News
Maria Arena Bell's Farewell Message On Her Ousting at Y&R, "I was not give a reason, and in fact I have heard nothing from Sony or CBS!"

Photo Credit: Steven Bergman
“As the Dust Settles”, could be the name of the soap within the soap with all the back stage drama unfolding at Y&R this week. As fans know, yesterday it became official that Maria Arena Bell was let-go in both her capacities, executive producer and head writer. In her place comes Jill Farren Phelps as EP and Josh Griffith as head writer. Bell took to her facebook page to let her initial feelings be read by fans of the series, and her colleagues. Below is what she had to say citing she was “mystified” at the decision and that no one at Sony or CBS gave her a reason why she was being terminated in both positions.
Maria Arena Bell : “So it was announced today I am leaving Y and R. .. the show I have loved so much for so long. It is the legacy of my father in law… my mother in law… and all the Bells. The show has been my heart and soul. I loved working with the most talented writers in TV who were also the most wonderful human beings I know. T hey became a second family and my best friends. I loved the cast and crew. I am extremely sad to go because there are more stories I could have told. So much more I wanted to do. My ratings are strong… each week stronger than last year. T he show is in a great place creatively. We are number one by the greatest margin in the show’s history and have been consistently while I’ve been there. Under no one else’s tenure as head writer exec producer have we won every demographic for so long. I am just shy of five years at the helm. I t has been an amazing ride. So why am I leaving? I am mystified as are my cast and crew. “There have been a lot of tears shed in the last few days… by me and by my loyal staff and by our iconic actors,” she continues. “I was not given a reason and in fact I have heard nothing from Sony or CBS.
They sent me a message through my husband Bill who had the terrible job of conveying that they’d gone around him and were letting me go. I fought hard for my vision and to keep the show on track with the characters that matter to the audience. Maybe I fought too hard. But I am glad I did. I never compromised on what I believed in. I never dumbed down the storytelling. I walked in the door at Y and R in 1988… as a young writer getting her first job. Today I leave there knowing it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I love you Y and R. Your story was my life story too. And to Victor… Nikki… Jack… and Kay… I will miss you.”
So soapers and Y&R fans, what do you think about Maria’s farewell message? Let us know your thoughts after reviewing her comments!
Well if their were tears out of Sharon Case they were tears of joy what you and that hack Hammner did to her character is criminal!!!
I love your comment. I agree 110%. Sharons character was DUMBED DOWN for the sake of that awful Chelsea and that bhorrific Chadam pairing.
Perfect comment “kay/kay”! I still get upset thinking about what they did to Sharon.
I did find it odd that during the Emmy broadcast she spoke about how she felt like she was being constantly chased down by the “Indiana Jones ” rock rolling behind her back. In other words, there’s a lot of pressure on her. However, I did not hear her mention all of the other writers, actors, crew, office staff and producers who also had the ball rolling behind them. Soaps are an intense collaborative effort, and to not acknowledge the people who are holding you up, bothered me no end.
Good ridden’s -she was awful!
Well, I am glad she’s gone. I know a lot of fans are as well that have expressed how unhappy they have been with the writing. Case in point, the character of Sharon Newman. She has distroyed the integrity of that character. She also writers plot driven stories rather then character driven stories. I for one am glad she is out. Maybe Y&R can finally get back to the show it once was.
Glad she is gone, hope JFP comes in humble with the veterans. She can be a monster when it comes to the vets. Time will tell!!!!!!
Maybe Maria Arena Bell should go look for a job on THE CHEW because she sure sounds a lot like that Carla girl whose comments received over 150 replies (on this website) to her craziness and delusion.
You can tell this woman is very full of herself.
OMG, MAB is totally delusional. Never dumbed down the storytelling? Biggest margin in the show’s history? Over the past 5 years, there has been little to no positive feedback about anything about Y&R. As far as I am concerned, MAB picked up the torch of destruction where LML left off, and unfortunately for all of us decades-long Y&R fans, JFP is going to be the final nail in the coffin. I am saddened that Sony had this opportunity to right some wrongs and hire some new creative talent to run this show, someone who understands the show’s history and the characters’ motivations. Instead, they hired someone with a proven record of show destruction.
I see Maria going to Y&R’s sister show the Bold 3 Show JFP was the beginning of the end of Guiding Light
Maybe now the show has a chance of being as good as it used to be!
