All My Children
(AMC) is an American
soap opera that has been broadcast Monday through
Friday on the ABC
TV network since January 5, 1970; repeat
episodes air weeknights on SOAPnet.
Created by
Agnes Nixon, the show is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a
fictitious suburb of Philadelphia
. Since its inception, the show has featured
Susan Lucci as
Erica Kane, one of daytime's most popular
characters.
The title of the show refers to the bonds of humanity. The poem,
written by Nixon, that appears in the title credits' photo album
reads:
The show title is sometimes abbreviated by fans and the press as
AMC. The first new network daytime drama to debut in the
1970s,
All My Children was originally owned by Creative
Horizons, Inc., the company created by Nixon and her husband, Bob.
The show was sold to ABC in January 1975. Originally a half-hour in
length, the show expanded to an hour in April 1977. Previously, the
show had experimented with the hour format for one week starting on
June 30, 1975, after which
Ryan's
Hope premiered.
From 1970 to 1990,
All My Children was recorded at ABC's
TV18 at 101 West 67th St, now a 50-story apartment tower.
Since
March 1990, it has been taped at ABC's television studio TV23 at
320 West 66th Street in Manhattan
, New York
City
. In December 2009, the show will be relocated
to a studio in Los
Angeles
and produced there. It was confirmed on
August 4, 2009 that
All My Children and
One Life to Live will go
HD.
All My Children will
start filming in High Def. on January 4, 2010 and will air High
Def. in February 2010.
One Life to Live will go High Def.
in December 2009 as soon as they move to
All My Children's
old studio.
One Life to Live will be the third and
All
My Children the fourth soap opera to go High Def.
At one
time, the program's popularity positioned it as the most
widely-recorded television show in the United States
. Also, in a departure from societal norms at
the time,
All My Children, in the mid-1970s, had an
audience that was estimated to be 30% male. The show ranked #1 in
the daytime
Nielsen Ratings from
1978-1979. Throughout most of the 1980s and into the early 1990s,
All My Children was the #2 daytime soap opera on the
air.
With the death of core cast member
Ruth
Warrick in January 2005,
Susan Lucci
and
Ray MacDonnell are the only two
original cast members remaining on the show. However, MacDonnell
has announced his intention to retire from the show rather than
move with the rest of the production company to Los Angeles at the
end of 2009. Lucci intends to continue in her iconic role of Erica
Kane, commuting from her home in New York to Los Angeles.
On November 12, 2008, the show celebrated its 10,000th show with a
special appearance by Nixon and a special tribute to
Myrtle Fargate.
History
1970s
In the 1960s
Agnes Nixon, then head
writer for
The Guiding Light,
tried to sell a property called
All My Children to
NBC, then
CBS, then NBC again
through the auspices of sponsor
Procter & Gamble. Despite her
success and sponsor support, it was not until the start of 1970
that her brainchild finally aired.
Rosemary Prinz was signed on to be the
"special guest star" for six months, playing the role of liberal
Amy Tyler. Prinz was well-known for her role on
As the World
Turns in the 1950s and 1960s and she was added to the show to
give it an initial boost due to her name value.
Nixon strived to create a soap that was topical, and could
illustrate social issues to the audience. She wanted this and a
combination of regular humor for the series. To keep the action
more real, she allowed the audience to locate her fictional "Pine
Valley" on a map: situated just outside of Philadelphia, it was a
mere hour-long train ride from New York City. However, it is not
until the 1980s that it is revealed that Pine Valley is actually in
Pennsylvania.
From 1970 and into the 1980s, the show was either written by Nixon
herself or by her protégé,
Wisner
Washam. He was groomed by Nixon to take the reins in the 1980s
while she focused on other endeavors, like creating and launching
Loving in 1983.
Lorraine Broderick and
Margaret DePriest also had brief stints as
head writers in the 1980s.
The show's first action takes place around several families and
characters.
Phoebe Tyler
(
Ruth Warrick), who fashions herself as
"Queen of Pine Valley", is the definition of a rich snob when she
is introduced. A single mother,
Mona Kane
(
Frances Heflin), and her
prima donna daughter,
Erica (
Susan Lucci)
are also introduced. Contrasting this is the stable
Martin Family, headed
by patriarch Joe and matriarch Ruth, who later becomes a symbolic
foundation of
All My Children.
