Watercooler: Which Soap Stars Deserve a Prime Time Shot?

ABC may not be doing right by its soap operas, but it sure has us thinking about them lately. On top of General Hospital's 49th birthday (may you live to see 50!), we got the news that All My Children exile Susan Lucci would join their Marc Cherry-produced pilot Devious Maids, as well as back-to-back soaper sightings on the network last night. Sean Kanan, who's played bad boy Deacon Sharpe on both The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless popped up for a scene on Desperate Housewives opposite fellow Y&R vet Eva Longoria as Gaby's personal-shopping customer. And that was Days of Our Lives vet Eric Winter playing Carlene's sickeningly hot brother on GCB.
So that got us wondering about all the other soap stars out there who might need to make the leap to primetime. Lucci is clearly a casting masterstroke, since the woman is nothing short of TV royalty. But what about One Life to Live's equally regal and jobless Erika Slezak? She could totally fit in as a nosy neighbor on Revenge. And now that we know it'll be back for a season, Smash could snatch up AMC's musically gifted Bobbie Eakes, right? They already found a place for her Pine Valley neighbor Thorsten Kaye.
When you think of it, there are tons of soap stars in need of jobs now that the genre has been bitch-slapped by executives who think talk shows are more fun than love in the afternoon. So why don't you have at it? Share your casting ideas for daytime alums who deserve a place in prime time down in the comments section.
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