Jill Farren Phelps - The Interview 

Thanks Alan for letting me know about Lisa Brown..I just found out about her death today..It was right after I'd had heart failure so I understand how life can throw curve balls..I pray I get to last a few more years..I still feel I have more things to do..No romantic relationship again but hopefully great friendships..❤️

I cried too, and that song 'Goodbye My Friend' just tore me up! To this day I still feel a certain way but I'm kinda glad she clarified the situation.

Yes! That song was perfect but killing Maureen was the biggest mistake she made!

@Terry Scott I absolutely agree with you. Sorry the interview ended when it did because the time certainly flew by far too quickly on this one. Aren't we lucky to have Alan Locher share these with us? I learn so much with every episode he broadcasts.

Thank you so much, Terry! I appreciate the note and you watching.

Thanks, Joe! I appreciate you.

Thank you, Nathan! I so appreciate your enthusiasm and appreciate you watching. Have a great day.

You're so welcome, Rod!

I never bought that the head writer would not change the story. Especially since Jill was the boss

@@liammorgan2155 I never bought that story, either, that the EP couldn't influence the storyline of the head writer on AW when they decided to kill off Frankie Frame (either Frankie Frame or Donna Love Hudson was the one that JFP held focus groups to determine which of the two was less popular among the audience. JFP didn't do AW any favors during her tenure as EP).

Exactly. The show had characters presumed dead or missing before so I don't see why Frankie could not have been written off instead of being killed off in such a grisly manner which to this day I think was punishment for Alice Barrett criticizing the direction her character was going. I do recall Alice Barrett talking about this in an interview that costs factor was the reason her character had to go because the show was hiring someone with a higher salary so somebody had to go and by elimination her character was chosen.

I believe Jill. that was harding Lemay decision remember he created the frames and Frankie did not fit his vision. And by the way I Blame Donna swajeski for running the show in the ground when she was head writer but when Jill came Carolyn culliton was fixing the show with John valente but I think Jill's weakness at the time was not studying history and getting up to speed. I also think harding should have been brought in right away to act as a guardrail between carolyn and Jill because Jill is the type of producer who at that time just needed a Doug Marland type harding Lemay type presence who was going to tell her what's going on and explain things to her that's all.

​@@kekwayblaze3176that's right and that had to do with Robert Kelker Kelly coming back and that was NBC. Personally I think judy Evans who I love should have been offed instead at the time and I think that's what harding I think wanted to do. But I think NBC said no. But I say that because that would hsve freed up judy to return as Beth Raines Spaulding when grant Alexander returned in 1996. Because Beth Chamberlin who I also live was not available she would not return until 1998.

JFP was running BM into the ground with her needing to be on set 5 days a week... BM asked to be reduced to 3 days a week but JFP ignored BM... JFP knew how to damage a show.

​@ryanwolff4058 I hear you and understand, but look at how the show struggled material wise after she was gone Micheal Labison, Paul Rauch, John Conboy, all had more downs in my opinion

Thank you, Larry! I appreciate you watching. I really do.

Twice, Maybeth. You rock so much! Thanks for watching.

After Maureen Bauer she learned her lessons about killing off character the fans care about? Another World fans did not care about Ryan Harrison, Bridget Connell AND yes Frankie Frame? General Hospital fans did not care about Alan, Emily & AJ Quartermaine, Georgie & Tony Jones and Justus Ward? You do not modernize a show by killing off legacy characters, firing veteran actors and destroying familiar sets. You write modern stories that have not been told before and cast unique, diverse actors. Shocking moments (murders explosion, etc) may give a short term increase to the ratings but if they are not part of a character driven story they end up alienating fans. JFP produced some brilliant episodes but left all 6 shows in worse shape than she found them.

This was what I noticed too - she admitted that she was not a fan of soaps and it showed up in her work. She did many good things but she did not understand not to kill off legacy characters unless the performer dies or retires!