With Phoebe as the "Queen of Pine Valley", Erica is the "Princess".
Destined to break up the young romance of classmates Tara Martin
(
Karen Lynn Gorney) and Phil Brent
(
Richard Hatch), Erica finds
out that Phil is not
Ruth's son
but the son of Ruth's sister, Amy (
Rosemary Prinz). In a selfish attempt to
break up Phil and Tara, she tells everyone the truth.
All My Children's first success was its telling of young
love. ABC wanted a soap opera that would bring in young viewers,
and slowly the program was accomplishing that. The show's ratings
did not start out strong, however. In its first year on the air, it
ranked #17 out of 19 soap operas. Despite this, its audience was
building with each passing year.
The show was unique for its use of the
Vietnam War. Before
All My Children
debuted, no show had discussed the war in any depth. There was the
character of Phoebe, a conservative, and Amy, a free-spirited
liberal, both butting heads over the war, with Amy often leading
protests around Pine Valley. When the character of Amy leaves, Ruth
takes over as the anti-war voice. Her early 1970s protest speech
wins
Mary Fickett the first ever
Emmy Award given to a soap opera
performer back in 1972. Later in the show's run, Phoebe becomes
more liberal.
In 1973, Erica Kane makes the decision to have an abortion, which
becomes the first abortion aired on television. What makes the
abortion particularly controversial is Erica's reason for doing it;
she does not have it because her health is in jeopardy, but rather
because she does not want to gain weight and lose her modeling job.
The abortion story received much media attention, especially since
Roe v. Wade had been decided just a few months
before the story began airing. Within the story, Erica develops a
potentially fatal infection after having the abortion, and the
switch-boards at ABC lit up with calls from doctors and nurses,
offering their medical opinions on how best to treat the
character's case.
Phoebe's husband Charles (
Hugh
Franklin) gets close to Mona (Erica's mother) and his secretary
at the hospital. The two fall in love and Charles divorces Phoebe,
even though she tries to blackmail Mona and even fakes
paralysis. In the end, Phoebe is left a drunken
divorcée and Mona becomes the new Mrs. Tyler. This ordeal starts
the long-time Phoebe/Mona rivalry.
When Eileen Letchworth, who portrayed Margo Flax Martin,
contemplated a facelift, she talked it over with Nixon. Not only
was Letchworth going to need time off, she was going to look
significantly different when she returned to the show. Nixon
approved and worked the facelift into a storyline. Margo wanted to
impress the somewhat younger Paul Martin (
William Mooney). Margo’s facelift in 1974
became one of the first major storylines on television discussing
cosmetic surgery and its psychological effects.
In June 1976, the character of
Brooke
English shows up on her Aunt Phoebe's doorstep and soon after
clashes with Erica over
Tom Cudahy and
Mark Dalton. Since then, Brooke ends up with several of Erica's
left-over men. In 1976, the show introduces fan favorite
Myrtle Lum Fargate (
Eileen Herlie).
By the late 1970s, the show had risen to the top of the ratings.
One reason for the rise was the arrival of teenage prostitute Donna
Beck. Her relationship with the handsome Dr. Chuck Tyler breathed
life into the show and captivated fans. Other new additions are the
arrivals of aristocratic
Palmer
Cortlandt (aka Peter Cooney) (
James Mitchell), his somewhat creepy
housekeeper Myra Murdock, and his overprotected daughter Nina
(
Taylor Miller), who, to Palmer's
chagrin, entrances
Dr. Cliff Warner
(
Peter Bergman). Palmer does
everything in his power to break up the couple, including telling
Nina she is going blind due to her diabetes. Palmer teams up with
Cliff's past flame, nurse Sybil Thorne (Linda Gibboney), who
confronts Cliff about fathering her son, but this is temporary;
Sybil is accidentally killed by Sean Cudahy (Alan Dysert). During
the murder trial, Nina is astonished to learn that her mother,
Daisy Cortlandt (
Gillian Spencer),
whom she believes to be dead, is, in fact, alive and living in Pine
Valley as 'Monique Jonville'. To complete everyone's shock, Myra
acknowledges that Daisy is her daughter.
All My Children
also found memorable villains in Billy Clyde Tuggle and
Ray Gardner.
