Following an in-depth interview with “Live with Kelly and Mark” co-hosts and former “All My Children” stars Kelly Ripa (Hayley Vaughan Santos) and Mark Consuelos (Mateo Santos), in which the real-life couple detail to the Los Angeles Times their quest to revive the long-running soap opera that ran from 1970-2011 on ABC through a pair of TV movies at Lifetime, Daytime Confidential is reporting that Emmy Award-winning writers Ron Carlivati (“One Life to Live,” “Days of our Lives”) and Jamey Giddens (“Days of our Lives,” “Beyond the Gates”) will be spearheading at least the first in the series after being “handpicked” by veteran producer Andrew Stearn.
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Still in the development stage, Ripa and Consuelos are producing through their Milojo production company, which previously sought to revive the iconic daytime drama as a primetime series at ABC, titled “Pine Valley.” Though that project didn’t move forward, the couple remained high on bringing the world of Pine Valley and its iconic characters back to TV, with the TV movies set in the present day, focusing on the lives of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue). Expect to see a brief appearance by Ripa and Consuelos, with Lucci and LaRue reprising their roles.
In January 2025, during a 55th anniversary celebration at the 92nd Street Y (92NY) in New York City that featured an in-person panel discussion about the show’s legacy that included Ripa, Lucci, casting director Judy Blye Wilson, head writer Lorraine Broderick, and former cast members Jill Larson (Opal Cortlandt), Eden Riegel (Bianca Montgomery), Jennifer Bassey (Marian Colby), and Francesca James (Kitty Shea/Kelly Cole), who also served as an executive producer on the series from 1996-1998, Albert Bianchini, executive producer for Milojo, recalled the continued devotion by fans who lined up for the event.
“I’ve never seen a crowd like that in my life,” he said to the Los Angeles Times. “People were lined up around the block. Everyone wanted to know, ‘When is [‘All My Children’] coming back? We want more.’ We got to see that in real life. And Kelly got to feel it in real life, and it made so much sense. I just know that the minute it gets out in the world, people will want more and more and more. There’s just a love there.”
The estate of series creator Agnes Nixon is working closely with Ripa and Consuelos on the movies, with Ripa noting Nixon “was so far ahead of her time,” and “covered topics that weren’t being covered. It was extraordinary the audiences that the show drew, and she served them real stories that were affecting Americans across the country but weren’t necessarily being represented anywhere.”
“Lifetime is always interested in shows that kind of tap into a powerful nostalgia that can be made fresh for today’s audience,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network. “There’s a whole generation of women that have missed these stories and these characters.”
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” said Consuelos. “‘All My Children’ gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”
“So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting @Jamey_Giddens and me with the first of two planned ‘All My Children’ movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!” said Carlivati in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“I’ve been booked and busy in 2026,” commented Giddens, who was recently named as co-head writer of “The Young and the Restless,” working alongside Dan O’Connor (“General Hospital,” “Days of our Lives”). “Thanks to Andrew Stearn, the Agnes Nixon estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for entrusting @carlivatiron and me with the first of two planned ‘All My Children’ movies for Lifetime!”