Welcome back: B&B re-emerges with new episodes and new characters

Finally! The Bold and the Beautiful is back with unseen episodes! Get the two scoops on the week's new shows and new hires, and we predict where postponed storylines are headed as our favorite soap heats up just in time for the dog days of summer.

The Bold and the Beautiful is back in business, baby! Starting Monday, July 20th, storylines resume, and not a moment too soon. I was running out of material and about to start rationing scoops. Instead of two scoops, I might have had only one to spare this week. I'm serious. Times were tough! But we finally, finally made it to the other side.

Don't get me wrong. The theme weeks were fun. I always enjoy a trip down B&B memory lane, but I'm ready for some fresh hair, makeup, and fashion. I bet you are, too. Bring on the fodder for our eye-rolling gossip as we get back to the business of passing around the well-deserved haterade for some of our Los Angeles residents and popping pink Champagne to celebrate others.

From the moment I got the news from Soap Central that B&B would be the first soap to return to the daytime screen, I've been driving my fianc crazy, salsa-ing around the house to my best "Da-na-na Na-na-na Na-na" horn impression of the B&B theme song. I do the long version, and believe me, by the time I get to the blaring crescendo, he's ready to jump out the window. It's true what they say -- you never know what you've got till it's gone. As much as I rag on my stories, I learned right quick just how much I depend on them for normalcy, especially at a time when the normalcy rug has been pulled out from under us.

That sounds crazy, right? Looking to an ever-upending drama for normalcy? Well, I've tuned in faithfully to The Bold and the Beautiful for three decades. Watching it in real time again will make me feel like we're finally winning against the pandemic. We all want some normalcy back, and a big part of that for me is knowing we can depend upon the Forresters, the Logans, and the Spencers to somehow have it better -- or worse -- than we do on any given day.

Thank you to the cast and crew for boldly and beautifully forging ahead to revive our fabulous show. I can't say enough to describe what it means to us all that you have braved so much to bring back a fictional world that helps us feel like we're back in "Kansas" again, even if, in real life, we're still trying to find our way back home.

According to writer Brad Bell and some of the actors, it's been an interesting experience for the crew blocking and filming in this new era. Heather Tom (Katie), who appeared on The View, said that everyone on set had the same goal and wanted to make it work. In that spirit, let us, as viewers, share the same goal and give the show a lot of leeway and patience as they pave the way in showing other soaps (and shows!) how a comeback is done.

Let's get two scoops deep into where we left off, the news of "comings and goings," and the previews that help us predict what could be in store for our beloved characters. Be warned: my predictions, plus five bucks, are probably good enough to get you a Five-Dollar Footlong -- if you have some change under the seat cushions for tax, that is! Luckily, there's a comments section at the end for you guys to add your predictions, too.

The return of episodes reminds me of the days when primetime shows cliff-hangered in May or June, and we had to wait until August for the next season. Remember when it was like that? Please don't tell me I'm the only one old enough to remember that! Anyways...

When last we left off, some of our characters had gotten everything they could possibly deserve, good or bad, for the deeds they'd perpetrated. Some of them were on the verge of getting their asses completely busted, and some couldn't even remember what the heck they'd done the night before. What will Katie do about Bill and Brooke? Will Wyatt catch Sally and Penny dragging Flo out of the beach house? Did Ridge and Shauna use the Vegas chapel for a selfie or for an elopement?

We don't know, but we might be about to find out! From what I heard, plots will pick up where they left off -- no flash-forwarding or retelling in flashbacks. As we wait for the stories to unfold, let's break down where certain characters left off and ponder where they might pick up.

Brooke/Ridge/Shauna predicament

All right. I thought time would change my opinion of this storyline. Nah. It didn't. Ridge is still a sleaze for slobbering all over Shauna for months but being unforgiving over one kiss between Brooke and Bill while Brooke and Ridge were estranged. Ridge is still an urchin for worsening matters by flying off with Shauna and blatantly using her to get over the pain of Brooke's so-called betrayal. And Ridge just might be a polygamist if he drunk-married Shauna Fulton in Las Vegas moments before Brooke had his pilot drag him back to L.A.

As it stands, Ridge is nursing a hangover at Eric's place and doesn't remember much about his trip. Brooke is full of herself for succeeding in getting her man back in geographic range, and Shauna is mysteriously sullen in Las Vegas. Denise Richards (Shauna) has been filming, and the way she talks about the show using her husband as a stand-in for Thorsten Kaye during kissing scenes gives us a hint about where this storyline could be headed.

Either Shauna is doing some sultry daydreaming about Ridge, or the whole Ridge and Shauna thing is about to blossom like a zit on the Bridge love story. Given that Katie and Bill's future hangs in the balance, too, it's a good guess that Brooke will be battling Shauna for her man, Quinn for her place at Forrester, and Katie's insecurity for a place in the Logan family. Where's a red dress and Connor Davis when a girl needs some backup?

Katie/Bill/Brooke non-triangle

Fighting Katie's insecurity could be one of the easiest or most difficult things Brooke will have to do. During her Soap Central interview, Heather Tom revealed her belief that Katie will always forgive Brooke -- eventually. Katie actually said as much in her conversations with others about Bill's betrayal. The question is, will Katie make Brooke walk through burning charcoal and glass before she gives that forgiveness?

