‘The Bold and the Beautiful’: John McCook & Thorsten Kaye Dissect Battle for Control of Forrester Creations

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There have been plenty of fashion wars on The Bold and the Beautiful over the years as Forrester Creations has faced down rivals Spectra Fashions and Jackie M. This time, however, the conflict, like the call, is coming from inside the house — the House of Forrester, that is. Eric (John McCook), founder of Forrester, wants to design another classic signature line by himself. Meanwhile, his son, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), wants to go in a more modern direction. Unbeknownst to Ridge, Eric has shared with Ridge’s son RJ (Joshua Hoffman) that he has arthritis and needs his help designing.

As viewers saw in today’s episode, Eric and Ridge have had a face-to-face meeting over doing a fashion showdown. While Ridge suggests a collaborative effort, Eric is adamant about going it alone (with RJ’s help, of course).

Will Eric and Ridge put aside their egos and work as a team? Or will there be a fashion face-off in which a champion is crowned? TV Insider sat down with McCook and Kaye as they talked about this cutting-edge storyline.

The recent scenes in which Eric blasted Ridge over his office, once a sanctuary and which now has been overrun by pretty much everyone… Carter and Katie practically used it as a changing room after a workout! I’m taking partial credit for this as a I wrote an editorial that Eric’s office needs to be Eric’s office back in January.

John McCook: About a month ago, I added a bunch of stuff to my scenes [where Eric said] a bunch of people were using Eric’s office to change clothes and people were eating sandwiches in there. So they wrote some of that into a future script which recently aired. But, I give you partial credit. You can take some credit…

Great minds think alike.

McCook: Exactly.

Seriously, people used to knock on the door and ask if they could come into Eric’s office. The master could have been at work. It’s tying in nicely with Eric’s feelings of where he fits in these days. He wants to be respected.

McCook: They wrote some great scenes for us to do. It was a great way to open this new story for Eric to need more respect and responsibility and to be given credit for the success of the company.

Mike Yarish/Courtesy of Bell-Phillip TV Prods., Inc.

Thorsten Kaye: Ridge would never want to disrespect his dad, especially after all he’s done for him. This is more about John wanting his set back. [Editor’s note: Kaye is saying this part wryly.] Either way, I love the father/son stuff. I’m not just blowing smoke. This show doesn’t work without John. He makes it all human. He anchors it in a way that makes it all make sense. I love it.

McCook: Thank you, Thorsten. This is a family business, whether it’s an international fashion house or a mechanic shop down the street. It’s run by a family. Now, a second generation is coming in and wanting to change things around That’s going to cause tension. It’s really good story.

Kaye: It is. It’s a really good story because both parties are “right.” Sometimes neither are. Eric’s right because he created this company and he’s not done creating. Ridge is right because times have changed and he feels the company needs to grow.

Devil’s advocate, here – why can’t both Eric’s line and Ridge’s vision be done? Forrester has diversified before with Brooke’s Bedroom and the Men’s line.

Kaye: I can answer that. You can’t create both lines because the budget isn’t there for it. If you cut the budget, then both lines will kind of suck. If you want both of them to be good, you have to take the money from somewhere else. There’s also Hope For The Future. Everything will suffer because the boss wants to do something.

McCook: Couture is the most expensive thing Forrester does. It’s even more expensive than Hope For The Future.

Why does Eric want to say classic in his designs?

McCook: it’s not necessarily that he feels the company should go in that direction. He wants to maintain and hang onto his legacy and his legacy customers. He hasn’t necessarily lost them, but he wants to do one last classic signature line. He’s been squeezed out of his physical office. His opinion is being asked less than it was before. It’s all piling up on him.

Kaye: I would add this isn’t about people wanting someone else out. I have kids in real-life, and I think I’m relative with my opinion – until I talk to my kids! It’s not that [Eric] is old; it’s that the machine keeps moving. Eric feels he still has something to say and is necessary.

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What’s different about this TV boardroom battle?

McCook: We’ve seen this kind of story before on TV. People end up being mean to each other. That’s not what’s going on at our show. There’s an undercurrent of love and family that we cannot ignore.

Kaye: It’s all based on people loving each other. Ridge loves his father very much. He wants him to be happy and succeed. He [also] doesn’t want everyone in the company to drown while Eric’s doing his line. It’s all based on love and respect and doing the right thing. This isn’t about grabbing control. It’s about doing what’s best for the company and still respecting someone who has a story to tell.

McCook: Years ago, we had scenes while we were sitting around the table in the CEO office about who has the most shares. We’re not talking about the money this time. We’re talking about emotions. It’s all about the love.

You sound like you’re really enjoying this story, which is just beginning.

Kaye: I want to add something. You should know that whenever John and I finish working together, we’ll sit in his [dressing room] and have a “beverage of choice.” We’ll talk about the work and where we are going. We don’t just show up and look at the pages for the first time [on the day we shoot]. We think about this as a father and son would. We find the time to make sure we’re on the same emotional page so we can tell a story. I love that.

McCook: It’s unusual. That’s the point. It’s a special thing that we share. It makes it so good. I’m happy to be working with Thorsten.

The Bold and the Beautiful, Weekdays, CBS