Faulkner

NAC seems to be taking to his raised profile like the proverbial fish to water. He certainly has his Blue Steel down better than his Menendez brother. Cooper Koch looks like a different “It” actor every time I see him. Looking forward to the big reviews.

I mean, this guy really wanted to be a mafioso. Sickening, but also confirmation of all the rumors over the years that people made jokes about:

Been a rough couple of weeks with deaths of Black celebrities who have inspired so many, from James Earl Jones, who lived a long life yet felt immortal, to Frankie Beverly, who was so beloved in the Black community, to the unbelievably shocking passings of Fatman Scoop (after collapsing at a performance), Rich Homie Quan (at 34), and Michaela DePrince (just 29 and at the same time as her adoptive mother?!!) and now Tito Jackson, who was such a key figure in that family’s story. Very depressing.

This dude is just a monster.

Totally. His songs always summoned a Sunday afternoon vibe.

Frankie Beverly of Frankie Beverly and Maze has passed away:

Danke! 🥰

At this point—from a purely creative standpoint—I feel the old soaps need to be replaced with new shows. To quote Madame VP, we need fresh shows “unburdened by what has been.” THE GATES will be an interesting test case. I’m still skeptical but it’s the only glimmer we have.

You better preach!

These current soaps are abominations that make me angry (beyond the overall quality, the racist Black erasure/marginalization we’re witnessing with Y&R/GH/B&B is especially unacceptable in 2024—I don’t follow DAYS at all anymore), but just echoing your excitement about the world that MVJ appears to be building and I’m glad that more information is coming out. (I was begging for some thread of hope for the genre—the three current network soaps are shameful.) These character descriptions for THE GATES sound “specific” in a way characters on the legacy shows are no longer allowed to be. Characters on Y&R/GH/B&B are just tools to be used to serve whatever half-baked “storylines” (if you can even call them that) that TPTB think might sustain their dwindling viewership. Veteran characters coasting on past glories and name recognition—the Victors and the Sonnys—just feel so worn out and picked over. (I’m no longer even gonna acknowledge B&B anymore. That show is the pits.)