All My Children
NY Post: Collective Bargaining & Unions the secret villain to soaps demise!
Courtesy/ABC
NY Post: “The soaps are effectively an industry heading for bankruptcy, and even union members realize it. In the last decade, soaps have been trying to cut costs to the bone. But those bones are covered in the impenetrable gristle of AFTRA (the daytime actors union), WGA (the writers guild), the DGA (directors) and the backstage union IATSE.
Soaps are “certainly not expensive by other entertainment gauges,” says former producer Michael Laibson, a leader of the creative teams at All My Children and Guiding Light. But “they don’t pay the people [on reality TV] the same kinds of wages. The acting, the above-the-line costs [for creative talent] are much higher on soaps. Generally, on a soap there are about 30 actors that are under contract so they have a guaranteed number of performances per week and a guaranteed salary per performance.”
Union super-minimum wages lead directly to high unemployment. AFTRA requires each of the main performers to be paid at least $913 a day, but stars get much more. Seventeen Writers Guild jobs disappear when the two ABC soaps go dark. They aren’t getting paid in Palmolive, either. Head writers (of whom there might be more than one) get at least $35,345 a week. Writing expenses are minimal on reality, which the WGA hasn’t successfully penetrated yet.”
“The soap industry is highly skilled, and Days of Our Lives is a more polished product than The Biggest Loser. Soaps are more like airlines. The value of their product has dwindled rapidly, but unions don’t provide flexibility for trimming costs to keep up. Since soaps aren’t a separate industry, they can’t use bankruptcy as a wedge to reopen contracts and make cuts. An AFTRA source who didn’t want to be identified says, “We’re certainly mindful of the challenges the industry faces,” although not mindful enough to back down on their main goal: “We want to increase pay and benefits for our members.” Hundreds of IATSE members are going to be out of work. Even unionized reality programs like ABC’s upcoming soap replacements The Chew (Mario Batali cooking show) and The Revolution (a Biggest Loser-style weight-loss show) will bring far fewer jobs in makeup, costumes, set moving, etc.”
“Maybe renegotiating the daytime serials portion of the contract would have beaten layoffs. But from the unions’ perspective, any concession sets a dangerous precedent. If they take a hit on daytime, isn’t that an invitation to cut prime-time contracts? So unions will continue to shrug at reality and the marketplace will continue to punish them.”
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.
All My Children
‘All My Children’ Revival Updates: Lifetime EVP Speaks on Why Proposed Movies are Great Fit, Mark Consuelos Wants To ‘Give Back’ to Fans
The All My Children revival via movies at Lifetime is still in the works from former series stars and marrieds, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, through their production company, Milojo.
The co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark were featured this week in a Los Angeles Times article which detailed their efforts to bring some of the citizens of Pine Valley back to your screens.
As previously reported, and reaffirmed by the L.A. Times, the All My Children movies will be set in the present day and focus on what beloved characters such as Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue) are doing now. In addition, Kelly Ripa confirmed that she and Mark Consuelos will also appear on screen briefly most likely appearing in their signature soap roles as Hayley and Mateo Santos.
Photo: ABC
ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIES BRING NOSTALGIA THAT CAN BE MADE TO FEEL NEW AGAIN
Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network said of the All My Children reboot, “Lifetime is always interested in shows that kind of tap into a powerful nostalgia that can be made fresh for today’s audience. There’s a whole generation of women that have missed these stories and these characters.”
As for working with Kelly and Mark on the Lifetime movie versions of the soap, “They’re exactly the kind of partners you want at a brand,” expressed Bryant. “They’re trusted voices because every day they’re talking to their audience, which, a lot of times, is our audience. They bring a real credibility and have an authentic point of view. You meet Kelly and Mark and kind of what you see is what you get, and I think they bring that same authenticity to their development standards.”