1980s
The early '80s is considered to have been a "golden period" for the
show and the "Golden Age" for
supercouples. Younger characters, such as
Greg Nelson and Jenny
Gardner (
Laurence Lau and
Kim Delaney),
Liza
Colby (
Marcy Walker), Liza's best
friend Amanda (
Amanda Bearse),
Jesse Hubbard and Angie
Baxter (
Darnell Williams and
Debbi Morgan) and a now-grown-up
Tad Martin (
Michael E. Knight), who was now legally Ruth and
Joe's son, enter the scene.
The storyline involving Liza plotting to win Greg back after he
leaves her for Jenny became a fan favorite, as was the Greg and
Jenny and Jesse and Angie pairings. The legend of "Tad the Cad" is
born when Tad takes Liza's
virginity, then
simultaneously begins having sex with her mother, socialite Marian
Colby (Jennifer Bassey), who eventually is sent to prison and
returns to marry
Stuart Chandler
(
David Canary). Powerful businessman
Adam Chandler and his twin brother
Stuart become significant Pine Valley residents. This is the first
arrival of members of The
Chandler
family.
Jesse and Jenny's summer in New York City became regarded as one of
the greatest storylines in the history of the series. For older
appeal, Jenny and Tad's natural mother Opal (
Dorothy Lyman) was also added to the canvas,
where she opens the Glamorama salon and spa. Opal greatly showcased
All My Children’s attempt at humor and satire.
The character of Erica begins to take on a larger-than-life role by
the 1980s. This is evident with her writing an autobiography,
"Raising Kane", and turning it into a motion picture.
When her presumed
half-sister Silver (Deborah Goodrich) accuses her of murdering Kent
Bogard (Michael Woods, Lee Goodart), her former lover and boss, she
goes on the run, fleeing to the Hollywood Hills
. She does this all while posing as a
nun. Her forest encounter with a grizzly bear
after she escapes a kidnapping attempt made by Adam is considered a
memorable moment. The character goes on to marry over 10 times
(with her most recent wedding taking place in June 2005).
The show made their first attempt at tackling the taboo topic of
homosexuality in 1983.
Tricia Pursley
portrayed the divorced Devon McFadden, who believes she is falling
in love with her psychiatrist, Lynn Carson (portrayed by
Donna Pescow). Lynn admits to
being a lesbian, and Devon admits her crush. No other
American soap opera had done a story about
homosexuality.
The show intelligently tackled the issue of drug use when Mark La
Mura's character, Mark Dalton, becomes addicted to cocaine after
years of casual use. His half-sister, Erica, stages an intervention
with his friends to have him confront his problems. They practice a
"
tough love" policy that has Mark admit
to the addiction. The informative episode showed how to hold an
intervention, and the stages to go through for a successful
confrontation.
Controversy was prompted in 1987 with the arrival of Cindy Parker
(
Ellen Wheeler), who would later fall
in love with Stuart. The character was revealed to have
AIDS. Through visits by
Dr.
Angie Hubbard, the show educated the public on how the disease
was spread and how to prevent it. Cindy had contracted
HIV from her husband, Fred, who contracted it from
sharing needles for drug use. Cindy is attacked by a vigilante hate
group led by her niece,
Skye Chandler.
The tragedy of the attack shows the extremes of violence that occur
everyday to victims of the disease. Cindy marries Stuart and he
adopts her son, Scott. She dies early in 1989 in one of the show's
most watched episodes.
By 1989, ABC wanted changes at
All My Children. The show
was getting about 6.5 million viewers per episode, but there
sentiment that the program had lost its unique sense of humor.
Nixon and
Wisner Washam, who had both
written the show since the '70s, were faced with a merry-go-round
of executive producers, starting in the mid-'80s when producer
Jacqueline Babbin left. Jorn Winther was hired to executive produce
the show. Efforts were made to bring the show back to the glory
days of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. This would mean adding a
mixture of
both social issues and also the intelligent
satire that the show had been known for.
Felicia Minei Behr was hired as
the new executive producer in early 1989. Having been a producer on
Ryan's Hope, Behr was familiar with
All My Children, having been an associate producer from
1970 to 1975. Behr welcomed the input of both Nixon and Washam. To
Nixon, the show finally had a stable executive producer. Behr
worked with Nixon and Washam, crafting a baby storyline involving
the characters of Adam, Brooke, Tad, and Dixie (
Cady McClain). By this time, the show had also
found a "hit couple" in Cecily and Nico (portrayed by Rosa Nevin
and
Maurice Benard), but Behr was
unable to convince either to remain with the show, and the duo left
at the end of 1989.
