All right! Daytime TV is back in business! "Days of Our Lives" begins taping new shows in September. "The Young and the Restless" resumes production on new shows July 21. No official word on when "General Hospital" will get back up to speed — probably mid-July. "The Bold and the Beautiful" starts airing fresh shows on July 20. Each show will have to make adjustments. Eric Braeden (Victor, "Y&R") posted a photo of himself entering the CBS studio. He explained that the cast and crew will be tested for the coronavirus before being allowed in the studio and will be retested every week. If someone tests positive, then they will be sent home and quarantined for 14 days and then retested. For the past three months, no one has received paychecks. An actor who does not wish to be named has been making sure his crew was taken care of.

Then, there is Ellen, the comedian who is worth over $50 million, who went from being the queen on nice — which she never was — to the queen of mean — which she always was. Decades ago, she fired the entire cast with no warning. The one-time dancing fool did not let the crew know when she was going to reboot her show. When she finally did, she cut everyone's salary. Since she was taping at home, she did not have to use union labor. She did not allow anyone to enter her house. No one who knows her is surprised by her actions. No one on the set is allowed to look at her. She flipped out when a staffer with autism looked in her direction.

In the first new episode of "The Bold and the Beautiful," Wyatt comes to Flo's rescue. When Flo kisses him, it was her real-life hubby on whom the kiss lands. During the rescue, we see Wyatt. The smooch shows "Wyatt's" backside only.

James Carville told his boss at the time, Bill Clinton, "It's the economy, Stupid." That was the key to being elected. For "Days of Our Lives," it is the budget, Stupid! Ken Corday, the show's executive producer, explained the drastic cuts in actors and behind-the-scenes staff. Once upon time, daytime TV was the cash cow. Nighttime was able to exist because of the cash it infused. There were big budgets for wardrobe. Companies such as Barneys and Ohrbach's gave clothes in return for credit. Then, soaps became too big to fail, except they were. Part of the problem was the cash cow went dry. So, forget expensive remotes. Ditto actors' sky-high salaries. One actor went from a $3 million salary to being paid per show. Kristian Alfonso, who has played Hope for almost 40 years, decided to leave the show when her salary was slashed. In fact, each actor was asked to agree to work more and get less.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Bokskapet at Pixabay