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SOAP LIFE: A Documentary On Daytime Drama in preparation on the decline & future of Soaps!

By Michael Fairman

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Lest you think that the emotional toll the last few years have taken on soap fans, soap actors, producers, and anyone involved with the medium, is not going to be documented or has somehow gone unnoticed by an entity that wants to shed some light on the culture to the mainstream! Well, On-Air On-Soaps is here to tell you that a new documentary about the changes taking place in the world of daytime drama is prepping itself for distribution.

The title of the documentary project is: Soap Life – A Documentary on Daytime, and as we have all collectively watched, or have been a part of,  more classic soap operas have been cancelled.  So the company behind this documentary, NYPS.TV has interviewed many of your daytime favorites in front of the camera and fans around the country about the landscape of American television that is going through unprecedented changes. They’ve spoken with executives, and a number of current and former daytime stars to get their perspective on what it all means and what lies ahead.

Right now, they are trying to raise the last amount of funds needed to finish their documentary.  So they have posted their project on Kickstarter.com, with the hopes that within next few months,  the money they raise will help this film become a reality. The donor gifts include a pre-order of the DVD, a collectible poster, an invite to the film’s premier, a special thanks in the credits, and the chance to make an appearance in the documentary.

Some of the stars appearing in the film include: Lisa LoCicero, Rick Hearst,  Jill Larson, Bradford Anderson, Carolyn Hennesy, Ronnie Marmo, Cady McClain, Derk Cheetwood, Jordi Vilasuso, Crystal Hunt, Bobbie Eakes, Gary Tomlin, Sean Ringgold, Francesca James, Julia Barr, Eileen Fulton, and many more.  On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman also was interviewed for this look into the soaps.

Watch a trailer for the film below and then let us know, what you think of the concept? Don’t you think its time that people should know what viewers around the country, and the stars that have made the characters you love to love and love to hate, feel about the downturn in the soaps and losing these legacy shows that are like family members?

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I look forward in looking to this documentary.

me to from canada

Me too from Canada !! 🙂

Why Gary Tomlin? All he knows how to do is ruin soaps.

Excellent concept. Video looks good. This should be of interest to everyone interested in daytime drama.

This is great! Maybe it can shed some light for me as well. Is this an era of higher and higher shareholder profits and shows with low production costs (i.e., talk, reality & variety shows) or are soaps really a dead genre? I dunno. Spanish-language soaps (telenovelas) and the UK soaps (“EastEnders,” “Coronation Street,” “Hollyoaks,” etc.) seem to still be doing well, although certainly not at their zenith. Perhaps it’s a corporate America greed thing.

It still boggles my mind that we’re down to only four soaps! When I started sampling the daytime drama buffet in the 1970s, there were still 15 soaps on the air (“The Secret Storm” was the first of the longer-running TV serials to get cancelled in February 1974) and a flood of fan magazines … and this was during the lagging recession of the 1970s! I truly thought these chestnuts would be around when I was old and bed-ridden.

Hopefully, this documentary will help me understand what the hell happened…

Sounds interesting although I would have liked a little more variety. Of the names I recognized only Eileen Fulton was from a non-ABC soap (although Bobbie Eakes and Crystal Hunt did have prominent roles on another network in addition to ABC).

Hey Michael, when does the “RIP” go up next to All My Children?

He’s probably waiting for OLTL to end to do it in one shot.

I don’t think you actually watched the promo. Eileen Fulton does not appear in the promo. The actual promo (if you click on the video link) features Rick Hearst from B&B as well as Gary Tomlin from DAYS.

this i’d watch

I’m Very Interested In Seeing This Documentary–Yes! 😀

I would watch it too if it is in Canada too I miss my soap that they tolk away from us ATWT and my number one soap is AMC

when the soap starts i tune out i see nothing but the storyline and what i can solve on what is going on in the show

If it can show people how valuable these shows are, I can’t wait to see this documentary either! I’m all for it!

It is August 31, 2012 and I CANNOT WAIT FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012!!!!!!! It’s the premiere of Soap Life – A Documentary. Sooooo excited and soooo proud to be a part of the daytime community!!!!

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Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan Visit the Set of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’; Daytime Emmy Winners Reflect on Show Then and Now

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Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan

The one and only Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester) dropped in to see her former co-stars on The Bold and the Beautiful at their Sunset Las Palmas Studio in Hollywood, along with her good friend and another B&B co-star Ian Buchanan (ex-James Warwick) on Tuesday October 20.

