All My Children
Michael Fairman on state of soaps, cancellations, & what fans can do!
Courtesy/Michael Doven Photography
On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman was asked by SoapTown USA for an interview with their online platform to get his impressions and thoughts on the state of the soap genre, the recent cancellations of OLTL and AMC, what fans can do and how fans are dealing with the loss. SoapTown also takes a look back to when Fairman started his career in soaps through the the tail end of it’s heyday, to it’s dwindling days of current times.
Here are just a few excerpts below, but make sure to read the entire interview at SoapTown USA for the context of these remarks below and more.
Fairman on what fans can do over losing AMC & OLTL other than boycotts or petitions: “When people ask me, ‘What can we do?’ The decision has been made. I want people to fight (this decision) but I want them to fight smart. The way to be smart is to NOT turn off One Life to Live, but tune in to the last nine months, because the show is going to be great. One way, to illustrate, to counter ABC’s decision-making is to tune in and make the ratings go way up! Show them, ‘We’re at a 3.5, look what you did!'” We can pick up and celebrate what we have left, but right now, I think we’re all feeling a bit deflated. But you should still watch your shows. They’re still vital. What people really to want to see is good story. How are the writers going to structure the canvas? Who are we supposed to root for, I don’t know at times. You need people to root for. Fans want to see the characters they love. And then have things shaken up. We’re running out of time. I think everybody should feel that the clock is ticking.”
Courtesy/ABC
Fairman on of why televnovelas are scoring big ratings and American soaps are not : “They really capture the imagination right now of the Latin community. They’re over the top, they’re dramatic, and they feature beautiful people. All the stuff that soaps should be and it’s working in that market. And the telenovelas have a beginning, middle and end, unlike U.S. soaps which go on to infinity, unless you’re canceled! We’re stuck here in the States. It’s a fast food mentality. If I can see all my bitches, hunks and babes on these reality shows that cost a smidge to produce, why would the networks want to put on Days of our Lives when these shows are cheap and get more audience? That is what is going on through the networks minds. Many out there will say the serial format is your grandmother’s and it’s old, but you have to remember that soaps are passed down from generation to generation, which is why this is so horrible. It’s crushing. I asked people on my Twitter page, ‘What would you say to a programmer if you wanted to sell One Life to Live to them?’ The responses were amazing and well-thought out. One Life to Live was also under budget and lately has had some decent ratings, which makes this decision even more of a slap in the face to the intelligent One Life viewers.”
Fairman on how replacements series: talk-shows, game shows, vs soaps, and the network’s perceptions: “You have to understand, soaps are not the cash cow they once were, the advertisers are not clamoring to sign up, the ratings are down. When The Talk scores ratings equal to or better than As the World Turns, that’s a sign to networks execs that they’re doing something right and justifies their decisions, I think. As for game shows, there’s no emotional investment for viewers, again it’s an hour of fun or distraction but there is no heart. But we have to remember the networks are running that, a network which does need to be filled with all types of programming options for the farthest reach to the public. The bottom line is that soaps have validity, they comfort people, they’re part of Americana, and they bring social issues to life wonderfully when done correctly. They have attempted things that should be commended. Soaps can be used to help families, mothers, children that might be around during the day, or whenever they can tune-in. But why couldn’t soaps get back the audience they lost a decade or more ago? Part of the thing that failed was soaps needed to get back the audience that they lost and get new people in, and that’s one of the struggles they’ve had for several years. A lot has to do with the times we live in, working families, tons of options on channels, it has become a very difficult climb to get back up the mountain for soaps.”
All My Children
AMC Alum Sarah Michelle Gellar Reflecting on Her Time on Soaps: “Anything I Can Do to Continue the Legacy I’m Very Proud Of”
Daytime fans knew of Sarah Michelle Gellar her way before her Buffy the Vampire Slayer days, when she stepped on to the small screen as Erica’s (Susan Lucci) troubled daughter Kendall Hart on ABC’s All My Children.
