Days Of Our Lives- Daytime Soap Operas- News, polls, previews

The Guiding Light alum, who played Beth Raines for years, took to social media to share her story in an emotional video. Chamberlin’s cancer journey began this fall, and she’s got a lot to say about it.

“I need to tell you something that I haven’t shared publicly. And even my family, except for my husband and son, didn’t know until today. In mid-October, I was diagnosed with early-stage endometrial cancer. And on November 21st, I had to have a complete hysterectomy. Today, my final pathology report came back. Stage 1A, no spread, no further treatment necessary. I am lucky,” she expressed in the footage.

Chamberlin explained that she had kept quiet for several reasons. She didn’t want people to worry about her or imagine the worst for her, and she also didn’t want to hear a lot of noise as she navigated her health crisis.

The Days of Our Lives alum, who played Nancy Trent for a short stint on the Peacock soap, said she has always focused on clean eating and exercising. Cancer, though, doesn’t care or discriminate; even the healthiest people get it, Chamberlin said she learned.

While she said she will never know why she got cancer, Chamberlin is focused on spreading the word about early detection. Chamberlin plans to talk about that and more in the coming days.

“Over the next few days, I’m also going to tell you about my journey through this, the mental tools that I used to get through it, the difficulty of navigating the healthcare system with my particular insurance until getting to my surgeon, who I am truly, truly grateful to have had. I’ll also tell you the funny parts, because there were those. I’ll tell you as much as I can. So follow along, and if you know someone who’s going through their own challenge, send this along. My hope is that I can be a source of information and inspiration,” the actress ended her message.

Chamberlin kept her caption on the Instagram video simple, writing, “Tough times come.” The soap star also wrote on the video that she didn’t even tell some of her family members about her cancer journey until she was ready to share her story on social media.

Fans flooded her comments section with love, support, and thanks for Chamberlin coming forward with her story, something she didn’t have to do.

“So thankful you are okay!!! You are such an inspiration to me!!,” wrote a fan. One fan expressed, “Sharing such personal and intimate details is hard! You are so graceful and courageous! Thank you for sharing. P. S we need you here!!.”

Another fan said, “I am so sorry this happened and so thankful to God you are ok. You are so amazing and loved!” “Thanks for sharing so happy that everything is well now,” stated a different fan.

Guiding Light alum Beth Chamberlin has opened up about her cancer journey and hopes to become an inspiration for others fighting the same battle.

Vivica A. Fox Signs With Innovative Artists Entertainment

Actress, writer, and producer Vivica A. Fox recently appeared in the movie The Christmas Campaign as well as A Christmas Murder Mystery.

She is well known for her roles as Jasmine Dubrow in the $817M-plus grossing Roland Emmerich sci-fi blockbuster Independence Day, as Vernita Green in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (which just had its full Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 saga re-released last weekend by Lionsgate), Maxine in Soul Food, and Shate Smith in Two Can Play That Game.

She directed the BET+ biographical crime drama film, First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story, for which she received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special.

On the television side, Fox has starred in Keeping Up with the Joneses, Empire, and 1-800-Missing for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. She has appeared in Black-ish, Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Fox was also a contestant on season 3 of Dancing with the Stars and appeared as herself on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Miss Universe, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Fox has produced and starred in over 25 The Wrong… franchise television thriller films for Lifetime.

After successful collaborations with major brands such as Cadillac, Google, and Carshield, Fox launched her own hair company, The Vivica Fox Hair Collection.

The multi-hyphenate also hosted the podcast Hustling With Vivica A. Fox with Dr. Phil’s Stage 29 Productions, which ran for two years and authored the book Every Day I’m Hustling.

2026 Critics Choice Awards Nominations

BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Everett Blunck – The Plague (Independent Film Company)
Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Cary Christopher – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)

Who Is Peter Blake on ‘Days of Our Lives’? Inside the History of Kristen DiMera’s Brother

Peter, originally played by Jason Brooks from 1993 to 1998, is an attorney and the adoptive son of Stefano DiMera, as well as the son of Rachel Blake, a.k.a. “The Woman in White.”

Peter arrived in Salem in September 1993, determined to keep his sister, Kristen Blake (then played by Eileen Davidson, now Stacy Haiduk) from pursuing her love for John Black (Drake Hogestyn) because she was already set to marry her then-adoptive brother, Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis), to honor Stefano’s dying wish.

While in town, Peter fell for Jennifer Horton (Stephanie Cameron), who was reluctant to get involved with him, since she was still married to Jack Deveraux (Mark Valley), who had left town. After Jack sent divorce papers to Jen, she began dating Peter.

Peter continued to carry out nefarious tasks for his father, including stealing Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) diary, in which she discussed finding her mother, Marlena Evans, having sex with John, information that later confirmed Belle Black’s (later played by Kirsten Storms and Martha Madison) paternity. Stefano held onto the information, which was revealed at Belle’s baptism in front of everyone.

After months of Peter’s machinations, Kristen and Tony tied the knot. Peter helped Stefano fake his death and manipulate John, who had past ties to Stefano. Peter also began trafficking drugs and laundering money through his jazz club, The Blue Note. Laura Horton (Jaime Lyn Bauer), Jennifer’s mother, uncovered his criminal operation, forcing Peter had to work quickly to neutralize her. To that end, he hired a man named Daniel Scott, who had Laura’s office painted with a toxic substance that affected her emotional state, making any accusations against Peter seem unreliable. Because Laura had a history of mental illness, her family was concerned and considered recommitting her to a sanitarium. Ultimately, the poison paint was discovered, Daniel was blamed and hightailed it out of town.

In 1994, Peter, Jennifer and their friends went to Maison Blanche, a DiMera property in New Orleans, where they found a presumed-dead Hope Brady. At the end of the trip, the house burned down. Tony lost his eyesight trying to retrieve a computer from the blaze that contained information about John Black’s past.

The next year, Peter took Jennifer to Aremid (that’s “DiMera” backward!) and proposed. They got engaged, even though Jack had returned to Salem, hoping to reunite with his ex. Jack worked to discredit Peter in Jennifer’s eyes, but she remained committed to Peter, and the couple planned to marry in Aremid.

Tony secretly regained his eyesight and discovered that Kristen and John were still involved. After Jen and Peter wed in Aremid, Tony manipulated events so he was shot and “killed” (he later turned up alive), and John was blamed. Peter prosecuted John, who was sentenced to death by electrocution. He was cleared when Tony’s diary, detailing his plan to frame John, was found.

Meanwhile, one of Peter’s cohorts, Jude St. Clair (Jeff Griggs), was blackmailing Peter, threatening to expose him. Jack suspected there was a connection between them and told Jen. Matters escalated when Jude kidnapped Hope Williams Brady (Kristian Alfonso). During the rescue, Jude shot Bo Brady (Peter Reckell), and Peter then shot Jude, claiming he was trying to save Jack, effectively silencing Jude’s threats. In 1996, Jennifer became wise to Peter’s schemes and tracked down Daniel Scott, who told her the truth about her husband. Jennifer served Peter with divorce papers.

A desperate Peter decided to kidnap Jen and her daughter, Abby. Jack caught Peter, and the two struggled over a gun, which went off, wounding Peter. Stefano sneaked into Peter’s room in the hospital and the two cooked up a scheme to fake Peter’s death and blame Jack. At Peter’s funeral, a stunned Laura discovered both Peter and Stefano, who were presumed dead. They abducted her and had a doctor erase her short-term memory, before releasing her. Laura continued to insist Peter was alive.

Jack was found guilty of murdering Peter and sentenced to life in prison. Kristen had Peter’s body exhumed and discovered he wasn’t in the coffin — Daniel Scott was. Kristen had Daniel’s body cremated. Jack eventually escaped from prison.

Peter, who had recovered from his gunshot wound and was hiding out to avoid detection, was bitten by a tropical mosquito and developed “Jungle Madness,” which made him violent and unhinged. He attacked Laura and Hope during his episodes.

Jack and Jennifer hid out with a traveling circus while searching for Peter to prove he was alive and clear Jack’s name. Hoping to lure Peter out of hiding, Jennifer faked her death. The plan worked, and an ailing Peter showed up at the church, where he was arrested. Stefano visited him and injected him with an antidote to his “Jungle Madness.” Peter was sent to a minimum-security prison in 1998.

Peter wasn’t mentioned again until 2019, when Abe noted that Peter had been missing since being released from prison. Later, during a battle for power at DiMera Enterprises, Peter lent his support to Kristen from afar, and that was the last time the character was mentioned.

Suzanne Rogers Says She Won’t Leave Days of Our Lives Until They ‘Lock Me Out’

For an impressive 52 years, she has brought warmth, drama and unforgettable storylines to fans around the world. The 82-year-old’s connection to Maggie feels as timeless as the Horton family legacy itself.

While catching up with PEOPLE at Peacock’s Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary Celebration, the actress revealed whether she has plans to step away from the beloved role anytime soon.

“Sixty is wonderful. I mean, not many shows can say that,” Rogers tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I love it. It's my whole life and my home for a long time.”

“Oh, listen. If they say ‘bye,’ I’ll go – I had a good run,” she laughs, adding that her retirement might involve visiting her sister in North Carolina.

But not to worry – Rogers says she’s not going anywhere as long as she has a say in things.

Earlier this summer, rumors of Rogers’ departure from the show had fans concerned that Maggie’s storyline might be coming to an end.

However, a spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE in July 2025 that the speculations “could not be further from the truth."

Since it first hit the small screen in 1965, the show has aired more than 15,000 episodes, and was recently renewed for two more seasons, ensuring it will air through season 63.

"Maggie & Suzanne are integral to the show's history, present storylines, and now, on the heels of our pick-up, the future!” the spokesperson continued. “Neither are going anywhere."

Despite a “rough” summer after her colon cancer diagnosis, Rogers is now in remission and feeling “much better.”

Rogers notes that she is no longer stressed about “the small things,” and is determined to continue bringing Maggie to life for devoted viewers.

Days' Peter Blake Recast With One Life To Live Alum

Gauthier is best known to soap fans for his 2003-06 run as Kevin Buchanan on One Life to Live, which earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2007. He has also appeared in prime time series like Tour Of Duty, Sisters, Ellen, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place. The actor also has a great number of fans from his starring role of Brad Powell in the popular 1989 film Teen Witch.

Gauthier was the twelfth actor to play the role of Kevin on OLTL, so he’s already comfortable playing a recast. The role of Peter Blake was originally played by Jason Brooks from 1993-96. Although presumed dead after being shot by Jack (Matthew Ashford), Peter resurfaced for another run from 1997-98. During that second run, Peter contracted Jungle Madness, which caused him to go insane, attacking people and shooting up Jennifer’s (Melissa Reeves; Stephanie Cameron played the role at the time) funeral. Her “spirit” (Jenn was not actually dead; rather, she had faked her death to draw out Peter) persuaded Peter to turn himself in, and Stefano visited him in jail to deliver the antidote. On July 31, 2019, Abe (James Reynolds) mentioned that Kristen’s brother had disappeared after being released from prison.

Currently, Kristen, Tony (Thaao Penghlis), and Chad (Billy Flynn) are being kept prisoner in the DiMera crypt, and EJ is up to something nefarious with Dr. Rolf (Richard Warton) involving a cryogenic tube containing a mystery person. How will Peter’s return be connected to these storylines? What kind of trouble will he stir up on DAYS this time around?

Is Wes Ramsey Returning As Owen?

Toward the end of the promo, which clocks in at over two minutes long, fan favorite Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) is shown walking in the park with Brady (Eric Martsolf) when he suddenly grabs a man wearing a hoodie, restraining him. Roars Steve, “Where is my daughter?” While the mystery man’s face is shown for barely more than a split second, it was long enough for viewers to identify him as being played by Ramsey, who first appeared on DAYS in 2009 in the role of Owen Kent. During Owen’s time in Salem, he was involved with Steve’s daughter, Stephanie, who is now played by Abigail Klein but was portrayed by Shelley Hennig at the time.

Owen worked as a gardener for the Kiriakis family and found himself in the middle of the ongoing battle between the Kiriakises and the DiMeras. When Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) was kidnapped by Victor (John Aniston), EJ (then played by James Scott) ordered Owen to kidnap Stephanie. Owen, whose father was a mortician named Walter (Gordon Thomson), obliged and held Stephanie captive in a morgue. During the time that he was holding her hostage, Owen became obsessed with Stephanie. Eventually, Brady, Melanie (Molly Burnett) and Philip (Jay Kenneth Johnson) deduced that Stephanie was in Owen’s clutches and figured out where he was holding her. With assistance from Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso), they rode to her rescue, and once she was freed, Owen was arrested. However, en route to being transferred to prison, Owen managed to escape and once he slipped away from the authorities, he was never seen again.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for DAYS would not confirm that Ramsey is returning as Owen or comment on whether he is playing a new character. In fact, the rep wouldn’t confirm that Ramsey is rejoining the cast at all, saying only, “The fans will have to wait and see!”

DAYS was Ramsey’s second soap stint. He made his daytime debut on Guiding Light, where he played Sam Spencer from 2000-02, with subsequent appearances in 2004 and 2008. After his run on DAYS, he joined General Hospital as Peter August, the nefarious son of Cesar Faison (Anders Hove). When he was first cast in 2017, he told Soap Opera Digest, “I had actually already taken the initiative myself to try to find another home in daytime again. There had been about a seven-year gap for me between Guiding Light and DAYS, and now, seven or eight years after that, I guess I got the itch again! I thought, ‘Maybe I can find something that could work out, that could be fun and keep me creatively satiated.'” He remained with GH until 2022, a role he played until Felicia (Kristina Wagner) killed him in defense of her daughter, Maxie (Kirsten Storms).

While he hasn’t appeared on a soap since Peter’s demise, Ramsey has a soap connection that hits very close to home: His real-life leading lady is GH’s Laura Wright (Carly). The duo first met while both were appearing on GL during Wright’s time there as Cassie Layne and reconnected in 2017 prior to him joining the Port Charles ranks.

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Real-Life Family Tragedy for Young and Restless Star Lucas Adams

“My sister was hit head-on by a drunk driver over the weekend,” Adams reported in his post. “Thankfully, she is going to be okay, but has a long road ahead of her as her hip and foot were broken. Her and her husband Josh have eight kids and could use all the help they can get to get through this. I’m sharing her Venmo, if you can or would like to support them, I know they would very much appreciate it.”