You must be kidding, clearly you have no idea what JFP is about…
Well, she was “mystified” & had no idea what was happening etc. How did Melody Thomas Scott feel last year when she was just sent home & never heard a word from anyone about HER status? Shoe’s on the other foot, huh Maria?
Actually YR has lost viewers since last year just becaus e your #1 doesnt your not bleeding viewers. Later MAB
MAB is something of an enigma. When she first showed up, fans loved her–she fixed the Katherine/Jill/Cane mess, brought Ashley back to the show, and most of the actors had nothing but good things to say about her. And she seemed, honestly, to be a nice woman who stopped listening to fans and paying attention to the ratings. How could she not see that the show bled over a million viewers? I don’t understand what went wrong, but now we’ll all get a chance to see a true hack, JFP, at work.
Has anyone heard if Hogan Sheffer will still be around? Because I’m no fan of his writing and won’t expect any improvement if either he or Hamner are still around.
Who cares……………..
You haters can suck it! Try to argue the incredible stats that she named off in her message above. I loved the storylines during her tenure at Y&R and am hoping that the show will continue to be the template that all others aspire to be under someone else’s creative vision. Thank you, Maria!
Not much for quality in your viewing pleasure, eh Kalamaty??
Perhaps a floating plastic grocery bag in the distance is considered entertainment by your standards…
MAB was a hack – she decimated many a character with preposterous situations (death by volcano; Ashley carrying her unborn dead fetus; Angelo & Angelina;) and worse yet, she retconned many classic Bill Bell tales by SORAS’ing characters’ offspring to the point where the timelines made no sense!!
The evil is gone – let’s see how this plays out – the masses have spoken!!
Oh boo hoo. I don’t feel sympathy for her at all. Bye!!!!!
Neither do I! They should have gotten rid of her a long time ago. Hopefully, Y & R will improve significantly in her absence.
It should improve. Maria should have been sacked back in 2010. She’s taken a character-driven series and made it all plot, which is not a soap opera, especially a Bell soap.
Hammer is gone, they haven’t said about Sheffer, but I doubt Griffith will want him around.
Sorry *Hamner
THis will kill the show Jill will f it up bad!
OMG! FINALLY! This just put me in the best mood! Seriously, Maria Arena Bell is delusional. She was a HORRIFIC head writer. There have been NO compelling storylines within her tenure at Y&R and her talking about the Bell legacy is a JOKE, since she almost ruined her father-in-law’s creation. Hopefully we get some good headwriters now, that know how to entertain an audience, use veteran characters in a way that is a beneficial, and put an end to endless quicky weddings and one-night-stands viewers have been subjected to since MAB came on.
This is all devastating news that Sony/CBS appear hell-bent on closing the door once and for all on the brilliant art from that is the dramatic serial. Bill Sr. must be turning over in his grave. The magical, mythical place that is Genoa City, WI, a lush, wonderful, unique escape for 42 minutes every day has been on a tumultuous decline since the control of the ship was handed over in the 2000’s to LML (disastrous) and then MAB (initially promising but ultimately disappointing) right down to the loss of brilliant casting director Marni Saita who never cast anyone for their looks but rather chose appealing, complex and skilled actors for every role. The shift in focus off of such things as core families and veterans, family unity, a good mix between young and old, happy times and sad, stability/dependability and lunacy/uncertainty, and the killing off or writing out of such beloved, complex and compelling legacy characters as John Abbott, Drucilla Winters, Brad Carlton and now Ashley Abbott (the spectacular, under-used Eileen Davidson) in favor of the psycho of the week (Patty, Sarah, Daisy, Ricky), plastic surgery look-a-likes (Sheila/Phyllis, Patty/Emily, Lauren/Sarah), rampant wasted and poorly-timed SORASing (Kyle, Fen, Summer), reverse aging of character re-casts (Diane Jenkins), character destruction and inconsistency (Sharon, Neil), incestuous inter-generational and age – parental – role model inappropriate pairings (Victor/Sharon, Jack/Sharon, Phyllis/Ronan), wasteful stunt castings, and annoying shrill side-show diversions (Angelo/Angelina) have all combined to be more than any loyal viewer can bear, severly watering down the experience that is Y&R, and making it difficult to continue caring and watching regularly as much as one might want to. A rising tide lifts all boats, and the only way to save this show (and therefore the few others that also survive) is to hand the reigns back over to Bill Sr.’s brilliant protege, Kay Alden, as head writer or someone else like her with her unique skills, values and vision. Shift the focus back onto core, legacy families and characters, character-driven story