Soaps In The Time of Crisis

[DaytimeFan]

The one upside for DAYS is that they'll finally, FINALLY, not be 8 months ahead. Lauren Koslow confirmed on Instagram they've got enough episodes in the can to get to Christmas. 

[JAS0N47]

 

Maybe she meant written through Christmas. Ron even tweeted he was just writing Christmas (and that was well after the production break started on March 13...and they write stuff months before taping it).

 

They have fully taped through around October 20-ish. Ron mentioned being done through Halloween/early November, but I believe those would only be partial episodes, not much fully completed past the October 20-ish time frame.

[GLATWT88]

Right now, we know that YR and BB are airing repeats. 

 

From what I last read on here, GH will probably run out of episodes sometime in June. 

 

DAYS has episodes until October. 

 

If production resumes in late May, what is the likelihood that GH will not have a lapse in their run? I'm not sure what the turnaround is for filming and finishing an episode of a soap. 

 

DAYS considering that things are beginning to ease, I'm assuming won't have to worry about having to fill a gap. If anything this will be a benefit to DAYS as I am unsure why a daytime soap would want to film so far in advance considering it makes it challenging to make changes based on public reaction to storylines. 

[Darn]

 

Knowing Frank and how he runs GH they will likely want to rush out a subpar product just to have new episodes.

 

I wonder if Y&R or B&B will use this opportunity to do a soft reset, reassess their canvas and get rid of dead weight, start new stories or even offer something as simple as a time jump so viewers can more readily jump into the action. Or will they continue with all of the current incredibly boring stories they're telling?

 

I mean, this is unprecedented, the people running daytime have been on a bullet train for decades with no chance to sit back and reflect, this could be that chance. But will they do something about it or continue floundering?

[GLATWT88]

 

Good point. I assumed YR and BB would continue with the current storylines, but the current situation does open up the opportunity to do something like a time jump as you mentioned. I really only got into watching some weeks ago after taking a break from soaps for some time, but I will say I didn't see anything on YR or BB that was all that exciting. Then again, soaps require an investment and I don't really care for many of the characters currently in the forefront of BB and tbh I had no idea what was going on over at YR to actually realize if I cared or not. 

 

I think you might be right about GH trying to start right back up and rush something out instead of having a lapse in its run. I don't know how their repeats are performing on Fridays, but I'm calling them repeats and not classics because from what I've read they've only gone as far back as 2017/18 with their Friday episodes. Honestly, I'm not sure how they're promoting these episodes over at ABC because if they're calling them classics that a stretch. 

[Chris B]

At this rate I could see soaps going back into production by late June/early July at the earliest. In addition to everything else, they’ll have to get the production staff back to work and sanitize those dirty sets. Plus the writers are furloughed and will likely have to do rewrites to eliminate or minimize older actors and change group scenes. For Y&R in particular, I’d look at the success of these classic episodes and go back to an old school Bill Bell style with longer scenes with less people, a more character driven approach. It would be easier to film with social distancing and could bring some style back to the show. 

[soapfan770]

Is it bad I could so see Thudley at B&B producing new episodes through Xoom and or Skype like the Talk? I can just see Flo announcing via Skype or Xoom to Brooke, Steffy, Hope, and Zoe how Sally was faking her illness with all of them in shock as they drink wine(except for Brooke) LMAO.

Edited May 9, 2020 by soapfan770

[edgeofnik]

Honestly, the other 3 soaps can learn a lot from DAYS on the TJ concept. I give credit to DAYS for doing it, but Stevano just ruined it for me. 

 

The writers are definitely cranking out scripts during this period, but I still don't believe we'll get anything new until July at the earliest.  

 

B&B can crank out episodes the fastest - not just because they are shorter, but it's production seems far more machine-like. Look at how they handled all those impeachment pre-emptions, where they basically retooled and nearly eliminated all the holiday stuff and quickly jumped from there. Plus B&B can focus on one story for several episodes more easily than  GH/Y&R - see Thomas/Hope wedding build-up weeks then switched almost exclusively on Brooke video and/or Sally for next batch of episodes. B&B literally can have episodes with only 3-4 actors and tell (and repeat) a story. 

[GLATWT88]

It's interesting that there was a significant surge in ratings at the beginning of the pandemic, but it quickly fizzled out. I wonder if it had to do with the constant preemptions or those who tuned in not finding their soap very interesting and tuning back out.

 

I'm also beginning to wonder how this lapse in new episodes for YR and BB will impact their ratings when they return and whether there are any strategies to promote them or make the audience aware of their return. I mean if they can broadcast TPIR on primetime...why can't they air an episode or two of the soaps especially in late summer where there aren't many new shows on. I mean YR pulling in 4 million is actually better than some of the primetime shows these days or pretty damn close. 

[lucaslesann23]

I hope JG does what you suggest,

[GLATWT88]

Speaking of soaps in time of crisis, does anyone know if the 9/11 preemptions had any significant impact on the ratings and decline in viewership.

 

I was looking at the ratings and I know that many attribute the OJ trial playing a significant role in the erosion of soap ratings which is true to an extent. I noticed that from 1990 to 1994 YR saw year to year gains in viewership as well as other soaps showing that their numbers can grow even significantly from previous seasons. Now, what I'm curious about is what happened in the 2000/2001 season as this was before 9/11 as the season usually starts in September, that caused soaps to take such a rating hit. Even though ratings were eroding slowly after the OJ trial. It seems like as soon as 2000 came in the numbers just dropped. YR lost a whole point in households. I'm not sure if the numbers are completely accurate as they're from Wiki, but was there something major that would have caused this rapid decline?  

[DRW50]

 

I don't really remember it having a big impact. Y&R was having ratings struggles before this point - if memory serves, there were articles being written about it in SOD in spring or summer 2001. 

[AbcNbc247]

Am I the only one who thinks that when soaps resume production, they should just pick up right where they left off and ignore the fact that time has passed? That way each show gets right back into what they were doing without anything being forgotten or changed. 

 

If we can ignore SORASing and the continuity errors that it brings, I’m sure we can also ignore the fact that it’s suddenly one month or two months later then when we last saw these characters.

Edited May 9, 2020 by AbcNbc247

[soapfan770]

 

Given that both Y&R and B&B ended on low points as they haulted production it would be for the best if they did that sort of thing when they resume production. 
 

 

Y&R went through a large turnover of cast and characters with a drop in story quality. In fact most  most soaps really dropped In quality as the rise of more reality shows occurred. 

[Chris B]

I feel this would be a mistake if they want to maximize viewers. For the first time ever they have the chance to do a relaunch, or season premiere and they should all take advantage of that. I would craft big return stories for all of them, maybe even bring somebody back  so you have the same buzz as when prime time shows return. Otherwise I don’t see the ratings going back to where they were.