In the newest issue of CBS Soaps In Depth, on newsstands now, Nathan Varni, manager, current series, ABC Entertainment, reveals that despite all the fan chatter on message boards, Facebook, Twitter and the like, offline viewers of the network’s “General Hospital” continues to thwart online viewers when it comes to storyline direction.
While the fate of NBC’s “Days of our Lives” beyond this season remains unknown, its renewal chances have greatly increased following recent chatter by two of the network’s top executives.
Nearly a year after alleged network mandates reportedly forced the four remaining daytime soaps to trim some of the fat in their casts throughout 2015, word has it that at least one soap is about to make another round of “budget-dictated” cast cuts.
“The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Heather Tom (Katie Logan) is joining fellow daytime actresses Alison Sweeney (ex-Sami Brady, “Days of our Lives”), Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio, “General Hospital”) and even former colleague Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester) from in front of the camera to behind-the-scenes: The soap star directed the Tuesday, January 5 episode of the CBS daytime drama series!
In the current issue of TV Guide, on newsstands now, the magazine examines the four remaining daytime soaps consisting of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” and how FOX’s “Empire” may have influenced a push for more diversity in 2015 during love in the afternoon.
Who says daytime soaps are dead? In 2015, CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” and NBC’s “Days of our Lives” all placed among 2015’s top searched non-reality TV shows on Yahoo! In fact, outside of “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones,” all three dramas placed in the top five on the search giant’s year-end list.
As a result of President Barack Obama addressing the nation for his last press conference of 2015, ABC was forced to pull an original episode of “General Hospital” today, which was all but set to air until Nathan Varni, Manager, Current Series, Scripted, announced plans to pull it citing the importance of the current storyline. The episode will now air on Monday, December 21 and an original episode will air on Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24) in place of a previously scheduled encore.
With a new year on the horizon it’s inevitable that you’ll be seeing a multitude of best and worst lists covering every facet of the entertainment world, and soaps are no exception. In his Best and Worst of 2015 report, TV Guide‘s Michael Logan has named CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” daytime’s best soap, praises “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” for having the best actors and actresses, and calls out some of daytime’s current and former writers for insulting viewers with tawdry storylines lacking direction.
Compiling ratings data from production studio sources for the period beginning January 1 and ending October 31, Vulture recently reported some of the most watched shows in 18 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Hungary and Italy, and the publication found the likes of “NCIS,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Flash,” “The Blacklist,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and the recently concluded “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” still at the top of the list for most watched shows in the world. Joining them are CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” and NBC’s “Days of our Lives,” two soaps aired in the daytime in America but in primetime elsewhere.
With news that Pop will now air same-day rebroadcast episodes of NBC’s “Days of our Lives,” along with the already airing rebroadcasts of CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless,” one can only wonder if the the network may have plans of airing rebroadcasts of ABC’s “General Hospital” as well. Sadly, that’s not the case.
