Q & A with John C. Zak
(Supervising producer/director, The Bold and the Beautiful)

Susan Lucci (Erica, All My Children) may have finally taken home the Emmy, but The Bold and the Beautiful, currently the No. 2 soap and an international phenomenon, went home empty-handed at the 26th annual Daytime Emmys last month. On the day of the awards broadcast, B&B producers took out a full- page ad in Daily Variety in the form of a letter to John Cannon, the President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The letter called for reform in the nomination process so that all the daytime dramas, not just B&B, could be represented more fairly on the final ballot. Sour grapes, you say? Hardly. With rare exception, B&B has been ignored by the Emmys in its 12-year history. The show is well-written, flawlessly directed and has powerhouse talents in its cast such as Susan Flannery and Darlene Conley (Stephanie and Sally), as well as talented newcomers like Adrienne Frantz (Amber), a glaring absentee in the Younger Leading Actress category. To the current Emmy process's credit, B&B has won many statues in the technical arts over the years.

B&B Supervising Producer John C. Zak, who also serves as one of the show's directors, sat down with TV Guide Online to discuss what B&B hopes to accomplish with its letter, and gives a sneak peek as to what's ahead for the Forresters and Spectras.— Michael J. Maloney


How did the letter to NATAS come about?

B&B has enjoyed a great deal of audience popularity and recognition, but when it comes to the on-air Emmy awards we feel that we've been overlooked in a lot of categories. We've been fortunate to have had a [Supporting Actor] winner in Ian Buchanan (ex-James) and nominations for Darlene Conley (Sally), but we've never had a nomination in show, writing, directing or in the other major acting categories. In examining the nominating process, we feel that we have a lot of strikes against us. Being a half-hour show, our staff is smaller, so we don't have the ability to rally votes in our own favor. Brad [Bell, B&B's head writer and executive producer] has felt strongly about this for a very long time. In discussing it with him, Brad felt that it would be nice for us to make a strong statement that would demonstrate our support of the Emmy awards, but also to make a sincere request that the system be examined and revamped so that all shows could get fair consideration.

Has there been any response from the industry?

We've received positive and favorable response form people in the industry, including on the night of the broadcast from people who read the letter earlier in the day. We're hoping to create an ongoing dialogue with NATAS so that we can really work on making some changes for next year.

People have suggested in the past that quarterly tapes should be submitted to a review board, but for some reason actually doing it has been frowned upon. A few years ago, Deidre Hall (Marlena, Days of Our Lives) took some serious flack for sending out tapes of her possession storyline to academy members.

I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with sending tapes out. I feel that the most important aspect of the entire process is that people have the opportunity to see the work. This aspect is completely missing in the current Emmy process. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be employed steadily are occupied during our entire workday with taking care of the needs of our own show. We don't have time to sit down and sample the other 10 shows on the air with any kind of attention. It's simply a physical impossibility. In prime time, it's easier for members to sample the other shows because they're on during the night and they air only once a week.

B&B has won Directors Guild of America (DGA) awards.

Yes. When [Young and the Restless director] Heather Hill and I worked together to encourage the DGA to create a separate category for the daytime soaps, one of the most important things that transpired was creating a preliminary [judging] panel. Every director who submits an episode gets his or her material viewed by a panel of experts in that field. Through that nominating process, it comes down to four or five directors who are then nominated for the award. I find it fascinating that B&B, which has won the DGA award, hasn't even been nominated once for a Daytime Emmy in directing. What the DGA has done should be a model for how the Daytime Emmy contest could operate. Granted it's more labor-intensive, but the reality is if the process were fairer then it would generate even greater interest on the part of members of the community.

Every year when the ballot comes out, people say, "How did that person get nominated? Or "Why wasn't this one nominated?"

There are many factors at play and I'm not suggesting that there are people who win who don't deserve to, but the playing field needs to be even from the beginning. Especially now that the Emmy contest has moved to a more prestigious and important place in terms of a prime-time broadcast during May sweeps.

Bobbie Eakes and Adrienne Frantz (Macy and Amber) were particularly overlooked this past year. They both turned in powerful performances.

Yes. They were both absolutely appropriate choices for nominations. Had the process been such that they could have submitted scenes to a pre-screening group, then they would have had a very good chance of making it through the nomination process.

Also the show's new theme song, "High Upon This Love," performed by Dionne Warwick, didn't make the ballot.

I want to emphasize one point — although the initial idea for the letter was motivated by our own concerns for our show, we really find it very important to look at the big picture. We are not simply advocating changes because we want to create a better scenario for B&B. There has to be a better way to do this so that every artist's work can be viewed on its own merits. We want all the shows including Port Charles, Sunset Beach and Days -- you name it — to have the same opportunity.

B&B took some heat for losing major players over the last year including Charles Grant, Kimberlin Brown, Barbara Crampton and Ian Buchanan (ex-Grant, ex-Sheila, ex-Maggie and ex-James), but the streamlining seems to have paid off.One of the goals that Brad set for himself was to get B&B back to its core families. I applaud him for having followed through with that commitment. It has raised the stakes in a lot of ways. There are certain actors of whom I'm extremely fond of and who I will miss, however, it seems like in order to tell the stories that Brad has chosen, he's needed to hone in on certain characters and taken a streamline approach.

B&B had had a few attempts at teen storylines, but never with the success that the current group has brought.

Not to take anything away from the talented young people we've had on the show before, but yes, this group of young actors and actresses is a wonderful, wonderful godsend to us. These are people who are so extremely dedicated to their work. They want so much to accomplish good work and are very professional in their demeanor. Like in anything else, it's a matter of chemistry, and when great chemistry takes place among the players, the work becomes very strong. Fortunately, that appears to be the case right now. Each one is very different from the other. I love the fact that each character is very unique and defined, which is a function of both the writing and what the actor brings. Kimberly couldn't be any more different from Amber if she tried. The same with C.J. and Rick. The relationships are complex and interesting.

Michael Swan (Adam) has been such a great shot in the arm for Sally and the whole Spectra gang.

It's great to see the dynamic of Sally functioning with both her ex-husbands. It's pretty radical and interesting. Adam plays the business force and Clarke is the creative end. There's a great dynamic to their scenes.

We haven't seen a fashion show in a while on B&B. Can we look forward to one?

Yes. We're actually taping a big one this week. It pits the Forresters and the Spectras against each other.

Can you give a storyline teaser?

One thing I can tell you that won't be giving anything away is that C.J. has some big surprises for the Forresters. People need to stay tuned to watch C.J. stand ready to protect his family and his father's reputation. People are going to see him be extremely active during the upcoming fashion show.