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Y&R's Maria Arena Bell speaks on the fallout for Victor Post-Arbitration!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

So what shall become of Y&R’s Victor Newman now that his children one-upped him?  Well, according to the series executive producer and head writer, Maria Arena Bell,  he is going to go through some very turbulent times and some big twists and turns, now that the all-powerful mogul lost the arbitration hearing this week on the number one sudser. Bell spoke to EW.com about Victor’s reaction to his children getting billions from him by being awarded their trust funds, and the impact it will have on the Newman family.   Here are some excerpts below!

Bell on if Victor will seek revenge on his children, or, if Victoria, Nick and Abby will mess their victory up all by themselves:  “What will happen next is more complicated than that. It’s a little bit of both. There will be interesting twists and turns in what he decides to do, and the turns their lives take now that they’ve come into this money [will be interesting]. It definitely is going to be interesting to watch, and I feel like it very much tracks what happens in real life with these major financial dynasties.”

Bell on if the verdict cleaned out Victor Newman all-together: “It’s a pretty major settlement. It’s going to cause a major, major shift in how Victor’s going to operate in the future. It has major ramifications for Newman Enterprises itself and for the man himself, having really felt like he’s gone to war with his children here. And in essence, he feels that they bested him in this moment. It’s going to have enormous consequences down the road for him.”

Bell on if the Mighty Victor could actually have a full-on meltdown: “Meltdown is never really the word I would use to describe his behavior, you know? I think he’s much more of someone who, against all odds, will hold it together and find a way. But it’s an interesting choice that he makes. By the end of the week there will be a startling decision on his part, because he always has to take action.”

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He has been walking all over people since I started watching this show. (In 1990) I would like to see someone else win for a change. Like Tucker and Jack.

So only older men have the business smarts to win, and own/command large companies?

I would like to see Katherine, Victoria, Jill, and/or Lauren have some victories. Katherine was a major player in Genoa City until Tucker knocked her down. I would love to see her turn the tables and regain her power and then some.

I didn’t mean to imply that only men have business smarts. I don’t care who it is as long as it isn’t Victor. Maybe Abby will outshine them all with a cable show. Or maybe Phyllis and Sharon can start their own PI business. Possibilities are endless, if only writers would quit writing same old storylines. Victor’s going to get it all back….business as usual.

Well, that settlement was way over expectations. Personally, I think it was excessive. Now I suppose the major players are all going for Jabot and Beauty By Nature. Should be interesting to see who ends up with what. It really is so unrealistic. Victor lives on a ranch with a very small living room. Puhleese!!!!!! The set designer should aim higher, don’t you think? And what about Nikki and Victor’s love scene. I’m kinda nauseous… But, I still go back for more!……

The startling decision is he gets married to Diane! The actress is only 38 in real life Eric Braeden is 69! It would have been much more beleiveable to bring back Susan Walters she is 47 plus Kyle was born before Abby! Maria Bell history is important longtime fans don’t forget!

Victor can spew all he wants about how he “built this empire from the ground up; I was in an orphanage; no one helped me”…. blah blah blah. He has – for umpteen years – been an arrogant, self-righteous, self-serving megalomaniac who walks all over those he claims to love and has shown complete disregard for the feelings of those closest to him. I don’t feel one bit sorry for him!

Eric Braeden turns 70 in April. Maura West who plays Diane turns 39 in April. Thirty one years age difference she was all wrong for this role. I can’t beleive Eric Braeden likes this storyline. It looks like abuse of a child. I can’t stand to watch this! All levels of sloppy casting and storylines!

This Y&R storyline is stupid and boring. Victor’s brats have been raised with privilege and money. They have never had to do a days work in their whole lives.On top of that Billy bought (stole) a baby. Absolutely no repurcussions for that. When Billy and Victoia’s illegal adoption is uncovered, Victoria is going to come crawling to daddy for help. Victor is not going to be able to help, because of the stupid lawsuit.

Very disappointed w/the story line
Been a fan from day 1..but you are slowly losing me.

I flip to CNN when some of the new characters (who cannot act)
are on.

WHY has this show become a black soap opera?
Every leading important role now is a black actor.

ie: esq, surgeon, (couold not even pronounce his lines correctly) all in power positions.

Why not just have a total black soap?

It is too obvious what you are doing & that is why you are losing viewers.

Cane story getting stale.
Nothing to hold my interest or to look forward to tune in tomorrow.

Possibiliites w/Adam & Phyllis playing detective..make it more..get new exciting characters & new writers wouldn’t hurt either.

I guess that i am a wierd duck because I love acting, the art of acting, and hence I love great actor’s like Olivier, Poitier and Eric Braeden. I don’t care if an actor is white or black, it does not matter. A truly fine actor, and one of America’s very best is Samual L. Jackson, the fact that he happens to be a black actor just does not make any difference to me. His acting is exquisite, period. And Hello we now have a black president, in case know one has noticed. And what that means is that if a person is talented, and works extremely hard, he can be any race, and become whatever he want to be.

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

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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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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Breaking News

‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis

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James Reynolds

Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.

Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.

Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET

SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE

Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.

Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.

As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Abe

Photo: JPI

In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”

James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.

You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.

Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.

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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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