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How B&B & ‘Dynasty’ Showrunners Are Being Creative To Keep Sex & Intimacy Alive In The Soap Genre Amidst COVID-19

Photo: JPI/CW

In one of the more entertaining but true titles of an article in the New York Times, “How to Shoot a Sex Scene in a Pandemic: Cue the Mannequins” several series executive producers and showrunners participated and related how they are coming up with ways to exist in a COVID-19 world, but need to keep the love stories, and intimate moments still look alluring for its viewership, especially those bonafide soaps.

At the forefront remains The Bold and the Beautiful and its executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell.  BOLD has returned to making new episodes and as noted today, will be airing all-new episodes come July 20th.

In the NY Times piece, Bell shared on making the love scenes work:  “At first, we took out the love scenes, and the show was falling a little flat because we’re all about romance and family interactions. One of the first ideas we had was to bring in mannequins for the intimate scenes and hospital scenes, and it’s working quite well — we’re shooting it from a great distance or in a way you can’t see the form is inanimate.”

When asked how his cast is handling the transition to lifeless stand-ins, he shared.  “We’ve had a lot of strange looks and questions like, Do you really want to do this? But everyone is game. They are getting their first latex kiss.”

Another soap, CW’s Dynasty, who had to wrap its 3rd season much earlier than they had hoped, without the wedding of Fallon and Liam due to COVID-19, is figuring out how their over-the-top sexy sudsy show might look when it returns.

Showrunner, Josh Reims shared with the Times: “Phone sex has certainly come up a lot. I was looking through the first episode written before all this, and basically removed everything that said, ‘And then they kiss.’”

Reims noted: “The joke among the writers is that we will watch two characters say they want to have sex and then cut to them saying, ‘That was some great sex.’”

It is Reims true hople that when Dynasty returns next spring in 2021, that the effects of COVID-19 will not be felt or will have at least subsided, adding “No one is watching ‘Dynasty’ to be reminded of a pandemic.”

So, looks like soaps are leading the charge to get you back to enjoying love in the afternoon or the evening? Comment below.

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Daytime is returning too fast; they should still be shut down. As for Dynasty, I am shaken by the wait until 2021 for its return, simply due to ratings and its streaming history, however, I know I (and many others) will certainly be tuning in!

I wholeheartedly agree they’re coming back way too fast. And then they’re gonna have to stop again and that’s just going to delay new episodes coming back. I’d rather see them wait a couple months and maybe start shooting in September and bank a whole bunch of episodes and then come back on air in January. That way if there’s a shut down during the winner they’ll have some left to air.

I know I am going to get a lot of flack for what I am about to say. But everyone is entitled to their opinion so here goes. I have been an on again off again viewer of Y&R & B&B since the mid eighties. (Depending on my work schedule at the time). With that being said, it has been nice watching past episodes to see what I have missed. I just wish B&B would go further back. It was nice to see Ronn Moss as Ridge. Anyway, sorry for digressing. I am getting to my point, I promise. And trust me I never thought these words would ever be uttered out of my mouth. I think soap operas should go by way of the dinosaur. Enough is enough. After watching the reruns these past weeks, today’s writing doesn’t hold a candle to the past episodes. As always on B&B the scenes with Brooke and Stephanie SR were excellent. I loved watching Bridget lay into Brooke for getting pregnant with Deacon. Now I know why that girl won an Emmy. Like I said, enough is enough. How many times can Brooke go back and forth between Bill and Ridge without it getting predictable. Not to mention with the new boyfriend for Steffie, you know a Liam triangle is coming up. They also killed (not physically) Sally with the lie to get Wyatt back. They made such a cute couple. Y&R is the same thing The writing and acting was so much better. I guess all good things must come to an end sometime. Thank you to whoever reads this. Stay safe and healthy everyone and happy viewing everybody.

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George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”

March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.

However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture

Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.

Photo: NAACP

Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory,  when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”

Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”

Photo: JPI

The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean,  and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”

When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”

The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.

So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.

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Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64

Former General Hospital star, Robyn Bernard, who played aspiring singer Terry Brock has died. She was 64-years-old.

Bernard’s body was found Tuesday in San Jacinto, California. A Riverside County Coroner told TMZ they identified the actress’ body using her fingerprints after deputies responded to a death investigation call on Tuesday March 12th.

Sources told the outlet that Bernard’s body was found in the wee hours of the morning. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Photo: ABC

Bernard joined General Hospital back in 1984 as Terry Brock, the daughter of the abusive D.L. Brock (played by David Groh). Robyn remained on the ABC soap opera for six years before making her exit in 1990. At one point, Terry’s stepmother would become Bobbie Spencer (the late Jackie Zeman) when the nurse married her father.

Terry was involved in the Laurelton Murders storyline and after first setting her sights on Frisco Jones, wound up with killer Kevin O’Connor. Later, Terry was blamed for several murders and in the end killed Kevin in self-defense. In addition, Terry had a relationship with Dusty Walker played by none other than Shaun Cassidy.  She eventually left Port Charles after landing her own recording contract.

Photo: ABC

The last time GH Fans may have seen Bernard was in 2014, when she appeared at the GH Fan Club Weekend Past Cast event. Robyn is pictured below with the late Susan Brown (ex-Gail) at the fan gathering. She has been out of the limelight for several years.

Photo: JPI

In addition to her role on GH, Bernard was featured throughout her TV career on primetime’s Simon & Simon, Tour of Duty and The Facts of Life.

Share your remembrances and condolences for GH alum Robyn Bernard and her loved ones via the comment section below.

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Breaking News

51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.

This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.

The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.

Photo: NATAS

Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.

Photo: JPI

The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.

So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.

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