Origins Agnes Nixon, then head writer for
The Guiding Light, first came up with the idea for
All My Children in the 1960s. When writing the
story bible, she designed the show as a light-hearted soap opera that focused on social issues and young love. She unsuccessfully attempted to sell the series to
NBC, then to
CBS, and once again to NBC through
Procter & Gamble. When Procter & Gamble was unable to make room for the show in its lineup, Nixon put
All My Children on hold. Nixon became
head writer for
Another World in 1965, and decided to use a few ideas from her
All My Children bible. In particular, she used the model of the
Erica Kane character to create a brand new
Another World character named
Rachel Davis. Nixon said Rachel was Erica's "precursor to the public ... [What] Erica and Rachel have in common is they thought if they could get their dream, they'd be satisfied... But that dream has been elusive", Nixon said.
Creation ABC later approached Nixon to create a show that would reflect a more contemporary tone. That program,
One Life to Live, debuted in 1968. After the show became a success, the network asked Nixon for another program, and she revived her
All My Children bible and the Erica Kane character. Nixon wrote a poem to include in the photo album shown in the series' title credits: "The great and the least, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong, in sickness and in health, in joy and sorrow, in tragedy and triumph, you are all my children."
1970s All My Children debuted on January 5, 1970, replacing the canceled game show
Dream House.
Rosemary Prinz was signed on to be the "special guest star" for six months, playing the role of political activist Amy Tyler. Prinz was well known for her role of Penny Hughes on
As the World Turns in the 1950s and 1960s, and she was added to the show to give it an initial boost due to her name value. From 1970 and into the 1980s, the show was either written by Nixon herself or by her protégé,
Wisner Washam. He was groomed by Nixon to eventually take over the reins in the 1980s while she focused on other endeavors, which included creating and launching
Loving in 1983. Nixon strove to create a soap opera that was topical and could illustrate social issues for the audience. She wanted this and a combination of regular humor for the series. To keep the action more real, she allowed the audience to locate her fictional "Pine Valley" on a map: situated a mere hour-long train ride from New York City. Many believed Pine Valley was in New York because of a town called
Pine Valley in
western New York. However, it was not until the 1980s that it was finally revealed that Pine Valley is actually in Pennsylvania, near
Philadelphia and also near
One Life to Lives
Llanview. (Nixon reportedly modeled the town on Rosemont, an actual suburb of Philadelphia.) ) and Anne Tyler Davis Martin (
Joanna Miles) The show's first action takes place around several families and characters.
Phoebe Tyler (
Ruth Warrick), who fashions herself as "Queen of Pine Valley", was the paradigm of a rich snob when she is introduced. A divorced mother,
Mona Kane (
Frances Heflin), and her spoiled daughter,
Erica (
Susan Lucci) were also introduced. Contrasting this was the stable
Martin family, headed by patriarch Joe and later (after the death of her husband, Ted Brent) by matriarch Ruth, who became a symbolic foundation of
All My Children. Destined to break up the young romance of classmates
Tara Martin (
Karen Lynn Gorney) and Phil Brent (
Richard Hatch), Erica learned that Phil was not the son of Ruth and Ted, but instead, the son of Ruth's sister, Amy Tyler (Rosemary Prinz) and her mother's friend, Nick Davis. In a selfish attempt to break up Phil and Tara, she told everyone the truth.