Gellar played the role from 1993 to 1995, and made a brief return in 2011 as the show came to its conclusion on ABC. Additionally, Sarah won a Daytime Emmy for her performance in the Outstanding Younger Actress category in 1995.
Photo: NATAS
Sarah has partnered with Lysol for their brand’s Disinfecting Wipes “Buy One, Donate One” program. where now through September 26, whenever a pack of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes is purchased, another pack will automatically be donated to an under-resourced school through the Kids In Need Foundation.
The program is aimed to help curb the spread of illness-causing germs in schools this back-to-school season, a total of up to 16 million packs of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes will be donated to Title I schools across the country.
The program is the latest component of Lysol’s HERE for Healthy Schools initiative. Started in 2019 with the mission to help curb the spread of preventable illness and to help kids miss less school so they are able to learn, grow and thrive, HERE for Healthy Schools has provided educational materials for students and Lysol disinfecting supplies for educators and administrators to more than 49,000 schools across the country. This year, HERE for Healthy Schools is focused on helping to protect children, educators and parents as they make their big return to in-person learning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking with TV Insider on the partnership, Gellar recalled her time on the soaps and how it changed her career and outlook, noting: “it was the training ground for the rest of my career.”
She went on to say: “I made incredible friends at that time and I learned incredible work habits, and soap operas are an intense amount of work, and I’m incredibly grateful for that time and the people that I met. We live in a world now where my kids don’t even really know what a soap opera is, so anything I can do to continue the legacy I’m very proud of.”
So, do you remember Sarah’s time on AMC? What do you think of her thoughts on her time on the soaps? Comment below.
All My Children
‘Dynasty’ and ‘All My Children’ Co-Stars React to the Death of Michael Nader
UPDATED: Yesterday, Michael Fairman TV broke the news of the passing of Michael Nader (Ex-Dex, Dynasty and Dimitri, All My Children). As reported, Michael died on Monday morning of an untreatable form of cancer at his home in Northern California with his wife, Jodi, and his beloved dog, Storm by his side.
Since then, several of Nader’s former Dynasty and All My Children co-stars have taken to social media with their reactions and remembrances after having learned that he has no longer with us.
From his leading ladies, Joan Collins and Susan Lucci, to Emma Samms and John James, Eva LaRue, Finola Hughes, Maxwell Caufield, Vincent Irizarry and more, so many are taking a moment to share their grief and outpouring of love for Michael.
Michael Fairman TV will continue to update this post throughout the day as more remembrances are posted.
Here are what several of Nader’s former co-stars and colleagues shared below:
Susan Lucci (Ex-Erica, All My Children):”MICHAEL NADER—so handsome, so talented—so wonderful and beloved as All My Children’s DIMITRI MARICK—and a great love of “Erica Kane”. I am so lucky to have played opposite Michael—playing some of the most romantic scenes ever—dancing in palaces in Budapest, our gorgeous Greek Orthodox wedding, complete with crowns. Michael was a doll to work with and to know. RIP, Michael💙💙💙🙏🙏🙏”
Joan Collins (Ex-Alexis, Dynasty): “Very sad to hear of the death of my onscreen husband and lover #michaelnader aka #dexdexter – I loved working with him and his character was a wonderful mixture of tough and tender. #alexis was crazy to keep on rejecting him! #rip #ripmichaelnader”
Photo: ABC/Getty
Emma Samms (Ex-Fallon, Dynasty): “Incredibly sad news about Michael Nader. What a blessing it was to have had his participation and support for our Dynasty Reunion fundraiser back in March. Thinking of his wife Jodi and sending condolences to all of his many fans.”
Photo: Amazon
John James (Ex-Jeff, Dynasty): “I’m so sad to hear, that my dear friend Michael Nader passed away. We shared some great laughs together and I will miss miss you buddy. Sending prayers to the family.”