with consistency and character growth and evolution, slightly slower pacing and build with long term pay-off and more. The emotionally compelling and rock-solid heart and soul of Y&R today: Michael and Lauren as played by the incomparably magical and appealing duo Christian J. LeBlanc and Tracey E. Bregman. One positive being left behind by MAB: the redemptive love story and character evolution of Adam and Chelsea which is a gold nugget in the canvas right now (Melissa Claire Egan is a star). Other reasons to watch: Jeanne Cooper, Jess Walton, Eric Braeden, Peter Bergman, Melody Thomas Scott, Michelle Stafford, Doug Davidson, Lauralee Bell, Tricia Cast, Greg Rikaart, Joshua Morrow, Billy Miller, Christel Khalil, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Marcy Rylan, Beth Maitland, Judith Chapman, Ted Shackelford, Kevin Schmidt and others I know I’m forgetting. I’ve no idea of the corporate and Bell family politics involved behind the scenes of this emipre and of course this is a business that must ultimately turn a profit, but hopefully between CBS, Sony, and the superstar Bells there is still someone who truly understands why Y&R has been #1 all of these years and has stood far and above all of the rest as the gold standard of the genre. We can only hope.
I just want to comment on how beautifully written this ^ was. I truly enjoyed reading this. You should consider freelancing for whatever soap site accepts work like that. Kudos to you!
I’m a newer viewer to Y&R since OLTL and AMC were cancelled (I figured I’d pick up another show in solidarity for the genre) and have been both laughing and scratching my head that this mess could possibly pass for #1 of the dramas. In the small window of time I’ve watched, there have been more than a dozen weddings or almost-weddings (I’ve counted!). I have found all the characters to be insufferable, boring or just plain awful (with the exception of Adam whose transformation from a one-note bitter angry son to a more layered and calm character has been a delight). Not having any root-for-characters or root-for-couples is keeping me at an arm’s length distance with the show and not allowing me to connect in a way I normally do and that too has been a problem. Stories have no substance to them and are the epitome of plot driven. And if I may be so bold, even the actors seem uninspired! No one’s really on their A-game (again with the exception of Doug Davidson faced with the possibility that Paul failed and killed his own son). There has nothing thus far that has made me a fan.
I said this in Michael’s other posting about Maria’s firing, I’m all for new blood. I know first hand the destruction the trifecta JFP, Bob Guza and Frons caused on GH and am abreast of JFP’s history maligning other shows. Still, with full knowledge of what I’m getting, I am happy for this change. I want to like this show. But it’s given me no reason to. JFP won’t bring it back to its glory days and maybe even won’t make it better, but I’m willing to give someone else a shot because what they have now aint working.
Again, you people are freaks! Just wait and see what happens before you start pressing panic buttons. My God! If there ever was a need for extra “extras” I think they would have no problem…. just come find the histrionics here!
I am very disappointed. I do agree that some of the stories were boring, cut short or stayed too long at the forefront. I don’t ike the NEW Sharon. She reminds me of her previous self when she was trying to fit into Nicks world. But at least we had the core cast we have invested time in. Now hearing that Jill Farren Phelps is replacing her is just plain scary. It seems every soap she goes to ends up being canceled. DIdn’t they just replace her on GH? I hope she doesn;t mess with the core cast which I have read thay she does constantly until she finds cast she likes. Y&R is one of only a few soaps still on the air and If she starts getting rid of the cast then I guess it will be time for me to let go and stop recording and watching it every day. Oh well
This woman was an absolute WITCH to Sharon Case! I hope Sharon is celebrating right now!
The fact their has been no tweets from any cast members singing MAB’s praises tells me all I need to know but they are also frightened about JFP. But Sharon Case has been destroyed I do not know how you bring her out of this unless complete break down and bring an awesome looking guy on as her shrink. LOL!!
Also I can not stand the names the so called fans are calling her character like any of this is her fault she must have done something to somebody’s wheaties over there.
I am so glad this women is gone thank you Sony she cries that she was never given a reason. well us fans were never given a reason to why she trashed my favorite show. And my favorite character Sharon Newman . I was a loyal watcher from the beginning i no longer watch what Maria has turned into my opinion trash. So long i hope you never write again.
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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