General Hospital
Barbara Bloom Joins The Writing Team At GH!
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
Looks like former Daytime Programming executive and soap writer, Barbara Bloom is back at her old stomping grounds at ABC!
According to an item from Daytime Confidential, Bloom is writing outlines for the citizens of Port Charles at General Hospital.
When daytime fans last saw Bloom, she was the Senior Vice-President at CBS Daytime and was very involved in bringing Let’s Make a Deal and The Talk to the network following the cancellations of Guiding Light and As the World Turns. She was also heavily involved with The Young and the Restless, where she brought Lynn Marie Latham on to the series as EP and head-writer.
When she left CBS in 2011, Bloom said in a statement: “I’ve had the great fortune to work with an extraordinary group of executives, producers and talent who make CBS #1 in daytime. With CBS Daytime teed up for success and stability for many years ahead, the timing feels right for me to make a change now and seek something different. The dramas have multi-year renewals, ‘The Price is Right’ has great momentum with Drew, ‘Let’s Make Deal’ with Wayne Brady is firmly established and ‘The Talk’ is a growing franchise. I’ve been a writer, a producer and a programming executive, and now I’m excited to see what the next chapter has to offer.”
At ABC, Bloom began her daytime career journey in the on-air promotion department and soon became the series executive for One Life to Live, and then General Hospital. Barbara was very instrumental in GH’s spinoff, Port Charles, where she became the series head writer.
So, what do you think of Barbara Bloom joining the writing team at GH? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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I’m not sure crediting her with bringing Lynn Marie Latham to Y&R is a good thing, considering the LML tenure was a colossal disaster. Her stories were plot-driven, nonsensical and destroyed several legacy characters in order to fit her machinations.
However, GH is in desperate needs of a redirection, so hopefully she will have some say in the future of the show. Now that Steve Burton is back and Sweeps stories are beginning, hopefully it will be a positive change and steer GH in the right direction.
I agree with that Latham association, Jimmy! Ugh.
Seems the names just recirculate in daytime, yet the genre seems to crave for new directions. Circles!
I agree with Jimmy’s comment regarding GH needing redirection. They need to shift their focus back to learning how to creatively write and develop storylines for the existing cast members. I see yet another article on another actress joining GH. Good grief. Bring back Rebecca Buddig and Robert Palmer Watkins. Stop with putting hope in these newbies.
Time will tell…
Oh my , please find a way to restore GH to its glory
Bloom joining the writing team at GH.. Well, it could not get any worse than it is so hopefully has has the magic the turn GH back to the Real GH the GH was Not like the other soaps and bring GH back to its uniqueness.. GH has been turned into entertainment for the Nursing Homes .. I hope ‘Chris’ and Barbara can revive GH .. (( Shelly has all but destroyed GH by redeeming everyone and eliminating all the bad guys, the characters that once brought the chills and thrills )) BB King / The Thrill Is Gone …… Read more »
“Entertainment for the nursing homes”? S’pain, please? What mean you, su? “Redeeming everyone”? Again, explain, please? Don’t think they can redeem either Ava nor Franco–though, I’ll admit, they’ve tried. And they’re always trying to redeem Sonny; they can’t do it. They go down that road to making a character black; then they paint the character into a corner. Then they decide to keep the character and “redeem” it. No can do. Can’t have it both ways. You either write a complex character and write many conflicts for that character that have the character make moral choices that may or may… Read more »
Isn’t she the one who came up with the short story arcs for Port Charles? While it started out as a fresh approach, wasn’t that what ultimately led to its demise?
I didn’t get to watch Port Charles, but I remember that it won some awards and had outstanding characters/plots. Maybe she’ll do the same for GH.
hi Nancy..
Bloom is writing outlines for characters..
I don’t know how much power that gives her creation of stories..