ABC was pleased with Behr; Nixon was as well, and decided her
creation was safe in the hands of the new producer. Behr, however,
made the unpopular decision to fire Peter Bergman (Cliff Warner)
during this time, as well as Ellen Wheeler (Karen) and Robert
Gentry (Ross Chandler). Bergman's departure was particularly
frustrating to Debbi Morgan (who thought it was a cop-out by ABC on
the promising interracial Angie/Cliff pairing; Morgan later
commented to the new NBC soap Generations in protest), Taylor
Miller (who was misled when Behr approached her to bring back her
character Nina; Miller was frustrated to find out she had only been
brought back for two weeks to facilitate Bergman's departure: Cliff
and Nina reunited, married yet again, and left Pine Valley, leaving
Miller to lament to
Soap Opera
Digest that she felt it was going backward for both
characters, and difficult emotionally to play), and Bergman himself
(who had just bought a house, and was left without a paycheck,
unexpectedly). Behr then brought back fan favorite Opal Gardner,
but instead of contacting Emmy winner Dorothy Lyman to reprise the
role, Behr hired
Jill Larson. Lyman
later noted her disappointment in never being contacted about
reprising the role. Behr also brought back Billy Clyde Tuggle (the
former pimp who first made his big splash in the '70s), only to
kill him off for good.
1990s
At the time of Behr's hiring in early 1989, the show usually ranked
around #4 in the ratings. By 1990, the show had inched up to the #3
spot. Billy Clyde Tuggle returns to Pine Valley in 1990, after a
ten-year absence (in prison). He proceeds to undo the lives of many
in Pine Valley. He tells his daughter, Emily Ann Sago, that he is
her natural father, devastating her with the truth that she was the
product of rape. He dies tumbling over a bridge (with Tad Martin),
ending the reign of one of Pine Valley's most evil and entertaining
characters ever.
ABC chose
Megan McTavish, a former
actress who had been on the writing team since 1987, to be its new
head writer. She was promoted to head
writer in 1992, with Nixon serving as Executive Head Writer.
Stories such as Molly's leukemia, Ceara Connor (
Genie Frances')
incest,
Mona’s
lung cancer, and Deconstruction
(a story about racism), were all praised in soap opera magazines
for their social conscience. Other storylines included the 'Who
Killed Will?' mystery, Willow Lake Acres (a both humorous and
serious tale about the plight of the elderly in a fraudulent
nursing home), and a tornado that rocked Pine Valley. Behr also
helped craft a story re-exploring Erica's father, Eric Kane. It was
revealed he had faked his own death. In a comical twist, Erica
finds him working as a clown in a traveling circus. This is yet one
of the several re-writes during
All My Children post-1990
that frustrated and irritated fans. The audience soon learns that
Erica was raped on her 14th birthday, by her father's actor friend
Richard Fields. She became pregnant and gave the baby up for
adoption to the Harts, a couple from Florida. Years later, the
child, Kendall Hart (
Sarah
Michelle Gellar,
Alicia Minshew),
emerges and makes her way to Pine Valley after finding out her
biological mother is the famous Erica Kane, to wreak havoc on her
and assume her glamorous lifestyle, which she feels is her birth
right. Erica had thought she had put that whole nightmare behind
her, only to have it come back years later with a vengeance and a
name. Mother and daughter loath one another during this time within
the series. The introduction of Kendall is a major
retcon, but still a popular story.
The Santos, Dillon, Frye, and Keefer families were introduced
during this time as well.
The
Tad and Dixie
pairing had become especially popular. The show also had other
couples with large followings during this time:
Dimitri and Erica (
Michael Nader), Trevor (
James Kiberd) and Natalie (
Kate Collins), and Hayley (
Kelly Ripa) and Brian (Gregory Gordon,
Matt Borlenghi, Brian L. Greene).
By the early-mid-1990s, some of McTavish's storytelling received
criticism for being gimmick-driven (i.e. multiple dual roles, bomb
plots). Reports soon surfaced that Behr and McTavish were having
conflicts about storylines and the direction of the series. After
the
O.J. Simpson trial preempted daytime television programs throughout
late 1994 and into 1995, many soaps saw their ratings decline, and
All My Children was no different. When Megan McTavish was
fired from her head writing post in the spring, former associate
head writer
Lorraine Broderick
was tapped by Behr as the new head writer.
