Connect with us

News

36

The Hollywood Reporter Puts Out Report On The Ratings State Of Y&R!

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Courtesy/Y&RTwitter

Courtesy/Y&RTwitter

In a special report, that was in the online edition of The Hollywood Reporter late last week, and is currently in the print edition for October 31st, the Tinseltown mainstay attempts to analyze the ratings performance of The Young and the Restless over the last several years, despite the fact that the number one soap opera has had spurts of growth in Total Viewers, and key demos: Women 18-49, and Women 25-54, recently.

THR cites, “Y&R has been declining lately, falling to a 1.4 rating among the key demo of women 25-to-54 this season, compared to a 1.9 in 2009-10. And the slide has coincided with increases for CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful and ABC’s General Hospital.”

The report also interviewed CBS Daytime Chief Angelica McDaniel who stated: “The show historically was struggling and was going down but we were able to plateau that.”  Angelica also told THR that Y&R viewing on the web on the CBS.com web platform is up 60% this year, and that the show has done very well for itself with its same day repeat broadcasts on TVGN (now rebranded as POP)

THR comes back to say that “rumors persist that CBS wants its soaps to fade so they can be replaced with lower-cost talk shows.”  McDaniel responded:  “That’s hilarious, and anyone who says that is greatly misinformed. While some say the numbers are softening, we feel the numbers are very strong. They’re up about 5 percent from where we were last year.”

Analyst Brad Adgate, Senior vp research for Horizon Media also interviewed for the piece noted as far as Y&R’s fate, Nothing last forever,”but as long as they are in first place, they’re OK.”

So, is THR misinformed here?  Does it seem to you that CBS wants the soaps to fade away with lower-cost talk shows, when their entire line-up has found great ratings success throughout 2014? Share your thoughts on the statements contained in the article below!

36 Comments

36 Comments
oldest
newest

the stories need to get so much better and too many darn new ppl which is irritating and recasting.

The past 6 weeks have moved painfully slow…. Then we will get some action with Sweeps….

Yes thank goodness November is sweeps month. We need some story lines sewed up!

Th reporter is Tommy Garrett and he is a strong supporter of the Bells. That being said if MAB had paid attention to her father-laws legacy by bringing back Kay Alden and others who had worked for BB maybe she would still be there but as the late Jeanne Cooper even said she was too busy with her art shows etc to pay attention to this show. She let the fox get into the hen house !

Highlight Hollywood is Tommy Garrett’s publication. The Hollywood Reporter is an industry bible along with Variety. It is well respected in Hollywood.

Paula I agree I am just simply saying MAB has to take some blame for the Bells losing any control over their show. She got her foot back in the door and she blew it now good luck with a Bell ever getting control back. It was not a slam to Tommy Garrett simply an observation that Maria has to take some blame and she does not.

I’m with you, K/Kay – Maria Arena Bell was at the helm of the ship when it was steering towards the iceberg! She told lousy stories (especially her lame-ass WHODUNNIT murder mysteries), SORAS’ed way too many of the younger characters and introduced characters nobody liked or cared about in the least. The worst S/Lsunder MAB was the horrid “Who Killed Diane Jenkins?” tale and of course, the debacle that was the “Susan Smythe/Sheila Carter” mess that brought the worst character in the history of “Y & R” – DAISY!!!

Oh let’s not forget the worst Shictor/ Sharon & Victor ruining a father/daughter type relationship. The character of Sharon is still trying to recover from that. She is also responsible for us losing Brad & Colleen Carlton and who can forget Phyllis & Sharon in the field with the crop duster! As time goes by we forget just how bad it was. Yes with JFP we have lost three good actors but they might have left even if she wasn’t there and remember we gained Steve Burton, Steve Burton and did I say Steve Burton. Lol

Y&R is generally good right now but it could be better.

Agreed, Mark – I’ve been watching Y & R for over 32 years and there is much room for improvement. It’s watchable, but lacking involvement. While Bill Bell was known for long, drawn-out stories, at least they were involving, character-driven and there was a payoff in the denouement.

It’s still the only soap I watch, and I hope new co-EP/Head Writer Chuck Pratt doesn’t do a lot of damage.

