All My Children
Soap pundits speak on state of soaps to ABC National Radio Australia!
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
The ABC National Radio news program, Future Tense, out of Australia late last week had a segment led by series host, Anthony Fennell, who interviewed a diverse cross-section of panelists including American soap journalists and pundits. The segment included soundbytes from The Red Room’s and US- based soap critic, Lynn Liccardo, and Sam Ford, Director of Digital Strategy for Peppercom Strategic Communications, a research affiliate with MIT’s Convergence Culture Consortium, and co-editor of the book The Survival of Soap Opera.
Many issues were brought to light including: the social impact of soaps worldwide, the state of the storytelling, the demographic of the audience, and where soaps went into a downward spiral. We particularly found some of thought-provoking comments of Liccardo of interest. See below!
Liccardo addressing the demographic of soaps and the stigmas attached to them: A significant portion of viewers of soaps have always been men. Last time I looked at the numbers it was 24%. That notwithstanding, soap opera’s always been seen as something attached to women. And in the US culture anyway, anything that’s tagged as feminine is valued differently than what’s perceived as masculine. As an example, a few years back a woman I didn’t know especially well, but who knew that I watched soaps, turned to me and regarding nothing we were talking about, she just asked, ‘Who’s Dotty Thornton’s mother?’ And I replied, ‘Edna.’ I didn’t have to think about it. A bystander overheard, turns around, and says, ‘What are you two talking about?’ And we said, ‘All My children.’ And he was like, ‘Ugh! I can’t believe you two remember that kind of detail!’ And was dripping sarcasm and contempt. So I decided to try a little experiment. I said, ’56 games.’ And he shot back, ‘Jo DiMaggio’s hitting streak’ (baseball player). It still stands after 75 years, so the value is really in the eye of the beholder, and as I say, if it’s attached to women it tends to be valued as less important than what’s tagged as masculine. But the fact of that marginalisation and the reason behind it is a lot less important than understanding the insidious impact it’s had, both on how soaps have been perceived and what the genre has become.
Liccardo addressing, as the show calls it,The Enemy Within! “The self-loathing — and I actually prefer the term internalized marginalization, my editors like self-loathing — but you have the grandmother: she never misses an episode of Young and restless but when she’s watching with her grandson she reminds him that this show is ‘utter trash’. A newspaper reporter, a television critic, mocks soaps in her articles consistently but in ways that make it clear she has been, and possibly still is, a viewer.
And for those who make soaps: there’s Harding Lemay, before he became Another world head writer in 1970, he was an author and a playwright. Yet, he finds out that his editor’s wife is a fan, and he wonders why she’s wasting her time watching the show that he’s writing. But kind of the granddaddy of all of it was in 1978, Anthony Geary is asked to become part of General Hospital by Gloria Monty, the producer, who revitalized the show, and he says to her, ‘I hate soaps.’ Monty replies, ‘Honey, so do I. I want you to help me change that.’ Which they did, with enormous success. They introduced these adventure stories and comic books — fantasies like The Ice Princess. And what happened was other shows tried to replicate the success. They jumped on what came to be known as the ‘We’re not your mother soap opera anymore’ bandwagon. They pushed veteran performers aside, undermined the multi-generational storytelling that had been the heart of soaps and, in doing so, reinforced the idea that in order to survive, soaps had to abandon their roots.
Liccardo on how the state of soaps is driven by the bottom line…dollars! A big part of it’s driven by money. You know, scripted storytelling is very expensive to create, especially when compared to reality television, which is extraordinarily inexpensive to create. And episodic shows, which is to say shows that have a beginning, middle and end, shows where you don’t need to know what happened before to understand what you’re going to see in the next hour or so — they are very lucrative for producers because they’ve worked in syndication. I mean in the States you can sit down and watch 12 hours of Law and Order in a row, just one after the other. And they make a lot of money for the producers. You can’t do that with serialized television. They just don’t attract the kind of audience because you have to make that commitment to watching the whole thing. Money’s always a big part of this.
You can listen to the complete segment featuring all the guests, or read the transcript by clicking here!
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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Saul Consuelos, the father of All My Children alum and Live with Kelly and Mark co-host, Mark Consuelos (ex0-Mateo, AMC), has died. During an emotional moment on this mornings, April 6 edition of the syndicated talk show, Mark shared, that his dad, “passed away peacefully” back on March 23 following a long illness.
His wife and co-host, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) paid tribute to her her father-in-law expressing, he was, “the greatest person I’ve ever known. I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will. He really is so symbolic of everything you are.”
Kelly and Mark’s children, Joaquin, Michael and Lola Consuelos are said to be taking this extremely hard. Ripa added, “This is the first loss they’ve ever experienced in their lives. And I said, ‘By the time I was 8, I had no grandparents. You got to grow up (with grandparents). You got to have deep, meaningful conversations (with them).”
Photo: KRipaIG
In another moment, Mark reflected on his dad. “It’s funny, I used to make a joke about my dad … if you asked him what time it was, he would tell you how to build a watch. There were a lot of lectures, a lot of lectures and I learned so much. If he was fixing something in the house, he’d make me watch and do it. And I didn’t know at the time why he was doing that. But now at the house, I’m able to do at least half of the stuff that he did. I learned the most by just watching him.”