Of course, this being the Internet, it wasn’t long before a scammer tried to take advantage of the family crisis by creating an impostor Venmo account with a slightly different spelling in the hopes of tricking people into sending money their way instead.

“Sadly, someone is trying to exploit the situation and created a fake account,” Adams updated in his Stories shortly after posting the actual Venmo QR code. “If you are planning to donate, please be sure to choose ‘audriefarris’ all lowercase with one ‘s.’”

Adams made his daytime debut as a day player in a 2012 episode of Y&R before landing the role of Dr. Tripp Dalton on Days of Our Lives, earning two Daytime Emmy Award nominations before his exit in 2019. He reprised the role in 2020 and remained with the soap until 2024. He then returned to Y&R as a recast of Noah Newman, making his first appearance in the November 4 episode.

Kate Mansi on Her New Big ‘General Hospital’ Gig & Being Intimidated by Laura Wright

Mansi says she first got the directing bug years ago on Days of Our Lives, where she played Abigail Deveraux. “I had a storyline with Ali Sweeney [Sami Brady] and James Scott [EJ DiMera], and I had been working with Ali quite a bit,” she recalls. “We became good friends, and she started to observe the directors. I watched her go through that process, and then she directed her first episode that I was actually in. She was Ali Sweeney, the director, but also seeing how she transferred the attention to detail that she has as an actor to when she was directing was so inspiring to me. I remember I called my dad afterwards, and I was like, ‘Ali Sweeney directed today, and I want to do that someday.’”

A motivated Mansi began shadowing the directors at Days and eventually helmed a segment herself. When she joined GH in 2023, Mansi let executive producer Frank Valentini know that it was one of her passions. “Fortunately, Frank allowed me to shadow in the booth, and I spent the last year really working on shadowing as much as I possibly could,” she relays.

On her birthday in September, she received an unexpected gift. “Frank called me and said he had the perfect episode for me to direct and that I was ready,” she recalls. “And I was scared sh**less, but I said to him, ‘OK, I think I’m ready, too, but please, the only person I don’t want to direct is Laura Wright [Carly Spencer].’ He was like, ‘Why? She’s amazing.’ And yes, she’s amazing as a human and friend and actor, but I was really intimidated to direct her.”

Her nerves only grew when she heard the rest of the cast she’d be working with that day — Genie Francis (Laura Collins), Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos), and Steve Burton (Jason Morgan). “I took a minute to sort of freak out, and then I just got right to work,” she says.

Mansi received immense support from her costars. “Genie Francis looked over and saw me, and whispered to me, ‘Are you shadowing?’ And I said, ‘Yes,’ and she gave me a huge thumbs up, and it was so sweet,” Mansi says. “And afterwards, she gave me a big hug and said, ‘We need more female directors. I’m so proud of you and inspired by you that you’re taking on something new. My husband’s [Jonathan Frakes] a director.’ And we talked about that quite a bit, so it was just like so nice to have that the day before I did her scenes.”

Mansi’s on-screen sister, Kristen Vaganos (Molly Lansing), proved to be her secret hype woman. “She asked if she could come up and watch me direct, and I was like, ‘Absolutely not. I don’t want to see anyone. I know it’ll make me too nervous. I need to stay focused,’” Mansi relays. “And it turns out, at the end of the day, she sent me all these photos and videos that she had taken. She said, ‘I was hiding. Sometimes you came up to me, and I was hiding in a bookshelf, because I was trying to stay out of your eye line.’ And then when I had lunch, she was like, ‘I ordered you lunch downstairs.’ So that was really sweet.”

Eventually, it was time to face the one actor she’d been most anxious about. “Laura Wright had the last scenes of the day, and I was admittedly nervous, and she could tell,” Mansi says. “And it was also a really important scene. There were a lot of layers. There are some intimate moments with her and Brennan [Chris McKenna], and I really wanted to push the boundaries on that, so I needed this passionate make-out scene. I wanted them to take it as far as they were comfortable, but I sort of hesitated and said, ‘And then you guys can kiss, and I’ll cut out whenever you’re comfortable.’ And Laura, which was so great, just gave me complete permission. She said, ‘I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I think we should just, like, go at it.’ So, she really allowed me to be bold with my choices, which was so awesome.”

One of those choices was rooted in tradition. “I had been watching old episodes of soaps, just to really get the energy of what fans love so much about our genre,” she explains. “And I think it’s the romance, and the push and pull of, ‘Will they or won’t they?’ and playing all these multi-dynamic levels in a scene, and that’s something that Laura Wright does so well. So, I asked Frank if I could do something a little bit different, and he said yes. And then when I went back to the booth, our producer that day, Michelle Henry, and Frank, told me that Laura had called up right after blocking and said, ‘Oh, my gosh. I love those scenes! Her blocking is amazing. I can’t wait to do them.’ So that really made me feel so confident.”

The day ended with a moment Mansi won’t soon forget. “Laura is someone who, I can honestly say, practices what she preaches in women supporting women, and on that day, was so gracious and brought so much of herself,” Mansi continues. “And then when I finished those scenes, she called me and said, ‘I’ve been an actor for 34 years, and I’ve never played something that way. I could tell that you had some throwbacks of the old soap classics in that scene, but with a fresh take.’ That meant so much to me, and I really cried. I also have to credit Ali Sweeney, because I called her when I was blocking these episodes, and I said, ‘I just want to blow Laura Wright’s mind. Please help me,’ and then we sort of talked through it together. She gave me some inspiration and some tips, so that was really incredible.”

With her first episode behind her, Mansi is eager for another shot. “I would love to do it again,” she says. “Frank mentored me through this experience, and I could not be more grateful for his generosity of time and belief in me. He gave me the most rewarding experience thus far in my professional career in trusting me with this opportunity.”

Soapy S2 EP 4 | Suzanne Rogers on Her Record-Breaking Soap Career, the Rockettes & Broadway

Hallmark Media Sets 5 For Women’s Directing Program

Four aspiring directors – Angie Nolan, Hannah Michielsen, Huriyyah Muhammad, and Sarah Wilson Thacker – were selected to begin the mentorship phase of the program. Hallmark actor and writer, Nikki DeLoach (Days of our Lives), also joins.

As part of the program, participants work towards the opportunity of directing a Hallmark movie while shadowing an established director throughout the entire production process. Ashley Williams founded the on-the-job mentorship initiative.

“We’re beyond excited to continue growing our Make Her Mark family with such talented, well-rounded creatives and it’s our privilege to help set them up for success,” said Williams. “We can’t wait to see the incredible work and creative vision they will bring to the screen.”

Additionally, previously announced Make Her Mark participant Eva Tavares will make her directorial debut with The Christmas Baby, an all-new “Countdown to Christmas” movie starring Ali Liebert and Kat Barrell, which premieres Sunday, December 21, on Hallmark Channel and streams the next day on Hallmark+. Program alumni Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe is set to direct her fourth Hallmark movie, premiering in the Spring.

“Our Hallmark Media family is immensely proud of the impact that Make Her Mark has made on our productions since its inception in 2023,” said Hallmark Media’s Senior Vice President of Physical Production, Randy Pope. “While Hallmark movies are beloved by a wide range of viewers, it’s well known that our stories are predominantly made for women, so the opportunity to provide up-and-coming female filmmakers their well-deserved shot in the director’s chair is incredibly meaningful to us.”

Several participants have completed the first phase of the program: Nolan (Adventures in Love & Birding); Muhammad (Tidings for the Season); Metchie (The Cases of Mystery Lane: Death is Listening); and DeLoach (True Justice: Family Ties).

Nolan is a filmmaker, actor, and theatre writer/director with 30 years of experience in BC’s film and TV industry, working primarily as an Assistant Director. For 15 years, she helped create and grow the Whistler Film Festival Talent Labs and Industry Summit. She stepped down as Director of Industry Programming in 2018 to further pursue her filmmaking career.

Michielsen most recently directed the CBS series Matlock starring Kathy Bates. She has directed second unit scene work on shows such as CBS’s Sheriff Country and Netflix’s Locke & Key, while also producing and directing several short films. As a First Assistant Director, her credits also include FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, and Netflix’s Self Made: Based on the Life of Madam CJ Walker, among others.

Muhammad is an award-winning director, writer, and producer who is an alum of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women and Film Independent’s Episodic Directing Intensive.Her work has screened at Sundance, AFI Fest, Austin Film Fest, UrbanWorld, New Voices in Black Cinema, and the American Black Film Festival, among others. She is an NAACP Image Award nominee, an HBO Short Film Competition winner, a SeriesFest winner, and a Reel Sisters Trailblazer Award recipient.

DeLoach is an actress, writer and producer best known for her collaborations with Hallmark, including The Perfect Catch, A Dream of Christmas, Our Holiday Story, Home Turf, A Grand Ole Opry Christmas, and Love Takes Flight. After working as a creative executive at LD Entertainment, she pivoted into development and producing. Along with her writing partner, Megan McNulty, she wrote Christmas for Keeps as well as the ongoing mystery franchise True Justice on Hallmark Mystery, which they also developed, among other projects.

Wilson Thacker is a Student Emmy Award and the ASC Student Heritage Award winner who recently penned a feature film for Matt Kaplan’s ACE Entertainment and is a Ryan Murphy Half Initiative alum (where she shadowed on 9-1-1 on ABC). Her narrative directing work includes a half-hour drama pilot through the PlayStation Emerging Filmmakers Program (The Many Lives of Ayn Winters) as well as several narrative shorts commissioned by Google.

‘Young and the Restless’ Star Lucas Adams Opens Up About Starting a Family

The couple’s love story began in 2015 on the set of the Disney series, Liv and Maddie. After seven years of dating, they tied the knot in Waxahachie, Texas, on October 15, 2022. They revealed to People that their bundle of joy will arrive in February 2026.

Just last month, TV Insider caught up with Adams before his first appearance as Noah, where he hinted that starting a family was already on his mind. “Married life is great,” Adams reported. “She’s doing great, we’re doing great. We’re just getting ready to start a family soon, and that’s our next step.”

The Disney alums, who played Josh Wilcox and Maddie 2 on the popular series, got engaged in July 2021 in a romantic sunset proposal while out with their dog, Lando. “We waited for Lando to finish the bowl of water we brought for him, and then I said, ‘Well, Lando needs more water,’ and she said, ‘I’ll go get it,’ which was perfect,” Adams relayed to Soap Opera Digest after he popped the question. “She got up, and I was walking behind her, and she filled his water bowl, and then she was kind of looking off. She said she was kind of having her own moment, seeing the place for the last time, and she turned around, and I was on my knee, and she said with tears in her eyes, ‘Of course I will, baby.'”

Even years later, fans still recognize the couple from their Disney days. “Honestly, all the time,” he shared. “People do kind of flip out seeing us out in the wild, especially when they realize that she was Maddie 2,” he explains. “We were the love interests, technically, at the end of the show, so Josh and Maddie did get their happily ever after, which people say is just cute, and then they do the, ‘Oh, my gosh — y’all actually worked out.'”

Their bond with their Liv and Maddie costars also remains strong. “We’re still best friends with a lot of the cast from that show,” Adams reported. “I was just with Joey [Bragg, who played Joey Rooney]. We actually went to L.A. Comic Con together and the amount of people that came up to us and recognized us from a show 10 years ago, we joked that we should have had a booth there.”

As Adams prepares for fatherhood, he’s also settling into a new family on the Y&R set. “Everybody here is just the sweetest people, and they really feel like a family together,” he said. “So, I think that’s really helpful.”

‘The Traitors’ Season 4 Cast & Episode Release Schedule Set At Peacock

The new season of the competition series starts on Thursday, January 8, at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT.

Alan Cumming returns as host of the Emmy-winning show based on the Dutch series De Varraders, where The Faithful try to uncover the identities of the Traitors before they are murdered or banished from the game.

The cast of The Traitors Season 4 includes Candiace Dillard Bassett (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai), Colton Underwood (The Bachelor), Donna Kelce (“Mama” Kelce), Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York City), Eric Nam (Singer-Songwriter), Ian Terry (Big Brother), Johnny Weir (Olympic Figure Skater), Kristen Kish (Host, Top Chef), Rob Cesternino (Survivor), Lisa Rinna (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Mark Ballas (Dancing with the Stars), Maura Higgins (Love Island USA Aftersun), Michael Rapaport (Actor), Monét X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Natalie Anderson (Survivor), and Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta).

Rob Rausch (Love Island USA), Ron Funches (Comedian), Stephen Colletti (One Tree Hill and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County), Tara Lipinski (Olympic Figure Skater), Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother), and Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho (Survivor) are also part of the Season 4 cast.

January 8: Episodes 1, 2, 3
January 15: Episodes 4, 5
January 22: Episodes 6
January 29: Episode 7
February 5: Episode 8
February 12: Episode 9
February 19: Episode 10
February 26: Finale + Reunion.

Sally Kirkland Dies: Oscar-Nominated Star Of ‘Anna’ Was 84

Her manager, Valerie McCaffrey, told Deadline that the film and TV actor died of organ failure. She had been in ill health in recent years and a number of falls.

Kirkland, who suffered from dementia, had been in hospice care in Palm Springs for the past year. A GoFundMe page set up to support her health battle noted that she had struggled to pay for medical care since SAG-AFTRA canceled supplement insurance for members over the age of 65 in 2021.

The page revealed she had fractured four bones in her neck, right wrist and left hip and “developed two separate life-threatening infections” in the past year.

Born October 31, 1941, in New York City, Kirkland was named after her mother, an editor for Vogue and Life. After modeling for Vogue, the younger Kirkland trained under Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen at the Actors Studio before graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She also became part of Andy Warhol’s art studio The Factory and was a player in avant-garde theater.

In 1963, Kirkland made her Off Broadway debut in Robert Thom’s Bicycle Ride to Nevada, before taking a risqué role in Warhol’s The 13 Most Beautiful Women the next year.

“It was really great being with Andy Warhol in 1964 and being one of The 13 Most Beautiful Women for him and asking him to do publicity for Anna,” she recalled to Deadline last year. “We didn’t really have any budget for publicity, and Andy had a television show called [Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes], and he let me and Paulina Porizkova come on the show and interview each other. So that was fun and exciting.”

