"General Hospital" EP Frank Valentini on the New Realities of Daytime Drama

amp8220The challenges that we face in 2017 in daytime are very similar to the challenges that everyone else faces amp8211 there are many more choices and viewing options more competition as we all knowamp8221 Valentini pictured at top said amp8220For the audience that weamp8217ve had which back in the Eighties was huge and has dwindled significantly over the years we still want to hold on to them Our audience ebbs and flows Sometimes people will come back something draws them back inamp160 Sometimes they stay or they just sort of stay with us to some degree whether they watch one day or four days or five days The challenge is to make the show as exciting as possible every day so that thereamp8217s something in it every day for the audience either something that has a nostalgic flavor to it or is thrilling in terms of the storylineamp8220To sustain that for 12 months out of the year is really really challengingamp8221 he continued amp8220So we always try to look for something that appeals to the audience in terms of story nostaligia character amp8230 doing what we do best in daytime which is telling fullbodied threedimensional stories with a large canvas of characters Thatamp8217s what we should always be doing because thatamp8217s what sets us apart from everyone else and makes us unique and authentic Thatamp8217s how we solidify this brand and its valueamp8221Valentini agreed with my observation that one giant change during the last 25 years has been the rise of other media in particular cable television and the Internet both of which have successfully adapted every form of entertainment that was once specific to broadcast television amp8211 with the exception of daily daytime dramaamp160 In other words it is the only form of programming that remains unique to broadcast TVamp8220The daily soap or daytime drama is an original American art formamp8221 he said amp8220It perseveres because it is unique in that regard I donamp8217t know that the other media would be able to do it be able to handle all the challenges of doing 240plus episodes every year and keeping them all interesting and fresh Primetime writers sometimes complain about writing 22 episodes with a team thatamp8217s probably twice the size of what we haveamp8220I think weamp8217re just more adept at being fast and making it good at the same timeamp8221 he continued amp8220Our team has a shorthand with the crew and with the actors in terms of getting the job done in a very efficient and hopefully artistic enough environmentamp8221The uniqueness of the medium would also seem to offer certain opportunities for advertisers a reality that has not gone unnoticed at GHamp8220We have done some integrations that have been really successfulamp8221 Valentini recalled amp8220The clients have been really happy and the audience has been really happy with them You do what you can to keep the show on the air without compromising any of the integrity of the brand amp160Thatamp8217s one thing weamp8217ve been able to do really well so that the audience doesnamp8217t feel like weamp8217ve sold outamp8221Among the many changes in the genre has been an acceleration in the pace of production which was already considerably faster than that of any other form of scripted televisionamp160 amp8220Years ago they did one episode per dayamp8221 Valentini noted amp8220The production cycle ran 50 weeks a year Now we work about 37 38 weeks a year and weamp8217re able to do six sometimes seven shows a week We do them in a very efficient and timely manner Thatamp8217s just the reality of our financial situation right now to keep the show profitable enough for the network to keep it on the air but also for us to have enough money to do what we need to do artistically and keep the volume of cast members that we have amp160Itamp8217s a lot amp160Most primetime shows donamp8217t have more than 10 or 12 We have upwards of 25amp8221And then there is social media which has been both a competitor for viewersamp8217 time and attention but also a tool with which soap operas can broaden awareness and solidify an audience baseamp160 amp8220We just started a new initiative in February and the fans really respondedamp8221 Valentini explained amp8220Weamp8217re threedimensionalizing the experience of watching the showamp160 Thereamp8217s a lot of original content online thatamp8217s attached and adjacent to GH and thereamp8217samp160a lot more information being shared and a lot more discussion about the show When youamp8217re on and someone likes or doesnamp8217t like your performance they can tweet and text me about it Itamp8217s an interesting direction to go inamp8221Interestingly after this interview I came upon three members of the GH cast amp8211 Robert Palmer Watkins Dillon Quartermaine Donnell Turner Curtis Ashford and Hayley Erin Kiki Jerome in a hallway recording a video that was intended to promote on social media upcoming appearances they were going to make in Philadelphia and Detroit I ended up serving as their cameraman Turner at left Watkins and Erin are pictured aboveAsked about the future of daytime drama Valentiniamp8217s answer made clear that he believes a rising tide lifts all boatsamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s very encouraging that Days of Our Lives just got picked up for its 52nd seasonamp8221 he said amp8220Thatamp8217s really cool amp160Weamp8217re approaching our 54th anniversary amp160I feel like we are very strong and robust Weamp8217re holding our own in a good way and everybody is very happy with the creative direction of the showamp8221Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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"General Hospital" EP Frank Valentini on the New Realities of Daytime Drama

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"General Hospital" EP Frank Valentini on the New Realities of Daytime Drama

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