Mark added that Saul Consuelos came to the U.S. from Mexico in his early teens and served our county for decades, detailing, he “Ended up at Special Operations Command in Tampa. This young kid from Mexico just got his education from the navy. Was always going to school. Was brilliant. Got his Masters while I was a kid. He loved his country so much, If you’re going to put a face to an immigrant, he would be the prime example of what this country promises people.”
In a very heart-tugging moment, Consuelos shared that now its important they be there for his mother, Camilla. “We gotta take care of mom. We’re trying to convince my mom to move to New York. She’s such a character, she’s stubborn. What do you think, a cooking segment here on Fridays with Camilla?”
Now below, watch the very touching and emotional moments as Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa mourn the loss of Saul Consuelos.
Let us know, what you thought of the remarks made by Kelly and Mark on the death of Mark’s father via he comment section.
All My Children
Sarah Michelle Gellar Visits ‘The View’ Where Hosts Sidestep Controversial ‘Buffy’ Reboot Axing, But Talk ‘All My Children’
On yesterday’s March 17 episode of The View, All My Children alum, Sarah Michelle Gellar (ex-Kendall Hart), was the special guest. Since Monday, Gellar has been the subject of a hot-button issue since about the surprising turn of events that the highly-anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, in which she stars, and which was directed in the pilot by Oscar-winning director, Chloé Zhao, was no longer moving forward.
Gellar‘s appearance on the ABC morning talk show was devoid of any mention of Hulu cancelling its planned Buffy: New Sunnydale, in which Sarah was set to appear along with Ryan Kiera Armstrong. However, Gellar did discuss her new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I Come from Searchlight Pictures.
It should be noted that both Hulu and Searchlight Pictures are owned by The Walt Disney Company, while The View is produced by ABC News, which is also owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Courtesy/ABC
During the awkward interview, when it became clear the ‘Buffy’ reboot topic was off the table, The View co-host Sunny Hostin, talked about the “intense fight scenes” that have become a staple of her TV and film career starting with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scream 2, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
The ladies of The View also brought up Sarah’s beginnings on All My Children as Kendall Hart (1993-1995), showing a scene with her and her on-screen mother, the iconic Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci. The discussion sprung out of another All My Children alum, Michael B. Jordan (ex-Reggie Montgomery) winning the Oscar this past Sunday for Best Actor for his role in Sinners. The View’s Joy Behar was quick to point out with Gellar, the All My Children alums that have gone on to great fame.
Photo: ABC
Previously on Monday, Gellar opened up to PEOPLE about being blindsided before while at the SXSW Film & TV Festival premiere for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. “I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie. And it’s also the weekend of Chloé going to the Oscars as a best director nominee for Hamnet. For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé’s victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is… that says something.”
She went to say, “We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him.” Deadline reports that “multiple sources” identified the executive as Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich.
“I loved the duality that we had with this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now,” Gellar told People about the setup. However, according also to Deadline “After the pilot was completed and delivered, according to multiple sources, Hulu’s main note was that it played too young, with some indicating that the streamer also felt the show was too “small.”’
In the rewrite, sources also told the outlet that the writers did not take big enough swings, so they set out to do a rewrite it again. The last revision was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar’s Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming show than a network one. When all is said and done there is hope that another Buffy IP will be up and running within the next couple of years.
You can check out Sarah Michelle Gellar’s full segment on The View below. Now let us know, bummed there is no Buffy reboot? What do you think about how this high profile Hollywood saga was side-stepped on the morning show? Did you love Sarah as the original Kendall Hart on All My Children? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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This article is so right on the money when OLTL & AMC got cancelled my sister sent a sarcastic message saying what is the world coming to? I responded with all the actors that have come from soaps who now have Academy Awards.
What was said about soaps being perceived as feminine and by turn less valuable in our male patriarchal society is so true. It amazes me how consistent this message is. Being a vegetarian, I see a persistent and controlled message on tv and popular culture about vegetarianism being a feminist trait. In turn, this must be a bad thing and mocked at all times. Every character on tv that becomes a vegetarian (usually a girl) is mocked, and the meat eaters all decide that soy or tofu tastes like nothing and then eat meat. An entire philosophy called feminist vegetarianism has sprung from this. I believe soaps are suffering the same patriarchal stigma. It is so pervasive that even its viewers and those in the industry have little respect for it. There is still perception that all viewers are 70 year old women who do not buy things, and do not know how to use the internet. Reality shows that as much as 20% of viewers are men. People grow up watching the shows with their grandmas. They develop loyalties. The go to school and get jobs. They can’t watch at 1 or 2 pm, so they have to watch online. There are more than 2.5 million viewers daily for OLTL, Neilsen just isn’t able to capture who watches them. There is no fight about the show being taken away, because patriarchal society views them as outdated mindless, terribly acted trash to occupy Grandma’s time. I think there is potential for OLTL to find a bigger audience online then daily airings on ABC at 2pm. I just wish ABC wasn’t still going to profit from the shows. If OLTL continues in the quality of the writing, acting, and social storytelling it has been telling….then the future is not bleak. There are concerns about the costs……but I pray there is a way to make it work. I keep up with all my shows on Hulu now. I would gladly pay for a soap channel that aired episodes online. They could save money on the expensive sets. I do not tune in for fires….guns….tornados…and explosions. I tune in for dramatic explosions like the big reveal at the twin Buchanan girls wedding. We fans were waiting for that moment for months. It was better than the Super Bowl. NOw we have the Tale of Two Todds. I would not miss their meeting nor the fallout from that big reveal if my life depended on it. And by the way, I am a man…..and a vegetarian.