News
Y&R Welcomes New Head Writer & Co-EP Chuck Pratt Jr. With Tweet Stating: "Exciting Things Are Ahead On Y&R!"
Courtesy/CW
The Young and the Restless is getting to turn the page on another head writing regime, as the number one soap opera sent out an official tweet from their Y&R Insider Twitter account!
In the tweet complete with an image of yellow rose bouquet of flowers, Y&R scripts, and a laptop, it says: “We’re so excited to welcome @ChuckPrattJr as our new head writer & Co-EP. Exciting things are ahead on #YR!”
Pratt takes over from former Y&R co-head writers Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante as steering the ship for the character of Genoa City, as well as having a co-executive producer credit.
Jill Farren Phelps remains as the main executive producer of the series. Pratt and Phelps have previously worked together on Santa Barbara and General Hospital. Pratt’s last daytime head writing gig was that of All My Children.
Be on the lookout for the new head scribe’s scripts to debut in early 2015, most likely in February, on the CBS sudser.
Excited to see what Chuck Pratt Jr. does with the characters in GC? Comment below!
God help us all.
Dude…my thoughts exactly!!!!! Y-I-K-E-S!!!!!
Exciting things are about to happen, my azz!!! This show is about to hit a creative cesss pool of terribleness!!!
I JUST HOPE HE PUTS SHARON AND NICK BACK AND HAVE ADAM REMEMBER HOW MUCH HE ALSO LOVED SHARON WAY MORE THAN CHELSEA!
If you believe what Susan Lucci said about Pratt and I have no reason not to he is simply not a character driven guy. They will probably be doing more outlandish things then before. As far as the Sharon story they dropped the ball they had a real chance to inform people about bi-polar and instead they dropped the ball and made it about her being selfish and wanting Nick. No wonder people with mental disorders do not seek help we have everyone saying their crazy and abandoning them. It would have been refreshing that after Nick discovered what she had done he would have embraced her told her how much he hated what she had done but he would stand by her as he promised and try to make sure she continued to get the help she needed. Tell me this if a person had Stage 4 cancer and you loved them would you walk away? I wanted just once for Nick to man up but they took the easy way out and made Sharon once again the town misfit. This for me is what makes good soap opera and we are lacking that so badly. People talk about them dragging out stories well that is why it is called a soap opera. To lighten the mood of my rant Nick kept the fact that Summer might be Jack’s for 18 years I figure he has way more to repent for then Sharon. As always Team Sharon!
Kay, you’re so right–I had forgotten about that. Considering that Susan Lucci is a gracious and very classy woman, the fact that she said that Check Pratt is not a character driven writer who pays no fidelity to that character’s history, is what send alarm bells off in my central nervous system.
Please let him pleasantly surprise us all.
You are also on point about bipolar disease. I am close to many people who suffer from this disease and not one of them ever did something so selfishly contrived , harmful and sociopathic as to play with someone’s DNA results in order to get what they want. That is not how the bipolar mind works!
@Harry now I see Nick is threatening taking Faith again my gosh since that child has been born he has been dangling her like a carrot in front of Sharon. If you aren’t good Sharon and tow the line BAM I am taking Faith. Gosh I need a valium!!!!
Keep Sharon away from Nick and put her back with Adam! Send Chelsea off some where! Can’t stand her..
Just watched today’s episode classic line Mariah to Summer your mother wasn’t exactly a saint before she took her long nap! Now this I could invest in Team Mariah/Sharon kick that spoiled brat to the curb!
I am more than willing to give Chuck a chance at being head scribe at The Young and the Restless, hoping he’s able to keep it character-dictated, though, I doubt it. My only question is why are we getting rid of the current regime when their stories have been so riveting and amazing? That just does not make sense to me right now. I’m going to give him a chance, but I’m foreseeing a change in the next 6-8 months.
I agree. Jean and Shelly made the show not just watchable again but suspenseful and entertaining. I’m appalled. Why fix it if it ain’t broke???
Scott, I have the same questions also. What went wrong with Jean and Shelly?
