Maria Arena Bell

Maria Arena Bell is an American novelist, television and freelance writer. She is currently the Head Writer and Executive Producer of CBS Daytime's The Young and the Restless.

Personal

Arena Bell is married to Bill Bell Jr., the eldest son of Y&R creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell. They have two children, Liam and Sabrina. Her brother and sister in law are Bradley Bell and Lauralee Bell.^[1]

Criticism

Bell was credited for rejuvenating The Young and the Restless after former head writer and executive producer Lynn Maria Latham was panned by critics for her detour from traditional storytelling and writing characters to suit her storylines.

Yet after six months critics and fans alike became disheartened by Bell's departure from character-driven stories in favor of plot-driven ones which garnered her comparisons to the late James E. Reilly (Passions creator/head writer and former head writer of Days of our Lives) whom was known for writing outlandish plots.

Bell was also heavily criticized for her lack of creativity due to her tendency to recycle famous plots from Bill Bell's tenure and co-opting plots from various films (especially Alfred Hitchcock).

Another source of contention has been Bell's casting choices. Critics and fans were dissatisfied with the recasting of one of "Y&R's" most popular characters and a daytime sex symbol Malcolm (formerly played by Shemar Moore) with former Family Matters actor Darius McCrary^[2], as well as Eden Riegel's turn as Heather Stevens (Williams).

She has been further criticized for casting big name stars from other soaps, like Genie Francis (Laura Spencer from General Hospital), Stephen Nichols (Patch Johnson from Days of our Lives), Tristan Rogers ([[Robert Scorpio from General Hospital) and Debbi Morgan (Angie Hubbard from All My Children), with an inability to produce material that is on-par with their talents.

Awards/Nominations

The Young and the Restless writing team won the WGA Award for Best Daytime Serial in February of 2010. ^[3]

Positions held

The Bold and the Beautiful (credited as Maria Arena)

• Script Writer (1989–1992)
• Fashion Consultant (1989)

The Young and the Restless

• Script Writer 1990-92
• Co-Head Writer: December 26, 2007 - April 21, 2008 (chose Financial Core Status during the WGA strike)
• Head Writer: April 22, 2008–Present (with Hogan Sheffer: 7/15/08-Present) (with Scott Hamner: 8/11/08-present)
• Co-Executive Producer (with Paul Rauch: October 3, 2008–January 2011)
• Executive Producer January 2011-present

• Producing team: Maria Arena Bell (Executive Producer), Paul Rauch (Co-Executive Producer), John Fisher (Supervising Producer), Anthony Morina (Supervising Producer), Josh O'Connell (Associate Producer), Matthew J. Olson (Associate Producer)
• Directors She Hired: Mike Denney, Peter Brinckerhoff, James Sayegh, Grant A. Johnson, Casey Childs, Conal O'Brien, Habib Azar
• Writers She Hired: Marla Kanelos, Beth Milstein, Jay Gibson, Amanda L. Beall, Janice Ferri Esser, Tom Casiello, Lisa Connor, Anne Schoettle, Susan Dansby, Greg Ball (G.A nominee; credits: Bones, NYPD Blue, Z.B.: W.C., and The Associates)

Head Writing Tenure

Preceded by Lynn Marie Latham Scott Hamner

Head Writer of The Young and the Restless (with Josh Griffith: 12/26/07-4/21/08) {with H. Sheffer: 7/15/08-Present) (with S. Hamner: 8/11/08-present) December 26, 2007–Present

Succeeded by incumbent

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1267598/bio
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/yr-wins-wga-award-for-best-daytime-serial/2010/02/21/

External links

• CaliforniaGov
• Latham Fired
• AspenPeak
• Northwestern
• TV Profile
• IMDB: Maria Arena Bell
• DaytimeConfidential: Recasting Adam Newman

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Name	Bell, Maria Arena
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