Kirkland went on to roles in such films as Blue (1968), The Way We Were (1973), The Sting (1973), A Star Is Born (1976), Hometown U.S.A. (1979), Private Benjamin (1980) and Love Letters (1983), plus appearances on the shows Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, Three’s Company, Starsky & Hutch, The Incredible Hulk, Charlie’s Angels and Falcon Crest.

The actress won her first Golden Globe and received an Academy Award nomination for her starring performance in Anna, later earning another Golden Globe nom for her lead role in The Haunted (1991).

“David O. Selznick had been my mentor since I was 18, and he was giving me advice,” Kirkland told Deadline. “He was telling me from when I started, when I was a kid, ‘You’re not going to make it as an ingénue because you’re too tall and men don’t like tall women, so you’re going to have to wait until you’re middle aged and then they’re going to let you be a star.’ Sure enough, I was 44 years old when I did Anna.”

An acting teacher herself, Kirkland also trained such stars as Sandra Bullock, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Dwight Yoakam

Continuing to work into her final years, Kirkland appeared in movies like JFK (1991), Excess Baggage (1997), EDtv (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Suburban Gothic (2014) and 80 for Brady (2023), as well as shows like Roseanne, Murder She Wrote, Days of Our Lives, Felicity and Criminal Minds.

Her roles became less frequent during the 2000s and 2010s, appearing in the likes of The Agency in 2010, Extinction (2017), Invincible (2020) and last year co-starred in Sallywood, which examined director Xaque Gruber’s relationship with her. We interviewed the pair 12 months ago about the project.

Despite taking many B roles over the years to make ends meet, Kirkland told Deadline she didn’t want to depict her life as “dark and tragic” in the film.

“I’m lucky in that I’ve always worked, and I’ve always wanted to work,” she explained. “So whether it was a great script or a not-so-great script that I could do something with, I took it. I didn’t really have any down moments in my career. I was just very lucky.”

Kirkland continued, “There’s certainly been a lot of rejection, and I guess I get to mention or allude to that in Sallywood. I remember one line where I say to [her Sallywood co-star] Tyler [Steelman], ‘I don’t know where I belong … anymore.’ So obviously, that was said with some meaning.”

“Sally transcended time and space in her career,” her manager Valerie McCaffrey said in a statement Tuesday. “She could master any role from her role in Anna to even later in her career where she played the TV-obsessed mother in Neo Ned opposite Jeremy Renner. She also embraced indie films and loved acting more than life. Her passion for the art of acting was contagious to all who worked with her and regardless of the role, she gave it 1,000 percent.”

Luke Barnett & Barbara Crampton Thriller ‘Teacher’s Pet’ Heading To AFM With Quiver & AMP

The film’s story follows a brilliant high school senior who is days away from escaping to Yale, who must outwit her malevolent new English teacher when he becomes obsessed with her. As he reveals his sinister past, Clara fights a treacherous battle of wits for survival.

The official synopsis reads: When brilliant but isolated high school senior Clara’s English teacher dies mysteriously, a charismatic replacement arrives who takes a disturbing interest in her academic potential. As Mr. Heller’s mentorship turns to dangerous obsession, Clara uncovers his horrifying secret identity and murderous past. Now trapped in a psychological game with a predator who’s eliminated anyone standing in his way, Clara must use her understanding of Heller’s twisted psychology against him before she becomes his next victim. Some lessons are worth dying for – others are worth killing for.

Noam Kroll wrote and directed the film. Producers are Sheldon Brigman, Richard Handley, Noam Kroll, Kayli Fortun, and Brian Hanson. Exec producers are Sheldon Brigman, Luke Barnett, Charles L. Bunce, Kelby Thwaits, and Russ Dewolf.

The film also stars Michelle Torian, Clayton Royal Johnson, Kevin Makely, Sara Tomko, Drew Powell, Alexe-Anne Godin, Alexis DawTyne, and Barbara Crampton.

‘Matlock’ Introduces Olympia’s Mother With ‘Fresh Prince’ Alum Vernee Watson

Watson will play Olympia’s (Skye P. Marshall) mother, Celeste, in the episode. CBS has just shared the logline for the episode, airing on Thursday, December 4, at 9/8c. Celeste will be involved in the case of the week.

Here’s the description for Matlock Season 2 Episode 7, “Prior Bad Acts”: “Olympia works to repair her relationship with her family after she takes on a case involving her mother’s new husband. Also, Matty and Olympia receive a shocking piece of information.”

Olympia’s family has become a central part of Matlock‘s second season. Now that Olympia is in on Matty’s (Kathy Bates) secret investigation into corruption at Jacobson Moore, the pair is working together to try to keep Olympia’s ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), out of prison for the part he played in burying the Wellbrexa study that confirmed the addictive nature of opioids. He’s the one who did the burying, by order of his father, Senior, the managing partner of the law firm. But in Matlock Season 2 Episode 5, Senior denied any knowledge of the existence of the Wellbrexa study.

Olympia’s father died before the events of Matlock, and her grief over that loss has been incorporated throughout the show, especially in Season 1, when she thought she lost the recording of one of his final voicemails to her.

Bringing Olympia’s mother into the fold will reveal more about the character, who’s having a tough time living under the weight of the lies she has to tell to keep Matty’s secret a secret and protect her family. That’s even harder when that lying involves gaslighting Julian, as seen in Episode 5.

Next up on Matlock is Season 2 Episode 6, entitled “Harm Reduction,” in which Matty and Olympia continue to test the boundaries of their friendship while helping a group of nuns, and Olympia and Sarah (Leah Lewis) become roped into secretive activities within the firm.

Sarah was introduced to Senior through an awkward encounter with her mother and stepdad in Episode 5. In that scene, Sarah’s mom let slip that her daughter had recently taken on her first case. What Senior doesn’t yet know is that she wasn’t allowed to take on that client.

Could he find out and use that information against her, which gets her and Olympia — now a partner at the firm under her ex-father-in-law — roped into those secret activities at work? Parents, they really make a mess of things sometimes.

Watson was recently seen in Shrinking Season 2 as Gaby’s (Jessica Williams) mother, Phyllis, and plays Stella Henry on General Hospital. Watson also starred in Bob Hearts Abishola as Gloria.

She played Will’s mom, Viola “Vy” Smith, in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and appeared in Peacock‘s Bel-Air spinoff as Janice. This was a new character and an homage to her time on the original series as opposed to a reprisal of her previous role.

‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Suzanne Rogers Shares Positive Health Update After Cancer Diagnosis

“I’m getting my energy back,” the actress told TV Insider at Peacock’s Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, November 8. “I’m at about 70%. I wanted to be here [tonight] for [executive producer] Ken [Corday].”

At the event, Rogers also revealed to People that she is officially in remission. “I’m feeling so much better. I mean, my summer was rough. I had cancer removed, radiation, that was tough. But I didn’t lose my hair. I guess I got it early,” she told the outlet. “I was stage two, and it was a certain kind of chemo that they gave me, it was pills and the radiation, and it didn’t affect it so that was good.”

Last month, Rogers exclusively revealed to TV Insider that she had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer after noticing something “wasn’t quite right” with her health, despite getting routine colonoscopies. An MRI, a PET scan, and a biopsy confirmed her cancer diagnosis.

“It was all a shock. I mean, I think I was in a shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself,” Rogers shared. “But [the doctor] said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.'”

Rogers began treatment less than a week after wrapping filming for Days on June 13. “It was radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks and it was tough,” she explained. “It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn’t have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.”

Rogers told TV Insider that the show’s six-week hiatus helped her keep her diagnosis on the down-low. However, she did share the news with a handful of cast and crew members, including Corday, Noel Maxam, Sara Peterson, Mary Beth Evans, Stephen Nichols, Greg Rikaart, and AnnaLynne McCord.

Rogers completed her treatment on July 31. “I’m feeling really good. I start back to work next week, so we’ll see how that goes,’ she shared. “Now, I’m feeling anxious like I do any time I get scripts because I want to do my very best and you don’t want to hold up anybody. So that’s the only anxiousness I feel. It’s not because of my illness, let’s put it that way.”

At the time, Rogers told TV Insider that she was focusing on feeling gratitude. “It’s so funny because I used to worry about some silly things. And when you go through this, it kind of takes you a while to say, ‘OK, well, this is what I have, and I will do my very best to fight it and to get through it.’ And that’s what I did,” she said. “The prayers and the good wishes from my friends and my family helped me stay positive and stay on top of it and beat this.”

Days of Our Lives Star Suzanne Rogers Is in Remission from Cancer, Reveals How Diagnosis Changed Her Outlook

While speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at Peacock’s Days of our Lives 60th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 8, the veteran actress, 82 — who has played Maggie Horton on the beloved show for 52 years — discussed her health following the diagnosis this summer.

"I'm feeling so much better. I mean, my summer was rough. I had cancer removed, radiation, that was tough. But I didn't lose my hair. I guess I got it early," Rogers tells PEOPLE.

She adds, "I was stage two, and it was a certain kind of chemo that they gave me, it was pills and the radiation, and it didn’t affect it so that was good," confirming that she's now "in remission."

In terms of how the cancer diagnosis has changed her outlook on life, Rogers says she no longer sweats the small stuff.

"I don't worry about the small things. It's not worth it. I was rushing here, and I went, 'Wait a minute. You're not going anywhere," the star says.

Rogers says it was her family and her priest who helped her get through such a tough time, recalling, "The day before I started my chemo and radiation, my priest, I told him, I said, 'Can I talk to you about something?' I said, 'I'm starting chemo and radiation tomorrow.' He said, 'Come with me.' And he took me into the church, up the aisle, up on the altar. He said, 'Stand right here.' And he went and got some oils and a prayer and did the anointing. So I felt that that’s what helped me through."

The actress is now gradually getting her energy back amid her recovery. "It's about 70% right now. I’m just basically letting things happen. I'm not making anything happen," she tells PEOPLE.

Rogers' comments come after she told TV Insider that she'd followed her intuition earlier this year, and made a doctor's appointment, after feeling like something "wasn't quite right" with her body.

After a series of tests, including a colonoscopy, MRI, PET scan and biopsy, Rogers was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.

“[My doctor] said, ‘You have cancer and you have to start treatment,’” she recalled. “It was all a shock. I mean, I think I was in shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself. But he said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.’”

Colon, or colorectal, cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, after lung and breast cancers.

The American Cancer Society recommends that adults aged 45 and up get regular colon cancer screenings, either stool analyses or colonoscopies. And they urge people with symptoms of colon cancer — such as a change in bowel movements, including increased diarrhea, rectal bleeding, dark stools, unexpected weight loss, cramping and excess fatigue — to get checked out by a doctor. They emphasize the need for preemptive screenings, as these symptoms typically only appear after colon cancer has already spread.

While speaking about her diagnosis with TV Insider in the interview published on Oct. 30, Rogers said she'd wrapped filming on Days of Our Lives on June 13, and started treatment three days later.

“It was radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks and it was tough,” she told the outlet. “It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn’t have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.”

The soap's summer schedule helped make her absence less noticeable, the publication noted.

Rogers, who completed treatment on July 31, shared, “I was able to keep it under wraps, and then the show took that break, so it wasn’t necessary to get into it all then. It helped me because it gave me even more time to chill and to get myself healthy.”

Vernee Watson Guest Stars in Matlock 12/4/25

‘Days of Our Lives’ Celebrates 60 Years: Deidre Hall, AnnaLynne McCord & More Attend

Peacock hosted AnnaLynne McCord, Jackée Harry, Deidre Hall and more for a celebration at the Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, which was also an interactive livestream experience with a Q&A for fans of the daytime drama that launched in 1965.

Also in attendance at the celebration were Abigail Klein, Ashley Puzemis, Carson Boatman, Cherie Jimenez, Conner Floyd, Dan Feuerriegel, Emily O’Brien, Eric Martsolf, Greg Rikaart, James Reynolds, Josh Taylor, JP Lavoisier, Linsey Godfrey, Martha Madison, Paul Telfer, Raven Bowens, Robert Scott Wilson, Stephen Nichols, Susan Hayes, Suzanne Rogers, Tyler Andrews and executive producer Ken Corday.

Created by Ted and Betty Corday, Days of Our Lives follows the lives, loves and conflicts of the Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis and Hernandez families. The show has since become one of the longest-running scripted TV series in the world, racking up more than 60 Daytime Emmy Awards

What Happened to the Original Days of Our Lives Stars? All About Their Lives 60 Years After the Soap Opera's Premiere

The famed soap opera first hit television screens on Nov. 8, 1965, and has continued to feature dramatic storylines ever since. As of its 60th year, the series has aired over 15,000 episodes.

Prior to the show's milestone anniversary, several past and present cast members — including Deidre Hall, Alison Sweeney and Susan Seaforth Hayes — reunited to celebrate the milestone with PEOPLE.

"It's completely unheard of to go 60 years, and yet here we are, and I think it's due to a lot of people doing a lot of things right," Hall shared.

When the series premiered in 1965, it followed the fictional Brady and Horton families in the town of Salem, Ill. The earliest cast members included Frances Reid, Hall, Macdonald Carey, Maree Cheatham, John Clarke and Suzanne Rogers, who is one of the longest-tenured actors in the country.

On-screen and off-screen couple Susan and Bill Hayes joined the cast a few years later and remained staples on the show for decades.

Here's everything to know about what happened to the original Days of Our Lives cast and which actors are still working on the show.

When Days of Our Lives premiered in 1965, Reid headed up the Horton family as the matriarch, Alice Horton. She remained on contract with the soap opera until her death in 2010, but her last formal appearance was in 2007.

Reid's role as Alice shot her to stardom, and she became one of the longest-serving soap opera actors in the country. Among her many wild storylines, her attempted murder turned kidnapping plot in 2003 gained national attention.

Although Reid acted in other movies and television shows throughout her career, she remained focused on Days of Our Lives. In 2004, she won the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award and scored several Soap Opera Digest Awards throughout her career.

In her personal life, Reid was married to fellow actor Philip Bourneuf from June 1940 until 1973. She died on Feb. 3, 2010, at age 95.

By the time Carey starred on Days of Our Lives, he had already had a prolific acting career working on several movies and TV shows — including Shadow of a Doubt, The Great Gatsby and Dr. Christian.

