Liberty City

original release date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | writers: Jamey Giddens, Skyy Sandifer | director: Michael V. Pomarico Thoughts: I must have missed the part where Katherine was going to be houseless? Because Chelsea and Madison are engaged? Sure, we will go with that... Dana wants Eva? I could have sworn she was talking about recruiting Ted from the hospital. Wow! One year at Garland Memorial! That is amazing for Ashley and while not the best of gifts, at least Lia got her something, right? The thought is there and that is what counts. Katherine may not want to see a naked man making breakfast in the kitchen but I would never turn it down... depending on who that man is. 🤣 And good on Tomas for turning her down. Stand your ground. Elon is going to use Naomi as a way of getting Jacob out of his undercover gig. But at what cost could it be? Instead of 'clickity-clacking' on the keyboard, they did it on the phone and straight up hung up on Dana like they should. Look at the brickhouse (a.k.a. Derek) being useful... for once. Maybe he is reconsidering his decision to turn down the job offer? Ba-bam! Own your father-in-law, Naomi. Show him what is up and what he should be doing as chief of police. I am so glad to see Ashley and Shanice have grown into a friendship. I never would have called this a year ago. But it is wonderful to see. Elon continuing to dog his own son is very off-putting. He clearly has a personal vendetta set against Izaiah for whatever his reasons happen to be. Katherine would be the kind of socialite to buy a poodle and name it something ridiculous like Rihanna. Now Dana is putting the hots on for Elon? She will stop at nothing. No man is off-limits, are they? Notes: A horrible breakdown by writer2 today. Horrible. And despite Sandifer doing good work lately, this was easily her worst script day. Never pair these two together ever again. Sandifer deserves better and writer2 deserves to be unemployed peddling subpar wishful castings. Lami (Izaiah) NEEDS TO STOP BOBBING HIS DAMN HEAD. It makes me sick every single time he is onscreen. Either fix this or write the dang role out. It is not one that is necessary to the canvas at this point.

Writers: Jamey Giddens Skyy Sandifer Director: Michael V. Pomarico

Crew Morrow was giving his father today and in the best way. YES! PLEASE!

I concur; the casting of the main characters (Anita, Dani, Nicole, and Vernon) was brilliantly done. You can tell there was intention and detail put into casting those roles, and they aced them perfectly. I believe in them as family. Plus, I was not the biggest fan of Karla Mosley in her previous daytime roles and was unfamiliar with Daphnée Duplaix's work prior to Beyond the Gates, and I have become a fan of hers!

Considering Kelly Clarkson chose to end her talk show and Debmar-Mercury thankfully put Sherri Shepherd's talk show out of its misery, this feels like a mercy renewal. It really does. I like Jennifer Hudson but she is not built to be a talk show host at all.

Sucks because NBC fumbled the bag with this series. Reminds me of how they did Smash so wrong. Wishing everyone the best if this does get ultimately kicked to the curb.

You mean Eldante?

Sorry. Forgot to warn you. I failed you. But I've been absently-watching lately.

Credits for Tuesday, February 24, 2026: Created by: Frank & Doris Hursley Executive producer: Frank Valentini Head writers: Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte Writers: Nigel Campbell; Stacey Pulwer and Cathy Lepard Director: Jillian Dedote

original release date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026 | writers: Teresa Zimmerman, Danielle Paige | director: Phideaux Xavier Thoughts: Hayley does not give a hoot about Bill's law licence. She cares about his bank account and the money she will be given if/when she executes her con to its fullest extent. Donnell! Baby! Welcome back! It is so nice to see you back in Fairmont. I hope Vanessa allows you to stay at long last! Poor June is still reeling from Nathan. Trust Samantha; June, Donnell is top-level. class. My goodness... what kind of shenanigans is Joey attempting to get into where Wesley is concerned? Poor Vanessa. The pain of losing Doug is still there and it is rooted deep. I feel bad. And not Deanna being set up with Vanessa's escort service. Oh, that has got to hit her deep down on the inside. No bueno. Not Katherine trying to defend Hayley. That is not it... good on Tomas for trusting his instincts, too. Not this random man getting paid off for being used as a con for Hayley and Lynette. That is insane. Sign me up for that, too! Francesca is as nasty as her grandmother. And it is unbecoming of her. Not June just tossing the bag with the food at Francesca. She owned that moment. Hope her food was destroyed in the process. Aw, these moments between Donnell and Samantha are truly sweet. It is nice seeing them bond over their joint interests in the way they are. Forever? So she wants to move in now? Notes: Love me a Zimmerman and Paige today after Jazmen Darnell Brown yesterday? Two of the best scriptwriters with one of the standout breakdown writers! We love to see this. Xavier is back! I have missed his vision so much in this soap. It has been too long! HAPPY ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO THIS MARVELOUSLY WONDERFUL NOT-TO-MISS SOAP OPERA! It has been a blessing watching every single episode live this past year. Hoping Katherine's wanting to move in with Tomas introduces his home set. That would be something interesting to see, as their sets are unbeatable.

