Is ABC planning a major merger of One Life to Live and General Hospital?

At a viewing party in Riverside on Friday, fans were reduced to sobs as ABC brought an end to a 40+ year institution with the finale of ABC soap One Life to Live. Although there was no last-minute reprieve, and Prospect Park's plans to take the show online failed miserably, have we really seen the last of the town of Llanview? And should we?

Fair warning, readers. This article will ask more questions than it answers. These are confusing times for ABC soap watchers, and the confusion seems to be growing.

It was announced Wednesday that four One Life to Live actors were making their way to the last remaining ABC soap, General Hospital, and not in new roles but as their current OLTL characters. If the rumors swirling around the internet are to be believed, these aren't the last Llanview citizens who will be making their way to Port Charles.

In fact, the buzz (and remember, these are only rumors at this point) is that ABC has plans to create some type of merger of the two soaps with at least two more characters from OLTL announced as coming on board in the next few days. Word from RavenBeauty's Spoiler World is that one will be Trevor St. John. "Remember the hints I gave you yesterday about the two more on their way to GH from OLTL? Many of you guessed Trevor St John (especially after what I reminded you about today along with the hints from yesterday). I told you again and again that Victor was not dead, Todd did not kill him, and that you would see him again before the show closed (we have come full circle today). Dry those eyes my fellow Trevor St. John fans.. You will have reason to smile here very soon! You heard it here first (get ready)!"
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While not one to usually report on rumors, RavenBeauty has been more than spot on with her predictions over the years and seems to have inside sources that are quite reliable. In fact, this extreme soap blogger predicted the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live (and took a lot of heat for it) more than a year before the announcement was made. She also posted about the move of One Life to Live characters several days before ABC made the announcement that Kassie DePaiva (Blair), Roger Howart (Todd), Kristen Alderson (Starr) and Michael Easton (John) were indeed headed to GH.

Four actors is one thing, but what does a large influx of new characters mean for General Hospital actors? With the fate of General Hospital hanging in the balance, it seems that trying to thrust a whole new group of characters onto the scene is just asking to tip an already rocking boat. While there are certainly a number of new GH characters that could be handed their walking papers to make way for Llanview residents, how many high-paid, front-burner actors can the show afford? Even cutting a handful of low-paid newbies may not cover the salary of someone like Michael Easton, on top of paying high-profile GH actors like Maurice Benard and Steve Burton. Does that mean bigger, higher-paid General Hospital actors will be out the door to make room for One Life to Live characters? If not, can their be enough storylines to accommodate such a massive cast - and enough budget?

During the Silas Kain radio show on Friday night, Raven (who joins the show around 163:00) dropped a bombshell that her sources noted ABC had already planned to make massive cuts - more than 60% - to General Hospital's cast even before the annoucement of the influx of OLTL actors. Did the failed Prospect Park deal force this merger due to unfulfilled promises to some cast members?

Raven also revealed that she wouldn't be surprised if the two biggest male characters on General Hospital (insert your own names here) leave the show over the tension on the set. She emphasized that the problems aren't between the actors but with the "prison-like" atmosphere at the studio.

So is this possible large-scale merger good news or bad? Many fans begged that they'd do anything to save their shows, and merging these two soaps is certainly one solution. Bringing in OLTL actors may mean a rise in General Hospital's struggling ratings as fans follow their favorite characters; however, will it matter if General Hospital viewers begin falling away when they no longer recognize the show they've been watching for years? And will One Life fans respond favorably to their favorite characters being in a new town, interacting in with what could be strangers if they weren't already GH watchers?

Given that One Life to Live's ratings were incredibly strong in their last months, does ABC believe that creating what basically sounds like "One Life to Live 2.0" will increase ratings and still appease General Hospital fans - all the while staying on whatever ridiculous budget constraints they feel are adequate?

Only time and official announcements will tell what the fate is of the remaining ABC soap - and for the soap genre as a whole. Silas did point out in his radio show that news is coming in that indicates things are "very fluid" and that there is "light at the end of the tunnel." Here's hoping.

What do you hope will happen? Who should go? Who should stay?


http://www.examiner.com/soap-opera-in-riverside/is-abc-planning-a-merger-of-one-life-to-live-and-general-hospital

I would rather these characters story end where I saw them stop then continue on a show that I have no interest or intention to watch. Merging the two shows would be an exercise of futility and also an awkward clash. They're nothing alike. It would have made more sense to merge OLTL and AMC, OLTL and GH go together like french fries and motor oil.

I am torn myself. Its not a show without Viki and her family. I can't stand Todd (RH) but TSJ being on the show is a plus. Ill decide by february when they start migrating over there.

According to KDP its short term but who knows.

This is ABC realizing that cancelling OLTL was a mistake and trying to keep some of its daytime viewers, since they see that the new shows aren't making up the difference. There's something OFFENSIVE about OLTL characters shipwrecking at GH to me. It's viewer manipulation.

I don't know how many viewers from OLTL they are going to get since a) its only short term and b) rumors of GH being cancelled in Sept. are still running rampant.