Alan

Not sure, but he is followed by Daphnee Duplaix: https://www.instagram.com/allekks.1/?hl=en https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/1471787-4244334-11717

I noticed that too! Donnell is played by Alex Cheeks. The credits zoomed by too quickly for me to see who is playing Deanna.

I despair every time I see Naomi at Orphey Gene's with confidential legal papers spread out over the sticky tables.

Looks like Anita's departure coincides with Tamara Tunie leaving to direct Stompin' at the Savoy in Delaware. It's a smart way to write her out temporarily. I expect the Articulettes to go on tour whenever a new project takes Tunie away from BTG. Hopefully that means we will see more Tracy and Sharon in the future.

I was happy to see Caroline again even in one short scene. This was her first appearance since April 3. I was wondering why we haven't seen her, since Hayley desperately needs a talk-to aside from Bill. I am also wondering where Jacob's partner is. Does Marcel have an opinion on Jacob spending so much time on the Laura case? Especially since Marcel warned Jacob about allowing his family to get in the way of police business. I liked seeing some vulnerability from Leslie today when she begged Eva to give her the helmet and gloves back. I'm still wondering how she will get out of the corner she has been written into. When we were first introduced to Leslie, she seemed like she might be a Machiavelli but since then it's clear that she more of a haphazard villainess doesn't seem to have a long term plan aside from causing random chaos. Chelsea's desperation is cringeworthy but I actually think it's fairly realistic for someone who is closeted or newly out.

When she first appeared, I was sure she was setting Tyrell up for a prank. She was too much of a manic pixie dream girl- I wasn't surprised Tyrell also became suspicious. Now I'm not so sure. If Jessica genuinely likes Tyrell, it seems like a missed opportunity to not have started her out as a bully, then we see her gradually catch feelings for Tyrell. The McBrides are definitely the "C" family of BTG. They always get last priority. There have been a few times where the Doug/Vanessa/Joey characters reference off screen conversations which seem too important to not show us. Like when Doug thanked Joey for giving him extra time to pay off the loan. When did that happen? Or when we abruptly moved from Vanessa/Joey at Uptown to Vanessa/Doug in the hotel room. The McBrides don't even have their own set - even though Vanessa is a realtor. It's a shame because I am a fan of the characters and actors. I am also adjusting to KR as Ted but I feel that AM and MJ had way more chemistry as father and daughter than AM and KR. We saw Eva dream of having a real relationship with MJ's version of Ted for months so it's a bit of a bummer not to have that payoff with the original actor except for those scenes in MJ's last episode. Something I noticed about Eva today is how she takes genuine delight in being a schemer. As badly as she wants to be a Richardson, she still has so much of her mom in her. It was jarring seeing her earnestly promise to steer clear of Leslie in her scene with Ted, then immediately switch attitudes when her mom showed up. I'm very surprised with how quickly the accident story has been moving along. I was sure that it would be months if not years before people figured out it was Leslie on the motorcycle, not to mention responsible for the potassium overdose. I'm looking forward to seeing how MVJ and Guza avoid writing Leslie into a corner. Finally, I have been loving the Articulettes story. Bonita Brisker was just the right amount of OTT - remember Sharon is supposed to be even more angry than Tracy is. If Sharon didn't come in swinging, people would say she fell flat. The way Sharon and Tracy describe the breakup is so Supremes-meet-Original Recipe Destiny's Child. I get the sense that MVJ is re-writing the Return to Love Tour as a roman a clef, and I love it. I'm looking forward to finding out what the secret they share is. If Dante Green is as shady as Berry Gordy was, it's something dark. If/when they go through with the reunion, I expect Dante to show up and claim to own the Articulettes trademark in a Lou Pearlman-esque twist.

Seeing Nicole and Martin together reminds me of watching Alice with Mickey Horton in the 90s and 00s. The seem more like peers than mother and son. The younger half of the cast (35ish and below) is playing younger, and the older half (35+) is playing older.

Do we think Shelley Curtis is the director KM said was brought out of retirement to help them set up the production side of BTG?

A random thought - June is related to Hayley AND Tyrell and Samantha. Hayley and June are sisters separated when young. Years later June's children Ty and Sam end up being adopted into the Dupree family, coincidentally giving Hayley a further link to that family.

I think maybe Andre is subconsciously looking for a caretaker/nurturer in his life to replace his parents. That would explain his attraction to both Ashley (nurse) and Dani (older woman/his aunt's sister). I don't see any chemistry between Ashley and Andre though. In fact Andre and Derek had more chemistry in the pasta night episode than either of them have ever had with Ashley.

The new Ted comes off as older to me. His stature and appearance remind me of Vernon but without Vernon's charisma. He doesn't have the presence MJ had. Maybe KR will surprise us in the future but I'm not really invested in Ted as a character anymore.

When I saw the pic of two kids on a stoop, I immediately though it was Samantha and Tyrell but that could be a red herring. The picture is quite old so maybe it is Hayley and June. This would help to bring Naomi back into Hayley and Bill's orbit. If June is Tyrell and Samantha's mother, that story would seem to be a dead end - unless Martin and Smitty adopted them through improper means. I did wonder if Anastasia is who Shanice has been chatting with during her shift. Her line to Ted about making her mouth even bigger? I was scandalized. Anastasia has to return soon.

I would love to see it as part of a backlot shopping district where characters can bump into one another in a more natural way. Lately there has too much getting up and leaving then coming back during meals at Orphey's and Uptown. It's becoming a distraction. There could be shops, more restaurants and a coworking space. All of the "you will never be a Dupree" lines definitely are pointing to this. This is one of my favorite stories. I love stories about show business and MVJ has a background in the music industry so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. Anita instigated the breakup - we have already seen her mean streak come out with Hannah and Eva. I expect one member (she called Sharon today) to be holding a grudge and another member (Tracy) to be somewhat bitter but more open to the idea of a tour, playing the role of peacemaker between Anita and Sharon. Maybe Sharon will pull a Mary Wilson and write tell-all about Anita.

Luke and Darlene. It was mentioned that Luke is also on the police force so we might see him soon. I agree, if we see any scenes between Dana/Leslie and Kat in the coming weeks it will further fuel my babyswitch theory.

Watching this right now, BC mentions that Samantha and Tyrell were initially 6 and 7, but aged up for technical reasons. Also MM initially auditioned for Derek.