@@evfuvan Absolutely, JFP was the worst thing that has happened to the genre. She had no respect for the legacy characters. She constantly wanted the big gotcha moment that came with killing these characters. Ryan Harrison and Vicky's love story on AW was super popular with the fans, The Q"s were the lifeblood of GH. She delighted in ruining these shows, you can't convince me otherwise.

She always went for the short-term ratings bump instead of thinking what was good for the show long term.

@@evfuvan thank you for pointing out all of the other characters she killed off on AW and GH...

Thank you, Debbie!

Was it Frons and Disney that insisted on making the show "The Sonny and Jason Show"? Or was JFP at least partly responsible? I feel as you do that she made terrible mistakes and also did some good things, like most of us!

Thank you so much for your message and your support. It's much appreciated.

@@freemangriffin4953 she’s not super innocent in almost all the blunders: I mean even with Maureen Bauer. She made the final call. It does lie with her. With GH, I do feel she tried to balance the mob stuff with Robin/Patrick, Lulu, Dillion, Tracy, and Luke, etc etc.

@@freemangriffin4953 - I believe it was a combination of Frons, Disney, JFP and the writers (Guza and Pratt). What I do remember is when JFP came to OLTL and had the Rappaports take over the show. And yes, I do realize that new executives do bring their star players, but the star players are integrated into the team, they don't take over for the current staff.

@JCMellencamp78 - Agreed! I have heard many say that "NBC had it in for AW for years", they wanted to kill it for many years. Ultimately, I believe these shows are dying because the majority of viewers actually prefer trashy TV like the housewives - I don't understand it all. None of that stuff could ever suck me in like the soaps.

JFP was good as EP on Santa Barbara. Maybe it's because Santa Barbara (SB) was early on in it's run, and she had a chance to fix the mess it was originally in 1987 (NBC was in a court battle over SB until in 1991). JFP dumped a few of the families, focused on the Capwells/Lockridges and the show was not lack for couples (Eden/Cruz, Mason/Julia, CC/Sophia, Gina/Keith, even Lionel/Augusta). She was demoted when NBC lost the court battle in 1991 and left SB in 1992 Maybe with a new show, JFP could really bring it alive like with SB, but with GL (losing Alex v1/BM and killing off Maureen, making the show revolve around Roger), AW (killing off Frankie, breaking up Matt/Donna, shifting the center of the show from Rachel to Vicky, bringing in new characters that were forgettable, not knowing how to use the existing cast), and the damage at OLTL, JFP could run an existing show into the ground.

@@ryanwolff4058 Well I cant speak on her work outside of Santa Barbara as I was not a fan of Guiding Light, Another World or One Life To Live. I just know that during her tenure as EP of Santa Barbara the show was pure magic. Brilliant writing, producing, direction and acting. Everything they did at that time worked beautifully and it was some of the most entertaining and thrilling television I've ever seen. I also became a fan of General Hospital when she was the EP. I had no idea at the time but I became hooked on that show when she was there and I dont think it was a coincidence. GH was so good during her time there and the show became less entertaining when she left. While no Producer ( or any of us for that matter) are infallible, I believe Jill has done far more good than bad over the course of her career. She's responsible for some legendary daytime television. She has a boatload of Emmys to show for it.

@@msjj34 when was JFP EP of GH? There was a stretch of GH prior to OLTL/AMC going off the air where it was great and centered around the Quartermanes/Cassidines/Spencers and characters that were MIA returned. If that's JFP's work, she did a great job. I was hopeful when Frank Valentini took over as EP of GH from OLTL, but it's just gotten awful in the last couple of years. Ron Carlivati is head writer of DOOL, but I haven't watched DOOL other than clips in years, but Kassie DePavia as Eve Donovan is a great recast.

@@ryanwolff4058 She was EP of GH from 2001-2012. I believe they won the Emmy for best show 3 or 4 times during her time there. That's on top of the three-peat she had with Santa Barbara. Im not sure if she won Emmys at her other stops, but Jill knows how to produce award winning television. She also brought Laura Wright to General Hospital which has turned out to be another stroke of genius. She discovered great talents like Julie Berman, Jason Thompson, Dominic Zamprogna etc.. I still watch GH because im a loyal viewer but its currently a shell of its former self from when I first started watching back in 2005.

