Generations premiered in 1990. At the time, the soap didn’t just break the mold; it shattered the daytime genre. As the first soap to feature a prestigious Black family, it combined storytelling with high-stakes drama. At the center of the whirlwind drama was Jonelle Allen, who recently reflected on the show’s trailblazing legacy on the Soapy podcast. Allen talked about her character’s iconic catfight with then-rising star Vivica A. Fox.
Key Takeaways
- Allen unveiled the planning required to pull off her physical confrontation with Vivica A. Fox.
- Beyond the onscreen rivalry, Allen shared what it was like to work alongside the budding star.
- She also addressed the weight of starring on Generations and what it meant to provide representation in a medium that rarely pushed diverse stories to the periphery.
The Historic Catfight
Years later, Generations fans still remember the moment when Maya Reubens (Vivica A. Fox, who’s about to make a shocking return to Y&R) and Doreen Jackson (Jonelle Allen) got into an epic catfight. Maya found out that Doreen was pregnant with Adam’s (Kristoff St. John) daughter.
During her appearance on CBS’s Soapy podcast with co-hosts Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart, Allen recalled what went down when she read the script. She admitted it was their idea for their characters to get into a catfight. The actresses were inspired by Linda Evans and Joan Collins on Dynasty, who brought the term to life.
“Vivica and I were like, ‘Well, we want to do a catfight!'” Allen admitted. “‘But we, because we’re dancers, we want to have it choreographed so that you can push that camera in there and you can really see what’s going on!'”
Allen credited the episode’s director, Anthony Morina, for working on the choreography. He worked on every aspect, from the camera angle to the fight itself. “I mean, he meticulously watched what we were doing and then he was able to set up the cameras – multiple cameras, of course – so they were able to catch everything,” she explained.
Generations Paved the Way for Beyond The Gates
During the interview, Allen also addressed the inception of Beyond The Gates, which became the first hour-long soap opera to focus on a prestigious Black family and just celebrated its first anniversary. The actress is aware that soaps and catfights have stood the test of time. Allen hopes the new soap will shift the attention back onto Generations.
“My dream is that Beyond The Gates becomes such a huge hit that people want to be talking more about more and more about Generations because of the fact that in a way, [that show] was the seed,” Allen shared.
Will BTG’s success lead to a possible Generations reboot? It could happen, Allen teased. She shared that the show’s creator, Sally Sussman, is working on one, which includes Allen, Kelly Rutherford, and Bob Torti. Most of the cast is on board with the idea.
Watch the rest of Allen’s interview with Budig and Rikaart in the video below.
