Turn your eye to the latest casting news on Soap Central and you will notice that a lot of big names soap opera actors like Sarah Brown, Rebecca Budig, Debbi Morgan, and Darnell Williams are returning to daytime. Sprinkle in a few primetime and movie actors like Shirley Jones and Mario Van Peebles and there is a sudden influx of talent to daytime television, a genre that many have labeled "dying." Believe it or not, this could be only the tip of the iceberg.
THE WRITERS' STRIKE |
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Soap fans around the globe counted on soapcentral.com to cover the Writers Guild of America's strike and its impact on daytime television. Here is archived coverage of our news coverage of the strike.
STRIKE ENDS THE ISSUES REACTION THE IMPACT |
The result is a lot of unemployed or underemployed actors. Soap operas, often shunned by performers as a "lesser" genre, have suddenly become a very attractive commodity. This is due, in part, to the fact that soaps are one of the few forms of entertainment still in active production. The soaps are being kept afloat by writers who have taken financial core ("fi-core") status with the striking Writers Guild of America, and so-called scab writers. As a result, the only fresh acting jobs in television may be in daytime drama.
In some regions, daytime dramas like The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful achieve ratings similar to some successful primetime shows, because of niche populations such as large numbers of retirees. In other markets, soaps are struggling. In general, the soap audience has eroded by nearly 50% in the last decade or so.
The ability to take advantage of this opportunity to cast big name actors is a boon for soaps, but Frons cautions that stunt casting is not a long-term solution for the struggling soap industry. Viewers will not tune in simply because "they hear people from 20 years ago" are coming back to soaps, he explains. Storyline is what count -- and good storytelling is the only thing that will keep viewers. And the viewers are among many who look forward to the end of the writers' strike.