AMC and OLTL Canceled!

[Lust4Life76]

Personally, I am getting a bit irked that given the cancellation of both shows the emphasis in the media is on ALL MY CHILDREN.

[All My Shadows]

Don't put it past Leslie to be jealous of all the attention Brian's getting. He might toss the Bells out on their asses just for the publicity.

BECAUSE TELEVISION IS RUN BY ATTENTION WHORES.

The fat, greasy-faced, mealy-mouthed f!ck.

[~bl~]

Just read this on twitter: Have u heard? The ABC message boards have banned the word "boycott." Who needs a boycott with those poor replacement shows? No 1 will watch!

That's kind of amusingly sick.

AMC has a higher profile than OLTL (even if OLTL is older.)

[Errol]

Unofficially official, yes.

[ReddFoxx]

It's always been like that as far as media attention, All My Children and General Hospital always get most of the focus, while One Life to Live was not mentioned much.

[Adam]

Well naturally.

Maybe Kim can be The Revolution's first contestant?

[All My Shadows]

Well I could stir up all kinds of crap by saying that if this was just OLTL getting the can, about 75% of the non-soap industry outrage wouldn't be there but I won't.

[Adam]

I wanted to say that, but chickened out. Thanks for taking the heat! Its a sad fact unfortunately.

[Khan]

I agree that the healthiest attitude to take under these circumstances is just to accept the loss(es) and enjoy these shows as much as you can while you still can. Do I think ABC has cut off its nose to spite its face? Yes. Of course. These cancellations (including GH's, which is all but a done deal, AFAIC) will have a ripple effect throughout the rest of daytime and even television itself. Mark my words: within the next 2-3 years, daytime TV as we know it will essentially be no more. Once shows like "The View," "The Talk," "The Chew" and so on fail (not b/c they won't get numbers, but b/c those numbers won't grow year-to-year), the networks will cede that airtime to their respective news divisions in a last-ditch effort to hold onto it before giving up the hours to their affiliates outright. And daytime will be what Gloria Monty fought to get away from: nothing but "talking heads."

The question, though, is whether soaps will return. On the one hand, I'd love to think so (and post-ers such as Vee certainly make a great case for it, too). OTOH, as I've said before, those who want soaps to return have to rethink how we receive them b/c the traditional, five-day-a-week serial just cannot work anymore. The problem is, every alternative to that is just antithetical either to how we are trained to follow stories or to the nature of continuing drama itself.

So...[sigh]...no. Soaps, or continuing dramas, are dead. They're dead in the daytime; and they'll die in the primetime soon, too. In fact, they'll go the way of westerns, Saturday morning cartoons, even traditional sitcoms. And all will be replaced by infotainment (not "news," people, b/c that died a long time ago) and cheap, easy-to-download, easy-to-follow, D.I.Y. shows that essentially turn the cameras back on ourselves. It's everything George Orwell warned us about, and more.

[!@#$%^&*]. I gotta learn how to write novels.

[All My Shadows]

I was mortified after I pressed the "Add Reply" button, but hell, it's true. I don't like it, but it's true. If it was just OLTL, random late night losers like Jimmy Fallon would feel more comfortable ridiculing the legacy of soap opera with some short, desperate one-liner about how unimportant a soap's cancellation is. At least with Lucci's name attached, those jerks would feel like assholes for going too far with the jokes.

[LoyaltoAMC]

It's not so much AMC, but Susan Lucci. She is well known by the non-soap viewing public. She makes news, and thus the cancellation of her show makes news. Add in the Kelly Ripa factor, and I guess the cancellation AMC get a little more exposure. However, in every press release I've read, after the initial "The show that Susan Lucci has called home for 40 years is being cancelled," OLTL has gotten equal press.

[Mr. Vixen]

I honestl think the TV Guide network should do a soap...I just feel like it would work. Package it between one of those 'Where are the Now' shows and an entertainment show. Maybe the TV Guide network has become slightly irrelevant due to the "Guide" feature on digital cable, but they seem to do well.

They could do a 6 o'clock soap. 5 o'clock, some sort of "special", 6 o'clock: soap, 7 o'clock: E-News style show.

If the soap took off they could do a revamp.

4PM: Ugly Betty

5PM: Entertainment talk show.

530PM: Another talk/entertainment/extra-type show

6PM: Soap Opera

7PM: Soap Opera

8PM: Soap Opera

*these could be half hour too, I suppose*

9-11: Movie of the week, etc.

[Cyberologist]

Well he's lied a lot so? Even according to Lynda Hirsch

Brian Frons, the head of ABC Daytime, is a liar.

"Forget that he lied to the press about "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" not being in danger of being canceled. Frons lied to his producers, actors and everyone who works on his shows.

Last week, actors from both shows were assured they had nothing to worry about. They were told speculation that the shows were going to be canceled was merely the press being pessimistic and in need of something to write about. A week later, he axes both of the shows. The actors were not told until after a release was sent to the press."

So just saying...

[Lust4Life76]

Nope I agree with you. I have always felt ONE LIFE has sort of been handled with kid gloves from the get go because of it's rather liberal content...this is a show that featured a multitude of social intrigues surrounding African-Americans, Jewish, Irish-Catholics, and Polish-Americans front and center. I think as much as the network initially appreciated it for its diversity, Americans would have never embraced the show long term unless the introductions of Dorian Lord, Karen Wolek and the advent of the Buchanan family had been made.

Erik

[DRW50]

The show had decent ratings in its first few years, then declined as the country moved away from social issues, and Agnes began moving on. The big reason for the ratings increase was the hiring of Jacquie Courtney and George Reinholt. Then OLTL built on this.