Finola Hughes (Ex-Alex, All My Children): “Oh #michaelnader sweet man. I worked with him so briefly, but he cared about his craft and his fellow actors. Sending much love and condolences to his family ❤️”
Eva LaRue (Ex-Maria, All My Children): “So heartbreaking to hear about the passing of Michael Nader! The sweetest man, with the best stories and the funniest out takes! Thank you for the endless belly laughs around that Wildwind dining table at #AMC ! You will be remembered with so much Love!😢♥️ All my prayers and sympathy to his family🙏🏼♥️ Rest peacefully sweet man♥️”
Photo: Sue Coflin/MaxPhotos
Cady McClain (Ex-Dixie, All My Children): “Michael was always a joy to work with, and one of the funniest human beings I ever met. I feel so blessed to have crossed his path and been able to watch him work his magic. I know he felt the love and appreciation of his colleagues and I’m grateful our discussions were always deep or kind. #RIP #michaelnader Photo by @stevenbergman29 💕 (note his book and bookmark! Only Michael would carry it on the res carpet. 😂)”
Maxwell Caufield (Ex-Miles, Dynasty): “That #MichaelNader in the arena many seasons with both @Joancollinsdbe and #SusanLucci – quel hombre.”
Dondre T. Whitfield (Ex-Terrence, All My Children), who commented on Eva LaRue’s post: “Wow. Haven’t seen him in years. So sad to see the Brother. He was very mice to me during my “Pine Valley” time. RIP Nader.”
Vincent Irizarry (Ex-David, All My Children), who commented on Eva LaRue’s post: “OMG, my heart is breaking!!! Loved dear Michael, working opposite him in both “Pine Valley” and in Jackie Collins’ ‘Lucky Chances’. So so sad to hear of his passing. Yes @evalarue, the sweetest man, and ABSOLUTELY the funniest outtakes…”
Sean Kanan: (Ex-AJ, GH, Deacon, B&B) “I was so sorry to hear that Michael Nader passed away. He and I played father and son in Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster. We spent some time together and he was a very authentic person. My sincerest condolences to his family. RIP Michael.”
Share your thoughts and remembrances of these wonderful co-stars with Michael throughout his years on Dynasty and All My Children via the comment section below.
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All My Children
‘Dynasty’ and ‘All My Children’ Star, Michael Nader Passes Away at 76
Heartbreaking news to report this Wednesday morning. Michael Fairman TV has learned exclusively that Michael Nader, best known for his role as “Dex” Dexter on ABC’s original version of Dynasty, and as Dimitri Marick on All My Children, has died at the age of 76.
Nader passed away on Monday, August 23rd at 11:30am from an untreatable form of cancer at his home in Northern California with his wife, Jodi by his side, and Michael’s rescue dog, Storm.
In an exclusive statement to MFTV, Michael’s wife, Jodi Lister expressed: “With heavy heart, I’m sharing the news of the passing of my beloved, Michael. We had 18 wonderful years together with the many dogs we fostered and adopted. Recently, Michael was so thrilled to reconnect with his friends from the cast of Dynasty during Emma Samms virtual event to help raise funds for Long-Covid research. Michael was working on a book about his life and addiction at the time of his death. He was a beautiful and fascinating man with many talents and skills. I will miss him forever.”
Michael’s acting career spanned several decades. His first soap role was that of Kevin Thompson on As the World Turns (1975-1978, then the primetime soap, Bare Essence (1983) as Alexi Theopolous, before landing on Dynasty later that year as Alexis Colby’s (Joan Collins) third husband, “Dex”. Nader remained with the series until its cancellation in 1989.
Photo:ABC
When All My Children came calling, Michael took on the role of Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) magnetic husband, Dimitri Marick, a role he played from 1991-1999, then again in 2000-2001. Michael returned to AMC during Prospect Park’s online revival of the series in 2013.
