All My Children
Susan Lucci speaks out on Agnes Nixon being thrown to the wolves & Chuck Pratt sinking AMC!
Courtesy/ABC
Brava to Susan Lucci! In her new interview with TV Guide Canada’s, Nelson Branco, she candidly reveals her inner-most thoughts on some of the behind the scenes maneuvering at AMC, (especially the show’s head writer position), that played a major part in the downfall of the series! Lucci also addresses that she feels that Brian Frons and ABC disrespected the creator of AMC and OLTL, Agnes Nixon, and that if anyone hand a major hand in destroying Pine Valley, it was none other than former head writer, Chuck Pratt. Here are a few riveting excerpts!
Lucci on Agnes Nixon being thrown to the wolves by ABC Daytime, not her: “When you asked earlier if I felt I was thrown to the wolves, I’d like to add: I don’t understand why both of Agnes’ shows were cancelled. So if anyone was thrown to the wolves, it was Agnes. I find it disrespectful to this genius, iconic woman. Despite her longevity in the business, she is quite a modern woman. Her contributions to the art form should be respected. Certainly if I were the head of ABC Daytime, I would not want to make this decision on my watch. I would never throw Agnes out the window on my watch.”
Lucci on Brian Frons decision to make Chuck Pratt head writer and the consequences of that action: “My feelings are that Brian Frons was handed a very healthy daytime line-up when he arrived and then he hired Chuck Pratt to be head writer. Chuck said to all of us in a big team meeting that he didn’t care about characters. He said, ‘I will not be writing character-driven storylines. I don’t care.’ In individual meetings with him, people would come out weeping and distressed because he would [dismiss their characters and histories]. Almost immediately, our ratings dropped. As actors, we did everything we could to save and respect our characters and their histories; although on paper nothing was there for us to work with. The producers listened to the fans in the focus groups, and fans are sophisticated because of columns like yours and talk shows and so on, and they knew the writing was the problem. Chuck Pratt taking AMC down didn’t happen over night. And he was allowed to stay for two years. And unless it was Agnes or Lorraine, no one could dig us out of this hole.”
What do you think of Lucci’s sentiments? We agree 110%!
All My Children
51st Daytime Emmys: Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa Receive Talk Show Host Nominations
On Thursday, nominations were announced in the Outstanding Talk Show category for the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) coming off his first-year as co-host of ‘Live” with real-life wife, Kelly Ripa scored his first Talk Show Host nomination along with Ripa who has been nominated previous times.
Joining Mark and Kelly in the race are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, Sheryl Underwood, The Talk and
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall.
Photo: CBS
As previously reported, The Talk is coming to its end when its upcoming 15th and final season ends in December of 2024.
The 51st annual Daytime Emmys are slated to be broadcast and stream live on CBS and Paramount+ on Friday night, June 7th
Look for the full list of nominations to drop on Friday morning at 12 noon ET/9 am PT.
So, are you rooting for Kelly and Mark to win their first Talk Show host award together? Comment below.
All My Children
Mark Consuelos Celebrates One-Year Anniversary as Co-Host of ‘Live’ Alongside Kelly Ripa
Today, April 17th marks a full-year since Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) took over the co-hosting duties of ‘Live” alongside his wife, and longtime co-host, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, All My Children).
Consuelos replaced Ryan Seacrest who are six seasons decided to be back on the west coast full-time. For Consuelos, now having the opportunity to work off of Ripa as co-hosts has been something of adjustment for him, but viewers have been eating it up.
Live with Kelly and Mark has remained the No. 1 entertainment talk show on television over the past year, growing 3% in average total viewers to 2.23M per episode. It is also the most-watched daytime talk show in the last year in key demos of women 18-49 and women 25-54. All of this, since the real-life marrieds teamed-up.
Photo: ABC
Speaking with Deadline, Kelly Ripa shared why the two are gelling on-screen, “I do think that there is something very possibly relatable about our relationship. We have disagreements like a normal couple, and we’re not afraid to let them unfold on the air and in front of America, and I think people find a lot of themselves in that.”
Mark weighed in how he has progressed as a host, and what he could improve at, sharing, “I’d like to get better at my interviewing skills. I’d like to get better at reading a teleprompter…I think I’m getting better at throwing to commercial. The other day in the middle of the show as we go to commercial, my sign off was ‘See you guys around.’ I mean, the show wasn’t over. The most obvious thing to say would be, ‘We’ll be back right after this.’ But I just said, ‘See you around.’ So we went to commercial and one of the producers (goes) ‘What was that?’ I don’t know… So for the next few sign offs, as a joke, I’d say ‘See you around.’ We got a kick out of it.”
