News
Trans Actor and B&B Alum Scott Turner Schofield Notes, “Soap Operas Have Always Known That the Most Compelling Stories are the Ones Society’s Still Wrestling With”
It was 2015 and on The Bold and the Beautiful, Maya Avant was revealed to be a transgender character, and the role was played by current Beyond the Gates star, Karla Mosley, who is a cis actress.
In a recent interview Mosley shared why she stepped away from the role of Maya, and that she would not play another transgender character again in her career, because it would feel “truly inappropriate,” given that, fast-forward over the last 10 years, Hollywood has moved towards casting trans performers in trans roles and because of her advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.
Later, in 2015, B&B brought into the canvas, Maya’s friend, Nick played by trans actor and activist, Scott Turner Schofield. Nick eventually wound up officiating the wedding of Maya to the love of her life, Rick Forrester then played by Jacob Young.
Photo: JPI
By B&B casting Schofield, he became the first openly trans actor to appear in a soap opera and eventually went on to become the first trans actor to be nominated for an Emmy for his work in Sean Kanan’s digital drama series, Studio City.
Now ,in a new interview with PEOPLE during June’s Pride Month, Scott gave high praise to daytime drama and The Bold and the Beautiful for opening the door on television for more trans performers to hopefully walk through.
“Peppermint just had a groundbreaking trans wedding on Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest – and I cheered. I love her and all she does. But we did that on The Bold and the Beautiful 10 years ago,” shared Schofield. He went on to say,“ Soap operas have always known that the most compelling stories are the ones society’s still wrestling with. Throw in a bizarre love triangle and a moral dilemma, and you’ve got the formula that’s kept some soaps rolling for over 50 years.”
Photo: JPI
Scott also expressed his hopes that, “For the sake of my community – and honestly, for the sake of television itself — I hope more producers and execs find the guts that soaps have always had to tell complex stories about very different people. At this point, it’s not just activism. It’s good business sense.”
After reading the article on Scott, Karla Mosley took to her Instagram and shared, “LOVE and FEEL every word of this exclusive interview with my friend Scott Turner Schofield on the importance of not just being a “historic first”, but making sure you’re not the last. Here here!
Scott and I played besties on The Bold and the Beautiful and he points to the groundbreaking nature of Soap Operas. But that we have to keep expanding our “risky” storytelling beyond Soaps! Scott was shining back when we got to play together and has been shining ever since.”
So, should TV and film producers follow the examples set by The Bold and the Beautiful and be more inclusive weaving trans characters played by trans actors into their canvas? Did you like the the story of Maya Avant and her friend Nick on B&B? Do you feel that soap opera’s have always broken ground or showcased flashpoints in our culture? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Lordy you did not step away from anything Bell as usual got bored and your character disappeared. It was a totally ignorant storyline because he had to go back and do rewrites to even make it plausible the same way he is doing with Looney Luna.
It does seem Mr. Bell gets an idea, develops it quickly without suspense and like a child with toy, tires of it. I wonder if soaps have long-term bibles anymore. Maya Avant and Rick Forrester came and went rather quickly. It is one thing to be the first and to introduce stories. It is better to sustain them too. It happens a lot on B&B but every soap seems to do it. The gay character of Hank of ATWT… Nikki’s MS diagnosis on Y&R… any soap character with breast cancer… any effects from a trauma… disregard for law and order…
Thanks I’m glad to see I’m not the only one out here going what has happened and I don’t believe they do any long term story telling anymore they just throw it against the wall. I only keep a little track of two and just about to throw in the towel I have on Y&R and B&B I catch it once in a while ! Oh seen Katie’s heart transplant scar lately.
You mentioned cancer storylines being a cancer survivor for four years yes I would like for them to mention it you do go and have your mammograms you do go get blood tested etc I think if you are going to tell a story you need to follow up! And Lilly and Ashley should have shown up and supported Sharon they all should have discussed it otherwise do not bring it up in story
I appreciate your perspective on cancer storylines as a survivor. The disease has lifelong impact even with a positive outcome. And the experience is enough to warrant a character’s participation in a blood drive, 5K walk, or charity event that brings attention to the cause, and even reveals something about the character’s response to the experience. God bless you, Kay!
I wish GH would showcase Terry more. Cassandra James can act and is easy on the eyes. It would be sweet to see Terry and Yuri interact more with each other. Doesn’t have to be a major storyline. I know budgets are tight, but the assistant chief of staff should’ve been at the Nurse’s Ball for a bit and checked on her pal Elizabeth during her convalescence.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”
Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.
Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
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