@@msjj34 that was a great era for GH. I didn't watch it much, but when it wasn't mob related, I enjoyed watching it, and appreciate she brought back older characters we hadn't seen in years back to Port Charles. JFP did a great job with GH during that era.

Couldn't agree more with every word of this. The soap community is better than the bullying and mean comments. It's not needed. Thanks for watching and your note.

I'm sorry, when Jill was responsible for firing actors just before Christmas, telling people such as Jackie Zeman that she was being fired because "no one wants to see old people kissing," or remarking that Genie Francis and Denise Alexander that no one wanted to see two fat women talking at the kitchen table, then she can receive all the bullying that people want to dish out to her. She didn't wait five minutes before being hired at Y&R before she fired Genie yet again, just to make a point of who was Boss.

@@justlina2769 absolutely agree. Let's also not forget that she fired Anna Lee (a little old lady in her freaking 90s) and fired Laura Koffman on OLTL while Koffman was on maternity leave. For a woman, JFP is quite misogynistic

@@justlina2769 I feel like some of that stuff on GH was because of Frons. I noticed that prior to him taking charge of ABC Daytime, Bobbie/Jackie Zeman was actually used quite often on the show. Around that time was when many actors/actresses got switched to recurring - Shell Kepler (Amy), Jackie Zeman (Bobbie), and Kristina Wagner (Felicia) to name a few. You could still be right though (and regardless JFP could’ve handled the circumstances better than that for sure).

@@isaiahhill2104 Frons even has on his LinkedIn page that he took the network from 3 (4?) soaps down to one. He hated the genre. Also said that Becky Herbst wasn't pretty enough to be a front row star. Just a total a-hole.

You are so welcome, Jason. Much appreciated!

that doesn't mean she was talented. JFP did great on the aesthetic values for her shows but was not a strong storyteller in any sense. Her winning the Emmys just indicates she knew how to play the game. That's it. Daytime would've been much better had she not been an EP at any soap. Luckily she did not touch my favorite (AMC) However, I do agree that this was a solid interview. I just can't stand this woman.

​@@cajayson8301Jill was great at Santa Barbara and her who she ended gl was great once harding Lemay was brought in as a consultant. Considering micheal liabson made the Megan McTavish mistake.

Thanks my friend! Happy Pride, Jason.

Ha Ha Ha -- love this, Mark. Thanks for the love and for watching.

I appreciate you, Ron! Thanks for watching.

Thank you, Ozzie. I so appreciate you watching and sending me this message.

Thank you so much, Karen! Glad you were able to catch it whenever you had a moment.

She has two red circles outside the drama building, Karen.

There was a ton of ground to cover. I am sorry I didn't get everything in.

Jill's legacy will, always be a soap killer, She always loved her pet Steve Burton and hated Genie Francis.

@@visariosorino8034 Yup. Fired her from two soaps.

Maybe Alan could have her back for Part Deux!

You are so welcome, Grants Rants! I am glad you enjoyed it. Enjoy your Sunday.

A narcissist.

Kim Zimmer although a good actress was way overused and consumed the canvas. I agree, the other actors weren’t B team, they just needed to shine in their own stories. It’s a shame she didn’t help restore the Bauer family by bringing Hope and Mike back. So many missed opportunities.

I don't know Jill, Merri Cat, and I can't read her mind, but I hope the career in which she toiled all of her adult life was more than "just a job to her."

@@ilunga146 I watched the interview that he did with Rachel Miner. She understood whole lot more with soaps were about and she was just an adolescent when she was on the show

I agree. It was probably just a job for her. She brags about the fact that she bounced around from show to show to show... Imagine if you had that on your job resume, that you went from job to job to job, spent a little time here and a little time there. It wouldn't look very impressive.

