All My Children GLAAD-Hands New Character

Mon., Nov. 27, 2006 11:07 AM PST by Gina Serpe

Pine Valley is officially part of the rainbow coalition.

ABC's venerable sudser All My Children has announced plans to bring the first ever transgender character to daytime television in the form of the unfortunately named British rock star, Zarf.

Zarf will appear in Pine Valley this Thursday to begin his gender reassignment from man to woman, in a storyline that the otherwise sensationalistic soap opera is taking great pains to keep grounded.

So far, so good.

While the character, played by Taboo's Jeffrey Carlson, has yet to make an appearance on the show, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has already spoken out in support of the daytime development.

"Telling the story of a character's transition from male to female is groundbreaking television," said Damon Romine, GLAAD's entertainment media director and a consultant on the soap opera's storyline. "All My Children has a track record of telling honest and important stories, and we applaud them for their commitment to sharing Zarf's story with compassion and integrity."

Carlson, who appeared in what was billed as a one-off episode of AMC last summer, will portray Zarf for the time being. Whether the character will eventually undergo reassignment surgery or later be played by a woman has not yet been determined by show producers and will likely hinge on the character's acceptance by the daytime audience.

Which, if early chatter is to be believed, may not be as welcoming as hoped.

On ABC's official message boards for the long-running soap, several posters have left comments, calling the inclusion of a transgender character "disgusting"—that it has been done for "shock value" and will cause them to stop watching the show completely.

Soap Opera Weekly editor Carolyn Hinsey also took aim, telling the Associated Press that producers were "trying really hard and throwing a lot of desperate stuff against the wall to see what sticks."

In 1992, the enduring soap averaged 8.2 million viewers daily. Last year, Nielsen Media Research reported the show was drawing a comparatively paltry 3.1 million per day.

ABC, however, insists the move is not one of desperation.

"All My Children has a long-standing commitment to telling socially relevant stories that entertain and inform," executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers said. "At its core, this is a story of acceptance and love."

The series is no stranger to cutting-edge arcs.

In 2000, All My Children became the first soap opera to feature a lesbian character in a regular role when Bianca Montgomery, played by Eden Riegel, came out. Three years later, another first was made when the show featured daytime's first same-sex kiss.

As it happens, Bianca also plays a role in Zarf's coming to terms with his sexuality. According to ABC, Zarf grows close to—and ends up kissing—Bianca. When he learns she's a lesbian, he comes to terms with his own sexual identity.

While the transgender character is new for daytime, it will be the second such character on current series television. Last season, actress Daniela Sea portrayed a female-to-male transgender on Showtime's The L-Word, transitioning from Moira into Max.

As for Carlson, he has no qualms about portraying a transgender character, but only hopes to accurately represent the lifestyle.

"I worry about missing something, but I guess that would be the same with any character," he told AP. "I want the All My Children audience to go along. It's not for shock value. It's just another person whose story is being told in Pine Valley."