I'm not going to bother mentioning either of the Bell soaps due to the severe lack of quality. I'm going to base mine off the four soaps I've enjoyed this past year: Neighbours, Eastenders, Beyond the Gates and General Hospital
Best Couple
Dani/Andre (BTG) - They started off as a little fling but the chemistry turned them into a full-fledged couple that you can root for. I've enjoyed how mature and modern their relationship has been handled. In addition to sex, they also were real friends that trusted each other with their hearts which enabled them to build a real love the more they got to know each other. You can tell (and it has been confirmed) this isn't what the show had planned but the writers thankfully saw what was on screen and gave us a couple that is equal parts sexy but loving.
Worst Couple
Andrew/Holly (Neighbours) - Holly had been through so much on the reboot and Andrew was always portrayed as the good guy so putting these two characters together was controversial and ultimately very damaging to both characters. I do think there was a place where Andrew having an affair could've made sense but the timing of it and the endless gaslighting of his wife Wendy, who thought she was the problem, made this difficult to watch. It was an interesting story with an excellent fallout but very dark.
Best New Character
Dani Dupree (BTG) - She literally entered the show with a bang and I often worried that is all we would get. Instead, we've discovered a very complicated, damaged woman who loves with everything she has. She can be a diva but she will drop everything to help her family which has been her saving grace. The tenderness she's displayed with her children and nieces and nephews has been a joy to watch. The love and admiration for her parents and her desire to be a better person make her the perfect heroine to lead this show.
Worst New Character
Ashley & Derek (BTG) - On paper I do think these characters could work but the acting and writing let them down. Jen Jacob is a good actress but she's saddled with one of the worst soap actors in soap history with Ben Gavin, who could rival Charity Rahmer. This, coupled with a lack of chemistry with Andre and being mostly isolated to scenes with Derek has made her a hard sell for the audience. With Derek, the acting is so atrocious that there was really no saving this character. A more seasoned actor could've made it work but the show seems committed to Gavin for some foolish reason.
Hottest New Pairing
Gio & Emma/Marco & Lucas (GH) - GH knocked it out of the park with both of these couples. I didn't expect much out of the Lucas recast since GH tends to ignore it's LGBT characters but they've surprised me by giving him a strong love interest, complicated story and real screentime. It's been a joy to see Lucas slowly get roped into Sidwell's criminal enterprise after how concerned he was about his sister Carly dating the head of the WSB.
Gio & Emma are not what I'd call "hot" but they are the most adorable and lovable pairing I've seen in years. Soaps have largely forgotten their younger characters but GH was smart to hone in on their chemistry and give us a classic soap slow burn.
Best Return
Zoe's Return (EE) - The show has been endlessly panned since Ben Wadley took over but I've enjoyed his more US soap approach to things. Typically Eastenders has a million stories going on and a new social issue every two weeks but he's slowed things down and is telling less stories, that are more family based and move slower due to the lack of overall stories on the show. Personally, I've loved this. The Slater family has been non-existent for so long and it's nice to see the family united in a large umbrella storyline involving Zoe's return. Seeing her complicated relationship with her mother Kat and her building a relationship with her troubled brother Tommy has been fascinating to watch. It also doesn't hurt that Zoe has chemistry with every character she interacts with which makes her scenes a joy to watch.
Worst Return
Britt/Nathan (GH) - These returns were completely unneeded and have added nothing to the show. It's been several months and neither return has amounted to much. The Sidwell story had more than enough going for it and the last thing we needed was this extra addition to further complicate things.
Most Entertaining Character
Leslie/Dana (BTG) - She came out of the gate(s) as a star! It's been ages since we've had a villainess this enjoyable. Trisha Mann-Grant is equal parts menacing, hilarious and warm when given an opportunity to show her more vulnerable side with Anita, Peaches and occasionally her daughter Eva. Many have complained she has taken over the show but you need a good long term villain for conflict and she is perfect to fill this spot on the show.
Most Overexposed Character
Zoe (EE) - While I've loved her return, I do understand some of the complaints about her over-exposure. I love that the show is trying to slow things down and be more character driven but I do think they need something positive to contrast the darkness of Zoe's return and Nigel's health crisis. If they added a love story to the mix that would provide the perfect balance and make it easier to take the amount of Zoe we've gotten.
Most Surprising Twist
Leslie is Barbara's Daughter (BTG) - This was unexpected but a smart move to keep Leslie viable long term. Once the shock of the affair and secret love child with Ted was over, there wasn't a solid way to keep her in the mix. By making Leslie the daughter of long-lost Articulate, Barbara, we have a deep connection to the show's Matriach Anita. This is the type of complicated rivalry that all soaps need to thrive. It reminds me of the complexity of Jill and Katherine on Y&R. Another perk is that this has given Leslie money which adds another complication but also gives Leslie more access in Fairmont Crest.
Best Casting
Rory Gibson (GH) - Although I do think it was kinda messy to not consider Robert Adamson, who had filled in multiple times, Gibson came in and instantly won over fans with his first episode. Michael is an important character to the show but he wasn't able to reach his full potential due to an actor being in the role that couldn't grow with the character. I'm glad the show recognized that and finally made a long overdue change.