I agree with you all. I have a large post below, but to repeat my main point, Y&R is more Bell like than it has been since 2005/2006. What need is there to fix something that is finally off the operating table, out of ICU and on the road back to full recovery? If I wanted frozen planets, aliens, demons and godfather knockoffs, I’d watch GH or DAYS. I want smart, character-driven drama accented by occasional catastrophic events. Now I’m afraid a tornado is going to hit Abbott manor, the Chancellor estate and the Newman ranch, both in the form of Chuck Pratt and also in the form of a tacky computer generated vortex.
I can’t palate NuBilly but I am starting to watch more…The Talk has proved successful for CBS and they want OUT of the daytime drama business and hopefully some smart person will see the value of this show when it goes on the chopping block and will pick it up for another network…but i’m sure TPTB will make it costly and difficult…It was growing legs and now they hire someone who flat out stated over and over he is not into daytime…I don’t get this at all..so sad.
Welp.
It is really unbelievable that Sally Sussman Morina and Kay Alden were vying for the Head Writer position at YR and shown the door. The problem is YR has forgotten Bill Bell and his vision for the show. Until a regime is brought on who knows and respects it the show will be a shadow of its former self. YR brought in the ratings under Bill due to his strong character driven storytelling, his cast who he retained during his tenure, and his crew. YR didn’t have to look to others, others looked to them. Under JFP’s regime we see stories being copied from GH, cast leaving for GH, and the addition of exterior shots, which The Bold and Beautiful has done for years. Until there is a change in regime and The Bell’s are respected I just see more of the same. How many head writers have to be brought on before CBS and Sony see it is the vision of JFP that is wrong for a show that has been well established for years.
I hear you, but……would the Bell vision attract todays viewer? Without building a new audience and, agreed, holding onto the old one, for how much longer can the show survive? What’s to say Alden & Sussman would have been as good as they were in their heydey? We jyst don’t know. Just as we don’t know that Pratt just might surprisingly be a good fit. I’m hopeful.
Track record says a lot. As far as would Bill Bell’s style writing still work today. I am a big believer that if you write a character with many layers, and stay true to the character that was created that the writing grows from there. Plot driven story lines, like we have been seeing end up with characters acting out of character and are simply done for shock and awe. The rewards are only temporary, not long term. I would use Downton Abbey as an example of what good story telling is. Why would all age demographics be interested in a time period show? The answer is because Julian Fellowes writes his characters with many levels of depth, not as all good or all bad but in between. His writing reminds me a lot of Bill Bell’s, classic soap telling. Also many executives seem to think the younger demographic doesn’t want to see older actors on the screen. I ask how do you explain the late great Jeanne Cooper or Betty White or Maggie Smith? They are from a generation like no other. Instead of learning from them many executives seem to think they know better. If the writing is there no matter the genre, people will tune in be it Downton Abbey or The Walking Dead. It takes the right team in place. Sony and CBS decision making has been questionable. Pratt’s record speaks for itself and usually history does find a way of repeating itself. I just hope YR doesn’t share the same fate AMC did under Pratt, or GH under JFP (which neared cancellation under her leadership).
It’s what separated and CONTINUES to separate this show from other soaps. Four distinctly different soaps..too bad one network can’t pick them all up because this is going to become the BIG EVENT drama and NOT character driven drama…
Kay Alden knew BB’s vision and should be writing for the show!!! She was with the show when it was good, in the 90s!!!! Where is Ed Scott?? Uggh!!!!
I love what Seatlegirl wrote and I concur! If you build it, he will come–if you build a good character, the good stories will come.
Shoeless Joe Jackson told me so.
Unfortunately I think the wrong vision is beyond JFP; I think Sony clearly has no idea what made the show so successful for so many years and/or how to replicate it (or come as close as possible given that Bill Bell is no longer with us). JFP is most likely the wrong EP for this show (and Pratt is definitely the wrong headwriter), and that’s problem 2. Problem 1 is that Sony doesn’t seem to see that and keeps hiring the wrong people to steer the show.
Good things are coming? Like cancellation, is that what they mean?
Just ask AMC about all the “good things” Pratt brought to that show.
God help us all is right.
