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B&B's John McCook Chats On His Final Scenes With Susan Flannery & Eric's Life Post-Stephanie!

Photo Credit: Gilles Toucas

While Susan Flannery is garnering all the attention as she and her long running character, Stephanie Forrester get set to depart The Bold and the Beautiful after 25 years, its time to shine some light on the other half of the duo that will remain behind!

TV Guide spoke to John McCook (Eric), one of the core four of B&B, to discuss life post-Stephanie for the patriarch of the Forrester clan.  Plus, how with Flannery’s exit (which will honor the character in a profound way), it will push McCook in new story directions, which indicate that exciting times are ahead as an actor for this soap veteran.  But before any of that occurs, circle November 9th, 12th, and13th on your soap viewing calendars, as that is when Stephanie’s big goodbye party comes to fruition on-air!  Here now are a few excerpts from the interview below with John McCook!

John weighing in on how Stephanie’s imminent death is also Eric’s story too:  “It is! When I first heard Susan was retiring from the role, I went to executive producer Brad Bell and said, “What will we do? How do we handle this? What’s going to happen to me?” (Laughs) Because, as an actor, it’s all about me, of course! But Brad is using this great loss to refocus B&B in a new, really exciting direction. Of course, right now everyone is watching how Stephanie deals with this as the days tick down but in time it very much becomes Eric’s story and I’m really excited to have it. This is a huge change for our show and for me, personally. Eric has kind of been in Stephanie’s shadow in recent years, even in business. (Laughs) Even in mourning! She won’t even let him grieve the way he wants to grieve. She’s running everything from the catbird seat, telling everyone how to be sad! But, yeah, Eric will be getting his power back.”

John on how it was to film his final scenes with Susan Flannery:  “She’s been my TV wife for 25 years, almost as long as I’ve been married to my real wife (actress Laurette Spang), so we couldn’t help but go to a really emotional place. After all, we’re not only losing each other as characters but as actors, too, and we indulged all those feelings. As usual, Susan was a titan. It was huge thing to play. It was dramatic. It was beautiful. Eric and Stephanie are just so wonderfully amused with each other because they’ve survived as a couple. They’ve hurt each other, offended each other, stepped in shit together all along the way, but somehow they’ve managed to build a wonderful life and create a marvelous family. And their love endures, stronger than ever. It’s such a dark and awful thing to have Stephanie die but we’re bringing the light to every scene. Usually on soaps, you’re pulling up a chair at the hospital bed. This is so much better than that. There will be no deathbed for this exit!”

Are you looking forward to seeing the final scenes between B&B’s Stephanie and Eric? What would you like to see happen to Eric after Stephanie passes away? Let us know your thoughts!

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Mirko di WallenbergbarbdawnMark YMary SF Recent comment authors
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Iakovos
Guest
Iakovos

If Brad Bell is serious about taking the show in a new direction, I better not see Eric renewing vows with Brooke or Donna. And let’s not rush him into someone’e arms with any haste. Please let him grieve, hit bottom and come back, or discover something new about himself, focus on a strong business story. Run for public office. Reconnect with his children. Let him sing… literally! This man could be so better used and I will go into this dark time — saying goodbye to Stephanie — believing Eric (and McCook) will be treated well.

kay/kay
Guest
kay/kay

Hey he is going to have to have about two chins removed for him to be a hunk that the actor and the character thinks he is. Never have liked this actor he gives me the creeps just like Jacob Young. Yuck!

Jesse
Guest
Jesse

I am very excited about the new direction this show will be forced to take. Things happen, people retire, characters die. Ronn Moss and Susan gave 25 wonderful years to this show, and they chose to leave. It’s now time to move on, as we all have to in life when things happen. Personally, in 2011, I lost my two older brothers, both to cancer, within a month and a day of each other. You can NEVER imagine, or prepare, or fathom such a tragedy hitting your life until it happens. But when it does, you have to cope, and… Read more »

Mary SF
Guest
Mary SF

What a touching, well written and thoughtful post, thanks Jesse. It is amazing what we think is so important until real life gets a hold of us and reminds us what our true treasures are. It is a lesson most of us only learn when life has given us something beyond ourselves to deal with. Soaps and even bitching about them can be escapist fun at times, which we should enjoy, but if our blood pressure is going up because tptb aren’t writing things the way we want, then it perhaps time to turn off the television and find a… Read more »

RICKIE
Guest
RICKIE

I agree. This show doesn’t do panoramic storytelling very well — they focus all their attention on one storyline at the neglect of others (e.g., Liam/Steffy/Hope). They desperately need to bring in new characters and drop a few more (i.e., Donna, Taylor, Oliver). If they really want to move forward, they need inject new life into this show instead of retreading the past.

Mary SF
Guest
Mary SF

If they are dropping characters they should drop Pam. This character is so annoying, adds no comic relief to the show at all. I have no idea why she is still there except to make lemon bars.