All My Childrens first success was its focus on young love. ABC wanted a soap opera that would bring in young viewers, and slowly the program was accomplishing that. Making the abortion particularly controversial is Erica's reason for doing it, not because of her jeopardized health, but rather because she did not want to gain weight and lose her modeling job. The abortion story received much media attention, especially since it preceded the Roe vs. Wade decision by nearly a year. Within the story, Erica developed a potentially fatal infection after having the abortion, and the switchboards at ABC lit up with calls from doctors and nurses, offering their medical opinions on how best to treat the character's case. The storyline has been credited for boosting the show's ratings, as well as helping establish Erica Kane as a central character who would dominate the show for its entire run. Phoebe's husband Charles (
Hugh Franklin) became close to Mona (Erica's mother and his secretary at the hospital). The two fell in love and Charles divorced Phoebe, even though she tried to blackmail Mona and even faked
paralysis. In the end, Phoebe was left a drunken divorcée and Mona becomes the new Mrs. Tyler. This ordeal starts the long-time Phoebe/Mona rivalry. When
Eileen Letchworth, who portrayed Margo Flax Martin, contemplated a facelift, she talked it over with Nixon. Not only was Letchworth going to need time off, she was going to look significantly different when she returned to the show. Nixon approved and worked the facelift into a storyline. Margo wanted to impress the somewhat younger Paul Martin (
William Mooney). Margo's facelift in 1974 became one of the first major storylines on television discussing
plastic surgery and its psychological effects. In June 1976, character
Brooke English showed up on her Aunt Phoebe's doorstep and soon clashed with Erica over
Tom Cudahy and Mark Dalton. In 1976, when Kitty Shea Tyler was searching for her natural mother, the show introduced
Myrtle Lum Fargate (
Eileen Herlie). By the late 1970s, the show had risen to the top of the ratings. One reason for the rise was the arrival of teenage prostitute Donna Beck (Candice Earley). Her relationship with the handsome Dr. Chuck Tyler breathed life into the show and captivated fans. Other new additions are the arrivals of aristocratic
Palmer Cortlandt (aka Peter Cooney) (
James Mitchell), his somewhat creepy housekeeper Myra Murdock (
Elizabeth Lawrence), and his overprotected daughter Nina (
Taylor Miller), who, to Palmer's chagrin, entrances
Dr. Cliff Warner (
Peter Bergman). Palmer does everything in his power to break up the couple, including telling Nina she is going blind due to her diabetes. Palmer teams up with Cliff's past flame, nurse Sybil Thorne (
Linda Gibboney), who confronts Cliff about fathering her son, but this is temporary; Sybil is murdered and Cliff is arrested for the crime, which actually was committed by Sean Cudahy (Alan Dysert). During the murder trial, Nina is astonished to learn that her mother, Daisy Cortlandt (
Gillian Spencer), whom she believes to be dead, is, in fact, alive and living in Pine Valley as Monique Jonvil. To everyone's complete shock, Myra acknowledges that Daisy is her daughter.
All My Children also found memorable villains in Billy Clyde Tuggle (
Matthew Cowles) and Ray Gardner (
Gil Rogers).
All My Children had always aired in color since its 1970 debut. The episodes were initially only saved for a short time on cartridge tapes and were eventually erased in order to tape other productions. Beginning in 1976, all the episodes were saved on cartridge tape and then digitally since the late 1990s. A few early episodes were saved on
kinescope in black and white, one of which aired on ABC in 1997 on a special "A Daytime To Remember", which showcased all TV shows that aired on ABC Daytime. But there are no known pre-1976 episodes to be still in existence on tape. Nixon personally owned all the early episodes on monochromatic kinescopes. When ABC purchased the rights to
All My Children in 1975, it also received the kinescopes from Nixon with a promise that the network would archive them. However, that promise was broken, because different sources point out that most of them were either lost in a warehouse fire or were erased. As mentioned above, a few early episodes survive.
1980s The early 1980s is considered a "golden period" for the show and the "Golden Age" for
supercouples. Younger characters, such as
Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner (
Laurence Lau and
Kim Delaney),
Liza Colby (
Marcy Walker), Liza's best friend Amanda (
Amanda Bearse),
Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter (
Darnell Williams and
Debbi Morgan), and a now-grown-up
Tad Martin (
Michael E. Knight), who was now legally Ruth and Joe's son, enter the scene. The storyline involving Liza plotting to win Greg back after he leaves her for Jenny became a fan favorite, as was the Greg and Jenny and Jesse and Angie pairings. Jesse and Jenny's summer in New York City became regarded as one of the greatest storylines in the history of the series. Meanwhile, the legend of "Tad the Cad" is born when Tad takes Liza's
virginity, then simultaneously begins having sex with her mother, socialite
Marian Colby (
Jennifer Bassey), who eventually is sent to prison. For older appeal, Jenny and Tad's natural mother Opal (
Dorothy Lyman) was also added to the canvas, where she opens the Glamorama salon and spa. Opal greatly showcased
All My Childrens attempt at humor and satire. Also introduced in the 1980s were powerful businessman
Adam Chandler and his identical twin brother
Stuart (both played by
David Canary), the first arrival of members of the
Chandler family. Adam became cited as one of the "most powerful male figures in television", which was contrasted by Stuart's kind, generous, and honest personality. Erica began to take on a larger-than-life role by the 1980s, writing an autobiography,
Raising Kane, and turning it into a motion picture. When her presumed half-sister Silver (Deborah Goodrich) accuses Erica of murdering Kent Bogard (Michael Woods, Lee Godart), her former lover and boss, Erica goes on the run. She does all this while posing as a
sister named 'Christine'. The show made its first attempt at tackling the taboo topic of homosexuality in 1983.
