Here is some news that is bound to make many moms happy, including mine. ABC is in early development on a sequel series to the former longtime running daytime soap All My Children called Pine Valley. Former All My Children stars and real-life husband and wife, Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa are executive producing along with Andrew Stearn and filmmaker Robert Nixon, son of the late AMC creator Agnes Nixon. The new take will be written and also executive produced by Leo Richardson.
Here is how the sequel series is officially being described:
“A young journalist with a secret agenda comes to expose the dark and murderous history of a town named Pine Valley only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families. The seres explores all the secrets that come with the Kane and Santos family names.”
For those needing a little All My Children history lesson, Kane was one of AMC’s founding families, with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) becoming one of television’s most popular characters. Ripa and Consuelos, who played Hayley & Mateo Santos on the original series, were a part of the Santos family. Ripa’s Hayley Vaughn married into the Santos family, which was a significant fixture on the show back in the ’90s because it allowed a Hispanic family to headline major stories on a daytime soap. Pine Valley will feature a new generation of characters and some old favorites. There are currently no deals in place with original cast members but the plan is to invite a number of them to make an appearance, with Ripa and Consuelos also possibly making a cameo.
All My Children originally ran for 41 years on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011. The show began in the half-hour format before the movie over to the hour-long format in 1977. The series was set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont. Originally owned by Creative Horizons, the company created by Agnes Nixon and her husband, Bob, the show was sold to ABC in January 1975. Shortly after All My Children‘s cancellation by ABC to make room for talk show The Chew, the rights to it and fellow departed ABC daytime soap One Life To Live was acquired by Prospect Park with the idea to continue the shows as web series. After some major hurdles, new episodes of All My Children started taping in Feb. 2013. By November the show had been canceled again. The rights subsequently reverted to ABC after a legal battle.