Photo: ABC
Meanwhile, Kelly has given huge props to Mark, “I find Mark utterly compelling, really interesting, super funny, and he’s bold in a way like nobody else. He says what’s on his mind. If he’s thinking it, he says it. I’ve done this a long time and oftentimes people will adjust their natural personalities to pander to what they think the audience wants to hear, and Mark will tell people what he thinks, and he doesn’t care if it’s not a popular opinion. It gives him an edginess that I think is really missing in the landscape today. Everybody’s so afraid to say anything, and Mark is unafraid to say exactly what he’s thinking.”
In a statement, Debra O’Connell, President News Group and Networks, Disney Entertainment shared, We could not be more thrilled with how Mark has seamlessly joined the show family as permanent co-host. His undeniable charisma and his and Kelly’s natural chemistry are evident as they deliver the laughs and smiles to our viewers each morning. We are incredibly proud of how Live has continued to evolve and that the audience is responding so enthusiastically.”
So, do you think Mark Consuelos is the best co-host his wife Kelly Ripa has ever had on ‘Live’? How would you say he is doing as co-host after one full year on the job? Comment below.
All My Children
Susan Lucci Joins the Cast of Jonah Hill’s Movie ‘Outcome’
Look who will be part of the ensemble cast in motion picture and film star Jonah Hill’s new film project! That’s right, none other than Susan Lucci (ex-Erica, All My Children).
According to Deadline, the daytime television icon joins other notables including Laverne Cox and David Spade who have been added to the cast of Outcome. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Matt Bomer (ex-Ben, Guiding Light) and Cameron Diaz.
In Outcome, which is written by, and will be directed by Hill, the dark comedy centers around Reef (played by Reeves), a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip from his past.
Photo: JPI
Soap fans know that following her iconic run as All My Children’s Erica Kane, Susan went on to be featured in Lifetime’s Devious Maids in the role of Genevieve Delatour. Since her Pine Valley days ended (when AMC was canceled in 2012), Susan has appeared in numerous shows and made numerous appearances. n December of 2023, Lucci was awarded the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Photo: JPI
Outcome will debut on Apple and is an Apple Studios production. The film marks the latest collaboration for Hill and Apple Original Films, who are also developing a Grateful Dead biopic with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, to be directed by Scorsese, with Hill starring in it and as one of the producers of the project, as well.
So, intrigued to see what kind of role Susan plays in Jonah Hill’s new film ‘Outcome’? Comment below.
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i want some serious house cleaning.. I want Pratt ,Guza , Frons and Sweeney Gone.. who are they sleeping with that they keep their jobs.
Honest and very revealing. All Susan is doing is telling the truth. My fear is GH is already headed down the same dark path as AMC and OLTL. Disney and ABC must think the viewers are stupid. Most of us have college degrees.
I appreciate Susan’s honesty, as we have seen very little of that from the powers that be at ABC, as of late. She is a well respected icon of soap operas, and I am sure she is telling the truth, not to mention the fact that sadly, she has nothing (else) to lose by doing so, now that the writing is on the wall for AMC (& OLTL). I still find this extremely sad, but honestly, I do not know why I am shocked by these revelations, as sadly this is how many major businesses are run, giving little or no thought to those in the position to lose the most (ie in this case, the actors of the show, directors, makeup people, security, and all those behind the scenes that give their all to make our ABC soaps as great as they are). I am sure Frons was brought in to do a job, and Pratt was called in to put it in motion. Too bad we could not stop this train wreck before it happened. I have been a devoted ABC Soap Fan for 30+ years and will tune in every day until the end of AMC and OLTL, and after that, I will watch ABC for one hour a day tivoing GH. Much good luck in the future Susan!
Good for Susan for finally speaking out. I guess she feels she does not have to be the loyal company girl since the bosses decided to throw her show in the garbage.
Glad she trashed Chuck Pratt. Fronz left him at AMC for 2 years while his stories gutted the show. Sickening.
I agree the actors did the best they could, but if its not on the page, it’s like asking soldiers to fight a battle with a pen knife instead of a automatic weapon.
The shock and sadness of cancellation is wearing off and Susan is starting to get angry thinking about what went down and the way it went down. So are we.
we the fans have been saying this for how long??
i am glad susan came forward with her statement – i knew she couldn’t say anything before but i am glad this is out in the open!!
110% also definitely threw the babies ouy with the bath water! Totaly disregarde what us fans want
Rich history of stories & actors we grew & do love. We will get even!
I love that Susan spoke out. Charles Pratt caused irreparable damage to amc and that is Brian frons fault. So honchosat abc why does someone so incompetent still have a job. Frons should be fired. I am boycotting abc. Thank god I live in Canada so I can watch oltl on a local channel. Who else hates Brian frons.
All I can say is that I miss those 2 shows now as much as ever. I watched them all my life; I would even pay to get them back again!!