Writers: Teresa Zimmerman Danielle Paige Director: Phideaux Xavier

A great find. Thanks so much; we usually see Anne Heche like this. It's nice to see Wheeler's portrayals like this.

To each their own. I've always appreciated that they've never tried to make Crimson Lights something else it wasn't meant to be. During either Jill's tenure or Mal's tenure, we got an update to the main counter, which was a nice change. But it didn't change the entire set (which is not needed). It's that one comfortable place people can go to that's still familiar and from a particular time period (much like the Abbott/Newman sets).

Honestly, seeing a soap from the beginning of production to DAY ONE of airing has been a blessing. Yes, it's had its ups and downs, but overall, it's been a true joy seeing Beyond the Gates kick off with classic, pre-Dynasty-era soap storytelling from a character-driven focus. I can only hope they continue on the up-and-up as 2026 continues to roll on with their second year. Let's keep this amazing work up!

Crimson Lights is fine as it is. smfh.

Oh, excellent. Thanks so much for sharing that!

Credits for Monday, February 23, 2026: Created by: Frank & Doris Hursley Executive producer: Frank Valentini Head writers: Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten Writers: Micah Steinberg; Steve Rosenburg and Cathy Lepard Director: Nate Hapke

'Child bride' was first used by Dani in reference to Hayley early on. 😉

original release date: Monday, February 23, 2026 | writers: Teresa Zimmerman, Jazmen Darnell Brown | director: Steven Williford Thoughts: It did not seem like Samantha was working on her project when she was grounded. Just seems like she is stalling and not wanting to do the project itself. Both Dani and Nicole are very perceptive of Anita's behaviour (use of the elevator instead of the stairs). The continued public meetings of the cousins and Lynette are beginning to be too risky; Joey is catching onto what's going on. So is Lynette 'Deguise Boutique'? Or is that Randy? For a con artist, she sucks at it. I wonder what innocent person was arrested for Lynette's plan of action. Not Hayley going soft. She is losing her bite with this con. Get over yourself. Name the damn man or fess up. It is lovely seeing the family rally and gather around Anita as she heads off to sit down with Gayle King. And I appreciate that Anita is still standing strong to protect the family, despite this being about her and her current journey with cancer. Jacob is doing decently keeping his cover around Ren. I just hope he is able to keep up the façade. It is nice to see Nicole and Martin rally around Samantha and show her that they both have their moments of feeling like she is. Lynette is going to play Hayley for all she is worth and then some, and I know Hayley's hands will be tied so tight she will be bled dry. Anita handled her segment with Gayle King excellently. She is a professional; she kept it tight, emoted when necessary, provided education for the audience watching and listening, and showed her strength from the inside out. Careful, June. You are about to be placed into the crossfires of something you will not want to be involved in. Notes: Love me a Zimmerman and Brown script day! They are both exceptional at their jobs, and this soap benefits greatly from their talents. As comfortable and cosy as Mike Manning's (Bradley) sweater looks, Brandon Clayton's (Martin) looks equally as itchy. The continued family dynamics of this soap are some of its strong points. It does not feel forced or overcompensating. Were the segments for CBS Mornings filmed on the actual CBS Mornings set? I know Clifton Davis (Vernon) is not there, but I do wonder if Tamara Tunie (Anita) traveled to CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and they used all of their cameras to do this. If so, that is brilliant. The continued partnership with Know Your Lemons is fantastic. I can only hope lives will be changed and saved by this ongoing campaign.

Writers: Teresa Zimmerman Jazmen Darnell Brown Director: Steven Williford

Brooke is ugly from the inside out. Such a self-centred, plastic-looking bïtch. Disgusting and vile. She and Ridge belong with each other with their joint ugliness, matched with self-righteous indignation.

Chelsea vs. Sally was kind of fun today. It was nice seeing both have some claws, which I feel like Josh Griffith filed too far down. Sally telling Chelsea she's being a Newman and it's where she belongs, as well as calling her out for cheating on Billy, was priceless. Simple dialogue with some historic background. That WORKS! Plus, a bit of that history between Kyle and Noah, mixed in with Audra? Let's keep those stories going, shall we?

It's likely Mariah is going to the same facility Patty has been held in, as part of Mariah's likely plea deal for kidnapping Dominic.