Rafe over EJ for the billionth time.
I wish ABC would swallow their pride and bring back OLTL!
Not having all the shows re-air on SN has helped. GH is keeping the surprises and excitement from the 80’s is back and GH is GH. Days is OK, and YR is undecided. Bold is still the Liam and Hope show.
They should admit their mistakes and bring back the two soap operas that all the fans watch . OLTL and AMC belong on tv and it is a real shame what happen .It takes a big man to admit he was wrong and fix the problem.
YES, YES, YES, BRING BACK OLTL!!!!!!! Miss OLTL every day.
We can only hope that this will come close to bringing back something that was so very special! Still have a big hole in my afternoons without AMC & OLTL!! I would be so happy just to have those back even with cast changes!
I’m from the days when soap operas and game shows were a hot commodity on daytime television. Of course, you only had CBS, NBC and ABC then with independent tv stations. The only cable channels may have been PBS and TBN. A Soap opera could branch off into a second soap opera, such as, Another World and Somerset. I’m sorry to see soap operas disappearing from the broadcast channels. One Life to Live had a nice send off with some actors continuing their role on General Hospital. But I think everyone would have liked All My Children to continue and… Read more »
Another World had a third spin off- I want to call it Texas for some reason, but I’m not sure if that was the name. I know Iris Wheeler ( Mac’s daughter) moved from AW to that soap. It focused on a family in Texas and it ran right after AW for a couple of years at least- I liked that one too. I also missed Capitol and Ryan’s Hope and my first soap ever was Edge of Night. But I don’t know if the hey day of soaps would ever return, and if it did it would be something… Read more »
What Mr. Carroll said about soaps becoming the new trend at some point may come true somewhere way down the line, but I doubt it will be anytime soon. I bet many people reading this would love for one or more of their cancelled soaps to be put back on the air. I know I would. But I also think that’s highly unlikely. Combos, like the frequent cross-pollenation of GH/OLTL/AMC mentions and characters is a thrilling way to keep some portion of our favorite shows alive and for TPTB to save money. If soaps become the “new” trend some day,… Read more »
The ONLY storyline I care about on GH has been dragging on since March of this year: Robin’s alive and being held against her will. TEN MONTHS!!!! Kimberly’s doing other things yada yada yada. Don’t LIE and pretend like you’ve revolutionized the daytime serial. You’re still doing the same shtick. Besides, all soaps have infused humor and intrigue and high stakes drama for decades. This isn’t something new. You still have work to do, mainly in the storytelling department, but also in the resisting- the-urge-to-hire-useless-newbies front too. And DAYS, Nicole’s pregnancy that went on forever! It wouldn’t end! And then… Read more »
Bill Carroll – “What’s happened is the core audience realized these treasures might go away. They decided they’d better watch, or the shows are not going to be there.”
I hope he’s referring to reality tv shows. Trust me, those “treasures” will go away when the core audience stops watching them.
Love it!!! Somewhat… Vindication! Do it right and it’s successful! Threaten with extinction and you will see angry viewers unite and watch! Just get the measurement fixed to deal with current day watching mediums and they would find there are even more viewers watching whenever they can!
Great news. Love that the ABC replacement shows are failing. Soaps are the only shows that have consistent ratings every day.
i agree robert abc has to admit they made mistake big time by
under estimating the soap fan base, i am glad katie is falling flat on her “rich butt”
like she needs more money and the revolution what a waste of air time what
a dumb thing to replace otlt with that silly show, well it is gone ha ha!!
and the chew never watched it never will,
abc should have left amc and oltl alone and gh is an example of how popular soaps are with fans since the ratings are up
just my opinion
I really hope all talk shows fail and reality shows right after them. There is a reason I watch my two soaps and reruns of great comedy shows (Frasier, Cheers); it’s because we fall in love with characters, not regular people airing dirty laundry.
Oh, CHEERS. That show NEVER gets boring does it? 🙂 Now that we do not have Directv (best decision ever!!) we rely on whatever comes from the antenna. I get to watch the old Hawaii Five-O, Petticoat Junction, Mr. Ed, and all the I Love Lucy I can take – she never gets old for me either. These are just a few that are on, but they are classic shows that were well-written and not this reality garbage. I hope reality and talk fails too. I took a stand this year and gave up ALL reality shows (and I watched… Read more »
Yeah, the classics are always fun to watch, I agree!
