Nearly four years since a primetime reboot of “All My Children” was first placed in development at ABC, it looks like Lifetime will instead become the new home for the latest happenings in Pine Valley.
Soap Opera Network has confirmed that the cable network is in the early stages of development on a series of TV movies that will utilize characters from the long-running daytime drama series, which ran from January 5, 1970-September 23, 2011.
According to TV Line, which first reported the news, the network is in active development on at least two “All My Children” TV movies, one of which is said to be holiday-themed. Initially, the outlet reported that talks of a revival were in the early stages, with one source describing the conversations as “exploratory.” The outlet later updated its report with confirmation from a network representative.
A continuation of “All My Children” at Lifetime comes more than ten years since Prospect Park Networks, which had licensed the rights to the show and its sister soap “One Life to Live” from ABC, failed to sustain an online continuation series. Available on Hulu and iTunes at the time, the online reboot of “All My Children” ran for just 43 episodes from April 29, 2013-September 2, 2013.
TV Line notes that Disney, which owns a 50% stake in Lifetime parent A&E Networks, has been looking for opportunities to “mine” the intellectual property of “All My Children” for years. This includes the defunct “Pine Valley” primetime reboot that was in development at ABC which would have followed a young journalist with a secret agenda who comes to Pine Valley to expose the dark and murderous history of the town only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families.
The series was expected to explore all the secrets that came with the Kane and Santos family names, and would have been executive produced by “All My Children” alums Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos (Hayley Vaughan Santos and Mateo Santos), hosts of the highly rated daytime talk show, “Live with Kelly and Mark,” which is nationally syndicated by Disney.
In the time since “Pine Valley” was first announced as being in development, several former “All My Children” alums have indicated they would appear, if asked, including the legendary Susan Lucci (Erica Kane), Kim Delaney (Jenny Gardner) and Alicia Minshew (Kendall Hart), among others.
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Robert Nixon, son of the late Agnes Nixon, who created “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” had signed on as an executive producer alongside Ripa, Consuelos and Andrew Stearn. “Pine Valley” was based on a script written by Leo Richardson (“EastEnders,” “Katy Keene,” “Star”), who also would have served as an executive producer.
In 2023, “All My Children” fans were thrilled to see actor Walt Willey reprise his role as Jackson Montgomery on “General Hospital” during a multi-episode arc that saw the character at certain points appearing in his office in Pine Valley alongside Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) and Felicia Scorpio (Kristina Wagner). He later appeared in Port Charles as an attorney hired by Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) in a lawsuit she filed against Deception.
Since the cancellation of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” in 2011, the daytime landscape has sustained itself with the likes of “General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” remaining in production on broadcast television. Meanwhile, “Days of our Lives” continues to flourish on Peacock, the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal.
In January 2025, CBS will introduce “The Gates,” the first new daytime drama series since the debut of NBC’s “Passions” in July 1999. Created by veteran writer Michele Val Jean, who will also serve as showrunner/executive producer, “The Gates” tells the story of a wealthy Black family in a posh, gated community. It is also the first daytime drama series expected to feature a predominantly Black cast since the 1991 conclusion of “Generations.”