🩵🙏🩵 Thank you, Guy!

@@TheLocherRoom my pleasure..

Did JFP leave AW for OLTL? That would track given how many AW actors followed her to OLTL between 1997-1999. I only got into OLTL towards the end of it's run and OLTL was really well acted. I saw JFP bring in some of the AW actors and they were all miscast by JFP on OLTL. I also wasn't amused by the jokes when they introduced Linda Dano on OLTL at the expense of AW (it's competition in most media markets). It felt like cheap shots at AW.

Don't forget killing Mel.

You may be surprised to know that HBS wanted out of Bora.

Dude fans were having meltdowns when James E Reilly took over as headwriter on Days of Our Lives and did ridiculous supernatural camp stories like Marlena being possessed by Satan. They even made name for him they called him JERk, his initials and the K added

She should’ve never gone onto OLTL. From what I’ve seen, it wasn’t completely irredeemable (Ex: Viki/Ben), but it often appeared that she just didn’t mesh well with that show at all. Even her GH at its worst had a better tone than her OLTL often did.

Thanks my friend.

Right on!

Absolutely not. SB was good when she was there, it became bad when John Conboy took her place.

​@@CandyEdenlovesCruzI dint think John conboy was bad but NBC I think just wanted to kill the show once the dobsons returned Jerome discussed that recently with micheal fairman but absolutely Jill was terrific at Santa Barbara but she was there from the begining knowledge is power and knowing the history from the begining because it makes you powerful in case you get a bad writer.

I appreciate your message, Rachel. I definitely want all my guests to feel comfortable so they open up and speak from their heart. That's all I try to do. I appreciate your point of view and appreciate you watching.

I agree with you to an extent concerning things Jill did at soaps particularly at oltl aw and y and r. I think she just needed a Doug Marland around or a harding Lemay. At gl she did really well once she learned the show but her biggest blunder was Maureen buar. but also I don't think Jill realized at the time that how something looks when filming that might look great might not translate well to viewers on screen but her attention to detail, I absolutely love and respect and admire and completely get what she means by things not looking stale. But honestly her best work was at Santa Barbara but at Santa Barbara she could be her best because she was there from the begining not dealing with 30 years of history that's tough. To deal with for any ep who was not as experienced or developed yet I think what would hsve helped Jill more as an Ep would have been to follow the Doug Marland how not to ruin a, soap playbook. But remember most are not a, Doug Marland or a harding Lemay where if you made them mad they were going to tell you to go screw yourself but in the case of Doug Marland before he died he was a great asset to any ep because they could just focos on doing things like just producing the show.

Glad to hear that, Shannon. Thanks for watching.

Honestly, soaps are a weird universe. Instead of bringing in new talent, they would recycle the same people from one show to the next. No wonder why the genre died like it did when the same stories are told over and over again by the same creative teams.

hi ferris

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Thanks, Wanda. I appreciate you tuning in.

Agree. That's the thing with JFP...one of her few talents was knowing how to play the Emmy game and she forgot everything else.

I’d like to comment specifically on GH. You are so right; as a newcomer to the show looking at its history through RU-vid, it definitely looks like after 2001, JFP turned GH into The Sonny/Carly/Jason (and Sam/Courtney) Show. That definitely was a bad period for GH (yet somehow I keep going back to it LOL).

Bringing only Eden and Cruz to the fore was a big mistake. There should be several leading romantic couples on the show. I think that in many ways the failure of Santa Barbara as a show was due to the fact that when Eden and Cruz were tired, there was no one to insure them.

That. Would. Be. Amazing.

I say Denise Alexander or Kathleen Noone. Casting Slezak would be Alex as Victoria Lord’s 6th alternate. Too close of a character.

And she could bring back Ellen Parker, too, as Maureen's secret twin Doreen, now playing Alex's lesbian lover.

Wow -- you're in NC? That's awesome. Thanks for the message and for watching, Adam.

