ABC Cancels All My Children and One Life To Live

[miliosr]

ABC has cancelled All My Children (age: 41) and One Life to Live (age: 42):

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/04/14/abc-cancels-all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live-final-episode-dates-slated/89488

Susan Lucci will now be unemployed after 41 straight years of playing Erica Kane!

And then there were four . . . The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS), Days Of Our Lives (NBC), General Hospital (ABC) and The Young and the Restless (CBS).

[Helene]

Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bonnette]

Oh, my. I grew up watching The Edge of Night, The Secret Storm and As the World Turns at my mother's knee; All My Children and One Life to Live seemed like upstarts at the time, but now they are hoary war horses whose time has run out, like sands through the hourglass - oh wait, that's Days of our Lives! . I think that Ms. Lucci is already forging a career path on one of the home shopping networks (exercise equipment), and hopefully she has invested her past earnings wisely.

[dirac]

I heard that they would be canceled but am sorry to hear that it's definite. I do not expect the four remaining shows to last much longer. Apart from all the other well-rehearsed reasons, Soapnet isn't working out as hoped.

Even sadder is the type of programming that's replacing them:

From Executive Producer JD Roth and 3 Ball Productions, producers of “The Biggest Loser,” “Masterchef” and ABC’s upcoming “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition,” comes “The Revolution,” a Daily Show about health and lifestyle transformations. The show is hosted by a team of experts and rotating guest contributors who help viewers transform all areas of their lives, from relationships to family, food, style, home design, finance and more. This dream team, led by fashion expert Tim Gunn, also includes celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and American Idol alum Kimberley Locke. The show features a unique concept: each week one woman’s five-month weight loss journey will unfold in just five days, with daily results and a final transformational reveal on Friday. “The Revolution” is a one-stop shop for better living.

[miliosr]

I do not expect the four remaining shows to last much longer.

Agreed. The only question now is the boot order.

In losing All My Children and One Life To Live, we're not just losing the shows. We're also losing two of the few places you can see actresses of a "certain age" -- Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser and Kim Zimmer -- on a daily basis and in front-burner storylines.

[dirac]

We're also losing two of the few places you can see actresses of a "certain age" -- Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser and Kim Zimmer -- on a daily basis and in front-burner storylines.

That's right. And the soaps often tried unusual and daring storylines before the networks got to them. I know nothing lasts forever, but it's depressing all the same.

[miliosr]

I'm so proud of Josh Duhamel for returning to the show that launched him:

http://soapcentral.com/amc/news/2011/0606-duhamel.php

[miliosr]

For those of us who loved the Greenlee/Leo pairing on All My Children from 1999-2002, our prayers were answered yesterday and today:

It's probably all just Greenlee's dream but . . . so wonderful to see Rebecca and Josh together again after nine years. And, again, I'm so proud of Josh Duhamel for calling ABC and asking if he could be part of the farewell.

[miliosr]

FYI -- One Life To Live's last episode airs next Friday.

And TV Guide has an interview w/ Erika Slezak (some spoilers):

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Erika-Slezak-OLTL-1041253.aspx

[dirac]

Nice interview. Thanks, miliosr.

[dirac]

"Days of Our Lives" gets shifted to NBC's not-wildly-successful streaming service.

Quote

In the US, the field of soaps has narrowed significantly in the last decade, with the cancellation of long-running shows such as All My Children and One Life to Live creating a "Soapocalypse", as it was dubbed by US media outlets. Now just three soaps – The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and America's longest-running soap General Hospital – remain on terrestrial TV, following the move in September of Days of Our Lives to streaming platform Peacock, after dwindling ratings on NBC, so marking the end of an era after its 57 years on the network. So what is driving the decline of soaps? And is there a way back from the brink?

 

[abatt]

On 4/14/2011 at 8:34 PM, Bonnette said:

Oh, my. I grew up watching The Edge of Night, The Secret Storm and As the World Turns at my mother's knee; 

Me too!  I recall my mother watching all of those shows when I was a youngster.

Many famous people got their start on soaps - Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore to name only a  few. 

[miliosr]

Andrea Evans has died at the age of 66:

Andrea Evans Dead: ‘One Life To Live’ Star Was 66 – Deadline

Many actresses played the part of Tina Clayton Lord after One Life to Live introduced the character in 1979 but Evans was the definitive 'Tina'. The legendary Erika Slezak played Tina's half-sister, Victoria Lord ('Viki'), on the show and shared her thoughts after the news broke:

Erika Slezak Shares Touching Tribute to Her One Life to Live TV Half-Sister, Andrea Evans – Michael Fairman TV

Tina wasn't the first of Viki's half-siblings to show up in Llanview (thanks to Viki's malevolent father, Victor Lord) . . . and she wouldn't be the last, either.

Edited July 16, 2023 by miliosr