Doesn’t really matter who’s writing. JFP has already run off most of the really good talent.The show will never be the same and I can’t think of anything changing to make me return to the show. Even if she left now the show has been destroyed.
Totally agree. Phelps has put Y&R into a final tailspin that will eventually lead to its demise. She wrecked the cast and now Pratt will finish the job. Bill Bell is now a pretzel in his grave. So sad, but once you wreck a show like this, there’s no turning back. It’s only a matter of time now.
Can’t be any worse than the last year or so. Been watching Y&R since 1981 and the show is at an all time low. Terrible writing, waste-of-time plots, unrealistic characters – the show needs a shake-up for sure. Hope this move helps but, really, until JFP is gone I’m not holding my breath.
“Can’t be any worse than the last year or so” is exactly what I said when MAB was fired and JFP was brought in as the new EP… look how that turned out.
Chuck Pratt is completely wrong for Y&R. I’m not saying Jean Passanante was the right choice, but I would take her over Pratt, and that’s saying a lot. Yes, she killed ATWT, but Pratt relentlessly hacked AMC to the bitter core. Is that what I want to see happen on Y&R? No, thank you.
Try again, Sony. And make a logical decision this time, please.
Jimmy,
Dude…I’m sorry but I don’t think that Sony is capable of making a-n-y logical decision as long as JFP is s-t-i-l-l in the picture. And n-o-w that Chuck Pratt is in the picture, it’s only gonna get W-O-R-S-E!!!!! David said it PERFECTLY…GOD HELP US ALL!!!!!
I think he’s a better suited writer for primetime. When he wrote for Melrose Place, it was really good. But MP was a primetime soap and very over-the-top. He was a complete disaster on AMC. My only hope is that he doesn’t do anymore of a hatchet job on the character of Sharon Newman. Only by the grace of Sharon Case have fans stuck by this character, while she is beat up by everyone in GC. Making Summer Nick’s bio child was a mistake. Jack deserved a daughter. And how long is EB gonna “run the show”?? His ego needs to be contained. Phyllis needs to take her anger down a notch, hopefully they will do a good job with the new Adam. But I really hope Pratt doesn’t start axing characters in favor of one’s he wants to bring on. The cast is bloated enough.
RE: Eric Braeden. I was telling my mother the other day about Michael Muhney and Eric Braeden getting into arguments on-set, and that being one of the contributing factors to MM’s firing last year, and she said “Who hasn’t Eric Braeden gotten into a fight with? He’s Victor Newman! His ego is so big it revolves around the sun and has its own gravitational pull.” So yes, he needs to be contained.
RE: Sharon. Good lord, if Pratt destroys her character even more, I will be livid. It was horrendous when she took over Newman Enterprises and even worse when she married Victor. They need to restore her character, but I don’t think that will happen since the whole paternity secret story is being revealed now.
Jimmy…dude…I agree with both you and your mom!!!!! And…I can only imagine how that POMPOUS AND ARROGANT Eric Braeden treats his own family in real life. Truly sad.
I couldn’t agree more. That whole Newman clan needs to be brought to justice. E.B. should have been put away when he covered for Adam’s hit & run. They also need to get rid of the dead-wood few to nobody likes (Avery-the cookie maker)(Summer can’t act except to pout and she on too often)(Dillan needs a hobby besides pouring coffee & please find something for Lily to do besides stick her nose into her brothers life. I use to push mute for Summer & the Newmans now it’s for Victor, Avery& Summer and with the air time Summer gets that’s just about every show.
They could fire Avery and I wouldn’t bat an eyelash. I AM hopeful, that with Amy coming back, and this Joe Clark, that they will revisit the Matt Clark story and Nick will come to his senses and protect Sharon and reunite them. I cannot and refuse to sit through another regime that refuses to restore Sharon to her former glory. I don’t see why the writers/producers don’t like her. They need to bring back Ed Scott, and Kay Alden, ppl who worked under Bell in the 90s. And for god sakes, give Sharon a female friend, resurrect Drucilla!!! Drucilla would smack that insipid Hillary off the map and her and Sharon could fight Phyllis together!!!! I would even take a recast Drucilla now bc Victoria Rowell is clearly not welcome back!!!
