As previously reported, ABC Entertainment Group President, Paul Lee, has called much of the networks new 2013-2014 primetime dramas “soaps,” and we definitely agree with that assessment. Wondering what our readers thought of the shows, we thought we’d give you a closer look at the networks new dramatic offerings.

FALL DRAMAS

Tuesdays
8:00 PM – “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.“

Clark Gregg reprises his role of Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films, as he assembles a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary. Coulson’s team consists of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), highly trained in combat and espionage; Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), expert pilot and martial artist; Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), brilliant engineer; and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), genius bio-chemist. Joining them on their journey into mystery is new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

Tuesdays
10:00 PM – “Lucky 7“

In Astoria, Queens, a group of seven gas station employees have been chipping into a lottery pool for months, never thinking they’d actually win. Money could solve problems for each of them: Matt (Matt Long) could get his girlfriend and two kids out of his mother’s house; Matt’s brother, Nicky (Stephen Louis Grush), an ex-con, could pay off a dangerous debt; Samira (Summer Bishil), a second-generation Pakistani immigrant, could afford to go to Juilliard; Denise (Lorraine Bruce), a plucky cashier, could focus on rebuilding her crumbling marriage; Leanne (Anastasia Phillips), a young mother, could help her daughter realize her dreams; Bob (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), the store’s manager, could finally retire; and Antonio (Luis Antonio Ramos) could give his wife and kids a whole new life.

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Jessica ‘Jessie’ Malakouti made her soap opera debut last week on “One Life to Live” as a new character named “Dusky,” a singer looking to catch her big break at Blair Cramer’s (Kassie DePaiva) new nightclub, Shelter. To learn more about the actress and singer, and her first day on the job, watch the clip below.

Malakouti is the lead singer for the popular group Jessie and the Toy Boys.

Warner Bros. Television

On Sunday, June 16, SOAPnet will present a four-episode father’s day marathon of “One Tree Hill” dubbed “Buff Daddy.” The marathon is scheduled to run from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET/PT.

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Apple, Inc.

It remains unclear whether it was done in anticipation of the recent schedule change and the subsequent carriage loss by FX Canada, but we can report that both “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are now available for download on the Canadian iTunes store. According to both the “AMC” and “OLTL” iTunes Canada pages, the shows were first listed on iTunes Canada on Monday, May 13. Episodes are currently priced at $9.99 for multi-pass access or $1.99 per episode.

If you are a Canadian viewer and upset at the loss of both soaps, you can purchase episodes of either series by clicking on the links below:

“All My Children” on iTunes Canada / “One Life to Live” on iTunes Canada

Rogers Media, Inc.

As a result of Prospect Park‘s announcement that it had reduced the amount of episodes aired each week of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” FX Canada has announced that it has dropped both soaps from its lineup with reruns of “30 Rock” taking over the timeslot effective Monday, May 20.

In a statement, FX Canada’s parent company, Rogers Media, said, “Due to changes in production beyond our control,  FX Canada will no longer be airing ‘All My Children’ and ‘One Life to Live.’ Beginning Monday, May 20, back-to-back episodes of critically-acclaimed series ’30 Rock’ will air from noon to 1 p.m. ET on FX Canada.”

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Chapman Baehler/TOLN

On Thursday, May 16, Prospect Park‘s The OnLine Network announced its decision to reduce the episode order of both “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from 168 original episodes (excluding Fridays MORE shows) each per  year to just 110. “AMC” star Jill Larson (Opal Cortlandt) recently spoke out on the decision, which has fans of both soaps currently divided, on her Facebook page:

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Steven Bergman Photography

On Friday, May 17 at 3:30 PM PST, “The Young and the Restless‘” Angell Conwell (Leslie Michaelson) will be appearing on Black Hollywood Live.

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Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

According to a report by Deadline Hollywood, Prospect Park‘s The OnLine Network has opted to reduce the yearly episode orders of both “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from 168 to 110. In addition, new episodes of “AMC” will now be made available on Mondays and Wednesdays, while new episodes of “One Life to Live” will be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays via Hulu, Hulu Plus and iTunes. The “MORE” recap shows will continue to be provided on Fridays. The change goes into effect beginning Monday, May 20.

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ABC has announced its new fall primetime schedule which includes the trimming of “Dancing with the Stars” from two nights to just one (now only on Mondays) with “Castle” remaining in its slot for the fifth year running. Tuesday nights finds the introduction of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” a spin-off series from the “Avengers” film franchise, followed by new comedies “The Goldbergs” and “Trophy Wife.” New drama “Lucky 7” replaces “Body of Proof,” which was canceled.

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ABC

Just days before its upfront presentation to Madison Avenue on Tuesday, May 14, the Disney/ABC Television Group has announced that viewers of ABC programming in New York City and Philadelphia (via their WABC and WPVI affiliates) will be able to watch ABC‘s Live 24/7 linear broadcast network programming online for the first time ever through the new WATCH ABC application. Viewers can access WATCH ABC online at ABC.com or by downloading the WATCH ABC app on their iOS or Kindle Fire devices. The WATCH ABC app will be available on Samsung Galaxy devices this summer.

“WATCH ABC is a game-changing innovation for the broadcast television industry. We’re extremely excited to offer this open access preview to our WABC and WPVI viewers in New York and Philadelphia. This announcement represents a defining moment in technology and distribution, as well as for our advertising and affiliate partners, as we ensure that our high-quality content is available to viewers on a variety of devices,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney/ABC Television Group. “Our mission with this special preview is to gather key learnings about the service and the consumers who utilize it in order for our WATCH products to be the gold standard experience of authenticated multiplatform viewing.”

WATCH ABC allows viewers of such programs as “General Hospital” to view their shows in real-time, in sync with the WABC/WPVI broadcast airings of ABC programming.

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