I find Nikki to be almost un watchable lately–and yet she is in front burner stories consistently. Her breathy manner of speaking, her redundant issues….it all has rather a somnolent effect on me.
I also find her daughter Victoria to be dull as dishwater–add to that list: Lily, Abby, Summer and her husband.
I truly believe that if the characters are fleshed out in a good and compelling way that the stories will follow.

Wish them luck if they even try to go the way of ABC. I barely watch CBS now. No one wants more talk shows they all fail.

In fact from the same above article it revealed after a ratings glitch was resolved General Hospital ‘s audience dropped about 8 percent overall and about 14 percent in the key demo of women 25-to-54.

Sadly it looks like this is exactly what CBS wants by having the team of Jill Farren Phelps and Charles Pratt who have cancelled every show they have been a part of
. I cant understand why . Isnt the point of being a network to want people to tune into your network ? Doesnt look like too long until I will be boycotting all 3 networks 🙁

JFP has never been the EP of a show when it was cancelled. She was gone from GL for 15 years before it was cancelled…..OLTL 9 years….and AW and Santa Barbara at least 2 years each. She can hardly be blamed ,,,,esp. for GL and OLTL.

Thank you. I hate the fact that she has that rep when the shows had multiple chances to recover after her tenure. Especially GL.

Sorry–I’m going to disagree with you in the case of GL. Despite the fact that the cancellation came many years after she left, she was responsible for the death of Maureen Bauer, and the show never really recovered from that. The structural damage from that one decision had ramifications all the way through the next decade and a half, until P&G finally pulled the plug. The show never recovered from it.

On OLTL, I agree with you; she left it in good shape (ratings-wise), and I can’t think of any damage she did that was long lasting; in fact, it was still in pretty good shape when it was cancelled, and the real blame for that would have to be ABC’s stupidity. I think it’s less clear cut in the case of AW–she was responsible for some incredibly damaging choices there too–but AW’s death was more like a bunch of slow cuts bleeding it to death; it’s hard to say she did more damage than other people did. She didn’t help, that’s for sure, but trying to pin the cancellation on her is a pretty tall order. In the case of SB, I think she did damage it, but she wasn’t the main damage–that was NBC taking control away from the Dobsons and locking them out–and I think it’s unsupportable to blame her for the cancellation.

I do think her reputation as a soap killer is justified. OLTL is the only show she left in better shape than, or at least as good shape as, it was in when she inherited it. The degrees of damage she’s done elsewhere have been varied, but even where she hasn’t been directly responsible, she’s been a contributor to the deaths of several shows. Should GH be cancelled anytime in the next 5 years or so, she’d have to be counted as a strong contributor to its death as well. The verdict is out on her contribution to Y&R. That’s not exactly a record to be proud of.

@Michael (not Fairman) while the death of Maureen Bauer hurt. The show had ample time to rightc itself. No one character can make or break a show. Sorry it always comesdown to wwriting and tone and I remember the surreal Paul Rauch year that hurt the show as well.

If GH is cancelled that is soley on FV. You can’t say that he saved GH an brought up ratings and then let him skate and blame the previous regime if it gets canceled especially if the ratings fall again. That is all on him.

To do that is just piling on JFP.

Nicole: Unfortunately, in the case of GL and Maureen Bauer, there was no way to right it. You can’t just pluck a character that fills the place she filled out of nowhere. GL was lucky in the first place that when Charita Bauer (Bert) passed away, Maureen was well positioned to be that warm, central, moral force that every show needs. When JFP decided she was expendable, there was absolutely nobody to fill that crucial place–and people warned her about it, and she still went on and did it. The show tried later, I think, with Mary Stuart (Meta) and came closer than anybody had a right to expect, but that was derailed when the actress died. I certainly remember, like you, some terrible periods afterward–and not just from Paul Rauch; I thought the John Conboy period was even worse–but those were like bad decorations on a Christmas tree that was already dead. I suppose you could argue that P&G just didn’t pick the right people to fix what JFP did, but even if that were something you could “prove,” it would be like saying they didn’t find the right doctors to pull out the bullet JFP put in the show’s head. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s the one that put the bullet there.

Regarding GH, I actually don’t think I’ve ever said FV saved GH, though I do think he had some success in the first year or so in repairing some of the damage. (Less so since then.) If GH is cancelled, he’ll have to take his share of the blame, but that won’t change the damage JFP and Guza did (with the help of Brian Frons), and they bear some of the blame as well.

