Daytime fans have been waiting for years for All My Children to make a comeback, and that's a reality that hasn't been lost on Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley Santos), who recently shared that the upcoming primetime reboot that is currently in the works is being made with passionate AMC fans in mind.
The actress took part in a joint ET interview with her Live! with Kelly and Ryan co-host, Ryan Seacrest, and explained why the AMC revival is happening and why now was the right time to delve back into the lives of Pine Valley characters.
"Soap opera fans are the original super fan," she enthused in the video interview (below). "Soap opera fans pre-date Comic-Con, they pre-date even American Idol, they pre-date all of these super fandoms."
The actress goes on to share that when she was presented with the idea of Pine Valley, she was immediately on board.
"I just feel like there is so much rich storytelling left to do, and you know, All My Children is responsible for my entire life. And I don't say that lightly," she shares. "I met my husband [Mark Consuelos, ex-Mateo Santos] on All My Children, I had my children on All My Children, I got this job standing in my dressing room at All My Children. That [show] is responsible for my entire life, and I'm not being glib when I say that. I mean that."
Ripa also reveals that doing an All My Children reboot is something she has been considering since ABC canceled the soap opera nearly a decade ago.
"It's been something that we've talked about for years, believe it or not," she shares. "When All My Children went off the air, I was devastated -- not for myself, because I had left the show by then, but I was devastated for the fan base, because it means so much to them."
Mark Consuelos previously revealed that of all of the projects that he and Ripa have been involved in, the AMC reboot news received the biggest response from fans.
"They're so excited," he enthused. "It's been a big piece of TV that's been missing for such a long time, and we're going to bring it back and I'm excited about it."
Though Ripa, Consuelos, and everyone else involved in Pine Valley are remaining mum about specific casting and storyline details, it has been revealed that the reboot will focus on "the children of Pine Valley" and it will take a "darker look at things" than its original daytime counterpart. The jumping-off point involves a young journalist with a secret agenda who comes to expose the dark and murderous history of Pine Valley, only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families.
Pine Valley creator Leo Richardson shared a photo of the completed pilot script on social media, and while he didn't reveal any additional casting or storyline information in the post, he did reveal that the script is 60 pages long, which equates to an hour-long drama. Shortly after making the social media post, however, he took it down.
Meanwhile, IMDb lists Ripa and Consuelos as Pine Valley cast members along with AMC legend Susan Lucci, who played the iconic Erica Kane from 1970 to 2011. However, this casting has not been confirmed and is just a rumor at this time.
How do you feel about the details that have been revealed about Pine Valley? What are your hopes for the upcoming All My Children reboot? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
