Y&R March 2021 Discussion Thread

[FrenchBug82]

Spinning? A contract dispute is a perfectly legit reason to leave. "I was tired of playing the character" makes her look worse, not better.

Don't be silly. I don't doubt she would have stayed had they offered her millions. But that wasn't on the table. She left to do other things, didn't get those other things. YR had killed Hilary off and she didn't want to play her again so offering her a new role worked for both of them.
It is not black and white and all on her, obviously not. But she made choices.
Don't make me sound like I am attacking her! I like MM a lot. I just think Amanda is not working and I wish she hadn't left. That's all.

 

They didn't kill Hilary out of spite. They should not have killed her, I agree with that but they killed her because it was the easy lazy way to write her out, like they did so many times before.

[Vee]

Again, this is something where a bit of research would come in handy. She most certainly left over a money dispute and they did permadeath Hilary bc they were, at that time, historically uncomfortable with the character's popularity. It was widely reported at the time by credible people. Anything now about 'wanting something different' when she was approached to return is a polite spin for the Amanda character, which was not her idea or her choice. It was also IMO a deliberate move by the show to try to dampen her stock with the audience. They've spent the better part of the last 20 years trying to escape Y&R's cachet with the Black audience and turn it into a generic 2000s ABC soap.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Vee

[ajsp35801]

 

You're doing way too much guessing here on what happened. Mishael is obviously putting a nice spin on her departure attempting to absolve her employer since she was brought back. Secondly, it's common knowledge that she didn't want to leave. But she felt she had no choice. This wasnt her just deciding she didn't want to do Y&r anymore the way you've described. 

 

As for her not wanting to play Hilary...again, spin. She didn't want her character killed but she also wasn't about to badmouth the writers and the show. Chelsea had left several times and nobody thought to kill her off. If you can't see the raggedy treatment this populat actress received then I can't help you. 

 

Thank you! I'm trying to figure out where this amnesia from fans is  coming from. We all knew the score when this happened in 2018. 

 

Mishael was approached by the show with this new character. She accepted. Probably because he never actually wanted to leave anyway. 

 

Now we've got fans resenting her presence because she's no longer Hilary. 

[Vee]

 

It was all over press at the time. I mean, this is not speculation.

[FrenchBug82]

None of us were there. None of us knows.
I believe that, as everything in life, a various number of factors played a part and came together to lead to the bad situation we are in. That was my point.
I am not, again, going to belabor a debate where neither I nor you knows where the truth is. No reason to believe what was said then was any more or less spin than what is said now.

Point was simply: she shouldn't have left, the show shouldn't have killed her off and Amanda isn't working.
 

 

And her new version is in the press now. Point is: could have been spin then, could be spin now. We don't know.
There is no amount of "research" any of us can do to know the truth besides what we instinctively believe.

Enough.

Edited March 11, 2021 by FrenchBug82

[ajsp35801]

 

Precisely. 

 

Considering how big of a mess it was when she left, I'm surprised the show brought her back anyway. She was way too popular for CBS Daytimes liking. 

 

I'm assuming KSJs death and the possible loss of Black viewers that could come with that prompted Sony and CBS to move her way. 

[Vee]

 

No, I'm sorry but actually we do know the truth. You can go back and look in our archives. Or you can talk to the knowledgeable soap press sources from the time, who are all still readily available on social media. It was not a secret. They lowballed her and iced Hilary, then brought her back with this character. If you don't want to listen to what multiple people are telling you as a point of personal pride that's fine, but it's not rational and it's not in touch with the very widely reported BTS situation.

[ajsp35801]

 

If Amanda isn't working, Tell me what or who is working right now on Josh Griffith's Y&R? 

 

I personally happen to like Amanda. She works for me. But again, I've taken the character alone without expectation of wanting her to be Hilary or like Hilary. 