Carey played opposite Reid's character and starred as Dr. Thomas Horton, the family patriarch. He was a prominent doctor at the fictional Salem University Hospital and had five children with Alice.

His role shot him to stardom, and he went on to win two Daytime Emmy awards and several Soap Opera Digest Awards. In addition to acting as Dr. Horton, Carey also spoke the opening tagline of each episode.

During his tenure on Days of Our Lives, Carey continued working on other projects and starred in Who Is the Black Dahlia?, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, among others.

Carey acted in Days of Our Lives until his death from lung cancer on March 21, 1994. He was 81 years old.

At the time of his death, he was dating Lois Kraines. Prior to his death, he was married to Elizabeth Heckscher from 1941 to 1969 and shared six children with her: Lynn, Lisa, Stevens, Theresa, Edward Macdonald Jr. and Paul.

Susan joined the ensemble cast in 1968 after her character, Julie Williams, had been recast several times. Although she joined a few years after the premiere, Susan became one of the only actresses to star on the show for all the decades since, making her one of the longest-tenured actors in a soap opera.

In addition to her notable role on Days of Our Lives, Susan also acted in the competing soap operas The Young and the Restless and Sunset Beach.

She won the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys and has also been nominated for several Daytime Emmys throughout her career.

While Susan was known for her acting career, she also made headlines for her romance with her on-screen and real-life relationship with Days of Our Lives costar Bill.

The couple, who became the only daytime actors to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, met while filming together in 1970 and tied the knot four years later. They remained married until Bill's death in January 2024.

Bill's character, Doug Williams, was introduced in 1970 as Julie's love interest and eventual husband. Doug and Julie became the first power couple in both daytime television and real life, as Bill and Susan acted together as husband and wife from 1970 until 2024.

Bill acted as a series regular for three decades before making recurring appearances after 2000. He made his final cameo on the soap opera in July 2024, six months after his death.

Before tying the knot with Susan in 1974, he was married to Mary Hobbs from 1947, and they welcomed five children together. In 2018, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys alongside Susan.

Rogers is one of the longest-running actors in an American soap opera for her role as Maggie Horton in Days of Our Lives. She began starring in the soap in 1973 and has continued acting as Maggie ever since.

Maggie was introduced as longtime character Mickey Horton's love interest, and their characters eventually got married. Over Rogers' five decades on the soap, her character helped introduce several new stars as her children and grandchildren.

Throughout her career, Rogers has mostly focused on Days of Our Lives but made appearances on Little House on the Prairie and Knight Rider. In 1979, Rogers won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

As for her personal life, Rogers was previously married to fellow actor Sam Groom from 1980 to 1982. In October 2025, Rogers revealed that she had been treated for colorectal cancer the previous summer.

Hall became one of the most beloved actors in soap opera history when she started acting as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives in 1976. Hall skyrocketed to fame for her role, and her character's death was even protested in 1979.

She continued acting on Days of Our Lives until 1987, when she was trying to balance acting in the soap and the NBC drama Our House. However, Hall returned in 1991 and has remained on the series ever since (except for a 2009 to 2011 hiatus).

Beyond acting on Days of Our Lives, Hall had notable roles on The Young and the Restless, Drop Dead Diva and Hacks. She won several awards for her nearly five decades in soap acting, including three Soap Opera Digest Awards and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

In 2016, Hall received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Days of Our Lives executive producer, Ken Cordray, was in attendance, as well as her costars Kristian Alfonso and Susan.

Cheatham rose to stardom when she started starring as Marie Horton on Days of Our Lives in 1965. The actress appeared on the series for nearly a decade before leaving in 1973.

After temporarily exiting the show, Cheatham acted in the soap operas Search for Tomorrow, General Hospital and Port Charles. In addition to her soap roles, Cheatham has also had appearances on Sam & Cat, A Night at the Roxbury and Soul Man.

Although Cheatham left her permanent position on Days of Our Lives in 1973, she returned several times — as recently as 2024 — to mostly pay tribute to her former costars who have died.

For most of his adult life, Clarke portrayed Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives. He acted in the soap opera from its inception until 2004, when he retired from acting.

In addition to starring on Days of Our Lives, Clarke also had roles in The Twilight Zone, The New Breed and Death Valley Days. After his retirement, Clarke won the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Clarke was married to his wife, Patty, and they welcomed three children: Joshua, Heidi and actress Melinda Clarke.

On Oct. 16, 2019, Clarke died from complications of pneumonia. He was 88 years old.

Deidre Hall’s Favorite ‘Days’ Memories, From Wayne Northrop’s Pranks to Working With Her Twin

“Being cast on Days changed my life,” Hall reflects. “I was doing episodic television, which was fine, and I enjoyed it, but it was a very unpredictable future. I went over and did The Young and the Restless (as Barbara Anderson) for a few years off and on — more off than on —and I called my agent and I said, ‘I want to do a soap. I like them. People have the same dressing room and they’re friends for years and they vacation together and they do things together.’ And he said, ‘There’s a part on Days of Our Lives. Are you sure?’ And that was that, as they say. I was thrilled. I knew I’d found a place that was always going to feel like home.”

As Days marks its 60th anniversary on November 8, Hall looks back on some memorable moments from her five-decade run.

Hall was hired in 1976 when the show was recasting Laura Horton, played by Susan Oliver, with Rosemary Forsyth. “I was brought in as a psychiatrist to bridge the two actresses who were Laura,” Hall explains. “Mickey Horton (John Clarke) had had a nervous breakdown, and that took Marlena to the sanitarium. My first scene was with him, and I just thought, ‘What a lovely man.’ His ease, the tenor of his voice, and the calmness and the comfortability that he had, owning that room, owning that space, knowing who he was, knowing what he was bringing to it, was just spellbinding to me.”

Her first interaction with Macdonald Carey (Tom Horton), Frances Reid (Alice Horton), and Mary Frann (Amanda Howard) was equally memorable. “I was watching them work and just sort of dazzled by them doing this scene,” she says. “They were obviously talking about the character of Amanda, and then I come into it. Tom Horton introduces me as Dr. Evans, and I say, ‘No, no, no. Please just call me Amanda.’ And then I thought, ‘Why is it so quiet?’ And I waited and I waited and finally, Mac said, ‘No, darling. She’s Amanda. You’re Marlena.’”

Despite that hiccup, Marlena was off and running — and so was Hall’s extraordinary run in Salem.

Of course, few storylines were as unforgettable as the one that doubled the drama, literally. One of the biggest highlights for Hall was working with her twin sister, Andrea Hall, who played Marlena’s twin, Samantha Evans, on and off from 1977-82 and Hattie Adams from 2000-2001.

Andrea’s initial hire was born out of a discussion with the soap’s top scribe. “Anne Marcus, our beloved head writer at the time, took meetings with a few of the lead actors, and one of her questions was, ‘What is a storyline you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t?’” relays Hall. “So, I said, ‘Gosh, I think it’d be fun to do a story with my twin sister.’ And she put her pen down and said, ‘What? You have a twin sister? Is she identical?’ And then the game changed. She said, ‘Can we get her?’ I said, ‘She’s a special education teacher in Virginia. I don’t know. Let me ask.’

Andrea was flown to Los Angeles to begin taping. “She had no real training, which is another way of saying she was an absolute natural at it,” notes Hall. “At one point, it was directed that she would cry while giving testimony, and I said, ‘Look, here’s the thing about crying. You think you can because you can cry at home or you can cry in the car, and you can cry when you’re running lines, but when they roll tape, it doesn’t happen. So, when it doesn’t happen, don’t put your face in your hands and go boo-hoo-hoo.’ And she said, ‘Oh, I can cry.’ So, I was standing pretty far off stage during that testimony scene, and I’ll be damned if she didn’t start to cry. She walked off stage, and I said, ‘Just curious how you managed that.’ She said, ‘I mean, I’ve seen you cry. How hard can it be?’ So that’s a twinship — if she can do it, I can do it.”

When Samantha was killed by the Salem Strangler in 1982, fans thought it was Marlena who died and formed a picket line at the studio. “I was at work that day, and Al Rabin (executive producer) knocked on the door, and he said, ‘There is apparently a picket line around the studio about you being killed off.’ I said, ‘Wow, what?’ It aired in New York, and word traveled fast, and people were not having it. So, they circled the studio, and if I went outside, they’d know I was working that day and that Marlena’s not dead. Al decided it was worth the risk of sharing that knowledge, so I went out and met with fans. It was a simpler time, secrets were secrets, and storylines stayed mysterious and weren’t being leaked, so you could surprise an audience.”

But humor, not shocking twists, would define some of Hall’s fondest memories on set.

“I loved working with (the late) Wayne [Northrop, Roman Brady],” smiles Hall. “He was the most irreverent actor that ever walked on a stage, so you had to be especially prepared because you never knew what curveball you’d be thrown. He had no respect for the time element or the structure of the show. If it was funny, he was gonna do it.”

Northrop’s practical jokes were legendary on stage. “One time, Roman had gone on some assignment for months and months, and he comes back for Christmas Eve, and when we shot it, I opened the door and there he stood with a trench coat opened on both sides, and the entire inside of the trench coat was hung with Christmas bulbs. I mean, ridiculous. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for a joke. There was a point where he had to run and jump into a bed for some reason, and I said to the prop department, ‘Can you get me a big container of warm water?’ So, before he had to begin that scene, I went over to the set and poured warm water in the bed. And then, of course, everybody stood around and waited until they called cut. He came out of that bed so fast, and I ran so fast. Everybody got out of both of our ways, and I didn’t run fast enough, and he threw me, fully clothed, in my shower. So, it was a complete redo — my wardrobe was soaking wet, my hair was soaking wet. He was just a completely irreverent, funny, dear man.”

That she’s still there to mark the soap’s milestone anniversary means the world to Hall. “There are no guarantees,” she points out. “You start with a 13-week contract. Back then, magazines had popularity polls, and I thought, ‘You like me? You really like me? Oh, wow. That’s nice.’ I think it brands us with a bit of confidence when we know our audience is pulling for us and wants to see us on camera.”

After so many years in Salem, Hall remains as passionate as the viewers who have taken the journey with her. “It’s been 50 years, it’s new every day, and I couldn’t be happier,” she concludes. “Sixty years is such a really good thing to celebrate.”

Chrishell Stause Leaving Netflix’s ‘Selling Sunset’ After 9 Seasons

Although the streamer has not renewed the show for another season, if another is filmed, Stause will not be a part of it.

“I’ve vacillated back and forth with this decision in the past,” Stause told Bustle about quitting the show. “I have to be honest — having come from nothing, it’s really hard to turn something like this down.”

Stause said that “Jesus Christ himself” couldn’t persuade her to return for another season of Selling Sunset, and neither could creator Adam DiVello, who she claims has been calling and messaging “100 times a day.”

The reality television personality says that she has “gotten to a place where I don’t need the show financially,” adding, “I’m lucky to have other forms of employment, because it’s no longer good for my mental health.”

Stause was one of the original cast members of the Netflix reality series when it debuted in 2019. The show follows the real estate brokerage Oppenheim Group and its agents as they navigate their personal and professional lives.

In Season 9, Stause had a difficult time navigating her relationships with her co-stars, as there was animosity between them. She sparred with Nicole Young, who, early on in the season, hit below the belt by mentioning her deceased parents in an effort to shift accountability. Stause also had a fallout with her best friend Emma Hernan after her new boyfriend made deplorable comments about the LGBTQ+ community.

See the Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary Photo as Cast Reflects on Milestone: 'It's Taught Me So Much'

PEOPLE has the exclusive premiere of the Days of Our Lives 60th anniversary cast image. And while some photos are worth 1,000 words, well, this one is worth over 15,000 episodes.

Featuring 42 actors and actresses who've helped bring the suspense, romance and joy to the small screen, the image shows plenty of familiar faces standing close by as they mark a milestone. To commemorate the anniversary show's premiere on Nov. 8, 1965, the cast got together and smiled for the camera — with Deidre Hall, Alison Sweeney, Susan Hayes, and more catching up with PEOPLE about the anniversary during a set visit earlier in the year.

"It's completely unheard of to go 60 years, and yet here we are, and I think it's due to a lot of people doing a lot of things right," Hall, 78, says.

The Emmy winner, who took on the role of Marlena Evans in 1976, adds that "everybody is pulling in the same direction as hard as they can," making Days a show with no true "standouts."

"The lighting guy, the sound guy, the makeup people... everybody is giving 110%," she says. "And that's what you see on the screen. My favorite part of Days is being part of a true ensemble where everybody is there doing the best possible job they can."

Sweeney, who stepped into the role of Sami Brady in 1993, adds that its "unbelievable" to be part of the show's enduring legacy, noting that she meets people "every day" who share stories about the show. The actress, who return to the show last year after leaving briefly in 2022, says that she carries "the lessons I learned being a part of this cast and this crew" wherever she goes.

"Just being a part of this family, how to treat people, how to be a professional, how to come to work on time, know your lines," she says. "And it's just an incredible experience. It's made me a better person. It's taught me so much that I use."

"Also the relationship with the fans. I can't stress enough that being a part of a show like this where every day where you can go online and see how the fans felt about the scenes, that it gives you such immediate feedback and then you have a chance to try again and do something different tomorrow," Sweeney, 49, adds. "There's so much relationship back and forth between the fans when you're on every day."

Hayes, who began playing Julie Williams in 1968 and has appeared in each decade of the show's lengthy run, tells PEOPLE that her "whole life has turned out to be driven" by the show and its impact.

"I met my husband through lucky casting on the show. Great marriage lasted 50 years. My mother became a professional writer because of Days of Our Lives. My closest friends, the people that I talked to and depend upon, have all been connected to this show," she says.

"It's wonderful to be proud of where you work, to not have to apologize, but to accept gratitude from the audience," the actress continues. "And my gratitude for the audience I think is perhaps larger than most people just because my run has been so long."

For Hayes, the show has been a "a win-win" throughout her life and "often brings me to tears of happiness."

"Be prepared. Be patient. Stand up straight, do the best you can," Hayes, 82, adds of the lessons she's learned from her decades on Days. "That's all you can do. And that works. No matter what you're doing in life, don't come in unprepared. Whatever the situation, be patient with everyone around you and lift up what you're supposed to lift up and enjoy it."

New episodes of Days of Our Lives premiere weekdays on Peacock. The series has recently been renewed for two additional seasons on the streamer.

‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Jen Lilley Reveals She’d Come Back to the Show ‘In A Heartbeat’

“I’m so good,” Lilley begins. “I feel like I’m in this weird chapter and it’s a fun, new season of unknowns. I’m usually a planner and lately I’ve just been like, ‘OK, Lord, whatever you’re going to do, I guess we’ll do that.’ So, here we are.”

Lilley, who has appeared in nearly 20 holiday movies, headlines A Chrismystery from Vision Films, available today on VOD. “I really liked the script because as much as I adore all the Christmas movies I’ve ever done — and I hope to do many, many more feel-good Hallmark-type Christmas movies — this one was offbeat,” she explains. “It’s like the Napoleon Dynamite of Christmas movies, and I thought that was just different and fun.”

In the film, Lilley plays Annie, a police officer who leaves New York City to return to her hometown with her daughter after losing her husband. When the town’s Christmas tree, lights and decorations are stolen, Annie is called into action. While the setup sounds familiar, Lilley says the experience was refreshingly unique.

“We actually shot it in December, where typically we’re shooting in July or August, so it was very cold,” she explains. “I cut my hair short for it because I felt like she was this no-nonsense woman. I’m barely wearing makeup; I think I have ChapStick on. Also, when I do my Hallmark Christmas movies, literally the background of every frame needs to look like Christmas is exploding, and that’s one of the reasons we love them, because they look like a moving Hallmark card. In this one, all the decorations have been stolen so there’s barely any Christmas ornaments, so it was different in every way.”

For anyone who doesn’t normally go for festive films, Lilley promises this could be the exception. “This is the Christmas movie for people who hate Christmas movies. This is not Hallmark. It’s not a walking Christmas card. It is anything but.”

Next up, Lilley stars as Gloria Stewart — the wife of Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart — in Jimmy, a biopic starring Riverdale‘s KJ Apa. “Somehow I was already on the producer’s shortlist of people that they thought would suit Gloria Stewart,” Lilley relays. “My friend, Billy Hallowell, who I do a podcast, Into the Supernatural with, was talking to this woman, Angela [Galgani Sullivan], who’s a producer, and he said, ‘Have you thought of Jen Lilley? Do you know who Jen Lilley is?’ And she was like, ‘Oh, she’s the top of my list. I just don’t think she would do it.’ He said, ‘Well, I think she might. You should just send her the script.’”

Once Lilley read it, she was all in. “I loved it,” she praises. “I laughed, I cried — this movie gives you all the feels. It’s wild because I watched It’s a Wonderful Life after I had been cast and was trying to do a deep study on who James Stewart really was. And he really was George Bailey. Everything that George Bailey experiences in that movie very much paralleled James Stewart’s life, and yet his life had a very happy, redemptive ending.”

Scheduled for release in November 2026, Lilley believes Jimmy will resonate deeply. “It is one of those movies that’s going to get people in the mood for the holidays, even though it’s not explicitly a holiday movie,” she says. “But it really focuses on his solid, at-the-core Americana, and this is a movie that I think will unite; you can feel the patriotism no matter what side of the aisle you’re on.”

Lilley reveals she was blown away when she first heard Apa’s interpretation of the late Hollywood legend. “We did a table read over Zoom and KJ’s camera was off,” she recalls. “There were several moments where, because my camera was off, I just freely let myself cry tears of gratitude and awe that I got to be part of it because it felt like I was in a table read with James Stewart. It was surreal.”

Filming in Ireland only added to the magic. “It was a ridiculously beautiful backdrop. The people are lovely, the food is amazing, the cinematography is amazing, and I know the score is going to be amazing and the wardrobe was on point. It was just one of those moments that I will never forget being part of it. I think it’s going to be like The Artist [in which she appeared]. I think it’s going to be an Academy Award contender.”

November 4 also marks the release of her new book, Wake Up Your Faith: 365 Daily Encounters with Jesus. “It’s a devotional, which is funny because I really don’t like devotionals,” she admits with a laugh. “In my experience, people will read a devotional in place of the Bible, and I didn’t want any part of that, so I originally said no. And they said, ‘That’s why we think you should write a devotional.’ So, they let me do a really out-of-the-box devotional. It has monthly themes, and my prayer is that it unifies people and makes them feel seen and known and valued and deeply loved.”

The book is already performing well. “It has already been the No. 1 new release on Amazon in two different categories, and that’s because I have these amazing fans,” she relays. “Soap fans are the best.”

Lilley remains grateful for her Days roots. “It not only made me a better actress, but it made me a better human because I have a lot of empathy and I have a lot less judgment in my life because of Teresa Donovan.”

She reveals she’d be open to going back if asked. “In a heartbeat,” she confirms. “It’s just difficult at this moment of my life because I have 4 children, but it feels like 1000. I mean, I would always come back for short stints any day. I love everybody on the shows; they’re amazing. Huge congrats to Emily O’Brien [who briefly took over as Theresa] for her [recent] Emmy nomination. That’s great. I’ve got no beef with anybody. I just love all of them and I’m grateful that I got to be part of something so iconic.”

Looking back, Lilley says she’s deeply aware of how far she’s come. “I’m from a small town in Virginia, and I don’t know anybody else from Roanoke that’s ever gone off and been an actor, so it’s not lost on me that it was a very unlikely journey,” she shares. “I’m grateful for every moment and I’m grateful for what’s ahead.”

'Days of Our Lives' Star Suzanne Rogers Says She's Battling Cancer

In an interview with TV Insider published Thursday, Suzanne says she was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.

Suzanne says she felt something was off with her body and went to the doctor. She underwent a series of tests, which confirmed she had cancer.

She says she began treatment in June after "Days of Our Lives" wrapped ... getting radiation and chemotherapy every weekday for six weeks. She said the treatments were "tough," but noted she didn't lose her hair.

With the soap on a six-week hiatus over the summer, the legendary actress kept her cancer battle out of the public eye ... and she says she turned to Linsey Godfrey, who plays her daughter on 'Days,' for help. Lindsey beat Hodgkin's lymphoma nearly 20 years ago.

Suzanne says she finished cancer treatments July 31 and is starting to finally feel like herself again.

Rogers finished treatment on July 31 and is on the mend. She says the diagnosis gave her a better perspective on life too.

Margaret DePriest Dies: Actress & Writer On ‘General Hospital’, ‘Days Of Our Lives’, ‘All My Children’ & More Was 94

Born in Bristow, OK on April 19, 1931, DePriest rose from Depression-era farm life to win a drama scholarship at the University of Oklahoma.

She began her career as an actress both onstage and television. One of her first credits was a contract role as Abby Cameron #1 on The Edge of Night from 1965-1966. She also portrayed social worker Mrs. Berger on The Doctors.

She segued to co-writer (with Lou Scofield) on The Edge of Night in the mid-1960s. In 1969, she co-created and was co-head writer of CBS Daytime’s Where the Heart Is, and went on to become head writer for daytime dramas General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, All My Children, Another World, One Life to Live, and most recently Sunset Beach.

She also appeared as an actress in guest-starring roles on The Catholic Hour, True Story and N.Y.P.D. in the late ’50s and 1960s.

DePriest earned five Daytime Emmy noms for Best Writing, first in 1985 for General Hospital, two for Days of Our Lives in 1984 and 1985, and for All My Children in 1990 and One Life to Live in 1992. She also was nominated for a WGA Award for Best Writing for Another World in 1998. In 1965, she won an Obie Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Place for Chance.

Soapy | AnnaLynne McCord Gets Candid on Life & Emmy-Nominated Move to Days of Our Lives | S2 Ep 1

‘The Roaring Game’ Starring Mickey Rourke And Rob Gronkowski Lands North American Distribution Via Brainstorm Media

Directed and written by Tom DeNucci (Vault), The Roaring Game chronicles the journey of Ricky, a high school custodian who loses everything when his girlfriend is selected to play hockey for Team USA and compete in the World Games. Determined to win her back, he assembles a misfit curling team, leveraging his janitorial skills to compete for gold. With humor, drama, and unlikely heroes, Rickey’s quest for redemption captivates the nation.

The cast is led by Darin Brooks (Blue Mountain State), Oscar Nominee Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Justin Chatwin (Shameless), Fivel Stewart (The Recruit), Eddie Kaye Thomas (American Pie), William Forsythe (The Devil’s Rejects), Antwon Tanner (Coach Carter), Vanessa Angel (Kingpin), Paul Johansson (One Tree Hill), Eric Lutes (Caroline in the City), Brett Azar (Young Rock), Jonathan Stoddard (Crossroad Spring), Rob Goon (A Day to Die) and former New England Patriots tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski,

Chad A. Verdi (The Irishman, Bleed for This) produced, along with Michelle Verdi, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, and Anthony Gudas. Sera Verdi served as an Executive Producer.

The deal was negotiated by Chad A. Verdi of Verdi Productions and Michelle Shwarzstein & Alex Peters of Brainstorm Media.

“This film is a true throwback to the comedies of the ’90s and early 2000s, which there has been a vocal demand for among audiences,” Chad A. Verdi, President of Verdi Productions, said in a statement. “Brainstorm appreciates this underdog story and the comedy at the heart of the narrative. Their commitment to a February 2026 release, timed to coincide with the Winter Olympics, showed us that they understood the cultural moment we were aiming for.”

Brainstorm Media CEO Michelle Shwarzstein added, “The Roaring Game is a fun twist on the classic underdog story. We’re excited to be working with Verdi Productions on another great film, bringing it to audiences in time for the winter Olympics.”

‘Y&R,’ ‘B&B’ & ‘DAYS’ Stars Reveal Their Soap Characters’ Greatest Loves

In daytime drama, many couples are each other’s OTPs. Those duos include Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) on The Young and the Restless. Patch (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) on Days of Our Lives, and General Hospital‘s Sonny (Maurice Benard) and…well, actually, this one can vary, although many fans say that the mobster’s OTP is either Carly (Laura Wright), the seldom-seen Brenda (Vanessa Marcil), or even Nina (Cynthia Watros).

Swooon chatted with some daytime actors on the red carpet at The 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys to get their thoughts on who their onscreen greatest love is! Read on to get romantic musings from Scott Clifton (Liam, The Bold and the Beautiful), Days of Our Lives actors Robert Scott Wilson (Alexander) and Abigail Klein (Stephanie), and Y&R’s Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea), Sharon Case (Sharon), and Courtney Hope (Sally).

“Himself, clearly!” quipped Clifton, who has vacillated over the years between Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Hope (Annika Noelle), and let’s not forget about his romance with Ivy (Ashleigh Brewer).

“Every time that I try to answer that question, either in an interview or for myself, I recall a conversation I had with Mr. [Brad] Bell [B&B’s executive producer/head writer]. I asked him, ‘Is the endgame Hope or Steffy?’ He smiled and said, ‘There is no endgame! It goes on and on forever.’ So, that’s what we do! If you think about characters as magnetic poles, you’re going to have characters, like Ridge [Thorsten Kaye] and Brooke [Katherine Kelly Lang], who always get pulled back together.” That’s happening now with Hope and Liam. “But that doesn’t mean that those characters can’t find happiness or be in healthy relationships with other people, other characters.”

This would be the $200 question on Jeopardy! if Y&R romance was a category. “It’s Nicholas, of course!” Case told Swooon. Three years after the star-crossed teens met, they were married and had welcomed their first child, a son, Noah (Lucas Adams). The couple survived many adversities, but their daughter Cassie’s (Camryn Grimes) death in 2005 ended their marriage. The two have reunited many times over the year, but they haven’t been able to make it last – yet. Last summer, the couple shared a kiss in France when Nick was gravely injured. Currently, they’re reliving a nightmare as Noah’s been in a car accident in Los Angeles.

“Everyone loved Nick and Sharon’s love story,” Case said. “And they’re still on that journey. We’re still living it. The story hasn’t ended. We’re looking for the next day, the next chapter. Everyone wants to know what will happen ‘in the end,’ but there is no end. We enjoy the ride.”

“I think about this often,” Hope said, who began her career as Y&R’s Sally on sister soap B&B, where she was involved with Thomas (then, Pierson Fodé), Wyatt (Darin Brooks), and, briefly, Liam (Clifton). When she moved to Genoa City, she began dating again and is currently involved with Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson), a man who is sometimes his own worst enemy.

“Each man in her life has meant so much to her,” Hope continued. “Wyatt was her greatest love when they were involved. There was Nick [Joshua Morrow], and Adam [Mark Grossman] was her great love. Now, something is developing with Billy that I don’t think she’s ever experienced before. He’s got elements of [many of the other men] in Sally’s life. There was Thomas, too. He was Sally’s first love. She had come to Los Angeles and was all, ‘I don’t need a man! I’m here to work.’ Then, Thomas came along. He set the bar.”

Alexander and Stephanie’s respective portrayers said that the other is their character’s great love. “They say you can meet the right person at the wrong time, and the wrong person at the right time,” Klein mused. “But I think Alex is the right person at the right time.” Wilson agreed. “I would have to say Alex’s great love is Stephanie. She’s been his main squeeze ever since he laid eyes on her, and he’s trying to do right by her,” he said.

The couple’s relationship stands to be complicated by the return of Jeremy Horton (Michael Roark). Sure, he’s a fifth grade school teacher now, but 18 years ago when he was last on the show, Jeremy (then played by Trevor Donovan), held Stephanie’s head under water in a hot tub after being unable to tell her that he loved her. (Dude, try saying it with flowers next time if you can’t find the words!) Klein wasn’t playing Abigail back then, but she has incorporated that terrifying moment into her performances. “That scene was disturbing,” she said. “Fans remember all that.”

“I love all of them!” Egan declared, who has seen her con artist character, Chelsea Lawson, have romances with Billy, Nick, and Adam since coming to Genoa City. Despite her past, or perhaps because of it, Adam and Chelsea understood and accepted each other for who they were early on.

Easygoing Nick brought something truly special to Chelsea’s life – zero drama. Alas, she walked away from Nick after a desire to play a con got the better of her. Later, Billy literally saved her life when she contemplated suicide. The duo split after she gave into her passion for Adam.

“Obviously, the ‘Chadam’ (Chelsea and Adam’s ‘smush’ name) thing is a big deal,” Egan said with a smile. “They both came in as being the outcasts and people not understanding them. That truly bonded them from the beginning. She’s been very lucky. Adam’s always been her ride or die.”