I don’t pile on JFP. I recognize when she’s wrongly blamed (e.g., OLTL), and I also recognize she does some things right (for example, she’s been more of an advocate for multigenerational storytelling, and stories for older characters, than most people give her credit for). But she’s also got serious problems in the way she manages shows and people, and she makes the same mistakes over and over and doesn’t learn from them. She’s certainly not responsible for all of Y&R’s current problems, given the mess that she inherited, but I don’t see that she’s done much to fix it yet, either, in two years she’s been there. (Although if you’re going to say that FV is solely responsible for the current state of GH, then I’d have to argue that JFP is solely responsible for the current state of Y&R; the two situations are actually pretty comparable.)

Networks probably want lower cost crappy talk shows but i say if the remaining four get cancelled im totally done with daytime…i believe they will last but not past 2020…the networks will fade too…too much of the same stuff…no variety any more is what hurts…remember network movies of the week, variety-music shows, westerns and family drama…just 3 networks that once gave you a wide choice to choose from but not anymore…tv is crude and rude and not as creative as it once was…i find very little that entertains me…cable is terrible…too many reality series…im cutting the cable cord by the end of the year and internet shortly afterward…cost is too high anyway and i get so little in return…i may be in a minority here but thats fine…jmho!!!

Bottom line, THR is right. Y&R’s core audience is made up of the elderly. As they pass, there is no audience to replace them. They aren’t building an audience of younger female viewers because the show is boring and dull. All soaps suffer from the same situation and eventual fate. Angelica McDaniel is using CBS Daytime as a stepping stone in her career. She’s a TV executive and they will say anything that will make themselves look good. Daytime soaps are a dying genre. Only four of them are left. That says it all.

I don’t believe a word that comes out of Angelica McDaniel’s mouth. CBS & Sony have turned Y&R into a shell of itself. Anyone who has watched it over the years can see just how bad it has become. Phelps accelerated the show’s decline and Chuckie Pratt will finish the job. Y&R’s days are certainly numbered.

Excuse me, talk shows haven’t been very successful either : Katie Couric Show, Bethenny Frankel and the dreaded show with Kris Kardashian – Jenner . Yes, Y&R could be better, but we should not start the cancellation craziness again. Have we not learned anything from AMC & OLTL? If we aren’t happy with the direction of a shorw, be vocal and let your opinions be heard. Not the time to abandon the remaining soaps. We need to show the networks that we do care, love and support our shows.

“… we should not start the cancellation craziness again ”

I know, right

here, here

it’s anxious enough to keep 4 afloat

leave well enough alone…. these Serials are a constant…. a staple…. a belong

these 4 serials should be heralded and given all opportunity to thrive… regardless of budget constraints…. LOL tall order

it’s just that soap opera has been at the top and pinnacle of all of daytime

it would never be the same without

have to agree with JimH… I too would have to move on without daytime when the crash hits

Amen to you Lew, We need to support the remaining 4 soaps. We dont need anymore talk shows. Last year The young and The restless got renewed for 3 more years, until 2017. But I am enjoying watching Y&R again, Gina Tagnoni is kicking ass as the new Phyllis. Gina is a wonderful actress, I love watching her and I cannot wait until November 5, Justin Hartley first air date as the new Adam Newman. We need to watch and enjoy our soaps. If we dont watch at all, the soaps will be dead.

I couldnt agree more!

CBS wants Y&R to fail, there is no doubt in my mind. JFP is known throughout the industry as “The Soap Killer”. How this woman still has a job is beyond me.

Agree. Phelps was hired purposely by Steve Kent of Sony (he and Phelps go back 30 years). Sony is bleeding badly…huge losses…they have to get out of soaps. CBS holds only a minority interest so Sony calls the shots. The future of Y&R is bleak. And most assuredly by hiring Chuck Pratt it will be sooner than later.

If CBS were serious about keeping Y&R viable they would’ve hired Kay Alden as head writer instead of Charles Pratt.

NO MORE TALK SHOWS – they are boring and PLEASE keep Y&R life would’n’t be the same at 12;30 without Y&R coming on, just tune it up once and awhile.

Aware of Y&R and peek at it occasionally, but this article could be true of each of the four remaining soaps. The bottom line is that each show needs to continually dig deep to be the best they can be. AND the networks would be fools to cancel any more soaps. Soap fans are VERY loyal and they will not transfer from their soaps to a talk OR game show. The networks would only be wise to support the remaining four soaps and help grow them. To me, that’s their only win-win.

