December may bring the first signs of the winter season, but as the month begins things will be heating up on “One Life to Live” when several familiar faces return to the canvas as the show’s ABC run prepares to come to an end.
Prospect Park executives Jeff Kwatinetz and Rich Frank have confirmed to Soap Opera Network that the production company has signed “One Life to Live” cast members Tuc Watkins (David), Josh Kelly (Cutter), Florencia Lozano (Tea), and Shenell Edmonds (Destiny) for the online version of the ABC soap pending final Guild agreements.
On Friday, September 30, Prospect Park officially announced actors Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan Banks), Kelley Missal (Danielle Rayburn), Sean Ringgold (Shaun Evans),Andrew Trischitta (Jack Manning) and Jerry VerDorn (Clint Buchanan) will be joining already signed Ted King (Thomas Delgado), Michael Easton (John McBain), Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer) and Erika Slezak (Viki Banks) when “One Life to Live” is transitioned over from ABC to the web beginning in January 2012. Since the announcement, Soap Opera Network has reached out to a number of the signed stars and today Missal explains why she signed on.
“One Life to Live” casting odds and ends for the month of October and beyond.
On Saturday, October 1, the National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) met for the final time in 2011, as previously reported. One of the topics of discussion was Prospect Park and its transitioning of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” to the web in January 2012. While exact details of the meeting are still unknown in that respect, a representative speaks to Soap Opera Network exclusively on where things stand at this time between the actors union and Prospect Park.
Two years after they were last seen in Llanview, Kathy Brier and Chris Stack are set to reprise the roles of Marcie and Michael McBain in the coming weeks as “One Life to Live” winds down production on its television run before transitioning to online-only distribution early next year.
“One Life to Live” isn’t even finished filming its last ABC episodes yet and already the soap has signed deals with “OLTL” head writer Ron Carlivati and several of the soaps cast members. By comparison, Prospect Park has signed far fewer deals with cast members from “All My Children,” which ended its television run on Friday, September 23.
Late last week, on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” an excited Cameron Mathison (Ryan) announced that the production company that licensed “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from ABC this summer, Prospect Park, had started to contact actors from his show to negotiate. Today, Prospect Park revealed to the press that they have come to terms with not only Mathison but his co-star Lindsay Hartley (Cara) to continue with the 41-year old daytime drama online.
With the Prospect Park era about to begin for “One Life to Live,” the show appears to be in better shape than its sister soap “All My Children.”
“One Life to Live” fans have reason to celebrate today as a handful of the show’s current cast members, including six-time Daytime Emmy winner Erika Slezak (Viki) have already agreed to make the transition with the show from ABC to online-only distribution with Prospect Park. According to Deadline Hollywood the company, which leased the rights to “OLTL” and sister soap “All My Children” in July, Slezak, along with Kassie DePaiva (Blair), Michael Easton (John), and Ted King (Tomas) will all be remaining with the show after it airs its final ABC episode early next year.