Photo: ABC
Throughout his TV and motion picture career Nader also appeared in: The Flash, Law and Order: SVU, Cold Case, Gidget, Beach Blanket Bingo, The Great Escape II: The Untold Story, Lady Mobster (with Susan Lucci) the miniseries, Lucky Charms, to name but a few.
Photo: MNaderFacebook
Michael is survived by his wife of 18-years, Jodi, stepmother Lillian, sister Stephanie, daughter Lindsay, ex-wife Robin, son-in-law Trevor, and granddaughter Juniper.
A Zoom memorial will be planned at a later date.
Share your thoughts and remembrances of Michael, and send condolences to his loved ones, in the comment section below.
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Michael, you are so right on. It does not stop th sadness in our hearts that something else has come to an end!
Michael. Loved all your insights on the what, why , and how the soaps are being tossed aside for lesser programing. Obviously, besides us die-hard fans, no one else has an investment in years of dedicated and loyal soap watching. You know the soap industry better than anyone. You have covered it and shared your views for so long and I hope you will still have stories to tell and comfort us with your knowledge. Thanks for sharing with us, Michael. You are to be commended!
I have watched soaps sence I was 16 and now Im 63, I set with old people that are at home or in rest homes,we all love soaps,we laugh and cry and get mad as hell,but we love all our soaps,we want them to stay on free TV. Joanne
As a long-time fan (36 years) of “As the World Turns”, and a recent convert to ABC’s “One life to Live”, my heart goes out to all of you ABC soap fans. Those of us who lost our beloved ATWT – and before that Guiding Light – are still angry about the decision of CBS and Proctor and Gamble (both equally responsible for the demise of GL and ATWT) to cancel our 54-year old soap and replace it with an innane, irrelevant talk show for mommies – “creatively”named “The Talk” – hosted by Julie Chen (wife of Les Moonves, Head… Read more »
I agree with most of what you said in your statement, even though The Talk has some good guests. Anyway, I started watching y&R, B&B,GH, Edge of Nt & OLTL,AMC when I was 10 yrs old with my Mom and sister. I began watching ATWT when I go married 20 yrs ago because my husband watched it.Then I got into GL. How upsetting it is to see our daytime stories disappear so quickly!!! 38 yrs I’m watching soaps, and it’s shocking to see what the networks are doing…Like hey have nothing else to do but cancel our daytime lives. I… Read more »
Read the full article. Lovely interview, Michael. So appreciate the work you’ve been doing over a lifetime. I started to respond in here, but then it just kept expanding as I wrote. So, I decided to take it over to my blog, and post the link here. “The continuing saga of daytime soap opera cancellations” – http://www.celtic-dragon.ca/blog/?p=474 The lyrics of “One Life to Live” tell the tale: Here’s what you do When you don’t find the rainbow’s end This time Here’s where you going to do When it looks like the rain end Don’t cry There’s always tomorrow Where you… Read more »
C! Nice Touch!
Of course I will bw watching oltl every day until the end. I do now. I watch it o.line as I am not home in the afternoon. I cant in my heart watch anythi.g else anymore on abc. Not castle, not modern family, not dwts.i dont know if it helps or hurts, but it makes me feel better
I can’t believe AMC is being cancelled! I have been watching it for years! Never disappointed. Do they really think another boring reality show or equally boring cooking show will be able to replace the shows they are taking off?? Reality and cooking shows have been way overdone! They are just a cheap way to fill air space! Save the soaps!!!
I work hard through the busy days and record my soaps at night while I cook for my business. I watch all 3 soaps.They might think of the bottom line but I hope the sponsors think of their bottom line.I WILL NOT PURCHASE ONE ITEM THAT SPONSORS ABC NOR WILL MY FRIENDS BOTH MALE AND FEMALE IN OUR WESTBROOK/PORTLAND MAINE AREA.Being a business owner I like to keeps my customers happy and it’s quite clear ABC does not. When OLTL and AMC are off we are OFF!!!!! I