How Fans Are Ensuring the Return of AMC and OLTL–and You Can Too!

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[Full disclosure: both Shawn Brady and Akbi Khan are heavily involved in the fight to bring “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” back to life].

Last month, the rights to “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” reverted back to ABC/Disney (ABCD) after a prolonged lawsuit between that company and production studio Prospect Park. Since then, members of the Save Our Soaps (SOS) community have been working overtime to see that ABCD brings those iconic shows back on-screen.

Fans Are Fired Up

Through phone calls to the offices of ABCD TPTB, emails to them, Tweets targeting them, and even postal mail letters addressed to them, supporters of these classic soaps have let the top brass at ABCD know that they expect the properties not simply to languish on the vine now that ABCD owns them again.

Assistants to ABC head honchos Ben Sherwood, Channing Dungey, and Vicki Dummer have all made it clear that their bosses have received many communications from fans daily and that they are aware there is great interest from fans in seeing AMC and OLTL resurrected.

A Facebook Group That is Leading the Fight

The Facebook group “Save AMC and OLTL” wrote on its page today, “Many of you have been asking for a sign that things are happening; that we are making a difference. There have been some recent glimmers of hope. Nothing concrete but we hope that by sharing some of this information you too might feel a bit better and encouraged to keep tasking.”

A Little AMC and OLTL History

ABCD canceled AMC and OLTL in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The Eye Network then sold the rights to Prospect Park (PP), a production company who produced online versions of them. The PP online iterations of the soaps then ceased production in 2013 due to the cost of a lawsuit PP filed against ABC over rights to certain characters from the two sudsers.

Daytime giant Agnes Nixon developed AMC in 1970 and OLTL in 1968. Both shows ran uninterrupted on ABC until 2011 and 2012 respectively, gaining masses of fans and becoming part of the cultural fabric of the United States.

For more on what you can do to help bring AMC and OLTL back, visit the “Save AMC and OLTL” Facebook group.

Update, January 11th: Now there’s more you can do!

Give us your input in the comment section below. Check back with Soap Cities for more AMC/OLTL news, updates, fun, and more! Follow us on Twitter at @soapcities, on Instagram at @soapcities, and come chat with us in our Facebook group. “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will one day be back on-screen—never doubt!

Akbi Khan has been watching and loving soap operas for 31 years and writing about them for the last four. She also loves sitcoms; musicals; laughter; going dancing; spending time with family and friends; fighting for animal rights, ethical environmental stewardship, civil liberties preservation, and LGBTQ rights; and evolving along a spiritual path. She has a Master’s in rhetoric and composition. Akbi is 39 years old and lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Discussion15 Comments

  1. AMC and OLTL.. I grew up watching these shows.. My mom watched them and in turn my kids did.. It would be awesome to have them back.. Like family moving away and coming back home ♡

  2. I watched AMC for years but quit in the last few years on air, but I watched OLTL religiously for 45+ years. I never missed a show, I did have to record it most days due to work, but watched as soon as I got home. Please, please bring back OLTL and AMC. I also watch GH daily, so don’t cancel it. Talk shows are ok, but these shows let the fans live though the characters we grew up watching. Let’s us relax and live life’s that normally we can’t. Again I beg you to bring back OLTL and AMC and keep GH.

  3. Excited that ABC is considering options. Hope they bring OLTL back, not just stop at adding a few characters to GH.

  4. Comment on Save AMC & OLTL’s post

    I miss both of these shows and would love to see them back on daytime tv!!
    LikeMore · I have watched these and other soaps for 40 years, and truly enjoyed getting to know each character! Like others have commented they are like our family and are very missed!

  5. I miss both AMC and OLTL and want them back! Any way I can get them, I will take them. I will do whatever I can to help make that a reality. Thanks for the article – love the new site!

    • Akbi Khan

      Thank you so much for the support, for reading and commenting. We too want AMC and OLTL back and are with you in the fight to make that happen! Keeping reading, commenting, and fighting!

  6. I cannot express how much I miss DOOL And OLTL. I am not interested in reality shows. I watch daily the four soaps that we have left. They are the highlight of my day. What a special treat it would be if DOOL and OLTL were returned to us. I also miss all the actors. They really become family and you look forward to seeing them. Please, please do everything that you can to revive these soaps as soon as possible. Waiting with baited breath.

  7. I have watched AMC and OLTL for 35 years until they went of the air! It was my favorite TV and I was just so heartbroken when they cancelled them. I will help anyway I can to bring them back! I would just be in heaven!

  8. PATRICIA JOHNSON

    AMC and OLTL.. I grew up watching these shows.. lOVED WATCHING THESE SOAPS LOOKING FORWARD TO THERE RETURN.

  9. If (only if) AMC &OLTL return to ABC what will become of The Chew? If the Chew goes off the air I ain’t going to lose sleep over it so once again if these soaps return to ABC is it possible they’ll start broadcasting half an hour each cause if they do it be better than nothing.

    • I ABSOLUTELY WANT SOOO MUCH FOR MY BELOVED OLTL BACK NOT BIG ON ALL MY CHILDREN BUT FINE WITH IT COMING BACK TO FOR THEIR FANS. I JUST WANT MY ME&MA/JOLIE BACK SOOOOOO VERRY MUCH!!!! HOPE IT HAPPENS VERRY SOOON! IN THE MEANTIME I VERRY MUCH WANT MELISSA ON GH AS REIKO FINN’S WIFE OR SARAH WEBBER OR MELISSA THE LADY DOC OR ANYONE I DON’T CARE JUST BRING HER ONBOARD FRANK SHE’D BE FANTASTIC!!! I JUST WANT THAT NOW UNTIL OLTL COMEZ BACK!

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