OLTL: Couple Out

[DRW50]

I thought OTH was ending.

I can't see a Bell soap hiring them. They already hired two openly gay actors and probably see them as a failure so they may not do that again (with Scott), and the other thing is that they want people who were seen as popular. Eden and Marcy were seen as popular. Michael Logan has branded Kish as unpopular, as causing a ratings drop, as only supported by gays. None of that fits with what MAB/Rauch/Sheffer would want on their soap. They already have so many new faces who amount to nothing.

[DRW50]

I loved Gina on GL but I hate hate hate hate hate her Kelly. I thought this might change after Gina's decade away but so far I still don't like Kelly. She's so cold, it's unbelievable.

Cassie has barely been around in 10 years so you're not ignorant to not know her. You know there's a lot of good stuff with her on Youtube right? I have to admit I wasn't a big Cassie fan back then, but with time I've realized how important she was to Dorian as a character. Laura Koffman also acted the hell out of the sick exit story she was given.

Robin Strasser revives her Hotline long enough to advocate overthrowing the federal government.

[Scotty]

You know....I'm afraid to even speculate about it.

It's keeping me on the ball writing up all these articles. I think I have typed up 4 or 5 casting article in the past 48 hours. At this rate, I'll be up to a dozen by the end of the week.

[DRW50]

So, Scotty, have any of the casting announcements surprised you or did you think they were on the wall?

[All My Shadows]

Oh, I know Cassie, but you know, I don't have that warm feeling towards her that I probably should have. Like, I'm almost always interested when a character comes back after 10 years of being away, but she just never lit that fire in me to want to watch her like Alex did or Tina did or Cord did, and really, I've seen more of Cassie than I have of them (mostly mid-80s Cassie, though).

[Scotty]

I can just see the headline now. LOL

And you know, it's sad that they forced out Patricia Mauceri for the two or three scenes she was it during the height of the gay storyline......only to drop Kish alltogether less than a year later.

[DRW50]

I know what you mean. I never "got" Cassie when I was watching OLTL. I thought she was a drip, and self-righteous, and judgmental to Dorian, and I didn't like when she dumped Andrew. I know it sounds contrary to say wow, she was fired and then I loved her. I still have some of those same feelings about her when I watch her old stuff now but I am more impressed by Laura's work (I haven't seen a lot of the earlier Cassies, I haven't watched most of that yet). I think there is also more gravitas to Cassie in terms of her relationship with Dorian because of the years she had with Dorian and all the baggage, whereas, with Kelly, Adrianna, Langston, when they trash Dorian, I just see them as ungrateful wenches.

I can't say she is someone I rush to watch clips of (that's more Megan, Gabrielle, Tina) but after what's become of the Cramer women I've come to appreciate her more. I think Laura has also gotten a great deal of core strength in her acting in the past few years which she didn't have in her first stint, and which helps add to her brief scenes here, or at AMC.

Something tells me that may have been a matter of time anyway. If she was so upset over that that she tried to rewrite scenes, then she wasn't very happy period.

[Adam]

Farah's tirade, all the firings at OLTL, The Eden Riegel debacle at Y&R...... these are the things that are generating the most discussion the last few days. Its the perfect commentary on how crappy daytime television is at this point. The backstage drama continues to clearly UPSTAGE what's going on the stage

I love it!

[Scotty]

I was somewhat suprised that they decided to get rid of Scott Clifton when they did. But in a sense the writing was on the wall IMO...with Stacy dead, Kim leaving, Rex and Gigi getting back together, and Rachel on her way out....there wasn't a lot of viable options left available for Schuyler.

Austin Williams getting bumped to recurring didn't surprise me, since he was hardly used anyway. I have never really figured out why any show needs a kid on contract.

As for Kish, in a way I'm kind of surprised that they didn't just bump Brett Claywell down to recurring status as well. It seems odd that they would just choose to dump he and Scott Evans alltogether.

I would think that, strictly in terms of airtime, that the next contract actors to go would be David Fumero, Tika Sumpter, Jason Tam, Terrell Tilford, and Brittany Underwood. Although I have no knowledge one way or the other, but I would look for one or more of these people to be gone by the summer, or the end of the year at the latest. But that's just my two cents.

But who probably is at OLTL these days?

[DRW50]

Thanks for your insight!

If Terrell isn't gone yet I'm not sure he will be. I think they may keep him as a token, we'll see.

I think Jason Tam is going, and I won't be surprised if Mark Lawson, Susan Haskell, and KDP go too. Perhaps FL as well.

[dragonflies]

It's actually kind of sad when the back stage happenings are more interesting than the soaps themselves LOL

[Scotty]

You're welcome.

And I really see no use of keeping Terrell Tilford on contract if he is just going to become the dayplayer doctor at Llanview Hospital. And remember that all his family, along with his one-time girlfriend Vivian, are all recurring. Makes it difficult to drive a storyline IMO.

I think that people like ES, RS, RSW, JvD, and a few others may be 'safe,' but that pretty much everyone else is fair game.

And this may be some spring cleaning on OLTL's part, but remember all the casting calls that have went out recently. Granted some of them are only for dayplayer or recurring roles, but we know at least one (Glenn) is contract. So, it's looks like they're just freeing up more money instead of tightening the budget, so to speak.

[DRW50]

Greg does seem out of place, yet he's still there. They may just have him at the hospital, or to show up every once in a while and date Layla.

Not to change the subject, but it seems like every time on OLTL for years now that they have tried to diversify the canvas, there is an ugly pushback and most of the non-white/non-hetero faces go. I know there were a few years with the Gannon family and then a few years with Evangeline front and center, but I think of these firings, and how blatantly, and shockingly, JFP marginalized and degraded the black characters after her arrival, and the Rauch era...there seems to be such a resistance to OLTL ever being a truly diverse soap.

[Scotty]

You know OLTL/ABC is playing dirty when they waited until a few weeks after all these now fired cast members got settled into their new dressing rooms at the new studio before telling them that their services would no longer be required.

[DRW50]

I guess they didn't want to spoil the mood. I haven't watched those video interviews yet. I'm not sure if I will now