Exactly. And then she only accepts responsibility for killing off Maureen but not for killing off Frankie, even though she was the executive producer on both shows. ("I was on my way out.")

@@nicoleh.6059 Right. You're still EP even if you're on your way out the door. She was a good EP with Santa Barbara, and she was a good EP with General Hospital. But she wasn't good for GL or AW.

Glad you enjoyed it, Jake. I appreciate you watching it and for tuning in.

No one she worked with was more of a diva than she herself was.

She was the biggest diva on any of the shows.

I dont think it is nice to call people divas like that Erica slezac who Alan has interviewed befuew is not a diva at all she is very nice person but has integrity for her work just like Robin strasser. Vicky Wyndham who replaced Robin strasser at aw made Rachel all her own yes she might have had some eccentricities but she also was old scholl and had a lot of integrity for her work. That's. Not bieng a diva at all ohh and Vicky Wyndham was very close with bev McKinsey too when bev was at another world. Point is that's not nice to call people names like that and I will tell you what I. The music biz you would call real Rick bands egotistical jerks you would probably hate Eddie van Halen too maybe yngwie malmsteen too just because they like what they like or our particular about things. As for kill yea she screwed up a lot but at least she is detail oriented for which I like and notices things that are our of place hint aw had been badly bungled from when Micheal liabson was there do to Donna swajeski and Carolyn culliton with John valente was just begining to fix that. But I think what happened was is Jill was just ignorant history wize when she walked in the door but I certainly understand why if a intern told you that why you would react the way Jill did. But also if you notice the people Jill respects the most were the people who would just tell her. And that's what happened but in aws case she just needed to listen to Carolyn culliton while asking her to explain what was going on and get her up to speed on history of the show the way Mary oleary helped Jill at gl. Remember knowledge and history is power.

People certainly are passionate about her, Melissa. Thanks for watching.

You are so welcome, Michael. I appreciate you watching.

Wow - Jeff! Thank you my friend. I appreciate your words so much.

Alan, I did not see this on live stream. It is the first real interview I have seen with Jill Farren Phelps. I knew folks were pretty volatile in opinions of her. I only watched her work / leadership on GH. I am impressed you got her as an interview. She spoke authentically to what she did and why. I am most impressed that she spoke to so much. I did find it interesting that you didn't push her harder about General Hospital years. All in all - a great "get" and you are a good interviewer. You let her talk and tell her truth. You also asked some questions about her family and pets. This helped soften her to audience. She is a human being with feelings and family - as well possessing an impressive education and experience across 6 daytime shows.

JFP’s music wasn’t quite as good as Wendy Riche’s, but is still better than Frank Valentini’s (at least for the most part).

I was wondering of whom it was that she reminded me @hh23 hh23 and you are absolutely correct! It is the talk maven herself Sally Jessy Raphael. Even her mannerisms came across in a similar fashion. Thank you for sharing that observation - you have brought a sense of peace to my mind!

@@joebarzo9935 your welcome !! Lol..glad its not just me!!

I noticed the Sally Jessie Raphael resemblance also. I didn’t notice myself liking her after watching her tho 🤷‍♂️

@@RayofLightTarot yes she is polarising!!! ...she did good for another world in my opionion altho her being her she had too make her mark ..first she did away with the iconic theme!! Second she got rid if aws signature freeze from and slo fade at end of the show...they were mistakes!!

Totally! Character Driven! I watched AW since '88 and Jake and Vicky coming full circle with all of their history was my absolute favorite! I feel like ATWT was a lot like this too. No question that NY/P&G Soaps were the best!