Maybe it’s too soon, but I find it interesting that they’re not saying too much in the way of specifics about what he’s going to “bring” to the show. Much fanfare but very little real information about how he’s going to make Y&R better, more interesting, etc.
Really? I’ll wait to believe it.
Although Y&R has been on the upswing, sometimes change is good. Beware though, Chuck and Jill wreaked havoc over at GH!
And Chuck systematically destroyed AMC, and it seems like that’s what Jill is trying to do to Y&R now.
Y&R could not get any deader than it is ..
When watching;
I see a person not Phyllis having anger problems..
I see a guy named Billy who has no personality defining him and is lackluster.
I will see an Adam who will be huge disappointment, that is a given
I see a Kelly that turned from mysterious and intriguing into a ton of sugar
I see Lily and Cane with no purpose other than to constantly grope each other
I see Neil acting like a horney old duffer with a woman he once took as a daughter and knocking over coffee cups
I see a total boring couple / Dylan and Avery talking in a coffee shop
I see a wasted talent of Tristan Rogers being wasted and looking like a dumbass.
I see a very whiny Victoria who does nothing but mope and looks like she has been eating tranquilizers..
Well, that is it for starters..
GO PRATT !!!!!
It seems like he is where he is so when they have had enough of Jill, Chucky gets the EP job.
I don’t care about the other soaps (with exception of B&B and DAYS), I care about Y&R. I will give him a chance to see what he brings to the show!
Charles Pratt is the completely wrong person for Y&R. He is not who Y&R needs right now, just like JFP was wrong from the start. But, because MAB was so bad in her final year in charge, I was willing to give Jill a chance and hope for the best. I simply can’t hope for the best with Pratt. After his butcher job of AMC, turning it into a plot-driven mess of a show, I can’t see a bright future ahead for Y&R with him on-board now.
Yes, I think a change was needed. Jean Passanante was a terrible hire, and Shelley Altman doesn’t have what it takes to lead a writing team on her own. Who they should have brought in was Sally Sussman Morina or Kay Alden or Jack Smith. NOT Pratt.
I don’t understand why Sony continues to make horrible decisions for their number one soap. It baffled me when JFP was hired, then Jean P, now Pratt… They all need to go ASAP and Sony needs to make better hires for Y&R – that’s what the cast, crew, fans and creator himself, Bill Bell would want. Not the madness that Y&R has gone through over the past several years.
I just pray Pratt doesn’t start a mass exodus of characters only to bring in a slew of new ones. There are many expendable characters IMO but there is no need for any new ones. If he wants new characters, bring back ones from the past like Genevieve, Tucker, Daniel, Heather, Drucilla, Malcolm, etc. No more random newbies and please, no more character assassination. Though I’m sure that’s exactly what will happen since Pratt insists on plot-driven stories being the focus.
The first comment says it perfectly: God help us all.
I am happy Pratt was brought in..
Y&R has been terribly boring and and broke all soap records for long, over year long, boring stories,,
I actually nood out watching, at times..
I hope Pratt turns Y&R inside out and gets things interesting and for god’s sake moving!!
Pratt might even throw in a murder or two; I hope he kills off Sharon..
The Sharon character is long past its’ time..
Good thing about Pratt– he won’t hesitate to kill of a star for a good story / either would JFP..
Welcome to Y&R Chuck Pratt .. !!! 🙂
I would love to see Sharon with Dylan. I think that would be such a slap in the face to that snotty nose Nick as well as Nikki who walks around with her nose in the air while being a drunk & ex stripper.
Sharon would sizzle with Dylan more than Avery does, but then of course, Nikki would demonize her and call her a slut for sleeping with her son. This from a woman who has slept with half of Genoa City( Paul, Victor, Jack, Brad, the list goes on. Uggh.
