All My Children
Insider Report indicates, SOAPnet not shutting down anytime soon? Kiddie Channel not ready!
Looks like there are not only disgruntled fans all across soapdom, but disgruntled ABC/Disney employees who had to deal with the impending doom of All My Children and One Life to Live, and SOAPnet for quite some time and a murky business strategy! Deadline.com got an inside perspective from someone who has worked within the ABC/Disney company. In the item, it reveals the confusing and messy decision to change SOAPnet to the Disney Junior Channel and that there is no way the cable channel will be ready by January 2012 to launch the new kiddie platform! In fact, now it looks like SOAPnet will be on longer with two less soaps thanks to the cancellations of AMC and OLTL!
Here is what the insider stated! “I have worked at ABC Daytime for several years and have experienced a lot of the ups and downs especially since Brian Frons and Kate Nelson took over. With the announcement of the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Life, I feel that they completely failed all of the people that worked for them.A couple of years ago, they started a project to evolve SOAPNet into a new female network that was code named “Carrie.” Anne Sweeney had told them that they needed to evolve the network for the future, especially as more people had DVRs and just airing soaps at night was not enough. They pitched an idea to make the network hip and cool for women, basically the type of woman that Carrie was in Sex and the City. We thought that it was a go and then found out that the executives rejected their idea all together. Then they started again to pitch a product called DM – Disney Moms. The idea this time was a network that moms would want to watch and their families would watch with them, cooking shows, dancing shows basically everything that is found on other networks. It was part of that project that they started talking about combing All My Children and One Life to Live. They were putting together ideas of what would replace the one soap and were competing against an idea called Good Afternoon America. They failed to convince anyone that their idea was good, they had a pilot with Aisha Tyler that was awful.
At the same time, the Disney Channel team pitched Disney Junior, and when Anne compared DM and Disney Junior, she decided to shutdown SOAPNet and replace it with Disney Junior. They were furious and made some nasty comments about how the Disney Channel team went behind everyone’s back and stole their channel. Over the last 6 months, our entire team has been under the impression that SOAPNet was going to shut down in January 2012 and be replaced with Disney Junior. Over the last few weeks, I have heard comments that Disney Junior is now having problems getting the cable contracts done. So Disney Junior’s launch has been pushed from January to Spring 2012 and now SoapNet is not shutting down in January 2012. Both networks will be run at the same time it could be for several years, Disney Junior will only be in a few homes and a lot of money will be spent keeping both networks up.
So now we are shutting down AMC in September and OLTL in January, and SOAPNet is still going to be on the air, we are going to run a network on General Hospital and some acquired soaps, it is embarrassing to all of us who had cared so much about our work. We are not just angry that they are shutting down AMC and OLTL, but over the last 3-4 years we have been following a leader and his head of strategy who have not been able to do anything right.”
OK, so does anyone know what the game plan is over there?
Alan Dysert, who played Sean Cudahy on ABC’s All My Children has died. He was 75-years-old. The news of his passing came from his wife Michele who shared via a Facebook post that Dysert died back on October 23.
“My heart is broken as I share that my beloved husband, Alan, passed away on October 23, 2026. While I am struggling to imagine life without him, I am forever grateful to have experienced what so many people spend their lives searching for — the love of a lifetime,” Michele expressed.
While a cause of death was not made public at this time, Michele admitted that Alan, “faced more than his share of health challenges over the years, yet he continued to approach life with determination, humor, and gratitude.”
Photo: ABC
Dysert wrote about his battle with a rare, aggressive and incurable cancer in his 2023 autobiography, Lights, Camera, Cancer! He spoke of having undergone four major cancer-related surgeries, and many rounds of chemotherapy and CT scans.
SEAN CUDAHY WAS ‘BAD GUY’ PERSONFIED
On All My Children, Dysert played Sean Cudahy, the con man villain to his brother, good guy, Tom Cudahy played by Richard Shoberg. Dysert played the role between 1980 and 1990 returning for multiple story arcs, which included being revealed to be the murderer of Sybil Thorne. He was also involved in several affairs including with the impressionable Devon McFadden (Tricia Pursley).
THE LIVES HE TOUCHED
Alan’s longtime agent Melinda Eisnagule told PEOPLE his death is a “loss to our community and to the acting community at large. He touched so many lives and made the industry and the world a better place every day with his positive energy and kindness.”
Dysert leaves behind his wife, Michele and his two sons Cody and Cooper and will be remembered by those who knew him for a career that spanned the theatre, film, TV and performance coaching, and of course being a part of the legacy of All My Children.
Share your remembrances and condolences on the passing of Alan Dysert, All My Children’s Sean Cudahy, via the comment section below.
All My Children
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
On the Friday, October 2 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, the morning talk show marked the 56th birthday of Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley Vaughan Santos, All My Children).
During the opening segment, Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo Santos, All My Children) humorously comparing his wife to both Gandhi and Groucho Marx, reflecting on both her comedic ability and peaceful ways.
Later, they went on to discuss the origins of her name and the most popular picks to name babies back in the year she was born, 1970. They were Kimberly, Lisa, and Jennifer for girls and Michael, David, and James for the boys.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Ripa recalled that she learned she was almost named Kim. However, their neighbors at the time had two daughters Kelly and Kim, which is what her parents wanted to call them, but they settled on Kelly and and her younger sister, Linda.
