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CBS Daytime Exec Angelica McDaniel Interview: Y&R's Regime Change & Why It Had To Be Done! Plus, Plans for Fall!

Photo Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS

Photo Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS

This week, CBS Daytime hosted a very special studio day and panel discussion to kick off their upcoming fall season to the press. The Young and the Restless Peter Bergman, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Heather Tom, The Talk’s Sharon Osbourne and Julie Chen, The Price Is Right’s Drew Carey, and Let’s Make a Deal’s Wayne Brady all took part.

After the panel, On-Air On-Soaps spoke with Angelica McDaniel, Senior VP Daytime Programming CBS Entertainment, to get her thoughts and input on the decision to replace Maria Arena Bell at Y&R with Jill Farren Phelps and Josh Griffith, what the plans are for Y&R’s upcoming milestones, and what her involvement will be shaping the future of Genoa City.

In addition, Angelica reveals details of what fans of the CBS Daytime line-up can expect via the network’s new Twitter feed @CBSDaytime, and if the network is still in support of a same-sex storyline now that Joanna Johnson has left the building, leaving Crystal Chappell solo at B&B … for now.  McDaniel also discusses what’s coming up for the program in which she was the mastermind, The Talk, when they come back for the fall for season three!      

There were some very big decisions and sweeping changes at the top of the number one CBS soap, The Young and the Restless.  Maria Arena Bell has been replaced in both her capacities with the series as executive producer and head writer.  In her place comes Jill Farren Phelps as the new EP, and Josh Griffith as the new head writer.  Many fans and viewers were glad, while at the same time many people were perplexed at who was brought in.   So, did you have a hand in this decision?

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

ANGELICA:  I think it was something Sony was looking to potentially pursue, and CBS was definitely involved in that conversation. We support the decision Sony made to bring on Jill and Josh.  Maria did a great job the last five years she was with the show, but we are just looking forward to seeing where we can take the show next.   B&B has shown that soaps can grow.  We don’t have to accept that people say, “Oh, it’s a dying genre,” because it’s not.  Look at Dallas and Revenge and primetime shows!  Serial storytelling is not an exclusive genre to daytime.  It’s thriving in primetime, cable, and daytime   It’s just about welcoming Jill, who is fresh off her Outstanding Drama Series win for her work on General Hospital, and who has decades of experience in the day part, and also welcoming back Josh.  He was with Y&R before and really stepped up during the strike and helped out with the show.  We are so thrilled to have him coming back.  It’s about collaboration with Sony and with CBS, and Jill and Josh, and working together to positively affect the show and see where we can take it!

We have been seeing B&B adding viewers almost every week, while Y&R was more often than not, losing viewers.  That had to be one of the indications for you to make a major change at the top?

ANGELICA:  I think with these kinds of decisions, it’s nothing that is taken lightly and something you come to overnight.  There are a lot of layers involved in it and numbers are important. Part of my goal in all of daytime is to try to increase viewership.  That was discussed, but it was not the driving force behind this decision.

So then it was more about that the-powers-that-be felt a change was just needed, given what was happening with the series.

ANGELICA:  It was time to do something different, and we are excited to see what that something different will be.

Are you now heavily involved in the creative decisions for The Young and the Restless?

Photo Credit: Wenn Photo

ANGELICA:  This is really is a collaborative partnership. The Talk is on hiatus for the summer.  This really gives me time to be on set and visiting with the actors and the writers.   I am going to be really invested in the process. Y&R is something we care about and that I am very passionate about.  I will be working with Jill and Josh,  Steve Kent (Senior Executive V.P Programming Sony),  and Margot Wain (CBS Director of Daytime Programs).  It’s all of us coming together and defining what the clear vision for Y&R is as group.  We don’t always agree, but we are going to have respectful dialog.

So there is a brand new Twitter page launched by you @CBSDaytime which looks to be a new online initiative for viewers of CBS Daytime!

ANGELICA:  Yes, we just launched it on Tuesday July 31st! We have so much happening in daytime.  We have The Talk which has been live for over 200 episodes, the soaps go year round, and we have the game shows which tape hundreds of episodes in a season.  So we have a lot happening, and it is almost a love letter to the fans. This is really an opportunity for the fans to get real time information, behind the scenes sneak peeks, and just stuff about their shows that they are going to love.  So definitely keep following the shows. Keep following the talent, but just add @CBSDaytime into the fold, because we are definitely going to have exclusives for all the CBS Daytime shows!

Over at B&B, Crystal Chappell and Joanna Johnson were going to launch the series first ever same-sex storyline. I know in our previous conversation, you were thrilled to have Crystal in the CBS line-up.  Now with Joanna departing for what we know is an indeterminate amount of time to concentrate on the new primetime series she is producing, where do you see that story ultimately going?

ANGELICA:  The great thing about soaps is anything can happen, right? And everything has! But Crystal is fantastic and we are thrilled to have her, and obviously Joanna as well. But never, say never.

Photo Credits: L Bohm & K. Hutchins

The Talk is your baby.  Are you pleased going into season three, where the show is at? From what we heard during the panel, the plan is to continue to entice big celebrity guests to appear on segments of the show, but also to lure those provocative newsmakers!

ANGELICA:  Even if it’s not celebrity based, it can be provocative topics. We really want to be on the cusp of what people are talking about, those water cooler moments … whether it’s a news item, a celebrity item, or a celebrity guest. The Talk really found its voice in season two, and in season three it’s not about changing the show, it’s about taking what we know is working.   That is:  really topical talk with the ladies, followed by a celebrity guest, followed by “The Talk Takeaway” –  little tips and tricks women can do to improve their lives and make things easier, faster, and to save money.  Next season, we will do the same thing, but up our game a little bit and find those things that will spark and resonate, so we are really pushing ourselves.

This is a big season for Y&R!  Its about to celebrate its 10,000 episode milestone and then it will gear up for its 40th Anniversary celebration early next year! What can you tell us about the network’s plans to support the shows accomplishments?

