Soap Opera Digest March 27, 2023

“I was flattered and honored to come back for Y&R’s 50th anniversary,” enthuses Mishael Morgan, whose Amanda is not only showing up as the legal counsel for Chancellor-Winters, but will attend the splashy gala celebrating Genoa City’s bicentennial. “It was pretty much an immediate yes for me but I had my agent make sure I didn’t have anything else in the pipeline. I was adamant about going back and being there for this moment, so I made it pretty clear that unless Steven Spielberg called, I’m going to Genoa City.” Morgan was looking forward to picking up where Amanda left off: walking in on boyfriend Devon having sex with Abby. “I was really excited to come back and play that out because Amanda left very abruptly,” the actress points out. “She…

After the attempt made on his life at the warehouse, Sonny decides that in order to keep his loved ones safe, he needs to keep his distance from them — his lover, Nina, included. According to Cynthia Watros (Nina), “Nina always knew what Sonny did for a living, but she sort of stuck her head in the sand a little bit when they got back from Nixon Falls because she loves him so much. Now, she has noticed that his mood has shifted a bit with everything going on with his business and what he has to do in that part of his life.” So, she is not entirely surprised when he broaches the subject of taking some time apart. “He’s afraid for his family, afraid for his loved ones,” the…

Desperate to stop Megan from her evil plotting, Hope decides to reach out to Harris for help. Andrew agrees to provide Hope access to her ex, so she travels to see him at an ISA facility. “Harris is at a lab treatment center,” says Steve Burton (Harris). “It’s a glass-enclosed room. He’s been put in there for his protection and so that he won’t hurt anybody else. He’s been a little bit aggressive, and [the people running the facility] were concerned.” The story picks up months after the end of BEYOND SALEM: CHAPTER 2, when Harris asked Hope to help him. “What Hope did was get him to this treatment center, where they’ve been trying to deprogram him,” explains Burton. “But Harris is not fully committing to it.” When Hope arrives, she learns…

As Y&R marks its 50th anniversary on March 26, the denizens of Genoa City gather at the town’s bicentennial ball, which Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith promises will be an affair to remember. “The event will start on Thursday and plays through with all that’s happening until the end of the following week,” says the exec. “About two weeks overall, with all of the fallout of what’s going on.” Although many familiar faces return — Amanda, Danny, Leanna, Mamie and Nina — there will be a good mix of the old and the new. “Prior to the evening, as people come back, we’ll see some [flashbacks], but once we get into the event, the actual stories are so dynamic and dramatic and all-encompassing because that’s what the gala is all about,”…

Thomas is thrilled when he’s rehired at Forrester. “Despite the crap he has done, this comes down to a bottom line, business transaction, and that probably fuels a lot of people’s willingness to let him back on,” notes Matthew Atkinson (Thomas). “Hope For The Future is really not doing well and it was his vision, along with Hope’s, that brought the line back to life and no one else can do it.” Atkinson insists his alter ego is in the right headspace to return to work. “Even before this last hiccup, Thomas, for over a year, was focused on working and helping everyone,” the actor points out. “He was not obsessive in any way about Hope. There were no remnants of mental illness. He had really moved on and then just…

with Evan Hofer (Dex, GH) Not too long ago, you experienced a soap hunk milestone: your first love scene. “I’m just glad you didn’t call it ‘lovemaking’ [laughs]. Every script says lovemaking or post-lovemaking and I’m like, ‘Oh, God, stop saying lovemaking! Please!’” Well, how did it go? Were you nervous? “I wasn’t; I tried to reframe it in my head so that I wasn’t nervous, like, ‘It’s just another day at the office.’ And luckily, Eden [McCoy, Josslyn] is such a pro, she made me feel very comfortable with all this stuff because it is all very new to me. So, being able to do it with somebody that I’ve spent so much time around, that I’ve gotten to know and have gotten so comfortable with, made it a lot easier…