Jane Elliot Reflects on 60 Years in Soaps and Life on ‘GH’ at 78: ‘I’m a Failed Retiree!’

Just moments after receiving the honor, Elliot talks to Woman’s World about what it feels like to have somehow grown into the role of General Hospital matriarch—not to mention, in the wake of the passing of Leslie Charleson and her character Monica, how it feels to be the last one standing.

Plus, Elliott admits to one major failure (her retirement!) and we have the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys soap opera winners’ list.

“Lovely Jane Elliot” was first introduced on the big screen in Elvis Presley’s last film, 1969’s Change of Habit with Mary Tyler Moore and Barbara McNair. But the beauty who also appeared on The Mod Squad, Kojak, and Law and Order, not to mention soapy Knots Landing and Broadway’s The Impossible Years, had already made her first mark on the soap scene by then.

Since her breakout soap role on A Flame in the Wind in 1965, Elliot has caused drama on Guiding Light, All My Children, Days of Our Lives and Loving—and this weekend, she was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for her incredible work on General Hospital’s Tracy Quartermaine, which started back in 1978 and included a stint on The City.

“I started in daytime 60 years ago, and as a woman of 78 years old and a female actor, I’m blessed,” says Elliot. “First of all, there are very very few us who are gainfully employed full-time as an actor, and I’m one of them.

“It is such a privilege and honor to get to do what I do and keep doing it, that what I do is still wanted and still appreciated, and that they still keep giving me good work to do,” she continues. “I consider myself a really, really lucky woman.”

As longtime General Hospital viewers know, Elliot officially announced her retirement back in 2017.

“I’m a failed retiree,” she cracks with a grin. “I thought I needed a break. I was a single parent. I raised two children on my own, and I raised them exclusively on acting money. I no longer had children to raise, and I was 70. I had my pension and my Social Security. I thought, ‘Oh, yay. I don’t need this job anymore. I can retire.’”

Two years later, she quietly slipped back into Tracy’s bossy, wise-cracking shoes.

“It wasn’t what I thought it would be,” she admits. “I was like, ‘But wait, I really like that job! And whether I need the money or not, I want to keep doing it,’” she recounts. “I luckily had a wonderful boss who kept a place at the table for me and didn’t replace me. Didn’t hire someone else to play the part.”

“There are a lot of wonderful actors out there that would bring something new to it,” Ellliot insists. “They couldn’t do me, but they could do that.”

With one of Elliot’s first storylines leading to the unforgettable scene where she withholds her father Edward’s heart medicine, the seven-times-hitched Tracy Q has made some truly detestable moves over the decades.

Since her return, she’s remained formidable. Just ask Cameron Mathison’s Drew and Michael E. Knight’s Martin Grey.

Yet even as Tracy’s remained tough, since running off with Anthony Geary’s Luke and then losing him, she’s also softened enough to become a wizened, loving head of family—and not just to Wally Kurth’s Ned and Amanda Setton’s Brook Lynn. By the time Leslie Charleson’s Monica Q passed last month, Tracy had even become her almost lifelong nemesis’ fiercest protector!

“People say to me on the show, ‘You’re the matriarch of the Quartermaine family.’ And I go, ‘Who are you talking about?’” Elliot admits with a laugh. “I still haven’t taken it on board.”

While it’s hard to believe she’s all grown up, after 60 years in daytime and almost five decades on General Hospital, this soap opera diva who once worked alongside Elvis—not to mention onscreen family John Ingle, Anna Lee, and Stuart Damon, Leslie Charleson, and Jacklyn Zeman—can’t ignore her place.

“I look around and I realize that at this stage of the game, I’m the oldest actor on the show,” Elliot tells Woman’s World. “There are all these photographs on the set of the characters on the show, and they’ve all passed away, and I’m still standing.

“It’s daunting, it’s overwhelming,” the NATAS Gold Circle honoree admits. “It makes me sad sometimes, and it makes me enormously grateful and proud.”

How To Watch The Daytime Emmy Awards Online

The Daytime Emmys are not being televised on a broadcast network. The ceremony will stream live on National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ website at watch.theemmys.tv, and via The Emmys app which is available to download on iOS and Android mobile devices and on smart TVs via Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV and Roku.

General Hospital’s Kirsten Storms (Maxie) Reveals New Health Battle, Will Undergo Brain Surgery

Stoms’s post came on the heels of her announcement that she and real-life best friend, former co-star and fellow knitting and crocheting aficianado Emme Rylan (ex-Lulu) had begun a new business venture, Kirsten and Emme, where they sell crocheted sweaters that they’ve designed together. She paid homage to Rylan as she disclosed that she is scheduled to undergo brain surgery in the coming weeks. Back in 2021, Storms underwent an operation called a craniotomy to drain and remove noncancerous cysts on her brain.

“Fun fact (not really ‘fun,’ but Emme and I like to find humor in uncomfortable situations…)” Storms’s post began. “In January (2025), I had a new scan done of my brain. After my surgery in 2021, my *amazing* neurosurgeon (who ‘humors’ the jokes I make during my appointments — which is okay because he’s very smart) has been monitoring the cyst that he left on my brain, when he removed one that was causing me problems. The January scan happened because I had symptoms that the doctors thought could’ve been brain-related. OK — when I say that I was shocked when the doctors told me they found an aneurysm on the right side of my brain… welp, I basically launched into a standup comedy routine.

“I had a procedure done that weekend, where the doctor thread a camera from my leg up to my brain,” she continued. “(It’s a routine procedure, but the path inside your body that they lead the camera through is *insane*… THE CAMERA GOES THROUGH YOUR ARMPIT, guys. Your. Armpit.) Anyway, because of the *slightly* complex situation with the aneurysm (nothing bad, just not typical), it wasn’t coiled that weekend. I checked in with my super smart surgeon, completed my next few months at work, started my hiatus, and left California. Did you guys know that Emme was by my side every single day during my 2021 craniotomy and hospital recovery? I remember waking up in the ICU right after my procedure, and the first thing she said was ‘How are you?? DO YOU STILL LOVE YARN?’ My neurosurgeon did give a chuckle to that joke. Anyway, Neurology stuff makes me feel a bit of nervousness, so now—here I am with Emme, in St Louis. And we are crocheting the most beautiful sweaters, while my coiling procedure is being scheduled for sometime in the next 2 weeks.”

The actress further opened up about how her health issues connected with her decision to relocate to Tennessee and take a break from her role as Maxie, which she has played since 2005.

“Emotional support, when going through times in life that cause worry, is crucial,” Storms shared. “Aneurysms (obviously) can be caused by stress. Brain cysts? I believe that is possible too…. and since the January scan showed a new, but very small, squatter (aka cyst) on my brain stem — it was clear I needed to change some things in my life asap. For my own personal reasons, no longer living in Los Angeles was very important to me. The biggest reason for the move was Harper, but a lot of it was for my physical and mental health. And my overall happiness.”

Storms went on to pay tribute both to the healing properties of crocheting and to Rylan for her steadfast support. She wrote, “Did you know (if you’re still reading this egregiously long post) that even though crocheting isn’t ‘technically’ a cognitive behavioral therapy exercise, it hits all of the requirements CBT exercises do? It’s meditative, your hands and brain are focusing on the same task, therefore it distracts you from feelings of stress or anxiety, and completing a project feels rewarding. This sweater collaboration with my best friend, who is as obsessed with yarn as I am and constantly shows me that she always has my back… it kinda feels like we were meant to do this,” she mused. “Emme, this will definitely make you so uncomfortable that you’re going to comment below with something funny, but creating these sweaters with you has been so much fun. I love you. You’re my ‘ride or die, but no ride to the airport.’ And (hypothetically) I will totally (HYPOTHETICALLY) be by your side, keying the cars of all the boys who would be stupid enough to mess with our daughters.”

In the caption introducing her carousel of text posts, Storms explained, “I wanted to post this because even though my brain seems to be sorta lowkey rebelling against me, it does allow me to understand that we’ve all got times when things aren’t great. If we can, we will do our best to do what is best for ourselves and loved ones. Since I knew what an aneurysm was, the scan in January majorly freaked me out. A few days after I was discharged from the hospital, someone created a blog post that said I was in the hospital that weekend because I tried to ‘unalive’ myself. I couldn’t understand why a person would make up something that terrible when they had no idea why I was really there. There are a few really bad apples out there. We all know that… but there are people in my life who I am truly thankful to know. One of those individuals just made a sh*t load of sweaters with me. They are glorious.”

After her brain surgery in 2021, Storms likewise used Instagram to update fans on her medical condition. On June 4, mere days after undergoing brain surgery, she recorded a video — with Rylan by her side — in which she revealed, “I’ve not really spoken about this much, or at all, actually; less than 48 hours ago, I had brain surgery, hence the neck brace. It was on the lower portion of my brain.”

She elaborated, “What they had to drain and remove was not cancer; I want to clarify that right now before the Internet, like, goes crazy wild with rumors about this. I had a very large cyst that had split into two and the doctor said it was, like, so full, the pressure was very noticeable when they opened up my skull.”

On June 6, 2021, the actress returned to Instagram with a longer account of the circumstances that led up to her operation. “Little bit of info for those who are wondering… I spent the last few years having random health issues that I disregarded as side [effects] to my medications or just something I was experiencing due to age. When I went to get an MRI for some severe neck pain I have been experiencing for the last few months (I assumed this neck pain was also causing my frequent ‘migraines’) my amazingly thorough orthopedist ordered an MRI of my head just to be on the ‘safe side’ — even though that isn’t his area of expertise. Truly a great doctor. That’s when we stumbled upon a rather large, very full of fluid, cyst that was attached to the lower portion of brain.”

Noted Storms, “I feel very fortunate that my situation wasn’t more serious and that I had a wonderful neurosurgeon who immediately knew how to fix it. I’m not gonna lie, brain surgery had me nervous, but I’m immensely thankful to my family, friends, and incredible ‘work family’ who have been supportive, kind and loving during a time when I’ve been feeling a lot of emotions. Work is a great place to be every day and for the 2 months leading up to my surgery I found a lot of comfort being around the people I’ve worked beside for so many years. I’m excited to get back to it after my recovery.”

As for her current absence from the show, it is somewhat open-ended. In July, she explained on Instagram that in March, she’d met with Executive Producer Frank Valentini “about my reasons for wanting to move — and my desire to not leave the show.” She marveled, “Now, when you approach a job like this, they can always be like, ‘Forget it. I will let you out of your contract if you’re going to leave the state.’ GH did not do that — which was kind of amazing because I also asked for some time off.”

To accommodate Storms’s break, the show scripted a heartbreaking turn for Maxie: She collapsed after Sidwell deliberately poisoned Deception’s new night cream and soon wound up in a coma. Her loved ones heeded Lucas’s advice and had her moved to Boston for treatment. “I promise you the storyline they have going on until my return to Port Charles is kind of incredible — you guys are gonna freak out, actually,” the actress predicted in her June message. Fans got a sense of what she was referring to in August, when it was announced that Storms’s former leading man, Ryan Paevey, whose Nathan was married to Maxie at the time of his seeming demise in 2018, was returning to the show. He began airing again in September.

Soapy Extra 2 | Stars Reveal the Stories Behind Joining Soaps

‘Days of Our Lives’ star reaches settlement over allegations of sexual harassment

Notice of the settlement was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. No further details about the settlement were included. Zucker’s attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.

Zucker had starred on “Days of Our Lives” since 1998, playing the character Nicole Walker. In her February 2024 lawsuit, she alleged that now-former executive producer Albert Alarr subjected her and other employees to “severe and pervasive harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment, based upon their female gender.”

Zucker claimed that Alarr would grab and hug her, “purposely pushing her breasts onto his chest” while moaning sexually, according to the lawsuit. She also alleged that he would make “sexually charged comments” to her.

“Our client continues to deny the allegations set forth in the complaint,” Alarr’s attorney, Robert Barta, said in a statement. “However, in order to bring the litigation to the end, he has agreed to settle. This decision was made solely to end the dispute and move forward.”

Zucker’s lawsuit also named Corday Productions, which oversees the show, and its owner, Ken Corday, as defendants in the lawsuit, alleging retaliation. Zucker alleged that her pay was decreased and her travel stipend revoked after she voiced concerns. In June 2023, she said her character was written off the show after 20 years.

Several months later, Corday Productions offered to renew Zucker’s contract but allegedly did not negotiate with her representatives for higher pay, the lawsuit said.

Attorneys for Corday and Corday Productions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Corday Productions previously told The Times in a statement that Zucker’s claims “are without merit” and that she was offered a pay increase upon an offer to renew her contract. The company said at the time that complaints about Alarr’s on-set behavior were “promptly investigated” and the company “fully cooperated with the impartial investigation and subsequently terminated Mr. Alarr.”

“Days of Our Lives” aired on Comcast-owned NBC from Nov. 8, 1965, to Sept. 9, 2022, before moving to the Comcast streaming platform Peacock in 2022.

‘9-1-1: Nashville’s LeAnn Rimes Says Rob Lowe Warned Her About “Craziness” Of Franchise

The 2x Grammy winner, who plays country singer Dixie Bennings in ABC‘s 9-1-1: Nashville, said she recently explained how she bought “into the craziness of this show” after talking with 9-1-1: Lone Star alum Rob Lowe.

“I was talking the other day to Rob Lowe and he was talking about how, ‘If you want reality, you don’t go to this series. We have the craziest rescues, which is what’s so interesting,'” recalled Rimes to Us Weekly. “We’ll be like, ‘There’s no way this has happened before in real life.’ Then they’ll show us the articles because they’re pulling from real life situations.”

Lowe starred as Capt. Owen Strand in the Austin-based spin-off that ran for five seasons, premiering in 2020 and airing its finale this February.

Rimes said, “If you think about it — in the world of however many millions of people there are — this stuff is bound to happen to somebody. Every time we think it hasn’t really happened, there’s an article for that that shows you it has. What I love about it is once you buy into the craziness of this show, you just fall in love with it.

“I remember watching the first couple episodes of 9-1-1. I was like, ‘What am I watching?'” she added. “And then about the third episode, I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m totally into their own reality.’ You just fall in love with it.”

Following the Season 9 premiere of the Los Angeles-based parent series, 9-1-1: Nashville debuted Thursday at 9/8c on ABC.

