OWN picks up Jamey Giddens scripted show!

[DRW50]

Jamey spent years applauding the dregs of daytime - stories that were not only horribly acted and written, but also encouraged misogyny, homophobia, racism, criminal activity, etc. as "soapy goodness." His site also tended to have a very monolithic and exclusionary viewpoint (I remember whoever wrote the godawful articles on ATWT's last week trying to shame viewers who wanted past characters to return). He also prided a select few writers and producers over the genre as a whole, to the point of punishing soaps that didn't cater to those writers and producers.  That works when you want clicks, but that means you have less of a built in audience when you produce a show. I knew that Jamey would never want a viewer like me watching his show. 

 

Since he spent so many years getting close to certain writers and producers, then maybe they can help him out now. If 'writers' like Tom Casiello can get gigs, then, based on the praise many of you have had for Ambitions, Jamey can too. 

[BetterForgotten]

No one will be picking this up, @xtr. 

 

BET already has their quota of trash TV with their development deal with Tyler Perry, and his recent projects on BET have rated a lot better than Ambitions ever did. 

[xtr]

 

I thought that there was a variety of well-written story lines on this show. I thought he did a good enough job of showcasing several of the characters and creating different story lines for them. Robin's character may have felt a bit more pronounced then some of the others. But I don't think that she was eating up the show and definitely not to the point, to where viewers couldn't recognize or enjoy other story lines. Especially as the show progressed. 

 

There was other storylines for people like Amara, Titus, Rondell, Greg, Bella, etc... This show has several different storylines to include Amara and Titus being stalked/terriorized by Damian , Senior being killed and Rondell/Evan Jr, dealing with that plus their greedy cousin, Greg dealing with his crazy cousin & his affair with Stefanie. Plus, Titus dealing with Purifoy Pharmaceuticals and Hunter and trying to take them down, Bella getting a love interest & trying to build her company. And a whole bunch of other stuff was going on. Some involved Stefanie but IMO, she didn't overshadow the show. And I thought that the stuff that she was involved in was interesting. Plus, it was being set up for other story lines to take place next and in future seasons, including the Brother of Bella's love interest being cast.

 

 

[BetterForgotten]

OWN's core demo is black women - I guess it wasn't capturing that demo to the extent OWN probably hoped. 

[Cat]

I was listening to the podcast at that time but I don't recall that horrid SL getting the thumbs up from all the DC participants (actually I can barely remember who was championing this story and who wasn't. Having said that, I could see the faux-gothic element of that SL appealing to Jamey and Luke in particular).

 

I also did not agree with their view of MM. They thought he was the second coming. I much preferred his predecessor and thought MM was all flash and no depth, a braggard with zero warmth to him. So yeah, I have not agreed with all things the DC peeps put out there.

 

And perhaps this experience is good for Jamey in terms of the shoe being on the other foot now. He know now how difficult it is to write and run a show 

 

Having said that, I cannot fault his passion for the genre and for writing soaps. He had some interesting ideas about current soaps in his latter time on the podcast, and I don't think Ambitions was a total unmitigated disaster eithrt. I hope he gets other chances to hone his craft. More TV experience and opportunities to work with different producers, cast and crew will help in that respect.

[All My Shadows]

My family is filled with the women that OWN's dramas are geared toward, and not a single one of them was watching Ambitions. Not a one.

I do think it's in true JG form that in thanking TPTB for the opportunity to make the show he also took a blatant shot at Tyler Perry with the "steeped in pathos & tragedy" remark.

[xtr]

 

I think it may have fared fine with that demographic. Jamie said it was #1 in black households for their timeslot across broadcasting and cable. 

 

 

[BetterForgotten]

But that wasn’t what OWN was looking for, clearly. Their expectations were not met. That timeslot may have meant very little in the end.

[VanessaReardon]

Has Jamey admitted yet that he got CANCELLED? He never could OWN up to anything. See what I did there? lol 

[BetterForgotten]

I wonder if those nutty supporters of his have started attacking Oprah on Twitter yet. No decisions on that network get passed Lady O - she knows what she was doing. 

 

Woah, can you say desperate as f.uck?

 

 

[Antoyne]

What is the issue with him wanting his show to continue? 

[Mona Kane Croft]

He has admitted it.  He announced it on Facebook and was very humble.  Why all the hatred toward Jamey?  He has a dream to be involved in soaps, and he's gone further than any of the rest of us.  Good for him.  Now he seems to be looking for another outlet to pick up the show.  That's a perfectly natural response to a cancellation.   

[BetterForgotten]

He can say what he wants, but it's not like he has a strong financial case for this to be revived anywhere else. I'd love to be proven wrong though. 

 

And given how hard he and his minions worked to discredit the Prospect Park reboots (shows that has a much stronger legacy than Ambitions would ever dream to have) and enjoyed every second of their demise, I have to laugh at his desperate attempts to save his own damn show. In a strange way, I see this as his karma for that crap. He's used whatever "voice" he had to spread false narratives about daytime soaps and people involved in the industry for years, all while claiming to be the biggest supporter of the genre. I revel in his failure for that alone.  

[VanessaReardon]

+1 I’m sure there are quite a few successful daytime EP’s and writers enjoying Jamey’s failure. Jamey thought his crap didn’t stink. Well, Ambitions sure did stink enough to be cancelled. <#Karma

[xtr]

 

 

I do think that some that are mad at Jamie have criticized/spoken just as poorly, if not even more poorly of the soaps than he has. Some of the people that are mad at him have said stuff like they wish that some if not all of the remaining soaps would get cancelled. It seems like people are mad at him for doing the same stuff a lot of soaps fans have done and will continue to do. Even with soaps they no longer really watch and haven't watched consistently in a while.

 

A difference between them and Jamie being that he had more of a platform to share his opinion. But he really didn't have any power to have the Prospect Park soaps, cancelled and whatever else it is that people are mad about regarding him.