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EXCLUSIVE: Some of the cast members of ABC’s recently canceled daytime dramas All My Children and One Life To Live may get new soap gigs courtesy of Sony TV. I hear the studio is planning to bring in a number of actors from AMC and OLTL to join its two daytime dramas, NBC’s Days of Our Lives and CBS’ The Young & the Restless. Names I’ve heard mentioned are Debbi Morgan and Jacob Young from All My Children and Gina Tognoni and Josh Kelly from One Life to Live.
I hear Sony Pictures TV president Steve Mosko is behind the plan. When the AMC and OLTL‘s cancellations were made official earlier this month, he sprung into action, starting consultations with his top daytime executive Steve Kent and Days co-creator/exec producer Ken Corday and Y&R co-creator/exec producer Bill Bell about which actors from the departing ABC shows would strengthen the talent roster on the two soaps. (Y&R recently recruited another former star of an ABC soap, General Hospital’s Genie Francis, who starts as a new regular at the end of May.)
While daytime dramas’ fortunes have been falling over the past several years as five soaps have bit the dust, Sony TV’s Days and Y&R have been going strong, with Y&R ranking as the top-rated daytime drama for the past two decades. Last November, Days and Y&R landed multi-year renewals by NBC and CBS, respectively. Meanwhile, All My Children will end its 41-year run in September, and One Life to Live will bow out in January after 43 years. There had been speculation that another network might step in to rescue the shows, including rumors about interest by NBC in OLTL as a companion to Days. But, given the financial challenges the two shows faced on ABC amidst declining ratings, finding a buyer would be a daunting task. So fans of AMC and OLTL shows may have to settle for a consolation price – getting to keep some of their favorite stars in daytime.
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Interesting to see how they will be able to pay for the new recruits, especially Days which is basically more or less on a shoestring budget as it is to stay alive.
It’s always easier to get an actor for a cut-rate deal when they have just lost their job on another show
How the hell does Josh Kelly make this f’n list? The other 3 are emmy caliber actors that should be on primetime not on a soap.
Loved this comment…If they are Emmy caliber, where is their primetime series…? They need to book a pilot first pal. Way I see it, these folks have been going soap to soap for years. I don’t see the primetime credits?
Funny, Tognoni, Young, and Morgan have ALL won Emmys, and have many more nominations between them. Daytime Emmys are still Emmys! It is often hard for actors to break out of daytime if they are already recognizable for soap work, and perhaps many of them don’t WANT to go onto primetime when the steady work of a soap beckons. All of these actors have fanbases. They’re all very talented. Booking a pilot does not automatically make an actor more legitimate. All of these actors hand in consistent, believable, work in daytime, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Kelly is a new face to soaps, but I see potential, even if he’s wooden now. Cutter’s not a big character, but he does his best with him.
@Funny
Debbi Morgan has done prime time work for DECADES as well as feature film and theater work. Do your research.
Love me some Debbi Morgan. I’ll follow her to her next gig.
As these shows are written months in advance, Sony and the networks know exactly what roles are coming up, and can plug these actors into one of these roles. For example, Jacob Young would make a great Philip Kiriakis recast on Days. Since I am almost positive that the show would have recast eventually, this makes perfect sense. And Days did just loose 3 cotract players, so they probably have some $$ to spend on Jacob. But remember, what they are making now on ABC may not be what they are offered on another show.
Jacob Young is so being wasted in his current sl so this makes me happy. Dont know which soap I’d want him at since I dont watch either but I’ll follow him wherever he lands.
Wasn’t Jacob Young on Y&R sister soap, the Bold and the Beautiful? Makes sense that they’d take him back.
Morgan would fit easily into the Winters family on Y&R.
Yeah, he was the original Rick Forrester. Brad Bell has always wanted Jacob back but Jacob has always resisted.
I’m so happy for Jacob Young, who ever get’s him is getting a great actor. I’m an amc fan and I’ll be sure to watch him.
Morgan and Young, not the actors I would have picked. I’d love to Irizarry on a show which appreciates his talent.
Am I the only one who think’s this is a bad casting decision ? Duh, where have I seen these new,(relatively speaking), faces before ?
Must have been a seance. Bill Bell has been dead for years.
hey genius, bill bell is the son’s name as well. he runs it now. but thanks!
And it was the son who co-created the show, then gave it to Dad to run? There’s no shortage of geniuses here, is there?
Hey genius, the only Bell that is an EP of the show is a daughter in law, Maria Arena Bell. The co-creator of the show is dead.
hey genius, you’re right, i was thinking of brad.
Stupid is: getting hold of some shows that have been on for over 40 years (!) and canning them because, although they have lasted through 2 generations and a few wars, you can’t figure out how to make them work. Smart is: Days and Y & R folks pulling in your most dedicated viewers.
