During the over forty plus year run of the soap opera titan All My Children on ABC, the brilliant writers of the daytime serial focused on storylines showcasing everything from having longtime heroine/femme fatale Erica Kane’s daughter come out of the closet as a lesbian to airing a transgender storyline for over a decade. Years after the cancellation of the soap opera institution, there indeed are many more stories to be told by the residents of Pine Valley, and it looks like they are finally getting the opportunity. Early development has started on a nighttime reboot of All My Children, aptly titled Pine Valley (named after the fictional Philadelphia suburb that the show is named for).
In the All My Children reimagination, (written & executive produced by Leo Richardson (of Katy Keene & Star fame), Deadline describes the show as “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 series explores all the secrets that come with the Kane and Santos family names.”
The Kane family introduced arguably the most popular character to ever emerge from soap operas, the indomitable (and frequently married) Susan Lucci (played by the equally legendary Susan Lucci). The Santos family arrived in 1995, introducing a brand new family at the time, including Mateo Santos (portrayed by Mark Conseulos). Santos and Hayley Vaughn (portrayed by newly minted heroine, a pre-talk show titan Kelly Ripa) became one of the premier super couples of soap operas during that era, until their departure in the early 2000’s. In a true full-circle moment, Pine Valley is executive produced via their Milojo Productions alongside the company’s Albert Bianchini. Additionally, son of soap opera legend and All My Children creator Agnes Nixon, filmmaker Robert Nixon, will be on board as an executive producer.
Deadline went on to report that “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 possible making a cameo.” Additionally, “Pine Valley will have a heightened tone and will wink to the daytime soap genre similar to how the CW’s Jane the Virgin paid homage to telenovelas.”