Generations Debuted on NBC 35 Years Ago Today

NBC added a fourth soap, Generations, to its lineup on this day, March 27, in 1989, which was 35 years ago. The serial, created by former Young and the Restless scribe Sally Sussman, was groundbreaking in that one of its two core families was black.

Remembering Generations

While it lasted less than two years (exiting the airwaves on January 25, 1991), Generations made its mark on daytime television. The show told the tale of two women Rebecca Whitmore and Vivan Potter (Lynn Hamilton) and their families.

Generations launched the careers of Kelly Rutherford (Sam; Gossip Girl), who played Sam, former child actor Kristoff St. John (Adam), who joined Y&R as Neil Winters after Generations ended, and Vivica A. Fox (Maya; Kill Bill).

“I’m proud to have discovered them,” Sussman told Soap Hub in 2021. “When you make great discoveries, they find work. We took our time with casting. We tried to find really interesting people and I think we succeeded in that regard.

“I knew that I wanted a Black family on the show where [they could play] some of the iconic soap characters like the ‘rich bitch’ or the ‘devious businessman’ or the ‘young guy who sleeps with a married woman,'” the scribe said. “The characters didn’t have to be perfect, which is how they’d often been portrayed on other shows. I wasn’t hamstrung in that way.”

Generations only grew in popularity and remains a cult favorite. Jonelle Allen (who went on to star in Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman) was a standout as the dynamic Doreen Jackson. Like many shows, tweaks were made after the show launched. Daytime Emmy-winner Dorothy Lyman (ex-Opal, All My Children) replaced Patricia Crowley as Rebecca. Days of our Lives favorite James Reynolds (Abe) took over as Henry Marshall from Taurean Blacque.

The serial newcomer faced big competition as it aired opposite ratings juggernauts Y&R and AMC. “We had that working against us,” Sussman said. “How could we possibly have survived? Back when we were canceled, there was a phone call and letter-writing campaign going on to help save us. Today, we would have had social media added in; that would have helped a lot.”

Could there ever be a Generations revival? “I’d do it in a heartbeat,” Sussman said. “I’m dying to get a revival of Generations going. I think much of the cast would be up for it. We have Kelly, Nancy Sorel [Monique], George DelHoyo [Rob; ex-Orpheus, DAYS]…I would love to do a revival. Sadly, it’d have to be without Kristoff [who passed away in 2019]. We’d do it in a way where Adam and Maya and Sam were all parents, but you can’t recast Adam.”

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