Albert Bianchini, executive producer for Milojo, says he knows All My Children is so wildly popular with the fans of daytime. That was punctuated when seeing it in person, and how the energy was off the charts back in January of 2025 when Kelly participated along with Susan Lucci, former head writer, Lorraine Broderick and casting director, Judy Blye Wilson in a conversation with Andy Cohen at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
© Steven Bergman/AFF-USA.COM Credit: AFF/Alamy Live News
“I’ve never seen a crowd like that in my life. People were lined up around the block, recalled the Bianchini. “Everyone wanted to know, ‘When is (All My Children) coming back? We want more.’ We got to see that in real life and Kelly got to feel it in real life, and it made so much sense. I just know that the minute it gets out in the world, people will want more and more and more. There’s just a love there.”
Kelly Ripa added that they are, “working closely with Bob and Sarah Nixon, who are also serving as producers.” She recalled, “She (Agnes Nixon) was so far ahead of her time. She covered topics that weren’t being covered. It was extraordinary the audiences that the show drew, and she served them real stories that were affecting Americans across the country but weren’t necessarily being represented anywhere.”
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” shared Mark Consuelos. “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.”
THE CANCELLATION AND STOPS AND STARTS OF ALL MY CHILDREN REBOOTS
All My Children aired on ABC from 1970 to 2011. It got a second chance at life when Prospect Park resurrected the show and brought it to The OnLine Network and Hulu for one season in 2013.
Recently, the series made a return through the estate of Agnes Nixon and is streaming internationally on BEONDTV and through their partnership with PlutoTV Canada with episodes starting in 1995. Fans hope original episodes will some day soon be available in the U.S. as well, but that could prove more difficult since ABC owns the rights to the episodes stateside.
Now 13 years later, while there is no word yet on a definitive production start date to the two movies at Lifetime, all the people involved seemed determined to make it come to life.
So, what do you think of the executive vice-president of Lifetime and LMN being enthusiastic about Kelly and Mark’s All My Children movie revivals? Are you wanting to see this come to fruition? Kelly and Mark seem to have made this a very high priority. Do you hope that by 2027 we might be able to get this to the finish the line and into production? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Starting on May 1, All My Children fans in Canada will be able to see classic episodes of the beloved former ABC soap opera when they stream on Pluto TV Canada.
Pluto TV picked-up the All My Children Channel that the Nixon family has created in partnership with BEONDTV +. The show which aired for 41 years on ABC and ended on the network in 2011, had so many memorable storylines and characters; the least of which is the enduring run of Erica Kane played by soap icon, Susan Lucci.
As previously reported, starting with episodes from the year 1995, which was the 25th anniversary of the soap. Pluto TV Canada viewers will be able to catch 8 episodes on repeat per day. With the success of the venture, the Nixons are hopeful that they will bring viewers many more years of the show to come.
Photo: ABC
Sarah Nixon, producer, shared with Michael Fairman TV exclusively, “We are thrilled that Pluto TV has launched All My Children in Canada! Let’s hope the engagement from our incredibly loyal fans across the border will encourage ABC to bring it to the U.S.! We share what Aggie (Agnes Nixon) always felt, that it is the enthusiasm and love from the fans that has kept this legacy beloved and relevant – to this day!”
In addition, 0ne week ago, during Susan Lucci’s visit to Los Angeles promoting her book La Lucci, she was joined by her former Pine Valley castmates, Rebecca Budig (ex-Greenlee, AMC, now Taylor, B&B) and Eva LaRue (ex-Maria, AMC) and the trio posed for a pic. At that time, LaRue shared via Instagram, “NEW All My Children channel streaming classic episodes 24/7 now on Pluto TV Canada! Fingers crossed to watch soon on Pluto US.”
That was also confirmed this week by TV Watercooler’s Jeevan Brar who took to X and expressed, “The All My Children channel begins streaming this Friday, May 1 on Pluto TV Canada.
So, Canadian viewers, excited about Pluto TV’s All My Children channel? United States fans, hopeful from Sarah’s message that perhaps soon, we can see the beloved soap once again as well? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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So is Frons trying to get the blame off himself and blame the Unions?? Is he hoping for infighting amongst the unions so that AFTRA and IATSE don’t support each other anymore? Since the actors can’t support the ABC protests publically (because they are worried about backlash from Frons), is this around about way of trying to make sure the other unions don’t support the SAVE OUR SOAPS Protests and Boycotts….create infighting amongst the unions?