Su0000..knock it off…we’re really concerned about the trajectory this show is heading in and not trying to inflame people just because…
Su….not all of us like violence and misoginy and psychopaths. I often wonder what has happened in your life that makes you such a champion and a cheerleader of such disturbing themes in your “entertainment” choices. You repeatedly insult people on here, telling them its “only a soap” but if anyone dares to insult your precious beloved General Hospital, you go ballistic. It is as if you feel personally responsible to post on here, every day, several times a day, about uow fantastic and wonderful and glorious GH is, and people who dont like it are stupid, and those who cant understand that it is “entertainment” are even stupider. I do NOT think its entertainment when the very heart and soul of a show I have loved and supported all my life has been gutted and decimated and disembowelled and now features a bunch of psychotic, sadistic murderers and the people who love them. We get it! You love GH, you love watching murders and senseless violence, and cheaply produced gunplay, and plot driven crap. We get it. But dont keep telling this room that we should all love it or we are just stupid. Or just type a form letter and cut and paste it every day. Everyone has opinions and your incessant posting about how wonderful GH is is not swaying anyone or changing anyone’s minds. Thank you.
@ Oh Jonny be still my heart I think I am in love your post said it all. :}
Oops Johnny !
This show will never recover from JFP, let alone Pratt.
The cast has been decimated, the real actors are gone.
Gina Tognoni is the only good thing to happen to this show in the past couple of years.
Im definitely willing to give NuAdam a chance, Hartley showed he can do dark pretty convincingly on Revenge.
right..
Hartley was a stint on Revenge, he can be dark to a point, he is handsome..
but-
All that does not qualify him to be a good Adam ..
All actors can play dark etc, but for any of them to be a good Adam, nawww not gonna happen ..
Harley is no Michael Muhney. Muhney defined Adam Newman and gave him a multi-layered personality that fans adored. Just because this stud muffin played “bad” on REVENGE, doesn’t mean he’s Adam Newman. This guy will never fill the role Muhney created with his own talent.
The sound of no hands clapping.
Absolutely right. Right now when I see that Lucky Gold has a hand in writing on Y&R now, I cringe and remember everything wrong he did at Guiding Light. None of the names I’m seeing in the writing credits give me any faith that Y&R will recover. It saddens me, because this does NOT have to happen.
Pratt did very well when he was with GH..
perhaps GH fit his visions/style of writing..
Y&R is circling the drain, and Pratt is its’ hope..
He is most likely the one that can turn Y&R and take it out of the 80’s ..
I am cheering Pratt on!!! ……… GO PRATT..!!!!
( kill off sharon 😉
OMG!!!! Y&R needs all the creative help it can get. The storylines are all over the place. Nothing is making any since and the characters are just talking heads, reading the words that was written for them and nothing more. Y&R has no since of direction, and that is what is missing from today’s Y&R.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse…
I feel so sad you Y&r ;(
At least you have agreat new Adam guys, trust me. He was wonderful on Passions. I think the only story that would be worth watching is who killed Victor Newman. That could make the show hot again
The reigns of Y&R have just been taken over by the captain of the Hindenberg. The destruction of this show will be spectacular! Burn baby burn!
