I know daytime is in a tough position. Believe me. I see every day that we’re amidst a sea of sinking ships. But OLTL dumping three of its best young actors is not going to help keep it afloat. Scott Clifton (Schuyler), Scott Evans (Oliver) and Brett Claywell (Kyle) aren’t dead weight. They’re ballast, keeping the enterprise equalized and steady with talent. 

I was still reeling from news of Daphnee Duplaix (Rachel) and Amanda Setton (Kim) leaving and this…? This floors me. The Kish part especially, because there has been so much critical acclaim for them and the show was lauded for writing such a beautiful story. And, yes, I will continue to laud them for that…but I’m not going to clap for getting rid of actors who make your show better. Every soap needs its B- and C-story crew to fill in the places where big plots don’t spill over. And that’s where Kyle and Fish come in. One’s a med student and one’s a cop…they’re parts of the canvas that can be utilized at any time. Not only are they gay, but they’re integral parts of the Llanview community. And they weren’t taking up that much space.They’re not on that much! Why must Kish bear the responsibility for low ratings? Dorian’s over-the-top mayoral campaign was a huge part of Fish’s coming-out story, wasn’t it? And there are dozens of other things that were happening in the episodes they were in that could account for a ratings drop. I was going to point out that Schuyler and Gigi made love the same day Kish did, but then I realized that, oh, wait, the show axed Sky, too, didn’t they? So much for making a case there. Oops. 

It’s just short-sighted. I’m thrilled Kish gets a happy ending and that Schuyler is going out in an exciting storyline, but I’m really saddened that in an effort to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, OLTL jettisoned a few of its life preservers.

Originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com