Chris B

I feel like a lot of the hate Jamey gets is from his past on Daytime Confidential. From the moment Ambitions was announced there were people rooting for him to fail. He assembled a great team, including giving Michele Val Jean and Susan Dansby a chance at a primetime show with Producer titles which both said was a career highlight. Together this team created a great soap that lived on in streaming. Many of the writing staff has gone on to get jobs on the other soaps. Black voices we did not have prior to Jamey platforming them on Ambitions. He's currently in his second season headwriting Sistas which continues to raise in the ratings and is always trending on Twitter and this is a show that's been on for years. Jamey breaking through as a fan and a Black writer is impressive and he's done a lot for Black writers on soaps and I'll always be greatful for that. I'll also mention that today's script writer was Jazmen Darnell Brown, the fourth writer from Ambitions to be added to the staff. If that doesn't speak to the experience MVJ had on that show, I don't know what will. And people have been raving about his script today.

I think the lessons from the strike are what helped push BTG over the line and also made it an easy decision to renew Days on Peacock. One of the main struggles Peacock said they were having is that when they'd have a hit show, people would cancel when it was over. Sure they may get higher views than a show like Days but does it really even out when they unsubscribe after three months and you've spent $100+ million on 8 episodes? I think the days of these ridiculously priced limited series are over. I noticed when Max launched The Pitt they went with a network model with a much lower budget and when casting the series they created payment tiers and didn't allow negotiations to stay within budget. This allowed them to stretch the season to 15 episodes and still spend less money than they would on a normal series. And of course it ended up being a big success because all people want is a good story.

But he's older than that in real life? Both Brandon and Mike are over 35 so I wouldn't imagine their characters would be any different. I normally don't love political storylines on soaps but I do think it fits here with the show being set in the DMV. Plus with what we already know about his background, there is no way he'd ever make it to the presidency so I'm willing to go along for the ride. I agree with you 100% here. This episode was a big step forward for both actors IMO. I felt like both felt more comfortable in their characters skin. We really needed a break from Dani and Bill so the rest of the cast can start to breathe and develop as well. I have to give a shout out to Jazmen Darnell Brown on an excellent script! He's one of the younger writers on the team and I'd also like to note, his first regular gig was with Jamey Giddeons, Michele Val Jean and Susan Dansby on Ambitions where IMO, they all did great work. This is another reason I'm not worried about Jamey on this show. I know the complaints about Jamey on Days, but Sistas has been doing well since he became the HW and he's already proven he can work well with MVJ. Also on Days he was under a headwriter generating awful storylines so I wouldn't expect greatness from anybody working under Ron, especially as stubborn as he is.

I agree with you about the 30 minute format and I always see people mention Edge of Night and I think that would be such a smart format to go with. They could craft a season long mystery for a set amount of episodes so if it doesn't work they can drop it, but still have resolution. I feel like that would be the best way for a streamer to go about it if they were to do a soap. The other one I'd consider is Dark Shadows just based on how strong it's legacy is.

Brown did an excellent job with his first script. This is a good example of why you should give young talent a chance. I found the dialogue to be so natural and all of the slang felt very current on on brand for each character.

The character is reminiscent of Sheila Carter from the Bell Universe and she has a sickening silk press!

She does look gorgeous on her IG! The one thing I'd like them to work on is her makeup. I feel like her foundation doesn't quite match and she looks a little grey on screen compared to how she looks on her social media. I just finished today's episode and watching it on my big screen I couldn't get it off my mind once I noticed it. Overall I thought this was a great episode and the highlight of the week for me. I was beginning to get burnt out on the Dani/Bill storyline and was starting to get curious about some of the other characters. There's been a lack of focus on Nicole's family and we know there is stuff simmering there so it was nice to get to see more of her, particularly with Smitty and Martin. Now that they've established things I'd like them to give more focus to this branch of the Dupree family. Silk Press Sheila continues to give me life and if she said she didn't do it, she didn't do it! Don't tell me what my eyes saw, my queen is so convincing and she is a good honorable woman. I hope Eva listens to her Mama! I've been wanting Eva to be Ted's brothers child but seeing how good her chemistry was with Kat has me second guessing things. I'd love to see them as feuding sisters from opposite sides of the track. Whatever happens, they've definitely created a mystery that I'm invested in. It was also nice to see more of Vanessa and her husband whose name escapes me. I am not typically a fan of gambling stories but I'm willing to see where this goes. I still don't know what to think of their relationship though. I hope this isn't wrong of me to say but he doesn't seem like he's into women. I need to learn more to understand what is going on here.

I loooove her look and I find myself enjoying this character more than I thought I would. I find her look to be very Hillary Banks.

I don't think Days is the only thing that helped save Peacock, but at the time I believe it was one of two launches they had during that time period so it had to be a big part of it. I don't think they'd ever publicly admit a soap saved them, but I feel like the renewal and sense of calm from the show suggests they're getting positive feedback. I do agree with this but this is where soaps have a leg up because there is great value in their streaming which is at least some form of additional revenue for them compared to those news programs which rely so much on the live viewership. Similarly, I think Brad Bell uploading the entire series on YouTube was a big game changer because that is something that will continue to generate revenue for them directly. The more money soaps can pull from different pots, the better.

This wouldn't surprise me. When building out a team it makes sense to throw a lot of people in the mix to find the right group of people to work with. Yet another reason I'm excited to see how the show develops throughout the year.

