Out With The Old: Does The Bold and the Beautiful Need New Stories?

The Bold and the Beautiful (BB), like all soaps, has a formula for its storytelling. Introduce two women, a hot guy, add soap, lather, rinse, repeat. There’s nothing wrong with this method. It’s served soaps well for decades. But is it time to try something new?

B&B is especially known for its triangles. Take the show’s current teen drama with Emma (Nia Sioux), Xander (Adain Bradley), and Zoe (Kiara Barnes), for example. Both women are going to fight over Xander and he’ll likely go back and forth between them as he makes up his mind as to who his true love is.

It’s similar to Liam’s (Scott Clifton) love story with Steffy (Jacquline MacInnes Wood) and Hope (Annika Noelle) in which Hope appears to be winning for now.

Love triangles date back to the show’s beginning when Ridge (Thorsten Kaye; previously, Ronn Moss) was torn between Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Caroline (Joanna Johnson). After Caroline died, Taylor (Hunter Tylo) filled the void as Ridge’s love and Brooke’s rival.

When polled, over 96% (!) of you said that you’d like to see new storylines on B&B. Perhaps the story of one character perpetually going back and forth between two love interests needs to take a breather. It sure was nice to see Steffy not run directly into the arms of another man after her relationship with Liam ended.

The rest of you say you’re fine with the way B&B currently tells its tales.

B&B has tackled numerous social issues over the years including childhood sexual abuse, parental physical abuse, alcoholism, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and many others.

Recently, the show reminded viewers that four-legged friends are dear family members, too, as Zoe mourned Harry, her cat. But there’s room to do more.

This isn’t to say that fans don’t want to see traditional romance. Viewers love to cheer for their favorite characters as they search for love and romance. Obstacles need to come along and prevent characters from getting what they want, but there’s more to life than being torn between two lovers!

The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.