Tricia Pursley portrayed the divorced Devon McFadden, who believes she is falling in love with her
lesbian psychiatrist, Lynn Carson (portrayed by
Donna Pescow). Lynn acknowledges that she is a lesbian, and Devon admits her crush, but Lynn rebuffs her. Before this storyline, no other American soap opera had done a story about homosexuality. but is also angry over her perceived feelings of being 'abandoned' at birth and seeks revenge against her mother. Although they try to make their family work at first, Kendall acts out and mother and daughter experience a painful, strained, and complicated relationship during this time in the series. Gellar was proclaimed by some "as the second coming of Erica" Other prominent couples were
Dimitri and Erica (
Michael Nader), Trevor (
James Kiberd) and Natalie (
Kate Collins), Hayley (
Kelly Ripa) and Brian (Gregory Gordon,
Matt Borlenghi, Brian L. Greene), and
Brooke English and Edmund Grey (
Julia Barr,
John Callahan). Some of McTavish's storytelling ultimately received criticism for being gimmick-driven (i.e. multiple dual roles, bomb plots). Reports soon surfaced that Behr and McTavish were having conflicts about storylines and the direction of the series. After the
O. J. Simpson trial preempted daytime television programs throughout late 1994 and into 1995, many soaps saw their ratings decline, and
All My Children was no different. When McTavish was fired from her head writing post in the spring, former head writer
Lorraine Broderick was tapped by Behr to lead the team once again. Broderick's tenure under Behr was popular among critics and fans for returning
All My Children to its socially relevant, character-driven roots. Her most significant successes were Erica's drug addiction story (with the character receiving treatment at the
Betty Ford Center), and also the story of
homophobia over a gay high school boy and a history teacher. and made implausible alterations to the show's history such as the resurrection of Erica's lifetime love, Mike Roy (Nicholas Surovy). In 1998, the show again got a new executive producer,
Jean Dadario Burke, taking over from Francesca James.
Cady McClain, who had left the show as Dixie in 1996, returned, but other storylines—involving ghosts, poison tattoos, Nazi art, and a sperm switch—were all ill-received. By the start of 1999, with
All My Children being voted as the "Worst of 1998" by
Soap Opera Digest, McTavish was once again fired. As ratings began to fall, ABC convinced Nixon to make a limited return.
2000s Nixon decided to write a story that would rejuvenate the show and be socially relevant at the same time. This resulted in the series revealing Erica's daughter Bianca as a lesbian. Within the series, Bianca admits the truth to her mother in December 2000. Although initially controversial, the storyline was praised by fans and critics. Bianca emerged as a
breakout character and lesbian icon. The show found additional success in the pairing of newcomers
Leo and Greenlee (
Josh Duhamel and
Rebecca Budig).
