Next Generation Entertainment Soaps

f NEXT GENERATION ENTERTAINMENT SOAPS THE MIKE MANNING CONVERSATION FROM THE REAL WORLD TO BEYOND THE GATES COMING OUT, FINDING HIS VOICE, AND BRINGING SMITTY TO LIFE Presented by Anthony Corona Media Home of the Sunday Edition Family of Podcasts and Digital Media Content Services What happens when the real world, the reel world, and the wonderfully outrageous world of daytime drama collide? You get Mike Manning! Actor, producer, advocate, and two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Mike Manning joined the Next Generation Entertainment Soaps crew for a conversation that took us well beyond the scripts, the sets, and the sensational storylines. And what a conversation it was! We traveled back to Mike’s time on MTV’s The Real World: D.C., exploring what it meant to come out as bisexual in the public eye at just 22 years old, the challenges and discoveries that followed, and how those experiences helped shape the man, artist, and advocate he would become. We talked about finding his voice, embracing his identity, and using his platform to advocate for others. From his involvement with the documentary Kidnapped for Christ to his work connected with The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, we explored the projects, people, and causes that have helped define his journey beyond acting. And then, of course, we went through the gates! Mike opened up about the extraordinary full-circle experience of portraying Bradley “Smitty” Smith on CBS’s Beyond the Gates, an investigative journalist navigating marriage, family, ambition, and life alongside Congressman Martin Richardson. We talked about what that representation means today, and perhaps even more poignantly, what seeing a character like Smitty on daytime television might have meant to the 22-year-old Mike Manning who was just beginning to embrace and share his own identity with the world. We also revisited Salem and Mike’s unforgettable portrayal of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives, a character whose dark and explosive storyline certainly gave daytime viewers plenty to talk about. And naturally, we explored the remarkable reception Beyond the Gates has received, the response to Smitty and his storyline, Mike’s Daytime Emmy nomination for the role, and the creative opportunities that continue to unfold throughout his career. There were stories, surprises, reflections, plenty of laughter, and moments of genuine vulnerability. Mike was funny, engaging, thoughtful, raw, honest, and wonderfully generous with his time and experiences. We loved every minute of having him at our table. AND THEN, THE SOAPS KEPT BUBBLING! Following our conversation with Mike, we rolled right into everything you’ve come to expect from the Next Generation Entertainment Soaps crew. The latest recaps. Breaking news. Casting developments. Spoilers. Predictions. Questions. Theories. And, of course, our occasionally outrageous opinions about what our favorite characters have been getting themselves into. From General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful to The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, and Beyond the Gates, there was no shortage of drama to dissect. Because the drama never stops, the theories never end, and our opinions are never in short supply! A SPECIAL THANK YOU Our sincere thanks to Mike Manning for joining us, sharing his story, and giving us a conversation that was as entertaining as it was meaningful. A very special thank you to Carolyn for helping take this interview from an idea to the microphone. Your work behind the scenes helped make this wonderful evening possible. And, as always, thank you to our fabulous Next Generation Entertainment Soaps family: David, Candace, and Sue Ellen, for bringing their knowledge, humor, enthusiasm, and perspectives to the conversation. Ashley couldn’t join us for this episode, but her spirit was certainly felt around the table  Listen to Next Generation Entertainment Soaps wherever you catch your podcasts or by clicking here: ! JOIN THE CONVERSATION What did you think of our conversation with Mike? Are you loving Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Do you remember Charlie Dale’s explosive run on Days of Our Lives? And what storylines have you talking, cheering, shouting at your television, or wondering whether your favorite soap writers have completely lost their minds? We want to hear from you! Reach the Next Generation Entertainment Soaps team at: [email protected] ABOUT NEXT GENERATION ENTERTAINMENT SOAPS Next Generation Entertainment Soaps is part of Anthony Corona Media, home of the Sunday Edition Family of Podcasts and Digital Media Content Services. Join us for conversations with the people who bring daytime drama to life, along with recaps, news, spoilers, predictions, commentary, and plenty of laughter from a crew that loves soaps just as much as you do. Listen to our programming on Corona FM and 2020 The Beacon, and find more from the Sunday Edition Family of Podcasts at: www.anthonycorona.com You never know who might be sitting around our table next! pisode Notes Notes go here Support Next Generation Entertainment Soaps by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/nge-soaps Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/nge-soaps/42ab3c77-09d1-4697-ab10-ef625cc3ca24 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

