Y&R: JFP Out! Mal Young In!

[cassadine1991]

[YRBB]

Yaaaaaas.

[Vee]

As I said at PTV:

 

If I was Frank [Valentini] I'd watch my back; ABC is uncreative and disinterested in GH beyond keeping price down and keeping it afloat long enough for their pilot programs to eventually displace it. If the show keeps floundering, JFP can sell herself as the super-cheap cost-cutting, demo-getting alternative to the man who used to be called the best with the purse and the youth demo. I wouldn't be surprised if she's angling for it, not that I will ever endorse JFP returning to any soap in any way.

[YRBB]

Ding Dong

 

the bitch is gone!

[Y&R21395]

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[titan1978]

I would be interested to find out what did her in.  Budget would be a bet.  The cast reportedly loves her.  I wonder if she and Pratt have been struggling.  This could also signal the end of Pratt soon too.  I just hope we have reached the end of her daytime career.  I think all her good qualities ended up being outweighed by her bad qualities as a show runner.

[rlj]

WOW I thought it was FV, but I am good with JFP LOL!

[DRW50]

Wasn't GH supposedly overbudget again and again during her tenure?

[LondonScribe]

Though it is probably great for those who feel she ripped the last bit of the show's heart and continuity with burning down the Newman Ranch and whatever the heck is being done to the Chancellor set as well as jettisoning just about all of the show's old music (directors) in favour of (I assume) cheaper options, I can't help but feel worried about who is being lined up to replace her... And the fact that Charles Pratt appears to still be there.

The obvious choice would be Mal Young, who many (including me) opined upon his hiring that he had much more experience than his role of Supervising Producer. Though he left an indelible mark on the British soap opera scene, one has to wonder if his experience on American soaps seemingly being under Phelps and Pratt would informed his story and production choices, therefore being a continuation of what we have now.

There will be the usual wish list (or s--- list) of those who have guided Y&R or other soaps in the past. Of those who used to work on the show, most have either passed away, retired or gone to B&B. How many of them would want to return to a micromanaged show and a network administration that allowed them to be pushed out by Lynn Marie Latham, Maria Arena Bell and Jill Farren Phelps over the last decade? 

This might be a little left of field but if it was felt that Mal Young wasn't quite there yet (but I can't help but think that he's being seriously considered) then how about Noel Maxam? He's worked on the show in the past, has an eye for the show's style (a style he incorporated elsewhere), is relatively young (I said relatively, lol) and has albeit brief Executive Producer experience. Plus, unless I'm mistaken, he works for Sony's other soap, Days of Our Lives.

Ive heard the idea mooted in the past that Bradley Bell should assume control of the show and bring it back under the Bell umbrella. They sure know a thing or two about good production values but I've also heard a rebuttal of that idea on the basis that Bradley Bell is definitely NOT his father. 

Personally speaking, it would be good to turn to someone who has an affinity with the show and knows it, but the zealots at higher executive level want the show to remain a latter-day ABC soap, hence my concern they will turn to a Goutman or a Tomlin or someone of that ilk. 

 

[Vee]

 

Yep. But that won't matter, the network doesn't pay attention to these shows anymore. JFP has always campaigned on a paper-thin reputation of budget-cutting and demos, and she just made Y&R look like a Days Inn. And what are they going to do if FV keeps [!@#$%^&*] up - go hunt for a new EP?

I think Jill signed her own kill order the minute she foolishly campaigned for Pratt to get the job over old Y&R hands - he has always fought for and gotten a producer credit and his own autonomy. I thought he would be the one to push her out, but for all we know now it might be Mal Young.

[dragonflies]

I have a feeling Pratt is on borrowed time too

 

[Soapsuds]

Lets hope that the new EP and HW will get me to watch. I haven't watched Y&R in a long time and don't miss it.

[Khan]

This means nothing.  Y&R was crap before her, it was crap with her, and it will be crap after her.

[soapfan770]

Phelps is at retirement age as I've said before so it's perfect timing. I actually don't have too much say on Phelps' tenure aside from making the mistake of rubber stamping Pratt's entire tenure and all too often ignoring or not realizing critical elements of what made Y&R different.  A fatal mistake in the long scheme of things. At least Phelps has been better than Latham and MAB, but not by too much. 

 

If anything it's Pratt who needs to go! As Co-EP and HW he's done a lot of damage in his attempts to make Y&R into a Melrose Place/Sunset Beach/The Lying Game type of soap.

 

Noel Maxam would make a good EP I've suggested it before too. Brad Bell as HW would be wildly uneven and alternate between hot and cold on a monthly basis, but would probably be better that any writer since Alden left.

[Soapsuds]

True…I have no hope it getting any better with the likes of AH still there and other horrendous actors.