Courtesy/CBS

ANGELICA:  We are building towards the end of September to celebrate the 10,000 episode with something special.  We are going to have a big panel discussion at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills this month to honor the series, and we have a lot of the actors coming to participate.   I think the big priority is figuring out everything we are going to do to honor the 10,000 episode, and then we are going to move into what we are going to do for Y&R’s 40th Anniversary which is next March.  It’s a great cause for celebration.  We have lot of things happening; The Price Is Right is celebrating its 40th, B&B is coming off 25 years, so we have a lot of anniversary’s here which is something to be very proud of.

What do you think about Angelica’s support of the regime change of Y&R?  Do you think with Angelica getting more involved with the show in coming months, there could a return to the Genoa City you would love to see?  What would you love to see happen to honor Y&R’s 10,000 episode and 40th Anniversary? What shows of the CBS Daytime line-up strike your fancy?  Let us know the answers to our burning questions!

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I have faith in Angelica’s comments. I still see CBS/Sony bringing Jill and Josh on as a means to the future of Y&R. Maria won ZERO Daytime Series Awards at the Emmys during her run. This is going to be a good turn for Y&R right now.

Scott,

You’re right, Y&R has not won an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy since 2007 when it tied with now dearly departed Guiding Light that year. And honestly, I don’t think the show should even consider to be in the running next year for both Drama Series and Writing because it has been pretty crappy all year long. I also don’t think that Jill and Josh can really put together something really good that they can use for Drama Series and Writing. I just hope to God that CBS/Sony does not allow Maria Arena Bell anywhere near the reels to pick out what she wants for Drama Series and Writing for next year.

The fact that LAST year, 2011, Y&R won for Outstanding Writing Team and I almost choked! I thought that was a complete joke and she did NOT deserve it then and doesn’t deserve it now.

You’re right–it was a joke,One Life To Live should have won best writing last year–they were robbed!

I agree with MikeT…………………………They have one last chance for the daytime emmy awards Nt. year….

I don’t c this big great show at the B&B as a matter of fact these past few years, I have been turning the show off because of the dumb storylines and their devotion to the Logan family which I can’t stand. I thought that the Y&R storylines were better. Now this new EP was over Guiding Light which was absolutely horrible the last ten years on the air, I know this because I stopped watching that show ten years before it went off because of the dumb storylines and acting. Now it looks like one of my favorite past times, which is watching the Y&R and B&B are coming to an end for me because I am one viewer that is not happy with the changes and refuse to watch

The last AMAZING storyline they had was the original beginnings of the Diane Jenkins murder storyline. Poor Maura West rocked it and was robbed of all possibilities in that storyline. Since she left, Y&R has been boring.

We need drastic changes. I have been watching for 34 years. They show has been masacured! We love Sharon look what Maria Bell did to her. Phyllis we see way way to much. daisy and Ricky were the best thing to happen to this show in such a long time and she fired them OMG not one super couple Chelsea is got to be the most annoying fake waist of time. Adam has gotten so boring. Nikki is so toxic at this point with Victor ENOUGH of those two already. Bring back the original blond first Heather Vail Bloom. This heather Jenn landon is not at all working with Daniel. I think Heather should be Y&R first lesbian person Young person.Foe God’s sake bring back Victoria Rowell Drucilla to save the show!!!! Sharon needs her BFF. Phyllis go to Jail!!! Chelsea leave town!!! Nick get some balls.

This show needs to take notes from the writers of the two best shows on TV Dallas and Revenge. Sharon needs to triumph. She is no dumb blond and Maria Bell made her that way. With all Sharon has been though she should be like Emily Thorn and Rebecca. Rebecca turned out to be smoking the Ewings LOl she is Cliff Barnes Daughter AWESOME!!! Bringing back Victoria Rowell Drucilla will first bring fans back. Then the next order of buisness. Daisy needs to marry a hot young buisness man. She is ruthless but sexy and she would be great. Phyllis is so O V E R!!! JAIL ALREADY! ….Nick is NO man PLEASE what a smuck!!! We can’t respect him. The men are way too old and recycled like Tucker Victor and even almost jack. Jack still can have some life left. We need the next generation like the two Ewing son’s!!! This show can make it but it needs total revamping. The WORST couple is so B O R I N G!!! Chelsea and Adam what a SNOOZE!! Come on that is NOT a hot couple. Adam is ruined but without Chelsea he can survive!!!….Laurel and Hardey act is over, Nikki is trash and needs to retire with Victor and keep quite already. Toxic women.Michelle Stafford is going to jail enough!!! Sick of her. They could do so much with Noah he needs to be a MAN and not the looser his farther has become!!! Change we need change!!!

Michael, I love how YOU get to the nitty gritty and ask the questions of the higher ups that we would not typically here from. Thank you again!

On that note, one thing that is glaringly obvious and that I read over and over was that they want to see something “different” and to see “where it can go.” This is bittersweet. While it shows me that all the players are still invested in Y&R, it also makes me further believe this scathing article I just read a few days ago about Sony’s plans … to make it just like Hollywood Heights.

To any of you loyal Y&R fans reading this, you should check out the article. I probably cannot give the link and the interview is quite long, but it is EYE opening and disturbing, to say the least. Just do a search for-

“Highlight Hollywood Investigation, SONY Studios Plan To Make ‘Y&R’ More Like Nick At Nite’s ‘Hollywood Heights’ And To Backburner The Legacy Characters On The Soap, Saving Money The Bottom Line”

and it should come right up. This is just beyond sad. I can see them trotting out all the veterans up until next spring to make them the face of Y&R and then give them their retirement watches and send them on their way to make way for faces we have never seen before. So sad. All the while they are trying to fool us like the Prospect Park people – promising us we will get back to business – back to our favorites and our storytelling – only to have the rug pulled out from under us once the [anniversary] party is over.

This 30-something feels like flying the white flag. I am running out of fight in me. Everyone is hellbent on destroying soaps. Oh they say they are not, but by turning them into shows for teenagers is not the same. I’m glad I have old reruns of classic shows to watch and good scripted shows on cable to rent.

Honestly, I do not have faith in any of the networks. GH is limping along, but we all know it is just a matter of time before it gets canceled. And now Y&R. So Sony wants to make it like Hollywood Heights with YOUNG people, what, because of the name .. YOUNG (and restless)? I don’t get it. Why are they messing with THIS show instead of DAYS. That one is theirs too and is worse in the ratings.