[FrenchBug82]

I didn't particularly care for Hilary actually. But I really like MM and I thought that role was hers/ She owned her and that was a great fit of actress/role. Amanda just doesn't gel the same way but that's emphatically not down to her performance. As I repeated before, she is a great actress.
It happens all the time that fantastic actresses shine in some roles and not in others. Maura West is my favorite of all time and it really didn't work when she was on Y&R as a recast Diane. 
There is a bit of a je-ne-sais-quoi that's lacking.

But 100% agree that nothing on the show is right anyway. I also like Sally and her performer and it is not working for me at all because it is written as a bunch of nothing.

It can very well be that Amanda written by someone else will become exciting or that Hillary written by the current team would have been a dud too. 
I am just not feeling the way things are unfolding now and both MM and the show deserve better.

[ajsp35801]

 

"A bunch of nothing." On this, we agree. The entire show is just blah and meh. We see a good performance here or a well written scene there, but nothing consistent. I can't imagine MiM as Hilary being  an exception. 

 

An aside, I happened to like Maura West as Diane too. IMO, she turned crap to sugar every day.  It was obvious that showrunners resented the actress and wanted her gone. And they made it so.  

[ranger1rg]

i agree with you. It’s ludicrous to think that MM insisted she not return as Hilary. What is wrong with people making up this stuff out of thin air?

And yes, that entire article is spin. We all know she left because they didn’t want to pay her, not because she played a character for 5 years.

[ajsp35801]

 

So much resentment because she's no longer playing Hilary. While I understand the anger at the show, it comes across or reads as bashing her. Isn't it enough she's fighting through the fans who hated her and Hilary prior to her leaving. Now folks that were fans of hers and fought for her to come back have joined in the hate brigade because they wanted hilary. The lady can't win. 

[Paul Raven]

Was it Mal Young that wrote Hillary off?

They had to make a choice as to what to do. Hilary could have mysteriously left town (which then and now would have been the best choice).

Wasn't there some guy she was meeting with around that time?

But Mal thought there was more drama in killing her off and making Lily responsible. Perhaps a punishment for her deciding to move on. Judging by some of Mal's other stories nothing would surprise me.

TPTB went along with it but obviously the fact that  Mishael came back means there were people that realized her worth to the show. Mal was gone by then and different voices could be heard.

[ranger1rg]

Nailed it. That is exactly what happened. It’s ridiculous to pretend “we can’t really be sure.” We ARE sure. MIshael was horribly treated when her contract was up for renewal.

 

Amanda the character not working? That’s on the damn writers, not on MM. If Josh Griffith were writing for Hilary today, he’d have her as a stay-at-home mommy blogger.

And face it, just about EVERY story on the show turns into a blah.

 

The Faith bullying story. Where are the bullies? We see no one. We hear no one. Texts? BLOCK THEM, DUMB FAITH. Make it make sense. And no, COVID-19 is no excuse for every effing story having no bodies to carry it off. If that’s the case, don’t do the story.

 

The Chelsea revenge story. In 2 days she went from immobile to standing and now speaking as fast as she ever did. Of course, she also has a phone. Where are the beats? Why can’t Adam PRETEND to care about her when he leaves? Even damn roommates are warmer to each other.

 

The Ashland L business sale. What’s with the name that seems impossible to pronounce and spell? Griffith can’t even get THAT right. And why are these major biz meetings held in HOTEL ROOMS? AT Crimson Lights? Just pathetic, and takes me out of every scene.

 

Amanda. Great scenes with her mother and half-sister, then NOTHING for weeks. And is the sister gone already? JFC.

 

The Devon Elena Nate Amanda story. I have no Faith this will go anywhere.

 

The Abby surrogacy story. An ABOMINATION. Just pure TRASH while Nina and Ashley and Jill are WASTED. And please spare me another FaceTime with Jill. That stuff is sh*t.

 

I have more, but I’m tired of typing. This show is infuriating.

[ajsp35801]

 

At that time, soap bloggers/press reported the show's plans to replace Winters/Ashby with Rosales. In the span of a year, Charlie and Mattie disappeared, Hilary was killed, Lily sent away to prison as CK left the show, then KSJ died unexpectedly. However, his role had already been extremely diminished at the time.