The Bold and the Beautiful

Premise

Set in Los Angeles, California, The Bold and the Beautiful centers around the Forrester family and their fashion house business Forrester Creations. Stephanie Douglas, a strong-willed woman, daughter of wealthy Chicago businessman John Douglas, met her husband-to-be Eric Forrester, who aspired to become a fashion designer, while they both studied at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. The young lovers hurried to get married after Stephanie became pregnant. They moved to Los Angeles, California, where they established Forrester Creations, designing and producing upscale men and women's fashion, based on Eric's designing talent and Stephanie's financial funding. While winning international recognition, fame, and wealth with their work, the couple managed to raise four children in a happy and caring environment, including the elder and favorite son Ridge, brother Thorne and younger sisters Kristen and Felicia. It was discovered years later, when the children were all adults, that Stephanie's elder son, Ridge, was actually fathered by Massimo Marone. Like many soap operas, The Bold and the Beautiful looks into the lives of wealthy families and how love affairs, scandals, and betrayals affect each of the family members and their relationships with each other.

Start and development of the series

The pilot episodes of the show focuses on the preparations of the wedding of the Forrester's eldest son, Ridge, to Caroline Spencer Forrester, the daughter of the media mogul Bill Spencer. At this time Ridge has already become a fashion designer and vice president of Forrester Creations. Many media outlets throughout the world, from the big television networks to the most honorable newspapers, to the last gossip newspapers publicize their wedding, declaring it "the wedding of the year in the fashion world". Thousands of women see the pictures of Ridge and speculate on the identity of the woman who has won the heart of the man who has, until recently, been a playboy, and who has refused to settle for one woman.

One of these women is a chemistry student named Brooke Logan, who comes from a working-class family and who lives with her single mother Beth, her siblings Storm, Donna and Katie in a typical American home in the San Fernando Valley in the city of Los Angeles. In an ironic twist of fate, Beth was Eric's college girlfriend before he married Stephanie. Brooke's life soon becomes a key element in the series. Originally from a middle-class background, her love affair with Ridge sets up much of the story-line, beginning in the first year. Every so often, Ridge and Brooke reunite only to break up due to various circumstances, and Ridge invariably finds comfort (in most cases, this would lead to marriage) with another love of his life Dr. Taylor Hayes. In addition, the rivalry between Ridge's mother Stephanie and Brooke plays a key role in the drama. Following one of her breakups with Ridge, Brooke marries his father Eric, who divorces Stephanie to do so. Brooke gives birth to two of Eric's children. They eventually divorce and Eric reconciles with Stephanie. Likewise, Brooke and Ridge resume their pattern of an on-again-off-again relationship, between Brooke's relationships with other men and Forrester family members, and Ridge's multiple reunions with Taylor. Eric eventually marries Brook's sister, Donna Logan and legally adopts her son Marcus. They later divorce due to their family's bitter history. Felicia and Kristen Forrester choose to follow their own paths, leaving the family company to be run by Ridge, Thorne, Rick, Marcus, and their families.

Subplotting

For many years, Spectra Fashions was Forrester's main rival, headed by Sally Spectra. Sally, a larger-than-life character with outrageous clothes and a sizable red coiffure, is a key element in both comedic and dramatic story-lines, with the help of ditzy receptionist Darla Einstein, and fashion designer Clarke Garrison, who fathered CJ Garrison, Sally's son. Though, at first, Sally and Stephanie Forrester are bitter enemies, in later years, they develop a friendship; Sally even ends up working at Forrester Creations after she finally makes the decision to shut down her own company.

Sally's daughter Macy Alexander, a singer, undergoes many traumas, most notably alcoholism. She and Thorne Forrester are involved in an on-again-off-again marriage. After she eventually loses Thorne to Brooke, Macy goes abroad and into hiding with her father, Adam. After being discovered in Italy, Macy returns to Los Angeles where she reunites with Thorne Forrester before developing an interest in fellow recovering alcoholic, Deacon Sharpe, whom she marries. Weeks later, Macy is gravely injured at a nightclub where she is headlining as a singer. She enters a coma and it is implied that her family pulls the plug off-camera.

The Spectra family and friends are supplanted by the introduction of Massimo Marone and his entourage. Marone, a billionaire shipping magnate, was a childhood friend of Stephanie and dated her in college. They slept together once just before Stephanie began dating Eric Forrester, and after forty-something years, a medical crisis reveals that Massimo is Ridge's biological father. Shortly thereafter, Jacqueline Payne, a former lover of Massimo, arrives on the scene and announces that her son, Dominick "Nick" Payne, a captain at Marone Industries, was also fathered by Massimo. Unlike Ridge, Nick wasn't a businessman and took the surname Marone.