THE REMIX PRESENTS: RC CATES 11 EMMYS AND THE MUSIC BEHIND THE SOAPS Multiple Emmy winner RC Cates joins Pam and Anthony on Take2 Radio: The Remix for a conversation about a career spent creating music from nearly every angle, as a guitarist, composer, producer and music supervisor. RC takes us back to discovering music and his early years performing and touring with Entourage before making the move into composing and producing. Along the way, his career crossed paths with a Prince. RC shares the story behind co-composing music for Prince projects 3 Chains O’ Gold and The Beautiful Experience, and takes us inside a remarkable career creating music for television. And for soap fans, this is where things get especially interesting. With 11 Emmy Awards for his work across the soap opera landscape, RC has helped create some of the music that became part of the emotional soundtrack of daytime television, including work for The Young and the Restless and General Hospital. What does it actually take to compose music for television? RC takes us behind the scenes of the process, talks about how technology has transformed the way he creates and works, and shares some of the music and projects that remain closest to his heart. We also get into RC’s own music, his years in the business and, naturally, a few stories collected along the way. Find RC Cates and his music on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rc-cates EDITOR’S NOTE Pam and Anthony are taking some fascinating journeys with comedians, musicians and legacy acting interviews on Take2 Radio: The Remix. Through a joint partnership between the Sunday Edition family of podcasts and Take2 Radio, we’re sitting down with people who have stories to tell, adventures to share and careers worth exploring from a few different angles. So why are we sharing this particular conversation with our Next Generation Entertainment Soaps audience? Eleven very good reasons. RC Cates has earned 11 Emmy Awards for music he has created across the soap opera landscape, including work connected to The Young and the Restless and General Hospital. For those of us who love daytime, music is part of the storytelling. It tells us when to worry, when to hope, when somebody is about to fall in love and, occasionally, when somebody probably should not open that door. This conversation gives us the opportunity to meet one of the people behind that soundtrack. Search for Sunday Edition with Anthony Corona, Next Generation Entertainment Soaps, Take2 Radio and Take2 Radio: The Remix wherever you listen to your podcasts. pisode Notes Notes go here Support Next Generation Entertainment Soaps by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/nge-soaps Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/nge-soaps/ac75538d-95dc-49a0-a142-11ade090ebac This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

NEXT GENERATION ENTERTAINMENT SOAPS Soapland waited a little longer for us this time, but we promise there was a perfectly good reason. First, our apologies for the delay in getting this episode into your podcast feed. A few technical difficulties decided to write themselves into the storyline, and Anthony was away enjoying a little birthday vacation. So while Anthony was off celebrating another trip around the sun, Candice grabbed the facilitator mic, gathered the gang, and kept the conversation moving. And yes, all of our usual theories, disagreements, detours, laughter, and general soap-loving antics abound. This time around, the crew has plenty to say about all five daytime dramas. BEYOND THE GATES Could Heather somehow be behind the deaths of Andre’s parents? We dig into that theory and what it could mean if the pieces really do begin pointing in her direction. Meanwhile, Haley and Bill’s story continues, but is it actually going anywhere? The panel talks about why this storyline needs more movement and what might finally kick it into another gear. And we have some well-earned praise for Kelly Sullivan as Darcy. She has made an impression, and we’re talking about why. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS New writing material is expected to begin airing November 11, and naturally that has us wondering what changes might be ahead for Genoa City. But before we get there, we have one rather simple question: Why did we need Matt Clark? Was this return necessary? What has it added? And where exactly is all of this supposed to be going? THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Dylan reminds Katie of Brooke, and apparently that is enough to put Katie’s guard up. But is Katie judging Dylan for who she actually is, or for who she reminds her of? We also talk about Electra and why she needs more investment from the show runners if she is going to stand on equal footing with Dylan. If these younger characters are going to matter to the future of the show, the writing has to give all of them enough material to make us care. DAYS OF OUR LIVES Welcome Sydney Malakeh as Sydney DiMera. And apparently the DiMera DNA is working just fine, because Sydney may have inherited more than the family name. She is already giving us shades of EJ. Meanwhile, Chad and Belle’s Italian journey continues to expand, bringing more entanglement with Marlena, Dominic Moreno, and the mysterious buyer of the Kiriakis estate. The canvas continues filling in story holes created by Deidre Hall’s departure while opening some intriguing new doors along the way. GENERAL HOSPITAL One car accident can rearrange an awfully large portion of Port Charles. We look at how the accident could make Curtis and Jordan more relevant by pulling them more directly into the Quartermaine orbit and creating new intersections among characters who have not always shared story. Then there is Brook Lynn. Is