Soap operas can air for decades, but prime-time shows rarely get that long. Case in point: Good Trouble, the Freeform series co-created by Joanna Johnson, beloved as Caroline on Bold and the Beautiful, is airing its series finale tonight. Among the series cast members is General Hospital alum, Daytime Emmy-winner Bryan Craig.
Goodbye to Good Trouble
The 90-minute series finale to Good Trouble airs tonight on Freeform starting at 9:30 pm ET/PT. The show ran for five seasons and Johnson, who both co-created the program and serves as its executive producer and writer, had hoped that there would be a sixth.
“We wanted to continue the show,” Johnson told TV Insider. “With the strikes and everything, the business changed. Some of the [business] models changed. Everybody is cutting back. Unfortunately, we got caught up in that.”
Production on the season 5 finale had been completed last year before the news came down that they weren’t coming back for another year. Fortunately, Johnson says the support of Freeform and ABC executive Simran Sethi made it possible for her to write in some new scenes, shoot them, and edit them into the finale. “[Simarn] went to bat for us. I’m really grateful to her and to everyone at ABC and Disney who approved that.”
It’s hard to say goodbye after five emotionally-packed seasons. “It’s very emotional,” Johnson previews of the finale. “Get your tissues out. We’ve had a 100 percent cry rate from everyone who’s seen it. It’s a lovely, beautiful ending.”
Alas, a spinoff isn’t in the works but Johnson says she’d love to write another series for television. “I love the [Good Trouble] characters, but I think it’s time to move onto something new,” she says. “I’m looking forward to that.”
Johnson knows all about the emotional investment viewers have in characters, going back to her days as Caroline. Ridge’s wife died nearly 24 years ago, but viewers still recall the actress as one of B&B’s most popular heroines.
“I loved my time on Bold and the Beautiful so much,” Johnson says. “One scene that moved me was when Caroline passed away in Ridge’s arms. Ronn Moss [ex-Ridge] was so emotional. We both were. After they said, ‘Cut,’ we just sort of laid there, holding each other, just crying. It was very emotional. He was wonderful to work with. That was definitely a very memorable scene for me.”
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