Y&R is like the NE Patriots or Dallas Cowboys, a historically successful franchise everyone is gunning for. The remarks are all over the map here from the die-hard fans to the ones still stuck in the 80’s when GH enjoyed a short time at #1. I bet if they had the internet in 1990 and there were message boards like this, people would have been griping then, or maybe not, since those were a lot less hateful times. Anyway, I’ve been watching Y&R since the 70’s, when I watched with my parents and grandparents while I was just a little guy. Bill Bell created and breathed life into a unique show populated with interesting characters driving plot, rather than the opposite. Big events rarely happened in Genoa City, but they drove plot for years, even decades: Phillip Chancellor’s death, Jack and Jill’s scandalous affair, Ashley’s abortion, Nina’s seduction of Phillip III, Phyllis’ hit and run crime, Drucilla sleeping with Malcolm while on cold medicine, Victor and Hope’s farm romance, Cassie’s reunion with Sharon, Victor’s stolen sperm and Ashley’s pregnancy, Cassie’s death, Nick and Phyllis’ shocking affair, etc. Then in 2006-2013 came dark years. Bill Bell, Kay Alden, Jack Smith, David Shaughnessy, Edward Scott, all gone, and disrespectful show-runners, one with the last name Bell, one by one, dismantled the crown jewel of the genre. I wasn’t a fan of JFP, and I wept inside when she was appointed EP, as I felt this was the nail in the coffin. To my pleasant surprise, JFP and the two head writers, SA and JP, have resurrected this soap into a renaissance of character-driven, old-fashioned melodramatic story telling. New blood is being introduced and grounded slowly by inter-mixing with the legacy characters, I am the first to say I was wrong, and JFP has made this show more a Bell show than any of the 3 buffoons who preceded her. I wonder why change course when things are FINALLY gelling, but I have to give Mr. Pratt a chance and pray he will respect Bill Bell’s legacy and build upon the repaired foundation that SA and JP have constructed. I can hope. What I can say is that Y&R is still #1, and not only that, people I know are actually tuning in again. It used to be comments like “I haven’t watched it since…..”. Now the comments are “did you see the show today?” or “what happened on the show today?”, etc. For the fact spinners out there with your hands on your ears screaming “no no no”, I’m in finance by trade, so hard numbers matter to me. Y&R is the #1 daytime soap. Y&R is the #2, maybe #3 on any given week, show on all of daytime (as far as network programming). Y&R competes with even primetime numbers. You cannot wish cold hard facts away with spin or opinion, though you have a right to an opinion. Just know that opinions don’t always equal facts.
Jared, excellent commentary and very informative! Thank you!
In the last few months this show has been surprisingly good! Stories have been interconnected, episodes move with pace and purpose, and a lot of the newbies have been written in very well. Josh Griffith’s writing was mind numbing and pointless. I have a few quibbles…all of the Abbott siblings have lost daughters…Ashley, Traci, and Billy. Summer should have remained Jack’s, especially now that Mariah is Sharon’s. I hope the new regime rectifies that mistake and makes the paternity switch a figment of Sharon’s imagination. And the unabated Sharon bashing is disgusting and painful to watch. She was mentally ill! Why does Summer’s husband get a free pass and the adoration of everyone after what he did? I cant stand manipulative writing designed to push whatever pet story the writers want to push. But on the whole, I have been very impressed with the Altman/Passanante regime. I like the exterior shots even though most of them could not possibly match the interiors. But thats the Golden Girls syndrome, lol. American television producers think their audiences are stupid and dont notice details. I also wish this show would do actual regular on location shooting. I dont get why these shows that tape in L.A. are nailed inside a studio when they have so much outdoor beauty to take advantage of. I have liked a lot of Pratt’s work, and disliked a lot of it….so I am neutral. I will wait to see what plays out on screen. And, I realize Mr. Bell was a legend and a pioneer of this genre, but I never understood the lavish praise. Very little of his writing was character driven…it was mostly about story with him, with characters just being written however he wanted to suit whichever current story he wanted to tell. He would drag stories out past the point of credibility. He also would introduce stories that went nowhere, and drop them fast and furiously. Many regimes since Mr. Bell have been responsible for making great new stories out of abandoned Bell plots. The point of this is not to diss Mr. Bell, but as a lifelong soap fan, the soaps are rarely ever character driven, and plot always takes precedence. The closest writers I would name who did soap work where characters were key were Claire Labine and Douglas Marland. Young and the Restless, no matter who is writing it, will likely stay number one because it is comfortable and consistent and is a viewing habit. People turn it on not because they want a daily dose of excitement, or are swept away by the romance and escapism of it….they turn it on out of habit. 20 Years ago no one knew what an Ed Scott or Chuck Pratt or Jill Farren Phelps was. It is indeed unsettling when the backstage antics are mlre interesting than whats on screen. As for Justin Hartley…perfect choice to play Adam. I still dont get the point or purpose of the character Avery, but I like her ex husband and I like how he is being interwoven into many stories so he could go in any direction. I like that Michael and Lauren are facing a real problem, and not more cartoon psychopaths. Keep watching, keep venting, thats all.
He’s clueless when it comes to soaps, he and JFP are a combination from hell!
