Susan Lucci Confirms Plans to Join ‘Pine Valley’ If the In Development Project Gets the Green Light from ABC

[Errol]

Susan Lucci confirms plans to be part of "Pine Valley," the primetime spinoff of "All My Children" should the in development project get a series or pilot order from ABC.

Note: The post Susan Lucci Confirms Plans to Join ‘Pine Valley’ If the In Development Project Gets the Green Light from ABC appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

[KMan101]

Fantastic news. I wonder if it was in a holding pattern until they could get something she'd say yes to?

 

Am I crazy or is there some deeper meaning to a lot of what's been going on with the changing media landscape and streaming, and ratings and numbers. I just get the vibe like social commentary has set a precedent of "they failed before they're failures" but why can't we force the narrative to change? I just feel like I might be onto something deeper going on in the world and how social media is used. There has to be. It's so divisive and I say that as someone who now recognizes I was part of the problem. Like, we use the history of how it was but the reality is, these shows get good numbers and have a built in fanbase. They just haven't had the right guidance in decades.

 

Anyway ... just throwing it out there I think the landscape is changing and many don't even see it coming.

[Vee]

Big if.

[KMan101]

 

Hmmm. Why? Do you know actually what's going on with the production? Not being snarky, just curious lol!

[Chris B]

I could be reading too much into your comment, but if it's a long shot and they haven't even ordered a pilot, the script must be a real stinker. If it's a long shot that would suggest to me there won't be a pilot, which in turn means no series.

[John]

Based off what the synopsis is: A new reporter (Character) comes to PV to unearth the reason for the Feud between The Kane & The Santos family

 

My ???? is

 

What Feud. They werent Besties but didnt hate each other during AMC & I dont want a recon that F's the OG show

[Vee]

Yes, this is what I mean. I have not seen the pilot script, though I have my ways and have been looking for it. It may well be great. But Susan simply saying 'if it happens, I'm in' is a big if with no confirmed commitment from the network yet - it's just the wishes of an actor. It doesn't tell us much that's new about the status of the project.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Vee

[Chris B]

I actually don't mind that. You have limited amount of characters you can use on a primetime show and the Santos and Kane families are good ideas for a primetime show I feel. I feel like you could write a rivalry that would make sense. 

[KMan101]

 

An online reboot heavily promoted could work. The audience is there.

[DramatistDreamer]

Ooh, it's been awhile since I procured a script for a television show, lol. I used to get scripts in the regular when I was in graduate school when I took a sitcom writing course. I have a small library of film scripts though.

[Chris B]

I think a traditional reboot like what Prospect Park did would absolutely be a streaming hit. The issue with those shows was timing, not quality IMO.
 

At the same time I also feel like Pine Valley could be a hit as a prime time reboot. ABC loves soapy prime time dramas with a mystery at the center. Throw in well known cast members like Susan Lucci, Eva Larue and Debbi Morgan (Sarah Michelle Gellar?) and a couple recognizable prime time faces and I feel the show would at least get sampled. That’s why I’m shocked they haven’t at least put it to pilot.

Filming a pilot and seeing what type of cast they could put together is what I feel will sell the series. The script alone I can see being risky to them since a soap has never had a prime time continuation. 

[Vee]

Timing and upper management's incompetence, but yes. I thought the productions were excellent, but above the actual shows themselves the two big fly by night VCs behind Prospect Park allegedly paid next to no one for their work. And it was clear they were doing scammy, shady [!@#$%^&*] even when the shows were ongoing. While ABC and GH behaved arrogantly all along about their 'rights' to the shows, PP was not above issuing amateur hour, pre-Trumpian press releases and behaving just plain weirdly in public.

Either way, the shows themselves were great and I agree they'd be hits today. I have my doubts about any primetime soap not burning itself out quickly in today's network climate, but I hope PV turns out well if it goes forward and I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for a pilot script. I do think SMG is guaranteed to return if it goes ahead.

Does Peyton Place technically qualify? I guess it was a film first, then daytime last?

[Bright Eyes]

Eileen Fulton would like to have a word ...

[KMan101]

 

Exactly! The television landscape IS changing. It has changed. You can see it but there seems to be this disconnect somewhere that they can't be "stars" again just because they were 'on a soap'. Nostalgia IS in. I see the reaction online seeing reboots. Soaps have a massive audience that was somehow diminished. But actual numbers and 'buzz' seem, to me, to prove otherwise.

[SFK]

Tossing a few cents into the “If” jar, this show is not for ABC primetime. I think it would be a little smash if streamed, getting good numbers from a loyal soap hungry niche audience looking out at a sea of streaming content. It won’t stand a chance in primetime regardless of the names involved. We are soap fans. Many other viewers are not, and this being a derived premise will turn too many viewers off. Maybe a first or second curiosity watch, but I don’t anticipate that viewership in ABC primetime would sustain this show. Streaming from the start.