The headwriter carousel is spinning in the world of soaps and two shows have tapped new scribes for their shows. Only they're not new, really, only new to these shows. See, in soaps, everything old is new again when it comes to headwriters. The names are usually the same, just the soaps are different. First, All My Children has brought in the super-experienced Charles Pratt, Jr. to take over the script duties. He being June 23, but with the lead time for soaps, his stories won't begin unfolding for about six weeks. Still, ABC daytime prez Brian Frons, was singing Chuck's praises in the announcement, saying, "Charles Pratt, Jr. is a master storyteller. His talents in writing today's biggest primetime hits in conjunction with his vast experience with daytime dramas will undoubtedly elevate All My Children stories in new and exciting directions."
Pratt does have extensive experience, including Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place, Santa Barbara, and back in 2002, General Hospital. The guy can spin a yarn and joining All My Children he'll have lots of great characters to explore. He's also coming in just as two major stars have been added to the All My Children cast, Guiding Light transplants Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin.
Over at The Young and the Restless, current headwriter Maria Arena Bell is getting a four-time Emmy winner to share the load, Hogan Sheffer. Sheffer is one of the most successful writers in daytime, having scored with As the World Turns and most recently Days of Our Lives. He left Days in April on the heels of the Writers Guild strike amid controversy over his status during the work stoppage. His addition to Y&R, the number one daytime soap in the ratings, will be a plus. Fans are looking for less business oriented storylines and more character driven plots, Sheffer's specialty.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-02-2008 @ 12:01PM
slutty_whore said...
Sheffer didn't exactly "score" with DAYS. He actually was a complete let-down, with the lack of John & Marlena and the sacrificing of Lucas & Sami for EJ & Sami, et al. As far as Sheffer goes, he is treading on his rejuvenation of ATWT.
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6-13-2008 @ 8:18AM
da_deb said...
I see that Y&R is getting one of the worse writers in day time. I guess they are tired of being the number one soap. I hope he doesn't bring them down to his level. He did an awful job on Days dragging story lines out forever. Boring.. I love Y&R I hate to see such a stupid move by the powers that be.
6-03-2008 @ 1:35PM
Jennifer said...
Y & R finally seems to be correcting itself from the poor writing that happened PRIOR to the writer's strike. The writing finally got back up to par when those crappy writers they had in went on strike. I mean they had Phyllis in jail. Why would u write that when Nick and Phyllis are daytimes top couple? They had Jana all screwed up. It was stupid. Made me really glad I have DVR. Why mess it up what they have going on now? It's finally gotten good again with the exception of the whole Gloria/Jeffery thing. Just let the snakes be together already. It'd be a lot more interesting.
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