Passions - NEWS ROOM

Since the end of Passions on DirecTV was announced several months ago, fans have anxiously sought out news of a third life for the show, whether it would be online, on the Oxygen Network, or somewhere else. These past few weeks have been especially tense as the show wrapped production, began to disassemble its sets, closed its doors and the network began reassigning its publicists. Marianne Muellerleile (Norma Bates), has aptly stated that, "The ending of PASSIONS has been the longest good-bye in TV history." It all seems to have been finalized at this point and it's become impossible to deny that the end is coming.

Following the recent trend of actors announcing either their own futures, or the future of the shows they appear on, MacKenzie Westmore (Sheridan Crane) has officially announced on her website's messageboard that the show is finished. She published the following goodbye:

I guess I never posted before about a farewell to Passions because I didn't really want to believe that it was over until we actually filmed a final scene. Well my friends, that day has come. It was a very sad day in Harmony, a town in which we all must say goodbye to. The last and final episode was shot today and emotions were very high as we were all so upset to say goodbye to one another and our second home of 4024 Radford Ave. I will never forget my days in Paris; filming in Oxnard; the boat (and of course the tango) with Galen; and so many more memorable scenes. It's still not completely sinking in (but the tears are) that this is all over. But, all good things must come to an end and I want to thank all of you for your amazing love and support through the years! You have been the BEST fans a soap could ever ask for and your loyalty to me as an actress and the show has always been appreciated!

Although neither NBC nor Outpost Productions have issued a public statement so far, one should be expected soon. While many fans and people in the industry expected this, the chance of a miraculous survival, as we saw last year when DirecTV took on the show, always seemed somehow possible. Sadly, hopes for that have now vanished. In another publicly issued statement, Marianne Muellerleile has summarized the completion of shooting this past week.

Sunday is the official wrap party. We're all meeting at a bowling alley to whoop it up and shed a few tears. On Monday our costumer is moving to Las Vegas, one actor is moving to New York another is moving to Miami. The rest of us will be back on the audition circuit, with some taking an extended vacation before that.

Later this week, props and costumes from the show will be sold off and several of the actors, past and present, have already set up new projects. For fans of the show, however, there will always be memories and, perhaps, reruns of past seasons if the rumors of USA taking the show onto their schedule ever turn out to be true, but that is, as yet, to be confirmed.

It's been hard news for us at Soaps.com too. Personally, I've been watching the show since it began and it has always been, by far, my favorite soap and provided a strange sort of pleasure which can not be easily replaced. Soaps.com and our sister site Soapoperafan plan to continue covering the show until its finale this August. We extend our thanks and best wishes to everyone involved in the show over the years, both those appearing in front of the cameras, many of whom were kind enough to talk to us, and also to the hard working people behind the scenes and at the network who have been a great help to us.