The 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were something extra special for Jennifer Pepperman, the executive producer of Prospect Park's online version of "One Life to Live." The sudser was the first ever online show to be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series during the Daytime Emmy awards, a fact that actor Tuc Watkins (David Vickers, "OLTL") was also celebrating.
When "One Life to Live" went off the air just over a year ago it was my favorite daily drama and it had been for quite some time. So, while the show’s ratings were rising, it was quite a shock to learn it had been canceled in 2011. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous with the series coming back, but this time without executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati.
Florencia Lozano's Tea Delgado is given the honor of saying the first curse word in the newly released "First Day of School" behind the scenes video by The OnLine Network, set to music by Raphael Lake/Ben Fisher with their song "Light It Up," which was recently uploaded as an iTunes exclusive. In character, Lozano yells at Robert Gorrie's Matthew Buchanan on why he let her daughter do...
"Seeing my cast come in one-by-one. Seeing David Canary, seeing Cady McClain, seeing Jill Larson, Debbi Morgan...it just made it all the more real," says Ginger Smith, executive producer, "All My Children," in the newly released "First Day of School" video by iTunes set to music by Raphael Lake/Ben Fisher with their song "Light It Up." The EP and her cast members comment on the show returning to production nearly six weeks after it was first announced by Prospect Park's The OnLine Network that the soap along with "One Life to Live" would be returning to the airwaves in more than one shape or form once again this spring (later revealed to be April 29, 2013 via Hulu, Hulu Plus and iTunes).
Prospect Park first announced plans to move "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to the web back in July 2011 after striking a license holding deal with Disney/ABC Domestic Television. Sadly, plans fell through by November 2011 after apparent financing and union discussions fell through. Since that dreadful time period, Prospect Park has resumed work on returning the soaps to your [computer] screens, only this time with financing said to be in place and union deals already signed with the DGA (directors), SAG-AFTRA (actors) and the WGA (writers). With more than a year gone by since "One Life to Live" last aired, we thought it would be a great opportunity to see which stars have (so far) signed on to return to "AMC" and "OLTL" compared to the list circling back in 2011.
In a press release issued just a short time ago, Prospect Park has confirmed plans to move forward with "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" online. The company states that Agnes Nixon, who created both series, has been working as a consultant on the project. They confirm that they have signed deals with the DGA and SAG-AFTRA, but nothing in regards to the WGA. Jennifer Pepperman has been hired on as Executive Producer of "OLTL," Ginger Smith is EP of "AMC."
The big news of December 2012 was word that Prospect Park was taking another stab at moving ABC's "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to the web in 2013. The news was first reported by Deadline.com's Nellie Andreeva. In her initial reporting, Andreeva revealed that Prospect Park had made agreements with the unions SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America). Previously, while the company had planned on debuting the shows on the web in early 2012, no deals had been signed with either union or the WGA (Writers Guild of America). This hindered the company's plan to move forward with the shows and resulted in a postponement that was announced in November 2011. In a statement at the time, AFTRA (prior to its merger with SAG) said that they were "deeply disappointed to read that the executives at Prospect Park have decided to suspend their efforts to produce the long-running and popular daytime serials." Additionally, the union had said that they "remain hopeful that an opportunity to revive these two popular series will emerge in the future, and remain ready to resume discussions should that opportunity arise." The future took more than a year, but it appears to have finally emerged. However, although a representative from SAG-AFTRA confirmed that an agreement with Prospect Park had been made when pressed for comment from Soap Opera Network early last week, it remains unclear if said agreement had actually been signed. "Not absolutely certain it had been signed but can check that for you," said the rep. Due to the holidays, we don't expect a response on that little detail until at least tomorrow, January 2.