Broderick's tenure under Behr was popular among critics and fans
for returning
All My children to its socially relevant,
character-driven roots. Her most significant successes were Erica's
drug addiction story (with the character receiving treatment at the
Betty Ford Center), and also the
story of
homophobia over a gay high
school boy and a history teacher. However, with the ratings still
stagnant, ABC fired longtime executive producer
Felicia Minei Behr, and brought in
Francesca James (who had previously
won an Emmy award acting on the show as twins Kitty and Kelly). The
storylines now included a
voodoo arc
with the popular
Noah and Julia
(
Keith Hamilton Cobb and
Sydney Penny), a fantasy story for
Myrtle featuring the "real"
Santa Claus,
and finally a baby kidnapping story involving Erica.
Despite winning three consecutive Daytime Emmys for writing during
her tenure on
All My children, Broderick was replaced in
December 1997 by her predecessor, McTavish. The first major story
McTavish tackled was, "ironically", one created by Broderick,
Bianca Montgomery's anorexia. The character of Bianca, Erica's
young daughter, is checked into a facility to treat the disease.
Apart from the anorexia story, McTavish's tales were plot-driven
and made implausible alterations to the show's history such as the
resurrection of Erica's lifetime-love, Mike Roy (Nicholas Surovy).
In 1998, the show again got a new executive producer,
Jean Dadario Burke, taking over from
Francesca James. She would become
known to many speculating fans as a weak producer with little
vision.
Cady McClain, who had left the show as
Dixie in 1996, returned to the delight of her fans, but other
storylines — involving ghosts, poison tattoos, Nazi art, and a
sperm switch — were all ill-received. By the start of 1999, with
All My Children being voted as the "Worst of 1998" by
Soap Opera Digest, McTavish was once again fired.
As ratings began to fall in the late 1990s, ABC convinced Nixon to
make a brief return. Many long-running actors, such as
Michael Nader,
James
Kiberd, and
Robin Mattson, left
their roles.
2000s
Nixon decided to write a story that would rejuvenate the show and
be socially relevant at the same time. This resulted in the series
revealing Erica's daughter Bianca as a
lesbian. Within the series, Bianca admits the truth
to her mother in December 2000. Though initially controversial, the
storyline was praised by fans and critics. Bianca emerged as a
breakout character and
lesbian icon. The show found additional success in the pairing of
newcomers
Leo and
Greenlee (
Josh Duhamel and
Rebecca Budig).
Richard Culliton wrote several of
All My Children's early 2000s storylines. He created
popular characters
Frankie and
Maggie Stone, and said Frankie was
already intended to be killed in a murder storyline after only
three months on the series. Culliton and
ABC executives were surprised
when viewers became attached to the romance between Bianca and
Frankie, developed by Culliton with Frankie's debut. These fans
attributed Frankie's death to the show's fear to focus on a lesbian
romance. Eventually, Culliton introduced the idea to bring back
popular actress
Elizabeth
Hendrickson, who had portrayed Frankie, as Frankie's twin
sister Maggie. Culliton continued to write for the show until late
2002.
After more staff turnover in recent years, McTavish again returned
as head writer. Her storylines began airing in July 2003, which
included
the
controversial rape of Bianca. Gone upon McTavish's latest
return was
Jean Dadario Burke as
executive producer, being
replaced with
Julie Hanan
Carruthers.
Under McTavish, ratings fluctuated back and forth. To lure back
long-time viewers, McTavish created new characters and romances, as
well as scripted the return of various characters who had been gone
for long periods of time. She introduced
star-crossed couple
JR Chandler and Babe Carey upon
writing JR's return to the series, scripted most of popular pairing
Bianca Montgomery and
Maggie Stone's love story, and created fellow popular couple
Zach Slater and Kendall
Hart.
Julia Santos (
Sydney Penny) and
Janet Dillon (
Kate Collins, who was originally
slated to return for a brief stint) were eventually given
contracts.