Richard Culliton wrote several of
All My Childrens early 2000s (decade) storylines. He created popular characters
Frankie and
Maggie Stone, and said Frankie was already intended to be killed in a murder storyline after only three months on the series. Culliton and
ABC executives were surprised when viewers became attached to the romance between Bianca and Frankie, developed by Culliton with Frankie's debut. These fans attributed Frankie's death to the show's fear to focus on a lesbian romance. Eventually, Culliton introduced the idea to bring back popular actress
Elizabeth Hendrickson, who had portrayed Frankie, as Frankie's twin sister Maggie. Culliton continued to write for the show until late 2002. After more staff turnover, McTavish again returned as head writer. Her storylines began airing in July 2003, which included
the controversial rape of Bianca. Gone upon McTavish's latest return was
Jean Dadario Burke as executive producer, being replaced with
Julie Hanan Carruthers. Under McTavish, ratings fluctuated back and forth. To lure back long-time viewers, McTavish created new characters and romances, as well as scripted the return of various characters who had been gone for long. She introduced
star-crossed couple
JR Chandler and Babe Carey upon writing JR's return to the series, scripted most of popular pairing
Bianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone's love story, and created fellow popular couple
Zach Slater and Kendall Hart. Characters
Julia Santos (
Sydney Penny) and
Janet Dillon (
Kate Collins, who was originally slated to return for a brief stint) were eventually brought back. On July 26, 2006,
Tanika Ray,
Rihanna, as well as other celebrities, appeared on the show. During the Rihanna appearance, a controversial storyline involving Erica's thought-to-be-aborted son having come to Pine Valley under the name
Josh Madden intensifies when Josh learns of how he truly came to exist. In August 2006, after months of speculation, it was confirmed that fan favorite
Eden Riegel would be reprising her
Emmy winning role as Bianca. She was a part of a controversial storyline centered on
transgender character
Zarf/Zoe. The most notable return was
Cady McClain's return as show heroine
Dixie Cooney Martin. The news of her return spread just two weeks before she reappeared on the series. In an unpopular and controversial move by the series, the writers chose to kill off Dixie in January 2007 only a year after her return. The character's death was the result of the Satin Slayer storyline where she is unintentionally murdered in place of character
Babe Carey. Another prominent return to the series occurred on February 9, 2007, when
Susan Pratt returned as
Barbara Montgomery. Pratt made her last appearance in July of that year. That same month, McTavish was fired as head writer, reportedly due to viewer criticism about her storylines. Budig's return
was overshadowed by controversy when news of
Sabine Singh's reportedly unfair treatment as a Greenlee recast in order to bring Budig back incited viewer outrage. On December 25, 2007,
Soap Opera Digest reported the return of fan favorites
Debbi Morgan and
Darnell Williams as
Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter. Morgan returned on January 18, 2008, and Williams on January 25, 2008. In April 2008, it was announced that
Laurence Lau would briefly reprise the role of Greg Nelson for Jesse and Angie's much anticipated wedding. On May 21, 2008,
Charles Pratt, Jr., former co-head writer for
General Hospital, was announced as a replacement for Brown and Esensten amid record low ratings. On November 6, 2008,
All My Children aired a special episode in which veterans share their stories unscripted. On November 12, 2008, the show celebrated its 10,000th show with a special appearance by Nixon and a special tribute to
Myrtle Fargate (as portrayed by
Eileen Herlie who had recently died). On December 19, 2008, a special episode ran for Herlie, showing clips from the past. On February 16, 2009,
All My Children made daytime history with the nuptials of
Reese Williams and Bianca Montgomery, the first legal
same-sex marriage in American daytime television. After departing the show in February 2005, Riegel continued to return to the series for limited guest appearances, but permanently left the role in 2010. On November 20, 2009, Pratt was fired as head writer. Daytime Emmy-winning former head writer
Lorraine Broderick was brought back to lead the writing team on an interim basis. Reportedly, Broderick returned at the request of show creator Agnes Nixon, but was not interested in remaining permanently as the team's top scribe.
2010s On January 5, 2010,
All My Children celebrated its 40th anniversary with an episode structured like a documentary and hosted by character
Hayley Santos. It featured appearances by characters
Palmer Cortlandt,
Nina Warner, Maria Santos Grey,
Brooke English,
Greg Nelson,
Bianca Montgomery,
Mateo Santos and Lily Montgomery. It was also the final episode for characters Joe and Ruth Martin, who retired to Florida, and the final appearance for Palmer, since actor
James Mitchell died shortly after the episode aired. On January 13, 2010, ABC Daytime announced the appointment of
David Kreizman and
Donna Swajeski as the co-head writers of
All My Children, replacing interim head writer
Lorraine Broderick, who in turn replaced
Charles Pratt, Jr. Brian Frons, head of ABC daytime, stated, "David and Donna are the perfect team to bring new ideas to
All My Children while remaining true to its core by telling stories with a focus on the integrity of the show's history, its characters and families on the canvas." Prior to his appointment on
All My Children, Kriezman was the head writer of
Guiding Light from 2004 to the final episode on September 18, 2009, and the co-head writer of
As the World Turns from 2009 to the final episode on September 17, 2010. Swajeski's prior experience includes a head writing stint on
Another World from 1988 to 1992. With the death on January 22 of James Mitchell at age 89 (Palmer Cortlandt 1979–2010), the show aired a tribute episode to Palmer on Tuesday April 20, 2010.