I believe Katie will forgive Brooke, and the plot will concentrate on Bill's inability to be completely faithful. As much as Katie might want to forgive Bill, he has pledged to always be there for Brooke. Can Katie live with that? Likewise, there's another woman Bill has vowed to always be there for: Steffy.

Steffy is the only other woman who makes him lose focus on Katie. I'm not saying Still is about to start again -- but -- Bill is single, Steffy is single, and according to spoilers, something big is about to happen between the two that could make one of them come out of it in love all over again.

I'm anxious to see where the kiss story goes. Do we get a Katie, Brooke, and Bill triangle? Will Katie have to struggle through a situation in which Bill longs for Brooke while Brooke is all about Ridge? Or will Steffy be the woman with whom Katie has to contend, whether Steffy is mutually interested in Bill or not?

And what about the possibility that Kelly's paternity test is wrong? An intriguing story could be built around Katie adapting badly to no longer being Bill's only baby mama to an underaged child. Steffy is a high-maintenance baby mama, and Katie is a mama bear when it comes to making sure Will gets enough of Bill's attention, which Will won't get while Bill adapts to having his first daughter. We haven't even chipped a nail yet while imagining the shake-up Steffy could cause at Spencer once she realizes it's Kelly's birthright as much as the Spencer sons'. Imagine Steffy versus Liam and Wyatt in business.

Sally/Wyatt/Flo debacle

When we last saw Felony Flo, she was the way I like her most -- knocked out cold and silent. Penny was responsible for the act, and Sally jumped in to help cover up the crime. We were left hanging about whether the friendly fiends got Flo out of the beach house in time as Wyatt opened his front door and made a shocking discovery in his living room.

I can't predict where this storyline is going. It's too wild. Well, I can't predict it except to say it will end badly for Penny and Sally. I mean, rumor has it that Flo wakes up cuffed to a radiator. That has happily ever after in an orange jumpsuit written all over it. If it's true, I hope Sally gets to torture Flo with steamy pictures of Sally and Wyatt until Flo loses enough weight to slip out of her bindings, free herself, and flee -- only to get mowed down by Bill, who obviously (according to spoilers) needs eyeglasses to drive these days.

I love Sally, but she's one bad deed away from a trip to Quinn's go-to psychiatric clinic-slash-vacation spot. Let us know how you think the story will end for the inept villain Sally and her pummeling sidekick Penny.

New actors with storyline promise

The Bold and the Beautiful has some intriguing "comings and goings" that could shed light on storylines for Carter and Zoe and also answer the question of the decade about whether Steffy will get a new love interest. In a bold move, the show's producers have recast Zende Forrester Dominguez with Delon De Metz. In an absolutely beautiful move, the show brought a new doctor into the house, and this doctor might be making house calls at the cliff house.

It's strange to hear that Zende has been recast with no word of his wife, Nicole, accompanying him back to Los Angeles. Zende isn't the most faithful Forrester in the world. I mean, who is? But my point is that, up to now, he and Nicole lived in the same international city as her sister, Sasha. Could Zende have messed up a good thing with Nicole during a kinky mishap with Sasha?

Whatever the motivation for his return, I'm guessing Zende is back to shake things up for Zoe and Carter just when Carter finally gets himself a new romance. I'd like to remind writers that, even though we haven't seen her in over a year, Maya is in Los Angeles. I'm sure she would not appreciate it if Zende broke Nicole's heart. I also think Maya might have something to say about Carter moving on with Zoe. A couple of winters back, Carter came on to the married Maya pretty hard. I'm just saying, writers. You might want to contact Maya.

In other news, say hello to my "little Finn," as in Dr. John Finnegan. Played by Tanner Novlan, Finn will debut July 23rd, cast as the new love interest for Steffy Forrester. Rumor has it that more than one man will seek to reserve a seat at Steffy's romance table. That's fine with me as long as one of them isn't lame ol' Liam. If Bill Spencer is one of them, it could be interesting to see Bill compete with a younger man and come to grips with his fallible middle-agedness.

What do you think, Scoopers? Is Finn the one, or will he go the way of all the other suitors Steffy failed to see due to her extremely tunnel Liam vision?

In a look ahead: The walls cave in on Sally

Spoilers indicate that Monday will serve as a recap episode to remind everyone where we left off. As the week continues, Wyatt will be disconcerted by the scene in his living room. When Flo awakens tied to a radiator, she's desperate to get word to Wyatt. Sally's scam on Wyatt becomes even more demented as Sally plots to become pregnant.

Probably distracted by his problems with Katie, Bill hits a motorcyclist on the road. Yes, that motorcyclist is our very own accident-prone Steffy. Girl, Liam told you to stay off that damn bike.

This time, instead of causing Steffy the worst emotional pain of her life, the accident could lead her to true love as she awakens under the care of Dr. Finn. Ridge rushes to the hospital and learns that, not only did Bill ruin Ridge's marriage, but he ran over Ridge's daughter, too. Do I sense a punch in Bill Spencer's future?

Thanks for scooping with me this week. We'd love to hear your opinions in the comments below. Until we scoop again, stay bold and beautiful, baby!Chanel

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