​@@balagan79985 atwt with Doug Marland was far better than aw was. But harding Lemay brief return for 3 months was up their with Doug Marland ashamed Donna, swajeski with micheal liabson screwed that up. But Carolyn culliton from late 1994 to early 1995 was fixing it. And concerning Jill I would have told Jill look at this look at that and just explained to her what Carolyn was trying to fix but told her things like the amanda Cory Sam fowler screw ups evan bates bungling twice for which Carolyn had to fix by sending evan our of town again let's see grant Amanda pairing which carolyn put a stop too thank God. Hint I would have told Jill I have a high stakes syrykinw for you to explain sharlene missing vicky missing Jake and yes what really happened to Sam fowler from the time of June 1993 to 1995 and o wold have tied it all back to evan bates. Because evan was, supposed to be like Roger thorpe James stenbeck type charecter. Now if Jill said no then I would be like screw you you are on your own then

You are so welcome, Rahel. Thanks for letting me know.

Completely agree. And while they NEVER should have killed her off, at the very least, they played every beat of Maureen's death and the aftermath. She wasn't killed and forgotten in two weeks.

@@cdw3497 I'm of two minds when it comes to JFP. I remember watching Guiding Light near the beginning of her tenure and never missing an episode. However, by the end of her time at the helm, I was barely watching it. It seemed she always had trouble sustaining the quality of any show she worked on. I also didn't like the fact that she egregiously favored certain actors over others; to the point that every storyline would feature them and "legacy" characters would be relegated to the background or eliminated completely. I do agree about Maureen's death. Obviously, I feel it never should have happened yet I can't find fault with how it played out. Next to Buffy's The Body episode, it was one of the best televised depictions of death, especially how it affects the survivors. It's been nearly 30 years but certain scenes have stayed with me. Vanessa crying out her best friend's name, villain Roger's genuine sadness, Ed's grief coupled with his guilt over his infidelity, and Michelle's anger and confusion finding an outlet with Holly. My favorite scene didn't even have any words. It was at the end, right before the musical montage. All the mourners have left and Ed is standing alone in his kitchen in complete silence. JFP was capable of producing great drama but it seems to have come at the expense of the actors and the audience.

Thanks, Jimmie. I appreciate it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch. I appreciate it.

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I loved the Rappaports. Loved. Loved. Loved.

@@ilunga146 I respect your opinion and to each their own. I loved Lindsay, full stop! :-)

I hated the Rappaports and I loved Kale Brown as Michael Hudson on AW.

I haven't watched her interview. But that's exactly my feeling on the Rappadavidsons as well. Their invasion symbolized a lot of things wrong with her time running the show. And you are absolutely spot on with Catherine Hickland's Lindsay being the only plus from their introduction. It was a combination of a lot of things. But for me, it was Hickland's elite acting in the role. That role doesn't become what it was without an actor of her caliber to pull it off. She was so vulnerable and twisted. Yet, I think another thing that worked was Lindsay, at times, was the lone voice of truth and reason in many of the stories. I loved Bo and Nora. But she knew from the start that she and Sam would always come second in that scenario. Always knew. Even if the writing took another decade to get there, Lindsay always knew Bo and Nora were endgame

The Rappaports were one of the worst things to ever happen to OLTL. Catherine Hickland was awesome, but Bo/Nora, Christian/Jessica and Cassie/Kevin were destroyed to make their Rappadork halves happen.

Thanks, Angela. Have a great weekend.

Glad you enjoyed it, Harley!

Glad you enjoyed this conversation, Aaron. Thank you for watching.

You're so welcome, Aaron. Glad you enjoyed this conversation.

The shows last golden era was under her

@@dontabaltimore1974 I agree. Although I will say 1997-2000 was pretty good. 1991-1995 under JILL WAS 🔥

I appreciate you tuning in and your support. I am rescheduling Louise soon. Stay tuned!

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I am so glad you enjoyed this interview, Patricia. Thank you for taking the time to leave this note.

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Thanks for watching, Tony! Hope you're enjoying the shows.

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But people seem to have a different take on it, so maybe I'll watch. Thank you Alan. You always give both perspectives

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Thanks for this, Erik! I appreciate you watching and your words. Agreed, RIP Geoffrey.

@@TheLocherRoom Alan, you were rockin' the dots today :)

she did, including SB, I don't think she did a good job.