"The Revolution" Producer to Soap Fans: "I Feel Your Pain"

[JamesG]

ABC's "The Revolution" Producer to Soap Fans: I Feel Your Pain
Apr 15, 2011
by Michael Schneider


Reality producer J.D. Roth had a hunch that ABC was close to picking up his new daytime series "The Revolution". But Roth says he had no idea until Thursday morning that his greenlight would come at the expense of two soap opera staples.

Thursday's ABC soapocalypse left daytime fans reeling, as the network pulled the plug on 43-year-old "One Life to Live" and 41-year-old "All My Children".






Roth, whose new show will take the place of "OLTL" in January, says he first brought "The Revolution" to ABC more than a year ago.

"We pitched an idea for daytime that had a fresh perspective, and they liked it," says Roth, who shot the pilot six months ago.

"I didn't know if it was going to be for syndication or network. No one talked about replacing anything. It's bittersweet for me. On the one hand, we're bringing a new genre to daytime. But on the other hand, I grew up watching my mom watching these soap operas. I want to be respectful of it."






The producer admits he's going to have to work hard to win over viewers angered by the move.

"You always have to earn the audience's respect," says Roth, whose 3Ball Entertainment also produces NBC's "The Biggest Loser".

"It was not an easy task to put on a show with extremely overweight people. That was not a popular choice when the show first came out. It took seasons for the audience to catch on. A lot of advance work has already been done on the show,".





As for soap opera fans, Roth notes that he has plenty of friends in that world — including "Days of Our Lives'" Alison Sweeney, who doubles as host on "The Biggest Loser".

"I feel for those people who love the art of soap operas, the writing and the craft," he says. "I have nothing but respect to that world and its 50 years on TV."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Revoluti...p-1031882.aspx