On July 26, 2006,
Tanika Ray,
Jonathan Aldridge, and
pop star Rihanna appeared
on the show. During the Rihanna appearance, a controversial
storyline involving Erica's thought-to-be-aborted son having come
to Pine Valley under the name
Josh
Madden intensifies when Josh learns of how he truly came to
exist. In August 2006, after months of speculation, it was
confirmed that fan favorite
Eden Riegel
would be reprising her
Emmy winning role
as Bianca. She was a part of a controversial storyline centered on
transgender character
Zarf/Zoe. Since departing the show in
February 2005, Riegel has continued to return to the series for
limited guest appearances.
The most notable return was
Cady
McClain's return as show heroine
Dixie Cooney Martin. The news of her
return spread just two weeks before she reappeared on the series.
In an unpopular and controversial move by the series, the writers
chose to kill off Dixie in January 2007 only a year after her
return. The character's death was the result of the
Satin Slayer storyline where she is
unintentionally murdered in place of character
Babe Carey.
Another prominent return to the series occurred on February 9,
2007, when
Susan Pratt returned as
Barbara Montgomery. Pratt made
her last appearance in July of that year. That same month, McTavish
was fired as head writer, reportedly due to viewer criticism about
her storylines. On May 21, 2007,
James Harmon Brown and
Barbara Esensten were announced as the new head writers of
All My Children. The duo wrote for
Days of our Lives,
One Life to Live,
Dynasty and
Port Charles, and created and wrote for
The City.
On December 12, 2007, ABC revealed
Rebecca
Budig would be returning to the series as
Greenlee Smythe; the return was one of the
most widely reported in daytime television history, attracting
mainstream media attention such as the
Associated Press and
New York Daily News. Budig's
return
was overshadowed by
controversy when news of
Sabine
Singh's reportedly unfair treatment as a Greenlee recast in
order to bring Budig back incited viewer outrage.
On December 25, 2007,
Soap Opera
Digest reported the return of fan favorites
Debbi Morgan and
Darnell Williams as
Jesse Hubbard and Angie
Baxter. Morgan returned on January 18, 2008, and Williams on
January 25, 2008. In April 2008, it was announced that
Laurence Lau would briefly reprise the role of
Greg Nelson for Jesse and Angie's much anticipated wedding.
On May 21, 2008,
Charles Pratt,
Jr., former co-head writer for
General Hospital, was announced as a
replacement for Brown and Esenstein amid record low ratings.
On November 6, 2008,
All My children aired a special
episode in which veterans share their stories unscripted. On
November 12, 2008,
All My Children celebrated their 10,000
episode as a tribute to character
Myrtle
Fargate, as portrayed by
Eileen
Herlie. On December 19, 2008, a special episode ran for Herlie,
showing clips from the past.
On February 16, 2009,
All My Children made daytime history
with the nuptials of
Reese Williams and Bianca
Montgomery, the first legal
same-sex marriage in American daytime
television.
On November 20, 2009, Pratt was fired as head writer.
Cast and characters
Ratings
For historical ratings information, see List of US daytime soap
opera ratings
1970s ratings
1978-1979 Season (HH Ratings)
1980s ratings
1979-1980 Season (HH Ratings)
(Nielsen)
1981-1982 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. General Hospital 11.2
- 2. All My Children 9.4
Highest rated week in daytime history
(Week of November 16-November 20, 1981) (HH ratings)
- 1. General Hospital 16.0 (3-4pm)
- 2. All My Children 10.2 (1-2pm) (#2 in viewers)
- 2. One Life to Live 10.2 (2-3pm) (#3 in viewers)
- 4. Guiding Light 7.4
(3-4pm)
- 5. The Young And The
Restless 7.0 (12:30-1:30pm)
|
|
1982-1983 Season
- 1. General Hospital 9.8
- 2. All My Children 9.4
1983-1984 Season
- 1. General Hospital 10.0
- 2. All My Children 9.1
1984-1985 Season
- 1. General Hospital 9.1
- 2. All My Children 8.2
1985-1986 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. General Hospital 9.2
