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Susan Lucciis sharing some insight into the current status of theAll My Childrenspinoff series.
While chatting with PEOPLE about her ongoing collaboration with theAmerican Heart Associationand itsGo Red for Womeninitiative, the 75-year-old actress also opened up about the planned revival series to the Emmy-winning show, which was previouslyannouncedin December 2020.
Noting that word about the forthcoming project comes “sporadically,” Lucci told PEOPLE, “There has been movement. I wish it was a quicker movement, but yes, everything in terms of being in the right hands, as far as I know, would be in place.”
“It’s really interesting, and the concept is so good,” she continued. “[It’s] in the right hands … [with]Kelly Ripaand her husband,Mark Consuelos, who are both so terrific. They would be executive producers, so I’m really hoping that this is going to actually go forward.”
Lucci — who starred as character Erica Kane on the daytime soap opera from 1970 until its final episode in 2013 — did note, however, “COVIDis in play again, and things are slowed down.”
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Back in 2020, Ripa, 51, and Conseulous, 50, announced their involvement in the project, marking their return to their soap opera roots years after they first met on the set ofAll My Children. The duo is executive producing the spinoff series, which will be titledPine Valley, according to a prior report fromVariety.
Leo Richardson is writing and executive producing the project with Robert Nixon — the son ofAll My Childrencreator Agnes Nixon — who is also on board as an executive producer. Ripa and Consuelos are attached to the series under their Milojo Productions banner,Varietynoted.
On Twitter, EP Richardson shared his excitement over the news of the planned revival,writingat the time, “Beyond excited to be writing/exec producing this classic and giving it the full modern prime time treatment. Let’s go! #PineValley @KellyRipa @MarkConsuelos.” In response, Consuelos quote-retweeted the post from Richardson, andsaid, “So excited Leo!!!”
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All My Childrenaired for 41 years on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011. It was later revived briefly as a web series in 2013. (The show began in a half-hour format before changing to hourlong episodes in 1977.)
In the series, Ripa starred as Hayley Vaughan from 1990 to 2002, while Consuelos portrayed Mateo Santos Sr. from 1995 to 2002. Both also appeared on the show in multiple episodes in 2010 for the series' 40th anniversary.
The pair played an onscreen couple, which led to them dating and eventually marrying in real life. Ripa and Consuelos now share three children together: sonsMichaelandJoaquin, plus daughterLola.
In 2020,Entertainment Weeklyreunited theAll My Childrencast for their #UnitedAtHome series amid the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic.At the time, many of the former stars said they would be open to a potential reboot, including Lucci, though she remained cautious and said she would only be on board if the reboot was “in the right hands.”
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Continuing to speak with PEOPLE, Lucci explained that her character Erica would currently “be up to something really exciting” in the present day. “She would definitely be involved [in the drama], she would never be just lying down somewhere,” she said with a laugh.
“With Erica, you never knew what she was going to say or do, and that made her really fun to watch,” Lucci added. “She was full of spirit, and people identified with that spirit of her very much.”
“So certainly, I think, the same thing that women and men could identify with would still be there,” she continued. “She was a woman you loved to hate, but, on the other hand, you also loved to love her and root for her.”
And though she remained mum on exactly whether or not she will make any form of an appearance on the planned spinoff series, Lucci did offer some insight into characters she would love to see return either way. “Well, certainly I would hope my two daughters would come back,” she said of Alicia Minshew, who played Kendall, and Eden Riegel, who played Bianca. “We had wonderful, wonderful relationships, and they were [a part of] important storylines.”
Lucci also said that she’d similarly love to see other characters appear as well, such as Walt Willey’s Jackson, Jill Larson’s Opal and Julia Barr’s Brooke, among others.
“But I know the concept would also introduce some compelling new characters and that would be very exciting too,” she noted.
source: people.com
