Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of Our Lives’ Eric Martsolf Recalls Moment He Learned He Was Cast as Brady Black, and Last Scenes with Drake Hogestyn (SOAPY Exclusive Preview)
Daytime Emmy winner, Eric Martsolf talks about how he learned he was cast as Brady Black on Days of Our Lives on an all-new episode of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart dropping Tuesday, June 16. Martsolf, who is the special guest, related how he was out of a job following the end of his run as Passions’ Ethan Crane when the NBC soap was canceled in 2008.
In addition, Eric shares a heartbreaking and memorable conversation with the late Drake Hogestyn (John Black), who at the time was in the throes of chemotherapy following his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Ahead of the premiere of this heartfelt conversation, Michael Fairman TV is giving you an exclusive preview with two clips from Martsolf’s visit to the CBS podcast.
First, Eric recounted how he and his wife Lisa had recently welcomed twin boys, bought a house, and he did not know if he would find a way quick enough to support the family. Eric had already learned the part he read for at Days of Our Lives, he didn’t get. However, little did he know, that he was about to instead become the recast Brady Black, previously played by Kyle Lowder.
Photo: JPI
THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
“I had my kids in their double-stroller in Porter Ranch, wondering how I’m going to pay for this house? Marnie Saitta (casting director, Days of Our Lives) calls me up, ‘Eric, can you get your butt to the studio right now?’ I’m like, ‘Why? I didn’t get the job.’ She’s like, ‘Well, maybe you got a job. They want you for Brady Black. They want to bring back this character. He’s been off the canvas for about three years.’ I said, ‘Marnie, Oh, my God! That is such great news. I have my kids, and my wife’s out of town.’ She’s like, ‘Bring your kids. Drop ’em off at my office!’ I dropped the boys off at her office, went and met with Gary Tomlin (former co-executive producer, DAYS), and he said, ‘You’re Brady now. Here’s your backstory. Welcome to the show.'”
Eric continued, “I went back to Marnie’s and I knocked on the door and they’re my kids. One has the Apple remote in his hand or whatever hitting it against the desk, the other one’s playing with the keyboard. Marnie says, ‘Congratulations, get your kids out of my office now.” I was like, ‘I’m so sorry. I love you. Just send me the bill for the damage.’ Eventually, my wife Lisa came home. I said, ‘I’m on DAYS now.’ We cried and we hugged, and I’ve been with DAYS ever since.”
THE HEARTBREAKING MOMENT WITH DRAKE HOGESTYN
The Days of Our Lives family lost one of its most beloved members when Drake Hogestyn who played John Black for 38 years passed away from pancreatic cancer on September 28, 2024. It wasn’t until June of 2025, that DAYS viewers saw the story play out where John succumbed to internal injuries sustained in an explosion saving the experimental serum to bring Bo Brady back to life. It was John’s final mission.
During his visit to Soapy, Eric Martsolf was asked to share one of his greatest memories of working with Drake as his TV son. In an emotional moment, Martsolf recalled trying to tape a scene with Drake when he clearly was feeling the effects of the chemotherapy he was undergoing at the time, while he tried to soldier on as Drake was known to do.
Photo: JPI
“Not to get too sentimental, but I think it was one of the last scenes we did together. We were in the interrogation room at the Salem PD. John is talking to Brady about something and he had to stop tape because he was on chemo and he would have to excuse himself from the set, come back, gather himself, and just go right back into the scene. You could tell he was really struggling. He didn’t talk to me much about what was going on. I heard through the grapevine what was wrong with him. I just looked at him and I went, ‘How you doing?’ We had a five minute break, and he said, ‘I’m just on a journey. It’s going to be good. It’s going to be fine.’ That just broke my heart. He still wanted to keep telling the story even though his body wasn’t letting him. Drake never complained, never bitched.”
Martsolf added, “My memory of Drake is just a man of fortitude, and a man that was a storyteller until the end that just wanted to keep doing his job. He gave Ken Corday (executive producer, Days of Our Lives) his blessing to film John Black’s funeral while he was still on this planet. Ken said to him, ‘Are you sure?’ Drake was like, ‘Tell the story.’ That’s a man. That’s a guy who is dedicated to what he had been doing for the last 40, 50 years.”
Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart features weekly lively and often nostalgic conversations with beloved past and present stars and creatives from across the entire soap opera community and all networks and platforms, including daytime and primetime. Whether a lifelong fan or discovering the genre for the first time, the series shares that it, “offers a fresh, fun behind-the-scenes look at the stories – and storytellers – that define daytime drama.”
Episodes from the audio/video podcast series are available for free via Audacy and the CBS brand You Tube Channel. The podcast is produced by the Paramount Multiplatform Production Group, with Mike Benson serving as executive producer.
Take a look at these exclusive previews below with Eric Martsolf.