Id rather watch reruns than watch a talk show

Me, too.
No more talk shows!
No more reality shows!
There are already too many, UGH!

The four remaining soaps are on borrowed time, a few more years? They are not moneymakers anymore and scripted drama is expensive to produce.

The current regime seems to have forgotten that Nicki has M.S. Instead, they’ve given her back her alcoholism. Anyone familiar with M.S. know that M.S. and alcohol do not mix well, but Nicki must be Wonder Woman because alcohol seems to have no effects on her M.S. Amazing. JFP is bad, adding Chuck Pratt to the mix, devestating.

When you gut the show, the show goes into the gutter! Women demos are very important. Women LOVED Billy Miller and Michael Muhney. They are off the show. Enough said!

General Hospital

Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)

Published

on

By

Maura West and Kelly Sullivan

It was just over 13 years ago on General Hospital when Ava Jerome (Maura West) shot and killed Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) in an effort to keep her quiet from revealing that Derek Wells was actually Ava’s back-from-the-dead brother, Julian Jerome (William deVry). It’s a crime that somehow Ava never has quite paid for either.

The episode back aired on August 13, 2013 and viewers had to say goodbye to Kelly Sullivan who played Kate and her alter, Connie. In the story, just before she died, Kate/Connie scrawled the letters AJ in her own blood, initially making the PCPD and Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) think that it was AJ Quatermaine (Sean Kanan) who did the deed.

Now, Sullivan recalled sharing scenes with the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning West, during a live conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel. Kelly was the special guest talking about her recent return to the soaps in her new role as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Darcy Dylan.

Photo: JPI

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MAURA WEST

Speaking of her final GH scenes and working with Maura West, Sullivan gave her then GH co-star major props. “If you’re going to be shot by somebody (on the soaps), you want to be shot by Maura West, c’mon!”

Maura West debuted back in May 2013 as Ava, and Sullivan remembered when the As the World Turns favorite began on GH. “I remember when Maura West first arrived at GH. She walked in with this cute little bob (hairdo) and she’s just delicious,” shared Sullivan.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Kelly revealed more about Maura, adding “I think she’s amazing! I remember right before I left the show, someone suggested, and I would still love to do this with her, if she ever want to, but someone suggested that they wanted to direct the stage play A Streetcar Named Desire with Maura and I, where I would play Stella and she would play Blanche! Wouldn’t that be great?”

Speaking of the Ava/Connie showdown scenes, Sullivan expressed, “On television and on General Hospital specifically, Maura West is able to play a character who does the most horrendous things and you still care about her and that’s the mark of a really great actor. In other words, you’re able to be liked in the midst of the most horrendous things, and as a performer not shying away from that, and to just have the courage to do what’s on the page (in the script).”

Photo: JPI

KELLY SULLIVAN PARTING THOUGHTS AS SHE LEFT GENERAL HOSPITAL

Kelly also shared her sentiments when she walked off the set of General Hospital after her run back in August of 2013. “I really was honored. Every day I would go to work and I would say a little prayer, which is I want to do justice for my character, explained Kelly. “It’s between me and my character. I get to walk this path with her and to leave the show on that note, which is, I left every out there. I just gave it my all and again what an honor it was to play Kate/Connie.”

You can catch the full conversation with Kelly where she talks about her time on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless where she played Sage Warner and now The Bold and the Beautiful below.

So, do you remember the Ava and Connie scenes where Ava shot and killed her? What did you think of Kelly Sullivan’s sentiments about Maura West? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, watch the reveal where Ava recalls murdering Connie below!

 

Continue Reading

General Hospital

Steve Burton Reportedly Signs Three-Year Contract with ‘General Hospital’

Published

on

By

Steve Burton

The question of will Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) stay awhile at General Hospital after his recent extended hiatus from the show earlier this year, has reportedly been answered.

TMZ via court documents obtained in Burton’s ongoing legal battle with his ex-wife Sheree Gustin, shared that Steve actually inked a new three year deal with the ABC soap opera back in June.

That is significant because it was June when Burton returned back to work as Jason. In addition, the court filing confirmed that Burton had already moved back to California from Tennessee.