In recent years, the Spencer family and their media conglomerate Spencer Publications have been part of the show's focus. Original character Bill Spencer's children Karen Spencer and Bill Spencer, Jr., along with Karen's daughter Caroline Spencer and Bill's sons Wyatt Spencer, Liam Spencer, and Will Spencer make up the Spencer family.

Development

In 1986, CBS was on the hunt to replace Capitol, and contacted several writers and producers for proposals. Paul Rauch created Grosse Pointe as a replacement. During her absence from Ryan's Hope, Michael Brockman, former President of CBS Daytime, asked Claire Labine to develop a new serial in 1986. Her proposal was entitled Celebration but never made it to the air. Had it been greenlit, Jane Greenstein would have been Assistant to the Head Writer like she was on General Hospital. William J. Bell created The Bold and the Beautiful, which was originally titled Rags.

Taping

B&B has been shot at Stage 31 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles for its entire run so far. The show typically uses the traditional soap opera look, featuring constructed sets such as the Forrester Mansion, the Shady Marlin, and the Forrester Creations offices. Like other soap operas, B&B is usually taped three to four weeks in advance. In recent times, the show has increased shooting on location, in the way fellow CBS soap Guiding Light did in its final two network years. Many of the characters have taken trips to the fictional "Bikini Beach" which is actually a nearby California beach, and there have been scenes around the Forrester Creations building which appear to be shot somewhere on the lot or inside of CBS Television City.

Theme song and title sequence

"High Upon This Love," the theme song of The Bold and the Beautiful, was written by David Kurtz and Jack Allocco and features a prominent saxophone sample played by Eric Marienthal. From November 1998 to July 1999 in the United States, a vocal version of the theme song performed by Dionne Warwick was played during the end credits.

Executive producers and head writers

Executive Producers

Head Writers

Awards and nominations

Nominated for over two hundred prizes and accolades since its debut, the series has won several awards over the years, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Writing team also won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team in 2010 and 2013. Susan Flannery has personally won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series on three separate occasions.

Ratings

Upon its debut as the replacement of former soap opera Capitol in the CBS Daytime lineup, The Bold and the Beautiful ended eighth in the final year ratings. Initially CBS' lowest-rated soap, its numbers were still respectable and began to climb. By 1992, after a successful crossover involving villain Sheila Carter from The Young and the Restless, it had climbed to third. By the mid-to-late 1990s, following yet another crossover, it moved up to second and has consistently remained there since. Throughout the 2000s (decade), The Bold and the Beautiful and all the other remaining network daytime dramas have witnessed a steady erosion of viewers, mainly due to vastly altered viewing habits induced by cable networks and alternative genres such as reality, court shows, and talk shows on minor network affiliates.

Broadcast

Since the cancellation of Port Charles, it is currently the only American soap opera with a running time of 30 minutes (including commercials) and was the last remaining American soap broadcasting in the 4:3 standard definition picture format, until the show upgraded to 16:9 high-definition in September 2011. Episodes airing in the United States air for approximately 19 minutes, while international broadcasts air to a runtime of approximately 21 minutes.

DVD release

The earliest DVD releases of The Bold and the Beautiful came in 2008 and 2009, when "Fan Favourites Collection" and "Best of Weddings" were released in Europe and Australia. These DVD sets contained a random selection of 21 and 25 episodes, respectively, from 1987 up until that point in time. These sets sold well and from 2010-2011, Beyond Home Entertainment in Australia released another 3 sets containing a random selection of 25 episodes each. These sets, however, only contained episodes from 2003 onwards, frustrating some long-term fans, as a large proportion of the show was left out. One of these sets, entitled "Most Shocking Moments", was also released in the US on July 23, 2012 on the Amazon Video service, but only contained 15 episodes.

The series was released from the very beginning in Germany (April 29, 2011), Sweden (November 23, 2011), the United States (November 6, 2012) and Australia (December 3, 2012). All DVD sets contain 25 episodes, with the exception of the US release only containing 16. The German releases have sold well, with distributor Fernsehjuwelen having released box 2 later in 2011 and boxes 3-7 throughout 2012. Boxes 8, 9 and 10 are set for release in late 2014 through 2015.

Crossovers

There have been several crossovers among other CBS Daytime shows.

The Young and the Restless

CBS Daytime Game Shows -- The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal

CBS Primetime Shows -- Big Brother