Susan Lucci Goes IN on Brian Frons For "Throwing Agnes Nixon to the Wolves"; Hiring Chuck Pratt
Effin' A! All My Children leading lady Susan Lucci is finally spilling the T-E-A about how and why her iconic soap was destroyed. Lucci reveals to TV Guide Canada how she really feels about having her soap hub ripped out from under her. Here's what she said about Chuck Pratt—a long time friend of ABC Daytime Chief Brian Frons—whom most critics and fans feel put the final nail in the soap's coffin:
“Because I have thought about this very question for quite some time. My feelings are that Brian Frons was handed a very healthy daytime line-up when he arrived and then he hired Chuck Pratt to be head writer. Chuck said to all of us in a big team meeting that he didn’t care about characters. He said, ‘I will not be writing character-driven storylines. I don’t care.’ In individual meetings with him, people would come out weeping and distressed because he would [dismiss their characters and histories]. Almost immediately, our ratings dropped. As actors, we did everything we could to save and respect our characters and their histories; although on paper nothing was there for us to work with. The producers listened to the fans in the focus groups, and fans are sophisticated because of columns like yours and talk shows and so on, and they knew the writing was the problem. Chuck Pratt taking AMC down didn’t happen over night. And he was allowed to stay for two years. And unless it was Agnes or Lorraine, no one could dig us out of this hole.”
To read Lucci's passionate comments about how it was really Agnes Nixon who Frons threw under the bus, click here. Thanks Gush900 for the tip!
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Comments
22 October 2010
18 hours 10 min
Im glad Susan spoke. It was very clear that thats what happened. But Frons is trying to be "in with the times" bring in reality shows, that are less expensive to produce. I really wish that THEY - the cast, Agnes Nixon. etc. could really find a way to save these soaps. But I will never stop saying this -- I would rather it be on another network because ABC is not to be trusted and will screw them again.
17 March 2010
1 hour 47 min
Maybe now people will stop saying Ms. Lucci is being too nice and doesn't care that AMC was cancelled.
5 July 2008
16 min 33 sec
That Was Excellent. Go Susan.
22 October 2010
18 hours 10 min
I read the entire article. ABC has been mean for years. I really dont want them to keep them. I would love for another station who will enbrace them to pick them up. But not ABC - they are too mean.
15 August 2010
1 year 32 weeks
I dunno.
Lucci could have sharpened the verbal knives and been a little more to the point and acknowledged how TPTB had their favorites, wrote strictly for those four favorites and shoved those four characters down our throats day in and day out for the past five years.
And yes, I am refering to Zach, Kendall, Greenlee and the worst offender, perhaps, the worst soap opera character in the 30+ years I've been watching soap operas, RYAN LAVERY.
~ Kevin in downtown Tulsa
16 March 2008
11 hours 40 min
Okay. Show of hands. Who’s having daydream fantasies of Susan Lucci going totally into character and giving Brian Frons a good old patented Erica Kane full arm extended earth shaking hard slap across Fat Boy’s face followed by the obligatory one sided hair flip? Damn that would be good.
22 October 2010
18 hours 10 min
luverica -- we could only dream - i enjoyed that.
18 April 2011
10 weeks 4 days
Help save these shows a tradition being dismissed but night time soaps are in. Not right one bit! By the way a housewife's job with children is work .I own two real estate offices and manage FHA homes. Not to mention mortgage servicing. Let us find out what you are passionate about and cancel that!
No CBS was not to blame for canceling soaps Proctor & Gamble was ! So we you know, as a sponsor your responsible. That's right your company. We buy the products, so why do you make the decision on what we watch. Know what you are talking about. Soaps got there name from the soap companies.
Now cost-there is not that much difference when it comes to cost verses who is watching. Lets us see around the USA what is being watched. Pittsburg is largest daytime audience of soaps #1 one is One Life To Live, in Miami #1 is All My children.
So when the new shows fail and they will. FOX,CBS,NBC, and ABC will have only one soap. Except CBS that leaves talk show, cooking, and game shows. The ratings for game shows and talk shows are not any better or worse than AMC & OLTL.Cost is less until you have to produce a new show. There goes the cost. The cost on AMC one half more and on OLTL one whole times more. Your products just went down in sales.
If you are not watching (every channel is going to have the same thing on CBS ABC NBC) I have Direct and I can watch all the shows taking the place on another one hundred and fifty nine channels some which are reality, cooking, self help and game shows. The rating system dose not use Dish, Directv or antenna people. You can make up the cost by marketing and putting a sponsors product in the soaps
What is in a soap romance, escape, relaxation, and how to cope with bulling, addiction, death of a loved one, rape and other everyday problems of a modern day society. So why are you wanting new shows.
I am successful, married, proud American consumer, mother, grandmother, and part of a buying power way above most. I like seeming new products when I am relaxed watching my soaps. So the question is why are you not abiding by us instead of us abiding by your reshearch.I can do without your product Mr. Sponsors can you do with out me?
.
Save ALL MY CHILDREN & ONE LIFE TO LIVE
22 January 2011
8 min 26 sec
I know that Susan claims to be completely unlike Erica Kane in real life, but in this interview she sounds very Erica-like. If only she had sounded off years ago! And I'm thinking that the only reason she's doing so now is because ABC has probably not offered her anything else...No Desperate Housewives.
Hers was the one voice that could have made a difference.
