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Lifetime’s ‘All My Children’ revival gets major update with Emmy-winning writers

‘All My Children’ revival movies will follow the lives of Erica Kane and Dr. Maria Santos.

'All My Children' revival movies are currently in development at Lifetime. According to Daytime Confidential, veteran soap writers Jamey Giddens and Ron Carlivati have penned the script for one of the two movies in development at the network. The second movie, which will serve as the sequel to the first, has been written by primetime writer Leo Richardson. Carlivati is known for his contributions as a head writer on two popular ABC soaps titled 'One Life to Live' and 'General Hospital,' as well as the Peacock exclusive 'Days of our Lives.' The Daytime Emmy winner until very recently was a part of the writing team behind 'Beyond the Gates.' He took to his Instagram stories to celebrate the news of his participation in the AMC universe. "Excited to confirm that @jameygiddens and I are writing the first of two 'All My Children' movies, coming soon to @lifetimetv!" the celebrated writer shared. 

Giddens was once a part of the 'Beyond the Gates' writing team and is the mastermind behind the OWN series 'Ambitions.' However, his claim to fame in the soap community is undoubtedly his contributions as a podcaster and blogger on 'Daytime Confidential,' a media outlet which focuses primarily on American Daytime television. He began the biggest gig of his career recently as a co-head writer on 'Young & Restless.' He also took to Instagram to celebrate the news of his project with AMC. "I've been booked and busy in 2026. Before I received the life-changing offer to co-head write @youngandrestlesscbs, Andrew Stearn (@redcoatroad), the @agnesnixonamc estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos tapped @carlivatiron and me to write the first of two planned All My Children reunion movies for @lifetimetv! God is good. All. The. Time. #AllMyChildren," he wrote in the caption. According to his X post, even though the announcement has arrived recently, the script for their AMC revival was turned in months ago. 

Richardson is mainly known for his contributions to primetime series such as 'Star,' 'Katy Keene,' and 'You.' However, he does have soap experience, having been part of the writing team behind the U.K.'s long-running soap, 'EastEnders,' for three years. The movies will supposedly follow the lives of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Dr. Maria Santos Gray (Eva LaRue). Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are also set to feature as their popular characters, Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos. Ripa and Consuelos have long been passionate about the revival projects, and with the support of Agnes Nixon's estate and veteran producer Andrew Stearn, will hopefully realize their dreams. To ensure everything goes perfectly, Stearn chose Giddens and Carlivati to be the project's part. Consuelos and Ripa's Milojo production company is on board as producers. 

Albert Bianchini, executive producer for Milojo, was elated to see how passionate AMC fans were at a convention organized by Andy Cohen even after years since the soap went off the air. "I've never seen a crowd like that in my life. People were lined up around the block. Everyone wanted to know, 'When is ['All My Children'] coming back? We want more.' We got to see that in real life. And Kelly got to feel it in real life, and it made so much sense. I just know that the minute it gets out in the world, people will want more and more and more. There's just a love there," Bianchini shared. Lifetime is also looking forward to fulfilling the wishes of AMC fans. "Lifetime is always interested in shows that kind of tap into a powerful nostalgia that can be made fresh for today's audience. There's a whole generation of women that have missed these stories and these characters," Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network, shared.

Consuelos, who found both the love of his life and professional breakthrough from the soap opera, is keen to give back to the fans who have supported him over the years. "It'd be wonderful to give the fans something that they've been yearning for so many years. 'All My Children' gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back," he said.