Chris B

I was wondering, did the script ever leak or more detailed about the AMC primetime reboot? I'd be curious what characters it meant to have.

I would hope they're the restorations but we still have to wait and see. When it debuts I'm going to check out some of season one to see if I notice any quality differences. I just finished season one on DVD (which was fantastic btw) and I thought the DVD print was already pretty good. I bet it'll look amazing in HD. I've never hated season one, but I didn't appreciate how well they pulled off the self-contained format as I did with this re-watch. There was so much care to so many aspects of the show. The writing, the casting, the directing, the set design, even the wardrobe. They did a fantastic job of laying the foundation of what was to come.

Paramount bought the Aaron Spelling collection so they would be who handles Sunset Beach for any streaming or DVD deals. Looking at it, I think it seems Peacock could do a decent soap collection with Days, Generations and Passions. They could even look into a Generations remake or reboot which could be paired with Bel Air. But Disney is who would have the money maker with all those big names.

Looking at the way streamers are set up, I think it would make sense to have soap hubs. CBS/Paramount Plus could have Sunset Beach, 90210, Dynasty, Bright Promise with their current episodes of B&B, Y&R and The Gates. Maybe add classic collections for the Bell soaps. ABC is in the best position to do this between Ryan's Hope, Loving/The City, Port Charles, All My Children, One Life To Live and General Hospital. I'm not sure what soaps NBC/Peacock own, but if they had Passions, it would definitely get some eyeballs on Peacock.

So far it's just available on the live channel. This is an odd rollout, but I'm hopeful they expand it soon. At the very least they could make it available for purchase.

I think he would've been a better Tucker than Trevor St. John. TSJ has a problem where if he isn't 100% invested in the story, he gives up and you can tell in his performances. I feel like DeVry would've worked better as Bryton's father and he's just an overall better actor.

I'm towards the end of 1993 and I'm REALLY struggling to stick with the show. A major story is Taylor is in Scotland with James working through his issues with his parents. The show is so slow and I'm not interested in anything that is airing. I hope that it shifts once I hit 1994 which I think is in just a few episodes. Wasn't 1993 the year that Bill Bell gave the reigns over to Brad? Maybe that is why I'm noticing this shift.

I'm watching the early years, currently in 1993 and I don't think Hunter was ever a great actress. She was beautiful and charismatic like Ronn Moss and they both worked in their roles, but they didn't have a ton to offer in terms of acting ability. Rebecca Budig on B&B isn't a horrible idea. I could see her as Kristen (written like her original run) or even Felicia. She does well in those spitfire roles. They could've even made her Kimberly. I just don't think she physically comes off like Taylor or a mother to 40 year old kids with grandkids. I also can't see her playing a straight heroine like that. Casting her as Taylor is taking away all of the things she's known for.

Oh wow! I guess my timing of buying the first two seasons wasn't awful. While I have no intention of watching the show on Plex, I think that is a good first step. I'm sure they'll expand it at least to purchase.

The way I always saw it was that Laura and Val were genuine friends and the Karen/Val connection came from Michele and Joan's love for each other. As the show started minimizing Laura's role, the relationship with Val was gone. Karen's closest friendships tended to be with the men IMO. People like Richard or Gary. And of course Abby was a wonderful relationship for her.

I don't think Victoria Rowell sings, but if she did get the role of Betty, they could change her back story to mirror Rowell's being a ballerina and incorporate that. It would lend itself nicely to the wealth they're trying to portray.

Rebecca Budig is all wrong for the role just based on what I've seen her do in the past. She seems too young, isn't the right look and I can't see her filling the characteristics that make Taylor who she is. This is just another Brad Bell last minute stunt. They had a good Taylor and lost interest. Regardless of how Budig does in the role, he will lose interest again and it'll just be up to if she's willing to stay on recurring once this intro story is done.

I imagine it would be cheaper to survive in Atlanta which might entice people to move. So many actors, including soap stars have already migrated to Atlanta due to the amount of jobs available.

VR posted this picture on Twitter and the new look and glam team makes me feel like she has something big she's going out for....could it be The Gates?

VR had a recurring role on CBS' primetime show Good Sam in 2022 and they heavily promoted her being on the show. She also had a movie released to theaters earlier this summer called Summer Camp and went on a promo tour for it. I think she's done a good job of keeping her name out there, it's just a matter of time before she lands something big that sticks. My only concern is that I know she's doing a show for Netflix/Tyler Perry, but the way he films his shows she probably could do both.

Should yall already be nervous considering MVJ was a producer and key part of the writing staff of Ambitions? People love to place all the blame on Jamey, but MVJ and Susan Dansby were also producers and pitching stories and writing episodes. Personally I enjoyed Ambitions (despite Robin Givens being miscast) and I was happy to see it get a second life on streaming. I think it was a good show but on the wrong network. I thought the show was well plotted and felt like a classic primetime soap with modern sensibilities. I also loved that it had a very diverse writing staff with people of all ages. I hope more of the younger talent gets snatched up, which we're already seeing on some of the other soaps. That show may have lasted one season but it's had a strong impact on the daytime community and created a lot of jobs. Not to mention, Ambitions is what put MVJ on Sheila Duckworth's radar for The Gates.