Soaps want to be relevant and watched. Could we hire someone under the age of 60 to write for these shows? No offence to this woman or her age. Soaps are on the chopping block, they need an infusion of young new writers. They have needed that for decades! I go on YouTube and watch the credits of say, a show like Search for Tomorrow (which went off the air 31 years ago!) and I still see some of the same names in the credits!!! Soaps need a fresh perspective and they aren’t getting it by recycling the same senior… Read more »
Jovin, well said…although you could have taken it a little easier on the AARP set, of which many of us fall into that demo. I’m choosing to see this as an intriguing hire. Yes, her 2003 – 2011 tenure as SVP of Daytime Programming at CBS saw her preside over the cancellation of both Guiding Light and As the World Turns, something that would otherwise give me pause, but this hire should strengthen the ranks of our show–if not create a little drama behind the scenes in the process. Barbara’s been one of the suits, responsible for an entire daytime… Read more »
hi Jovin .. I’ve said much the same for a long time.. The GH writers write for people in nursing homes haaa! Really, the writers are older and live in that world and write of it.. No one has the latests new Tech, none of them, they are still in the 80’s.. We desperately need Young writers to bring the soaps into the 21st century. Media has drastically changed since the 80’s.. bwa, no one even has an Echo.. and most of their hair styles and wigs are from the 80’s .. For most of them being in the business… Read more »
Hi su…well, if you read my posts you KNOW we differ on the age angle! 😉 First, writing is a craft. It’s about the human condition. Soaps are about people, families, love, hate, betrayal, sex, crime, melodrama, friendship…all universal and all timeless/ageless. Soaps are also a genre..and a tradition. If we were to infuse it with “everything” modern would that make a difference in the stories? I don’t need to see or hear “Alexa” or “Echo” for a story to be up-to-date! I don’t need to see the newest mac or samsung tab and I don’t need to hear my… Read more »
I agree. We need younger audiences but the juvenile storylines meant to draw them in are universally horrible. Young audiences will connect to legacy characters provided they have the things that interest them. They need shows with energy and strong forward momentum. No flashbacks. No year long What Happened To Morgan. No improbable gee which one is Jason for the next year. Stories and characters advance swiftly. The night time soaps on CW understand it’s a different narrative arc for younger viewers. This the generation that downloads the song they like but not the rest of the album. The youth… Read more »
Yes, but the problem is that soap writing is a very specific form of storytelling, and with the demise of opportunities for the genre, there is very little opportunity for younger writers to rise up through the ranks and develop that talent. Much easier when you have a set beginning, middle, and end. With soaps, to quote Agnes Nixon, “the stories never end,” and most contemporary writers don’t learn how to project stories years in advance as she and Bill Bell did for so long–and so well.
“An infusion of young, new writers” does not ensure good, current, or absorbing story lines. Quite the contrary. Writing is, and always will be, about craft. You learn craft by honing it. An outstanding example is Margaret Atwood (she wrote the handmaiden’s tale in the ’80’s–won a slew of Emmys this year). How long has she been writing? A l-o-n-g time, and she is still writing and still relevant. And, she had a vision in the 80’s that is still timeless today, witness the tale. A prime example in daytime still stands out: Douglas Marland. Ask Genie Francis about him.… Read more »
I didn’t necessarily mean young as in 21. I meant new and fresh. Like when Hogan Sheffer came onto As The World Turns in 2000! His work was awesome!! Even some of the fan fiction I read here is better than what some soap writers crank out. What they do is tireless, exhaustive work and we fans really are too hard on them much of the time.
Nancy, Douglas Marland in my opinion was by far the best daytime drama headwriter…I so miss him and what he did to show’s that he wrote for…
Seems like another possible All About Eve scenario. Remember when Mal Young joined Y&R? Who knows. I let myself get excited for today’s show and it did not fail to disappoint-and so much convoluted sewage to swim through that at times it is more exhausting than entertaining. Also so many hirings after firing Rebecca Budig-but am excited to see Jessica Tuck. Does seem odd though- taking a breakdown writer job when she has been at the top-
Well said, it is a red flag when a leader takes a step in the opposite direction. In soaps, those who can do and those who can not write.