Thanks for listening to me vent. 🙁

Christine,

I too read the same article. However, I learned a day or so later that the writer of said article is a very close friend of recently ousted Executive Producer/Head Writer, Maria Arena Bell and I have to believe that MAB had a hand in that article being written so as to (for lack of a better phrase) “put the fear of God” in the fans of Y&R. Nice try Maria, you flunked!

Oh I sure hope that is true, Michael. 🙂

Yes Tommy is. So Tommy isnt happy but this show is a mess!!! I can pin point when the characters went biopolor and the storylines made no sence. the show has no real hot super couples. Nick was supposed to be in love with Sharon. Lily boring Chloe boring Nikki toxic Victor dirty old man Chelsea OMG fake fake and annoying did I mention fake!!! Phyllis GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL ALREADY!!! I loved jana with kevin. Heather NOOOO bring back Vail Bloom first Heather. This show sucks at mystery i wrote fantastic plot twists with ricky and Daisy and people loved my ideas. I guess 34 straight years watching soaps I know what works. Nikki and Victor KNOCK it off your boring and old settle down and move over. Daisy is the daughter of only the best villian of all daytime history. daisy has two sisters Erica Lovejoy ex mary and Diana, Not to mention Ryder and kevin. More over Michelle staford you are done stick a folk in it. daisy is the new and improved Phyllis!!! Victoria Rowell wear are you!!! VH1 single ladies is an insult to your talent doll. Where is a great young gay couple?????

Yes Christine you are correct Maria basiclly wrote her own article. She nearly destroyed the show. Let’s hope the new Jill writer will bring are characters back to earth they are all have gone crazy. That is all Maria Bell likes Crazy and incest.She let Eric B aka Victor tell her who he wanted his character to sleep with. it ruined Maura West Diane and now Sharon!!! Good Bye Maria Arena Bell!!!

Christine:
I agree with you very much. For me, YR goes through the motions – sometimes hot, sometimes not. Under Maria Arena Bell, I loved the Diane Jenkins murder mystery, but hated the outcome; I love the present Phyllis’ past deeds being caught up, but hate the Phick re-marriage, and the total disgrace of the Sharon character. I loved the re-emergence of the Abbott clan, under Lynn-Marie Latham it was Jack vs. the world; and above all, I love the taming down (less airtime) and appropriate comic antics (in the right dosage) of the Gloria character.

I think we get so caught up in “oh Maria Bell never won any emmys for Outstanding Drama”, but the emmy voting process has zero credibility. Kevin Mambo won Best Actor 2 consectuive years in the 90s, but had zero story in the second year. He just submitted 2 episodes in which his performance was kick-ass. 2 out of 260 – Next. To quote the late and great MASTER story-teller, William J. Bell, (not verbatim) after the emmys, we come back to our stories and characters the next day. Jill Phelps might have won emmys for GH, but the voting process allows for a “luck of the draw”. – 1 or 2 episodes vs. storytelling throughout the season.

I don’t think Maria Bell was as HORRIBLE as Lynn Latham, but neither was she as great as Bill Bell. I think CBS, SONY, and Bell Productions could have worked with Maria to drive desired direction. I loved (past tense) B&B, but I hate Steffy/Liam/Hope. I want to go back to the 90s, with Stephannie calling Brooke “the slut from the valley”. I want to see Brooke/Ridge/Taylor, with Taylor winning as she did in the 90s, and Brooke running Forrester with Ridge, while being married to Taylor. I want to see fashion wars of Forrester vs. Spectra versus the Logan sisters chastising Steffy day in and out for behavior in which they engaged to secure their present husbands. I tape B&B, but I delete from my DVR. My only reason for taping is to just not miss that one episode in which a VET – a Taylor, a Stephannie, or an Eric shines in a scene. I have no history/relationship with Marcus (who I laugh at as a grown man calling Eric dad. Eric didn’t raise him, yet adopted him post age 18), I have no relationship with Dizzy (Dayzee), neither Caroline. I find them boring. And Brad Bell said in an interview last year the future of B&B is in the youth demographic. If YR chooses this road, then as a 25-year viewer and passionate fan, I choose to leave.

I just believe this is CBS’ attempt to slowly get out of the soaps. Regardless of all the talk and sales job of “new direction”, I think CBS/SONY just want out. Yes, I am a Shick fan, but honestly, I find the actress playing the role of Summer to “over-act”. In my opinion, one word to describe Fen is “dull”. For me, the VETS are the show – the Kay & Jill fights, the Cricket/Phyllis/Nina fights, the Drucilla vs. Phyllis, the Phyllis as single woman homewrecker, the Victor/Jack feud, Ashley/Victor/Nikki. And did anyone realize the look on Eileen Davidson’s face in her final scene as she exited the stage? Back in 1999, when Eileen had returned, post Days, I remember her saying how much she loved the writing @ YR (as a reader, I interpreted as preference to Days’ writing). For me, the look on Eileen’s face was “this is it”. I don’t think I’m going to return to this stage because the show just might not exist.

I can be wrong in my post, but in my heart of hearts, I just think within the next 5 years, there’ll be zero daytime soaps on broadcast television.

Kevin, ditto and ditto!!! Great reply Doll 🙂 Took EVERY word out of my mouth! Michael frame Kevin’s reply and send it to Sony’CBS!!! LOL

Sharon needs to be the one to triumph and take down Victor Newman and that precious company!!! Give her a HOT new man The show needs change!!! Out with Phyllis,Nikki,Tucker and Chelsea get rid of them. In with Sharon Drucilla and Daisy!!!

Thanks for the compliment, Chrissy! I appreciate. I want to see Sharon on her own for a bit, and being a Shick fan, I want Nick to fall back in love with her (of course, while being married to Phyllis). To quote, Phyllis, “Nick and Sharon is the ultimate end game”!!!