I've been ready for a re-watch, but with the streaming thing not done yet I decided to buy the first two seasons so I could start re-watching in good quality. I'm going to try to spread the episodes out to the end of the year in hopes it's released in November/December like Dallas was last year. So far I've done the first three episodes of season one and I'm reminded at what a good job David Jacobs did of establishing the series. The self-contained format could be hit or miss on some of the primetime soaps, but it works really well here. My biggest takeaways this time is how unique the character of Laura was from day one. The immediately establish Richard as a scoundrel with a lust for power and the way he disregards her is pretty amazing. It's episode two and we're already running into one of her previous hookups and Richard pressures her into sleeping with him to get ahead at work. Then when he finds out he manipulated her into thinking that isn't what he wanted which is how he maintains control of her. Another thing I had missed in all my previous viewings is that Kenny was having an affair with Sid's daughter Annie. I think that's an interesting nugget to place in the pilot since Kenny and Ginger give us our first ever cliffhanger when Ginger learns of Kenny's affair with Sylvie. I was a big fan of these characters and hate we didn't get more from them. Kim Lankford mentioned that when they left the show the plan was to give them a Nashville set spin-off but James Houghton didn't want to do it which upset her. I would've enjoying seeing them in their element.

I don't know that Vivica wouldn't stay long term. She's already acknowledged she's interested in appearing on the show. I think it would be nice for her to have a long term regular gig that pays well. She would still have time to do some tv movies and outside projects much like Jackee on Days.

She already announced a young writer of color on Twitter last night. I believe it's someone she worked with on Ambitions. I'm sure they'll have diversity in the Script Writers/Breakdown Writers.. It makes sense to put established people at the top.

That means they season would wrap in September. The show is a midseason replacement in the 24-25 season. A renewal would start in September. CBS Daytime now goes by the primetime model.

In recent years CBS Daytime has started putting emphasize on seasons for their soaps. I'm sure we'll know long before that if it's renewed, but they're basically treating their daytime shows like primetime in terms of renewals now. I'm glad more news is out! I hope fans don't flip about the Guza news. This makes sense considering she's worked with him before and he's a great choice. He knows how to plot high impact stories and one of the big killers for new soaps is they tend to be slow in the beginning. I'm sure they'll be a magic combo. The best part of this news is Atlanta for filming! I've been keeping my fingers crossed for this. Filming in LA is just not worth it these days. It would've been a mistake to film there and give us another cramped soap like the Bell soaps have become. In ATL they'll be able to get a studio with space to provide sets that actually represent what they're trying to show. A more modern look will also help the show gain a larger audience. Excited to see who they cast but with November for a start date we still have a long ways to wait until they announce casting. I do wish they were filming with more of a lead in case they need to do reshoots. Audiences have a short attention span so they really need to get it right from the beginning. The days of starting mediocre and improving are gone. Everything is going the way I'd hoped so far. Now just keeping my fingers crossed for Victoria Rowell as Betty. I imagine we'll see a Real Housewife on the show as well.

I'm currently in December 1999, but I will say, from the bits I've seen of them together, I think Andy and Denise should've been a long term couple. In general I'm shocked Denise didn't last longer. She was a big part of carrying 1999 and Cassandra Creech gave great performances. I can't help but think that if she was white with that level of talent she may have had a career similar to Maura West on the show.

When Days joined Peacock they cited needing programming that could drive year round subscriptions. They would find success with short limited series and people would cancel after it was over. Days gives them what they were looking for and the first quarter after they added Days showed a big jump in subscribers. Nobody is going to come right out and say a soap is the reason for their success, but the signs are all there. It's probably the cheapest show they have other than reality tv and it drives subscriptions. There is a reason we're also getting The Gates. I strongly believe the soaps overall a lot more successful on streaming than we realize, for the exact same reason: year round subscriptions. Every streaming network was wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on these prestige shows which didn't give them the returns they wanted. Those days are largely over post-strike. Max is even getting back into the network swing of things with a 16 episode medical drama, which will be released weekly and will have a normal budget.

Days is so cheap to make and stays in the Top 10 (often in the Top 5) on Peacock, so I wouldn't be concerned about it's renewal. It's one of the few things driving year round subscriptions and the price point makes it an obvious choice to stay. One year of Days costs less than any of their 8-10 episode limited series. Also, I would be open to Ron at Y&R, but I can't see them making a change although it would be smart considering The Gates is coming. They should be working overtime to get the Bell soaps in tip top shape so the ratings are strong to be a good lead in. Personally I'd put Ron at B&B where he'd absolutely shine, but Brad Bell has a hold on that show despite phoning it in.

I do like Leo, despite the dreadful writing. In order for Leo to work, they should lean into making him a male version of Sami. Sami does awful things, but her deep connections with her family is what allows us to forgive us. Had they kept Diana the same as she was before, they could've saved the character. I would've kept her the same and also given him a good sibling and allow them to show the characters humanity and try to convince him not to do his bad deeds. Help us understand the root of his issues.