Worst Casting
Ben Gavin & Alex Algeria (BTG) - As much as I love the show I find these casting choices to be absolutely shameful and embarrassing. This is a huge undertaking and although it's a soap, that shouldn't mean you run it like a charity and keep poorly performing actors because you like them as people. You cannot convince me there is data from anywhere that people want to see these actors. They are truly amongst the worst we've ever seen on soaps. The character of Tomas has potential but paired with an actor who can show no emotion, it's all wasted. Derek is more thinly drawn but even though he isn't given challenging material, the actor is barely adequate. I will admit that he has improved but not enough to justify wasting screentime and a salary on him.
It concerns me to see both actors continuing on the show because it makes me wonder what other things the show will overlook when course-correction is needed.
Best Villain
Bill (BTG) - The character of Bill was introduced in a way I never could've imagined myself enjoying him but the strong writing and performances of the oh so sexy Timon Kyle Durrett have made him must see TV for me. Bill screwed up royally and threw his entire life away for a sexy young wife and it has been an absolute joy seeing him realize throughout the year just how foolish his mistake was. He missed his wife, he misses his children, he misses his extended Dupree family but his hands are tied. He's stuck in a miserable marriage while pining for everything he's lost. This is exactly what he deserves but Durrett's performances have been so strong that I do hope he gets his family back, once he's suffered enough.
Most Ruined Character
Andrew (Neighbours) - Cheating with his neighbours daughter that he knows has been through endless emotional trauma is bad enough but the way he gaslit his wife into thinking their issues were her fault made it even worse. Andrew was a respectable good guy and it was unfortunate to see him end on such a dark note. This is one of the many reasons I wish the show had continued so we could've had an opportunity to see him redeem himself.
Best Scene Stealer
Ernestine Johnson (Shanice, BTG) - I love when you have a background character burst through the screen in the way Shanice has. It's been so long since the Esther's or Mamie's of Y&R, the Saul's and Darla's of B&B, the Alice's of GH and the list goes on and on. Johnson has taken what could be a throwaway under five nurse and turned her into a character the viewers long to see more of. Even in scenes where she is only in the background, she is often the focus due to her brilliant comedic timing.
My hope for 2026 is to see her added to the contract cast and finally get a story of her own.
Best Sets
General Hospital continues to be the show that does the impossible. While we have seen improvements on B&B since they switched studios, nobody comes close to GH in terms of the sheer number of sets. Their set designer also deserves credit for how real and expensive the sets look. GH is as close as we get to primetime level production values and it adds so much to the storytelling. I wish the other soaps could meet with them and see how they do it so they can replicate it.
Worst Sets
Beyond the Gates started with a promise of 27 sets but ultimately has been disappointing from a design standpoint and the decision making on what sets they should have. I get wanting to give everybody their own homes but if you're on a soap budget, that is not possible. There are four "mansion" sets: Dani's home, Bill's home, the Dupree mansion and Nicole's home. I feel like this has spread the show too thin. Another issue is the lack of bedroom sets which leads to characters having sex on couches. I don't understand why the show didn't create more sets that can be re-dressed so characters can have bedrooms in addition to living rooms. I also find it outrageous that we don't having a dining room set for the Duprees when food celebrations are so important to Black families.
Another big issue I have is how claustrophobic the show feels since they rarely go outside. I had hoped filming in Atlanta in a new state of the art studio would mean we get location shooting but that rarely happens. It's fine if they don't have the ability to do that but you need outdoor sets if that isn't going to be possible. These characters cannot be inside all day, everyday, especially in the summer. This is a soap after all. Why not build a Fairmont Crest pool set similar to what GH does during the summer? A place where characters can let their hair down and get out of their suits?
Lastly, I feel like the overall set design/decorating is weak. Everything looks the same and is in the boring millennial grey. I wish there was more diversity to the designs. The sets don't look as lush and lived in as they should.
Best Costumes
Beyond the Gates - Everybody on this show looks amazing and I love that the characters are dressed to fit their personality and station in life. One element that tends to be overlooked is the men and BTG is the exception in this regard. The men still have their own distinct styles (Hi, Andre!) and their suits are impeccably tailored. If Jeresa Featherstone doesn't win an Emmy next year, you may as well end the category.
Best Show
Neighbours - This is bittersweet considering the reboot ended earlier this month. Not because it wasn't successful but because there was a change of leadership at Amazon Prime and they lost their champion. I found the first season of the reboot to be enjoyable but a bit choppy because they had to balance introducing the new show as well as wrapping up things from the previous version.
Going into season two I was worried because part of that transition led to many of the key cast members leaving the show. This ended up being a blessing in disguise. Instead of being focused so much on nostalgia, they went all in on the next iteration of the show. Even once they knew it was cancelled, they continued to carry on and introduce exciting new characters and storylines until the very end. I love that they used the final weeks to set up ideas for spin-offs. Even if those spin-offs don't end up coming to fruition, I love that they left us knowing that this world we love is still moving. It was the perfect end to a very successful reboot that they should be very proud of.
By
Chris B ·
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