Howard Wise/jpistudios.com(2); Disney/Bahareh Ritter; XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
It was a big year for (from l.) B&B’s Hope (Annika Noelle), Y&R’s Jack (Peter Bergman), GH’s Tracy (Jane Elliot) and DAYS’s Alex (Robert Scott Wilson).
My colleagues hashed out Digest‘s collective picks for 2024’s best and worst stories — check out B&B’s here, DAYS’s here, GH’s here and Y&R’s here. I agree with most of them, but here are my two cents!
General Hospital
Best: Quartermania
You know you’ve got a good thing going when one family home has multiple sets. The action at the Quartermaine house moves seamlessly from living room to kitchen, foyer, library, children’s playroom, garage apartment and gate house thanks to its many inhabitants engaging in nefarious activities. Jason and Dante recently took up residence to keep their kids, Danny and Rocco, together with Drew’s daughter, Scout… a move that allows Jason to punch Drew in the foyer at will. Exes Ned/Lois and Chase/Sasha routinely meet in the kitchen while sex rompers Drew/Willow and Michael/Sasha have more clandestine encounters. Josslyn, Trina and Gio round out the younger set, while Tracy makes fun of all of them. The entertaining chaos that comes from this rowdy ensemble of characters (and actors!) is unlike anything else on daytime, and it’s a home run.
Worst: Too many dropped stories
GH endured three different sets of head writers this year and it’s clear they wish they hadn’t started down certain roads — like Natalia being a homophobe, Heather’s retcon from murderer to wacky bum-hip sufferer, and rebranding swarthy Jagger as a blond FBI agent with a 30-year-old axe to grind. But Sonny can’t kill Jagger on the Quartermaine estate where we know there are cameras everywhere (because they busted Kristina) with no consequences or follow-up! Other unanswered questions include who killed Austin (yes, he was murdered in 2023, but I still want to know!), who bought Wyndemere, where is Scotty, and who is Gio (and why should we care)?
Applause: Cutting the cast
Last year, I preached that fewer characters would equal stronger storytelling. This year, GH parted ways with major players like Spencer, Finn and Sam, as well as ancillary ones like Esme, Gregory and Dex. While I wasn’t thrilled with all of those exits, they cleared needed space to bring Jason back while also beefing up Laura’s core family with Lucky and Lulu.
Picky, Picky: What happened to break up to make up?
What is the point of splitting popular duos and then not crossing them? Sonny and Nina should run into each other once a week. Ditto Jason/Liz, Ned/Alexis and even Sasha/Cody. Play the longing, sadness and/or awkwardness in what could have been (and might be again). It’s a soap opera!
Bold And Beautiful
Best: Brooke Finds her Backbone
Time was when Brooke Logan would do anything for a man, but after 15 marriages, Brooke came into her own this year. She stood up for “The Logans” against the Forresters’ slings and arrows at work and at home, relaunched her wildly successful bedroom line, and seemed perfectly content living with Ridge and not marrying him (for the ninth time). When she got wind of Hope and Carter’s plot to take over Forrester, she ran straight to Ridge, risking her relationship with her daughter. With Ridge, Steffy and Eric out, she’s now risking her relationship with Ridge by agreeing to helm Forrester. That’s a baller move that proves she has confidence in her own ability, even if it means she may have to go it alone without her “destiny” Ridge. Can you spell G-R-O-W-T-H?
Worst: Hope Is Lost
Hope is a well-liked, smart character who has lost her way. She began the year coming off her fifth marriage and struggling to decide if she should marry her former stepbrother, Thomas. She asked for more time; Thomas got engaged to Paris and left town. Hope moved on to the husband of her former stepsister (and boss!), Steffy, escalating her advances until she kissed the horrified Finn. Next up: Forrester COO Carter Walton, for whom Hope donned lingerie in the office, accidentally fell on Finn, and got fired by an outraged Steffy, who had had enough of her shenanigans. Hope got revenge by joining Carter in a coup to take control of Forrester, ruining her relationship with the Forrester family and probably her mother’s with Ridge. She has children she never sees, questionable behavior with men, and a failing fashion line that somehow is never her fault. When Ridge Forrester calls his former beloved stepdaughter a “bitch” and a “slut,” it’s time for Hope to get a reset.
