All My Children
Susan Lucci Recounts Thoughts On Ending Of All My Children: "We Were All Blindsided!"
Courtesy/AOLBuild
In a full-length interview on AOL’s Build series, former All My Children icon and now star of Devious Maids, Susan Lucci was the special guest.
When it was time for those in the studio to ask questions of Susan, one audience member asked Susan (Ex-Erica Kane) her thoughts on the ending of the iconic daytime soap opera when it was cancelled by ABC back in 2011.
Susan answered: “We really all were blindsided … we didn’t expect it, and it was like the loss of a loved one.” Lucci made note of grieving the loss of the series, and what a close-knit family cast and crew had become. She also revealed she was so concerned over the crew losing their health benefits when the show was closed down by ABC. When asked what helped her get through the loss of the show, Susan said it was the people to this day that she meets in airports or along her life travels: “People stop me and tell me how much they love Erica and what an influence she had on their lives. Those things are very gratifying.”
Devious Maids is currently filming its fourth season in Atlanta, and as Lucci previewed. viewers will learn the upshot of if her role of Genevieve saved Zoila’s (Judy Reyes) life, or the maid’s baby in the season premiere to air this spring.
So, what do you think about Susan’s comments almost five years later on the disheartening end of AMC? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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 the estate of Agnes Nixon (the legendary creator of All My Children). She recalled, “She (Agnes) 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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I love her on Devious Maids she is actually quite good at comedy. She tells the truth plus all the actors that sold their homes in New York and took losses to move to Los Angeles when they knew all along they were going to be cancelled.
I think, respectfully, that some actors on AMC knew that the end was near. I’ve read and heard interviews with several actors where that was acknowledged. I think it was a bad move for ABC to deny, deny, deny each time Susan Lucci asked about the odds of the show being cancelled and she went on talk shows and repeated what she’d been told, but it’s not true that no one thought the end was coming. In addition, many of us fans who followed Nielsen ratings knew it was likely to happen (especially after the show moved to L.A. and we knew it was on borrowed time), and the rumors on the internet were white hot, starting in January 2011. Having said that, I do miss AMC, and IMO, a lot of what is left in Daytime now is not nearly as good as AMC was on its worst days (and it had some bad ones). I watch Susan on Devious Maids and she’s excellent, but she’ll always be Erica Kane to me. I’m glad she still feels the support of AMC’s fans. She was always a great ambassador for AMC and for Daytime.
ABC indeed botched the cancellations of AMC and OLTL, a real shame as ABC was the network that really boosted daytime popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. I miss Pine Valley and Llanview. Each series was so important and engaging. I pray for a renaissance of the genre.
Beth says, “a lot of what is left in Daytime now is not nearly as good as AMC was on its worst days….”
I couldn’t agree more Beth.
Although the quality is lacking i can rebutt that just by saying……..Zarff !!
I was so mad that they canceled All My Children……..I grew up watching the ABC soap operas including AMC……..I wish they could’ve found a way for the show to continue on ABC……..Why did they cancel such a GREAT show ……..I miss all of the stars who played on there…….Now you see the actors and actresses are on other soaps……..And some has passed on which is such a sad thing……..I Love and Miss all of you…….And Good Luck …..Life after All My Children!! ♡♡♡
Her comment about being blindsided is just ridiculous. It was widely reported the show has been canceled a couple months prior to the official announcement. she and her husband are quite savvy, I don’t believe for a minute she was blindsided.
I have to agree. I remember the rumor mill as well as the poor ratings. I like Susan but I think she has sour grapes. I liked AMC as well as G.L & As the world turns but they ran their course & she needs to let go of her anger and get on with it.
I believe that Susan Lucci asked repeatedly if AMC was going to be cancelled and time was told “no”. I doubt Susan and her husband would have made the move to LA if they believed the show was going to be cancelled. Why would she? Susan’s children and grand children live on the East Coast. Nor do I believe that the others in the cast would have made the move unless each was convinced by the producers that AMC would be cancelled.
I know, even with all the rumors, I was blindsided. My Pine Valley and Llanview families of 40+ years were leaving! It broke my heart and still breaks my heart.
Love you Susan.
ABC knows it even if they don’t admit it. What a mess Frons created and he is gone…
Frons was hired to kill the soaps and when he succeeded, they let him go “mission accomplished”
I still miss AMC and all the talented cast. I’m still hopeful that ABC will reconsider and bring back AMC. I refuse to watch the Chew.
I’m glad Susan has gone on to prime time but I wish she was still im daytime she was so much fun to watch.
She said all this years ago, as I remember. I remember seeing her interviewed on a show. Just a couple of weeks before she had told an interviewer it was not true that AMC was being cancelled.
I still miss AMC!!!!
Love her on Devious Maids. I encourage anyone who misses Erica Kane to watch DM. I think you’ll really love her as Genevieve. It is a very entertaining show.
The viewers were blindsided as well. I was able to watch it on Hulu and at the end of the season, we were told that the show would be back. I watched it for forty years and I still miss it. I wish someone would at least do a special and tie up the loose ends.
How were the viewers blindsided when the ratings for this show had been on the bottom for four or five years? Cancelation rumors started about 2007. Millions quit watching. One soap opera columnist went on the record saying the show was canceled and Agnes Nixon had been informed
I don’t believe for a minute Susan Lucci did not see this coming but I recall her saying this before and she is sticking to her story.
The actors moved to keep their jobs a while longer. No job is guaranteed. I firmly believe they all Knew they were on borrowed time.
