News
The Season Premiere Of THE TALK To Feature Hosts & Three CBS Soap Ladies Sans Make-Up!

Courtesy/CBS
There is one thing that can be said about CBS’s daytime gabfest, The Talk! The producers and the executive behind-the-scenes, CBS Daytime’s Angelica McDaniel, know how to utilize their network line-up to cross promote for tune-in, especially their soaps!
Take note Katie Couric! Even though you are a new syndicated talker, you are airing on over 95% of ABC affiliates in the country. So perhaps having a guest or two from General Hospital during your premiere week might be the thing to do, since you insisted you wanted the soap as your lead-in, when push came to shove.
But back to The Talk. The increasing popular series is doing it right for their season three premiere on September 10th when the ladies of the panel: Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler appear without make-up! But here is the kicker! So do their guests who happen to be The Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford (Phyllis), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki), and The Bold and the Beautiful’s Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke). Along for the no make-up day episode is also film star, Jamie Lee Curtis.
The Talk airs weekdays at 2PMEST/1PMPST and CST. So will you be tuning in to see The Talk? Do you agree that they have been successfully cross-promoting their CBS soap line-up when possible on the series? Weigh-in!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing

General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”

Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)

Soap opera fans are always clamoring for when Dancing with the Stars reveals their cast each season, that they would include a familiar face from daytime drama, but it rarely happens, if ever, anymore.
Over the last several years, the series has leaned heavily into casting celebrities with massive TikTok or Instagram followers, which in turn, have helped this season and last have their best ratings numbers in years.
But, how about for next season’s cast of Dancing with the Stars, that it could include newly-awarded Daytime Emmy winner, Ambyr Michelle (Eva Thomas) of Beyond the Gates?

Photo: CBS
LOVE OF DANCE TO LOVE OF ACTING
Michael Fairman TV spoke to Michelle about her dance background and if she would love a shot at lifting the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Wednesday’s November 11, livestream chat on the Michael Fairman Channel.
Ambyr explained to fans (who joined in on the live chat), how she began her show business career. “I started off as a dancer, first and foremost. Acting wasn’t really something I wanted to go after. I did plays when I was younger, but it was just something we did in school, but I really wanted to be a dancer. I moved out to LA to dance, and I fell out of love with dance, which was so weird.”
This year’s Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series winner, added, “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I moved all the way out here for dance. I found I was forcing myself to go to dance class, and I just didn’t have the passion for it. I was working at this restaurant at the time, and one of my coworker was like, ‘What about taking an acting class out here?'”
Next, Ambyr took the coworker up on the idea. “So, I took an acting class and I fell in love with it that day,” shared Michelle. “I was like, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ I thought, I would love to book a role, of course, as a dancer, but I think acting has a little bit more longevity.”

Photo: ABC
A SHOT AT THE LEN GOODMAN MIRRORBALL TROPHY
When the talked turned to if Ambyr would consider or be interested in appearing on the ballroom dance competition series, she piped up with, “I would love to do Dancing with the Stars! Pick me!”
As those in the live chat rallied around this idea, it made us think, Ambyr could be the first contestant from Beyond the Gates, and someone representing the soaps. It checks off so many boxes! To which Ambyr replied, “That would be beautiful.”
You can check out the full conversation with Ambyr below.
So, what do you think soap fans? Can we make sure Ambyr’s name gets in front of the producers and casting director for next season’s Dancing with the Stars? Would you like to see her in the competition? If so, who would be your dream pro professional dance partner for her? Let us know in the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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.
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I don’t watch THE TALK and never have. However I see the promos and I have to admit that they do a fair amount of promoting the soaps.
IF ONLY the network would do the same it would help the genre succeed.
Oh no. Sorry. That’s the day General Hospital moves to 2:00 PM. GH wins all the time. Maybe The Talk should move to 3:00! I’ll watch it then!
I do enjoy The Talk, and have been watching it since the brilliance (not) of ABC took our OLTL off for their HAPPILY failed Revoltion lol. But know that GH is being moved to 2pm its going to be all GH. Sorry ladies of The Talk!!
For their cross-promotion efforts, I give only partial credit to THE TALK, a weak entry into the endless chatfest that daytime has become. In the same way the AMC and OLTL fans still crusade against ABC for those cancellations, I remain upset and disappointed in the loss of AS THE WORLD TURNS for this hour of empty air in the 2 o’clock slot. (For the record, I also miss GUIDING LIGHT.)
I still believe daytime drama will make a comeback somehow. Everything old is new again.
No, I will not. That time slot was always the one hour a day I dedicated to watching a soap. First Another World, then As the World Turns and then, sadly, the final year of One Life to Live. Now with General Hospital opposite it, there’s not a chance that I’ll be watching. Not that I ever did before.
I can’t wait to see everyone without makeup it is going to be fun to watch.
That’s one way to scare off the viewers. A couple of those gals would give me nightmares…in fact one does WITH makeup!
I loved only Leah Remni on the talk I will not watch with that Julie or the fool what’s her name oh Sheryl
Never watched The Talk, never will. I can’t forget my favorite soaps- ATWT & GL. Guess what- I want to watch soaps & will watch whatever network they are on.
The Talk–pure swill.
Even after a couple of years, it is still unbelievable that they cancelled As The World Turns for this crapfest. ATWT was among the best written, best acted soaps ever–too good actually. The masses prefer the much inferior CBS soaps that are still on.
Why are you writing about The Talk? FYI–appearing without makeup has been done many times, from Oprah on down. It’s as recycled as the “hosts.”
No. I won’t watch it. Never have seen it either. I have my antenna set for ABC and that’s it…. or DVDs!
but seeing how none of these gals are from OLTL or GH, I really won’t be missing anything (to me anyways!)
I do enjoy “The Talk”, occasionally, and am so happy that they are giving a platform to their network soap partners like this! It’s about time that the actors on our favorite soaps are featured!!! Can’t wait to see The Stafford, MTS and company mix it up with the gals; sans makeup!
I love this idea. “The Talk” is definitely an amazing medium and chat series. I cannot await its return on 9/10.
Never watched The Talk, never will. But I think this a smart move given the competition in that timeslot come Sept 10.