Coming Soon on All My Children: Erica Kane Goes Cougar!
Matt Richenthal at .Cougar Town is coming to ABC.
There's also a reality show specifically called The Cougar.
So how could All My Children resist the opportunity to place one of television's most popular, older, attractive characters into a relationship with a younger man?
Later this month, Erica Kane will fall into the arms of a much younger man: her daughter's ex-husband and ex-fiance's stepson. Indeed, Ryan Lavery will kiss Erica on the cheek on June 22 and the sparks will fly from there.
When asked if this relationship was a reflection of of the culture's current obsession with experienced women dating men very much their junior, All My Children executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers said:
"Certainly the fact that it is a hot topic right now makes it all that more delicious for us. It doesn't mean that that is how we're going to tell the story."
Carruthers said Susan Lucci, who is 62 years old and plays Kane; and the 39-year-old Cameron Mathison, who plays Ryan; have great comic chemistry. The writers were looking for a way to feature them together in some capacity for awhile now.
It's complicated, of course: Ryan was once married to Kendall, the girl Kane gave birth to after being raped at age 14.
"Think about this," Lucci said. "I slept with his father. He slept with my daughter. There has to be, at a certain point, (thoughts of) what does he know about me? What does he think he knows about me? As an actor, there's so much material to plumb into."
That's for certain.
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.