Lorraine Broderick as AMC head writer

[EricMontreal22]

OMGOMG

I go away for three days and return to this!!! If Lorraine Broderick, who's the only current living writer with a history to AMC I could see returning tothe show IS returning this is the best 40th anniversary present I can think of for the show. WONDERFUL

As for JHC as EP--I think the writing's on the walland they're finally gonna let her go. The gossip is Ed Scott has loved AMC since the 70s and now that it's coming to LA where he lives he wants to EP... Him and Broderick could be a classic team IMHO

[Angela]

I was not a fan of Broderick's 1995-1997 go around on the show but I never thought the show was better than it was in the 1987-1993 era and she was a big part of that. It would probably help to add FMB, as Executive Producer, on top of this. I don't think that will happen, but it would be nice.

[Jonathan]

Boo! Such a party killer.

[CassieFan]

God, I hope this is true. After McTrash, BE and Prass, AMC fans, as well as AMC, really deserve a good HW.

[Sylph]

Wisner Washam is alive.

[Dan]

Not to mention, as Carl inferred from my earlier post, that the fact that Broderick has had no interaction with the medium since 2004 suggests she no longer wishes to write for daytime.

[Sylph]

I know all that, but this makes me very content.

[bellcurve]

Do you guys think Lorraine was hired(even temporarily) since Frons knows DAYS is his competition in many markets and since DAYS has dialed back considerably from the outrageous camp(albeit the episodes I've seen have really bored me to tears), the ratings have made slight increases from cancellation territory to hell-freezing over renewal range? Maybe Frons wants to steal that audience or at least appeal to the ones that have left AMC, hoping to lure them back with more traditional storytelling.

And as for JHC, yeah, she sucks as a technical producer, but I don't see her as someone who would interfere with Lorraine's vision, if Frons allows her to have one. She seems very hands off.

[You're Soaking in it]

Some of us must have been picking up vibes out there, because we were discussing Broderick at length in the "Pratt fired" thread yesterday. More detailed takes of my general opinion are there.

But overall, Broderick's return is an incredibly positive move. There isn't a person out there - apart from Agnes Nixon - who better understands the heart & soul of All My Children. It's pretty well understood that Broderick was indeed considered by Nixon as her protege (and not McTavish, who is rumored to have always been quite green toward LB because of this - well, that, and LB's unprecedented three consecutive Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Writing Team at AMC).

She is not perfect, but she may be as close to perfection as we'll ever get. These are the things that are consistent: Broderick has always demonstrated that she CARES about and respects the characters. She cares about their relationships with one another. She writes them from the inside out. Whether or not you're fond of the storyline being told - i.e. Erica's swiping of Maria's baby - there is such a sharp, meticulous style of the way the story is written.... and it always comes down to the inside of the character. In the case of Erica / Maria / Baby, the catalysts, the turning points, and the culminations of the story were all emotionally riveting. As a whole, you can tell just by watching, that the material you're seeing is written by a writer who really THINKS, painstakingly, about what's being penned.

That said, All My Children is in the worst state I have ever seen it. If Broderick can't turn it around, perhaps no one can. But, if truly given the leeway to pull it off, she will bring good things to this show. I hope it isn't temporary, because this may take a little time... and, while I know viewers may not be comfortable thinking about this, time honestly isn't on All My Children's side. No matter what happens, I expect it will be off the air in a few years. It will be a love-note to viewers, especially longtime ones, to leave Broderick in place at the writing-helm of this show - and let HER see things through to its sunset. Broderick knows AMC like her own child, and she would end things on a better note than anyone else possibly could.

[Sylph]

Goodness, what a byzantine labyrinth of a plot!

[Angela]

Daytime Confidential has been pretty accurate with AMC behind the scenes news in the past few months, so much so that I wouldn't even question their accuracy on this.

[You're Soaking in it]

Boy, you really DO like raining on parades, don't you?

To offer a counterpoint... If it proves to be true that she's returning, THAT may suggest she does wish to write for daytime again. She might even want to be the one to take care of AMC in its final years.

[Jonathan]

Love your poetic post, but so negative. Can we not write the demise of this show yet please?

Have you heard anything, Angela? This news is just too overwhelming.

[DRW50]

I guess the best thing of this, even if its short term, is that someone at ABC apparently does care about All My Children. When they announced the LA move I thought it might just be some Frons whim that they went along with, but this sort of gives me hope. This and the Pratt firing.

[Vee]

I think Broderick is middle of the road. Not fantastic, but often pretty solid despite some bad stories. I thought that anything good (and not just "fun" - there was a big difference at the time, believe me) in OLTL 2001-2002 was a result of her influence. She's a good choice to right the ship, but she is so conventional and reasonable that it shocks me that Frons allowed her at all (much like Carlivati, who is not as conventional but is, like Broderick, well-versed in his show). She's probably what AMC needs today. That show is dying; this is the last chance to resuscitate it.