I think they need to bring back Ed Scott although he’s with B & B now he could turn this thing around. They need real stories again & stop using Sharon as a football for the Newman’s. How about Nikki with Paul? How about both Billy & Stitch telling Victoria to get lost wouldn’t that be a shock to the family (Nobody wants their darling daughter who has either been married or slept with half the town (like her mother) How about Kevin with Mariah (let’s see how Cho handles that when she comes back to town) How about sending Avery & her niece Summer packing into the sunset. Lets see more Lauren,Michael,Tracey,Jack etc. Bring back Phyllis’s son I want to see how Mariah feels when she comes face to face with the guy her twin had a crush on. You see at the time of Ed Scott he cared what the fans wanted. Those days are gone & so is he to B & B Smart Man
Sad day in genoa city
R.I.P Y&R.
People need to stop with the doom and gloom. CBS will never let this show be canceled over a head writer. Everyone thought that Jean and Shelley were going to run the show into the ground as well and looking at the ratings we know that has not happened. I’ll give the guy a chance because if the ratings do start to suffer, like the three head writers previous to him in the past two years, he’ll be out the door. Hopefully Phelps will go with him this time. Let’s see if he’s learned anything from his last soap stint.
If All My Children is any indication, Chuck Pratt will send Y&R to hell in a handbasket or, at the very least, in a cyclone to the heavens!
The first natural disaster will happen in May sweeps. Just you wait. The body count will be high.
I want to start watching Y & R from Jan 1, 2015. If this soap has been # 1 for more than 25 years; there must be at least something that is right about the people creating, writing and running the show.
What I’d like is for a head writer that isn’t afraid to make the women on the show strong again. I can’t take much more of the whiny, sniffly ways of such as Kelly, Victoria, Lily (gads, kill me now!), Summer, Avery, Sharon, and the list goes on … who are all leaning on the men and depending upon them to save them, love them, take care of them, do for them, be there for them, all that sappy stuff that these women do with the wringing of hands, tears, shaky voices and (with Kelly) a little girl lisp that drives me UP THE WALL!!
The character of Kelly is the one I really am disappointed in anymore. When Cynthia Watros played the part, she slinked, she slithered, she slyly wormed her way into Billy and was working on Jack, but she did so in such a way that you both loved and hated her. Loved her for her vulnerability and sadness over the loss of her child, but hated her for destroying Billy’s marriage and vying for not only his emotional affections, but his physical ones as well. Then along comes Cady McClain, and suddenly she’s a wide-eyed, cooing, gushing female who couldn’t do anything and is a delicate as a rose petal, instantly falling in love with Jack (and he with her) and being all goo-goo eyed over him at every turn. HUH?!? Where did that woman with the steel spine and absolute hatred against Ben go to? That’s not the woman we were introduced to, and believe me, it’s no fun watching her!
Most of the women on the show have become googly, cooing, wispy things. Even Phyllis has turned to Jack and asked for him to forgive her for acting the way she has been, because she’s lost a year of her life and wants to get it all back at one whack. Phyllis is a computer genius! She’d get online and find out everything (all she has to do is check out GC Buzz, that rancid tabloid of Genoa City they all talk about now that Restless Style has gone out of business), not whine about no one telling her anything! That’s not our red!
Even Saint Christine, who’s known to be kind of wimpy, is even moreso. I can see her fighting for Paul against Nikki … heck, if she’s got the guts to be kissing on Nick in a public bar, she’s got the guts to take on Nikki, who’s not even half the woman Phyllis is. Imagine if Phyllis ever knew it was Chris Nick was kissing that night! Wow, bring run down with a car (supposedly) would be the least of her problems!
But let’s let these wimpy women go. If Pratt can help the current writers bring back strong women, fine. But if he’s going to continue to let these stories rot and even add to the compost heap, then I don’t know what the future of Y&R will be like. It definitely ain’t Bill Bell’s Y&R anymore…
wolfy
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
The ratings are out for the week of August 24-28 for your favorite broadcast television soaps, and it was ABC’s General Hospital which added the most total viewers and planted itself firmly in third place in its battle with Beyond the Gates in the key demos of women 18-49 and 25-54.