Y&R sucks at mystery . Look at The Diane Jenkins murder ! WOW Nikki got drunk and killed Diane . THE END!!! It went on for months and THAT WAS IT ??? COME ON!!! This Ricky Williams thing is dragging and Dr, Ried is just slimy and boringly gross!!! I’m 45 and watching for 34 years and we need the show not to be like Glee or the new 90210 BUT more like Revenge ABC hit show and the new Dallas on TNT!!! 30 something HOT strong characters , Strong!!!! Im tired of the old old actors. They need to be in the back round for family dinner and holiday’s ONLY!!!

Jill may have won numerous Emmys, but she’s had only a couple of ratings successes, and quite a few ratings fiascoes (and her bad decision making weakened both Guiding Light and Another World in ways that eventually proved fatal); I’m no particular fan of MAB, but surely someone better could have been found to replace her.

TOTALLY AGREE. Jill’s track record clearly shows she has dessimated most of the shows she has been in charge of, and those shows never rebounded from the loss of viewership, especially after she always kills of major characters who viewers have invested years of their lives getting to know and respect. Viewers view soap characters as part of their family — she does not get that. She does not think about the long-term effects of her decision. For so me reason, this industry only wants to talk with people from inside the industry about things that need to be done for improvement. Believe it or not, there are some of us outside of the industry that do have a brain and thatr do have a clue as to what will get viewers, KEEP them, and get NEW ONES. This decision is one of the worst in daytime history. I feel so badly for the Bells because their legacy deserves much more respect.

I agree too..I can’t stand her way with shows and I think that she is a show killer. I have watched the Y&R for over 30 years and have been loyal and it saddens me to believe that Sony no longer care for the fans that has made the show the success it is today..I feel like I’m being ousted like many of the cast members. Like my viewership doesn’t really mean anything to them cuz the alll mighty dollar is what rules

Michael I have talks with Tommy is too close with MAB, Why the show brought on Jill is also beyond me. Can’t the show get a writer from the old Dallas or Knotes Landing??? The new Dallas and Revenge are off the hook!!!

SOMETHING went down with the Karen/Dani story at B&B and I ain’t buying what these folks are selling about it. Everyone knew damn well when it all started that Joanna had the CW show, so something isn’t computing. And what a waste of Joanna and Crystal, both.

Methinks B&B remembered that most of its foreign territories are not as gay friendly as the American audience and panicked….

well: here in germany we had long time ago and STILL have, SAME SEX Storylines and we are fine with that! i think, JJ used BB to make her “coming out” and bell used her, to try to get back to the roots, but he failed. cause back to the roots mean, his LOganshow should stop making only the LOgans TOP and No fans of them watch the show only for seeing their beloved charachters only portrayed as trash! Soaps are still interesting for viewers all over the world, but oneside made shows are boring boring boring!

I follow your thought, Sparky. The television community is too insular and connected not to have realized that Miss Johnson’s pilot could have been picked up for series. And isn’t The CW a corporate sibling to CBS? I see no problem with gay storylines on daytime. I see no problem with stories featuring middle-class and blue-collar characters and families. A more genuine reflection of today’s culture may help daytime dramas find their strength again. That said, I remain hopeful this storyline — one fothe more interesting on B&B — can be continued among the snoozapalooza that is Liam-Hope-Steffy and the lazy storytelling that keeps the legacy characters spinning in the wind without direction or conviction.

Sparky. I agree, why they waisted there time and made a big deal out of a gay couple!!! We need young gay couples and NOT to make it like it has to be there storyline. So what they are gay. We need to let them be normal and have a hot young buisnees gay couple. It should NOT be brought up like it’s a big deal! So stupid were in 2013 almost COME ON writers/producers!!!

So this is why Mrs. Bell had been fired as Executive Producer and Head Writer of “The Young & The Restless”, being replaced by Jill Pharen Phelps as new executive producer and Josh Griffith as a new head writer-this is the situation that Sony Televison had wanted to pursue, getting it whatever that representatives there wanted-OK, I get that. I agree with what Ms. McDaniel is talking about-she really knows what she’s doing. To answer your questions, if Ricky is out somewhere, alive(possibly secretly carrying a big knife with him), then, yeah, I’d like to have him back. As for the 40th Anniversary to celebrate next year of “The Young & The Restless”, I’d like to have John to appear more, to guide his children when their worlds start crumbling down. And as for the CBS Daytime shows that tickle my fancy? Right now, it’s “The Young & The Restless” and “The Talk”.:)

Cassie not sure but B&B were thinking of making Peter Porte ( EX Ricky) Taylor’s long lost Prince son from her time she was kidnapped from some Prince. His taleent as Ricky was amazing!!! They were foolish to let him go! I think he should play Christian Grey in the up coming movie Fifty Shades of Grey !!! A star is born!!! 🙂

The only thing worth watching in daytime TV at the present: Sports and game shows. Watching talk shows including “Talk” are a complete waste of time, the most precious commodity in life.

Things still worth watching are the soaps…Don’t watch daytime talk shows or game shows…I prefer to watch GH!!!!!!!!! Don’t watch much of anything else..Before or after GH is on or over.. I may watch a movie or read…………..

Never a daytime game show watcher…They are forgetable for me..Stories aren’t……………..

Don’t watch The Talk……..Again I prefer my stories to these kind of shows..

I don’t watch game shows, I don’t play! I don’t watch cooking shows we have food net work for that and we have Dr. Oz for health.What else is there but soaps coming from someone that has watched Y&R since June 1978 and saw my first face lift on TV LOl and 22 years Im with B&B. Who could forget the best villian in daytime,Shelia Carter. 🙂

It’s not CBS, but I’ll bet they know the following about ABC…”The news remained grim for week three of last-place ABC daytime entry Good Afternoon America, which dipped to 1.70 million viewers and continues to lose about one-half of the year-ago One Life to Live audience, according to the Live Plus Same Day data from Nielsen. It will be interesting to see what happens when veteran General Hospital steps into the 2 p.m. ET hour this fall. Elsewhere, The View on ABC is down but still tops; second-place The Talk on CBS was close to year-ago levels; and third-place The Chew on ABC is no All My Children.”

Many of us asked ABC, “Don’t do it,” now we can say “I told you so.”

