Faulkner

The lack of Tamara Tunie was disappointing, to be sure. We can talk about her offscreen availability and all the inside-baseball stuff, but none of that would matter to casuals: She was a major reason why there was initial excitement around the premiere. She’s not a household name, but she’s high-profile enough to land a seat next to Stephen Colbert. You’d want Anita front and center and mixing it up all over town, and that just wasn’t happening. I wish the men were more compelling too. And a predominantly white soap would never give the Black equivalent of an Ashley that sort of fawning platform (only Evangeline from OLTL has ever had something similar and we see how eventually that turned out—one of the most ho-hum, insulting departures ever). But if they were going to foist Ashley upon us to appease white Middle America, at least make the girl interesting (and worth the attention of the show’s most charismatic Black leading man). Not this walking, talking corn muffin. I could go on, but there’s a lot of potential, though, and I think they’ll have plenty of time to make some adjustments.

For people who watch live, what’s the transition between B&B and BTG like? Do they roll the abbreviated credits for B&B after an ad break and segue into BTG (as they once did for The Talk), or are they segueing from the final B&B scene/cliffhanger, followed by shortened credits (no ad break) right into BTG?

Ambyr should be really be the star. She’s radiant.

This show has a lot of room to grow with its Black male characters, which I’m cautiously optimistic about. That’s the bee in my bonnet about daytime in general, that Black male portrayals on soaps are usually as interesting as cardboard. Yes, this is a female-oriented genre, but it’s nothing without fascinating, sexy, complicated men. Martin, Bill, Vernon, and Andre all have potential. Andre’s the only one whose POV feels on the same level (or greater) as his female counterparts right now. We see his longing for Ashley, etc. Jacob had a quick moment, but I’m not sold on that character other than his body, and he feels disposable. Even though it’s early days still, the fact that Martin hasn’t had a single meaningful interaction with his own father thus far has been concerning. Martin on paper is potentially an incredible character. Everyone feels like they’re hermetically sealed in their plot-driven silos for the moment, which I sorta get from a “let’s get this show on the road” standpoint. They’re also setting up for big reveals around Martin’s dreams and Bill and Vernon’s role in a potential cover-up, the plane crash that claimed Andre’s parents, et al, so they are playing their cards close to their vest. Dani is definitely becoming Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. Would love to see who is the Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to Anita’s Diana Ross. (Maybe there was a Flo Ballard counterpart too who suffered an ill fate.)

That’s lightning in a bottle. You can’t plan what they have. And, yes, I hope the writers know what a rare treasure they have here with these two actresses.

They’re the breakouts of this show for me. Like the Sprina of sibling rivals. They’re transcendent.

I posted the same thing on another board. Dani is getting the Phyllis/Carly special without ever being viewed as a villain. Phyllis and Carly at least were pariahs originally.

Just popping in. There’s a lot to be excited about (even with a frustrating character, Karla Mosley already has a winning Lead Actress reel from the confrontation with Haley at Bill’s). The expansive sets are glorious, Friday’s Dupree dance-off was the type of fun character-building moment daytime forgot how to do, and it feels refreshing to watch a soap that can actually afford set changes, events with extras and day players, etc., the very things we took for granted when soaps had real budgets. Loving Eva/Kat’s “sibling” rivalry and Leslie’s campy treachery. That story has my attention. It’s early days so I’m willing to be patient with the many issues, like the rushing through plot points, hit-or-miss dialogue, and weak casting for the supporting roles. Monday’s episode was an absolute disaster IMO after a strong first couple of weeks. Like that’s the kind of drivel I expect from the legacy soaps. I’m getting annoyed with the almighty Duprees (too early for that!) and agree with whoever said that Martin and Dani’s kids should have been Nicole and Dani’s siblings instead. Not buying Chelsea and Naomi as Dani’s kids at all. Even putting the real-life actors’ ages aside, I’m just not feeling the maternal aspect of Dani yet, even from a dysfunctional place (and the Bill obsession is already getting old). Tamara is young enough to be the mother of two twentysomethings. I’m also not impressed with many of the male cast aside from Clifton (who carries the right gravitas and quiet danger as Vernon) and the tall, sexy TKB/Bill. Ashley is not working at all, and I have no clue why Andre would be so enamored with such a dull woman. I wonder if we’ll start seeing Santa Barbara-level recasts in the coming months. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right people.

The Brazilians were happy about this win. She’s basically royalty in Brazil. Her mother Fernanda Montenegro is 95 and was nominated for Central Station 26 years ago:

NAC schmoozing with Glen Powell at the Golden Globes:

Demi definitely gave a good speech. Gotta think she’s a Best Actress frontrunner:

Yeah, I did a total double take when I saw it. She was immensely gifted, a lot like Jinkx Monsoon, and seemed to be doing so well. Very tragic. Sahara, Chi Chi, Cherry Valentine from the UK, Bandit from Thailand, and now Viv. From Michelle Visage:

The Vivienne died this weekend:

The Vivienne from Drag Race has died:

1 million views—did @YRBB ever believe this horny little gay thread would still be around and thriving a decade later?

Denis Kudla has announced his retirement from professional tennis, but reportedly he’s joining Reilly Opelka’s coaching team:

So horrible: Jeff Baena, director and husband of Aubrey Plaza, has died (some reports are saying he took his own life):

Liam went from completely overexposed to totally MIA. “I’m at a point where I’m trying to come up with his next chapter” is hilarious. Finn, Carter, and Zende are all that’s left of its Millennial male contingent, yet those three are barely characters at this point. A Thomas recast feels inevitable in the coming months. Not sure what went down with Matthew Atkinson.