‘Countdown’ & ‘Butterfly’ Canceled By Prime Video After One Season

The cancellations were not a foregone conclusion, especially for Countdown, which, more than a month after its Season 1 finale, continues to linger on Prime Video’s U.S. Top 10, currently at #10. Both Countdown and Butterfly broke into Nielsen Top 10 for Streaming Originals: Countdown, which had a weekly release, reaching #8, Butterfly, which did a binge drop, #6. For Countdown, the stronger overall performer of the two, the decision came down to total global viewership, I hear.

Over the last month and a half, Prime Video decided the fate of the six new scripted series launched from May – August, starting with the three YA titles. Of them, We Were Liars and Overcompensating were renewed, while Motorheads was canceled.

The streamer then proceeded with the three freshman crime/thriller dramas, renewing the Bosch spinoff Ballard and canceling Countdown and Butterfly. All decisions were made under Amazon MGM Studios’ outgoing Head of Global TV Vernon Sanders; the last three were finalized after Peter Friedlander had been announced as his successor.

Amazon MGM Studios remains in business with Ackles through the first-look deal Chaos Machine, his company with wife Danneel Ackles, has at the studio. He also headlines Prime Video’s upcoming The Boys spinoff series Vought Rising.

Countdown, from creator, executive producer and showrunner Derek Haas, who is under an overall deal at Amazon MGM Studios, also stars Eric Dane and Jessica Camacho.

In it, when an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Ackles), is recruited to a secret task force, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement, to investigate. But the hunt for the killer soon uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, kicking off a race against time to save a city of millions.

Co-created by Ken Woodruff based on Arash Amel’s Boom! Studios’ graphic novel series, Butterfly a character-driven spy thriller that explores complex family dynamics within the treacherous world of global espionage. It’s centered on David Jung (Kim), an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him, and Caddis, the sinister spy organization she works for.

Kim’s production company, 3AD, developed the series, which filmed in South Korea, under its first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios. The Butterfly cast also includes Kim Ji-hoon, Park Hae-soo, Kim Tae-hee, Charles Parnell, Sean Dulake, and Nayoon Kim, with Sung Dong-il and Lee Il-hwa appearing in guest roles.

Woodruff served as showrunner and executive produced alongside novelist Steph Cha with Kim and John Cheng for 3AD; Stephen Christy and Ross Richie for Boom! Studios; and Amel for The Amel Company. Additionally, Adam Yoelin served as Co-EP for Boom! Studios. Kitao Sakurai directed the first two episodes.

‘DAYS’ Star Melissa Reeves Reveals the Jennifer Horton Change She Found ‘Ridiculous’ at First

For Reeves, the tribute came as a complete surprise. “I was reading my script and thinking, ‘Oh, this is great. There are so many flashbacks. That means fewer lines to learn,'” she recalls. “And I’m flipping through the pages very quickly, scanning to see what I’m going to be doing, and then at the very last page, it says, ‘Final chyron screen. Happy Anniversary, Melissa Reeves. 40 years.’ I immediately texted Janet [Spellman Drucker, then-coexecutive producer] and was like, ‘Janet, I am crying. I had no idea that anyone was going to do this, and I’m just honored. I’m humbled, I’m blessed, and I’m grateful that I can watch my life in one show. I can’t even explain to you just how special that is.'”

Reeves’ road to Salem began in 1984, when she landed the role of Jade Perkins on a new NBC soap, Santa Barbara. At the time, the 17-year-old was training to be a dancer and dreaming about landing a role in Cats on Broadway, but she relocated to Los Angeles to be part of the launch.

By 1985, with the Perkins family being phased out, Reeves was thinking about a return to the East Coast when an audition for DAYS rerouted her path for good. Though familiar with soaps, Reeves had never seen an episode of the show. “I was an ABC fan,” she shares. “I would watch Ryan’s Hope, All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital, and Edge of Night all day long when I was off from school. So, I had no clue who was on Days of Our Lives, and maybe that was better, because I walked in not knowing it or the characters, and it ended up being the greatest gift of my life.”

She remembers connecting early on with original cast member Frances Reid, who played her onscreen grandmother, Alice Horton. “I used to smoke cigarettes,” Reeves relays. “And people used to laugh about it because Frances did, too, so I would sit with her in her dressing room, and we would smoke cigarettes together. I had just turned 18, and I probably would have been in a lot of trouble if I still lived at home. But she would say, ‘Oh, honey, they’re calling us for our scenes. Come on. Put that out.'”

Reid wasn’t just a mentor; she set the tone for Reeves’ approach to the industry. “What I remember most in the beginning was just sitting with her in her dressing room and her teaching me everything about show business, about professionalism, being on time, knowing your lines, and when they call you, you jump and you get to stage,” she explains. “It was just such a great lesson in Hollywood. I would really listen to what everybody told me because I was still so green in the business.”

Another influential figure in her early years was MacDonald Carey (Tom Horton), who became an important presence on and off screen. “Mac and Frances were the dreamiest people. They literally were like my grandparents,” she shares. “I just adored them. I mean, Mac would give me different books to read all the time. He had me reading Gabriel Garcia Márquez. I didn’t even graduate high school, but I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it.'”

Playing Jennifer came naturally to Reeves at first. “My character was naughty,” she muses. “But it was no problem because I was right out of New Jersey. I was like, ‘She’s bad. I got it.'”

Her alter ego soon took a more wholesome turn, which Reeves found amusing. “I thought it was ridiculous,” she admits. “I was like, ‘Give me a break. There are no teenagers like this. This is dumb.’ I really scoffed at it, and it’s pretty funny, looking at my life now.”

A turning point came when Reeves was paired with Billy Warlock, who played Frankie Brady, and their characters’ romance became a fan favorite. “He was still so young but just knew everything about the entertainment industry,” she recalls. “He was so great. Billy and I have stayed friends over the years, and working with him was amazing because he was really such a pro, taught me so much, and is so real and such an honest guy.”

But it was her pairing with Matthew Ashford (Jack Deveraux) that changed everything. “Working with Matt was a whole different thing because he brought something totally different,” she says. “He committed to us not being the stereotypical, romantic couple, and I was like, ‘I’m just here to have fun. Great, let’s do it.’ And I’m glad I didn’t fight it because he made this whole thing work, and I give him credit for that.”

While Jack and Jennifer remain one of the most beloved supercouples in daytime history, Reeves didn’t grasp the scope of their impact at the time. “When you’re in the middle of it, you don’t even realize it because you’re working so much,” she explains. “There was no social media, so you only knew, ‘Okay, the ratings are good. That’s good.’ We did magazine covers and went on public appearances, which was great because would see that people loved our show, but without social media, we didn’t really know. But now looking back, I can actually enjoy it and think, ‘Wow, we were really part of this crazy phenomenon.'”

Of all the storylines over the years, the moments that stand out for Reeves are the ensemble adventures. “I always love the giant cast storylines where we’re all together doing perilous things, jumping in pools, driving cars off fake cliffs because that’s when everybody laughs the most,” she says. “In the old days, everybody had to be there at six o’clock in the morning, and there was something so fun about seeing everyone fresh out of bed, no makeup on. We’d go to dry block, and then we’d all go in our dressing room, take naps, and wake up for camera block. You were spending so much more time together, so you really were bonding as a family, which was really sweet.”

Today, Reeves’ work schedule is a little lighter, but she appreciates the role that Jennifer continues to play in Salem. “I always thought it would be so nice to carry on Frances’ legacy of the Horton family, to be this matriarch who leads and watches over people and offers advice,” she shares. “And Susan Hayes [Julie Williams] is so sweet about it. She’s always rallying for Matt and me and every time I come into town, she always invites me over and cooks a meal. And she’s just so precious. I mean, these are people who have been in my life for 40 years.”

And as she thinks about the four decades that have passed, Reeves can’t help but marvel that she’s still a part of the canvas. “As an actor, you live contract to contract because you never think a job could possibly last this long,” she notes. “My dream was always to be a wife and a mom and now grandma, and this incredible career in television was like the icing on the cake. I couldn’t have really prayed for anything better.”

She credits executive producer Ken Corday for helping shape her life far beyond the screen. “He blessed my life and my family’s life,” Reeves concludes. “He has been the greatest boss in the world because he’s always said, ‘This is your home. The door is always open.’ I grew up in a very hard family, and family is all I’ve ever wanted. It makes me cry to think about it, but Days of Our Lives literally became my family.”

Greg Rikaart Thought His The Young and the Restless Role Wouldn't Last, Says 'There Isn't a Whole Lot of Room for Ego' on Soaps

Rikkart tells PEOPLE that in 2003, he was a young actor in Los Angeles looking for work. “I definitely think I had some momentum, or at least something that felt like momentum,” the 48-year-old actor explains. He got “really close” to booking some big jobs and was screen testing for pilots. Even though he didn’t book them, he got far enough in the process that it felt like a good sign.

Then he auditioned for the role of Kevin on The Young and the Restless. “That was not a contract role,” he said. He had auditioned for bigger roles on soap, but says, “I think I fell just outside of the archetype of what they looked for. And Kevin, particularly when he started, was a little more on the nerdier side and not necessarily a young leading man.

“Where I got lucky with Kevin was that the role was originally supposed to be for a 10 or 20-episode arc,” he says. Since the summer months in L.A. were “pretty quiet” with work, he thought the small part would tide him over. “It felt like a win-win to just go and do a month or two on a soap,” he said.

But it didn’t last just one or two months. “Once I got there, it didn't matter what anybody else had said,” he says of joining Y&R despite prejudice against soap opera. “I had drank the Kool-Aid and was just happy to have a job.”

Rikaart ended up becoming a series regular on Y&R and starred on the show until 2017. Since then, he’s appeared on the soap on a recurring basis. The actor says he knew fans were invested in his character when he went to a fan convention about a month after he started, when Kevin was “in the throes” of being a real villain who terrorized Christel Khalil’s Lily Winters and Lyndsy Fonseca’s Colleen Carlton.

“It wasn't that the reaction was like, ‘Oh, we hate Kevin so much,’ ” Rikaart remembers. “It's like, ‘Oh, we love how much we hate him.’ And it was exactly what you want. As long as they have a strong opinion about you, that's the win.”

But Rikaart’s job security really came when, “by dumb luck,” head writer Jack Smith noticed how much he resembled Christian LeBlanc, who played Michael Baldwin, a lawyer with his own checkered past. He made them half-brothers. LeBlanc “realized we were being given a gift,” Rikaart says, “because having family on a soap is really a gift that keeps on giving. The opportunity for stories just kind of exponentially increases.”

Rikaart says he didn’t realize what a core part of the character it would become, but LeBlanc, 67, helped him invest in the fictional brotherhood. “Christian was so influential in making sure that we really put in the work and we would go out to dinner and we would spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the dynamic was between these two guys,” he says.

In 2005, Rikaart won a Daytime Emmy for his role as Kevin. He was nominated four more times. Since 2018, Rikaart has played Leo Stark on Days of Our Lives, which has garnered him two more Daytime Emmy nominations. With The Bold and the Beautiful star Rebecca Budig, he hosts CBS’s Soapy podcast, where they interview other soap stars about their careers and the beloved genre.

Rikaart says that working on soaps, “We all tend to be team players. There isn't a whole lot of room for ego.” He says that throughout the 22 years he’s been working in soaps, “It's felt like these shows are barely hanging on.” Everyone on set feels like “worker bees” who come together to make the magic happen.

He likes that about the genre. “I think in a lot of ways it feels like I have the best of both worlds,” he says. “I've never really been spoiled, but I also have gotten to be a working actor for over two decades.”

Soapy is streaming now on YouTube and is available wherever you get your podcasts.

‘Beyond The Gates’ Casts ‘Days Of Our Lives’ Veteran Greg Vaughan

Speculation has been rampant on social media that the Days of Our Lives alum was coming to the sudser. Over the weekend, cast member Trisha Mann Grant posted a video on Instagram to celebrate star Clifton Davis’ birthday.

In July, Val Jean told Deadline that “I can’t say who just yet, but I will say longtime soap fans all know and love him!”

Vaughan departed Days of Our Lives in 2020. He portrayed Eric Brady on the then-NBC daytime drama since 2012, and won a supporting actor Daytime Emmy for the role in 2018.

This the second major cast addition on the CBS soap since Keith D. Robinson joined in March as a series regular. He took over the role of Dr. Ted Richardson, previously played by Maurice Johnson.

Just last month, Beyond the Gates killed off its first big character. The role of Doug McBride, who was played by Jason Graham, perished in a car crash. Graham, whose previous credits include 911, All-American Homecoming and Sisters, was part of the original cast when the CBS soap debuted in February.

Beyond the Gates has been renewed for a second season. The sudser is up 67% in multi-platform viewership from last year’s time period and beats ABC’s General Hospital by 7% among women 25-54 on broadcast, according to Nielsen.

Michael Roark Debuts As Days of Our Lives’s Jeremy

Roark is taking on the part of Jeremy Horton, Stephanie Johnson’s one-time beau, who is the son of Mike Horton (Jennifer’s brother, last seen in 2022, whose portrayer, Roark Critchlow, is slated to pop in later this year) and Robin Jacobs. Jeremy was last seen in Salem back in 2007 and was played at that time by Trevor Donovan. His return was hinted at on screen when Julie Williams mentioned Jeremy’s impending visit to Stephanie, who wasn’t exactly doing cartwheels at the prospect of seeing her ex again.

Since leaving Y&R, Roark — who is a licensed attorney and practices entertainment law when he’s not in front of the camera — has kept busy with a wide away of projects, including the title role in the 2019 flick Bennett’s War, the streaming series Driven, in which he co-starred with DAYS alum Casey Jon Deidrick (ex-Chad); the Lifetime movie Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story; the Amazon original Something From Tiffany‘s; and Passionflix’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Reflecting on his previous stint in daytime, Roark told Digest in 2022 that appearing on Y&R “was a lot of fun. I loved it. When you work on a soap it’s kind of like stepping into another world that feels like this strange cross between TV, stage and improv, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the cast and crew over there, and I enjoyed playing Travis.” He also sang the praises of his leading lady, Amelia Heinle (Victoria), saying, “She was great. We had a lot of fun together. We kind of hit it off right from the screen test and we really just rode that through. She was always very supportive and I think it showed on screen how much we enjoyed working together.”