You read that too, huh, rose? Wasn’t that GREAT news? I hope that so-called show of theirs suffers the same fate as The Revolution did. They just do not care what we want to watch so at least we can enjoy their failures.

The “Talk show” lost me any many others when they made the grave mistake in firing Leah Rimini and Holly Robertson Pete. That Julie Chen and Sharon Osborn were jealous of Leah. Leah was the the show!!! Well, Julie had her hubby at CBS get rid of Leah. Now they have that women who is so low class Sheryl Underwood on. We can’t understand what a word is coming out of her mouth. I haven’t watched the show and took it off DVR. I’m a fan of the View. The problem is one person Elizabeth!!! Pushy know it all Elizabeth brow beating her political views on everyone daily.

Ms. McDaniel said NOTHING in her replies. They were all vague, generic, and meaningless remarks that provided no specifics. It was typical corporate-speak and it was worthless. I can’t see giving her one ounce of credit for giving that interview.

She didn’t mention one actor or one storyline. Why should I have any faith in her? Is Jess Walton coming back? Will the vets be given air time and respect? Will JFP be bringing in her friends from her past failures?

MAB was awful, but I also blame Sony and CBS for ignoring the show for so long.i hope McDaniel reads this so she knows at least one person sees through her ridiculous political answers. I will trust her when she’s given me a reason to trust her.

Ditto.

Ditto here too

Feeling good about Josh coming on. Not so much about Jill. This is the woman who had the balls to fire Anna Lee and Stuart Damon, among other notorious decisions. I’m just waiting to see which vet will be the first to go.

I would like to see Ricky return back with the knife to clear his Dad. I like Christine but this storyline was a waste of time to me. Send Christine back to Washington and let this go because Christine is not telling the real story behind this kiss I am just saying make where her and Danny made love but I know that want happen. Phyllis was wrong and now that you have bought Tim Reid back it is not working for me for him to get to keep patient record is beyond me and how Christine gets to question Phyllis when she had no right to be in the interrogation room. Let this be over already. I would rather see John then to see Tim Reid. Sharon storyline is something that needs work but this something that happen in real life so I like it if you are going to go all the way with it but if not let Sharon and Victor be a pass already. I hope you recast Ashley because Jack will need her down the road. Neil needs a wake up call bring Dru back that will be great. Nikki I am real tired of her Victor not being honest but a great storyline. Nick and Phyllis hope they stay the way they are love it. Victoria and Billy love it Adam and Chelsea ok but Adam and Sharon was good for each other but she mess up. I love The Talk love seeing these Ladies they are the best CBS is the best station and Y&R is the only soap I look at everyday. B&B is ok but the way they have this storyline with Liam, Hope and Steffy needs to go away also sick of it. I don’t know why you took Bill and Steffy away but needs to come back make a storyline with Thorne for a change and Joanna and Crystal this is a real life storyline make it happen.

Am I the only one who can’t stand the ghost dad coming to visit his kids (LOL) If they wanted to make John a recurring actor they should have moved him abroad but quit bringing in dead people to talk to me

WHERE ON EARTH IS THAT KNIFE??? It was huge! This is driving me crazy.

This is called going from the frying pan into the fire.The woman who pushed out the estimable Paul Rauch
(one of the greatest practitioners of the daytime serial art in history)is now replaced by a woman who
will greatly damage, if not destroy, the top rated daytime drama.The only soap opera she has touched that remains on the air is General Hospital which was on life support because of her disastrous reign.

Time will tell. On the plus side, sounds like CBS is still interested in keeping soaps on the air.

Good Afternoon America won’t last very long…Nine wks. & that’s it for them…Don’t watch The Talk & don’t watch The View …Stop wacthing the view as of 2 years ago..I found it so annoying they alway’s talk at once & to me they sound like cackling hens….Whoopi was okay…Sherri makes herself the center of attention…Alway’s Jeffrey this jeffrey that…And when there was a eating segment she was always the first one there to taste the food…And the talk I NEVER WATCH & NEVER WILL !!! Abc was #1 only when OLTL & AMC, where there..I watch just GH now & none of those replacement shows..Ant the chew is on it’s way out shortly….These shows will never work on daytime programming..Only OUR STORIES WORK ON DAYTIME PROGRAMMING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ABC are the losers….

ABC NEEDS TO HAVE OLTL & AMC , With GH of course …Our beloved THREE… In order for abc to be #1 again…That’s the way I see it….Or they will stay at the bottom,,

I appreciate CBS’s commitment to daytime although I will always be disappointed GUIDING LIGHT and AS THE WORLD TURNS could not have been saved. THE TALK is not great television, and LET’S MAKE A DEAL seems so lame. I like game shows as much as drama in daytime, but the concept of DEAL seems so worn today. It was never high brow to begin with but it reflected the times. If anyoe can resurrect datytime, it is CBS. The Tiffany network does have a commitment to tradition.

As for Y&R, we’ll see how this leadership team goes. MAB has disappointed me. And to be honest, some change may not hurt. I do not find the new generation of Genoa City characters engaging. A powerful new family may be called for. The Brooks and Foster familiies eventually faded for Abbotts and Newmans. There have been so many wrongful character assassinations and missed opportunities in recent years… Sharon, Ashley (driven mad by Adam), the whole Patty storyline, the botched Diane murder case, just who is Jill’s family?, the gay Philip back from the dead, the convoluted Ashby clan, Neil-Malcom-woman redux… I could welcome a clean slate of sorts.

Maybe CBS can remove the two stupid shows that replaced GL and ATWT and put AMC and OLTL in their place.

(Yes, I know this will never happen. But a girl can always dream right. LOL)

I don’t like the way the Phyllis story line is headed. Her character has evolved and grown. She has always been one to speak her mind blatantly. Not lie – go for the jugular. I don’t like to see anyone get the upper hand expecially someone like Dr Reid. She found the truth about Adam and found Nick/Sharon’s baby. She needs to come clean with her sister and tell Nick — letting the chips fall where they may. That’s the Phyllis we know. Someone needs to find a way to stop Chris and Michael.