Applause: Will + Electra = Spencer/Forrester 3.0
It’s been a long time since B&B had an appealing young couple with the built-in drama that comes with a Spencer hooking up with a Forrester. Caroline/Ridge and Liam/Steffy provided years of angst for all involved, and Will/Electra seem designed to do the same with Bill questioning his son’s new girlfriend (“You’re dating a Forrester?!”) and Electra having a stalker.
Picky, Picky: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Where to start? Liam vowing to Will he was going to get Hope back then vanishing without even trying, Taylor “dying,” Poppy disappearing, Sheila pouring coffee… but I’m gonna go with Donna Logan being nowhere in Steffy’s perpetual attacks on the Logans. Donna is married to Steffy’s grandfather, Eric! Eric should be sticking up for Donna and her sister, Brooke (the mother of his two youngest children) every time — or at least telling his relatives to stick it. There’s drama to be mined there. Play it!
Young And Restless
Best: Jack v. Victor
Talk about history repeating itself. Jack married Nikki the first time in 1990 soon after she divorced Victor. That same year, Victor wed Jack’s sister Ashley. Both of those unions flamed out spectacularly, leaving Jack and Victor blaming each other for the hurt and anger left in their wake. Their feud sputtered in recent years but it came roaring back in 2024 when Nikki went behind Victor’s back and asked Jack to be her AA sponsor. Victor was outraged that his wife had turned to his enemy and vowed to bring down the entire Abbott family as punishment. He helped turn Kyle against his parents (for a while), got Diane to fire Kyle at Glissade and ousted Billy at Chancellor. For his part, Jack continued to check in on Nikki, secretly bought Glissade and succeeded in wooing Kyle back to the family fold. Jack and Victor’s scenes crackle with a hate that’s been marinating for 35 years, and that’s a great recipe for drama.
Worst: Where’s the love?
Lily/Daniel, Victoria/Nate, Audra/Tucker, Billy/Chelsea, Adam/Sally, and Summer/Chance all split this year. Abby and Devon’s wedding left them back-burnered; Heather’s murder left Daniel in mourning; Phyllis, Lily and Nick are alone; and Sharon’s mental problems supersede her looking for love. So, what are we left with? Consolation couple Billy and Sally (“Really?” eye rolled Phyllis), Kyle pursuing Claire, Nate and Audra trying to make fetch happen and whatever Victoria and Cole are. (Jack/Diane and Victor/Nikki are together but they don’t exactly have love scenes…) It’s possible that Traci/Alan, Mariah/Tessa, and Michael/Lauren are happy, but it’s off-screen so how would we know? If Y&R put half the energy into uniting couples that they put into all those mergers and acquisitions, this soap could soar with Bill Bell energy again.
Applause: Hear Lily Roar
The year began with Lily finding out her partner, Daniel, had cheated with his ex, Heather. Despite being blindsided, there was no diva-like scene — Lily mourned the end of her relationship in private and put all her energy into being a successful CEO at Chancellor. Billy upended that dream, firing Lily and causing her to team up with Victor to get the company back. Victor backstabbed her, putting Nikki in charge. That propelled Lily back to her family biz, joining Devon and cousin Nate at Winters. At no point in this round-robin of devastating setbacks did Lily cry “poor me” or admit defeat personally or professionally. It’s a rare soap opera heroine who can say that.
Picky, Picky: Motels R Us
It’s a troubling trend across all soaps, but Y&R really overuses the hotel room set. Half of Genoa City lives at the Athletic Club, newlyweds Abby and Devon got no wedding night (or even a steamy kiss), and Jordan and Ian have been hiding out in a rundown motel for weeks that seems to have no kitchen (do they even have a hot plate?). I get that soaps don’t want to pay for bedroom sets, but buy a bed and rotate some different pillows!