- 3. All My Children 8.0
|
|
1986-1987 Season
- 1. General Hospital 8.3
- 4. All My Children 7.0
1987-1988 Season
- 1. General Hospital 8.1 (#1 in viewers)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.1 (#2 in viewers)
- 3. One Life to Live 7.7
- 4. All My Children 7.7 (#3 in viewers)
1988-1989 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.1
- 4. All My Children 6.7
|
1990s ratings
1989-1990 Season (HH Ratings) (1
= 921,000 Homes)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.0
- 3. All My Children 6.5
1990-1991 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.1
- 3. All My Children 6.6
1991-1992 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.2
- 2. All My Children 6.8
1992-1993 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.4
- 2. All My Children 7.3
1993-1994 Season (HH Ratings) (1 = 942,000 Homes)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 8.6
- 2. All My Children 6.6
|
|
1994-1995 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 7.5
- 2. All My Children 6.1
1995 Ratings (Millions of Viewers)
1995-1996 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 7.7
- 4. All My Children 5.3
1996-1997 Season
- 1. The Young and the Restless 7.1
- 5. All My Children 4.7
|
|
1997-1998 Season
- 1. The Young and the Restless 7.0
- 5. All My Children 4.2
1998-1999 Season (HH Ratings)
- 1. The Young and the Restless 6.9
- 5. All My Children 3.9
|
2000s ratings
1999-2000 Season (HH Ratings)
(Nielsen)
2000-2001 Season
2001-2002 Season
2002-2003 Season
|
|
2003-2004 Season
2004-2005 Season
2005-2006 Season (HH Ratings)
2006-2007 Season (HH Ratings)
|
2007-2008 Season (HH Ratings)
2008-2009 Season
- 1. Young & The Restless 3.7
- 2. Bold & Beautiful 2.6
- 3. Days of our Lives 2.2
- 4. General Hospital 2.1
- 5. All My Children 2.0
- 5. One Life To Live 2.0
- 7. As The World Turns 1.9
- 8. Guiding Light 1.6
The show reached a record low of 1,931,000 viewers on Friday,
August 22, 2008. Its previous low was 2,080,000 viewers on Tuesday,
September 30, 2008 and 2,144,000 viewers on Friday, November 2,
2007.
1/26-30/09
- Monday: 2.2/2,802,000
- Tuesday: 2.1/2,894,000
- Wednesday: 2.2/2,913,000
- Thursday: 2.0/2,609,000
- Friday: 1.8/2,540,000
The most previous ratings are for the week of June 30, 2009 through
July 3, 2009:-Monday:
1.9/2,616,000-Tuesday:1.8/2,466,000-Wednesday:1.7/2,475,000-Thursday:1.9/2,653,000-Friday:
repeat, 1.3
Scheduling history
All My Children currently airs Monday through Friday at 1
p.m. eastern (12 p.m. central) on ABC. Encores are aired on SOAPnet
in primetime at 8 p.m. (7 p.m.), late nights at 1 a.m. (12 a.m.),
and early mornings at 7 a.m. (6 a.m.). The week's episodes air in a
marathon on Sunday nights at 12 a.m. (11 p.m.).
From January 1970 to July 1975, the show aired for thirty minutes
at 1 p.m. (12 p.m.), but when the new
Ryan's Hope premiered,
All My
Children was bumped up a half-hour to 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m.).
It returned to its original timeslot in January 1977 and has been
there since, expanding to sixty minute episodes on Monday, April
25, 1977.
International broadcasting
In
Italy
, All My Children started to air in 1985
under the title La valle dei pini (Pine Valley),
with episodes four years behind the U.S. It was cancelled in
1992, with episodes at that time seven years behind.
All My Children is broadcast in
South Africa every weekday at 3:00 pm CAT,
after previously being aired at 10:30 am. Episodes are currently
four years behind.
The show is screened on Drama Central in Salverland. Episodes shown
in August 2009 are from November 2008. The soap opera is the
highest rated program on the air at that time.
All My
Children currently airs on A 12
PM PT,1 PM ET in Canada
.
AMC was
also previously seen on Citytv stations in
Calgary
CKAL-TV
,Edmonton
CKEM-TV
,and Winnipeg
CHMI-TV
.
Prior to 1998
All My Children aired on the
CBC Television network.
Awards and nominations
Here is the list of the winners at the
Daytime Emmy Awards; the show and its
performers have been nominated in excess of 250 times.
