Chris B

I'm not giving that troll any attention, but I will say that I have faith that this show will be good. We have a new producing partner in the NAACP, we have someone who is experienced in soaps at the helm who has a history of producing good work. MVJ also had recent experience working on a primetime show and based on that I do feel that she knows what's going to work for a Black audience in 2025. She also had Guza on hand who we know can create a ratings grabbing stunt like no other. I also think the fact that they're filming in Atlanta is smart because they'll have better access to Black actors and their budget won't be eaten up by the high rent of a studio in LA. Until they give me a reason to worry, I'm not worried and so far they've done everything right, down to when they've made announcements about the show. We've gotten a steady stream of information as we head into filming within the next two weeks. It's only up from here and I'm excited for what's to come.

The last two years CBS released their midseason schedule on November 7th and 13th so that should give us an idea of when to expect a premiere date.

There is a fan podcast for the show and they put together a really nice thread with clips of the cast in other roles. Very interesting for those of us who don’t know some of them.

This is an exciting announcement! The more we learn, the more real it is starting to feel. Also, while these aren't names known to daytime, I do love that so many of these actors have worked on popular Black projects. That's going to help bring in their fanbases who watch the soaps on streaming and BET, but may not immediately want to watch a daytime soap. We still have quite a few names to be announced so I'm sure we'll have some more big names coming, but I love that we have a lot of new blood as well. Let them make their own stars like many of the other soaps did.

CBS has no control over B&B which is why Brad Bell is still the Headwriter. Sony and CBS have been fighting since 2005 over control of Y&R. Steve Kent is now directly overseeing the show so that would tell me that Sony is winning that fight. A big part of why they want Beyond the Gates to do well is because it's a show they have a stake in and can make more money from. I think if this does well B&B could be in trouble.

Plus there is always a big political story so I wouldn't use the election as a reason to delay the show.

I wish they'd do two episodes a week when they have interviews. I can't believe we still haven't even reached Jo's first episode. This is such a long journey.

I think doing a midseason launch gives them more space to focus on this. There are less shows premiering than there are in the fall, plus that would've made the pre-production incredibly rushed.

That is possible, but my biggest issue isn't the recast, but who they recast Amy with. It's a total disregard to who Amy was.

Even then, I still don’t think we have much longer to wait for a premiere date. I’d be surprised if they don’t announce it with their mid season schedule. The Talk is ending in December so they’ll need to fill the slot sooner than later. Also, more progress:

They will be on set in less than two weeks. It's not like we have much longer to wait for information. I'm sure by the time they start filming they'll do another media blitz with more substantial casting information. They have a limited amount of time to promote the show and I think they're using their time well. Starting by announcing three name soap actors allowed them to create some buzz for the series. Next they can announce the start of filming and the broader cast. Once they get some material under their belt they can start providing pictures, promos, etc. Basically, things are about to start rocking and rolling for us. January is not far away. Plus, don't they announce midseason schedules in November/December? So we should know the premiere date soon as well.

It's funny, the people who probably have the most to complain about (Doherty and Williams in this case) are super positive when it comes to their respective shows. Still the Place announced they want questions for a Heather Locklear interview. She's been private the past few years so I didn't know whether we could expect her. I'm happy to hear she's doing it and I hope she does it in person like most of the other interviews. I'm very curious to hear from her in 2024 and I hope she is doing well.

Based on the timeline that makes the most sense. I still can't quite figure out what he would've done though. Unless maybe they planned to pair him with Claudia. I can't imagine they'd want to keep Val and Gary apart any longer at that point. When it came to re-populating the cul-de-sac in the later years, I wonder what it would've looked like if Richard returned with his new wife. I loved Richard so I would've been all for it, but I do think that could've genuinely provided some great story. It also would've been nice to see Laura's boys back, older and into the mix. Perhaps a better idea would've been Robin Strasser as his new wife. They could've still kept her as a rival to Karen with Richard in the middle due to his friendship with Karen.

Between this, the new Newman Ranch and Ed Scott returning, I will definitely be sampling Y&R in November.

This was a fantastic interview and I continue to be amazed by how good this podcast is. I compare it to the 90210 podcast with Jennie and Tori and it's like night and day. That show had lots of BTS drama plus the ladies don't like the show so it can be hard to listen to. Here, the women are so invested in the show and analyzing it plus they have wonderful chemistry. The episodes they're watching are not the Melrose we remember and it would be easy to tear them apart, but they're making it interesting and providing good insights. With Vanessa, she was someone I was really hoping they'd get on. Rhonda was different from Sandy because her character really seemed to work and she had storylines throughout. She also had strong chemistry with the entire cast. I'm happy to hear she enjoyed her time and made the most of it while on the show. She could've been really negative, but she took a bad situation and really turned it into a positive life changing experience. I hope she returns when they start to recap the Terrence storyline and if the reboot ever gets off the ground, I wouldn't mind seeing Rhonda thrown in the mix.

Since we're on the topic of Ben, I know Michael Filerman mentioned they tried to get him back but were unable to locate Doug Sheehan. I wonder what would've brought Ben back and what they would've done with him. I also wonder what season it would've been for. Maybe Ben would've spared us Danny Waleska?

