News
Erika Slezak Shares Holiday Letter & Fan Club Milestone Expressing: “I Thank All Of You For Sticking With Me All These Years”
Every year, Six-time Daytime Emmy winner and iconic soap star, Erika Slezak, shares a holiday letter on her website to her enduring fan club over the holidays and this year was no different.
But what made this year’s communication so special, is it marked the 50th anniversary of the Erika Slezak Fan Club and her decades long partnership with its president, Walter Miller. Together, they have delighted daytime viewers who watched Erika as the one and only Victoria Lord on One Life to Live, to keep abreast on her life, and her career.

Photo: Hallmark
As Christmas approaches and we ring a new year, Erika took a moment to write her thoughts looking back at a year which saw her: appear in Hallmark’s holiday movie, Next Stop, Christmas, dealing as we all have with life in a pandemic, and her husband Brian’s recent emergency surgery.
Here is what Erika shared: “Dear Friends: This has been a year for the books, my friends, and I most sincerely hope that all of you are well and healthy, and have survived this monstrous year. I thank God that my family and I are completely vaccinated and boostered and healthy. Unfortunately though, Brian had a bad fall a few weeks ago, and had to have emergency surgery on his back. He is now finally in a wonderful rehabilitation hospital and is working hard to regain the strength in his legs. I come to see him every day, and Michael and Amanda alternate days to visit. It’s been a somewhat busy year: As most of you know, I was pleased to shoot a Hallmark Christmas movie called Next Stop, Christmas. It was great fun and was shot fairly close to where we live, so I could come home everyday. The people on the movie were all so wonderful, and my trailer, where I was keeping my things and resting between shots, was called Rudolph. All the trailers were named after reindeer, but unfortunately mine didn’t have a red nose on the front. The only hard part of the movie was that it was shot in August when it was 95 degrees outside, and we all had to pretend that it was December, so we were wrapped up in coats and boots and gloves, and really really hot!”

Photo: JPI
When speaking on her fan club’s milestone: Slezak offered up: “As difficult as this year has been, the bright spot for the the fan club is that we celebrated the “Golden Anniversary” this last October, and you can see the letter I signed back in 1971 to permit Walter to start it. It’s completely amazing that he and I have known each other for 50 years! I don’t know how that is possible since I’m only 39 years old � . Of all the things we have to be thankful for, I include my many, many years of friendship with Walter, and the fan club that he created. And even though “One Life to Live” has ended, the club is still going, thanks to the wonderful folks who run it and take care of it. A great big thank you to Walter and Kit and AJ for their time and patience with me. I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season, and I thank all of you for sticking with me all these years. Sending you hugs and best wishes for a Happy New Year and healthy 2022.”
Share your well-wishes to Erika as we say goodbye to 2021 and ring a new year in the comment section, and congratulations to Walter and Erika for a fan club well-done… 50 years! Wow! In addition, in case you missed it, check out the Michael Fairman Channel’s chat with Erika from May of 2020 below.
Erika Slezak is such a gracious lady. It’s always such a joy hearing from her. I can’t believe it’s been 50 years since she took over the roll of Viki on your beloved One Life to Live. What a wonderful turn of events that was for all of us fans. Bravo, Erika!!!!!!!!!
So happy to hear that she and her family are fully vaccinated and boosted and staying as safe as possible during the pandemic. I’m so sorry to hear of her husband, Brian’s, accident and surgery. I wish him a very speedy recovery.
A gigantic thank you to Erika for sharing her remarkable talent with all of us. I wish her and her entire family a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and very Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Erika, such an amazing lady with such grace and charm, not to mention extraordinary talent. I remember when you first started on OLTL and you were such a good sport when things got a little far-fetched. Can we say Ginny and Eterna? At any rate, I’ve always been a fan and thank God you were never possessed by the Devil like Deidre Hall. That’s not jumping the shark. That’s levitating above it. Anyway, you are beloved by so many and it’s definitely not a case of out of sight, out of mind. We carry you in our hearts daily. Always remembering our Viki and the wonderful woman who played her so brilliantly for so many years.
I miss you & OLTL so much! I felt like I lost most of my family the day it went off air 🙁 Glad to hear you are doing well and I pray for a speedy recovery for your husband. Have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy, Healthy New Year!
– EXTRA’ORDINAIRE – “this” Genre extraordinary!!!! EriKa Slezak puts a cap on it
so do we…. i’m 4 decades PLUS… @MichaelFairman… i bet… 5…. COME ON! IN My heyday.. i recorded from 11 a.m. to 3or4 pm… i just knew I had 5 hours to COME
Long distal ride distal? i don’t know…
BEING AN ON LINE defibrilator;… keeping “IN” check ? … my nuts screw yours
Cheers for the Tune in; “Ms. Vicki Lord”
Dear Erika,
It was a joy to see you on screen again, and in these degrading times, I hope you limit your availability.
The movie you were in had a lovely message, but the writing was so bad, and quickly paced, that most of, just about all of the actors looked like blubbering fools. You flubbed a bit, but were Awesome.
Just don’t, anymore Lady. There comes a time where you just have to let poop fester, and we are in those times.
My entire family loves you.
Oh, Erica Slezak. There is NOBODY like you!
Erika I really miss OLTL and you.
You were a great asset to the show.
Only soap now I watch since OLTL & AMC have been gone is GH.
It we ould great if you were on there now
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
View this post on Instagram
Breaking News
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
-

News2 days agoY&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
-

Previews3 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
-
General Hospital2 days ago‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
-

Days Of Our Lives3 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
-

Days Of Our Lives6 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
-

General Hospital6 days agoGENERAL HOSPITAL: Tracy Leaves Port Charles to Help Dillon; Paving the Way for Jane Elliot’s Temporary Exit
-
News5 days agoB&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor to Guest Star on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
-
Interviews1 week agoRoger Howarth Reflects on Daytime Emmy Win, 32-Year Record Gap, and Embracing Matt Clark on ‘The Young and the Restless’ (Exclusive)