Days of Our Lives
Best: The More Kiriakises the better
The reveal during the Alex/Theresa, Sarah/Xander wedding that Alex wasn’t the true Kiriakis heir — Xander was — kicked off welcome Kiriakis action. Fiona’s confirmation that she had slept with Victor while married to his brother, Titus, left Alex reeling and propelled the annoying Theresa out of town. Win, win! Money-hungry Xander was skeptical of his mother Fiona’s entreaties that he cash in on Victor’s estate, choosing instead to evolve into a devoted father and husband. (A comically honest moment came during their vows when Sarah quipped Xander would do anything for her, “both legal and illegal.”) Enter Philip with a forged letter saying Victor wanted him to run Titan, accompanied by his always-entertaining mother, Vivian Alamain. Since both Xander and Philip are Victor’s biological sons, they each had a legitimate claim, so off to court they went. The judge split Titan in half, giving them each 50% of the company. What could go wrong?
Worst: Waaaay too many new characters
Last year’s relative newcomers Sloan, Talia, Dimitri, Harris, Gwen, Everett, and Fiona are already gone. Konstantin was a bust, so naturally they gave him a daughter, Catharina, and a granddaughter, Cat, who fooled Chad into thinking she was his plastic-surgeried late wife, Abby, to really bust him up. Cat brought siblings Felicity, Mark and Aaron along with her, so now we have an entire family of strangers. Add Joy, Javi and New Doug and it’s like watching a new soap (and not a great one). It’s difficult to invest in newcomers when they are often played together and there’s a good chance many of them won’t last.
Applause: Nicole Gets A Happy Ending
After 26 years of husbands and paternity tests and baby switches and kidnappings, Nicole got her baby back and moved to Paris with Jude and the love of her life, Eric Brady. Eric is still bopping in and out of Salem, and Nicole remains a presence through her daughter, Holly, so we know that Nicole Walker Robbins Horton Kiriakis DiMera DiMera Brady Hernandez DiMera is alive and bien. She’s just off-screen.
Picky, Picky: Wrecking An Iconic Set
Burning down the Horton house in early 2024 feels like a metaphor for what went down the rest of the year. DAYS lost three of its most important and beloved actors in Bill Hayes (Doug Williams), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), and Wayne Northrop (ex-Roman Brady); saw the show eaten by Body and Soul (which had been fantastic the year before in small doses); and endured a head writer shake-up.
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com(2); Disney/Bahareh Ritter; XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
It was a big year for (from l.) B&B’s Hope (Annika Noelle), Y&R’s Jack (Peter Bergman), GH’s Tracy (Jane Elliot) and DAYS’s Alex (Robert Scott Wilson).
My colleagues hashed out Digest‘s collective picks for 2024’s best and worst stories — check out B&B’s here, DAYS’s here, GH’s here and Y&R’s here. I agree with most of them, but here are my two cents!
General Hospital
Best: Quartermania
You know you’ve got a good thing going when one family home has multiple sets. The action at the Quartermaine house moves seamlessly from living room to kitchen, foyer, library, children’s playroom, garage apartment and gate house thanks to its many inhabitants engaging in nefarious activities. Jason and Dante recently took up residence to keep their kids, Danny and Rocco, together with Drew’s daughter, Scout… a move that allows Jason to punch Drew in the foyer at will. Exes Ned/Lois and Chase/Sasha routinely meet in the kitchen while sex rompers Drew/Willow and Michael/Sasha have more clandestine encounters. Josslyn, Trina and Gio round out the younger set, while Tracy makes fun of all of them. The entertaining chaos that comes from this rowdy ensemble of characters (and actors!) is unlike anything else on daytime, and it’s a home run.
Worst: Too many dropped stories
GH endured three different sets of head writers this year and it’s clear they wish they hadn’t started down certain roads — like Natalia being a homophobe, Heather’s retcon from murderer to wacky bum-hip sufferer, and rebranding swarthy Jagger as a blond FBI agent with a 30-year-old axe to grind. But Sonny can’t kill Jagger on the Quartermaine estate where we know there are cameras everywhere (because they busted Kristina) with no consequences or follow-up! Other unanswered questions include who killed Austin (yes, he was murdered in 2023, but I still want to know!), who bought Wyndemere, where is Scotty, and who is Gio (and why should we care)?
