News
Les Moonves on Future of CBS Soaps: "We Believe They Will Be On For a Long, Long Time!"

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
Today at the TCA’s (Television Critics Association) press tour session for CBS, the network boss, Les Moonves spoke on the future, and his thoughts, on the two current daytime drama properties that air on the network … The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless!
Moonves related: “They’re doing well. They’re profitable. They were able, a few years back, to do the shows a bit more economically. Our daytime (soaps) have gone way up this year, and their profitability has gone way up. We believe those two soaps will be on for a long, long time. We don’t think the form is dead. Obviously, there are a lot less than there used to be, but we’re very pleased with what they’re doing.”
Doug Davidson (Paul, Y&R) jumped on his Twitter account to acknowledge Moonves statements to the press, stating, “Les Moonves is Da Man. He’s supported #yr #bb for all of his years @CBS. I know! I was there! #Straight shooter #great leader. @CBSDaytime”
So are you enthusiastic over Les Moonves support of Y&R and B&B? Do you think they will continue to thrive for a years to come on the network? Share your thoughts!
As long as the shows are making them money and there isn’t something else available that might make them more money than those shows– then yes they will be on. But if either of those two things changes, it will be bye bye. Because in the end all the matters to the networks is the bottom line. The key words in his statement is profitability.
Was he at the helm when Guiding Light and As the World Turns were taken off the air?
Yes. He axed ATWT so his wife could have The Talk. I do’nt watch
anything with Julie Chen!!! YawneR is worse than the soaps he and
his wife destroyed. If it was on the up and up, why have her host TT?
Yes, he was in charge. Funny that you would mention that. I vividly remember his comment when ATWT was cancelled: “Only the ‘special’ soaps will survive.” It came back to me as I read this quote from him. (BTW: I still don’t know what he meant by “special soaps” but clearly the group didn’t include the Oakdale folks).
I’ve always liked Doug Davidson and appreciate what he has done for Y&R over the years. However, I’m having a hard time becoming as supportive of Moonves as he did in his quote. Two years ago, it looked CBS would toss all of its soaps off the air. Now, Moonves and Angelica McDaniel gush on and on about how fantastic they are doing.
The ratings for the shows have improved but they are far below what they used to be. Moreover, from a creative angle, Y&R and B&B are barely watchable.
I’m not trying to be the voice of doom about this. I WANT these shows to survive but I just don’t see the improvements that Moonves and his crew keep fawning about. Moreover, I don’t really trust that Moonves is that supportive of these shows. They clearly have cut costs further (evident in the quality of what we see on the screen these days) and the shows must work somehow from a profit angle. However, I wouldn’t say they have made some HUGE comeback like his comment suggests.
Sorry, I just don’t put a lot of weight into these glowing remarks. I remember the hatch job done on ATWT and GL to well to do that.
I thought ATWT & GL were through Proctor & Gamble!!
Yes, P&G produced the soaps and CBS aired them on their network. P&G owns all copyrighted material connected to those two soaps. So when CBS decided to no longer air them on their network, P&G could have sold them to another network. But P&G wanted to get out the soap opera production end of things so they didn’t bother.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to another 40 years of the Young and the Restless!
…and at least 25 more years of B&B!!
I don’t care if it’s profitability! As long as they stay on!!! Of course, they have to make a profit….it is a business after all…everyone says that like its a bad thing!
Yes, nothing wrong with making money- and entertainment is a business. But supporting them as long as they make a profit, isn’t the same thing as supporting them through investment.
If this network was truly supporting the genre, they would invest the money in hiring the best writers, producers, directors, actors, and trades people they could. They would invest in high production values and promotions. They would be interested in developing new soaps— that is supporting the genre.
But just be willingly to air a Sony and Bell produced product as long as it makes money for you, and something else better doesn’t come along– is not IMO supporting the genre.
And trust me, there is a way to do invest in the genre and make money, but no network is willing to go there anymore. They will air what they have until they find a good reason not to.
So I don’t object to them wanting to make a profit– I object to them saying they are supporting the product when in fact they are not. They are profiting from it, not supporting it. Big difference.
Well said.
No, I don’t agree with Les at all. Onbothera shows they are breaking up marriages and turning teens into scrumbags. Nobody really work..The scripts look like what William Bell wrote and baby Brad picked up off the floor to use over and over. And getting rid of Hunter Tylo and her family, the only characters that can act.
Any business must remain profitable to ensure it’s future and it is no different in soaps. In addition to this, you must have good story lines or the actor/actresses are enticed to walk. Let’s hope the soaps do survive for years to come- long live the soaps!
HE CANCELLED ATWT’S. BRING IT BACK!!!!!! I don’t watch the talk and never will.
I wish he’d kept ATWT on the air…i miss Lilly, Holden, Lucinda, Luke,…i miss them all!!!
Don’t forget Barbara and Emily! I still miss my show!
They were great too…especially Barbara and when they did that Upstairs Downstairs Christmas special…i taped that and watch it every Christmas season.
Good news to hear!
GL and ATWT were much better soaps than Y&R. I have never watched TT and don’t intend to.
I do’nt care how people spin this: The fact is that he killed ATWT and gave his
wife a show that took the place of it. All of the doubters may change thei minds
when there is talk of a spinoff of The Talk. The best way to save the soaps is to
not support the other crap.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.
Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC
HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT
Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”
Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”
Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Photo: ABC
DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES
In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”
Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”
You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.
Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.
According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.
Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene, Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.
WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?
Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”
The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”
MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE
In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.
Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.
So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
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