It's been weeks since All My Children dropped head writer Charles Pratt Jr.Today, the ABC soap which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary on the air, made a decision about the future story lines for the show. David Kreizman and Donna Swajeski are the new co-head writers of All My Children. The duo have worked together in the past; in 2007 they were winners of the Writers Guild Award for heading up the Guiding Light writing staff.
ABC Daytime prez Brian Frons, was effusive in praising the writers, saying, "David and Donna are the perfect team to bring new ideas to All My Children while remaining true to its core by telling stories with a focus on the integrity of the show's history, its characters and families on the canvas." It helps that Donna actually began her soap writing career atAMC, working directly with the show's creator, Agnes Nixon.
While I like the work Kreizman and Swajeski have done in daytime, I can't be overjoyed about this hiring. Unfortunately, soap operas rarely hire outside the field. The cruel fact is that the best way to get a job as a soap writer is to be a soap writer. The instances when an outsider brings a fresh perspective to the genre are rare indeed.
Hogan Sheffer is the most famous example of someone who came from beyond soap land. He was developing scripts for movies like My Dog Skip, Galaxy Quest and What Lies Beneath before becoming a soap scribe. And at first he was electrifying with the work he did on As the World Turns.
See, that's because he was coming from the outside. My concern for AMCis that Kreizman and Swajeski will serve up the same old, same old. After the rough time with Pratt, I'm sure AMC fans are hoping that Kreizman and Swajeski restore some continuity and character driven storytelling, while bringing something new and interesting to the venerable soap.
ABC Daytime prez Brian Frons, was effusive in praising the writers, saying, "David and Donna are the perfect team to bring new ideas to All My Children while remaining true to its core by telling stories with a focus on the integrity of the show's history, its characters and families on the canvas." It helps that Donna actually began her soap writing career atAMC, working directly with the show's creator, Agnes Nixon.
While I like the work Kreizman and Swajeski have done in daytime, I can't be overjoyed about this hiring. Unfortunately, soap operas rarely hire outside the field. The cruel fact is that the best way to get a job as a soap writer is to be a soap writer. The instances when an outsider brings a fresh perspective to the genre are rare indeed.
Hogan Sheffer is the most famous example of someone who came from beyond soap land. He was developing scripts for movies like My Dog Skip, Galaxy Quest and What Lies Beneath before becoming a soap scribe. And at first he was electrifying with the work he did on As the World Turns.
See, that's because he was coming from the outside. My concern for AMCis that Kreizman and Swajeski will serve up the same old, same old. After the rough time with Pratt, I'm sure AMC fans are hoping that Kreizman and Swajeski restore some continuity and character driven storytelling, while bringing something new and interesting to the venerable soap.
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