Special Report: Second Annual State of Diversity On Daytime Drama
From Top Left to Right: Diamond White (The Bold and the beautiful), Parry Shan (General Hospital), Bryton James (the young and the restless), and Camila banus (days of our lives)
A Hot Set’s second annual “State Of Diversity On Daytime Drama Analysis” will inspect people of color’s representation in daytime soap operas. Even as soap operas’ popularity wanes with streaming’s increasing dominance, 2023 saw significant growth for both contract actors and recurring actors in soaps. While our first report oversaw the history of soap operas and their relationship with POC visibility, this year we will examine the analytics of each show and compare them one year later.
Despite the slow dissipation of the traditional soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless continue their decade-long narratives, remaining as the few legacy soaps still airing. Given the history between early soap operas and POC representation, it’s important to recognize POC visibility in these soaps as a benchmark for television representation. While not an official look into POC representation as a whole, soap operas play a significant role in the history of television, and representation within these programs demonstrates symbolic shifts of inclusivity in the television landscape.
2023 Data Overview
Top 10 POC Actors by Episode Appearance in 2023
Young and the Restless and General Hospital lead by a sizable margin while Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful lack representation. Compared to our 2022 report, The Young and The Restless remains the same with 19% of its cast being POC. On the other hand, General Hospital’s POC cast grew by 5%, ending the year at 27%. The Days of Our Lives didn’t feature as many POC actors as the other two, however, its POC cast grew by 5% as well, resulting in POC actors making up 25% of the cast. Despite its absence from the list, The Bold and the Beautiful wiped the competition with an overall percentage of 38%, an increase of 16% from last year.
The current ratio of POC representation in soap operas highlights growing visibility within the genre but work is still needed in order to create more inclusive and meaningful stories. POC representation in classic American television historically exacerbated harmful stereotypes that explicitly degraded POC’s culture. It’s no secret that American audiences often reacted negatively to POCs who deviated from their established stereotypes in soap operas. However, the current rise of POC representation in soaps indicates a growing desire for authentic stories. Not only do audiences want to see themselves on screen, but they want to see their stories. The growing number of POC actors illustrates television’s growing initiative to welcome diverse stories and people into the mainstream.
The Bold and the Beautiful
CBS
The Bold and the Beautiful began as a companion show to creators William J. Bell and Lee Philip Bell’s The Young and the Restless, and since its 1987 premiere on CBS, it has gained a cult following. The story follows the Forrester family and their couture business in Los Angeles, California. This diverse setting is somewhat reflected in the cast, with 2023 seeing a significant growth in its POC actors. POCs make up roughly 38% of all contract and recurring characters, significantly higher than its sister show. One of these actors is Lawrence Saint-Victor; he appeared in 67 episodes during 2023, making him the most featured POC actor in the entire show. Despite this, its writers’ room hasn’t seen any improvements, with only two scriptwriters of color Michele Val Jean and Lawrence Saint-Victor (also an actor on the soap) on board and no directors.
Contract and Recurring Actors
Recurring Actors:
Naomi Matsuda
Romy Park
Rodney Van Johnson
Adain Bradley
Dan Martin
Alex Sanchez
Cassandra Creech
Aaron D. Spears
Contract Actors:
Lawrence Saint-Victor
Lisa Yamada
Delon de Metz
Diamond White
African Americans made up most of the POC cast on The Bold and the Beautiful, with eight actors, followed shortly by three Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) actors and one Hispanic actor. Despite a larger POC cast than the year prior, POCs make up just over one-fourth of the show’s current cast. The Bold and the Beautiful shows more promise than other soaps, taking significant strides to platform POC actors and their stories.
Number of Episodes Featured Per POC Actor
Days of our lives
NBC
Debuting in 1967, Days of Our Lives is one of the world’s longest-running scripted television programs with over 14,000 episodes. It remained as the last daytime soap airing on NBC until its recent shift to Peacock. This move not only influences the relevance of daytime soaps on cable but also showcases television’s evolving landscape and how legacy media fares in the current golden age of streaming. Set in a fictional town in Illinois, the series focuses on two families and their interpersonal conflicts while juggling various side families. The series expanded their POC roster throughout 2023, increasing their POC cast by 5% to a year-end total of 25%. Albert Alarr served as the only POC Executive Producer in the history of soap operas until his recent departure in August of 2023; this occurred after allegations of misconduct on set led to his resignation. Also, 2023, there were four POC scriptwriters in the writers’ room Dorell Anthony, Jazmen Darnell Brown, Cheryl Davis, and Jamey Giddens. Which is the most of any of the soaps. However, no POC directors after Alarr’s departure.
Contract and Recurring Actors
Recurring Actors:
Victoria Grace
Remington Hoffman
Aketra Sevillian
Tina Huang
Cameron Johnson
Terrell Ransom Jr.
Lamon Archey
Sal Stowers
George DelHoyo
Christopher Sean
Clyde Kusatsu
Marla Gibbs
Contract Actors:
Jackée Harry
Elia Cantu
Camila Banus
Raven Bowens
James Reynolds
Nine African Americans make up a majority of the POC cast, however, this may change in 2024 as Aketra Sevillian leaves the series. Camila Banus’ recent departure from the show leaves one Hispanic. Rimington Hoffman’s exit also left one less AAPI cast member. Much like The Bold and the Beautiful, POCs remain a small percentage of the entire cast. The departure of Alarr, Banus, Hoffman, and Sevillian leaves the show with openings to potentially increase the soap’s POC visibility. In addition, its recent transition into the streaming world may indicate that soap operas don’t have much time before they’re removed from broadcast television altogether.
