All: One soaps budget cut by 50% according to DC

[NYC123]

Maybe finally from the higher ups are considering making serious changes?

[dragonflies]

Maybe this is why MB and VM had like a week off not too long ago.......

[bellcurve]

No! GH is gonna look like sh*t!

JFP: Baby, go, get out now while you can and retire without having GH's soon-to-be-disastrous production values on your hands.

[Ann_SS]

I think I believe Branco that it is GH though it worries me that he agreed with me that TC should have been the one to go not RH. It makes sense. Some of us have been wondering about GH's budget since it kept hiring people and BA did say that it was scary that GH's budget had been slashed. Fifty percent is a lot to cut any budget though. Maybe ABC is doubling up on taping and going dark for longer periods like B&B. More lesser used actors may be taken off contract also. I wonder if this means the Ausiello rumor about ABC renegotiating contacts is also GH?

[dragonflies]

I've read there's rewrites going on and that NLG, IR and a few others are next.

[bellcurve]

They should have used the bus crash as the opportunity to off some of these people.

My poor GH! I can't believe they're getting a budget cut!

No offense, but can't they cut something/someone from AMC/OLTL like they've done in years past?

[Juliajms]

I agree that TC's time has come as well. Still, I do firmly believe budget is the reason BH was let go. Sadly, I think they are going to have to let go of a couple more mid leval vets soon. How else are they going to cut the budget by 50%? I won't be surprised at all to see TC go in the near future.

[LoyaltoAMC]

I read an interview with a GH actor on welovesoaps.com. Forgot who it was, but I think it was recent. They mentioned that soon they'll be shooting three weeks out of the month, with the studio dark for the remaining week.

[Juliajms]

Plus, they are doing the repeats a few times a month to save money. Still, I have to believe more long time characters are going to have to be sacrificed. This really feels like the beginning of the end for ABCD soaps.

Would it be his choice or does this type of decision come from higher up?

[LoyaltoAMC]

If this is all true, I'd think that this would be the end of road for possibly Ingle, Grahn, Rademacher, and Christopher. Probably not wise to speculate to speculate, but they would seem the most likely to go, since they serve little story purpose. I could see them offering Ingle and Grahn recurring, but we all know that recurring status is an abyss at GH. They can also cut the writing staff, makeup people, etc. I don't think it'll be that noticeable in terms of production values. It's not likely that anyone at ABC would let GH turn into Peapack West.

[bellcurve]

It may not be Peapack West, but GH will be entering GL 2005-2007 territory very soon. Most scenes taking place in the hospital or at Jake's. Less of people's apartments/homes.

Even cutting staffers in technical departments won't make up for 50%. Some of the bigger names are gonna have to take massive paycuts or get fired(i.e. Burton/Benard/Wright/Monaco). I mean, you're right on the money about Ingle/Grahn/Rademacher/Christopher. But I'm betting that's not gonna be all.

[DRW50]

GH should be able to survive drastic cuts more than GL could because GH has always been limited to a few settings and GH only really tells story which involves about ten people at most. There are so many characters who have no purpose.

The problem is the characters GH adores are so inert and unable to provide story now.

[quartermainefan]

The way Days did was to cut a ton of characters, backburner most of the remaining players and turn the entire show over to Chelsea, Sami, that blond Horton guy now on 90210 and NuShawn and NuBelle. Except for Sami everyone had to be dirt cheap. I just don't see how it saves money to cut the cheapest actors you don't use and play up and pay more the already overpaid people who are on already. Back in 2006 Days was so desperate for actors to go to they even turned to Abe, Lexi, Tek and Celeste.

[Ann_SS]

I always thought that Days did the right thing by firing the highest paid actors. This is exactly what I have said many a time that GH should do. Clean house. Dump Jason, Carly, Luke, and Sonny to save a ton of money, but of course, GH won't do this.

The demand for budget cuts would come from executives above Frons. From all reports, GH is the ABC daytime show with the largest budget so it is natural that it would have to suffer the most.

[LoyaltoAMC]

If they do start cutting on-screen talent, I'd think the only safe people are Benard, Wright, Burton, JJ, McCullough, and Geary, and probably the teen actors who cost nothing. Oh and Marcil, for however long she decides to hang around. I know Luke is essentially irrelevant, but Geary is such an icon, I don't see them cutting him loose. Most of the other contract actors could be fired or bumped to recurring, and it's not like anyone would even notice. Slightly off topic, but it's too bad they couldn't get Charleson back for a short story arc before the show went totally to budget hell, so that they could at least give some closure to the Jason-Quartermaine stuff...just something emotionally satisfying to the audience who've watched all these years, instead of leaving that hanging.