All My Children reunites on Home & Family

All My Children cast members l-r:
Taylor Miller, Peter Bergman, Kathleen Noone,
Michael E. Knight, Eva La Rue, Susan Lucci,
Jill Larson, Eden Riegel, Kim Delaney and Laurence Lau.
February 1, 2017
Photo by Erica Berger

For fans of daytime TV's classic series, this past week of Hallmark Channel's Home & Family was a real treat.  All week long, daytime diva Susan Lucci guest-hosted the two-hour daily program -- and on Thursday, Lucci joined in for a reunion of many of her former All My Children co-stars.

The vibe was familial as the actors joined in different combinations not only to talk about their days on the soap, but to work with Home & Family correspondents such as Debbie Matenopoulos, Lawrence Zarian, Kym Douglas and Paige Hemmis for segments on beauty, cooking and crafts.

Home & Family hosts
Mark Steines and Debbie Matenopoulos
February 1, 2017
Photo by Erica Berger

Later, over cocktails in Home & Family's backyard, I talked with Michael E. Knight, aka AMC's Tad Martin, about how he got his start.  Not long after graduating, he found himself on AMC -- and acting opposite one of his idols.  As a kid, Knight had broken his wrist, and during his recuperation, home from school, he discovered All My Children and its resident vixen, Erica Kane.  So years later, when he got the job on AMC himself, he approached Susan Lucci like a real fan -- and, he admits, probably scared her.  "I know you!  I love you!"


Check out Hallmark's Home & Family, airing weekdays at 10 AM Eastern/Pacific.

All My Children's Kim Delaney (l) and Kathleen Noone
February 1, 2017
Photo by Erica Berger

With the delightful Eva La Rue
at Hallmark's Home & Family
February 1, 2017
Photo by Erica Berger

Colucci meets Lucci at long last!
With Susan Lucci and my husband Frank DeCaro
at Hallmark's Home & Family
February 1, 2017
Photo by Erica Berger

Life Goes On on Home & Family

Check out the latest reunion of a beloved TV clan:  on today's episode of The Hallmark Channel's fun, informal talk show Home & Family, it's the cast of Life Goes On, the groundbreaking 1989-93 ABC drama centered on the Thacher family, and particularly on their son Corky, living with Down Syndrome.

Life Goes On stars, L-R:
Kellie Martin, Chris Burke, Patti LuPone

For their interview on today's show, the actor who played Corky, Chris Burke, is reunited with his TV mother and sister Patti LuPone and Kellie Martin.  LuPone gets teary after not having seen Burke for years.  But for Burke and Martin this is not so much a reunion; because Chris currently lives in New York, where he works for the National Down Syndrome Society, he has been spending this visit to L.A. staying with Martin and her family.

If like me, you're a fan of the show, you'll love this reunion, with Chris revealing the process by which he won the role, Kellie pulling out an old pair of Becca's very '80s glasses, and the whole cast attempting a singalong of the show's theme song, The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di" -- but not quite remembering the words.

And for good measure, there's another classic TV star, Happy Days' Henry Winkler, on today's show as well, charming and funny as he discusses his series of Here's Hank books, wherein the hero, like Henry himself, has dyslexia.

On today's Home & Family, L-R:
Matt Iseman, Henry Winkler, Brooke Burns
Mark Steines, Patti LuPone, Kellie Martin, Chris Burke

Later in the show, there's a fun segment where Home & Family hosts Mark Steines, Matt Iseman and Brooke Burns (subbing for the vacationing Cristina Ferrare) play a game based on Happy Days trivia.  I won't tell you who wins -- but let's just say that, while Mr. Winkler makes sure to tell Patti LuPone early on how much he loved her in Evita, it soon becomes clear that Patti was too busy on Broadway in the '70s and '80s to have watched much TV.

"I watched you..." the former Fonz tells her, feigning insult.


Home & Family
The Hallmark Channel
Today, Monday Feb 23
10 AM Eastern / 9 AM Central

Home & Family Hosts the Amazing Race

Home & Family hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman
with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan

Seven years ago this spring, I was lucky enough to be able to accompany the cast and crew of The Amazing Race 13 on the show's first leg, to the beautiful city of Salvador, Brazil.  That first night, as the cast members spent a miserable night in mosquito tents in a muddy jungle, I was even luckier, in that I had a great meal with the show's executive producer Bertram van Munster, and went back to my fluffy hotel bed in the city's Rio Vermelho section.

Writing that story was one of my favorite experiences of my career, not just for the free travel but also because I got to witness the truly amazing machinery of The Amazing Race in action.  The amount of pre-planning and coordination required to produce the show is truly dizzying, and yet season after season, the show stays compelling and fresh -- particularly now with the twist it delivers with its 26th edition, which will air its special 90-minute season premiere next Wednesday, February 25 on CBS.  (9:30 PM Eastern / 8:30 Central)

L-R, Home & Family hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman
with Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and contestants
Laura Pierson, Tyler Adams, Jenny Wu and Jelani Roy

In the new season, many contestants are paired "blind date" style, with partners they've never met.  This morning, on the Hallmark Channel's talk show Home & Family, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and four such blindly-matched contestants, Laura Pierson, Tyler Adams, Jenny Wu and Jelani Roy, recounted for hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman their Race experiences, from the casting process through that moment when the starting gun was fired and beyond.  It looks like another great season, and my DVR is all set for this coming Wednesday.

Check out the clip below of this morning's Home & Family segment:



Home & Family
Airs Weekdays 10AM/ 9AM Central
The Hallmark Channel

The Amazing Race 26
Premieres Wednesday, February 26 at 9:30 PM Eastern / 8:30 PM Central
CBS