All Things About
TNA Impact Wrestling Superstars Jessie Godderz (“Big Brother”) and Lisa Marie Varon have joined the ever growing cast of the NYC Brand Productions online series “Tainted Dreams,” created by “All My Children” Supervising Producer Sonia Blangiardo. Godderz, whose wrestling stage name is Mr. PEC-Tacular, is probably best known for his time on CBS’ “Big Brother.” Varon appears in TNA programming with the stage name Tara (aka Tarantula).
Longtime fans of “All My Children’s” Rebecca Budig would love to see her return as Jackson Montgomery’s firecracker daughter, Greenlee Smythe. But will the busy actress make a return appearance to Pine Valley as the character she originated back in 1999?
When “All My Children” stars originally signed on to the A Tribute to Pine Valley tour, they viewed it as their last opportunity to say heartfelt, personal goodbyes to their most loyal fans. But now, with the show set to debut on TOLN on Monday, April 29, they’re looking at the tour dates as chances to party! And guess what? Two more celebratory Tribute dates have been added!
If you’re over the moon that Eden Riegel has reprised her role as “All My Children’s” Bianca Montgomery on TOLN’s version of the show, someone has you beat: The actress herself! “I’m so excited to be back playing Bianca again; it’s so surreal,” she exclaims. “I feel like I’m living in a dream.”
“All My Children” makes its online debut this spring, and Prospect Park is pulling out all of the stops to make sure it’s a success. Several actors have tweeted that the new writing for the show is outstanding, and fans were happy to hear that some of their beloved actors — Eden Riegel (Bianca Montgomery), Alicia Minshew (Kendall Hart Slater) and Cady McClain (Dixie Cooney) — were headed back to the show. But could Josh Duhamel (Leo DuPres) be another familiar face headed back to Pine Valley?
Viewers keeping up with the latest “All My Children” comings and goings news know that Daytime Emmy nominated actress Alicia Minshew has been in discussions to return the internet revival of the soap opera she starred in from 2002 to 2011. TV Line broke the news on Thursday afternoon that the return of the eldest child of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), Kendall Hart, as portrayed by Minshew is now a done deal. Minshew will make her return sooner than expected; she tapes scenes opposite Eden Riegel, who plays Kendall’s little sister Bianca Montgomery, later today as “AMC” wraps up its first round of taping. Seconds before TV Line put up the news bulletin, Minshew took to Twitter to exclaim to fans her impending plans: “Guess who is popping into Pine Valley for the day?…um me! Excited to see the gang tomorrow! Gonna wear Kendall’s sassy shoes!!”
Earlier in the winter it was announced that former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member Dina Manzo has joined the cast of the upcoming online soap opera, “Tainted Dreams.” With drama that can only rival the antics seen on soap operas encompassing the New Jersey edition of the popular Bravo “Real Housewives” franchise, Manzo decided that enough was enough by the close of Season 2 and bid adieu. [Manzo’s siblings, Caroline and Chris, remain regulars on the series.] Following her “Real Housewives” exit, Manzo landed the more easy-going reality series “Dina’s Party” on HGTV. On her impending move to scripted serial drama, Manzo – a long-time “One Life to Live” fan – exclaims to Celebuzz.com that she is “excited to be part of a project centered around the rich, proud heritage of NYC-based daytime drama.”
On today’s edition of “The View,” Susan Lucci revealed that the return of her alter ego, Erica Kane, to the online relaunch of “All My Children” is currently not in the cards. Fans of the popular soap opera and the legendary character should not despair though. The petite diva enthusiastically added, “I want with all my heart to return.” Lucci further elaborated to the women of “The View” that all the parties involved are “working so hard to make that [return] happen.”
On Monday, February 11, Paos Revolution, the team behind the upcoming “On Air” film starring “All My Children’s” Jordi Vilasuso (Dr. Griffin Castillo) and Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall Hart) announced the launch of their official website. “The launch of paosrevolution.com is the first step of our plan to connect fans to the soap actors and insiders they love. Founding partners Jordi Vilasuso, Dock (Jeff Dockweiler) and John Homa are committed to creating an interactive actor friendly environment,” said a press release announcing the launch.
With Prospect Park now signing agreements with key unions SAG-AFTRA (actors), the DGA (directors), and the WGA (writers), with an expectation to begin filming episodes of “All My Children” as soon as next month, we wondered who you wanted to see act on the soap when it moves to the web. Your choices can include past actors as well as wishful casting (recast and new characters are welcomed). We also wondered who you want to join the writing team now that thousands of writers are at Prospect Park’s disposal courtesy of their agreement with the WGA, as well as who you want to direct episodes of the series. Keep in mind that Agnes Nixon, who created both “AMC” and “One Life to Live,” is currently working as a consultant for Prospect Park, according to Foz McDermott, head of production for TOLN (Prospect Park’s The Online Network). Also note that actors Jordi Vilasuso (Dr. Griffin Castillo), Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard), Debbi Morgan (Dr. Angela Hubbard), Vincent Irizarry (Dr. David Hayward) and Lindsay Hartley (Dr. Cara Castillo) are all confirmed as signing on to return to “AMC” when it moves to the web. Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall Hart) has reported that she’s been approached, while Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery) hope’s he can be involved. There’s no word yet on the status of Susan Lucci (ex-Erica Kane), who was the only original cast member from the first season of “AMC” that had remained with the show without interruption from its debut on January 5, 1970 through its final ABC broadcast on September 23, 2011.
