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the expected soap opera fare\u2014passion, intrigue, betrayals, rivalries, outsize ambitions, relationships and lots of love, all set against the backdrop of the glamorous fashion world\u2014what has set The Bold and the Beautiful <\/em>apart is its emphasis on family, its high-end production values and its willingness to tackle tough topics.<\/p>\nViewers have seen how the homeless of Skid Row in L.A. live, witnessed the near-deadly grip of alcoholism, the heartbreaking agony of a cancer diagnosis, and the difficulties and dangers of being an illegal immigrant.<\/p>\n
In the past year, Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer since the \u201990s, has introduced a transgender character, Maya Avant, a beautiful model, fianc\u00e9 and then wife of the Forrester Creations heir, Rick Forrester. Viewers have learned of Maya\u2019s treacherous journey from Myron to Maya and have ![\"***Image***\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2015-12-01-bradley.jpg\")
witnessed the prejudice she encounters not only from strangers and so-called friends, but also mostly from her father\u2014none of which is treated superficially.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s true that there have been other transgender characters on television as of late, from Jeffrey Tambor\u2019s award-winning portrayal of Maura Pfefferman on Amazon Studios\u2019 Transparent<\/em> to Caitlyn Jenner on I Am Cait<\/em> to Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black<\/em>, fans of Maya on The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em> benefited from a soap opera\u2019s daily storytelling pace. Not only did The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em> unfold the story slowly, it also had the luxury of time to show Maya\u2019s many challenges and emotional states, as well as those of her father, and the prejudice he encountered in his community and on the job as the father of a transgendered person. The result was a detailed and thorough 360-degree depiction, buoyed by the fact that beloved characters were telling the story to loyal fans with whom they share a strong bond\u2014making the transgender issue resonate more strongly than when treated in a news story or documentary.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel we have to entertain our audience but we also have to use this time to hopefully inform them and enlighten them; we must use this platform to open some minds\u2014that\u2019s what we tried to do with the transgender story,\u201d explains Bell. \u201cThere is a lot of work to be done in the world and I always think of the global reach that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSouthern California is a place where people are very progressive in their thinking,\u201d continues Bell. \u201cThat is a good way to be; to be overly critical or judgmental of how people live their lives is not a good way to live and that\u2019s what we are trying to do with the transgender story line: demonstrate the challenges that transgender people have to endure and hopefully get some people in the audience to be more accepting of them.\u201d<\/p>\n According to M\u00e9diam\u00e9trie\/Eurodata TV Worldwide, average global viewership of The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em> from 2006 to 2015 has been 18.35 million viewers per day. If countries and territories that do not have people-meter audience measurement systems in place are included in the tally, it has been estimated that 25 million people watch The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em> every day around the world.<\/p>\n For Bell, portraying transgender issues accurately has been as important as keeping his audience entertained and coming back for more each day. He has therefore sought the guidance of GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in crafting Maya\u2019s story.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working very closely with GLAAD,\u201d he says. \u201cNick Adams [GLAAD\u2019s director of programs for transgender media] has been working with us on terminology, reading all of our scripts, [adding] his input into all of our stories and being a real cheerleader for us. He\u2019s been incredibly invaluable in guiding us. This is new to me, too, and that\u2019s what\u2019s so exciting. It\u2019s been an education for so many people, including the writers, directors and actors who work here. It\u2019s just been a wonderful experience as you learn there is a proper term and you understand why the term is that way. It\u2019s about awareness and it\u2019s been a great eye-opener.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Maya story line has been very well received inside the LGBT community, Bell is aware that it has not been without risks. In fact, he admits that at the onset he was worried. Indeed, reaction from outside the community has been mixed. \u201cThere are going to be places in the U.S. that don\u2019t like the story,\u201d Bell says. \u201cThere are going to be countries around the world that are going to feel that this is too much and inappropriate, especially if you watch with family members young and old. But I thought it was worth the risk and I\u2019m so grateful that CBS has been supportive of the story line, whereas I think they would not have been five years ago and certainly not ten years ago. But now they have and I\u2019m so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Maya\u2019s story was one of the reasons TV Guide<\/em> magazine named Bell a \u201cPower Daytimer\u201d in its recent Power Issue. The Bold and the Beautiful<\/em> has been a constant ratings juggernaut for CBS\u2019s daytime schedule, but the show\u2019s influence is also felt far from U.S. shores.<\/p>\n Based on M\u00e9diam\u00e9trie\/Eurodata TV Worldwide research, The<\/em> Bold and the Beautiful <\/em>has likely been the most watched soap opera in the world since the 1990s. In most territories, it\u2019s the number one show in its time slot, and has performed very well for Canale 5 in Italy; Network Ten in Australia; SABC3 in South Africa; RTL4, RTL8 and RTL Lounge in the Netherlands; and RTS in French-speaking Switzerland, to name a few.<\/p>\n In an effort to further the show\u2019s connection with international fans, over the years Bell has organized on-location shoots in several countries, including Italy, Australia, Monaco and the Netherlands. Bell is hoping for two international shoots in 2016.<\/p>\n No article about a soap opera would be complete without some spoilers, so for Forrester fans, the following comes straight from Bell: Even though Maya and Rick are married, they continue to face challenges. As Maya is not able to carry a child, she has asked her sister Nicole to be a surrogate. In 2016, we will see if Nicole\u2019s pregnancy will bring the already close sisters even closer or if it will pull them apart. And here is another complex, emotional topic: surrogacy.<\/p>\n Viewers will continue to see more of Maya\u2019s family in the coming year.<\/p>\n And Brooke Logan (who has had more husbands than I can remember, is it five?) has been without a man in her life for a long time\u2014too long. In 2016, Brooke, the very romantic, hot and controversial lover, will be making a comeback!<\/p>\n But for all the passion and intrigue, Bell always comes back to the show\u2019s strong moral compass. \u201cI think we have a morality that viewers can trust,\u201d he says. \u201cIf characters do bad things, in the end the story will wrap up in a way that, for the most part, good and decent behavior is rewarded, and I think that is life-affirming. We try to be motivational and we try to be a bit of a guide and more than just entertainment\u2014a bit of a moral barometer when and if we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful, talks to TV Drama about the show’s enduring legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[116,117],"class_list":["post-5365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","tag-bradley-bell","tag-the-bold-and-the-beautiful","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n