BTG: March 2025 Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

I want to know what drove Bill to make the break from Dani after all those years?

What was so different about Hayley? Was it they were working together whereas his other flings had been more casual?

Hayley is a blank slate ATM and I want to learn more of her motivations. 

I think we all have our interpretations but the show needs to dig deeper. Yes it's only 3 weeks so we'll see.

They have a done a poor job re Ashley/Derek.

It feels like MVJ had the bible developed for the Duprees and then had to belatedly insert the white characters.

[Vee]

I'll say this, though: It is kind of refreshing to have 'lame, token whites.'

[Cheap21]

Tokens dont tend to get as much airtime and focus as they do. If they, especially Ashley is going to be featured as much as they are, they shouldnt be this bland. Vanessa is a delight in all her scenes with less. Ashley and Derek are just blah an they are used too much IMO. Their scenes kill the momentum of the episodes

[cassadine1991]

I hope the show soon mixes up the breakdown and script writers. I noticed Lynn and Ron; Chris and Danielle; Gregori and Cheryl; Jazmen and Teresa are paired each episode 

[detroitpiston]

Naw lol. You could have cast from that daytime pool of Evan Hoffer and Victoria Konefal/Lindsay Arnold types and been just fine. I can almost see what they saw in Jen Jacobs but she seems more suited for a one season female cop replacement on a “gritty” prime time procedural than a rootable, makes you fall in love on sight soap opera heroine.

I find a lot of the preproduction contract character castings to be quite mid grade and unsuitable. JHC should utilize the Darnell Williams connection and have him come on to coach the less experienced cast like he used to do at AMC bts for years. 

[Vee]

Sure, they would all work but those names are not, say, Scott Clifton or Eden Riegel. Those two are names I consider too big.

Totally agreed about Darnell, though I frankly think he could do business onscreen as dirty cop Marcel Malone. The current guy is uh, not great so far.

[detroitpiston]

Considering Ashley and Derek are peers with Jacob and Naomi those two wouldn’t even be considered choices for the roles IMO. I couldn’t see either of them overshadowing the core cast at BTG either, SC got lucky Brad Bell was obsessed with the Steffy/Liam/Hope merry go round for as long as he was but he’s since been parked to the side for Liberty Biberty of all ppl and was never truly valued at GH or OLTL. Eden Riegal was amazing as Bianca but look at how bad she struggled at YR, lmao. She could’ve been good as Ashley’s mother maybe.

Edited March 16 by detroitpiston

[ReddFoxx]

The part about airtime is true, but it feels like those two are just there for the sake of diversity. 

[Vee]

I'll say it again: I'm gonna be very curious to see how the show looks at the end of May sweeps, which I think should be about 13 weeks.

[Chris B]

When it comes to the criticism around characters like Ashley and Derek, I think part of the reason we're struggling is because usually those roles would be played by the token Black characters on soaps. Like in all things, Black people have to come ten times more prepared so we often have over-qualified Black actors in these roles. I think people are expecting the same in reverse except those same standards aren't placed on white actors. 

[te.]

Indeed. I've said it before, but 90% of Ashley's scenes have been other characters telling us how great Ashley is. It's been very tell, but not show. I actually don't have issues with Jen Jacobs as I'm not sure how anyone could really play those scenes believably (I thought she's was ok when she actually had a real conversation with Naomi); I think ole' Lughead is slowly improving too and his part isn't really taxing so I don't have huge issues with him either as long as he can upgrade himself to Soap Opera Meathead in the vein of Austin Peck at least (lofty goals I know). 

But the way they're telling this Andre / Ashley / Derek story is just... dreadful. It's not even autopilot, it's just plain bad writing. You could recast them all with competent experienced actors and it would still suck because the scripts are just bad. 

I guess my TL;DR is that I don't see a purpose in recasting these characters unless the scripts improve. It's not like some of the other green newbies where the script is there but they're not delivering. It'd be better to have them ride into the sunset if need to be and up Cady and someone else to contract.

Edited March 16 by te.

[Paul Raven]

Yes by that time they'll have clearer ideas of how things are looking on-screen,what actors are still struggling and viewer feedback.

[marceline]

I really think people are doing themselves a disservice by constantly calling back to plots and characters on other shows. BTG should be judged on its own merits. Let’s leave Todd and Marty and rape storylines in the past at least for a while. This is a new show trying to forge its own path and hopefully helping to bring the soap genre back from a self-inflicted near-death. We don’t need to worry about a Todd/Marty redux because it’s not a story anyone wants to see. It was groundbreaking back then. Now it’s a weekly episode of SVU.

 

[Cheap21]

He was in a relationship with her. With the oher women, they were likely just sex. Affairs he keep hidden and seperate from hs personal lie. Hayley was different bc he had a pre-existing connection to her that was there beyond th affair. She lived in his house, was friends with his family and worked at his office. They were around each other alot more than any other women bc of that so it was harder to turn off those feelings. He got to see her in a domestic setting and how she helped him professionally so picturing her replacing Dani in those roles were more of possible reality

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm very glad to see other people saying this. When I said it very early, it seemed to fall into a vacuum. I'm not sure it actually made a sound. I know & appreciate that KaMo has said she's drawing from Erica & Reva & that MVJ has said she had Bette Davis in her head, as actors & writers are wont to say/do. But, I'm just not seeing AMC or GL or Dynasty or OLTL, really. Much more, it seems like a brand new creature to me.