Gillian Spencer (Daisy Murdoch Cortlandt),
Taylor Miller (
Nina Cortlandt), and
Cady McClain (
Dixie Cooney Martin) returned for the episode. On February 8,
Walt Willey returned as a contract cast member in the role of
Jackson Montgomery, following numerous months away and dispute about his future on the show. On February 23,
Julia Barr reprised the role of Brooke English; Brooke's return was timed to the retirement of
David Canary (
Adam Chandler) after more than 26 years on the show. Their final episode aired April 23, 2010. On July 17, 2010,
Larry Keith, who was on the show from 1970 to 2005 as Nick Davis, and who gave
Erica Kane the nickname "Princess", died. He was last seen on January 5, 2005, for the show's 35th anniversary episode. In September 2010, Daytime Emmy winner Vincent Irizzary's character, David Hayward, was murdered. On the November 22, 2010, episode, David waltzed into the courtroom during Greenlee's trial (for which she was just sentenced to life in prison for murdering him) at the tail end of it, confirming rumors that he was going to return all along.
Soap Opera Digest confirmed soon after that the show had planned this all along from the start. On September 16, 2010, Adam Mayfield (
Scott Chandler) and Brittany Allen (
Marissa Tasker) were announced to be leaving the show. ABC reports that they wanted to take both the characters in a different direction. On September 22, 2010, it was announced that
Daniel Cosgrove (ex-Scott,
All My Children; ex-Bill,
Guiding Light; ex-Chris,
As the World Turns) would return to
All My Children and replace Adam Mayfield (Scott) as Scott Chandler. On October 28, 2010, it was announced that
Sarah Glendening (ex-Lucy,
As the World Turns) would be taking over the role of Marissa Tasker. Glendening debuted on December 27 and Cosgrove debuted on December 29. In January 2011, Debbi Morgan said that she would take a leave of absence from the show. She said it was for personal reasons and on January 14, 2011, she released to the public that she has been diagnosed with
Lyme disease. She returned during the second week of February and her first episode aired on March 8, 2011. On February 10, 2011, as part of her 25th (and farewell) season,
Oprah Winfrey invited
All My Childrens
Susan Lucci,
Debbi Morgan,
Darnell Williams, and
Michael E. Knight, along with
General Hospitals
Luke and Laura (
Anthony Geary and
Genie Francis) and
The Young and the Restless Mrs. Chancellor (
Jeanne Cooper) to
The Oprah Winfrey Show. As a surprise, Winfrey shocked Lucci and the rest of the crowd by bringing back all of Erica's husbands. During February 2011, the
TV Land sitcom
Hot in Cleveland and
All My Children did a crossover event. On the 16th and the 23rd, Lucci, Michael E. Knight, and Darnell Williams made guest appearances on the show. On the 24th,
Wendie Malick guest-starred. On April 2, 2011, amid rumors of
All My Childrens possible cancellation,
Soaps in Depth broke the news via Twitter that longtime
All My Children writer Lorraine Broderick had once again been named the show's head writer, replacing David Kreizman and Donna Swajeski.