Applause: Cutting the cast
Last year, I preached that fewer characters would equal stronger storytelling. This year, GH parted ways with major players like Spencer, Finn and Sam, as well as ancillary ones like Esme, Gregory and Dex. While I wasn’t thrilled with all of those exits, they cleared needed space to bring Jason back while also beefing up Laura’s core family with Lucky and Lulu.
Picky, Picky: What happened to break up to make up?
What is the point of splitting popular duos and then not crossing them? Sonny and Nina should run into each other once a week. Ditto Jason/Liz, Ned/Alexis and even Sasha/Cody. Play the longing, sadness and/or awkwardness in what could have been (and might be again). It’s a soap opera!
Bold And Beautiful
Best: Brooke Finds her Backbone
Time was when Brooke Logan would do anything for a man, but after 15 marriages, Brooke came into her own this year. She stood up for “The Logans” against the Forresters’ slings and arrows at work and at home, relaunched her wildly successful bedroom line, and seemed perfectly content living with Ridge and not marrying him (for the ninth time). When she got wind of Hope and Carter’s plot to take over Forrester, she ran straight to Ridge, risking her relationship with her daughter. With Ridge, Steffy and Eric out, she’s now risking her relationship with Ridge by agreeing to helm Forrester. That’s a baller move that proves she has confidence in her own ability, even if it means she may have to go it alone without her “destiny” Ridge. Can you spell G-R-O-W-T-H?
Worst: Hope Is Lost
Hope is a well-liked, smart character who has lost her way. She began the year coming off her fifth marriage and struggling to decide if she should marry her former stepbrother, Thomas. She asked for more time; Thomas got engaged to Paris and left town. Hope moved on to the husband of her former stepsister (and boss!), Steffy, escalating her advances until she kissed the horrified Finn. Next up: Forrester COO Carter Walton, for whom Hope donned lingerie in the office, accidentally fell on Finn, and got fired by an outraged Steffy, who had had enough of her shenanigans. Hope got revenge by joining Carter in a coup to take control of Forrester, ruining her relationship with the Forrester family and probably her mother’s with Ridge. She has children she never sees, questionable behavior with men, and a failing fashion line that somehow is never her fault. When Ridge Forrester calls his former beloved stepdaughter a “bitch” and a “slut,” it’s time for Hope to get a reset.
Applause: Will + Electra = Spencer/Forrester 3.0
It’s been a long time since B&B had an appealing young couple with the built-in drama that comes with a Spencer hooking up with a Forrester. Caroline/Ridge and Liam/Steffy provided years of angst for all involved, and Will/Electra seem designed to do the same with Bill questioning his son’s new girlfriend (“You’re dating a Forrester?!”) and Electra having a stalker.
Picky, Picky: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Where to start? Liam vowing to Will he was going to get Hope back then vanishing without even trying, Taylor “dying,” Poppy disappearing, Sheila pouring coffee… but I’m gonna go with Donna Logan being nowhere in Steffy’s perpetual attacks on the Logans. Donna is married to Steffy’s grandfather, Eric! Eric should be sticking up for Donna and her sister, Brooke (the mother of his two youngest children) every time — or at least telling his relatives to stick it. There’s drama to be mined there. Play it!
Young And Restless
Best: Jack v. Victor
Talk about history repeating itself. Jack married Nikki the first time in 1990 soon after she divorced Victor. That same year, Victor wed Jack’s sister Ashley. Both of those unions flamed out spectacularly, leaving Jack and Victor blaming each other for the hurt and anger left in their wake. Their feud sputtered in recent years but it came roaring back in 2024 when Nikki went behind Victor’s back and asked Jack to be her AA sponsor. Victor was outraged that his wife had turned to his enemy and vowed to bring down the entire Abbott family as punishment. He helped turn Kyle against his parents (for a while), got Diane to fire Kyle at Glissade and ousted Billy at Chancellor. For his part, Jack continued to check in on Nikki, secretly bought Glissade and succeeded in wooing Kyle back to the family fold. Jack and Victor’s scenes crackle with a hate that’s been marinating for 35 years, and that’s a great recipe for drama.
Worst: Where’s the love?
