Erica Kane

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is no stranger to television, from the local news to guest spots on prime-time shows. On Tuesday, he added to his filmography with a stint on the newest soap opera in town. After 40 years of shooting the fictional suburb Pine Valley on the East Coast, the ABC daytime drama "All My Children" has moved production to Southern California. Villaraigosa was on hand to welcome the new neighbors -- with a cameo appearance. In an episode scheduled to air Feb. 17, Villaraigosa plays himself.

Prospect Park's project to revive the canceled soap operas "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" as Internet productions is advancing with newly signed contracts with several actors from the long-running ABC shows. After more than a year clearing hurdles, Prospect Park earlier this month finalized pacts with Hollywood talent guilds SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America. The firm said Tuesday that it had closed deals with several prominent actors, including Erika Slezak, who will reprise her role as Victoria Lord Buchanan for the online version of "One Life to Live.

Weekdays, just before 11 a.m., Martha Torres would lean out the kitchen door of her modest Albuquerque home and beckon her two granddaughters: "It's almost time. " It was the early 1980s. The girls would dash into the adobe-like house to join Torres, and her husband Joe, to catch the latest episode of "All My Children. " "That was our special time of the day," said Desiree Sanchez, one of the granddaughters. Now 32, she is a gymnastics coach in New York City and plans her workouts so she can watch the program while running on the treadmill.

Soap legend Susan Lucci is finding life after Erica Kane. She appears on Lifetime's "Army Wives" on Sunday night in a three-episode character story - one of the first since her 41-year run on "All My Children" ended last fall - with fellow "Children" alum Kim Delaney. Also a beauty entrepreneur, Lucci, 65, co-stars in "Devious Maids," Marc Cherry's prime-time soap pilot for ABC, and hosts Investigation Discovery's new show "Deadly Affairs," scheduled for a fall debut. How did your arc come about on "Army Wives"?

Soap legend Susan Lucci is finding life after Erica Kane. She appears on Lifetime's "Army Wives" on Sunday night in a three-episode character story - one of the first since her 41-year run on "All My Children" ended last fall - with fellow "Children" alum Kim Delaney. Also a beauty entrepreneur, Lucci, 65, co-stars in "Devious Maids," Marc Cherry's prime-time soap pilot for ABC, and hosts Investigation Discovery's new show "Deadly Affairs," scheduled for a fall debut. How did your arc come about on "Army Wives"?

WITH all due respect to executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, the majority of "backlash" against the Zarf/Zoe story line in "All My Children" will likely come from poor execution, not subject matter ["Zarf Becomes Zoe, and a Soap Evolves," Dec. 24]. Likewise, ABC Daytime President Brian Frons can wish for all the "adventurous" storytelling he wishes, but if it is told poorly, people will not watch. The reason "All My Children" is losing viewers is not that the stories are lacking adventure or daring (witness the recent undoing of Erica Kane's historic abortion)

Most of the cast of ABC's "All My Children" will travel with the soap opera when it makes its move from Manhattan to a new home in Los Angeles, the network reports, including leading lady Susan Lucci, who has played oft-wed diva Erica Kane since the show premiered in 1970. The main exception is Ray MacDonnell, who, like Lucci, is an original cast member. He is retiring from his role as Dr. Joe Martin. The cross-country move was first announced this summer, with Dec. 11 the final day for the show in its current New York facilities.

Prospect Park's project to revive the canceled soap operas "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" as Internet productions is advancing with newly signed contracts with several actors from the long-running ABC shows. After more than a year clearing hurdles, Prospect Park earlier this month finalized pacts with Hollywood talent guilds SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America. The firm said Tuesday that it had closed deals with several prominent actors, including Erika Slezak, who will reprise her role as Victoria Lord Buchanan for the online version of "One Life to Live.

Lucci reproaches ABC Erica Kane wouldn't leave quietly if she felt she'd been wronged. Neither is Susan Lucci as "All My Children" nears its Sept. 23 end on ABC. In a newly published epilogue to her memoir, Lucci sharply criticized her ABC bosses for axing "All My Children," which has been on the air since 1970. Lucci, who has played Erica for all that time, said the decision to cancel the show was motivated by greed and said the head of ABC's daytime unit, Brian Frons, has "that fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance.

