Y&R: What if Bradley Bell became HW?

[Cat]

Seeing these latest (pandemic-pre-empted) soap ratings showing B&B surpassing Y&R in viewership, it made me wonder WHAT IF. What would happen if CBS took these ratings as read and decided to replace Griffith with B&B's Bradley Bell as Y&R HW?

 

Obviously there is history there for Brad. Family legacy, if you will. But there is also his own history of writing for B&B to consider. 

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 Y&R would be a FAR tougher gig.

 

What kind of SLs do you think Bradley Bell would write for Y&R? What would he do well? Badly? Let's consider the good, the bad and the ugly.

[BetterForgotten]

Y&R would continue to be the trash it currently is and has been for years, just in a slightly different way. 

 

I've yet to see any damn talent come out of Bradley Bell. He's lucky his family owns his show and he's guaranteed a job for life - had this been any other show, his ass would have been ousted and become completely irrelevant. I do know everyone says he's a nice guy - but sometimes personality and "talent" just don't align...

Edited March 28, 2020 by BetterForgotten

[Aback]

It's hard to tell! He's so worn out, honestly. I don't think he has any ideas left. And for some reason, it doesn't seem like he's willing to listen to any advice coming from his writing team (who I think are just happy to be employed).

[Chris B]

I've often wondered how he would be and I can't come up with an answer. With B&B he can be very repetitive and he revolves the show around such a small amount of characters, but it's a half hour so people tend to overlook that. I wonder how he would handle a larger show. I do think he often has good ideas and he would make the show feel more like Y&R. I think because he'd be forced to have more than one main story it could work. The problem with B&B is typically that they have one good story stretched to oblivion while everybody else languishes. He'd probably have a good year before it goes to hell.

[soapfan770]

It probably could have happened 15 years ago, but Thudley is stuck writing the same stuff over and over and over and over again lol.

 

Actually Thudley does have some talent in him, what he lacks is consistency to keep a show feeling hot. Taking over as HW for Y&R might bring him of the rut, but expect everyone to be in endless triangles or quads  by the end of his first month lol ie Sharon/Nick/Phyllis, Nikki/Victor/Ashley and the occasional jaw dropping twist ie “Chloe is a MAN!!!!”

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[DramatistDreamer]

Is Brad capable of working with a cast of more than ten actors though?  It's debatable that Y&R can even do this anymore. I guess he had Devon performing everybody's two minute wedding ceremony every six weeks.

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[Soapsuds]

Repetitive stories featuring the same characters but isn't that what JG is doing now?

[Soaplovers]

I'd rather Lauralee Bell was a headwriter over her hack of a brother.  Her video shorts she had written/created were more fresh and interesting.. than anything her brother ever could do.

[Sapounopera]

B&B hasn't been a soap opera in years. It is a cartoon show pretending to be a telenovela. It is almost an anthology series with actors playing different stories every few months. What happened last year is erased. Y&R is a show that would mention Kay and Jill fighting over Phillip all the time and that triangle would be part of storylines for decades. Brad doesn't seem to remember whom Brooke married in 2019. I don't want Y&R to become this kind of joke. It might be  uninspired and lifeless right now, Brad's way is not the way to save the show.

 

I'd rather have Ed Scott return. Along with Kay Alden. 

[Khan]

Yeah, no.

[Dion]

Victor and Nikki would start getting married every year. Nick would likely alternate between marrying Sharon and Phyllis each year.

[KMan101]

 

We'd probably at least have better music cues and older talent bts return ... but other than that ... idk

 

Maybe at this point instead of the shuffling of execs, have Brad EP both soaps and get new headwriters for both. Pull from the talent. But they won't. 

 

I mean, could it really get worse? Mal? Lynn? Maria? Chuckie Pratt?

 

Brad needs to just be EP and not be a HW.

[Fevuh]

It would become more repetitive than it already is.  

[kalbir]

Bradley Bell did not inherit his father's talent. Y&R would tank if he was HW.

[Khan]

 

Agree.