Stars React To Shows’ Cancelation

As you can imagine, the double whammy that ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE have been given the ax by ABC has sent shockwaves throughout the entire daytime community. Ever since the news broke, actors past and present from the ABC soaps as well as from other networks, producers, writers and other industry colleagues have taken to social media outlets to share their heartbreak. “It’s devastating news,” Stephanie Gatschet (Madison, AMC) tells Soaps In Depth. “But we’ll go out with our heads held high.”

On her Facebook page, Susan Lucci (Erica, AMC) posts that “The face of daytime television has changed resulting in the cancellation of All My Children. Final episodes will broadcast in September. It’s been a fantastic journey. I’ve loved playing Erica Kane and working with Agnes Nixon and all the incredible people involved with All My Children. I’m looking forward to all kinds of new and exciting opportunites.” Meanwhile, OLTL’s David Gregory (Ford) revealed on his page that the cast was told at a meeting earlier today that they’d be taping their last episodes in November to air in January 2012, while AMC will finish taping in August. “Thank you all so much for your support of not only daytime TV, but the ABC soaps: especially OLTL. And the Ford clan!! Love you guys. Frank has promised were goin’ out with a bang so get ready!!”

Twitter has seen an explosion of comments about AMC and OLTL, with soap-related posts being 7 of the top 10 trends after the news broke. “A moment of silence for a disappearing genre,” tweeted Nathan Fillion (ex-Joey, OLTL), one of the first to react. “OLTL & AMC, we’ll miss your hard work and talent.”

UPDATE: OLTL’s Erika Slezak (Viki) weighed in with her own statement: “I am so terribly sad that we are losing ONE LIFE TO LIVE,” she said. “This is a show with so much heart and life in it and we have had so many wonderful loyal viewers. I am deeply sorry. We have been a family for so long, and the sadness of this loss extends to all of us. This is not only a loss to television, but the entire entertainment industry and to the many hard working people of New York who have been the heart and soul of ONE LIFE TO LIVE.”