Show
- 1988 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
- 1992 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 1994 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 1995 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
- 1995 "Outstanding Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video
Control"
- 1995 "Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound
Effects"
- 1996 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
- 1997 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
- 1998 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 1998 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
- 1998 "Outstanding Makeup"
- 1998 "Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing"
- 1998 "Outstanding Live and Direct To Tape Sound Mixing"
- 1999 "Outstanding Music Direction And Composition"
- 2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing"
- 2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling"
- 2002 "Outstanding Achievement in Casting"
- 2002 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design"
- 2002 "Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic
Camera/Video Control"
- 2002 "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and
Composition"
- 2003 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
- 2005 "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and
Composition for a Drama Series" (tied with One Life to Live)
- 2007 "Outstanding Achievement In Technical Direction/Electronic
Camera/Video Control"
Individuals
Executive producers and head writers
Executive producers
Head writers
Duration |
Name |
1970 to 1983 |
Agnes Nixon |
1983 to 1986 |
Wisner Washam |
1986 to 1987 |
Wisner Washam & Lorraine Broderick |
1987 to 1988 |
Lorraine Broderick |
1988 to 1989 |
Wisner Washam & Margaret DePriest |
1989 to July 1992 |
Wisner Washam & Agnes Nixon |
July 1992 to June 1995 |
Megan McTavish
and Agnes Nixon
|
June 1995-October 1995 |
Agnes Nixon |
October 1995 to 1996 |
Lorraine Broderick |
1996 |
Lorraine Broderick and
Millie Taggart |
1996-December 1997 |
Lorraine Broderick |
December 1997 to June 1999 |
Megan McTavish |
June 1999 to November 1999 |
Elizabeth Page Agnes Nixon and Jean
Passanante |
November 1999 to January 2001 |
Agnes Nixon and Jean Passanante |
January 2001-May 2001 |
Jean Passanante |
May 2001-May 2001 |
Jean Passanante
and Michael Conforti |
May 2001-August 2001 |
Jean Passanante |
August 2001-September 2001 |
No Head Writer
Credited |
September 2001 to December 2002 |
Richard Culliton |
December 2002 to March 2003 |
Gordon Rayfield and Frederick Johnson Interim Head Writers |
March 2003 to June 2003 |
Gordon Rayfield
and Anna Cascio
|
June 2003 to July 2003 |
Gordon Rayfield and Anna Cascio with Megan McTavish |
July 2003 to May 2007 |
Megan McTavish |
May 2007 to July 25, 2007 |
No Head Writer Credited |
July 26, 2007 to January 14, 2008 |
James Harmon Brown
and Barbara Esensten
|
January 15, 2008 to January 30, 2008 |
Julie Hanan
Carruthers
and Brian Frons (WGA
strike)
|
January 31, 2008 to August 26, 2008 |
James Harmon Brown
and Barbara Esensten
|
August 27, 2008 to November 20, 2009 |
Charles Pratt, Jr. |
November 22, 2009 to Present |
Lorraine Broderick |
Current crew
Writers |
Producers/Consultants |
Directors |
[Chip Hayes]], Kate Hall, Joanna Cohen, Rebecca
Taylor, Jeff Beldner, Addie Walsh, Tracey
Thomson, Julie Hanan
Carruthers (Executive
Producer), Ginger Smith, Karen Johnson, Nadine Aronson,
Barry Gingold, Joann Busiglio, Enza Dolce, Brian Frons |
Casey Childs, Steven Williford,
Conal O'Brien, Angela Tessinari, Barbara M. Simmons, Jill
Ackles, Michael V. Pomarico, Francesca James, Shelley Curtis, Judy Blye Wilson |
|
Merchandising
The game company
TSR, Inc. introduced the
All My Children game in 1985, based on the daytime drama.
The game sold more than 150,000 copies.
DVD
A DVD was released on January 24, 2004 titled
Daytime's
Greatest Weddings which contained
All My Children and
other daytime soaps' weddings.
References
- Wakefield, D: "All Her Children", page 115. Doubleday &
Company, 1976
-
http://sn.soapnet.go.com/news/article/huge-all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live-news
-
http://daytimeconfidential.com/2009/08/04/all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live-to-go-hd-and-get-more-space-as-part-of-relocation/
- Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon - TIME
- One Life to Live recap (7/21/08, 40th
Anniversary) - Soaps.com
- One Life to Live recap (7/22/08, 40th
Anniversary) - Soaps.com
- Gary Warner, All My Children: The Complete Family
Scrapbook, p. 15-119, ISBN 1-881649-45-8.
- Simon, p. 148.
- http://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2008/1103-martinez.php
- All My Children recap 2/16/09 -
soaps.com
- Soap features daytime TV's first lesbian wedding -
CNN.com
External links