Mirko di Wallenberg
Guest
Mirko di Wallenberg

Not having seen this show since ages, well almost 10 years, the announcement of the death of Stephanie Forrester lured me back to catch that storyline and withness her death. Being a loyal viewer from day one at the end of the 80’s I left at the beginning of 2000 because I could not stomach the badly written storylines anymore around Brooke, Taylor, Rich, Eric, Stefanie, Sheila, Sally, Macy, Thorne… and all the others anymore! Over and over and over again the same endless drab, unfinished storylines, non saying episodes… you get it if you follow the show! I was… Read more »

barb
Guest
barb

I feel like I just wasted 40 seconds of my life reading this 🙂

Mirko di Wallenberg
Guest
Mirko di Wallenberg

The waste of 40 seconds is nothing compared to the waste of 30 minutes each and every working day during 25 years watching the Bold and Beautiful so you should not complain!

Mark Y
Guest
Mark Y

I am looking forward to Eric getting his MoJo back and seeing where it takes him. B&B is not just about Stephanie. It’ll be fine without her (but I’ll certainly miss the character very much). Keep up the good work, Bell Family!

dawn
Guest
dawn

Just take him to a good place he is great he may end up with his sister-in-law,she is great as well that would be interesting just dont have him end up with some younger women again. Thats to boring!

barb
Guest
barb

This has been such a unique way to deal with the death of Stephanie. It is so much better than the hospital exit . Thankyou for that! It has been thoughtful as well as beautiful! We will miss this fine actress! I wish her well.

News

B&B Alum Pierson Fodé in Consideration to be the Next ‘Superman’

This seems like it would be a great casting choice to us! According to a report in Variety, actor and model Pierson Fodé , the former Thomas Forrester of The Bold and the Beautiful, is in serious consideration to play Superman in the upcoming film Superman: Legacy.

Apparently, James Gunn told the outlet’s Senior Culture & Events Editor, Marc Malkin that, “The next Superman has to be someone who has all the humanity that Superman has, but he’s also an alien. It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has and be somebody who you want to give a hug.”

Photo: Fode IG

Gunn added his take on just who will be the newest Clark Kent/ Superman,”We have some really great choices, which I’m excited about.” Back in March, James also revealed that he will be directing the upcoming film himself.

Sources revealed to Malkin that Fodé sent in a self-tape and that Gunn liked what he saw.  Pierson played the role of B&B’s Thomas from 2015-2018 and was twice nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award during his run.

If Fodé was chosen for the Man of Steel, he would follow in the footsteps of another former daytime star, Sasha Calle (ex-Lola, Y&R) who is about to debut next week as Supergirl in the motion picture The Flash.

So, could you see Pierson as the next Clark Kent/Superman? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Scores Impressive 6.9B+ Minutes Viewed Across All Platforms

Talked about your viral moments and exceeding expectations! Daytime’s The Drew Barrymore Show has delivered some big numbers.

According to CBS, ‘Drew’ tallied more than 6.9B minutes viewed season-to-date across platforms including linear television, Paramount+ and Pluto TV streaming, and social video.

The network reports that those numbers make it the fastest growing talk show on television, with a strong 65% increase in total viewers year-over-year. It was also the only talk show to grow from the first to second half of the 2022-23 TV season across key demos, including in adults 25-54.

One of the primary reason for this uptick is the consistent content on social media, which a younger demo is more likely to consume.

Further numbers were reported by Deadline that has The Drew Barrymore Show earning over 589M video views across social media. That’s up 72% versus last season’s 342M video views. TikTok delivered 371M video views, which is 63% of the show’s total social video views.

In addition, if you want to catch the moments of the day or the week, The Drew Barrymore Show serves up plenty of clips across Facebook, You Tube and the aforementioned TikTok, giving it a 60% increase over last season.

Currently, The Drew Barrymore Show is filmed in New York, where The Kelly Clarkson Show will also reside this coming fall.

Do you check out The Drew Barrymore Show’s social media clips? Do you enjoy ‘Drew’? Let us know in the comment section below.

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AEW

CM Punk Officially Set for Return to AEW On New Series ‘Collision’ Premiere

Finally, pro wrestling fans got the word from AEW president Tony Khan on tonight’s episode of  AEW Dynamite; that CM Punk is coming back to AEW, and will make his highly-anticipated reemergence on Khan’s new Saturday wrestling series, TNT’s AEW: Collision on June 17th.

As many had expected with the premiere of ‘Collision’ set for the United Center in Chicago, and Punk’s hometown, it was just a matter of time before Warner Brothers/Discovery and AEW made CM’s return official.

The two-time AEW world champion has not been seen, or talked about on-air since the All In pay-per-view back in September of 2022. That event featured an explosive post-show media scrum, where Punk went off on former friend, Colt Cabana, and wrestlers: Hangman Adam Page, and AEW Executive VP’s, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson.  Later, a backstage brawl broke out, which saw several of the guys suspended and Punk off of TV and his future with the organization in limbo.

However, Punk was also off TV because he was tore his tricep during his last match with Jon Moxley. Since it required surgery and rehab, he was not cleared to wrestle since last fall.

Now the question becomes, when CM Punk returns, will be a full on heel? Given how he has not been the most ‘liked’ guy in the locker room, it might make the most sense to play in to it all.  Stay tuned.

So, excited to know the CM Punk is on his way back to the new AEW television show and maybe an arena and a ring near you? Comment below.

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