Lily/Daniel, Victoria/Nate, Audra/Tucker, Billy/Chelsea, Adam/Sally, and Summer/Chance all split this year. Abby and Devon’s wedding left them back-burnered; Heather’s murder left Daniel in mourning; Phyllis, Lily and Nick are alone; and Sharon’s mental problems supersede her looking for love. So, what are we left with? Consolation couple Billy and Sally (“Really?” eye rolled Phyllis), Kyle pursuing Claire, Nate and Audra trying to make fetch happen and whatever Victoria and Cole are. (Jack/Diane and Victor/Nikki are together but they don’t exactly have love scenes…) It’s possible that Traci/Alan, Mariah/Tessa, and Michael/Lauren are happy, but it’s off-screen so how would we know? If Y&R put half the energy into uniting couples that they put into all those mergers and acquisitions, this soap could soar with Bill Bell energy again.
Applause: Hear Lily Roar
The year began with Lily finding out her partner, Daniel, had cheated with his ex, Heather. Despite being blindsided, there was no diva-like scene — Lily mourned the end of her relationship in private and put all her energy into being a successful CEO at Chancellor. Billy upended that dream, firing Lily and causing her to team up with Victor to get the company back. Victor backstabbed her, putting Nikki in charge. That propelled Lily back to her family biz, joining Devon and cousin Nate at Winters. At no point in this round-robin of devastating setbacks did Lily cry “poor me” or admit defeat personally or professionally. It’s a rare soap opera heroine who can say that.
Picky, Picky: Motels R Us
It’s a troubling trend across all soaps, but Y&R really overuses the hotel room set. Half of Genoa City lives at the Athletic Club, newlyweds Abby and Devon got no wedding night (or even a steamy kiss), and Jordan and Ian have been hiding out in a rundown motel for weeks that seems to have no kitchen (do they even have a hot plate?). I get that soaps don’t want to pay for bedroom sets, but buy a bed and rotate some different pillows!
Days of Our Lives
Best: The More Kiriakises the better
The reveal during the Alex/Theresa, Sarah/Xander wedding that Alex wasn’t the true Kiriakis heir — Xander was — kicked off welcome Kiriakis action. Fiona’s confirmation that she had slept with Victor while married to his brother, Titus, left Alex reeling and propelled the annoying Theresa out of town. Win, win! Money-hungry Xander was skeptical of his mother Fiona’s entreaties that he cash in on Victor’s estate, choosing instead to evolve into a devoted father and husband. (A comically honest moment came during their vows when Sarah quipped Xander would do anything for her, “both legal and illegal.”) Enter Philip with a forged letter saying Victor wanted him to run Titan, accompanied by his always-entertaining mother, Vivian Alamain. Since both Xander and Philip are Victor’s biological sons, they each had a legitimate claim, so off to court they went. The judge split Titan in half, giving them each 50% of the company. What could go wrong?
Worst: Waaaay too many new characters
Last year’s relative newcomers Sloan, Talia, Dimitri, Harris, Gwen, Everett, and Fiona are already gone. Konstantin was a bust, so naturally they gave him a daughter, Catharina, and a granddaughter, Cat, who fooled Chad into thinking she was his plastic-surgeried late wife, Abby, to really bust him up. Cat brought siblings Felicity, Mark and Aaron along with her, so now we have an entire family of strangers. Add Joy, Javi and New Doug and it’s like watching a new soap (and not a great one). It’s difficult to invest in newcomers when they are often played together and there’s a good chance many of them won’t last.
Applause: Nicole Gets A Happy Ending
After 26 years of husbands and paternity tests and baby switches and kidnappings, Nicole got her baby back and moved to Paris with Jude and the love of her life, Eric Brady. Eric is still bopping in and out of Salem, and Nicole remains a presence through her daughter, Holly, so we know that Nicole Walker Robbins Horton Kiriakis DiMera DiMera Brady Hernandez DiMera is alive and bien. She’s just off-screen.
Picky, Picky: Wrecking An Iconic Set
Burning down the Horton house in early 2024 feels like a metaphor for what went down the rest of the year. DAYS lost three of its most important and beloved actors in Bill Hayes (Doug Williams), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), and Wayne Northrop (ex-Roman Brady); saw the show eaten by Body and Soul (which had been fantastic the year before in small doses); and endured a head writer shake-up.