I told you not to trust Prospect Park Productions and its Online Network. Now, just as “One Life to Live” was getting ready to start a second “season” online, Jeff Kwatinetz has pulled the plug. His reason: he blames ABC for his failures, and doesn’t want to re-start the show until his lawsuit with the network is resolved.
Kwatinetz says he’s going on with “All My Children,” even though it wasn’t the best of the two online reboots and didn’t carry as many of the original actors. But that may be the point: Kwatinetz can’t afford to produce both shows. He fought with the unions over costs and fees, stopped shooting early, and threatened not to return at all. Now he’s simply pulling the plug on “One Life.” It was valiant effort for the cast and crew, but I’d say it’s over. It’s questionable how much “All My Children” is left for Prospect Park, too.
Kwatinetz is claiming in his lawsuit with ABC that the network took two characters to “General Hospital” and killed them off while no one was looking. No one can believe this to be anything but a legal stage misdirection. The two characters were minor. If they suddenly were deemed alive — as happens on soap operas all the time– no one would mind. But Kwatinetz is using this as a ruse and an excuse to cut his losses while he can. No one who knows him or who has dealt with him can feign surprise. But I do feel bad for the good folks at “One Life to Live.”
Who gets the last laugh? Susan Lucci. She’s in a hit show on Lifetime, “Devious Maids.” She and her husband Helmut Huber didn’t like what they saw at Prospect Park. She never re-signed with “AMC” even for a cameo. Even if the show starts production again. It’s unlikely Erica Kane will ever return to Pine Valley.