her involvement in everything that has happened really substantial enough to implode her marriage? We debate whether the story has earned those stakes or whether the consequences are racing ahead of the actual offense. QUESTION FOR OUR LISTENERS Candice and Anthony have one for you: What elements from the 1990s soap genre would you like to see return to present-day soaps? Bigger umbrella stories? Longer romances? True supercouples? Sweeps events? Location shoots? Villains who stayed villains long enough for us to truly hate them? Stories that simmered instead of sprinted? We want to hear what you miss and, more importantly, what you think could still work today. Next Generation Entertainment Soaps brings together blind and sighted soap fans for recaps, reactions, theories, history, interviews, spoilers, disagreements and the wonderfully unpredictable conversations that happen when people who genuinely love daytime television get together. Because soaps are better when we watch them together. Catch Next Generation Entertainment Soaps wherever you listen to podcasts, and visit the home of all things Sunday Edition, including the Sunday Edition family of podcasts and digital media content services, at www.anthonycorona.com. Actions available Use the rotor to access Links pisode Notes Notes go here Support Next Generation Entertainment Soaps by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/nge-soaps Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/nge-soaps/58c467a3-15dc-498c-8840-010139ffeb14 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Sunday Edition Presents: THE PRACTICE OF HAPPY CONVERSATION FOUR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Over the past four weeks, The Practice of Happy has explored happiness from several different directions. What is happiness? How do we recognize it? How can happiness exist alongside grief, anger, frustration, fear, disappointment, joy, hope, excitement and everything else that makes up a full emotional life? How do relationships, expectations, outside influences, internal reactions and the voices in our own heads shape the way we experience a moment? And perhaps most importantly, what do we actually do with all of that? In this final conversation, we move from discussion into practice. ❤️🧠🪞🗺️ Anthony Corona is joined by panelists Judy, Mark, Lorna and Gabriel for a practical exploration of the exercises, checklists and internal conversations developed throughout this series. Special thanks to Holly for taking care of the recording and helping keep everything moving behind the scenes. 🎙️❤️ This conversation is built around one important understanding. No two people are the same. These exercises are not rules. They are not written in stone. They are not instructions for the right way to feel, think, react or respond. They are a roadmap. A set of guidelines. A collection of tools you can adapt, change, combine, simplify or completely reshape to form your own internal checklist and your own conversations. The goal is not uniformity. The goal is awareness. To create a little more room between reaction and choice. To better understand what we are feeling. To recognize what may be influencing us. To decide what we actually want. And then to consider what response might move us closer to that outcome. During this conversation, we explore several practical concepts and exercises. 🪞 THE MIRROR AND THE MAP We begin by asking one of the largest questions possible. Who am I? Using 4, 2, 6 breathing as a reset, we look at the emotional and practical skills that are already working, the areas we may want to strengthen, the things that may be blocking us and the qualities we know to be good and true about ourselves. Then we create our own internal mirror statement. A personal mantra. Something honest. Something useful. Something that belongs entirely to us. 🧠 THE INTERNAL CONVERSATION Sometimes there is more than one voice responding to what is happening. Anger. Fear. Sadness. Frustration. Instinct. Experience. Hope. Need. Expectation. The goal is not to silence any of them. Instead, we listen. We identify the strongest voice. We ask whether the loudest voice is actually capable of leading. Then we create an impartial internal leader who can hear the full conversation and help decide what deserves attention, what can wait and what action, if any, should come next. 😊 THE EMOTIONAL TABLE Inspired by the concept behind Inside Out, we imagine our emotions taking seats around an internal table. Who grabbed the biggest chair? Who is dominating the room? Who keeps interrupting? Who has been ignored? Who have we refused to invite? Each emotion gets a voice. Each emotion may get a vote. But no single emotion automatically gets control. The most important person eventually takes the head of the table. You. 🦮 INSIDE OUT AND THE GUIDE DOG DENIAL We bring the emotional table into a real world disability scenario. A Guide Dog handler waits for an Uber. The driver arrives. The driver says no dogs. The handler explains that this is a trained Guide Dog. The driver repeats no dogs and pulls away. Now what? Anger may show up. Frustration may arrive. Fear. Disappointment. Embarrassment. Determination. Problem solving. Maybe several at once. The exercise asks whether Anger can sit beside Reason. Whether Fear can sit beside Confidence. Whether Frustration can sit beside Problem Solving. Whether disappointment can exist alongside the memory of the wonderful evening that came before the denial. Again, the goal is not to remove emotion. It is to put emotion into proportion. 