NEWS ROUNDUP: Marlene McPherson To Write ALL MY CHILDREN, VAMPIRE DIARIES Spinoff, GENERAL HOSPITAL

GENERAL HOSPITAL wants to keep its ONE LIFE TO
LIVE characters Todd and Starr (and John).  Prospect
Park licensed the rights to the characters, while ABC
has the actors under contract.

Soap Stars Weigh In on the Prospect of ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Revival
"This is such a historical thing," says Debbi Morgan, "like when soaps made the move from radio to television. I guess there are all sorts of positives and negatives to being in on the ground floor, but I'm game! Will [these reboots] succeed? With soaps, it's all about the story and the characters."

And that's where things could get ugly. In licensing the two soaps from ABC, Prospect Park has the rights to all characters, including the three from OLTL that are currently enjoying huge success on ABC's General Hospital: Starr (Kristen Alderson), John (Michael Easton) and Todd (Roger Howarth). Prospect wants those characters back, and that has the GH brass in a tizzy. Complicating matters: The actors are under contract to ABC, so theoretically Starr, John and Todd could go away, but the people playing them would stay with the network.

Gary Tomlin & Chrstopher Whitesell Named New DAYS OF OUR LIVES Head Writers; Lorraine Broderick Joins Team; Marlene McPherson & Darrell Ray Thomas, Jr. Out

DAYS OF OUR LIVES head writers Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas Jr., who were hired last May to lead a reboot of the show, have been replaced by former DAYS Co-Executive Producer and one-time Co-Head Writer Gary Tomlin and former DAYS Co-Head writer Christopher Whitesell. Soap Opera Digest reported the news in their latest issue.

McPherson just tweeted the following: "Thank you DOOL fans. U r the best and we love you! NBC never let us tell our stories. They kept stopping us and changing our direction. Sad."

Dena Higley Out as Head Writer of 'Days of our Lives'

Dena Higley

A spokeswoman for Days of our Lives has confirmed that Dena Higley has vacated her post as head writer for the NBC sudser and will be replaced by Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas.

Ken Corday, executive producer of Days of our Lives, announced that Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas have been named the head writing team on NBC’s longest running scripted program, effective immediately. “McPherson and Thomas will bring Days of our Lives back to its core values by telling exciting stories with a fresh and contemporary approach including beloved characters,” said Corday.

Higley's exit was first reported by Soap Opera Network.