According to Soap Opera Network, all daytime dramas were up year-over-year, and General Hospital was joined by The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with gains in their total audience viewership, while Beyond the Gates was only slightly off pace for the ratings week.
Let’s take a look at what had viewers tuning-in, starting with General Hospital, who added +79,000 viewers. While still under the 2 million viewers mark (which they can hopefully return in the coming weeks) their overall tally was an average of 1, 935,000 tuning-in, while still up year-to-year +136,000.
GENERAL HOSPITAL
In addition, GH while actually down from the previous week in the 18-49 ratings share, they still out performed Beyond the Gates for third place. However, GH was firmly in third place for the 25-54 ratings share.
The stories that were featured for the week included: Anna’s (Finola Hughes) PTSD and struggle with painful memories tied to Cesar Faison, and her concocting a plan to get rid of Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) recording Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) threatening her, and later running into a severe threat from Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) regarding Kai (Jens Austin Astrup) and Drew’s (Cameron Mathison) shooting, and Drew enlisting Ava (Maura West) to gain leverage over Jack, which resulted in Ava drugging him, while Drew went snooping for the evidence Brennan had against him.
Photo: JPI
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Y&R remained in the top spot amongst all the soaps once again with 3,062,000 tuning in, and up +35,000 for the week, while year-to-year still showing strong gains at +231,000 viewers. However, while Y&R remained #1 for the 25-54 ratings share, it fell to #2 in the 18-49 ratings share behind The Bold and the Beautiful.
In story for the week, Nick’s (Joshua Morrow) sobriety in rehab was a focus, as was Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) hitting the Jabot office couch and having sex for the first time, and Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy (Jason Thompson) battling over control and ownership of Chancellor Industries.
Photo: JPI
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
B&B is continuing to be inch closer to Y&R for the top spot, separated by a little more than 300,000 viewers. For the ratings week, the series posted a total audience of 2,719,000 adding +31,000 eyeballs overall, and like Y&R, is up year-to-year in its performance.
The CBS soap now , now in its 40th season is +217,000 from the same time last year. In the key demos, The Bold and the Beautiful was in the top spot for the women 18-49 ratings share and number two for women 25-54.
In story, the major threat to Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Daphne’s (Murielle Hilaire) marriages continued as Steffy and Carter swore they would not tell their spouses that the two had a drunken hook-up. But as viewers know now, Steffy is pregnant!
Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES
Beyond the Gates tallied an average of 1,611,000 total viewers for the week, up +72.000 year-over-year and down slightly in tune-in for the week losing just -36,000 viewers. The CBS soap came in fourth place in the key demos for the week behind General Hospital, with whom they are often trading places for the third spot.
In story, after Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) was released from the hospital, Hayley (Marquita Goings) stuck to her plan, doubling down on poisoning him and even getting caught in a major lie or meeting with Randy (Maurice P. Kerry), as Vernon (Clifton Davis) may be on to her machinations.
The ratings report is generated from Nielsen (Live+Same Day Big Data + Panel) for the week of August 24-28, 2026
So, what did you think of the performance of General Hospital for the ratings period? Which daytime drama has you most likely to tune-in each day? Which has you tuning-out? Let us know what’s working, or not working for you in story, via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
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!
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.
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.
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
Steve Burton Reportedly Signs Three-Year Contract with ‘General Hospital’
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Reach an Impasse; Is This the End of Their Relationship?
‘General Hospital’ to Rebroadcast Special Episode in Tribute to Anthony Geary
Vivica A. Fox Exits ‘The Young and the Restless’ For Now to Film Netflix’s ‘Women Like Us’
Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027
‘General Hospital’s’ Braedyn Bruner Reveals Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and How Emma is Getting Her ‘Edge’ Back
‘General Hospital’s’ Bluesy Burke Marks 1 Year as Charlotte Cassadine: ‘It’s The Best Gift I’ve Ever Received’
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
‘Beyond the Gates’ vs. ‘The Young and the Restless’ in a Soap Opera Showdown on ‘Flip Side’ Season 3 Premiere
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Talks Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and What’s Behind Katie’s Deep-Seated Issues with Dylan (Exclusive)
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