CBS stopped focusing solely on live viewing in 2014. Here is an article that confirms that. To say streaming means little in 2025 is not accurate. Part of the streamers becoming profitable is their programming and soaps in particular are an important part of that. Just like Peacock was failing badly and then they add Days of Our Lives and suddenly they had their best quarter ever for new subscriptions. Between paid subscriptions and people paying for the ad free versions, this is still more money these shows are taking in so obviously it would be important to them when looking at the overall picture. Post strike streamers are looking for things that drive long term subscriptions. Soaps can provide that because they require a year round subscription. Also when BTG was picked up this was mentioned as being a key part of their strategy. The Talk was low rated but also had no replay value on Paramount+ or other platforms like YouTube. Not to mention the fact that soaps have now become one of the most affordable scripted options on tv. Again, I'm not saying live ratings don't matter but they are only part of the picture.

I am thrilled for BTG but it's simply not true that live broadcast is most important. I'm pretty sure every network has stopped using those as a success metric at this point. Hell, the reason The Talk was canceled was partly because they couldn't monetize it any further because it had no replay value. Of course live ratings do matter, but the network is going to be focused on Live+3, Live+7 and streaming numbers as well when determining if any show is a success and that goes for Beyond the Gates as well. GH is regularly in the top ten on Hulu, daily, so it has it's audience. I'm not trying to pin either show against each other (these are the only two US soaps I watch), but I did want to clarify when it comes to what the networks are looking at in terms of ratings.

I just went back to episode 2 where Ted talked about his brother and he didn't mention them being twins. The only thing he said is that he was very similar to Andre which does suggest it's more likely he's the one who got Leslie pregnant. But unless they were twins I don't know how she could get the two confused.

I always had a problem with Reid because I felt he highlighted the shows lack of respect for it's history in those later years. You have Elena Goode showing up as a retcon daughter of Rose when she would've been perfectly cast as Denise and Andy's daughter Hope. Then with Reid, you basically bring him on with all these shades of John, but you make him a new character instead of making him MJ, John and Iva's child. I'm not saying everybody has to be connected to a core family but sometimes it just makes so much sense. And I do understand that Luke and MJ couldn't be paired but they could've still played a triangle with Noah in the middle.

An interesting twist could be Ted pinning it on his brother and in the end we find out he's lying and did have the affair with Leslie.

I'm pretty shocked at what a good job they've done with Lucas. I thought he'd be in and out in two months but Van has been so good in the role I feel it's inspiring them. I wish we could've gotten him as Smitty, but ultimately I do think they'll get there. Both actors have been good in previous roles, they just need to get to know their characters and develop some chemistry. If come May it's still not working I'll re-evaluate how I feel, but with the small improvements I'm seeing across canvas with each episode, I think it's a safe bet to assume most will make it work.

I appreciate his success since I know how hard it must be to keep an independent soap going as long as he has but he was the one writer I had the most issue with, even moreso than Ron Carlivati (who coincidently did well with his breakdown Monday). I've tried watching The Bay many times over the years and have probably gotten through six seasons. The writing is the worst part of it. The show is very dark and he struggles to flesh out the characters because the cast is too big for the format he has. I wonder if doing a soap with so many characters was a struggle for him. Also a show that isn't centered so much around crime stories.

I missed that part. Definitely explains why he can't resist putting his two cents into Auntie Dani's drama.

This was the first episode I felt something for them as a couple. I feel like the lack of initial chemistry makes sense now that we know there are issues in the relationship. I'm very curious what Smitty is up to now. On the flip side, Martin is coming off far to vocal and cocky for someone we now has killed someone.

Just because a show got cancelled doesn't mean it wasn't good. Ambitions picked up a lot of steam when it was on streaming and outside of the OWN bubble. Also, MVJ was a producer and in the writers room for that show. She worked closely with Jamey crafting stories, writing scripts, etc. She knows who she hired and what he can do.`

Jamey and MVJ already have experience working together and Ambitions was good. I don't see why she wouldn't jump to hire him when given the opportunity. If she's one thing it's loyal and she also trusts her instincts. A good example of that was bringing on Guza as her Co-HW despite the way fans have talked about him. I'm going to continue to lean into trusting her vision.

I just started the episode and this press conference just screams money and status. Also, I'm going to bury this because I know people will be mad but Jamey Giddeons just announced he left Days for BTG. Personally I'm not upset by this. I thought Jamey and MVJ showed they worked well together on Ambitions. I'm glad she gave him a shot after he did the same on his series.

This is what I'm going to miss the most. I feel like they've worked out their kinks with this second season and the show has been so good. I loved getting to meet Remi's brother and dad and getting some insight on her upbringing. Of course Chelsea is around the corner with her baby as well which is waiting to be blown up. It's a shame that just as the writers figured things out they get the boot. At least I can anticipate a good final year but I do think it's a big mistake of Amazon to get rid of it.

I've finally gotten around to the fallout from the anniversary week and the actress who plays Stacey is knocking it out of the park. She's reminding me so much of Heather Tom with the rawness of her performance. I always enjoyed her but I didn't know she could break my heart like this.

I agree. I feel like he'll work it out with time. He's one of the more experienced actors in the cast. I'm very curious how episodes will be 2-3 months in once people are more comfortable and settled into the job of working on a soap. The one thing that is keeping me going with Martin so far is the chemistry he has with his family. I love any moment we get of him with Vernon and the brief moments with Dani really work for me.