It was the first time in a very long time that The four-time Daytime Emmy winning actress was reunited with Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, Jennifer Gareis and even her TV sister, Alley Mills (Pam, B&B now Heather, GH) showed up for the day too!

Flannery played the Forrester matriarch from 1987 until 2012. It was then that after playing the part of Stephanie for 25 years that Susan made the decision to retire from acting and in one of the most heartbreaking sendoffs, passes away from lung cancer in Brooke’s arms in November of 2012. During her B&B tenure, Flannery won 3 of her 4 Daytime Emmys, the other being for her first soap role as Laura Horton on Days of our Lives back in 1975.

Susan and Kelly

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV

As for Ian Buchanan, he played Dr. Warwick, psychiatrist, from 1993 to 1999.  He returned for other runs in 2014 and 2017.  Buchanan took home his Daytime Emmy in 1997 for his work as James. Soap fans also remember, Ian as mobster Duke Lavery on General Hospital, and Dr. Greg Madden on All My Children,

Both Susan and Ian shared their thoughts on coming back to The Bold and the Beautiful, for Susan 14 years later since he exited and for Ian close to 9 years since his last appearance below.

Susan said, “It’s definitely like coming home in a way, even though it’s not the same studio. It’s really lovely to see old faces and old faces with new faces. It takes you back mentally. You start remembering what it was like back then, even things like how much your feet would ache at the end of the day from wearing six-inch heels. It was just lovely to be back and see everybody.”

Susan Flannery and cast

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV

Ian expressed, “It’s a mind trip, you know. When I was sitting looking at the big Forrester set, it was like stepping back in time, almost. It takes you back mentally, and you start remembering what it was like when you were here before.”

“It’s lovely to see all these people again, even if you don’t know everybody,” explained soap vet Buchanan. “There’s something really special about coming back and seeing the show and the people who have been part of it for so long.”

So, happy to see Susan and Ian with some of their former castmates? Do you think Stephanie and Brooke is one of the greatest frenemy stories in daytime history? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Beyond the Gates

Tabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?

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Kandi Burress, Tabitha Brown, Karla Mosley

As previously announced, Beyond the Gates is bringing chef, author and actress Tabitha Brown and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and actress Kandi Burruss to Fairmont Crest in a special episode of the CBS daytime drama airing Thursday, October 22.

In the episode, Dani’s (Karla Mosley) best friend Pamela Curtis (Cady McClain), arranges a “Welcome to Your Life” television special for her. As it turns out, Brown will play the show’s host, Tia Allen, while Burruss takes on the role of Dani’s first modeling agent, Kalista Kilroy, who turns the celebration of her life into a bad trip down memory lane.

Dani’s parents Anita and Vernon (Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis), sister Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix), and daughters Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) all join the show to celebrate and support her but also witness how things so south. Also appearing in the episode are Molly Figueroa as Tatum Stewart and fan-favorite Anita Williams (Tunie) impersonator Jackie Tyree!

Beyond the Gates

PhotoL JPI

THE 411 ON TIA AND KALISTA

Speaking with TV Insider, about their soapy experience in Fairmont Crest, Tabitha Brown previewed about her host with the most, “Tia is very professional, but she’s a girl’s girl. She is a protector of women and wants to tell their stories in a beautiful way, but she also wants to make sure they’re seen in a very good light.”

However, Burruss previews that Kalista arrives with a score to settle. “She’s spicy,” shared the recording artist. “I always love playing somebody that has come to start trouble. It’s always fun to play a villain of sorts, but Kalista feels like she’s been done wrong and she’s hurt by what she feels has been done to her. So Kalista is stirring up trouble, but she feels justified putting Dani on blast. Kalista is ready for some payback.”

Beyond the Gates is produced by CBS Studios, as part of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble. Created by head writer Michele Val Jean, executive producers include Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Carruthers, Tracey Thomson, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Anna Saalfeld and Lela Coffey.

Beyond the Gates is broadcast weekdays on CBS (2:00-3:00 PM, ET/1:00-2:00 PM, PT) and is available to stream on Paramount+**.

So, looking forward to this special episode of Beyond the Gates when Dani is put on a blast during a blast from her past and Welcome to Your Life TV special? Share your thoughts via the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

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

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

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