Now let us know, were you touched by Eric’s memories of Drake struggling to work as he battled cancer? What did you think of Eric’s casting story of how he became the new Brady Black? Have you enjoyed Eric’s performance over the last 18 years in the role? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Fantastic preview! Cannot wait for the full interview to drop tomorrow. He was meant to play Brady Black and he has been fantastic since his debut.
Agreed. Eric Martsolf always struck me as a real winner of a guy too. Thank you for the preview.
Eric is great as Brady. Such poignant memories of Drake. Watching you would never know he was sick.
I just listened to the podcast. Eric is such a versatile actor. I wish they used him more for comedy; he has great timing. I just wish they had asked him about Brady’s love interests and about doing shirtless scenes in his fifties. He looks incredible. Still the hottest man in Salem.
Martsolf is great! This show has featured 2 prolonged visits from Satan, people coming back from the dead, 1 actress playing 4 roles, and so on. But for 1 family to attend a major league baseball game to be featured on the kiss cam AND catch a foul ball, now that’s just unbelievable!! 🙂
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of our Lives’ Leo Howard Joins Cast for ‘Yellowjackets’ Fourth and Final Season
Yellowjackets announced its full cast and new additions for its upcoming fourth and final season. None other than Days of our Lives favorite Leo Howard (Tate Black) will be featured in an exciting and undisclosed role on the Paramount+ streaming series.
Howard’s casting comes after he was one of four Days of our Lives cast members pink-slipped from the Peacock soap opera back in January of 2026. Due to Days of our Lives advanced tape to streaming episodes, Leo is also still appearing on the soap.
Viewers will need to tune-in to see how Tate, Holly (Ashley Puzemis), Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel’s (Raven Bowens) storylines resolve before they all exit the canvas. No word on when Howard’s last DAYS episode airs as of yet.
Photo: JPI
YELLOWJACKETS CAST ADDITIONS FOR FINAL SEASON
The official Yellowjackets Instagram account welcomed a slew of new cast members for the upcoming fourth and final season which included Howard accompanying the post were, “The wilderness welcomes these new faces to the cast of #yellowjackets season 4.”
Leo joins Molly Ringwald, Eric Stoltz, June Squibb, Dulé Hill, Devon Sawa, Ken Marino, Aaron Staton, Cynthia Stevenson, Patricia De Leon, Noah Harpster, Sam Braun, and John Emmet Tracy for Yellowjackets final season which will premiere on November 22, 2026.
For those who may not be aware, Yellowjackets, was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and follows a high school girls soccer team after its plane crashes in the remote northern wilderness. The series moves between the teenagers’ increasingly brutal fight for survival and the lives the survivors have attempted to rebuild nearly 25 years later, proving that what happened in the past is far from buried.
Back on August 20, Paramount+ revealed that Yellowjackets will conclude with season 4 offering up a chilling teaser with former MTV VJ, Kurt Loder seen as a newscaster announcing, “We are live with breaking news: The Wiskayok Yellowjackets have been found.” From there, the season will deal with the aftermath of the soccer team’s eventual rescue.
Michael Fairman TV will keep you posted when Howard’s first episode of Yellowjackets will stream on Paramount+.
Now let us know, glad to see Leo landing a role in Yellowjackets? Will you miss him on Days of our Lives? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
In an effort to bring back productions to the United States and offering incentives to keep them from going abroad, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress has introduced proposed legislation to establish a federal film and television tax credit. It is being touted as a landmark moment for Hollywood Workers and small businesses.
The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, led by Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Rep. Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brian Jack (R-Ga.) in the House of Representatives, would establish a 20 percent base tax credit on labor expenses and a potential rebate of 30% if signed into law. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are spearheading an identical bill in the Senate.
To be eligible, productions must have a minimum spend of $1 million (per film or per TV season), and at least 75% of production days must be in the U.S. For animation, 75% of the production cost must be in the U.S.
Photo: CBS
SOAP OPERAS AND OTHER FORMS OF PROGRAMMING WILL NOT BE PART OF THE BILL
The federal incentive would be eligible to be stacked on top of individual state tax incentives, much like the current system in Canada and Australia. In the new bill, postproduction and special visual effects labor costs can be counted as eligible expenses.
However, the lawmakers proposed bill does not include the following type of shows: Daytime dramas, porn, commercials, talk shows, interview shows, game shows, award shows, news programming, live sports, corporate/industrial videos, and social media videos,
TV AND FILM PROJECTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE HOPE TO BRING BUSINESS AND JOBS BACK TO THE U.S.
The federal film and television tax credit will be available for: films, TV shows – scripted and unscripted (4-episode minimum), TV pilots, animation, above-the-line wages (producers, writers, directors, actors, etc.) and below-the-line wages (crew), and standalone post-production and visual effects.
If passed, the legislation could offer much needed help for workers who have been rocked by recent unsteady times in show business. In all, runaway productions, strikes and a contraction in the business have dashed many job opportunities in recent years, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics finding that jobs in the motion picture and video industries have declined by more than 100,000 since 2022.
Click here to review the entire proposed bill from congress.
