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Will Abu Dhabi and Paris Be The Ticket to Daytime Emmy Gold? B&B's Brad Bell Weighs-In On That & Maya's Transgender Story Twist!

By Michael Fairman

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12 years ago

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Courtesy/CBS

Photo Credit: Gilles Toucas Photography/CBS

This week, The Bold and the Beautiful took a short time out of their hectic production schedules to celebrate and acknowledge the hard working individuals in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes who were nominated in various categories for the upcoming 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

The festivities took place on Stage 31 the Bradley P. Bell soundstage at CBS.  During the celebration, executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell introduced the cast and crew who nabbed B&B 19 nominations this year including for Outstanding Drama Series. On-Air On-Soaps caught up with Bell, immediately following the proceedings to get some insight into his choice to go with the Abu Dhabi and Paris remotes for the Drama Series category at this year’s Daytime Emmys.

Bell also shared what he thought about the acting nominees from his cast and the hottest topic in soaps right now the choice to make Maya (Karla Mosley) a transgender character in a bombshell story twist that has taken mainstream and social media by storm.  As Brad explains, he and his team are committed to telling Maya’s story fully.

So, will B&B have the right stuff to take home another Outstanding Drama series and writing team win this year?  Read Brad’s thoughts on it all below, and exactly when he came up with Maya’s secret storyline!

Tell me about the decision-making process that went into choosing your Outstanding Drama Series submission/episodes that earned your show a Daytime Emmy nomination?

Courtesy/CBS

BRAD:  We went with Abu Dhabi and Paris; we went locations and action-adventure.  We went in a direction we have not gone before.  So, we will see how it goes for us.  I just think that it’s very much about production, and this production team we have here has risen to the occasion. They have done things that are amazing.  When you look at the body of work – there are so many great performances – but, just the achievement of pulling off Abu Dhabi and Paris and doing it as well as this team is capable of doing, and having it be 2 of the 250 episodes of the year is pretty amazing.  We had to put them forward for the Emmy in the Drama Series category.

What did you submit for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series that garnered you and your writing team a nomination again this year?

BRAD:  Hope’s (Kim Matula) goodbye scenes, which were very touching and shot in my backyard!  Our writers: Patrick Mulcahey, Michele Val Jean, Mike Minnis and I worked really hard on getting the emotional content of those episodes to where they needed to be. So did Scott Clifton (Liam), Rena Sofer (Quinn), Darin Brooks (Wyatt), and Kim Matula and the whole team.  At the end of the episode, Hope just disappears.

What can you say about your Emmy nominated acting nominees … Supporting Actress contender Linsey Godrey (Caroline) and Supporting Actor contenders, Scott Clifton and Jacob Young (Rick)?

Photo Credit: MF Soaps, Inc.

BRAD:  They are fantastic. Linsey is amazing.  She can do comedy and she can do drama. She has been through so much personally and keeps the greatest attitude, and is such a pleasure to have on the team. Scott and Jacob are phenomenal actors.  I think we have the best ensemble on the show we have ever had.

Let’s talk hot topic! The Maya transgender twist really had a meteoric hit on mainstream press and pick-up! Were you surprised by all the attention this story has gotten so quickly?

BRAD:  I did not realize we were going to get this kind of traction.  I am seeing it as a wonderful story to tell, and it’s a love story.  But, it’s an important love story.  We need to take minds that have been closed and open them up a little.

Were you at all concerned about viewer backlash to the story … that the audience just did not want to watch a story of a transgender woman?

BRAD: Yes, a little bit concerned.  We are thrilled to do this story and it’s one that is very close to our hearts.  We are not just filling pages. We are really behind the whole movement, and Karla Mosley (Maya) is doing such a great job.

Courtesy/CBS

When, did you come up with this idea to make Maya transgender and create this incredibly powerful and moving story?

BRAD:  I came up with this on a drive to work one morning.  I know the block I was on when it hit me!  I was just right behind the Beverly Hills Hotel, and I almost pulled over!  I thought this could be something very special, and something that we are going to dig into for months, and months, and months. It’s not icing, it’s the cake.  Karla is a leading lady, and this character is front and center. We are fully committed to telling this story that will change people’s perceptions and that is very exciting.

So, do you think B&B has a great shot at winning the gold in the Daytime Drama Series category at this year’s 42nd Annual Daytime Emmys? Did you enjoy the Paris and Abu Dhabi remotes and storylines? What do you think about Brad Bell’s commitment to tell Maya’s story and that of the transgender community? Share your thoughts below!

