"Beyond Salem" and the new generation of streaming soaps

[DramatistDreamer]

Question:

So when "Beyond Salem" inevitably gets a nomination for a Daytime Emmy (as every show connected to the network does), in whic category will it place? As it's a Peacock/NBC connected show with links to the ancillary broadcast television network, I assume they won't be shunned like the TOLN/PP soaps or placed into web soap ghettos, so will they be allowed to compete with the Y&R and GHs? Will Days end up competing against itself? Can a Days Of Our Lives that competes against itself still stand?

Although I didn't watch the Primetime Emmy awards, I am reading that the streaming shows ruled the night and grabbed the most prestigious awards. Even though I know Daytime desperately wants to defend its "turf" on the TV dial, so did Primetime once upon a time. And since the standard and the bar are set much lower, it would only take two or three other shows to follow in the path of "Beyond Salem" to streaming to tip the balance.

Thoughts? 

Is the Peacock based soap going to be a 'one and done'? Or will there be a micro version of what happened in the Primetime Emmys?

Just wondering.

[Soapsuds]

I'm assuming they get a nomination in the ghetto web category and would win. Overseen the web shows and none impressed me. I'd love it if it ran against Y&R, B&B and GH with the regular show left off for Beyond Salem.

[BetterForgotten]

There's a certain number of episodes you need to hit in order to be nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category, I believe, which would make 'Beyond Salem' ineligible to compete in that category. 

[SFK]

Is there a category for limited series or could it perhaps qualify as a special?

[j swift]

How are the Daytime Emmys relevant to anything on a streaming service? 

The emmys are a PR tool for ongoing series, by the time the Daytime Emmys roll around Beyond Salem will be ten months old and in no need of additional PR.

And if the question is about the people involved in the production receiving recognition, one doubts that anyone would include a daytime emmy win on their credits.  Given the ratings for the Daytime Emmys, more people will probably read this thread than ever watch the award show, let alone remember who won. 

[DramatistDreamer]

The question was more in line with whether this is the start of something or a one and done type of maneuver. IMO, it's too early to tell. It took about eight years for any of Netflix's seeded plans in television to come.m to pass, although it wasn't for lack of trying. I'm genuinely wondering whether daytime has any resemblance to primetime, or whether it is just too different to look at what happens in primetime as any sort of indicator.

Since I first posted this, I thought of one really strong difference, which is the under-investment in non-service programming. If streaming is going to invest in anything daytime, it will probably be in game shows or service shows, not soaps. There are no Netflix or Apple TV+ waiting to produce any soap that resembles a traditional daytime soap. Hulu had a foray into this and we saw where that went.

Initially, I was interested in hearing thoughts on this but I have thought better of my question. Daytime doesn't have the overall interest in investing for streaming and I don't see this changing for the foreseeable future.

Daytime soaps don't seem to have much of a future worth investing in, tbh. Not the current model.

Edited September 20, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[j swift]

It is an interesting idea.

I can imagine further short term stories, like this one and the Last Blast story last year.  Although, I wonder if both series were just meant to produce more interest for the new platforms.  If NBC continues to broadcast the Olympics, it seems like a good time to produce these episodes.  One does wonder about the contractual issues about whether or not actors, writers, and crew are being paid like a regular episode because they weren't filming regular episodes that week.  But, thankfully those concerns are not part of my responsibility as a fan.

Edited September 21, 2021 by j swift

[DramatistDreamer]

Reading your post, definitely gave me more food for thought.

I'm now more inclined to believe that forays into streaming for traditional daytime soaps like Days may have more to do with an old soap wanting to be thought of as embracing innovation, while hoping to guide more viewers toward their network soap on NBC. Even if Beyond Salem truly takes off, I see network seeking to send use those gains and shepherd it toward network, rather than further investment in streaming.

Speaking of streaming, the various talent guilds (SAG, WGA, DGA, etc.) definitely have rules and regulations regarding labor and compensation for the web, and it is more defined for series "television" than it is for movies, which only really started to take off in the advent of the pandemic. Contractual agreements are far more defined (as they were fought over and hammered out about two or three years ago) for series than for movies.

[Errol]

Unless they make it eligible due to how long the episodes were in length, "Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem" would compete with the likes of "The Bay" and "Beacon Hill" in the Limited Series category, as part of the Daytime Fiction segment. 

[SFK]

Thank you, Errol!

[DramatistDreamer]

It's clear now that Days is using the streaming platform for entertainment in its own right and not just as a one-off to drive traffic to the "main" network. The brand benefits either way.

Smart.

[Vee]

It's good for the genre, even if I find the quality often lacking. You would wish ABC/Disney would follow suit.

[Soapsuds]

I wish peacock would permanently have Beyond Salem on their network and showcase those not on the NBC soap. It would satisfy the need for the missed beloved characters that should be on the main show.

[pdm1974]

I believe the number of episodes to be considered for the main Daytime Drama category is 35. The number was higher, but they lowered it the year the Prospect Park shows were eligible even though neither one scored a nomination in that category. Since there were only 5 episodes, Beyond Salem wouldn't qualify. If they ever did a longer term streaming show with 35 episodes it would be then.

[Faulkner]

The Daytime Emmys are changing their format:

The morning shows (like GMA and Today) will now compete in the News and Documentary Emmys, while the “third-hour” shows will compete as talk shows in the Daytime Emmys.