Cancellation On April 14, 2011, ABC confirmed that it would not renew both
All My Children and
One Life to Live after 41 and 43 years respectively, starting with
All My Children ending its run on September 23, 2011, and with
One Life to Live ending its run on January 13, 2012. Reasons for both shows' cancellations cited "extensive research into what today's daytime viewers want and the changing viewing patterns of the audience". It would be replaced by a new lifestyle show,
The Chew, In response to the cancellation of this, vacuum cleaner manufacturer
Hoover withdrew its advertising from all ABC programs in protest, going as far as running a campaign to get ABC to reverse its decision. On April 25, Cady McClain (ex-Dixie Cooney Martin) announced that she would be returning to
All My Children but could not report what her storyline would be. Other former cast members announced to be returning to the series are
Ray MacDonnell (Dr. Joe Martin),
Lee Meriwether (Ruth Martin),
David Canary (Adam Chandler),
Julia Barr (Brooke English),
Thorsten Kaye (Zach Slater),
Eva La Rue (Maria Santos),
Jennifer Bassey (Marian Colby),
Kate Collins (Janet Dillon),
Esta TerBlanche (Gillian Andrassy-Lavery),
Josh Duhamel (Leo du Pres),
Melissa Claire Egan (Annie Lavery),
Leven Rambin (Lily Montgomery),
Carol Burnett (Verla Grubbs), Jason Kincaid (Sam Brady), and
Sarah Michelle Gellar playing a young woman who claims to see vampires (an allusion to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer story
Normal Again). On July 7, 2011, the
New York Post reported that ABC had sold the licensing rights of
All My Children and
One Life to Live to a TV-focused online channel being developed by TV, film and music production company
Prospect Park. ABC confirmed this via press release; as a result of Prospect Park's acquisition of the two soaps,
All My Children and
One Life to Live would be the first soap operas to transition first-run broadcasts from traditional television to
internet television. Since the deal between ABC and Prospect Park is a
licensing agreement, both soaps would continue to remain the property of ABC. On September 8, 2011, the original
Ruth Martin, actress
Mary Fickett, died at age 83. The episode on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, was dedicated to her. On September 23, 2011, the series finale aired on ABC with open-ended stories. The final week featured Dr. Joe and Ruth Martin relocating to Pine Valley to cover recently arrested David Hayward's hospital duties. The return of
Adam Chandler and
Brooke English coincided with the revelation that David had somehow resurrected
Stuart Chandler. Jackson Montgomery dissolved his relationship with Erica after she admitted that she prefers not to remarry. Unresolved is JR Chandler's plunge into insanity as he drunkenly aims a gun at a crowd of
All My Children regulars during a welcome-home party for Stuart. The screen darkened before revealing the victim, leaving the story open for an eventual continuation with Prospect Park. On April 29, 2013, the revived series moved five years into the future after the original series finale on ABC. On November 11, 2013, it was confirmed by some of its actors that the series had once again been cancelled, this time by its online revival team. Prospect Park officially began negotiations with the actors of
All My Children on September 15, 2011. On September 19, 2011,
Cameron Mathison and
Lindsay Hartley became the only actors that had agreed to continue the show with Prospect Park. Prospect Park initially intended for
All My Children to begin its run on the internet on September 26, 2011, On September 27, 2011, Prospect Park announced that
All My Children along with its sister soap
One Life to Live would be relaunched in January 2012 on the company's new internet channel, The Online Network. But on November 10, 2011, several sources reported that Prospect Park had indefinitely suspended its plans to relaunch
All My Children and that the company would concentrate solely on the higher-rated
One Life to Live. Reasons given for this decision were lack of funding coupled with Prospect Park not being able to sign enough cast members from
All My Children. Reasons given by Prospect Park for this decision included funding problems and poor negotiations with the unions representing the cast of both soaps.
WGA and
AFTRA, which respectively represented the writer and the actors, both expressed disappointment over Prospect Park's announcement.