I wish I could get rid of DirecTV seeing is how I only watch a handful of programs and football, but definitely researching other options 😉
I admit I watch the Kardashians but I’m extremely sick of that family, other than that I enjoy Top Chef but I don’t consider that reality TV. I’ve never watched the rest of that junk nor will I watch talk shows since Oprah went off the air.
I blame Oprah- she made that whole genre huge and when her show went off the air, every network including cable thought they could create the next Oprah. I agree I don’t find listening to other people’s problems entertaining. Are we are supposed to ” learn” how to be better people from these shows? If so then why do they cater to the lowest instincts of mankind and exploit it for profit? Sure these talk shows touch the same subjects as soaps, but it isn’t so distrubing watching a fictional story about adultery as it watching some poor lady pour… Read more »
I agree with you, Mary SF. I am sure there are fans of these kinds of talk shows, but I am not one of them. Back when we had plenty of soaps still, I watched Oprah – that was until I saw her for the phony that she really is – it was a few years before she did a show around that stupid book, The Secret. But that really ruined any respect or credibility she had with me. The only other part of her show I really liked was when Dr. Phil would do his segments because he was… Read more »
I want OLTL back! I watch GH and nothing else on ABC.
They would be so smart if they created a “new” soap with characters from One Life and Al My Kids. But only if Frank/Ron could create along with their work on GH.
I am totally with you, Michael. Those soaps used to intermingle all the time, with Herb Callison going to Pine Valley and Linc and Kitty going to Llanview. It would not be that hard to update that blending and honor the history of both. Are you listening, Carroll?
I have been struggling to like Bold and Beautiful to get my soap fix, but honestly the writing is just too bad and too much incestuous-like bed hopping. This soap can ever be like AMC, OLT or Edge of Night were. Two years into B&B and all I see is a one-sided soap where writers disregard even recent historical fact to favor one group of characters over another. Obvious that they NEVER hire medical or legal consultants and it is insulting because their audience is educated. Writers don’t realize that ALL contract characters are important and are just not there… Read more »
quit watching b&b just all bed hopping
brooke logan has been in bed with everyone on the show just about
and know ridge is gone and forgotten my opinion she will continue to do so
i realize people like b&b but they need to re group and start over with moral and
family values
The length of time that I have watched soaps, the main family was always the standard bearer with family members who did not cross certain lines. They made mistakes, but you could count on them to usually do the right thing. B&B is a just a free-for-all, no edit buttons, no boundaries. The only ones Brooke has not slept with are Liam, Bill, Justin and Anthony, but since KKL got a 2-year contract, there is still time. Really wish the focus of the show were about something else other than pitting characters against each other, and the winners are always… Read more »
ABC really needs a second soap. Since the Mannings moved to GH, why bring back the original Lords, Rileys, Woleks, from OLTL and the Chandlers, Martins, and the Tylers from AMC for a new soap.
Jacob Young was the best Jr Chandler, and the worse Rick Forrester!
All My Children
All My Children Alum Ben Jörgensen Reportedly Dead At 51
According to his former All My Children castmate, Brian Gaskill. there is sad news in the soap world today. Ben Jörgensen who played Kevin on All My Children and Chris on As the World Turns passed away on Tuesday at the age of 51, apparently via suicide, although unconfirmed as to his cause of death.
Gaskill, who played Bobby Warner while in Pine Valley shared via his Instagram: “Sad news to report. Ben Jörgensen who played Kevin Sheffield on All My Children has past away at 51 years old. My understanding is it was suicide. I have heard he suffered from Bipolar disorder but as I have not spoke to him in years I do not know all the details. I just want to remember the good times we had on the set of All My Children 24 years ago. He was a good guy and had the courage to play a gay teenager on tv back when it was nowhere near as common to have representation as it is today. He was part of an award winning storyline…but mostly we just had some good times back then…my condolences go out to his friends and family. Please everybody hang in there and reach out for help if you need it. ”
Since the time of Brian’s posting, friends, colleagues and fans have been posting tributes and condolences on the actor’s Facebook page. You can view that here.