I know it is super unpopular, but I loved that spy story. I found it believable with Ben's backstory since we saw him go missing in South America during his first season. I loved the building paranoia and how they integrated it with the Greg and Laura. The writers finally remembered Laura and Val's friendship and actually did something with it. I loved the Joshua story due to Alec Baldwin and Julie Harris. I love that they continue to use Lilimae and give her interesting things to do.

I'm 7 episodes into season 7 and I feel like I was dreading the season because it's typically viewed negatively with the Dallas/Knots HW swap, but I actually think David Paulsen is doing a really good job. I'll admit the dream season on Dallas was a big shift, but the show still feels like Knots. Before I jump into season 7, I must give them props on The Long and Winding Road. It's incredibly impressive that the one time they went to #1 was a completely character driven episode with no big action set pieces. As the episode that introduced me to Knots, it'll always have a special place in my heart and it gets better each time. Season 7 didn't disappoint with the fallout. I didn't remember the Fisher's coming back but I love that they played their pain as well. Baby switches have been run into the ground these days, but this was truly unforgettable. Joan Van Ark said so much with such little words. One thing that I will say I don't like (and this goes for season 5 &6 as well) is how much Laura is diminished as a character. With Richard she was an equal lead. While she does have amazing chemistry with William Devane, they basically just use her as a talk to for him. It's odd because he's such a major character and she could easily be involved in his and Abby's schemes, but she's left out. In season 7 I'm now 7 episodes in and Laura has barely appeared. Val and Laura were so close in the early seasons and I don't even believe she knew anything was going on with Val's babies. Other than the ongoing Laura issue I find season 7 to be another strong run so far. I love how they've introduced Jill Bennett and Peter Hollister. So many twists are on the way, but you'd never know it. There is an air of mystery to both of them but they were smart to let us get to know them before jumping into their mystery. Joshua's mental decline is very well done and I love that the entire family is in on it. A personal bias, but I do think the story would've been stronger with Diana in Cathy's place. Like many look-a-likes, Cathy is a pale imitation and doesn't have the same chemistry or impact on the canvas. Even her singing doesn't work for me (outside of Jehovah). I'm definitely not looking forward to her exit story which I remember disliking in previous watches.

Not only that, but it’s a recast. The only way you could make this work is if Stephanie Williams returned so you could at least use flashbacks to establish that she existed. I also don’t like that they cast a light skinned actress who looks nothing like Williams. That’s something daytime has done many times which irritates me. Hell, Williams and Pettiford have already swapped roles once before, except Williams was the recast in that case. They didn’t even try to make sense of this recast.

If anything, I would've made Sasha a long lost daughter of Lucy. I feel like they look similar and they already have a mother/daughter relationship. Hell, I'd even be okay with writing Sasha off and bringing her back as Christina. Lucy was one of my favorites on Port Charles, but she is such a joke on modern day GH. Connecting Holly to Sasha is...a choice. I don't have an opinion either way. It just seems so random. It amazes me that Emma Samms is so talented, but they've never seemed to recreate her glory days of the 80s. Even her return in the early 90s was a waste of how talented she is. I'm always happy to see her, so I'm just going to take this as it comes and enjoy her while she's around.

I feel like his character could've made sense, but they didn't play the history. With Trina around and dating Spencer, it only seemed logical to bring back Gia who had a similar relationship with Nikolas. Plus, Lynne Moody looks fantastic and could've come back as Taggart and Gia's mom. Instead the focus seems to be more on Curtis and his family when I'd argue it would make more sense to focus on Portia or Trina's extended family. I wouldn't be mad at Real Andrews on Beyond the Gates. He's proven himself to be a strong leading man.

Pat was a wonderful character and she had chemistry with everyone. I feel like the writers didn't have much of a say because they seemed to love writing for her. I think she was a victim of the times. It was easier to keep Frank around as a best friend of Mack and give him dayplayer love interests than it would be to integrate Pat further into the show. They teased Gary and Pat, but clearly that wasn't going to be an option.

The biggest gain to Days I feel was Marnie Siatta going from Y&R to Days as Casting Director. She had cast some really good people at Y&R and does the same for Days. After she left I feel like casting became more about snatching the next available ABC star and it no longer felt like Y&R. I always loved her story of starting as a receptionist and working her way up. She was a true Bell hire.

When he went to Days, I remember being shocked that he could make the show look as good as he did considering the budget. I know that must've been an adjustment going from Y&R's budget to what Days has. On top of that, the show was a cartoon and nothing was working: the acting was bad, the music was awful and pretty much everything else. I know there were talks of him causing drama behind the scenes with the writing, but I can't say I'm surprised. He was used to a much higher standard at Y&R and he pushed them to do better. I will say, I do credit his influence for that show turning itself around from the joke it had become. Same with B&B, especially in those initial years he was there.

Age is really just a number these days. Ed Scott does not look 80 and is still very sharp. I wouldn't really let that be a big concern right now. Now hopefully they are working on developing a next generation of talent, something Bill Bell did. I'm not sure if B&B has still been doing that, but I know Y&R always had writers and producers in the wings if replacements were needed. Unfortunately, none were used, but they did have a plan in place before all the Bell people were fired.