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Should Soap Operas Have a Docuseries Taking Viewers Behind the Scenes of the Writers’ Room and How Creative Decisions are Made?

By Michael Fairman

Published

10 months ago

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Photo: JPI

Many of the often questionable or shocking decisions in storylines that fans witness on their favorite soap operas often leave them ready to sound-off on social media. But what if the world of daytime drama peeled back the curtain just a little, and let you see some of what goes down in the writers’ room; where you follow a particular storyline from how it was developed to how it resolved, or how it was left open-ended for more context?

To be clear: we’re not talking about a storyline currently still playing out, either. We’re talking about a story that wrapped up (for now) and how the creatives; from the executive producers to the writers, crafted the arc and why?

Take for instance the culmination of The Bold and the Beautiful’s Luna Nozawa’s (Lisa Yamada) great escape from prison in a laundry hamper, making it all the way to Will Spencer (Crew Morrow), only to tell him she lost their baby, then only to later be run down by a car (off-screen), to then later, Dylan (Sydney Bullock), the friendly school teacher copping to being the person behind the wheel.

Courtesy/CBS

As comparison, Netflix is set to release its second season of WWE Unreal (premiering Jan 20) which gives audiences a second glimpse at an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at WWE creative, as it pulls back the curtain from what goes down inside the writers’ room, where the team crafts the storylines that take them through to a major premium live event such as SummerSlam, and television programming such as Monday Night Raw.

In it, fans also get a glimpse of how the WWE superstars stage their matches: from their moves, to the camera angles and more to tell their stories in the match and inside the ring; plus scenes featuring their real-life personas. The second season takes place leading up to, and at WWE SummerSlam which was held this past August. So, in WWE UnReal, they are not giving away any results, as the stories and matches have already happened.

During The Bold and the Beautiful’s Lawrence Saint Victor (Carter Walton), recent guest visit to the Michael Fairman Channel’s pro wrestling talk show, “What’s Up? Wrestling,” Saint-Victor, who is not only an actor on the CBS daytime drama, but also a writer on the B&B writing staff and a fan of the WWE, weighed-in on if soaps could be successful in using a similar formula to WWE UnReal to give fans more of an up close and personal look at what goes on behind the scenes.

“With WWE Unreal, it’s a controlled picking and choosing of what fans will see,” explains Lawrence. “But like how WWE UnReal season one showed how John Cena’s heel turn was decided, we got to see the pivot and we got to see them have to make decisions, which happens on our show. It happens on every show, especially shows that don’t have off seasons where you’re constantly twisting and turning the whole time.”

Photo: Netflix

“Sometime inspiration hits, or an actor does something and you go, ‘What was that? Let’s unpack that.’ There’s a multitude of reasons and some above my pay grade of why a decision changes,” shared the actor and writer. “Sometimes it can just be logistical. As writers, we don’t ask why, we just pivot. I think that’s the nature of soap operas. It’s the nature of WWE. You don’t have that ‘We finished season one, now we’re going to go away for five months and write season two.’ No, you’re in it all the time. It’s a fluid situation. So the pivot is just part of the nature of it.”

You can check out Lawrence Saint-Victor’s conversation discussing John Cena’s final match and tap out, soaps and the WWE writers rooms, and much more below.

Now let us know, would you want to see a never-before-seen look into the writers’ room of a soap opera – from taking a storyline from inception to the changes and evolution of it along the way – to its conclusion? If so, would you want to see 5 episodes – one each featuring all the current soaps: Beyond the Gates, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless featured; focusing on one or two major storylines from each soap? Or, would you like to see a series featuring just one? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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If American soaps leaned into a synergy with the WWE, that must be why a crop of them were canceled roughly 15 years ago. Those shows need nuance and sophistication so that they don’t look like an over the top circus, not a batch of heel turns. If the writers can tell us anything, it’s why they reject realism outright, when it can actually provide relatable boundaries in storytelling and encourage more creativity. Immortal super villains lost their appeal long ago.

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Amen to everything you said, Soapster, and the only thing I would add is: “Immortal super villains lost their appeal long ago, and so did allegedly lovable mobsters and their codependent enablers.”

It’s been refreshing to see how well Beyond the Gates has been able to stick (mostly) to good old emotionally grounded storytelling so far. I just wonder how long it will be allowed to go on. I plan to enjoy it while I can.

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B&B missed a perfect opportunity to extend the Luna story even with her demise. Writers sent everyone looking for her in the dark in a wooded field. Think of the drama and mystery if Luna(tic) had been found dead from blunt force trauma..? A great whodunit with a cast of suspects. In the end, Remy did it from the twisted notion of helping Electra hoping for her forgiveness, in turn, garnering a second chance with Deke. Traumatizing the teacher again was anticlimactic for such an intriguing character as Luna

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I would probably watch it but I seriously doubt it would tell anything close to the truth about how the shows make creative and writing decisions. The network suits would never agree to show how they micromanage and kill most creativity.

You’d also need to have some truth-tellers to interview, but people like Harding Lemay and Bridget Dobson, who knew how the soaps used to be put together before all the interference started and would have the balls to talk about it, are long gone.

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This would be more interesting than watching a bunch of the real housewives constantly kvetching.

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of our Lives’ Reveals Kyle Pryor Cast as Dominic Marino

Published

17 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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Kyle Pryor

For months now, Days of our Lives has teased the character of Dominic Marino. In recent weeks, viewers learned that Marino is on the down low working with Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) apparent fiancé ‘Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti), and that he is the never-before-heard-of child of Stefano DiMera (the late Joseph Mascolo) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)!

