AMC: Daytime Confidential confirming production moving to LA

[DRW50]

I know there would be more attention to their cancellation than to OLTL's, but I'm not sure that's saying much. To many people, a reaction when a soap is cancelled is, "That's still on the air?" I still don't think that helps AMC with a brand name.

[CSF]

GH has the highest budget in daytime. Their budget is $3 million a week. Y&R's is $2.5 million, making them second. Wasn't Days' budget higher than both GH and Y&R prior to their 40% cut? Y&R, B&B and Days all out preform the ABC soaps in HH which I know doesn't matter. However, GH isn't doing any better than AMC and OLTL, and when it does, it's slightly higher than those two, but not by much. Wouldn't it make more sense to cancel the soap with the higher budget who's ratings just keep tanking?

[dragonflies]

Sure it would, but with Frons in charge it won't happen. GH is his pet

[Y&RWorldTurner]

GH's budget was cut last year, and Y&R's was this year.

GH and Y&R probably cost about the same to produce per week now, which is probably over a million a week.

[CSF]

So then do we know the budget for each show now?

[Ann_SS]

Unfortunately, I believe this to be true. The ratings are just so bad that ABC is going to have to take out at least one, if not two soaps at some point in the near future.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

It's definitely under a million for most shows, I'd say most soaps are in the $500,000 to $700,000 a week range.

[Pine Charles]

Wow!

A lot to digest!

I guess if this move saves AMC from cancellation, that is good. But did they ever think that writing/EP/certain cast changes might benefit the show even further?

Someone get out their Ouija boards and channel the spirit of Robert Stack, because why ABC hasn't fired Carruthers is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries this side of the Prime Meridian.

What's her appeal to Frons? She apparently doesn't save money. Are they secretly f*cking each other or something?

Those issues aside....

Talk about the end of an era! AMC IS New York City--that mood; that vibe.

It will be odd thinking that there are palm trees and canyons outside of "Pine Valley".

I really can't see Susan Lucci leaving.... at least completely. Hopefully David Canary will stay (in some capacity), too!

[bellcurve]

Really? I'd just assume it would be waaay expensive for them to haul those sets to Los Angeles. I'm under the impression that they will completely rebuild everything, no matter how cheap it looks.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Julie will probably call on her set-designer friends at GH to do new sets for her.

[Kubla Khan]

The sets constantly get loaded up and hauled from the studio in New York to storage facilities. I'm sure they can haul them up...and just go an extra 2,500 miles. It will be expensive, but I'm sure less expensive than building new sets for everything.

[marceline]

Agreed. I think the reaction to GL's cancellation has shown that the death of a soap would be negligible.. Like it or not, if it comes down to AMC or OLTL, AMC is going to be the one that gets the effort. Let's put it this way, Oprah knows and loves Erica Kane, and the Hubbards. She's never mentioned Viki Lord Buchanan Davidson whoever. (Stop changing your name Viki. It's the freaking 21st century!)

Which ABCD shows have sent actors to Dancing With the Stars? There's been KeMo, CamMat and SuLu. Anyone from OLTL? No. That shows you who and what Frons feels is worth promoting.

[LeClerc]

That may well be. I have no idea. I figured at the very least they would move the hospital set, which is relatively new and would be one of the permanent sets since at least 60% of the show these days place on that set.

If they are building all new sets then I can't see them being able to afford more than a handful of public-gathering sets (a restaurant, a park etc). As for residences, they'd probably have to have everyone move into the Valley Inn or yacht club and use the same generic room set (slightly redecorated) for everyone.

[DeliaIrisFan]

I'm not sure what else to say about this that hasn't been said, and I never even watched AMC on a regular basis, but every time I saw it, I always thought of the stage. Now that Liza Colby is being played by an actress from Just the Ten of Us and it's going to tape in LA, I doubt I would recognize it all.

This on the heels of GL's cancellation truly marks the end of an era. Soaps used to subsidize theatre by providing steady paying work for so many NY stage actors; now they're officially the farm leagues for the cookie cutter big studio films and network TV shows that most actors in Hollywood aspire to be starring in. I guess that's fitting, since most Broadway shows are now remakes of not-so-classic movies, and the most expensive theatre tickets are to see "name" stars from the big and small screen who come to NY during the summer rerun season or in between film shootings because they think it will be fun to try their hand at the stage. What's left that's worth subsidizing? Maybe the remaining AMC core cast should just be allowed to do their job for however much longer it lasts somewhere with nice weather year-round (this New Yorker is envious) and where more career options are available.

I too will be extremely curious to hear about how the logistics play out.

[Mary Beth]

Add to that, AMC and GH are the only shows that had stars invited on that recent trip to Africa -- TG, SL, and KeMo.