Faulkner

Obviously, accepting a recast isn’t like flipping a switch; it’s often a gradual, imperceptible process of getting used to someone. However, do you remember a time or a storyline when a recast really came into their own in a role? Hell, it could be Day One if you didn’t particularly like the previous portrayal (or if the role wasn’t particularly fleshed out, like an adult actor assuming a role through SORAS). Or perhaps they just nailed it straight out of the gate. But was there a story or a relationship or an interaction when, say, Hillary B. Smith felt like Margo on ATWT or you came to accept Karen Witter as Tina on OLTL, to cite examples of two successful recasts?

Full trailer for the upcoming season:

BBCA ran a poll for a 50th anniversary fan special, and Donna was overwhelmingly voted as the favorite companion. Apparently, that result didn’t sit well with the brand managers in the UK, especially since Billie Piper was returning as a “companion” for the 50th.

Dan Feuerriegel

Well, well, Brenda Lee!

Tony hired Lujack to work at Company. Here’s one of their scenes. VI mentioned that he and the person later got to a good place but I’ve heard a lot of stuff about GA’s behavior.

Watching now. Wow at this. He said the actor physically assaulted him twice.

Yeah, JG loves dancing to the golden oldies. The rushing through the story doesn’t help. I admire CZ’s promotion of the story (saw her Locher Room interview), but it’s most certainly NOT classic soap beyond the superficial. The pivot from Newman CEO swaps to this gave me whiplash.

No one the networks would be willing to hire either. The people they’d consider would be the hackiest of hacks, dutiful corporate sycophants, or nepo hires.

Yep, it’s usually some male villain or antihero. Bill Bell did a good job in making Victor, Jack, and Paul feel like real, complex men with lifelong psychological baggage, but his writing for them rarely felt indulgent. Bell didn’t always signal to us how “broken” Jack or Victor were or how their behavior stemmed from an effed-up childhood or simply the desperate need for wuv. But when it came to later characters like Kevin Fisher, who did some pretty heinous stuff, they seemed to go the overboard with the trauma porn to make female viewers sympathize with them. Plus, they had these ‘charismatic’ actors like Greg Rikaart and Billy Miller they used for clout and Emmys. I think a lot of it was influenced by what GH was doing to capture younger viewers and the trend of having ‘sexy’ antiheroes (a la Tony Soprano and Don Draper) that really took off in the 2000s.

“Don’t let me whip your ass like your mama should’ve!” I know she gets hate, but Heavenly is one of the funniest Bravolebrities to me.

The drift toward man pain—exemplified by the sob stories of the Baldwin-Fisher brothers, Adam Newman, and Billy Abbott—is one of the most dreadful things to happen to Y&R.

Right during “Fairytale of New York” season. So sad.

A superb character actress:

This sh’t is laughable. Nick getting overpowered and stabbed by a 70-year-old woman while Victoria and Cole are completely oblivious. Claire already coming to the realization that she’s been deceived by Jordan.

I wish more soap writers in general familiarized themselves with these films. But it’s mandatory for Y&R (and lots of Josef von Sternberg, Hitchcock, and film noir for the darker shifts and villain stories).

Watched some of that Wendy/Nneka mess from last night’s Potomac. Ugh, that whole scene was cringe, and not in a good way. Ashley, Gizelle, and Mia all gotta go. It’s not fun.

Exactly. It’s not hitting the way it’s supposed to hit. 3-6 months minimum was needed for this. It does feel thrown together like a “shape up or ship out” moment for JG. Then again, Cameron Kirsten’s return was easily slapdash.