I am not a fan of Phelps and know all too well how she treats veteran actors on her shows. A regime change may have been needed but who they chose slaps long time viewers in the face. Jill will fire or back burner all the vets and kill off someone everyone loves because that’s what she does. It looks like Sony & CBS want to destroy the show & make room for another disaster like The Talk.

BTW, I HATE the Talk. It was slightly watchable until they dumped Holly and Leah. The executives showed zero class in how they dismissed Holly and Lean and it is now an unwatchable show. They should have kept ATWT & GL instead of the disaster they forced on the public. I never watch it and cringe whenever a commercial for the show appears.

Although I hate every talk show; I would never want ATWT back if Chris Goutman and Jean Passanante were the EP-HW team. They were perhaps the worst ever EP-HW pair and botched ATWT very badly. After the ATWT disaster, and the unwarranted end of OLTL; I have not watched soaps . I hope the remaining soaps on day time continue. Could anyone inform me which soap at the present has sensible and good SLs at the present.

The changes are needed and are long overdue. I’m looking forward to the future of Y&R. I have been a true fan of the show since its debut in 1973. And I intend to keep watching!

Time will tell. But CBS could show support of Y&R by airing a primetime special for its 40th Anniversary coming up.

I do agree that this regime change, historically speaking, would be going from the frying pan into the fire. JFP does not have a good track record. Yes, GH just won the Emmy, but I don’t believe it was because of her.

I like that they got rid of Ricky and Daisy and Ashley. Could not stand those 3. I like..The Talk.

Welcome Angelica and congratulations on your promotion. Can’t wait to see what Sony, CBS and the new regime comes up with for the show. It was time for Maria Arena Bell to go—when a new HW comes on board and all she can constantly write about is past stories and haphazardly at best….it is time for change. Sorry, but I won’t miss her.

And I know fans are whining and rightly so but I hope they have not missed the BIG fact that this change and the revamped CBS Daytime promotions going on is a good sign that CBS is invested in keeping its soaps and actually wants to keep them for as long as possible. If that means we have got to change some things so the shows can catch up with this rest of the entertainment industry that is very competitive then so be it. But don’t change everything all at once and not everything needs changing because you still have your longtime viewers to think about and a lot of them have been alienated already. So good luck and best wishes on your plans.

MIchael, once again thanks for conducting a great interview and scoring one with the new SVP, Daytime Programming. :):) It’s nice to see CBS making a big deal about this.

I wish they would dump Kelly and put a new show in place of Kelly that was with Regis. She is not even a good lead person, her remarks have always been rather stupid .

Elizabeth Hazzlehoff is another that needs to be replaced, she has a arogance and has the idea she is clever and the way she dresses in her short dresses and then crosses her legs,

Take away those high stools, women cross their legs its disgusting how they look.

We do not need so many reality shows,

Bristol Palin has simply milked her phoney poor is me I am single mom, She is not the first nor will she be last. Sick of the exploits its all about money,

Continue to give us all great shows and yes clean some of them up. Waste of time and money

I simply turn the station when it comes to Kelly, Elizabeth, that loud mounth in Family that just settled their contracts. You can take that one off also.

Well i don’t know if CBS Daytime Exec Angelica McDaniel is listening to B&B fans but we would love to have MAB over B&B as a replacement to Brad Bell…The fact that everyone keep praising B&B when the truth is the show is STUCK! it is a ONE SIDE BIASED SHOW who ignore all B&B fans but focus only on the Logan fans!! B&B has not grown Angelica McDaniel. on the contrary as a viewer i tell you IT IS LIMITED to the KKl/Logan and now HTom show, we tweet and compalin all teh time about it, cuz other good interesting actors (characters) are butchered or fired! We have nothing exciting on B&B we only have a “writer who focus on making some vets and Emmy “winners” comfy ,forgetting the bigger picture of delivering a real drama as was once in the hands of William Bell and Lee Philip Bell.,, Right now we have the usual triangle form hell and the married life of HTom that moved on B&B….WOW no wonder why most of us are ill and have stop watching from sometime…They should give MAB to B&B if CBS care about their viewers..,,,

i definitely agree with you on this one even those who watch the daily shows on youtube can’t stomach this crap they’re trying to force feed us, day after day is some new b.s ,bell jnr NEEDS to be fired, the way he nonchalantly dismisses our desires is totally disrespectful,WE the viewers make all shows and without us tv shows would be nothing katie and bill are AWFUL so are these disgusting n over-the-top displays of the 2 old bags brooke n ridge hope is placed on a pedestal for no reason n they are even trying to make steffy subtle n weak..WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE i go on youtube n see clips of the days when B&B was good thorne scenes were amazing bridgette had good ones also the characters they’re suppose to show less of they don’t eg brooke ridge liam hope katie…bell jnr can’t stay!!!! redeem the show by killing off the katie’s character with this pregnancy n bring back STILL!!!!

Larkin is so damn right! I was waiting for BB beeing the first soap ever all over the world, who gets renamed: THE BROOKE and THE BRIDGE or better: THE LOGANSHOW. I stoped watching, only when my Fav´s are on air or when i read the recaps sounds interesting. and for Jacqui: she is real wasted on BB now with the kindergartenmembers HOpe and Lame. She needs a MAN and that is BILL. But they write the show only for the LOs and their portrayers….. BB in one year? DEAD!!!

I agree Prunhild and Larkin… I used to love the anticipation of what Bill and Steffy where up too, but STILL was there one minute and gone the next! What happened? How can Bill be fantasizing about Steffy and his love for her and then ….GONE?
STILL is real, it is alive….we know it is, we can see it every time Bill and Steffy are together! BRING THEM BACK!