2 February 2009
1 week 5 days
Awesomeness. SO HAPPY she said all that. Go La Lucci!
Not that it makes a damn bit of difference now *sigh*
7 June 2010
3 hours 11 min
Guza and Phelps were hired to behave in the exact same way. Neither caring, or considering the legacy of GH, it was, how could they slowly devolve the soap into a cancellation notice?! ...and by next fall, it will be just that!
You-suck-Frons! However, ABC is kissing your hairy-fat arse for killing soaps, so I'm sure you'll be rolling in bonus $$$ soon enough!
1 July 2009
26 min 28 sec
Good for Susan, I'm glad she spoke up and Ms. Nixon as well!!!
12 February 2010
14 hours 8 min
I am SOO glad that Susan finally took her earrings off and brought out the Vaseline. That's one of the many reasons I like this woman. Like the dearly departed Bernie Mac used to say: Keep on telling it like it T-I-IS......
I hope there's a special place in SOAP OPERA HELL for the likes of Chuck Pratt, Brian Frons and Killer Kreizman!!!!!!!
Burn, bastards!! Burn!!!
25 November 2007
15 weeks 3 days
Go Susan!
Just to hear the truth about how these people don't care about their characters makes me sick and angry.
Why would you even write a show if you don't care about the history and storylines.
Anybody could pull a story out of his ass!
I've even had my tv completely turned off since last August. Haven't watched ABC in years
9 January 2011
1 year 46 weeks
9 January 2011
1 year 46 weeks
They are not only to mean, but they can't be trusted. If the soaps were to stay on as they are right now, nothing would change. In order for our soaps to get better, we have to go to another network with another head writer. How awesome would all three of these shows be?? So much history, so many great stories to emerge. Now we will never know.
4 May 2011
1 year 32 weeks
It is about a major AMC star spoke up! I do think Miss Lucci let Frons have it, and it is about time! Robin Strasser did, although she has been quiet as of late. The stars of AMC and OLTL need to take a stand with their fans and support the soaps! I think we all know that the cancellation is all about the mighty dollar. It seems like Frons has been planning ABC's soap lineups demise for 10 years now!
The fans are rallying. If we are going down, lets go down fighting!!!!
SAVE OUR SOAPS
25 April 2011
2 years 2 days
Loved WE LOVE SOAPS
Mimi Torchin interview
she summed it up correctly .. and she is very very right ......
4 May 2009
34 min 46 sec
I loved it and thought it was great. I love Susan so much.
What I find interesting is I remember interviews in Digest with Brown, Esensten, Pratt, Kreizman, & Swajeski where they all swear up and down that they were using Agnes Nixon as a resource. Why am I not surprised its bullshit. Agnes would never approve of the shit we have had to tolerate in recent years.
17 February 2009
22 weeks 4 days
Go Susan Lucci!
Just heard! Guza's out at GH...ABC SID is saying it's official! I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing at this point.
The true rejoicing will begin when they can Fronzenstein's stupid ass.
25 April 2011
2 years 2 days
YEP! GUZA IS OUT
GARIN WOLF is IN !
Looks like GH is going to be saved
might ONE LIFE and AMC be too!?
25 April 2011
2 years 2 days
Just IN:
Robin Strasser to EXIT ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Health reasons.
18 February 2009
3 hours 37 min
GARIN WOLF is IN !
Looks like GH is going to be saved
might ONE LIFE and AMC be too!?
(sigh)
Not a clue!
You probably thought AMC was saved when Lorraine Broderick was brought in, too!
Also, the Strasser news has already been posted on this site, scoop.
25 April 2011
2 years 2 days
Yeah I posted first, you ingrate!!!!
fucking idiot!
18 February 2009
3 hours 37 min
You posted at 8:14. I already responded to this site's story at 8:11. (Nice mouth, by the way. Classy, as ever, SoapHacktor.)
25 April 2011
2 years 2 days
YOU KNOW WHAT
I POSTED BEFORE THEY DID , and you are nothing, but some bitter old queen
and this is sooo fun to get under you pathetic skin ........you freaking idiot!! You are a joke to the boards, totally and utterly !!!!
18 February 2009
3 hours 37 min
I'm completely calm. I don't know how you posted it first when I comment on the DC story before you posted. I guess you have control over time and space in addition to be an aspiring soap actor...oh no, wait...a soap insider...oh no, wait...a crackpot who posts stuff that nobody believes and everyone would find laughable if it were not so annoying.
I'm glad to know I'm not getting under "you pathetic skin".
23 July 2008
13 weeks 5 days
That hurts my heart. But I disagree that the decline of AMC happened when Pratt took over. Chuck Pratt certainly did irreparable damage to the show but AMC had been bad for years.
9 January 2011
1 year 46 weeks
GARIN WOLF is IN !
Looks like GH is going to be saved
might ONE LIFE and AMC be too!?
I am 'speechless' SoapActor. I would have thought you would be the one to break the news since you seem to know everything ahead of time.
9 January 2011
1 year 46 weeks
I POSTED BEFORE THEY DID , and you are nothing, but some bitter old queen
and this is sooo fun to get under you pathetic skin ........you freaking idiot!! You are a joke to the boards, totally and utterly !!!!
Actually he isn't an idiot or a joke. He/she is very knowledgable and that bothers you, doesn't it?? He/She is respected on these boards and you are laughed at.