2013 revival 's
All My Children revival.(l-r) Heather Roop,
Ray MacDonnell,
Jordi Vilasuso,
Francesca James,
Darnell Williams,
Eric Nelsen,
Debbi Morgan,
Lindsay Hartley,
Cady McClain,
Jill Larson,
Julia Barr,
Vincent Irizarry,
Denyse Tontz,
David Canary,
Sal Stowers,
Robert Scott Wilson,
Thorsten Kaye,
Eden Riegel, Jordan Lane Price, and
Ryan Bittle. On December 17, 2012,
Deadline Hollywood reported that revival plans for
All My Children and
One Life to Live had resurfaced. A few days later, it was reported that Prospect Park had secured studio place in
Stamford, Connecticut, where both shows would be filmed. The show had been filmed in New York City from 1970 to 2010, and in Los Angeles from 2010 to 2011. Within the weeks following the reports,
Lindsay Hartley,
Vincent Irizarry,
Debbi Morgan,
Darnell Williams,
Jordi Vilasuso,
Jill Larson,
Thorsten Kaye,
Cady McClain,
David Canary,
Julia Barr, and
Ray MacDonnell were reported and/or confirmed to be returning to the show's revival, while
Susan Lucci would reportedly return for one episode,
Eden Riegel would return for a guest-arc,
Cameron Mathison might return to the revival in the future, and
Alicia Minshew would return for one episode with the possibility of returning in the future. Along with the returning stars, a number of new actors were cast, including
Ryan Bittle as
JR Chandler,
Robert Scott Wilson as
Pete Cortlandt,
Eric Nelsen as an
aged AJ Chandler,
Denyse Tontz as an aged
Miranda Montgomery,
Sal Stowers as Cassandra Foster, and Jordan Lane Price as a newly created character,
Celia Fitzgerald. Prospect Park signed deals with
SAG-AFTRA and
DGA for the soap opera's production. The show schedule was four days a week (Monday-Thursday) with a Friday recap show,
MORE All My Children, to feature behind the scenes footage as well as interviews with the cast and to be hosted by Leslie Miller. The revival show began on April 29, 2013, and production began on February 25, 2013, in Connecticut, with
All My Children and
One Life to Live taping in five-week rotations for 17 weeks. On May 17, 2013, The Online Network announced that
All My Children and
One Life to Live would no longer air five days a week together, due to viewer ratings that reflect online viewing patterns rather than those of traditional television. Starting May 20, 2013,
All My Children and
One Life to Life will be presented in a new schedule, with AMC airing on Mondays and Wednesdays and OLTL airing Tuesdays and Thursdays. The recap shows
MORE All My Children and
MORE One Life to Life will also combine as one show airing on Fridays. The following day on May 18, 2013, both shows were noticeably missing from the FX Canada website and schedule, and although they subsequently became available on iTunes Canada, it was later revealed that FX Canada dropped
All My Children and
One Life to Live due to the reduction of episodes, as the carriage agreement had specifically called for the airing of four episodes per week of both shows. Due to the reduction, FX Canada stated that
"the agreement is no longer valid". On May 20, 2013, the first episodes of the new
All My Children and
One Life To Live were available worldwide on The Online Network's YouTube page,
TOLNSoaps. On May 24, 2013, in a press release Prospect Park announced through Agnes Nixon that Snyder and McPherson will be out as co-head writers of
All My Children and replaced by current
script writers Lisa Connor and Chip Hayes. On June 5, 2013, due to a labor dispute with the
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees All My Children and
One Life to Live were forced into an early
hiatus with the writers, directors and editors still working; there were talks of production being moved out of state, but those plans were later shelved. On June 20, 2013, a deal was reached between Prospect Park and the Union, and taping will resume on August 12, 2013. On June 25, 2013, TOLN stated that there will be a scheduling switch for
All My Children and
One Life to Live. Starting July 1, 2013, all episodes of the week for both shows would be released on Mondays. Beginning July 15, 2013,
All My Children and
One Life to Live aired for a 10-week limited engagement on the
Oprah Winfrey Network, Monday through Thursday at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
All My Children aired a season finale on September 2, 2013. In November 2013, Prospect Park indicated it was suspending further production of both shows. No new episodes have been made since that time. In total, only 40 of each program were produced in the new online format. ABC regained the rights to
All My Children in December 2016 following the dismissal of a lawsuit from Prospect Park against the broadcast network. In another report,
Deadline Hollywood revealed the spinoff,
Pine Valley was first proposed by Andrew Stern, who pitched the project to ABC via his deal with
ABC Signature in 2019; he will serve as executive producer, alongside Consuelos, Richardson, Ripa and, Nixon's son, Robert Nixon.
Deadline Hollywood further reported plans to invite former cast from the daytime incarnation to the spinoff, as well as potential appearances from Consuelos and Ripa themselves. On September 11, 2024,
A&E Networks announced that an
All My Children holiday movie was in development for
Lifetime. == Cast and characters ==