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Let me throw in the name Amelia Marshall who did some pretty incredible work on Guiding Light and All My Children in the 90s and even camped it up on Passions there for awhile. The woman is a fantastic actress who could fill out the ensemble in this eagerly anticipated miracle from CBS, NAACP, & P&G.
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I had a feeling the launch of this promising new soap would ultimately come at a price – unveiled by the recent announcement of the cancellation of The Talk by year’s end. Which leads me to wonder… why shouldn’t there be room in the CBS Daytime lineup for both? The Drew Barrymore Show has currently been pruned from a full-hour to half-hour weekday talk serial (I’m guessing this is a permanent fix for what may or may not be future seasons), so theoretically this could’ve allowed for an automatic opening for The Gates (assuming it is being developed as a half-hour drama serial) to follow. Even if it were being developed as a full-hour serial, there would’ve always been the option for it to air in the time slot currently allotted to The Talk (with B&B as a lead-in, which is likely the plan), so instead of giving The Talk the axe, why not simply bump it back an hour? Momentarily, there are old re-runs of Family Feud – which I generally don’t watch, and I’m curious if anyone around here does? – airing in that hour (3pm EST in my TV market) anyway, so airing The Talk in its place would provide an opportunity for CBS to air original programming (and draw in bigger numbers in viewership than I’m sure it is drawing in currently). Sure, it would take some tweaking, but the lineup could thrive under the new addition of The Gates with all the major players (including The Talk) intact. On the bright side, CBS still has a bit of time to hash this out, and hopefully change course.
As for The Gates, I do think that in order for it to find solid footing post-launch and sustain long term viewers’ interest, it needs to bring on board actors with star power and who preferably are established fan favorites, like Shemar Moore, who the daytime (and CBS primetime) audience is already familiar with.
ReplyCopy URLDrew Barrymore and Family Fued are syndicated programming selected by your affiliate to air on their time. In order to launch The Gates, CBS would either have to renegotiate with the affiliates to take back an hour (which could take YEARS and would mean launching the show without nationwide coverage which isn’t ideal) or cancel a program and use that timeslot. Of The Price is Right, Y&R, B&B what you have left is Let’s Make a Deal or The Talk. The Talk has had a lot of turmoil and let’s face it isn’t pulling the ratings it used to. That’s why it had to get the chop.
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Interesting, I wasn’t aware The Drew Barrymore Show is in syndication (I take that to be a sign it must be doing well in the ratings, but am still skeptical if it’s actually drawing in greater numbers than The Talk). Its division into two half-hour blocs (of which there is only one that airs weekdays at 9:30am here in my TV market; local news currently occupies the 9-9:30am slot) sure is peculiar. If CBS is smart, they’ll promote The Gates as a half-hour serial (the shorter time investment might make it more palatable to both long-standing soap viewers and in attracting younger audiences to the genre; plus, the show might be more marketable internationally… just look at the worldwide success of B&B).
But yes, sadly, The Talk isn’t in the shape which it used to be, even though I love the groove of the current hosting panel; Amanda, Natalie, Sheryl, Akbar and Jerry (or the Fab 5 as I call them!) gel so well with one another and have great chemistry. I do think it’s hurt the show considerably that it strays away from any discourse dealing with current events (likely out of fear of being too political… but who are we fooling, that’s what makes for memorable TV and draws in the big numbers, right? No wonder The View has been consistently beating it in the ratings). The “hot-button” topics up for debate at the top of the hour are anything but, and while the latest TikTok trends and popular videos would make for a fun, lightweight segment in a later portion of the show, they have no business being prioritized over discussions pertaining to more pressing issues affecting the national and/or global scene. I long for the days when Sara Gilbert was still EP and the show used to be “appointment television” because the conversations on the panel were deep and heartfelt and truly reflected the important issues of the times.
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Here are some other names I’d throw out as potential cast members:
–Tamara Tunie (Jessica, ATWT)
–Tika Sumpter (Layla, OLTL)
—–Cornelius Smith JR (Frankie, AMC)
–Matthew St. Patrick (Adrian, AMC)ReplyCopy URL"and to the fans, I was only supposed be on every other Tuesday. But thanks to you I'm here to stay. I'm going back to that studio on Monday and I'm going to play Erica Kane for all she's worth."- Susan Lucci, 1999 Daytime Emmy Speech.
OMG, I didn’t know this show was in development! My Black mom and auntie are going to be so interested in this and I’ll make sure they tune in (in addition to myself LOL).
These suggestions have got me thinking about Black actors and actresses who’ve done soap opera/procedural/soap-opera-esque/melodramatically written projects that I think have the profile of people who’d do soap operas.
Say what you want about Empire, but Trai Byers as Andre was genuinely excellent and elevated his material. Would love to see him as the male lead if there is one. Madea’s Big Happy Family is also a mainstay rerun in the Black community and I always thought Shannon Kane was simply phenomenal in it. Wish she was casted more. Such a heartfelt performance. I also recently watched SVU and Lisa Arrindell, another Tyler Perry alum, played a paralyzed opera singer. She was brilliant. She really should be way more booked than she is. And Khandi Alexander also would be so so fun on here and if you’re familiar with her work, you know what I mean.
Crystal Fox would be fun as an elder matriarch, almost an inverse of whom she played on The Haves and the Have-Nots. And then Obba Babatunde as her husband. I’d also love for Karla Mosley to come back to the soap scene. Blair Underwood would be perfect for this, though he is more established than the names I’ve suggested. But perhaps that’s necessary?
Options option options! I have so many more names, but these are few that come to mind. Really hoping we get casting news soon.
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Someone I think would be ideal for the soap genre, who has to my knowledge never done one is Robin Givens. I think she’d be perfect as a villain.
I also think that Garcelle Beauvais could be a fantastic choice for a role on this show, even if it’s a short term role. Garcelle is a fantastic actress and could bring a lot of depth to a role. I see her playing a fierce attorney who fights for her clients.
For male actors, I’d like to see Jason Olive cast in a role. and if he’s still working Kiko Ellsworth was great on Port Charles and could be a good choice here to.
Joseph C. Phillips was great as Justus War on GH in the 90’s and I think could be fantastic as a patriarch on this show.
ReplyCopy URL"and to the fans, I was only supposed be on every other Tuesday. But thanks to you I'm here to stay. I'm going back to that studio on Monday and I'm going to play Erica Kane for all she's worth."- Susan Lucci, 1999 Daytime Emmy Speech.
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