With Emmy Award-winning writers Ron Carlivati (“One Life to Live,” “Days of our Lives”) and Jamey Giddens (“Days of our Lives,” “Beyond the Gates”) spearheading the first of the two planned “All My Children” TV movies set up at Lifetime, which are being produced by “Live with Kelly and Mark” co-hosts and former “All My Children” stars Kelly Ripa (Hayley Vaughan Santos) and Mark Consuelos (Mateo Santos), Daytime Confidential is reporting that Leo Richardson has been tapped to write the follow-up.

Leo Richardson

“The sequel flick was written by primetime writer Leo Richardson,” said the outlet in its reporting, which noted the writers were “handpicked” by veteran producer Andrew Stearn, who is working on the project alongside Ripa and Consuelos, whose Milojo production company is producing with support from the estate of Agnes Nixon, creator of the iconic series and its sister soap “One Life to Live,” both of which were unceremoniously canceled in 2011. Albert Bianchini, executive producer for Milojo, is also part of the team.

If Richardson’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he was the writer behind a planned primetime reboot of the daytime drama series that remained in development at ABC several years after it was first announced in December 2000.

Like the TV movies, “Pine Valley” was to be set in the present day, focusing on the lives of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue), with an official description noting that when a young journalist with a secret agenda arrives in Pine Valley, she plans to “expose the dark and murderous history of of the town only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families.” It’s unclear if elements from that project will be implemented into either the first or second planned TV movie.

That said, should the new project go beyond the development stage and begin taping with a full cast announced, fans can expect to see a brief appearance by Ripa and Consuelos, with Lucci and LaRue also reprising their roles.

“Lifetime is always interested in shows that kind of tap into a powerful nostalgia that can be made fresh for today’s audience,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network, in a statement released via the Los Angeles Times. “There’s a whole generation of women that have missed these stories and these characters.”

“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” said Consuelos. “‘All My Children’ gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”

“So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting @Jamey_Giddens and me with the first of two planned ‘All My Children’ movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!” said Carlivati in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“I’ve been booked and busy in 2026,” commented Giddens, who was recently named as co-head writer of “The Young and the Restless,” working alongside Dan O’Connor (“General Hospital,” “Days of our Lives”). “Thanks to Andrew Stearn, the Agnes Nixon estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for entrusting @carlivatiron and me with the first of two planned ‘All My Children’ movies for Lifetime!”

In response to the news of Carlivati and Giddens writing the first movie, former “All My Children” star Alicia Minshew (Kendall Hart) said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “Woww massive congratulations!” She added, “I know you guys will kick ass and do it justice!”

Note: The post ‘Pine Valley’ Writer Leo Richardson Tapped For Second ‘All My Children’ TV Movie At Lifetime first appeared on Soap Opera Network.

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Well, this explains our comments on the other movie.

So, the gruesome twosome are writing the first two and then Richardson the third? Am I getting that right?

I'd assume the hope is that the movies do well enough to launch a new series.

1 minute ago, te. said:

So, the gruesome twosome are writing the first two and then Richardson the third? Am I getting that right?

I'd assume the hope is that the movies do well enough to launch a new series.

Ron and Jamey are writing the first one and Leo is writing the second one. I like that they're going with different writers. I was always curious about Leo's Pine Valley spin off and this will likely give us a feel for that. It also allows them to test out different voices and see what works. If the long term goal is to lead to a tv reboot that is smart. They're giving themselves options to work with.

Hopefully now that we know this and knowing that at least Ron and Jamey must've written this ages ago, I hope the fast follow is casting news and a production start date.

2 minutes ago, te. said:

So, [Jamey and Ron] are writing the first two and then Richardson the third? Am I getting that right?

I'd assume the hope is that the movies do well enough to launch a new series.

For now, there are only two movies. Jamey and Ron are writing the first one, while Leo is writing the second one. And by writing, I should say they have already submitted their work.

Edited Thursday at 03:43 AM4 days by Errol
changed words from the quote twet

Thought so. Good to know.

I'll reserve the rest of my comments for the AMC thread for now.

I admit where I got confused was reading this Tweet too fast:

“So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting @Jamey_Giddens and me with the first of two planned ‘All My Children’ movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!"

I read it as "first two planned" I'm still so hesitant to get excited, but it's not the worst idea to try two different approaches with the movies (although it sounds like they are planning for similar cast of characters??)

Edited Thursday at 04:26 AM4 days by EricMontreal22

3 minutes ago, EricMontreal22 said:

I read it as "first two planned" I'm still so hesitant to get excited, but it's not the worst idea to try two different approaches with the movies (although it sounds like they are planning for similar cast of characters??)

It seems like both scripts are done. I think between that announcement and the LA Times feature article they are likely ramping up to actually get made.

Edited Thursday at 04:29 AM4 days by Vee

KATY KEENE was such an astonishing, erudite masterpiece!

No doubt these scribes will raise the bar of the AMC film franchise to the heights of...Agnes Nixon, herself!

Richardson posted part of my article on Instagram, with comments from the likes of Jamey Giddens, Kimberly McCullough, and Garcelle Beauvais, among others, celebrating his being hired to write the second movie.

theleorichardson she’s always been prime time 💥
excited to be writing these icons in american tv history

@soapoperanetwork @lifetimetv