number of episodes featured per poc actor
general hospital
ABC
General Hospital is the longest-running American soap opera in production, the second-longest drama series in American history, and the world’s third-longest-running scripted drama series in production. The series also holds the most Daytime Emmy Awards with 14 wins, continuing to captivate audiences since its 1963 debut. Despite the diverse locale of its New York state setting of Port Charles, the series misses the mark in accurately reflecting this. Only 27% of the cast are POCs, and regardless of the POC cast increasing by 5%, there is still work to be done. Within the past year, the show lost a majority of its AAPI cast, leaving it as the third smallest AAPI cast across all four soaps. Much like our previous analysis, the disintegration of its AAPI cast harkens to its stereotypical depictions of Asian Americans, like the cliché Asian doctor role. With the loss of its AAPI cast, the series will hopefully include new actors that push the series beyond its pigeonholed depiction of Asian Americans. The show also possesses the largest African American cast among the four soaps, coinciding with its large set of contract and recurring actors. It is also important to note that the soap opera had two POC scriptwriters Charlotte Gibson and Shannon Peace in 2023 and no directors.
Contract and Recurring Actors
Contract Actors:
Tabyana Ali
Donnell Turner
Brook Kerr
Tanisha Harper
Tajh Bellow
Robert Gossett
Recurring Actors:
Vernee Watson
Gavin Houston
Jacqueline Grace Lopez
Lydia Look
Réal Andrews
Cassandra James
Dioni Michelle Collins
Stephen A. Smith
Kendrick Cross
Parry Shen
Ricco Ross
Marc Samuel
Joyce Guy
Anthony Montgomery
Each series is fundamentally lacking in its AAPI and Hispanic representation, and General Hospital is no exception. In 2023, General Hospital included only three AAPI actors and one Hispanic actor while there were 16 African American actors. Compared to other soaps, African Americans are represented the most; all top six POC contracted actors are African American, and five of them feature in over 65 episodes. The series presents a breath of fresh air as audiences see African Americans in roles outside of typecasts, combatting many harmful stereotypes depicted across much of entertainment history. General Hospital continues to dominate soap operas, and with its strong position in broadcast television, it has the opportunity to propel POC actors into an even bigger spotlight.
Number of Episodes Featured Per POC Actor
the young and the restless
CBS
The Young and the Restless has been the highest-rated daytime soap opera for 34 years, winning 11 Daytime Emmy Awards and gaining the hearts of millions. Several actors make crossover appearances on its sister series The Bold and the Beautiful, and the series has remained culturally relevant in the television landscape for 50 years. Despite its long legacy of iconic and celebrity guest star appearances, the series contains the smallest POC cast of any daytime soap opera; it stands at 19%, the same as the year prior. The Young and The Restless also lacks POC behind the screen, with one POC scriptwriter Susan Banks, and no directing roles. In clear contrast to its sister show, its insufficient representation may have an adverse effect on the writing and portrayal of POC stories.
Contract and Recurring Actors
Recurring Actors:
Veronica Redd
Mishael Morgan
Kelsey Wang
Leigh-Ann Rose
Jacob Aaron Gaines
Contract Actors:
Sean Dominic
Zuleyka Silver
Bryton James
Christel Khalil
Brytni Sarpy
Only eight African American actors appeared on screen during 2023, and much like other soap operas, AAPI, and Hispanic representation was severely deficient, with only one actor each. With the loss of its only POC scriptwriter in 2022, The Young and The Restless remains just as stagnant as decades prior. While other shows evolved and pushed for more diverse casting, The Young and The Restless seems stuck in the past. Sean Dominic and Zuleyka Silver appear in the most episodes out of any soap, but this doesn’t make up for the potential POC visibility that The Young and The Restless — one of the biggest soap in American history — could portray.
Number of Episodes Featured Per Poc actor
conclusion
Generations
Before Black characters entered primetime in the 1970s and 1980s, daytime presented a space where Black characters could be fleshed out without fear of losing impactful viewership. Groundbreaking shows like Generations, the first soap opera to feature an African American family from the start, paved the way for people of color to gain footing in Hollywood and accurately tell their stories. Netflix’s recent 2023 engagement report proves that audiences are both open to watching POC-driven content and consuming foreign content at increasing rates. There is no reason why daytime soaps should limit their inclusion of POC actors and crew when a majority of audiences are now accustomed to seeing them on-screen.
With very few POC crew members, the accurate portrayal of POC-centered stories becomes another worry. Experiences cannot be observed, they must be lived. Thus, it is both beneficial and necessary to the series and audience for POCs to tell POC stories. When General Hospital portrayed a majority of its Asian cast as stereotypical doctors years prior, it removed the nuance of their stories and lives. When programming exhibits conventional depictions of its characters, they fundamentally removes depth and feed into harmful rhetoric that enhances bigotry in the real world. POCs should not only be relegated to secondary characters, and neither should a hyperfocus on institutionalized struggles constitute their entire character. By including more POC voices in the writers’ room, all four soaps could enhance their characters and provide depth that properly depicts the experiences of POC viewers. The loss of Alarr provides room to place POCs into positions of power, allowing for direct influence on the screen and behind the scenes.
Soap operas had an immense influence on popular culture and American television history, and as culture evolves, they too must elevate the voices they often shut down decades prior. Soaps began with a strong disdain for POC characters, and as we progress into a new age of inclusivity, its fading hostility is heart-warming for POC audiences that have stuck around. On top of this, including POC voices behind the scenes not only allows for the proper portrayal of POC stories but also serves as inspiration for millions of people looking for an avenue into the industry. Progress in television is ever-evolving, and with effort, soaps could include more voices that present audiences with rich storylines and impactful representation.