A soap opera that aired during the late 80s and early 90s about a Black family has received a major update. In a new interview, one of the original cast members of the first-ever Black family-centric show confirmed that the showrunner was developing a reboot.
Jonelle Allen says Generations creator Sally Sussman has plans for ‘a new reboot’
In a recent interview with Soapy, Jonelle Allen, who played Doreen Jackson in Generations, revealed that the NBC series’ showrunner, Sally Sussman Morina, was developing a “new reboot.”
The actress added that she and her costars from the soap, Robert Torti (Lt. Kyle Masters) and Kelly Rutherford (Sam Whitmore), were interested in being a part of it. She further stated that other actors from the original show would be involved as well.
Allen also shared her hopes for Beyond the Gates, the second soap opera with a predominantly Black cast, to become a huge success and consequently spark discussions about Generations, noting the latter paved the way for the former.
Beyond the Gates and Generations are similar in their strong focus on a Black family. However, they differ when it comes to episode length. The former boasts hour-long episodes while the latter’s episodes have a half-hour runtime.
Also in the interview, Allen delved deep into the iconic catfight with Vivica A. Fox’s Maya Reubens from the soap opera, broken up by Adam Marshall. She revealed that Michele Val Jean, who created Beyond the Gates, scripted the fight scene. Allen also discussed and praised Anthony Morina’s direction of the fight.
Highlighting Morina’s theatrical background, the actress said that he “facilitated” what she and Fox were doing. “He didn’t come in and then say, ‘Well, the angle has to be that way,’ or whatever,’” she explained. “He meticulously watched what we were doing, and then he was able to set up the cameras. Multiple cameras. So they were able to catch everything. He was terrific.”
She also addressed the catfight’s enduring impact and how it formed a life of its own. Allen hilariously recalled learning someone had made the sounds of the scene their ringtone while she was having lunch with some friends at a restaurant. She also looked back on how she Googled herself one day and found variations of the fight, which she noted strictly followed two guys.