In this heartbreaking photo below from Steven Bergman, during his time on As the World Turns, Ben is pictured with the late Nathaniel Marston, as well as Jaime Nicole Dudney and Terri Conn.
Photo: StevenBergman
On All My Children, Ben was part of the important social issue storyline brought into the ABC legacy soap opera by the iconic Agnes Nixon, who was always trying to move the needle forward in daytime, as the character of Kevin was a gay high school student facing bullying, ridicule and discrimination for his sexuality.
Share your thoughts on the passing of Ben via the comment section below.
All My Children
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All My Children
Michael B. Jordan Pays Tribute To Chadwick Boseman: “Since Nearly The Beginning Of My Career, Starting with All My Children When I was 16 Years Old You Paved The Way For Me”
Following the news of the tragic death of now motion picture icon, Chadwick Boseman late Friday, tributes and sentiments have poured in from celebrities, politicians and fans from all across the world.
Chadwick Boseman passed away late last week at the age of 43 from colon cancer – a battle he kept silent about for the last four years of life.
Photo: JPI
No one could be more intertwined with Boseman’s career than that of his fellow Black Panther star, Michael B. Jordan. For Jordan took over the role of Reggie Porter on All My Children from Boseman after the late actor lasted one week, following standing up to, and addressing concerns, of racial stereotypes in the way that the part was written. Reggie was introduced to Pine Valley as a gang member in 2003. As previously reported it was Boseman who helped the soap opera improve the role that Jordan took over with some recommendations.
Now Michael B. Jordan has written a heartfelt remembrance of Chadwick that he shared on his Instagram, and what he has meant to his life, including how he showed him how to be better, to honor purpose and create legacy.
Read below Michael’s post:
“I’ve been trying to find the words, but nothing comes close to how I feel. I’ve been reflecting on every moment, every conversation, every laugh, every disagreement, every hug…everything.
I wish we had more time.
One of the last times we spoke, you said we were forever linked , and now the truth of that means more to me than ever. Since nearly the beginning of my career, starting with All My Children when I was 16 years old you paved the way for me. You showed me how to be better, honor purpose, and create legacy. And whether you’ve known it or not…I’ve been watching, learning and constantly motivated by your greatness.
I wish we had more time.
Everything you’ve given the world … the legends and heroes that you’ve shown us we are … will live on forever. But the thing that hurts the most is that I now understand how much of a legend and hero YOU are. Through it all, you never lost sight of what you loved most. You cared about your family , your friends, your craft, your spirit. You cared about the kids, the community, our culture and humanity. You cared about me. You are my big brother, but I never fully got a chance to tell you, or to truly give you your flowers while you were here.
I wish we had more time.
I’m more aware now than ever that time is short with people we love and admire. I’m gonna miss your honesty, your generosity, your sense of humor, and incredible gifts. I’ll miss the gift of sharing space with you in scenes. I’m dedicating the rest of my days to live the way you did. With grace, courage, and no regrets. “Is this your king!?” Yes . he . is! Rest In Power Brother.”
What do you think of Michael’s tribute to Chadwick and how they have been interconnected dating back to 2003 and All My Children? Comment below.
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Days Of Our LivesOctober 14, 2020James Scott Comments: “I Will Never. Never. Never. Never. Never, Go Back to Hollywood Let Alone DOOL”
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General HospitalOctober 20, 2020ABC Previews General Hospital’s Halloween Episode
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InterviewsOctober 16, 2020Marla Adams Talks Her Final Scenes As Dina Mergeron, The Alzheimer’s Storyline, and Her Touching Farewell
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General HospitalOctober 14, 2020Gregory Harrison Is The New Gregory Chase On General Hospital
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Days Of Our LivesOctober 14, 2020Kristian Alfonso Bids Farewell to DAYS as Final Episode Airs Today Sharing; “Thank YOU From The Bottom Of My Heart For Welcoming Me Into Your Homes All Of These Years”
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