Wendy Riche Joins 'The Bay' as Executive Consultant

Wendy Riche (center) with The Bay producers Kristos Andrews and
Gregori J. Martin.  Andrews also stars in the series.

April has been a very good month for digital drama The Bay. Series star Lilly Melgar, who plays the troubled Janice Ramos, was named Best Lead Actress at the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards. Guest star Kym Whitley also took home a crystal award that night, as the show celebrated its 11 nominations. On Friday night, The Bay was named Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series at the 43rd Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, receiving that honor for the second year in a row. Four of the show's actors were nominated for their performances as well, with Mary Beth Evans (Sara Garrett) and Kristos Andrews (Peter Garrett) taking home the gold. Earlier in the week, producers hosted a star-studded celebration of the show's recent successes, and that now includes the addition of five-time Emmy-winning producer Wendy Riche to the team.

Riche helmed ABC daytime drama General Hospital from 1992 to 2001, and led the show to unprecedented Emmy success. General Hospital was named Outstanding Drama Series 5 times in 6 years from 1995 to 2001, with unforgettable stories still talked about to this day. In our "Today in Soap Opera History" daily column, you'll regularly see highlights from memorable stories such as the death of B.J. Jones, leading to Maxie getting B.J.'s heart; Robin's coming of age romance with Stone, becoming infected with HIV, and eventually watching Stone die due to complications from the AIDS virus; Monica's breast cancer battle, and eventual adoption of Emily; the beginning of the Nurses Ball; and much more. The show had heart, and humor, creating some of the greatest moments in GH history along the way.

Riche has been made an executive consultant on the upcoming season of The Bay, which begins shooting in May.

“I’ve always been a fan of Wendy’s work,” says creator Gregori J. Martin. “Her storylines pulled on the heartstrings. It’s a real honor to be working with her.”

Riche is looking froward to the new challenge.

"Gregori created the characters and foundation and set The Bay in motion," she explains. "He has done a great thing; he has achieved his vision. I admire that. I’m talking to him about where the characters can go, what they can do and why they are who they are.”

Martin teases “With the new season, we’ll be pulling at the heartstrings."

After a few years mixed with fantastic moments but sometimes inconsistent storytelling, and the occasional production hiccup, everything came together perfectly for The Bay in the 8-episode last season. The stories instantly drew you in, the production values were top-notch, and the cast delivered one spectacular performance after another. Lilly Melgar, in particular, gave one of the best performances of the year in any genre. The Bay has been around since 2010, so it's possible you have watched in the past. If you tried the show before and it didn't hook you for whatever reason, I highly recommend giving The Bay another shot, starting with the most recent batch of episodes.  They are superb.  There's an easy to follow recap at the beginning so you don't need to figure out all the complicated ins and outs from previous years. The Bay is great drama, and very good soap opera, and now is the time to watch.

The episodes from the most recent season of The Bay are below to make binge-watching easy.

















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