I don’t see how B&B is progressing. Outside of venturing out of their comfort zone and bringing in their first lesbian couple (who never gets airtime btw), B&B isnt doing ANYTHING. We have been STUCK on the Hope/Liam/Steffy story for a YEAR now that august has begun. And people are complaining now more than they ever have. The character of Liam has managed to piss off both the Hope Logan and Steffy Forrester fanbases! Neither fan base wants their girl with that loser! Hope and Steffy are doing the EXACT SAME THING their mothers did for the first 20 years of the show! Nobody wants to see that! We never did!! Bill and Katie have been together for almost 4 years! FOUR YEARS!! Who stays together on a soap that long!? Especially a couple that puts people to sleep like they do!! I can’t even remember the last time they were believable as a couple!! And on top of that, the show comes off EXTREMELY one sided. Brooke Logan and her clan are getting shoved down our throats every single day! Especially Brooke. And those characters succeed in getting EVERYTHING they want. While those of us who are NOT Logan fans, never have been, never will be, have to BEG to see Taylor or Stephanie or Thorne. And even when we do see them, say in Steffy’s case, we are supposed to be happy with seeing our favorites miserable for 6months or longer!? Steffy fans are EMOTIONALLY DRAINED. We can’t root for her to be in a relationship that only hurts her the more she’s involved in it. But Mr. Bell refuses to move on. He’s trying to force us to like this storyline and we hate it! He had something WONDERFUL in the Bill & Steffy storyline, and over a year later, people are still begging for it! Does that not tell him something!? Taylor and Thorne’s storyline, what happened to that!? Two great storylines DROPPED to give the Logan characters EVERYTHING THEY WANT!!! Mr. Bell does NOT cater to his whole audience. In fact, I honestly believe he doesn’t even LISTEN to them. And in an age where soaps are DYING, and Mr. Bell only has 1 year left on his contract and consistently pulling UNDER a 2.5 rating as of late, i don’t see how he can afford to blatantly IGNORE what his audience is telling him. I haven’t watched in almost three months now. And i’m not going to start back up because NOTHING is changing! And for people to stop watching, is the LAST thing ANY soap opera needs right now.

B&B sucks, the younger acters suck its a crap show and if thats want Y&R to be like then im done

Totaly agree have not watched in months and what I have read no reason to change, MAB was not the only Bell who needs to go out to pasture. I am utterly convinced their was a baby switch concerning Brad Bell he is not his fathers son. The other actors must not be able to do anything else or they would have walked by now Steffy/Liam/Hope none of them have the acting chops to be on all the time. The lesbian storyline was nothing but a PSA just like the texting the homeless the cancer with Stephanie who had stage 4 and looked sick for 2 days insulting to my friends who have suffered for years with cancer he made a mockery of the disease that is when I said enogh to insult viewers who have had cancer was shameful.

Are people at CBS so out of touch with their viewers?
Do the viewers really mean so little to CBS?
B&B’s fans are very unhappy, we’ve been complaining on all social media and yet they continue to ignore us.
We’re sick of that horrible Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle and we are sick of the Logans.
We want the show to go back to the way William J. Bell used to write it. His son Bradley Bell is ruining B&B.
Read message boards, so many B&B fans have stopped watching. No wonder this soap only got 1 year left on their contract.
Oh and most B&B fans could care less about Crystal Chappell and Joanna Johnson.
Again, read the message boards and see for yourself!
Btw, I hate The Talk

B&B is the WORST! There was a time I wanted it to go the hour. Now it is the Hope /Steffy/Laim show. Liam is a waist!!! If they are not showing those three they cut to character only taking about those three! Bradley Bell sunk that ship in less time then the Titanic sunk after it hit the ice berg.

Well, I know what I can look forward to now on Y&R. Gotta favorite vet? Don’t be surprised to watch them go. Gotta favorite couple? Don’t be surprised to see many popular couples split up. Like certain families on the show? Decimated. In other words do you think your favorite character, couple, family, is safe? Nope. You thought MAB was bad? Just hang on and wait till you see what’s about to happen.

Karena problem is there is NO favorite couple right now for Jill to brake up!!! This article above was vage yes political run around but we can’t recognise any of the Vet characters any more and the storylines go no place. Bill Bell Sr. thought out the story’s while he created them in the begining. If he didn’t think there wan’t chemistry with a character he created for a specific role he got ride of them. The role of Sharon Newman was changed 3 times in one month. Bill Bell setteld for nothing less then perfection. This Heather Jennifer Landon may be great and a two time Emmy winner as Gwen ATWT BUT she will win NO Emmy’s as Heather!!! Are we to believe Daniel and Heather would ever be a couple. NO WAY! Vail Bloom was right for the part and believable as Paul’s daughter. Chelsea is not right for Y&R period I can spend all day telling you why but I won’t. Stories drag with no end in sight and when they do no big finale shock factor in sight! I do not know what the future holds with Jill in the writing dept. BUT I do know Maria Arena Bell has ZERO business writing anything except her diary! I know how she started her so called career and why. Maria waisted our time and nearly if not did sink Bill Bell Sr. lifes work and dream. Bradley is doing his own fair share in the destruction over at B&B. They man doesn’t listen! maria Bell was told by Sony/CBS to knock the Victor/Sharon thing off months ago along with there other suggestions and ignored them all for the sake of keeping her friends happy like Eric Brandon.Well this is business and should be ran like one!

Regarding Y&R – it’s puzzling my mind as to which characters make up “core cast”?
I know veterans are Katherine, Victor, Jack, Nikki, and the young ones are Summer, Fen, Abby etc. But who is core cast? Nicholas, Sharon, Phyllis, who have all been on for close to 20 years. Is 20 years not considered long? Possibly veteran status? Who is this core cast it is rumored the show will place emphasis upon?

Thank you Krysta, how you so eloquently put it. We are all tired of Mr Bell biased writing and attitude. But beside that, what really worries me is that CBS is letting him to drain us and frustrate us beyond the breaking point. Aren’t we gained the right to decide what we want to watch and how we want to see written our characters? Does really Bell think we want to see our characters humiliated at lowest level all the time, while the same bunch of women (THE LOGANS) get everything over and over again?Bell has not changed anything except making all the new characters supporting and boosting these women especially Bruk! But for me Bell blew it with the Italy sl, that was a slap in OUR face ( STILL Steffy fans), we were “fooled” to believe Steffy and BIll would have something, instead once again Steffy was humiliated, since then i refuse to watch this show until Bell stays on as the writer. It is a question of self-respect and principle! I think what Bell has be doing to all NO LOGANS’s characters for years is disgraceful and crude, plus the way he keeps ignoring our existence (NO LOGAN FANS) is absolutely offensive to us all.. That ‘s why i can’t understand how CBS allows it.. We (the whole B&B audience) Logans and NO Logans fans have made this show great with our commitment to watch it for years; and we indeed deserve the same courtesy to be acknowledged and heard. I m sorry that we have been reduced, to be ill and depressed, cuz nobody seems to care to listen our cries..I hope CBS really have a seat down, and do what THEY should have done long time ago..We only be watching again when Bell is out of the picture.

