Brian Frons, You're an Ass

A few weeks ago a bunch of rumors surfaced that ABC was planning to cancel All My Children. The rumors were plausible enough that some stars of the show mobilized their fanbases into a letter-writing and phone-calling campaign to save the soap. Then word spread that the rumors were just that, rumors. An executive producer assured the cast the show was not being cancelled.

Today ABC announced they are canceling both All My Children and One Life to Live. Both shows created by Agnes Nixon. Both shows not merely silly tales of "love in the afternoon" but for many years cutting edge in addressing major social issues through their characters and stories.

Granted, the writing hasn't been very good lately - in part because there hasn't been a meaty social issue storyline for a long time. But you know how you fix crappy soap writing, ABC? You hire better writers. You don't cancel the show.

The title of this post tells you what I think of this move and the executive behind it. Frons is an ass not only for cancelling these shows but especially for misleading the cast and crew, telling them their jobs were secure and then yanking the rug out from under them just a few weeks later.

I can tell you this: I'm in the demographic they're supposedly targeting, and I've intentionally watched All My Children for the better part of 25 years. I've watched through thick and thin, I've remained loyal through good story lines and crappy story lines, because in the end it was always about the bigger story that was being told.

I have no interest in the shows lined up to replace my (and my mother's and my grandmother's) stories. ABC Daytime, you have lost this viewer for good.