Miss Erica Kane and her spectacular, bigger than life persona, Susan……my heartfelt best wishes to you and to everyone from AMC & OLTL.
My email to – [email protected] &
[email protected] ___ “Just want to let you know that WHEN “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are back on ABC Daytime programming, then I will also return. The only program that I watch on ABC now is “General Hospital” … nothing else in the daytime and certainly, nothing in the nighttime!
You did a great disservice to the Cast & Crew of “AMC” and “OLTL” … as well, as the longtime, loyal viewers of “AMC” and “OLTL”.”
Lashing out at 2 people who had nothing to do with cancelling AMC or OLTL is immature. Those shows were cancelled by Brian Frons, head of ABC Daytime, back in 2011. At the time, Ben Sherwood worked in NYC in the ABC News division. Channing Dungey has worked in ABC’s Primetime Division since 2009. Why is primetime responsible for anything that happens in daytime? What a childish response…
I still grieve the loss of our beloved All My Children and One Life to Live. We viewers have lost so very much.
They botched it alright. AMC & OLTL didn’t deserve their fate. Reality T V is the worst bringing low lives from all over to where real actors should be in good dramas.
Some of us just eat up reality TV and continue to help it along.
AMC deserved to be cancelled, ratings were very low and storylines were horrible. OLTL had good ratings, that was a big mistake for cancelling OLTL. Brian Frons better hide, or I will kick his ass Lol. Brian Frons is a punk and sob.
Although GH has always been my favorite daytime show, I also grew up watching AMC (since the late 70’s). It still holds a very, very special place in my heart. It was unique in that while it focused on youth, it also offered storylines that heavily involved characters who weren’t all teenagers or 20-30’s, but middle-aged to older characters (Phoebe, Ruth, Joe, Opal, Palmer, Daisy, Chuck, Mona, Langley, Myrtle, Enid, Lars, Pat, Ray, Olga, Adam/Stuart, Marian, Ellen, etc., and the list goes on and on..including characters who began on the show as a part of the younger set and then grew to become established, older characters.
God, I miss that show I miss all of its opening credits.
I sure miss it too, when I watch DAYS OF OUR LIVES, just to get a “soap fix” I think to myself…geez “all my children” was SOO much better than this! I watched AMC for over thirty years…geez….don’t like to admit that – and I really miss it.
I think, in fact I know that they should have just trimmed it down to a half hour as well as One Life to Live and kept them going.
AMC and OLTL were pure class and sophistication too. Quality shows, both of them. A huge loss.
Bring back our soaps! Daytime tv is horrible for the most part. I have been watching DOOL and Y&R but DOOL is my favorite right now. It is really good. Y&R is not that good right now. Storylines are slow and really could not tell you what is going on. I can’t figure out who the young people are in Y&R. They all look alike. Girls tend to be skinny blonds and guys are same height and dark hair. There are way too many young people on Y&R. Yes I know the name is Young And The Restless.
Bring back Susan and AMC!
I always wondered why after the shows were cancelled, when I would go to sites like this, the only thing that I ever heard about was oltl. They faired basically the same in viewrs. Im referring to respoce of fans. I didnt start watching the show until I heardit was cancelled and was amazed at how much I enjoyedit. Really great acting and cast. However when went to view it online there was only a comment or two for the days show. Then when I went to gh, the show I normally watch, there were pages and pages of comments under just one episode. It became clear that the shows were in two different places. Its unfortunate bc I think that if the show got a new producer and new writers and uped their game and shook things up a little, amc could still be on air.
“Its unfortunate bc I think that if the show got a new producer and new writers and uped their game and shook things up a little, amc could still be on air.”
In my opinion, this exact same sentence could have been said about ATWT, which had over 50 years of history and 6-7 actors remaining who had been on the show a minimum of 25 years. It bothers me when I see the frequent comments criticizing the cancellation of OLTL and AMC that the longer running ATWT rarely is mentioned. ATWT seems to have been almost forgotten when it was cancelled. (I’m NOT suggesting that OLTL and AMC deserved cancellation. It just irks me the way many sites and the comments fail to mention ATWT, which did not deserve the fate it got).
I do believe the AMC cast was blindsided. I believe the initial plan was to cancel only One Life To Live. I think had AMC performed better in the ratings after its move to California it would have lasted a bit longer.
I have really tried to get past the cancelling of both AMC and OLTL and then the sabotage of Prospect Park. Other than GH and DWTS I no longer have much use for ABC. I appreciate CBS commitment t o quality daytime shows. ABC could bring back a hybrid soap but then have to admit they were wrong.
ABC make amends to your loyal daytime fans.
I cannot understand why the powers that be at ABC did not put their soaps or one of their other cable channels. If the rating is down put it on a station that shows old reruns. Or something else that is just filling up time until evening! I think that this could be a solution. To save money, they could cut it down to 3 days a week and take out all the crap that prolongs the story line.
Great idea! ABC listen to your viewers.
Thank you
Have to admit I miss AMC. I wish it were still on eventhough I only watched it once in awhile. I knew the characters, and I liked to tune in every now and then.
will never forget my oltl and amc(I watched oltl since 1960s) they should have just combined the shows or put them on lifetime network thier other affiliate. idiots..idoubt if they could collect all the actors nd bring them back now. they are truly over l..sadly…let’s all move on .will miss my “sis ” Vicky lord and nora bucahanens anfdtheir families forevah.