On Tuesday, May 19, ABC will air “The Story of Soaps,” a new primetime television special presented by the network and PEOPLE magazine. The two-hour program will explore how no genre of television has laid deeper roots into our cultural consciousness and serialized storytelling than the soap opera. Featured will be several soap stars, past and present, including the legendary Erika Slezak who portrayed the iconic Victoria Buchanan on “One Life to Live.” In a recent post on her official website, the actress talks about the special, how her family has been coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her hopes that we’ll come of out of this in one piece.
“ABC and PEOPLE asked me to participate in this project and did a very long interview – about 2 hours – out of which they will probably use maybe 5 minutes. I hope you enjoy watching,” said Slezak. “Other than that, we are all doing well here in CT, and managing just as best as we can. We are lucky in that we have a home and food in the cupboard and the fridge and we are staying in. I haven’t been to a store in 60 days. Michael does all the errands like grocery shopping etc., and fortunately, he is very careful and staying healthy.
“The weather has, for the most part, been totally miserable. We have had maybe two or three really nice days, and it’s been cloudy and rainy all the rest of the time, so there is really no reason to go outside anyway. I’ve been doing lots of reading and cleaning the house and clearing out of cupboards, etc, which keeps us busy.
“I hope everyone is well and that we come out of this in one piece.”
From 1971-2012, Slezak portrayed the Buchanan family matriarch on the ABC incarnation of the series. She won a record six Daytime Emmy Awards for her work in the Outstanding Lead Actress category. Slezak returned in 2013 for the abridged online reboot of the soap produced by Prospect Park.
“The Story of Soaps” airs Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on ABC.
Watch a promo clip below.