News
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!
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!
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 ):
Karla is doing a great job!
GH and Y&R will win all of the emmys. B&B is such a boring show.
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.
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!
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.
I think Heather Tom won for giving the shows for best performers not the others
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.
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?
“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.
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.
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.
All My Children
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
On the Friday, October 2 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, the morning talk show marked the 56th birthday of Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley Vaughan Santos, All My Children).
During the opening segment, Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo Santos, All My Children) humorously comparing his wife to both Gandhi and Groucho Marx, reflecting on both her comedic ability and peaceful ways.
Later, they went on to discuss the origins of her name and the most popular picks to name babies back in the year she was born, 1970. They were Kimberly, Lisa, and Jennifer for girls and Michael, David, and James for the boys.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Ripa recalled that she learned she was almost named Kim. However, their neighbors at the time had two daughters Kelly and Kim, which is what her parents wanted to call them, but they settled on Kelly and and her younger sister, Linda.
At the conclusion of the episode, Mark rolled out a huge cake for his wife. It was, “Happy birthday from all of us here at Live and at home.” Next, he cut the cake, and Ripa grabbed his face and gave him a “thank you” kiss.
Photo: JPI
KELLY AND MARK TRIED TO KEEP THEIR VEGAS WEDDING ON THE DOWN LOW
All of this brings back memories of how Kelly and Mark’s Las Vegas wedding ceremony went public in 1996 while the two were still on All My Children playing Mateo Santos and Hayley Vaughan. In essence, they were outed by then radio host Wendy Williams! They discussed it on the talk show back in 2024.
In fact, the duo hid their marriage from their All My Children castmates for months, until they found out Williams got wind of the nuptials and spread the intel on the airwaves.
The two recalled their secret wedding on a 2024 episode of Live! “We’d eloped. It’d been a few months at that point. We’d been married for three months, nobody at All My Children knew we were even dating, much less married to each other. We’re brushing our teeth and we’ve got Wendy Williams’ radio show on. We’re listening, and she’s like, ‘I’ve got celebrity dish!”
EYEWITNESS
Next Ripa continued, “The celebrities,’ I guess they had a broad use of the term back then, was the fact that ‘two soap stars from All My Children, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos eloped in Las Vegas.’ There was this eyewitness that worked in the Clark County courthouse that said we eloped, and the news broke, and we had to tell everybody we were married.”
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for times in your area.
Share your birthday wishes for Kelly in the comment section, and let us know your thoughts on how Wendy Williams broadcast the news, unbeknownst to the All My Children newlyweds, that they tied the knot in Vegas? Check out Mark and the ‘Live’ studio audience singing ‘happy birthday’ to Kelly in the post below.
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Beyond the Gates
TUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life
As previously reported, kicking off today, is a two-part Beyond the Gates, when The Duprees gather to celebrate Banneker University’s homecoming weekend.
The producers and writers are taking an opportunity to spotlight the rich traditions of the long-held tradition of attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through its fictional university.
The episodes are today on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Friday, October 2 and next week on Monday, October 5, where in true Beyond the Gates fashion, there will be some surprising drama that ensues when someone shows up!
Photo: CBS
BANNEKER REFLECTS THE IMPORTANCE OF HBCUS
Sheila Duckworth, (executive producer, Beyond the Gates) spoke to Soaps.com to give some insight on the decision for the series to illustrate the ties that bind with HBCUs.
“It was important that we have this school as almost a character on our canvas, right from the beginning. Beyond even education, HBCUs have been pivotal when it comes to everything from economic progression and fostering a sense of community to the development of leadership skills,” explained Ducksworth. “From the beginning, we wanted to illustrate that what the Duprees are able to do in the world was a direct reflection of the impact HBCU’s have in real life.”
EVERYTHING HAS ITS PURPOSE
The EP talked about how purposeful the elements that integrate Banneker into the overall story of Beyond the Gates are including: the Dupree family door knocker that is a lion, the mascot for the fictional university, plus, the upcoming fight song that the cast will sing together on the Monday, October 5 episode, and the painting the hangs at Fairmont Crest.
That portrait of Vernon Dupree’s (Clifton Davis) father, George Cheeks Dupree, that hangs prominently at the country club, was named after CBS executive George Cheeks (now Chairman of TV and Media, Paramount), and as Ducksworth says of the legacy of Vernon’s father, “He was the architect of Fairmont Crest.”
So, are you looking forward to these episodes honoring HBCU traditions with the Dupree and the Richardson clans? What surprises do you think might be in store come next week? Let us know via the comment section below.
Days Of Our Lives
‘General Hospital’ Alum Tajh Bellow Fills In for ‘Days of our Lives’ Tyler Joseph Andrews in the Role of Theo Carver
After an earlier post on Thursday, October 1 about General Hospital alumni Tajh Bellow’s (ex-TJ Ashford) upcoming project from Issa Rae’s HOOPAE Digital, comes word that Bellow is temporarily stepping into the role of Days of our Lives Theo Carver to fill in for Tyler Joseph Andrews on the Peacock streaming soap opera.
According to TV Insider, Bellow will be making a one-day appearance next week on the October 6 episode of DAYS as Andrews was unable to make the tape date that was shot 10 months ago on a day last December. Andrews (pictured below) took over the role of Theo in September of 2025.
In Bellow’s upcoming episode as Theo, he will share scenes with Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez). A DAYS spokesperson tells the outlet that Bellow “stepped seamlessly into the role, and the cast and crew were grateful for his professionalism and commitment, albeit for only one episode.”
Photo: JPI
TAJH WILL BE SEEN IN MULTIPLE PROJECTS IN OCTOBER
As General Hospital fans know, Tajh played the role of TJ Ashford from 2018 to his last appearance in December of 2024. Along the way, he received two Daytime Emmy nominations for his performances as TJ, the last being in 2025 in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series category.
In addition, bellow along with Y&R alum Loren Lott will be seen starting on October 14 in the new Love Island spoof series, The Compatibility Experiment. The show will drop exclusively on TikTok and the PineDrama platform.
The Compatibility Experiment gives a satirical look at reality dating shows, think Love Island! The story centers around Kelvin (Bellow) and Camila (Lott), whose relationship is put to the test when they join a reality show to try to win a the million dollar prize.
So, what do you think of Tajh stepping in for Tyler Joseph Andrews as Theo on DAYS? Perhaps, the soap opera liked his work that he might be considered for another role in the future bringing Bellow back to the soaps? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
DAYS OF OUR LIVES Preview: Kristen Locates an Alive Sophia, How Much Does Rita Know About the Birth of Dominic Marino?
TUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair
‘General Hospital’ Alum Tajh Bellow Fills In for ‘Days of our Lives’ Tyler Joseph Andrews in the Role of Theo Carver
REPORT: ‘Days of our Lives’ Puts Four Actors On Contract
‘Beyond the Gates’ Honors HBCU Tradition with Banneker University Homecoming Episodes
Alley Mills Returns to ‘General Hospital’ as Heather Webber
Judith Light Joins Cast of ‘Shrinking’ Season 4 in Recurring Role
‘Beyond the Gates’ Marquita Goings Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair
GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown
DANCING WITH THE STARS: Britt Stewart Visibly Upset After Shocking Elimination with Taylor Hanson
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