At the conclusion of the episode, Mark rolled out a huge cake for his wife. It was, “Happy birthday from all of us here at Live and at home.” Next, he cut the cake, and Ripa grabbed his face and gave him a “thank you” kiss.
Photo: JPI
KELLY AND MARK TRIED TO KEEP THEIR VEGAS WEDDING ON THE DOWN LOW
All of this brings back memories of how Kelly and Mark’s Las Vegas wedding ceremony went public in 1996 while the two were still on All My Children playing Mateo Santos and Hayley Vaughan. In essence, they were outed by then radio host Wendy Williams! They discussed it on the talk show back in 2024.
In fact, the duo hid their marriage from their All My Children castmates for months, until they found out Williams got wind of the nuptials and spread the intel on the airwaves.
The two recalled their secret wedding on a 2024 episode of Live! “We’d eloped. It’d been a few months at that point. We’d been married for three months, nobody at All My Children knew we were even dating, much less married to each other. We’re brushing our teeth and we’ve got Wendy Williams’ radio show on. We’re listening, and she’s like, ‘I’ve got celebrity dish!”
EYEWITNESS
Next Ripa continued, “The celebrities,’ I guess they had a broad use of the term back then, was the fact that ‘two soap stars from All My Children, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos eloped in Las Vegas.’ There was this eyewitness that worked in the Clark County courthouse that said we eloped, and the news broke, and we had to tell everybody we were married.”
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for times in your area.
Share your birthday wishes for Kelly in the comment section, and let us know your thoughts on how Wendy Williams broadcast the news, unbeknownst to the All My Children newlyweds, that they tied the knot in Vegas? Check out Mark and the ‘Live’ studio audience singing ‘happy birthday’ to Kelly in the post below.
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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.
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Carly Fears Escalating Tensions Between Sonny and Josslyn: ‘I’ve Already Lost One Kid Because of That Man. I Won’t Lose Another’
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
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‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
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Previews4 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
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General Hospital3 days ago‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
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Days Of Our Lives1 week ago‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
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ABC should have kept Soapnet going in the first place. There’s already too many kids channels on the satellite and cable networks. Soapnet is the only outlet we have other than the networks to watch current episodes of soaps. When Soapnet first started we used to be able to see old episodes of soap operas. I miss those days, Soapnet needs to stay, if networks are no longer filming soaps period,
It’s very interesting to contrast this report with Michael’s “Brian Frons on the upshot of the decision to end SOAPnet!” from May 26, 2010:
https://e98.637.mwp.accessdomain.com/news/brian-frons-on-the-upshot-of-the-decision-to-end-soapnet/2010/05/26/
Frons was likely considering canceling AMC and OLTL back then when he decided to end SOAPnet. Could he be responsible for the submission of the OLTL musical, mentioned in the article above, which destroyed any chance for OLTL to win the Emmy for Best Daytime Drama in 2011, according to TV Guide?
Why don’t they just air AMC and OLTL on Soapnet?
Frons has been planning to cancel OLTL for years:
https://tvguide.ca/Soaps/Nelson_Ratings/Articles/090928_soapgeist_NB
Scroll down and note at the bottom of the page under “Top 3 Soap Moments To Watch” for: “2. Tuesday [Sept 29, 2009]: One Life welcomes Lionel Ritchie [sic] on the Ultra Violet stage. “Let’s go … and hunt down Brian Frons for even thinking of cancelling this brilliant show,” he sings to Llanview. Later, Ritchie asks, “Is this a gay bar?”
I found video of Richie singing on the 9/29/09 episode of OLTL on YourTube but I couldn’t hear or find the quotes above. Can anyone find these somewhere?
ABC/Disney has kept the Frons for this long. PLEASE tell my why?
They could have the best of both worlds. Have Disney Jr during the day and Soapnet at night. Soapnet could air first run episodes of the Soaps each night. That would make viewers happy, and keep revenue as the channel is not free.It is packaged by cable and satellite companies. They could also do some advertising during the shows as well as product placement. They need to make use of the channel anyway, viewers will support this and allows ABC to save face and still air the 2 shows that they want on ABC during the current time slots of AMC and OLTL. Everybody wins…………..Although I doubt the Chew and The Revolution will win regardless. Just not the kind of programming it appears many want in daytime. Including me. The soaps, I will take any day!!!!!!!!!
Please keep the Soaps on!! Lots of people still watch them. That includes men. They are timeless. Working women still watch soaps. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. I have had a full-time job for over thirty-five years and was in the AF Reserve and active duty. I still keep up with Y & R and B & B. They are the greatest!! Soapnet is great for catching up. Forget about Disney and buy your kids a bicycle!!
I’m sick of abc messing with my soaps now the want soap net. Well this lady for one has stopped watching anything on abc since they took off AMC and OLTL . Why they thought another talk show could replace soaps is beyond me. Soap fans are the greatest I wonder if any network could say they have had any shows with years or in my case decades of viewers watching the same show . The executives running the programming need to wake up and get a life.