Forty-one years is a long time to spend in one town, but that's how long I've been making a regular pilgrimage to Pine Valley, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia and the setting for "All My Children. " I missed days here and there — sometimes even months at a time — but I always returned. On Friday, my regular visits will end. Although few television shows have had a more devoted fan base, the soap opera has been canceled. There are promises that the show will continue online, but fans are nevertheless mourning the end of an era. When "All My Children" debuted in January 1970, I was a 17-year-old with no clear plan for the future.

Forty-one years is a long time to spend in one town, but that's how long I've been making a regular pilgrimage to Pine Valley, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia and the setting for "All My Children. " I missed days here and there — sometimes even months at a time — but I always returned. On Friday, my regular visits will end. Although few television shows have had a more devoted fan base, the soap opera has been canceled. There are promises that the show will continue online, but fans are nevertheless mourning the end of an era. When "All My Children" debuted in January 1970, I was a 17-year-old with no clear plan for the future.

Weekdays, just before 11 a.m., Martha Torres would lean out the kitchen door of her modest Albuquerque home and beckon her two granddaughters: "It's almost time. " It was the early 1980s. The girls would dash into the adobe-like house to join Torres, and her husband Joe, to catch the latest episode of "All My Children. " "That was our special time of the day," said Desiree Sanchez, one of the granddaughters. Now 32, she is a gymnastics coach in New York City and plans her workouts so she can watch the program while running on the treadmill.

Lucci reproaches ABC Erica Kane wouldn't leave quietly if she felt she'd been wronged. Neither is Susan Lucci as "All My Children" nears its Sept. 23 end on ABC. In a newly published epilogue to her memoir, Lucci sharply criticized her ABC bosses for axing "All My Children," which has been on the air since 1970. Lucci, who has played Erica for all that time, said the decision to cancel the show was motivated by greed and said the head of ABC's daytime unit, Brian Frons, has "that fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is no stranger to television, from the local news to guest spots on prime-time shows. On Tuesday, he added to his filmography with a stint on the newest soap opera in town. After 40 years of shooting the fictional suburb Pine Valley on the East Coast, the ABC daytime drama "All My Children" has moved production to Southern California. Villaraigosa was on hand to welcome the new neighbors -- with a cameo appearance. In an episode scheduled to air Feb. 17, Villaraigosa plays himself.

Most of the cast of ABC's "All My Children" will travel with the soap opera when it makes its move from Manhattan to a new home in Los Angeles, the network reports, including leading lady Susan Lucci, who has played oft-wed diva Erica Kane since the show premiered in 1970. The main exception is Ray MacDonnell, who, like Lucci, is an original cast member. He is retiring from his role as Dr. Joe Martin. The cross-country move was first announced this summer, with Dec. 11 the final day for the show in its current New York facilities.

WITH all due respect to executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, the majority of "backlash" against the Zarf/Zoe story line in "All My Children" will likely come from poor execution, not subject matter ["Zarf Becomes Zoe, and a Soap Evolves," Dec. 24]. Likewise, ABC Daytime President Brian Frons can wish for all the "adventurous" storytelling he wishes, but if it is told poorly, people will not watch. The reason "All My Children" is losing viewers is not that the stories are lacking adventure or daring (witness the recent undoing of Erica Kane's historic abortion)

Succumbing to shifts in audience tastes, ABC is ending two long-running soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," and replacing them with lower-cost lifestyle shows. The cancellations, announced Thursday, mark the latest upheaval in daytime network television. Once a dominant source of escapism for tens of millions of women, the genre is losing ground to scores of cable TV networks, the Internet and social media. The move also comes just as two icons of the daytime screen, Oprah Winfrey and Regis Philbin, are getting ready to exit the stage after decades on the air, underscoring the biggest shakeup in daytime in a generation.

Susan Lucci is back among the nominees for Daytime Emmy Awards this year. After 14 nominations without a victory, the actress who for 24 years has played Erica Kane on ABC's "All My Children" was not among the finalists last year. But in nominations announced Wednesday, Lucci was joined as a finalist for best actress in a drama series by Leslie Charleson of ABC's "General Hospital," Marj Dusay and Maeve Kinkead of CBS' "Guiding Light" and Erika Slezak of ABC's "One Life to Live."

Susan Lucci is back among the nominees for Daytime Emmy Awards this year. After 14 nominations without a victory, the actress who for 24 years has played Erica Kane on ABC's "All My Children" was not among the finalists last year. But in nominations announced Wednesday, Lucci was joined as a finalist for best actress in a drama series by Leslie Charleson of ABC's "General Hospital," Marj Dusay and Maeve Kinkead of CBS' "Guiding Light" and Erika Slezak of ABC's "One Life to Live."