Well this doesn’t bode well. I’ve had an uncomfortable feeling all summer that the whole point of ABC’s “Summer Fun And Games” was actually to test the game shows as a possible GH replacement show. I hope GH can continue to survive for a while longer but they’re definitely in a steep downward spiral with the biggest problem being that the show has been so gutted history that there’s not much left to hang on to. I understand the budget is very tight but while the contract cast is smaller than it’s ever been, the show seems to have turned… Read more »
It’s not always about the budget. Remember classic GH? The budget was indeed tight. I have read articles where the late Emily McLaughin (Nurse Jessie/star of early GH) where she famously talked about doing their own makeup and wearing their own clothes. And their salaries were anything to “write home about” either! But they surely put on a good show. Good writing, good acting, good story lines still are the prerequisites to memorable, classic soaps. I still remember the characters vividly, their story lines–and even some of the gripping scenes. Not so today. Ask me about recent character, story lines,… Read more »
And look at some of the classic movies where budget was limited. And there were no CGI’s, etc. But the movie (think classic black and white) was great. It was all about dialogue (think craft, writing, acting).
I think when General Hospital began, the only two sets it had were the nurse’s station and Dr. Hardy’s office. (?) I have always said, cut the bloated cast, stop bringing on new, recurring characters with no ties to the characters, and focus on the core characters/families of the show. Why bring on a new character when we see them one day, and then do not see them for weeks? It makes no sense. By then, I have forgotten all about them, and I have no vested interest in their storyline.
GH was near cancellation in the mid 1970’s due to poor writing and a cheap looking production. Gloria Monty was given a short time period and a budget increase to fix the show. She built the iconic hospital hub and focused the show on the younger characters. Frank has been a wizard with the budget and the show does have some of the best sets in daytime. It does need to focus on the younger characters more. The shrinking contract cast is primarily above 45. Michael, Nell and Kiki are the only ones under 30. Perhaps the future is an… Read more »
I feel sorry for GH viewers if this is true. I know nothing about Bloom’s writing ability but the hits that the CBS soaps suffered under her tenure were horrible — GL reduced to remote sets in a New Jersey town that looked cheap before the show was cancelled and put out of its misery; ATWT butchered by sub-par writing, bad casting decisions, and emphasis on new, uninteresting characters until it was tossed into a scrap heap like GL; and Y&R cans veteran producers and writers to bring on Lynn Marie Latham who gave us “stellar” plots like Brad and… Read more »
An additional comment: Yes, I’ve read that Sally Sussman “retired” from Y&R but I find that hard to believe. I am no insider but I bet she (and Y&R veteran writer Kay Alden) either were fired or fled a situation where good writing was impossible. Just my opinion.
I agree on both points, Barbara: Bloom’s “work” (I would call it “demolition,” given the sorry shape that both GL and ATWT were in by the time they were cancelled) at CBS when she was in charge of the daytime lineup does not make me anxious to see what she will do as a member of the GH writing team, and there is no way in Hellman’s mayonnaise that Alden and Sussman “retired” that soon after they were hired–either they were fired or they took the first train out of Genoa City once it became apparent they could not do… Read more »
Oh, what happened to Guiding Light was an embarrassment-a travesty. That show was hard to watch-no sets, no make-up, no wardrobe-no nothing. I remember watching the show while in school (before the budget cuts) and I really liked it. Then, one day I turned it on, and was I in for a surprise! It was unwatchable.
Guiding Light was a family favorite and my grandma/mom say they learned their English (first radio then TV) from the Bauer’s.
The show was gutted. Those last few years were a cruel travesty. Truly accomplished actors, one generation after the next.