📋 THE THREE CHECKLISTS We also bring together three practical inventories designed to help slow down the progression between feeling, reaction and action. The Emotional Inventory asks. What am I feeling? Why am I feeling it? What is contributing to it? What may be inflaming it? Which feeling is strongest? Which feeling may actually deserve the most attention? The Internal Behavior Inventory asks. What is my immediate reaction? What happens if I wait five minutes? Ten minutes? Overnight? Am I reacting to what actually happened or to what I think happened? Does my proposed response support the outcome I actually want? And what response will I still feel comfortable owning tomorrow? The Influence and Manipulation Inventory asks us to look at the forces around us and within us. What outside factors are shaping how I feel? What story am I telling myself? What assumptions am I making? What do I want? What might someone else want? Are those motivations compatible? Can I influence the situation in a more constructive direction? And ultimately. What influence do I want to have on what happens next? 💬 THE ACCESSIBILITY POST The conversation begins and ends with the same scenario. You post about an accessibility problem. Most responses are helpful. Two are sarcastic, passive aggressive or dismissive. Suddenly those two comments are taking up more emotional space than everything else. We capture the initial reaction. Then we work through the exercises and concepts. At the end, we return to the same situation and ask. What do I feel now? What is influencing me? What do I want? What would I do? Did anything change? Maybe it did. Maybe it did not. Neither answer is the goal. The goal is noticing whether understanding ourselves more clearly changes what happens between reaction and choice. THE PRACTICE OF HAPPY The Practice of Happy is not about pretending everything is wonderful. It is not about suppressing anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment, fear or grief. It is about becoming more aware of what happens between emotion and action. Feeling. Understanding. Pausing. Sorting. Choosing. Responding. Sometimes we may write these answers down. Sometimes we may talk them through with someone we trust. Sometimes the entire process may happen inside our own heads while walking the dog, sitting in traffic, lying in bed or staring at a text message we probably should not answer quite yet. The more often we practice the process, the more familiar it becomes. And perhaps that is where the word practice matters most. Happy is not necessarily a permanent destination. Sometimes happy is something we make room for by understanding everything else already in the room. A SEPARATE PRACTICAL APPENDIX IS COMING There will also be a separate podcast posting featuring the appendix recording of the exercises, checklists and concepts from this conversation. That companion recording is designed as a practical facilitation tool. You can use it to outline your own conversation. Adapt individual exercises. Build your own roadmap. Use selected questions as personal reflection prompts. Or use the material exactly as presented to facilitate a conversation with a group, organization, classroom, team, support network, family or circle of friends. The tools belong to you now. Shape them into something that works for your life. THANK YOU Special thanks to Holly for handling the recording. ❤️🎙️ And thank you to our Conversation Four panelists. Judy. Mark. Lorna. Gabriel. Most of all, thank you to every person who contributed their thoughts, stories, questions, experiences and perspectives throughout all four weeks of The Practice of Happy. We are incredibly proud of where these conversations have taken us. And after four weeks of exploring the ideas, emotions and influences behind happiness, we are finally bringing it all into practical application. Not a rulebook. Not a formula. A roadmap. A starting point. And an invitation to form your own Practice of Happy. ❤️🧠🪞🗺️ pisode Notes Notes go here Support Next Generation Entertainment Soaps by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/nge-soaps Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/nge-soaps/e1f457d6-cde7-438e-83c1-54f7a5e982e6 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Multiple Emmy winner RC Cates joins Pam and Anthony on Take 2 Radio: The Remix to talk about a career spent creating music from nearly every angle—as a guitarist, composer, producer and music supervisor. RC takes us back to discovering music and his early years performing and touring with Entourage, before moving into composing and producing. He shares the story behind co-composing music for Prince projects 3 Chains O' Gold and The Beautiful Experience and talks about his extensive work in daytime television, including creating music for The Young and the Restless and General Hospital. RC also takes us behind the scenes of composing music for television, shares how technology has changed the way he works, and talks about the music and projects closest to his heart. Plus, we get into his own music, his years in the business and a few stories collected along the way. You can find RC's music on https://soundcloud.com/rc-cates Search for Take 2 Radio and Take 2 Radio the remix wherever you listen to your podcasts and for all things Sunday Edition please visit: www.anthonycorona.com pisode Notes Notes go here Support Next Generation Entertainment Soaps by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/nge-soaps Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/nge-soaps/7df30475-7977-4159-8223-f2c5171571ee This podcast is powered by Pinecast.