The soap opera is dead. Long live the soap opera.
In what can only be called a soapy bit of irony, former All My Children star Josh Duhamel (ex-Leo duPres) has sold a soap-based drama series pilot to ABC.
Deadline reports that the yet-titled drama is a behind-the-scenes look at how the lives of soap stars are affected when rumors surface that their long-running soap is going to be canceled. It doesn't require much of a leap to think that All My Children may have been an inspiration for the pilot.
The pilot "takes place behind the scenes of a daytime soap and explores the loves, lives, and lunacy at an on-the-bubble series, where the antics of the cast and crew are crazier than any of the plot lines they broadcast."
If the series were to be picked up, it is expected that Duhamel would make appearances on the show.
The Transformers star got his big break on All My Children in 1999. Duhamel remained with the ABC soap for three years. In 2002, Duhamel picked up the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He'd also been nominated in the category in 2000 and 2001.
When ABC canceled All My Children in 2011, Duhamel asked that the show allow him to appear in a few final scenes.