JamesG
11-21-2009, 12:24 PM
Charles Pratt, Jr. fired as head writer of All My Children
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 1:16:42 PM
Updated Friday, November 20, 2009 6:04:05 PM
by Dan J Kroll
As the cast and crew of All My Children get ready to pack up and head to Los Angeles, they'll also have to get used to someone new penning the action in Pine Valley.
Charles Pratt, Jr. has been relieved of his duties as head writer. Pratt joined the show in June 2008.
All My Children fans were up-ended earlier this year when ABC announced that it was transitioning production of the show to the West Coast.
Now comes another surprising turn: the show will be moving on without its head writer. ABC is now confirming a report made earlier today by soapcentral.com: Charles Pratt, Jr. has been fired as head writer of All My Children.
Pratt's first day at the helm of All My Children was June 23, 2008. Upon his hiring, Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group, referred to Pratt as "a master storyteller" and touted Pratt's work experience as something that would "undoubtedly elevate All My Children stories in new and exciting directions."
Fans, however, have felt otherwise.
Over the past six months, viewers have inundated soapcentral.com's mailboxes with complaints about the direction of the show. What was to have been a complex and mysterious murder mystery -- the "Who Killed Stuart?" storyline -- dragged on too long in the eyes of many fans, and most have expressed dissatisfaction with the plot's resolution.
Other viewers have threatened to tune out and a soap columnist even urged viewers to boycott the show until Pratt was fired.
In three years, All My Children has had three head writing regimes.
In February 2007, the ABC soap dismissed Megan McTavish as its head writer amid complaints that the show had become too dark.
Three months later, Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown were unveiled as co-head writers.
A year later, Esensten and Brown were out and Pratt was in.
Though the network confirms Pratt's ouster, ABC declined to offer additional comment. A replacement for Pratt has yet to be named.
http://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2009/1123-pratt.php
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 1:16:42 PM
Updated Friday, November 20, 2009 6:04:05 PM
by Dan J Kroll
As the cast and crew of All My Children get ready to pack up and head to Los Angeles, they'll also have to get used to someone new penning the action in Pine Valley.
Charles Pratt, Jr. has been relieved of his duties as head writer. Pratt joined the show in June 2008.
All My Children fans were up-ended earlier this year when ABC announced that it was transitioning production of the show to the West Coast.
Now comes another surprising turn: the show will be moving on without its head writer. ABC is now confirming a report made earlier today by soapcentral.com: Charles Pratt, Jr. has been fired as head writer of All My Children.
Pratt's first day at the helm of All My Children was June 23, 2008. Upon his hiring, Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group, referred to Pratt as "a master storyteller" and touted Pratt's work experience as something that would "undoubtedly elevate All My Children stories in new and exciting directions."
Fans, however, have felt otherwise.
Over the past six months, viewers have inundated soapcentral.com's mailboxes with complaints about the direction of the show. What was to have been a complex and mysterious murder mystery -- the "Who Killed Stuart?" storyline -- dragged on too long in the eyes of many fans, and most have expressed dissatisfaction with the plot's resolution.
Other viewers have threatened to tune out and a soap columnist even urged viewers to boycott the show until Pratt was fired.
In three years, All My Children has had three head writing regimes.
In February 2007, the ABC soap dismissed Megan McTavish as its head writer amid complaints that the show had become too dark.
Three months later, Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown were unveiled as co-head writers.
A year later, Esensten and Brown were out and Pratt was in.
Though the network confirms Pratt's ouster, ABC declined to offer additional comment. A replacement for Pratt has yet to be named.
http://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2009/1123-pratt.php