She’s a wrecking ball in human form
You’re not kidding about the GL budget cuts. I’d bet the budget in its last year barely covered one hand-held camera operated by an unpaid intern, a flash light, and a stick of gum for each actor appearing in the scene. Watching Y&R decline over the past decade has been hard. It also was difficult to observe what happened to ATWT in its final years. Neither compare to what was done to GL. Its final state was so painful to watch that GL really wasn’t cancelled, it was euthanized!!! I learned one thing from viewing the last year of GL… Read more »
Totally agree 100% DMR…GL in it’s heyday when Douglas Marland was writing it was the best and I was so addicted to the show at that time that I didn’t want anyone to call, lol…
I’m still holding out to see what Altman and Van Etten can come up with, but I say this: I am in firm believe that Disney ABC Television Group should be trying to secure Lorraine Broderick or Sri Rao to write General Hospital.
Hey, Scott, because you’re a fan of GH who clearly was a fan of ATWT, I thought I’d let you and others know, if you didn’t already know, that GH has just surpassed ATWT, making GH the second longest running televised US soap opera of all time!
Thank you for stating the obvious (that I am already aware of! 😉 ), and actually, it doesn’t surpass As the World Turns until April 1, 2018, when it makes it to its fifty-fifth year. They’re both tied, at fifty-four years each.
Rao would be a great GH head writer. The Robert Cancer storyline on Night Shift was well done and showed that Rao appreciated the characters and history of GH.
I wasn’t sold on Sri Rao becoming a head writer, but having re-watched Night Shift online, I felt it was really written in a solid and balanced way, and wouldn’t mind his return. However, I doubt it will happen, as Rao has a wildly successful career in Bollywood.
Please don’t let her bring the vampires back to Port Charles!
I know that GH is gone now with soap killer Bloom on the team! I will not look over the fact that she cancelled GL and ATWT. It is now very obvious that ABC plans to cancel GH. Goodbye to ABC’s final daytime drama…
Soap fans need to not watch any show on ABC Daytime so GH’s ratings don’t look as bad! As soon as ABC finds something cheaper to produce with better ratings GH will be cancelled. Bloom being hired is bad for GH! Bloom is a soap killer!
General Hospital fans from everything I have read I do not think this woman is good for your show! She is the woman responsible for two shows dying she helped and she put LML in charge at Y&R and kicked the Bell regime out and it has never recovered.
Order the headstone and start digging a grave for GH.
I doubt she will make a difference..GH is just stagnated and not much fun to watch..It has been like this for a few years…The last true good run was when Ron/Frank came over when OLTL was cancelled..The show was good for about 1 year or two and started to fall apart after that.
Not just GH, but all the soaps in general (Days has slowly become watchable again)..The British soaps are SO much more entertaining..Hollyoaks is a good soap..Solid acting, good writing with storylines that make you tune in day in and day out!! Coronation Street is solid too!
Wow, I guess I should retract my comment from above, as it seems like I’m in the minority–I hope this isn’t the death knell, as some have suggested. I choose to be optimistic because of Barbara’s past association with GH, her giving birth to the Port Charles spinoff, and her later attempt to save it. The “something to prove” factor can also be a great motivator. The show is not a disaster by any means, but all it takes is one well-placed executive needing to justify their existence to spell the end. I’ll continue to hang my hat on the… Read more »
GH …STOP BRINGING IN ONE NEW CHARACTER EVERY WEEK….DO SOME GOOD WRITING FOR MANY WONDERFUL ACTORS ALREADY ON THE CANVAS…THIS IS GETTING OLD…….
I thouvht ATWT was superd at its end while GL was horrid. Who was writing 4 each at theie end?
When did she write for Port Charles? If it was after they turned it into that vampire dragonshit then this ain’t gonna be good. On the other horn, if she was writing during the days when the show focused on Scotty, Lucy, Kevin, and some of the younger doctors, that could be alright. And maybe we could lose Nelle & the Twit and bring back Serena Baldwin to replace them? Are any of the Night Shift writers available? That was the GH spinoff that actually had a decent writing team (aside from the fact that they chickened out on the… Read more »
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