News
Joanna Johnson set for a return to The Bold and the Beautiful!
Joanna Johnson ( the original Caroline on B&B, who came back as another character Karen Spencer) is returning to The Bold and the Beautiful for a four episode story arc beginning, July 22nd! The plot centers on Katie and Bill renewing their wedding vows. Johnson, as many know has been focusing on her entertainment career behind the scenes. First, she was the creator and co-executive producer of the Hope & Faith sitcom starring Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford, and now she has another hit on her hands with Make It or Break It – for ABC Family where she is writer and EP for that series! But now she is returning to her soap roots thanks to a call from Brad Bell to mix it up with on-screen brother, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and more.
TV Guide spoke to Johnson for the lowdown. Here are a few excerpts below!
Joanna on why Karen comes to town and back to B&B: Katie calls Karen, who is coming to town for a Spencer Publications board meeting and asks her to come a day early but doesn’t say why. It’s a surprise to all the guests, including Bill, that Katie is having a minister come over to renew their vows. It’s the same minister who married them originally, and all the same guests [Brooke, Donna, Justin, Stephen] plus a few new ones [Pam, Liam, Hope]. Supposedly, Karen has been running the New York office of Spencer Publications, which was news to me. I was wondering where she went. [Laughs] I kinda thought she’d gone back to the trailer park along with Dorothy Lyman.
Joanna on getting camera ready for a return to soaps when you have not been on-screen for awhile: Usually when [exec producer] Brad Bell calls me to do the show I think, “Oy. I should lose some weight before I go back.” But this time I didn’t. I just said, “Oh, what the heck.” I’m not here to push any romantic stories or be the ingénue. One of the reasons I got out of acting was that I didn’t like the pressure of having to be beautiful and skinny and perfect — which is why I understand and appreciate what the young women on Make It or Break It are dealing with. I’m so glad I no longer have to worry about that stuff.
Days Of Our Lives
Deidre Hall to Guest Star on Season 3 of Comedy Series ‘Hacks’
Days of our Lives star Deidre Hall (Marlena) is set to play a version of herself on third season of Hacks. Look for Hall this month in an episode titled “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular,” to air on May 23 on Max.
Not only will Hall appear in the episode, but so too, will Back to the Future and Taxi star, Christopher Lloyd.
According to EW.com, Deidre will play “a fictional version of herself, who just so happens to be the mom of Paul W. Downs’ Jimmy.”
Hacks co-creator and Downs’ wife, Lucia Aniello shared on Hall’s casting, “It made sense to us that Jimmy’s late father, a big-time manager, would have been married to an actress. When the idea for Deidre Hall came up, it just felt right.”
As for Lloyd, he will portray, reclusive writer Larry Arbuckle, who is to have had a rather famous grandfather. In the episode, Hall and Lloyd’s character intersect, which leads to onscreen sparks.
“We had written some things that were flirty, but the chemistry was palpable,” says co-creator and series star, Downs shared. Hacks stars Jean Smart as comedy legend Deborah Vance.
Season 3 of Hacks debuts on Thursday night May 2nd on Max 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.
So, will you be watching Deidre Hall guest starring on Hacks? Comment below.
General Hospital
Lane Davies Joins the Cast of General Hospital Setting up a ‘Santa Barbara’ Reunion with Nancy Lee Grahn
Some very intriguing casting news out of General Hospital. The ABC daytime drama has cast former Santa Barbara favorite, Lane Davies (ex-Mason Capwell), in the role of Fergus Byrne, an attorney who crosses paths with Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn).
According to TV Insider, Davies will make debut the week of May 22nd. As soap fans know, together with the aforementioned Grahn, they created the Santa Barbara supercouple of Mason and Julia Wainwright. Davies portrayed Mason Capwell family from 1984 through 1989.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time in Port Charles for Lane. From 2002-2004 he played Dr. Cameron Lewis and also shared on-screen story with Grahn. At that time Davies, played Xander Smith’s father.
GH fans are wondering about the last name of Davies new character, “Bryne”. If you recall, Alexis got herself involved with therapist Dr. Neil Bryne, who died when Harmony broke into Alexis‘ house and killed Neil by injecting him with opioids.
Taking to her Instagram, Grahn shared her excitement at the upcoming on-screen reunion with Davies, “It never gets old. We do 😂…. but it doesn’t 😍. Lookin’ forward to another romp.”
So, what do you think about Lane Davies returning to GH to play an attorney in Alexis’ orbit? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
News
One Life to Live Alum Jonathan Groff Receives 2024 Tony Award Nomination for Leading Actor in a Musical
Nominations were announced on Tuesday for the 77th annual Tony Awards by previous winners, Renée Elise Goldsberry (ex-Evangeline Williamson, One Life to Live) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
When the dust settled it was Stereophonic (which is loosely based on the story of Fleetwood Mac) and Hell’s Kitchen (Alicia Keys musical) that both scored 13 Tony nominations to lead the pack.
However, Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along made quite the comeback and is nominated for several awards including Best Revival of a Musical and for one of its stars, Jonathan Groff (ex-Henry Mackler, One Life to Live).
Groff is nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and will go up against Brody Grant — The Outsiders, Dorian Harewood —The Notebook, Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses and Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.
In addition to his previous Tony nod for his role in Hamilton, Jonathan was nominated for a Lead Actor in a Musical for his role as Melchior Gabor in the original production of Spring Awakening.
Jonathan co-stars in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe and previous Tony winner Lindsay Mendez.
Back in 2019, Groff visited Live with Kelly and Ryan and discussed his debut on One Life while working at night on Broadway in Spring Awakening.
He shared on his experience on the soap, “I do remember my first day because I was doing Spring Awakening on Broadway at the time, and One Life to Live was my first time ever being on TV. So I got this offer, and I was like, ‘Yes, I would love to be in a soap opera,’ and we finished Spring Awakening at 11:00 p.m. and I woke up the next morning at 4:0 a.m. to walk uptown to go to do One Life to Live, and I called my agent and left a message, and I said ‘You have to get me out of this, I can’t wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning!'” You can watch the clip below.
The 77th annual Tony Awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, June 16, with Tony and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose returning to host for the third time.
So, rooting for Jonathan to take home his long-awaited Tony Award after several decades in the theater? Do you remember him as part of teen scene on OLTL? Comment below.
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Joanna Johnson was always my favorite when she left because she wanted to direct I was dissapointed. Wish she would come back permantly bring Winsor Harmon back for her and get rid of all these awful new characters.