B&B TO RESUME PRODUCTION IN JUNE?
B&B’s cast and crew reportedly received a memo informing them that Bellphillip Television Inc. was preparing to resume production in June, according to a story on deadline.com. The report added that it was just a projected start date and the situation remains fluid.
“We are really, really itching to get back in there and give you guys some more story but we want to stay safe, too,” said Scott Clifton (Liam) during a live Twitter chat with B&B fans. “Even when we go back, there is going to be a lot of protocol that wasn’t in place before. We’re going to have to do things a lot differently. It’s going to be a lot smaller set, fewer people on it, a lot of measures to make sure that everybody is healthy and safe and not infecting anybody, and we might even have to film things a little bit differently, where we’re not necessarily in such close proximity for these scenes ... We’re dying to get back to work but we have to do it safely and intelligently.”
Clifton’s co-star, Jacqueline Macinnes Wood (Steffy), spoke with Tshisalive in South Africa, and shared what went on at the set on the final tape days before the unexpected break. “The mood was very interest
ing because we didn’t know we were going into quarantine,” she recalled. “We film two weeks on, one week off. Early in March, I filmed a few episodes and was off for the week. We thought we were coming back. When we were filming, we had no idea about the gravity of COVID-19 and assumed we would be coming back right away.”
Wood echoed Clifton’s notes about upcoming procedural changes that need to be in effect before any taping can commence. “I am kind of navigating this, so I don’t really know,” she hedged. “I think behind the scenes there will be a skeleton crew, or smaller crew, and I guess more organized with how we shoot, with audio and directors and making sure we wash our hands and [maintain] cleanliness around the studio.”
Clifton added that there are no definite plans, and the situation could still change as it has in the past three months.
“We’re going to have to do things a lot differently.” — Scott Clifton (Liam)
“Yes, we have an idea,” he stated about what still needs to be done. “We were told, all of us, the whole cast, we were told that we were going to try for mid-may, so like May 15th-ish, but we had been given other dates before that didn’t pan out because things keep changing, so everything is tentative.”
Clifton and Wood are not the only actors who are “itching” to get back to work. Darin Brooks (Wyatt) tells Digest, “I miss everyone there. The cast. The crew. We really are like a family, and it’s been too long for us not to see our family. That’s been tough. Sure, I text and do video chats and call but there’s only so much of that you can do. I really look forward to seeing everyone again in person.”
Katrina Bowden (Flo) says that she’s hearing from fans who are anxious to get things rolling, as they want to know Flo’s fate after being knocked out by a panicstricken Penny. Chuckles the actress, “It’s so funny, I’ve gotten a lot of messages saying, ‘How can you leave us hanging like this? We want to know what happened!’ I know there were a lot of the fans who were kind of upset that was the cliffhanger they were left on, but that’s a good thing. Always leave them wanting more!”
Returning to the set would likely need the approval of CBS Television City, where the show tapes. Furthermore, the actors’ unions of SAGAFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) are advising their members not to accept any work during the pandemic without seeking the unions’ approval. However, what could work in B&B’S favor is that unlike the three other remaining soaps, the show is owned outright by the Bell family, unlike Disney/abc which owns GH, and Sony, which is a producing partner of Y&R and DAYS. Setsiders say that without all of that bureaucratic red tape, B&B could indeed be the first soap back up and running.