The triangle of hell is the worst story I ever seen! Liam/Hope/Steffy are ridicolous, boring and stupid..For the first time I stopped to watch this damned crap and I hope a lot of people will follow me, because Bell need ti know that people hate this horrible story! Also Batie is another crap, really they are still together? Is that a cabaret show? They are totally fake, Bill is wasted between the useless Katie. I miss STILL, Stefyf and Bill are pure gold, I don’t know why Bell prefer the shit

Brad Bell is the worst writer in daytime the wrong bell was let go!! Bold is sinking fast they need a new head writer I have been watching since the beginning and it has never been this bad

I was introduced to B & B at a young age. It was bonding time with my elder female relatives. So for me to say the following hurts me tremendously : The show needs to go.

Bell has made it VERY clear that he has no interest in making the show be excellent as it used to be. He has changed history to make it seem like those who have been watching for years weren’t watching. EX/ Caroline was Ridge’s first love, not Brooke. Ridge actually did choose, love, and placed Taylor first for many years. Bell has attempted to whitewash Brooke’s past by not acknowledging her scheming and slutting. Why aren’t the Thorne, Nick, Eric examples brought up more? Why was Deacon pushed aside recently? That storyline could have been a gold mine and actually brought some depth to Hope. As of now, Hope comes across as a spoiled, ignorant little girl who can’t handle real life. Steffy and Bill had fiery chemistry yet Bell snuffed them out liek it was nothing. There is no — let me repeat NO- chemistry between Liam and Steffy beyond a puppy crush. There is no sexuality attached to the two of them. Thorne is never spoke about or even seen. How is a veteran treated so badly? Where is the respect? Where is Ali/Ally? Thorne’s child and a true Forrestor heir? Felicia pops in every now and again. B & B has turned into a show that is boring. There is no spice. There is no sizzle.

The Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle needs to end. The Bill & Katie needs to end (it’s been 4 years already! No one stays married that long on a soap!) Use the veteran actors that you already have on staff (Windsor Harmon, Hunter Tylo, Susan Flannery, John McCook). If you’re bringing in guest veterans — PLEASE USE THEM!! It’s a shame that Jon Hensley has just been given a few words. What is up with that?! Change the intro to accurately reflect who is on staff. Brandon Beemer, Adrienne Frantz, and Jack Wagner, Lesley-Anne Down — ALL GONE. Yet you see them on the intro and you keep your fingers crossed that Bell has regained his senses and use these quality actors again.

There needs to be some serious changes or this show will be cancelled at the end of the contract. There won’t be a soap if there are no viewers. Let these people continue to have a job and actually make this soap a drama again PLEASE!!

I hate the Talk too much like the View. I love Bold and the Beautiful. I wish Liam would just choose Steffy and let a Logan lose for once. Hope is so imature and puts herself up there. I wish Brooke and Katie would lose their men so Taylor can get with Bill or Ridge. I can not stand the Logans, they need to lose to the Forrester women for once, instead of have this perfect life. I like Young and the Restless. I want Eden to get her memory back to free Paul. I would like to see Nick leave Phyllis and go back to Sharon. I love Victoria and Billy and Nikki is overrated. I still watch channel 10 CBS.

Hate “The Talk.”. Ick, Ick, Ick. This show epitomizes the relentless dumbing down of television. With the exception of Sara Gilbert, these women are the most annoyingly judgmental hen’s club to ever gain the airwaves. The hiring decisions after the bungled firings of Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete
have been atrocious, even as the remaining original cast have tried way too hard to engage viewers. I find the show painful to watch . . . like fingernails scratching on a blackboard. Sharon Osborne is seemingly celebrated as some icon of irreverence: EPIC FAIL. Without intelligence and/or a breath of compassion, she sounds ignorant, abrasive and crude, even as her colleagues giggle and the audience applauds. I can only conclude that TV execs don’t care about thinking people anymore.

It seems the discussion on this blog turned into Team Steff or Team Hope. We all agree that Bradley Bell ruined the show with the constant trio BUT Sony/CBS doesn’t own part of B&B like they do Y&R and have very very little say. Without Michael Corleone there would not of continued the legacy of Vito Corleone. Sadly Bill Bell Sr. original creator of Y&R and B&B doesn’t have any Michael’s as children. Just A Sony.sad little Fredo and clueless Connie.I think both shows Y&R and B&B need a cousin Vincent to continue the legacy!!! 🙂

CHRISSY: god post! ( in the corleones world we NO-LOganfans would not have eat this trash longer 😉 hahaha )

News

Robin Strasser Meets Kristen Alderson’s Baby Kiera in a One Life to Live Reunion

For years, Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian) and Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) have been the best of friends and the best of co-stars. On One Life to Live, Kristen was only six-years-old when she began her journey as Todd and Blair’s daughter and met the iconic Strasser.

Now in 2024, Kristen is a new mom to her baby girl, Kiera. Strasser, who lives in New York, along with her best friend, John, traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just a few days ago to visit the Alderson family and spend the day with Kiera.

Taking to her Instagram a very happy Kristen shared, “Look at who came to visit today! Robin & her bestie John! Robin and I got all misty eyed when she met Kiera today!”

Photo: JPI

In a very touching part of her post, Alderson expressed, “Robin is such a special person in my life, it means so much to me that we’re as close as we are. She’s just the best❤️ A great day of laughs & a great brunch spread😍”

Robin added, “I’ve been smiling since I met her. I’m a big softie for babies, but what a doll Kiera is!” The Daytime Emmy-winning star, also shared, “I’m so grateful for my ongoing friendship with Kris and Kathy. Amazing women and loyal friends!”

What do you think about Kristen and Robin’s enduring friendship and recalling their time on One Life to Live? Comment below.

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General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

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