Steve Burton

Photo: ABC

STEVE’S HIATUS AND HIS RETURN TO PORT CHARLES

GH fans will recall, it was back in February of 2026, that Burton announced via his Instagram that he was stepping away from his role of Jason Morgan for short break and pointed to wanting to spend quality time with his new wife, Michelle Lundstrom Burton with whom he tied the knot back on May 17, 2025.

Steve expressed at that time, “I’m newly married and looking forward to spending some quality time with my family.” It was back on March 25 that viewers saw Jason carted away by the WSB after taking the fall for Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr) who shot then WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes).

Burton returned to work on June 1, and due to General Hospital taping roughly six weeks ahead of air, made his on-screen comeback on the July 13 episode.

GOING FOR GOLD AT THE UPCOMING DAYTIME EMMYS

Then, Steve and his enduring fans got an extra special treat on the same day, when it was revealed on Extra that he was nominated for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series category.

Steve previously won in the Supporting Actor category for his work as General Hospital’s Jason in 1998 and as The Young and the Restless’ Dylan McAvoy in 2018.

Now with Jason and Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) relationship seemingly hitting the skids, plus Jason’s commitment to staying out of mob life to focus on being present for his son Danny Morgan (Asher Antonyzyn), what does the future hold for the fan favorite character? Stay tuned.

So, happy to hear that Steve Burton signed a new three year deal with General Hospital? Knowing that, what storyline would you like to see Jason get involved and with who? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.

Continue Reading

News

Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027

Published

on

By

Jess Walton

The Young and the Restless enduring favorite and two-time Daytime Emmy-winning actress, Jess Walton (Jill Foster Abbott) is set to release her memoir!

Kensington Publishing has revealed on their website that Walton’s book The Young and the Rest of Us is now available for pre-order while listing an April 27, 2027 release date. In addition, in June of 2027, Walton will mark her 40th anniversary with The Young and the Restless and her debut as Jill.

The official log lines for the memoir share, “Emmy Award-winning actress Jess Walton, known to millions as the iconic Jill Abbott on the #1 soap opera The Young and the Restless, shares her extraordinary journey to stardom, sobriety, true love, and self-discovery in this startingly candid, intimate, and star-studded memoir.”

Jess Walton

Photo; Kensington Books

CAKE FIGHTS AND CORPORATE INTRIGUE

The book description for The Young and the Rest of Us adds,  “In June 1987, Jess Walton walked through the artists’ entrance at CBS for her first day on The Young and the Restless,where she had just been hired to play the recast role of Jill AbbottTwo Emmy awards, four decades, and countless onscreen affairs, marriages, corporate takeovers, and cake fights later, she’s a beloved icon with an astonishing tale to tell.”

“In her refreshingly candid style, Jess shares her journey as a young actress from Toronto theaters to Los Angeles, where she found herself at the center of a Laurel Canyon circle that included the likes of Neil Young, David Geffen, Laura Nyro, and Joni Mitchell. Landing a Universal contract and a steady stream of guest starring roles, Jess embraced everything 1970s L.A. had to offer—including Hollywood parties fueled by limitless booze and drugs, and trysts with stars. She recounts with candor and gratitude the surprising path that eventually led her to sobriety, true love—and ultimately, to fictional Genoa City, Wisconsin, and the role of a lifetime.”

“Brimming with behind-the-scenes drama and celebrity cameos to delight fans, The Young and the Rest of Us is also rich in personal, relatable truths about marriage, motherhood, empty-nesting, self-discovery, and finding the courage to start over—as often as it takes. In a voice as fearless and frank as Jill’s, but with, humor and grace all her own, Jess Walton looks back on a life as unpredictable, and adventure filled as anything she has portrayed on screen.”

WHO ELSE PLAYED JILL FOSER ABBOTT?

Fans of The Young and the Restless know that Walton became the fourth actress to take on the role of Katherine Chancellor’s original nemesis Jill Foster back in 1987. The OG Jill was played by Brenda Dickson, also Deborah Adair, Bond Gideon and Melinda O. Fee played the part.

This year, Days of our Lives star Lauren Koslow (Kate Roberts) filled-in for several episodes for Walton who was unavailable to travel from her home in Oregon to Los Angeles where Y&R was taped. Walton is still with the long-running soap opera as Jill.

So, excited to learn of Jess Walton’s upcoming memoir, ‘The Young and the Rest of Us?’ Will it be it a must-read for you? Drop a comment below.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

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

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

36
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x