Up until now, the Peacock streaming soap opera has never revealed his face, but that all seemed to change on the Tuesday, October 2o episode of DAYS. In story, Dante met Sami’s parents for the first time, Roman (Josh Taylor) and Marlena.

He shows them a photo of Dominic, which he happened to have on his own phone and even commented he kind of looked like he could be Marlena’s son. The photo, which has quickly made it around Soap Twitter/X, revealed that British-born actor Kyle Pryor is the man in the photo and eagle-eyed viewers actually located said photo on Pryor’s Instagram.

Dominix

Photo: Peacock

Deadline revealed Pryor started taping at the end of 2025 and will first be seen in the role, on air Monday, November 2.  In addition, Days will celebrate its 61st Anniversary with two special episodes featuring Dominic’s arrival, as well the returns of Tony and Anna DiMera, played respectively by Thaao Penghlis and Leann Hunley, on Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9.

Those in the know, are are that Pryor previously held series regular roles on Australia’s Home and Away, and the UK’s Hollyoaks and guest starred on Emmerdale. In an ironic twist, Pryor appeared in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand which is the same action series his apparent TV brother, Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera), once appeared in before coming to DAYS.

So excited to see Kyle Pryor take on the role of Dominic Marino as Days of our Lives sets its anniversary story to kick-off with is arrival in Salem? Share your thoughts in the comment section. And in case you missed our latest conversation with Conner Floyd (Chad DiMera) he weighs-in on how Dominic’s appearance will shake things up in Salem. You can check that out below.

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General Hospital

Kin Shriner Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ TV Daughter Kelly Kruger

Published

21 hours ago

on

October 20, 2026

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Kin and kelly

It’s been over two-years since his last appearance on General Hospital, now fan favorite Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin) has taken to social media to share his thoughts on the casting of his grown-up TV daughter, Serena Baldwin now played by Kelly Kruger.

Kelly took over the role of Serena on-screen starting with the July 30, 2026 episode and has been ensconced in the storyline with her mother, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), in trying to win back full creative control of Deception for her.

In fact on the Monday, October 19 episode of the ABC soap opera, Serena tried to dupe Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) into signing over Michael’s (Rory Gibson) shares of the company. Jason caught on and wondered why she was doing this. She claimed she just wanted to help her mom gain creative control from Tracy (Jane Elliot) rather than full ownership, and begged Jason to keep quiet about it, which he agreed to for now.

Serena and Jason

Courtesy/ABC

WHERE IS SCOTT?

On Monday, Shriner also took to X and said, “I think Kelly Kruger is doing a great job on General Hospital, and she and Lynn Herring work well together.” That was followed by comments in his thread about the show needing to bring back Scott too.

In fact, back on August 25, Shriner also took to X with a reminder that Scott is still around and ready to come back to Port Charles, sharing, “Scotty Baldwin always fits in he just needs the right sport coat !!!!”

The last time Serena mentioned her father Scott was when Kruger made her debut and informed Lucy that her father was, “living his best life in Key West.”  Meanwhile, Shriner posts on his X account continually and shared back on August 2, that it has been 49 years since he made his on-screen debut as then teenaged, Scotty Baldwin and thanked the fans for al the love and support.

So, now let us know, are you enjoying Kelly Kruger as Serena Baldwin? Do you want to see GH bring back Scott Baldwin into the story, so Serena has both her parents in Port Charles? Do you like the potential of Jason and Serena pairing? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ and Daytime Emmy Nominee Mike Manning to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel

Published

2 days ago

on

October 19, 2026

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While Bradley “Smitty: Smith finds himself currently in a whole heap of trouble on Beyond the Gates, his portrayer Mike Manning is getting set for the upcoming 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards where he finds himself nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series category.

A previous two-time Daytime Emmy winner, Manning will visit You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream chat on Wednesday, October 21 beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT.

This year, Beyond the Gates broke records becoming a 15-time Daytime Emmy nominated seres, a first in Daytime Emmy history for a new show entering the competition for the first time. Manning will discuss being part of the groundbreaking soap.

Smitty

Photo: CBS

MIKE MANNING’S UPCOMING PROJECTS

While Manning has his series regular role on Beyond the Gates he is also involved in a myriad of other projects including: his role opposite Nicolas Cage in the film, Madden and the upcoming Anthony Hopkins starring motion picture, Eyes in the Tree, which Manning is featured and also produced.

LGBTQ+ ADVOCACY

Mike first gained nation attention back on MTV’s The Real World D.C., now almost 17 years ago, when he came out on the reality series, which served as an example of early LGBTQ+ representation, leading to thousands of letters from viewers who felt connected to, or felt represented by his journey. Through his advocacy, Manning has served as a youth ambassador for Boo2Bullying and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, anti-bullying, and environmental protection.

Daytime fans first met Manning as uber-bad guy Charlie Dale on Days of our Lives (2020-2o22) and later for his Emmy-winning role as Caleb McKinnon on The Bay.

This week on all-new episodes of Beyond the Gates, viewers will see the pick-up after Smitty has been framed for the murder of Dr. Lia Whitmore, after being in possession of incriminating pills linked to her death, that were seemingly planted at his home. 

If you have a question for Mike, but cannot be with us in the live chat, drop it in the comment section below and we just might ask it on the broadcast.

So, how do you think Smitty will get out of the charges against him? Rooting for Mike at the Daytime Emmys? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.

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Video Du Jour

Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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