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I absolutely do NOT want to see B&B win for Series, Directing or Writing (or in any categories). The problem for me with location shoots is that they are atypical and not really what this particular show is all about – the strongest elements of B&B are the design elements and I won’t mind at all if it wins a few of those categories. Days was the best written, produced and directed daytime drama of 2014, with GH having some really great individual episodes and Y&R having 3 really good months and 9 mediocre ones (January, November and December were the really good ones). I certainly hope that B&B gets shut out of the major categories, which should go to Days and GH for their achievements in 2014.

As for the transgender storyline, I only wish they had a stronger actress than Karla Mosley playing the role ):

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Karla is doing a great job!

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GH and Y&R will win all of the emmys. B&B is such a boring show.

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I love the transgender storyline, I just hope telling Rick doesnt take a ridiculously long time considering the threats of exposure existing. Lets not drag this out.

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The transgender storyline might win Best Drama Series for next year’s Emmys! But Abu Dhabi won’t win this year. Hope’s exit was beautifully written but I also don’t think it’ll win Writing. Now, if Brad submitted Abu Dhabi for Directing then I believe they got a shot at winning!

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They have always done fantastic location shoots no doubt about it when you are down to only four soaps not a whole lot of choices to choose from. Would I be upset if they won no at least 28 years later it is still family owned and not gone thru tons of head writers.

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I think Heather Tom won for giving the shows for best performers not the others

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I would say that the location shoots have been good, but it got tiring seeing Liam and Hope as the usual travellers: Italy, France, and The Netherlands. At least with Abu Dhabi, they gave other actors a chance to shine in a foreign land.

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I didn’t like Hope’s exit. She should have had scenes with Wyatt.

Award is for best drama, not best cinematography. I would say story and acting and writing is more important for winning best drama, but we’ll see. Those shows were good. Don’t know what episodes the other shows put up.

I am enjoying the transgender storyline and Karla and Reign are doing a great job!

Rick is clueless. LOL Does he wonder why Karla doesn’t have time of the month supplies in the bathroom or closet?

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“We are fully committed to telling this story that will change people’s perceptions and that is very exciting.” Bradley Bell

How is Maya’s lies and deception going to change anyone’s perception? All of this is based on lies and deception, Maya’s. She keeps saying she is proud of who she is but won’t tell the man she supposed loves more than anyone else until he proposes? That sounds more like manipulation with an agenda. Get Rick to propose…then be honest? There are viewers who do not like Maya to begin with. There is no sympathy for Maya’s lies and deception, her manipulating Rick because she has an agenda and this story has only made it worse. And, the actress isn’t good enough to carry this kind of story. Karla is a leading lady? Average, good maybe, but a leading lady, no.

This is hardly the way a transgender would want to be portrayed. Bradley Bell has never done any of these kinds stories very well and (because it is Maya) the transgender community are being unjustly portrayed. If Bell had brought on a new actress and built a relationship with someone and led up to this, it could have been a good story.

As for the locations shoots? Meh. Wasted on the younger generation where Quinn gets to be a pyscho overseas. A lot off viewers were happy to see Ridge dumped into the sea for pulling such a bonehead move of trying to run off with Brooke but that was the only benefit. It was used to build up sympathy for Ridge who should have stayed home with his fiancée instead of flying half way around the world to stop Brooke’s wedding based on a selfie no less.

The awards are meaningless. How could Bell win so many awards when competing with other shows that were not only written better but also had some really outstanding stories as well as actors who could pull it off. B&B has it’s share but it is seriously lacking in writing for those who can act, to work with. I keep hoping this transgender story ends and Bell gets something that is worth watching. And can get other viewers to even care again.

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I agree with everything.

I really thought Maya was sweet and endearing when she first came to town. I really liked Rick with Maya then. Even though she thought he was a waiter, they were very sweet together. There was no gold digging. It was just an ex convict who lost more than she bargained for when she found out her child was dead.

The “pretty woman” scenes in Beverly Hills were sweet. They should have left it at that instead of making Maya so despicable.

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Let’s not go all crazy here. There are only FOUR soaps let on the networks so the competition is not as fierce. The daytime Emmys for the dramas have become laughable.

I wonder if there are people from the United Arab Emirates on the board now. It was nauseating enough to listen to the butt kissing of Abu Dhabi when the scenes aired. “Oh it’s so beautiful, yada, yada, yada.” Give me a break. A country built on oil money is sickening.

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News

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

Published

2 days ago

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October 21, 2026

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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?

Published

2 days ago

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October 21, 2026

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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

Published

3 days ago

on

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

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