His time on the show was ultimately cut short due to some behind-the-scenes factors. Roark shared, “There was a whole road we were going to take with the character, and there was an interest on both sides for me to stay, but we just hit a stalemate with contract talks. I think it was a timing issue, more than anything. There was never any bad blood. I enjoyed it and I was willing to stay in the right circumstances. I think they felt the same but you know, it’s just what happens sometimes in this business. It was unfortunate but it was still a good run and I was always open to returning — and I still am, under the right circumstances.”

The actor appreciated the opportunity to dip his toe into the daytime world, noting, “When I first started, I remember getting texts from some people I trust saying that soaps are like an actor’s boot camp. What I now know, you really have to fall back and trust yourself. There are all these different opinions on soaps, but the reality is, it’s very challenging and it’s not for everybody. At that point of my career, I had touched every medium other than stand-up; I’ve done film, prime-time TV and stage, and with most, there are tons of rehearsals, tons of takes, and it’s almost like a safety blanket for some performers. ‘Oh, we’ll get it on the next take or the one after that.’ Well, it doesn’t work like that in the soap world. You have two takes to get it right because there are always a lot of pages to cover. I actually embraced that and thought it was a cool aspect of the job.”

2025 Daytime Emmy Awards Announces Presenter Lineup

“We’re thrilled to welcome such a wide-ranging and talented group of presenters to this year’s Daytime Emmy Awards,” Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS, said in a press release. “From beloved daytime drama stars to culinary innovators, lifestyle experts, and talk show favorites, this lineup reflects the vibrancy and diversity of daytime television. We look forward to an unforgettable evening celebrating their contributions and honoring the best of daytime.”

The Daytime Emmys will be streamed on the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) website at watch.theemmys.tv on October 17.

‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’: Quentin Tarantino Epic To Be Released As One Movie In Early December

The Whole Bloody Affair removes the cliffhanger ending from 2003’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and the recap that began 2004’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2. New to this theatrical release will be a never-before-seen 7½-minute animated sequence. ?Select presentations of the release will be in 70mm and 35mm. Tarantino has spoken about a version that included animated footage, going as far back as San Diego Comic-Con 2014.

Tarantino said: “I wrote and directed it as one movie — and I’m so glad to give the fans the chance to see it as one movie. The best way to see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is at a movie theater in Glorious 70mm or 35mm. Blood and guts on a big screen in all its glory!”

Lionsgate manages library distribution rights for Tarantino films, which also includes Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and Death Proof.

In the Kill Bill movies, Uma Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child. To exact her vengeance, she first must hunt down the four remaining members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad before confronting Bill himself. Combined, the Kill Bill movies grossed $333 million at the global box office.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair also stars Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, and David Carradine as “Bill.” The film is produced by Lawrence Bender and written and directed by Tarantino, based on the character of The Bride created by Q&U.

‘When Hope Calls: Brookfield’ Renewed For Third Season By Great American Media

The Janette Oke-inspired series takes place in the town of Brookfield, where “family, friendship, and faith shine bright.” Beginning in season 2, the series incorporated “Brookfield” into its title to expand the When Hope Calls storytelling universe.

The third season is expected to air in 2026 on Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family and GFAM+.

“We are delighted to continue the journey of When Hope Calls,” said Great American Media President and CEO Bill Abbott in a statement. “This series embodies the heart, hope, and values that resonate so strongly with audiences and define our brand. With a stellar cast leading the way, we look forward to continuing to share inspiring stories from Brookfield that viewers love.”

Season Three will feature Cindy Busby, Christopher Russell, Sarah Fisher, Nick Bateman and Trevor Donovan. Also returning is Wendy Crewson, Hanneke Talbot, Simon Arblaster and Jon McLaren.

When Hope Calls received a nomination for Television Series of the Year at the upcoming Dove Awards, a category it shares with The Chosen and House of David.

When Hope Calls is executive produced by Brad Krevoy, Don McDonald, Alfonso H. Moreno, David Anselmo, All Canadian Entertainment and Hideaway Pictures. Don McCutcheon, Melanie Orr and Jerry Ciccoritti will direct the episodes written by Alfonso H. Moreno, Sara Snow and Kirsten Hansen.

'Days of Our Lives' Stars Talk Building a 'Family' Over 60 Years

Jensen Ackles returns to Tracker Oct 26

Morning Show Appearance

New Tracker Trailer Reunites Colter and Russell — Here’s Everything We Know Ahead of the Season 3 Premiere

Hallmark Slates 16th Annual Christmas Countdown Programming featuring former soap stars

Sunday, November 9:
A Keller Christmas Vacation
Starring Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls), Brandon Routh (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) and Eden Sher (The Middle)

Saturday, November 29:
A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
Starring Nikki Deloach (Curious Caterer Mysteries), Kristoffer Polala (A Biltmore Christmas), Rob Maye (Lioness), Eliza Maher (Haul Out the Holly: Lit UP), Luke Benward (Miss Valentine), Sharon Lawrence (Joe Pickett) and James Denton (Desperate Housewives)

Saturday, December 6:
She’s Making A List
Starring Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Andrew Walker (Curious Caterer Mysteries)

Single on the 25th
Starring Lyndsy Fonseca (Nikita) and Daniel Lissing (When Calls the Heart)
Inspired by Lauren Spencer Smith’s “Single on the 25th”

Saturday, December 20:
A Make Or Break Holiday
Starring Hunter King (Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story) and Evan Roderick (Arrow)

Mario Lopez To Host 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys

The ceremony, which will not be televised, will take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is streaming the event live at watch.theemmys.tv and via The Emmys app.

Access Hollywood is collaborating with the Daytime Emmys by featuring five nights of segments leading up to the ceremony. This year’s nominations leaders are Young and the Restless with 19, General Hospital with 16, Days of Our Lives with 13, Drew Barrymore with nine and Kelly Clarkson with eight.

NATAS also revealed the 2025 Gold and Silver Circle inductees who have performed distinguished service within the industry. The Gold Circle inductee is Jane Elliott of General Hospital.

Silver inductees are Greg Barna (Director of Photography, Travels with Darley, Equitrekking, Cyberchase For Reel, Bill Moyers – Close to Home, Beer Geeks, Lidia’s Family Table, Shelia Bridges Designer Living); Judy Blye Wilson (Casting Director, The Young and the Restless, All My Children, One Life to Live); Star Jones (Host & Executive Producer, Divorce Court, The View); Kate Linder (The Young and the Restless) and James Reynolds (Days of our Lives).

For the first time since 2018, a limited number of tickets to the 52nd Daytime Emmys Awards will be available for public purchase starting at $75 plus applicable fees through Ticketmaster.

Meet the New Theo Carver on ‘Days of Our Lives’: Tyler Joseph Andrews Teases His Debut

For Andrews, it marks his first soap role, but not his first audition at the Peacock show. “I had actually auditioned for Tate (Black, Leo Howard), and I screen-tested with Ashley Puzemis (Holly Jonas),” he begins. “I ended up not getting it, and I really wanted the job. A couple months later, I auditioned again, but they didn’t really tell me who I was auditioning for. I tested with Marissa (Reyes, Arianna Horton), and then about a week later, they let me know that I got the job. I was really happy because the first time that I had auditioned, I told my agent, ‘Look out for the email, ’cause I think I might get this one.’ And then when it didn’t happen, I was disappointed, so I was really grateful that they ended up calling me back in the audition once more.”

While the role was a welcome surprise, stepping into the soap world was unfamiliar territory for the Philadelphia native. “I come from a theater background,” he explains. “And this feels like live theater because you have a rehearsal and then you go to tape, but you only get to do it once. So, I was a little overwhelmed the first day.”

Luckily, he felt supported from the start. His first scene partner, Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera; Cane Ashby, The Young and the Restless), helped him get acclimated to the place of daytime drama. “He really made me feel comfortable and gave me the breakdown of how everything films here,” Andrews relays. “We did this scene in Brady’s Pub, which was funny because I had actually screen tested in Brady’s Pub about six months prior, so it made me feel a little bit more comfortable that we were going to be doing the scene there. It was a lot more relaxed than I expected it to be. Everyone just made it a very inviting environment for me.”

That sense of welcome extended to his on-screen father, James Reynolds (Abe Carver). “I love working with Jim; he’s really become one of my best friends here,” Andrews shares. “He’s been really great because he’s so knowledgeable, and he’s been doing this for so long. If you just watch him, he teaches you a lot about finding the camera and finding the light. I love being able to go to his room and talk to him because he’s always available and he’ll tell you the old stories about back in the day and how they used to film and all those things, and I really enjoy that.”

Andrews has cherished getting to know more of the cast — including a familiar face from his childhood. “Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) is someone that I grew up watching on Sister, Sister, 227, and Everybody Hates Chris,” he says. “I was excited to meet her, but I was also a little nervous to meet her. She is just so funny, and she makes it so enjoyable to come to work. And Casey Moss, who plays JJ [Deveraux], we’ve become good friends, and we joke around a lot.”

As for his character, Theo returns to town from South Africa, hot off his breakup with Claire Brady. “He’s coming back sort of lost, but he’s trying to find himself and he’s trying to find that purpose that he needs in life,” previews Andrews. “He’s maturing, and he wants to solidify something in Salem for the future.”

Theo will also be leaning into his darker family lineage with the DiMeras. “I really love exploring the DiMera side because I get to work with actors like Thaao Penghlis [Tony DiMera], who really welcomed me, and he’s really been like an acting teacher for me, just watching him work,” Andrews shares. “It’s a different energy working with that side of the family, and it brings a different behavior out of Theo. I think the more he gets involved with the DiMera side of the family, he might adapt some of those attributes that you’re used to seeing with them.”

Before booking Days, Andrews appeared in an episode of All American: Homecoming, but his road to Salem wasn’t easy. “I didn’t struggle in Los Angeles, but boy did I struggle in Philadelphia,” he says. “I just wanted to be an actor, and I was traveling back and forth from Philadelphia to New York. So, for about a year and a half, I just lived in my car, traveling back and forth from the theater.”

Despite those early challenges, his family has remained his biggest cheerleaders, and they were thrilled when he finally booked Days. But because of the soap’s unique shooting schedule, Andrews began taping in 2024 and had a long wait for his first episode to air. “Before I became an actor, I was just all over the place, so when I told them this, they were over the moon about it,” he says. “But were like, ‘Are you sure you have a job?’ I was like, ‘Listen, you’re not gonna see me on TV for, like, maybe a year.’ My mom, my dad, my brother, my sister — they’re the real reason that I was able to be an actor for so long because they just supported me constantly, especially my dad and my mom. They’re in my corner 24/7. They want to hear everything about it, what’s going on with the show, with my character, and they have friends that they know watch the show, so they’re really excited to be able to tell them that I’m on it.”

Now, with his first episode finally set to air, Andrews is ready for his family — and fans of the soap — to see what he’s been working on. “It’s a big relief,” he says. “I know my family’s going to really enjoy watching it because I’m so far away from them. I don’t really get to see them a lot, so it gives them something to watch me on daily. I’m really excited for it to come out.”

Creative Arts Emmy Winner

Days of Our Lives Recasts Theo Carver with Soap Newcomer Tyler Joseph Andrews

Andrews’s previous credits include numerous short films and roles in the movies V/H/S/Beyond, The Christmas Chain, and A Heart Full of Hope. DAYS will mark the young actor’s daytime debut.

Abe and Lexie’s son, Theo, was born back in 2003, and after a series of child actors, the soap cast Terrell Ransom, Jr. in the role in 2008. Ransom, Jr. remained in the role until 2015. (He later popped back in June 2023 for a handful of episodes to play Jerry Prentiss, a Theo look-alike!) The character was aged into a teen in 2015, with Kyler Pettis taking over until 2018. When Theo returned to Salem in 2020, the role was recast once again, with Cameron Johnson taking over the part.

Back in 2021, Theo had hoped to rekindle his relationship with Ciara Brady, as she had lost her recent memories and only remembered him and not her current beau, Ben Weston. Unfortunately, Ben was able to remind her of their love, and a brokenhearted Theo decided to return to South Africa. Having grown close to Ben herself, Claire Brady found herself in a similar situation and, having accepted a job in South Africa, joined Theo.

However, after Claire called Belle and Theo phoned Abe back in July to let their parents know that their relationship had come to an end, it would seem that Theo is once again returning home to Salem single. What kind of drama will he get mixed up in this time around? Only time will tell!

‘Young and the Restless’ Taps ‘DAYS’ Alum Lucas Adams to Play Noah Newman

Adams is no stranger to the soap world. He made his daytime debut on Days of Our Lives in 2017 as Tripp Dalton, son of Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) and Ava Vitale (Tamara Braun). His run as Tripp — the troubled soul who found his calling as a doctor — lasted on and off until 2024, earning him two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Younger Actor along the way.

Noah, the offspring of Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), was last seen in 2023. He then relocated to London, where he found success in the nightlife scene. The character, who was born onscreen in 1997, has been played by several actors over the years, including Rory Gibson (2021 to 2023), now General Hospital‘s Michael Corinthos; Robert Adamson (2012 to 2020); and Kevin Schmidt (2008 to 2010; 2011 to 2012).

During his most recent run in Genoa City, Noah nursed feelings for Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks), who eventually married Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes). He also shared a complicated romantic history with Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver) before falling in love with Allie Abbott Nguyen (Kelsey Wang), Jack Abbott’s (Peter Bergman) granddaughter. Two years ago, Noah and Allie left town together to start a new life overseas.

Interestingly, this isn’t Adams’ first time in Genoa City: He appeared on the CBS soap early in his career, playing a character named Wesley in the teen scene for one episode in March 2012. Outside of soaps, he portrayed Josh Wilcox on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie from 2015 to 2017. He has also made appearances on Dexter, True Blood, School of Rock, and The Thundermans.

On a personal note, Adams met actress Shelby Wulfert on the set of Liv and Maddie. They began dating in October 2015, then tied the knot on October 15, 2022, at the Chateau Hiddenwood estate in his native Texas.

When Adams reports to Y&R, he will find some familiar faces at the studio. Braun, his onscreen mother from Salem, has joined the cast in a new role, Sienna Bacall. Meanwhile, Billy Flynn (who is still airing as Chad DiMera on DAYS) is now portraying Y&R’s Cane Ashby.

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