No one wants Susan Lucci? Shocker (sarcasm).
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Days should be cancelled, the ratings are horrible and the show sucks. They should keep One Life to Live and cancelled once and for all Days of our lives (it is a lost cause).
F*ck off… Days is a great show!! And although they have low overall viewers, they are ranked in the top 3 for the key demographics of Women ages 18-49!!!
The Bold and The Beautiful (another Bell soap)should jump at the chance to have Jacob Young step back into the role he originated – Rick Forrester.
Since Kyle Lowder bombed as Nu-Rick and was written out, it’s time to bring back the prodigal son, after all he is the son of Brooke Logan, the show’s main hero. With his sister Bridget gone, little sister hope now a teen and the return of Adrianne Frantz as his vixenish Ex Amber Moore, he’ll be a great fit with the show.
If these actors were on shows with low ratings how is their addition to dying genre going to sustain it? It’s like trying to put gas in a car that should be running on electricity…you gotta move to the new not the old. Soaps needs to re-evaluate their status quo and push the boundaries because ‘more of the same’ will result in Days and Y+R also getting cancelled!
The ratings weren’t that low that ABC wants you to believe. Maybe for the AMC, but One Live to Live is among the highest rated soaps, it’s even 3rd highest among the coveted 18-38 demographics. OLTL is also under budget.
ABC was making money on the soap, it’s just that the powers-that-be there dream they’ll make more money on a cheaper talk/reality show that they dream would be as popular as The View. This is of course unlikely, but they don’t care.
Debbie Morgan as the new Drucilla Winters on Y&R please…other than that, please no more new additions to Y&R which result in current cast members getting the boot (unless it’s Eden Reigel).
DAYS needs to be concerned about the VETERAN cast members that are not getting the air time they deserve rather than bringing on new people. They hired too many PASSIONS and GL people than they should have. I am loyal to DAYS, but only if the vets get more air time.
Puke. I want my AMC stars on AMC!
These shows should jump at the chance to hire Susan Lucci and Erika Slezak.
I don’t actually think it would work–it’s like watching Kim Zimmer on OLTL now. She’s definitely a big name soap actress with a following, but just wedging her in to OLTL hasn’t really made her a core character or anything. I don’t even know that Erika or Susan would want to jump to another soap. I’m sure Erika will retire, and Susan will do whatever Susan does.
But really, I would not inflict Lucci’s acting on anyone.
Gina Tognoni is mad talented, but she should go explore primetmie and film. Daytime is clearly a dying genre, and I think she could be successful! It’s nice to see that she’s in high daytime, she’s a fantastic actress, always has been and a really nice lady!
I think Gina would be great in some Lifetime Movie Network movies…especially the mystery type ones.
Michael Knight,Jerry ver Dorn,Erika Slezak,Kim Zimmer,Kassie DePaiva,Bob Woods and the incredible Robin Strasser, great actors who we tune in to watch every day yet I bet Sony won’t consider any of them.
I’m betting that Jacob Young is recast for departing Billy Miller as Billy Abbott. Debi Morgan would be a boost for Y&R since they are the only show that really has an AA group.
Jacob Young is a talented guy ,he looks a little like Brad Pitt.He should have quit AMC years ago and tried for film or prime time.I think these actors get used to a steady pay check and security and time passes by. And so do opportunities. I’m glad he’ll find work at another soap.
So they will now shove some more out of work actors on the remaining shows instead of those shows using their own cast?? Sorry, nothing would get me to turn into the Bold and the Beautiful.
I’ve heard quite a few rumblings about Gina Tognoni for a while now (in primetime/film discussions). I’m not familiar with her work but she’s apparently impressed some primetime folks so she’ll probably be doing some series work soon.
Personally, I think that NBC would be wise to pick up OLTL and air it as a companion to DAYS. It would bring some loyal viewers to the network and perhaps they would be willing to check out DAYS as well. As for the financial problem, well OLTL has been the ONLY soap to come in under budget and it is creatively in strong shape. That is why the cancellation makes little sense! Any network would be smart to pick up OLTL considering its ability to come in under budget! Otherwise, I’m not sure what actors I’d like to see at Days! Tognoni, Dapaiva, idk! Still rather OLTL be saved! NBC, please be wise and bring new viewers to your network the old fashioned way!
I hope “The Young and the Restless” bring Daytime Emmy Award Winning actress Debbi Morgan to their soap opera. She’s a brilliant actress and would be a perfect addition to their show.
Its wondrous that it is impossible to find recent Nielsen ratings for the soaps on SoapNet. The last postings anywhere on the net showed record viewership for the ABC soaps (late 2009 early 2010). Then nothing.