Again we blame the unions? People have INCREDIBLY short memories. Or a really deficient schooling in what working conditions in this country were like before unions. And what they will be like again if unions are crushed. I can’t help but feeling that our grandchildren will be spilling their blood fighting for rights which our ancestors spilled their blood to hand down to us, and which we so take for granted.
What a load of bunk! You can’t blame the unions, who protect the workers, for the out of control GREED on the part of ABC’s and Disney’s top level management and shareholders.
This FAUX News style propaganda a la GOP ain’t gonna fly.
“Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger commanded a 35% jump in salary and bonuses in 2010, rewarding what the board of directors’ compensation committee called his “exceptional performance” in the face of a slow-recovering U.S. economy. Iger’s salary and bonus reached nearly $16.3 million, up from $12 million a year earlier. His total compensation, including equity awards, reached $28 million… “(LA Times 1/28/2011)
What a crock of S**T!!!!! So Brian Frons is AGAIN trying to deceive us with his pack of lies! Like I said, “what a crock of SH**T!!!!” While I understand that managing soap operas can be expensive, why is it NOW they’ve become too expensive to handle?! They have been going on for as long as I’ve been aound! What kills me is that Disney is too greedy and doesn’t give a rat’s a$$ about us, but also the fact that Brian Frons can’t take responsibilty for his own stupidity! He continued to lie to our faces about AMC and OLTL then did exactly what he wanted to do in the first place! Soon ABC won’t have a network because we will grow sick and tired of Frons, Disney and all the lies they’ve told! Even Pinocchio can’l lie that much! He (Frons) talked about being in the witness protection program… well honey, you’d better start running! There are MANY, MANY people who would like to get you alone in a room for just 5 mins.! Now THAT’S a reality show I would pay to see!! Don’t blow smoke up our a$$e$ when you know that we’re on to you!
Sorry Michael! We still love you and all you do for the soap world! Thank you for keeping us informed! Best wishes!
You can’t believe anything that you read in the New York Post. It is owned by Rupert Murdoch and is a political paper. It exists as propaganda for far right conservative causes. Having thousands more mad at unions now, with all that is going in the Midwest, is too convenient.
Unions can be blamed in the same respect, for all of the US jobs being sent overseas. It boils down to corporate greed — money beforeanything else. OLTL made money,but a reality show will make more. They don’t care that less will watch. It will make more profit. They don’t have to pay as many people, or as high a wage. Frons will get a promotion, not fired. If you think any US corporation is any different, you are wrong. It is capitalism. Even Hoover saw the dollars that would benefit them in supporting our cause. I want OLTL back more than anybody. I have been in a daze since the news broke. I just cant see a Network picking it up.
WELL SHE SOME ACTORS ARE WILL TO GO CUT PAY AND SALARY !JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME AND THIS THE CURRENT TREND.HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS. THEN PUT IT ON SOAPNET AND WE’LL PAY FOR THE CHANNEL!
All that article is doing is trying to switch the blame game on Unions.I am sorry if there wasn’t Unions around it go back to what it was before the 1900 ‘s.I mean Unions stop child labor laws before there were Unions they were having ten or even nine year olds working under the worst conditions inmagable.I mean think about the garment fire back in the early 1900’s when how many young women and children lost there lives.They can all say it is caused by the unions,but all this does make trouble were it don’t belong.Common sense with this so-called “Reality shows are done with real people who I believe don’t have to have like the join the actor gulid.They can all say it is cheaper,but just how cheaper is it when and I mean when someone gets hurt bad enough that the network get sued then what.I mean these people have to get there a**** out of there heads.And just stop and think I do believe some of these actors who have been on the show long enough they would kind of enough take a pay cut.It just the higher ups think if we read this we quite blaming them and that won’t work in my book.
NO ONE from the network approached the unions for negotiations.
REALLY – ABC and Disney are trying to break the unions… I hope no one falls for or stands for that. If top execs who do nothing would take a pay cut that would be wonderful. Frons isn’t doing much any way.. keep the calls up people.. cause his ass needs to be out like yesterday unions unite