So, what do you think of the new bill on the table in the U.S. congress? Glad to know that it could, if passed, help some types of projects? What do you think about how the soaps are excluded and deemed not eligible? Does it continue to seem to you, that no matter what, those that work within the continuous tightened budget of daytime dramas can never catch a break? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of our Lives’ Preview: Will Dominic Marino Turn Out to Be Marlena’s Son With Stefano DiMera?
All signs point to that Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) at some juncture had Stefano DiMera’s (the late Joseph Mascolo) baby, but will it ultimately prove to be true, especially when the man in question is Dominic Marino? The last name Marino could also be the clue which its first half contains Marlena, the last half Stefano!
For several weeks, Marlena has been grappling with some vague memories and things she doesn’t seem to want to remember or can’t. We know that when Belle (Martha Madison) and Chad (Conner Floyd) made it to Italy, they found hidden in the replica chess set, just like the one Stefano “gifted” Marlena and John, that a secret compartment revealed a photo of Stefano holding a young boy with the picture dated on the back “1992.”
Now, in all-new episodes of Days of our Lives streaming next week on Peacock, the official promo ends with quite the shock for Marlena. First, Steve (Stephen Nichols) pays her a visit with an update that they were able to track down the birth certificate of Dominic Marino. As she reads the certificate, Marlena says out loud that Stefano is listed as the father, but stops dead in her tracks when she reads the mother’s name, and the promo goes to black!
Courtesy/Peacock
Will Marlena learn she has another child out there, who seemingly was in cahoots with Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti) in Monte Carlo? Or, is this all one last evil plan from the dead from Stefano to make Marlena believe she is the biological mother of his child? Stay tuned.
Elsewhere in Salem, Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) races home to the Kiriakis mansion ready to save it, and the family business. after gambling it all in Monte Carlo. Sadly, when he walks in to the family home, it’s completely empty!
In addition, the machinations of Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins) continue as she concocts another scheme when she researches, “nerve conduction studies.” Could it be she is going to fake her paralysis? Then, Mason (Brandon Butler) and Holly (Ashley Puzemis) finally have s showdown, where she asks, “Do you think I’m to blame for Sophia’s death?” It appears Mason believes she had a lot to do with it.
Now below, check out additional Days of our Lives spoilers for the week of September 21-15.
Monday, September 21
Xander (Paul Telfer) and Brady (Eric Martsolf) decide to join forces as Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) finds herself in legal trouble.
Tuesday, September 22
Xander and Philip face a very disapproving Maggie (Suzanne Rogers), while Black Patch partners, Brady and Steve , continue their investigation into Dominic Marino.
Wednesday, September 23
Belle and Marlena share their concerns with Sydney (Sydney Malakeh), but is it about Dante, or what Belle and Chad uncovered in Italy?
Thursday, September 24
EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) questions Cat’s (AnnaLynne Cipriani) loyalty. Will these two be able to clarify their relationship with one another once and for all? Meanwhile, Leo (Greg Rikaart) and Javi (Jacob Martinez) test the waters to see if there is a chance at ever getting back together.
Friday, September 25
Chad welcomes Kate (Lauren Koslow) to The Spectator. How will Chad and Kate do working side by side? Marlena is disturbed by a harrowing dream. Steve gets unsettling news from Bo and Hope, while Sarah and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) suspect something is amiss.
Check out the official DAYS promo, “Cold and Frank” below.
Now weigh-in: Did Marlena have Stefano’s son? Do you think it’s a set up … or the truth? If so, who do you hope is revealed to be Dominic Marino? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.
‘General Hospital’s’ Nancy Lee Grahn Marks 30-Year Milestone as Alexis Davis; Co-Stars Share Heartfelt Video Tributes
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ for the #3 Spot in Total Viewers
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Preview: Katie Wants Dylan to Sway Zende, Carter Puts Unrelenting Pressure on Steffy
‘Days of our Lives’ Leo Howard Joins Cast for ‘Yellowjackets’ Fourth and Final Season
‘Beyond the Gates’ Marquita Goings Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Bests ‘General Hospital’ in Key Demos and Gains More Viewers Week-Over-Week
Chris McKenna Speaks Out On His Final Day as ‘General Hospital’s’ Jack Brennan with Words of Wisdom to ‘Finish Strong’
Alley Mills Returns to ‘General Hospital’ as Heather Webber
‘Days of our Lives’ Preview: Will Dominic Marino Turn Out to Be Marlena’s Son With Stefano DiMera?
‘General Hospital’s’ James Patrick Stuart Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
‘General Hospital’s’ Nancy Lee Grahn Marks 30-Year Milestone as Alexis Davis; Co-Stars Share Heartfelt Video Tributes
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Preview: Katie Wants Dylan to Sway Zende, Carter Puts Unrelenting Pressure on Steffy
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sidwell and Curtis Attacked in Prison Fight With Ominous Message, “Sonny Corinthos Owes You This”; Charlotte to Boarding School?
Matthew Atkinson Reveals New Project ‘Into the Wilderness’
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