News
James DePaiva added to the list of guests on The View Salutes OLTL!
Courtesy/ABC
Llanview’s own Max Holden is back for one final walk down memory lane, when James DePaiva joins wife Kassie DePaiva (Blair) on next week’s very special edition of The View! It all happens next Friday, January 13th when The View Salutes One Life to Live just prior to the airing of its network finale on ABC!
The episode will celebrate Llanview with a few surprise guests, exclusive never-before-seen footage from the final taping (and a sneak peek at the last episode!) as well as videotaped special messages from past stars and a highlight reel featuring memorable moments from the show’s 43 years on the air.
James will join Kassie and previously announced special guests: Erika Slezak (who is co-hosting the episode), Judith Light, Robin Strasser, Hillary B. Smith and Robert S. Woods!
Days Of Our Lives
‘Brilliant Minds’ Officially Canceled After 2 Seasons at NBC; DAYS Alum Al Calderon, OLTL Alum Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto Among the Cast
After languishing on the bubble for months, on Friday, NBC handed down the decision and canceled the medical drama Brilliant Minds after two seasons.
Brilliant Minds stars Zachary Quinto as neurology physician Oliver Wolf, who’s character and the series is inspired by the life and books of neurologist. Oliver Sacks. The series focuses on the medical mysteries of the mind, as Wolf a larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns explore the last great frontier, the human mind, while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
The final six episodes of what will now be the end of its second and final season were already set to air beginning on May 27, after being pulled off the network schedule in February as viewership saw a steep decline. Brilliant Minds second season became the lowest-rated drama on linear TV viewing, which didn’t bode well fo a network renewal, although it had its hard core fan base.
Photo: NBC
There are some exceptional notables in the cast along with the talented Quinto that includes Days of Our Lives alum, Al Calderon (ex-Javi Hernandez) who joined the series in its second season as Nurse Nico Silva, and One Life to Live alum, Teddy Sears (ex-Chad Bennett) who plays Wolf’s love interest and fellow physician, Dr. Josh Nichols.
The rest of the talented cast includes: Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Donna Murphy, John Clarence Stewart, and Brian Altemus.
In an ironic twist of fate on Thursday, April 30, Days of Our Lives finally revealed the actor who was Al Calderon’s successor in the role of Javi, when they announced that actor Jacob Martinez had now stepped into the role. Since DAYS tapes ten months ahead of streaming new episode, Calderon left in the spring of 2025, but will be seen in the part for the final part this month, and then on June 20, Martinez debuts as Salem’s new Javi.
Taking to his Instagram with a sorrowful and heartfelt post on the Brilliant Minds cancellation was Teddy Sears who wrote, “Thank you, Brilliant Minds. I got the call today and I didn’t want to hear, but I knew that it would come, You have to be a particular vintage to quote Don Henley from memory, but that’s the line that came to mind earlier today after I got off the phone with our inimitable showrunner Michael Grassi who delivered the news that NBC has cancelled the series”.
Photo: NBC
Sears continued, “To say that I feel sad to be moving on from these stories, this character, and this cast and crew just doesn’t paint the entire picture. I’m sad, sure. But I’m also deeply grateful that I got hired to play this part, so proud of the stories we told, and the other actors I got to play alongside. I’m excited to see what comes next, what adventures await, and terrified to be without a professional home. A quick and heartfelt thank you to everyone, all over the globe, who found us and found themselves in us, in our characters and in our stories. We wouldn’t have been able to tell them without you. And we still have 6 fresh episodes yet to air, and I do hope you tune in enjoy the remainder of the series. They’re the best we’ve done.”
As he wrapped up his sentiments, Sears signed off with, “The more I know, the less I understand. All the things I figured out I have to learn again. I’ve been trying to get down to the heart of the matter. But everything changes…Thank you, Brilliant Minds.”
The medical drama was created and executive produced by Michael Grassi alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, Lee Toland Krieger, DeMane Davis, Jasmine Russ, Henrik Bastin, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis and Shefali Malhoutra.
So, what do you think of NBC’s decision to cancel Brilliant Minds after two seasons? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Receives 3 ‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ Nominations for Hallmark Series, ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
Many things are coming up roses for Jonathan Bennett! On the heels of the news that he is set to debut this month in the role of Joe Fitzpatrick on General Hospital, who is rumored to be a new love interest for Lucas Jones (Van Hansis), comes the news that Bennett’s reality series, Finding Mr. Christmas has received 3 nomination for the Critics Choice Real TV Awards.
Bennett’s Hallmark Channel series finds itself in tough competition alongside fellow nominees: RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV), Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix), Survivor 50 (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo) and The Traitors (Peacock). In addition, Jonathan himself is nominated for Best Show Host and the series participants as the Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) revealed the nominees for the eighth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards on Thursday, which recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Winners will be announced online at CriticsChoice.com on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET.
Photo: Hallmark
Taking to his Instagram to celebrate the nominations, GH’s Bennett, enthused, “3 Critic Choice Nominations! I’m so proud of the FINDING MR CHRISTMAS and to be in the company of all the legends in all these categories is so surreal! Congrats to Hallmark Channel and to our nominated cast and nominated show and everyone who made this magical show possible. This is crazy! This gives FMC 6 Critics Choice nominations in 2 years. Not bad for a little show on Hallmark Channel. What are your thoughts on our show?” Jumping first into the comment thread was one of his new GH co-stars, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) who expressed, “Yeah buddy!!!🔥🔥”
In the series, Bennett, the host and co-creator spends eight weeks guiding 10 aspiring actors through a series of “festive face-offs” and acting challenges alongside actors like soap opera notables, Hunter King (ex-Summer, Y&R) and Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS). Along the way, they develop their skills and a bond with one another. The show, which is available on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Plus, highlights LGBTQ+ representation with openly gay contestants vying to be the next Hallmark star.
It should be noted that Traitors received the most Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations with 6 nods, followed by Dancing with the Stars with 4.
Bennett is very familiar to daytime fans having started his career as JR Chandler on All My Children in 2000-2001, before landing the part of Aaron Samuels in the motion picture, Mean Girls in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan, which would become his breakout performance.
You can check out the full list of Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations here.
So, excited for Jonathan Bennett’s General Hospital debut this month? Have you ever watched Finding Mr. Christmas on Hallmark? Let us know via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Kelly Thiebaud on Britt and Cassius Sibling Drama, But Who Will Ultimately Blow His Cover?
On the April 30 episode of General Hospital, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) had some choice words and warning for her brother Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) who has been masquerading as his twin, the very dead, Nathan West.
As the story has unfolded, viewers learned that Britt knew all along that when “Nathan” showed up in Port Charles seemingly resurrected with a missing 7 years of his life unexplained, that Cassius was taking his place.
Now in developments on today’s GH, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) is figuring out that this guy pretending to be Nathan is someone else, and Cassius learns from Britt, that Joss is not just a ditzy sorority girl as he claimed, but a WSB agent! The moment stuns Cassius. Are the walls about to close in on him and his charade?
Courtesy/ABC
Daytime Emmy winner, Kelly Thiebaud spoke to Soap Opera Digest, about the story point and getting the opportunity this time back at GH to work with Ryan Paevey, when she hadn’t had the chance to before.
BROTHERLY LOVE?
Thiebaud expressed on sharing scenes with Ryan Paevey, “It’s just been so wonderful to have him back and to actually work with him! When he first came onto the show (as Nathan at the end of 2013) I was kind of heading out — it was right towards the end of my contract, so we didn’t actually work together a ton. It’s been really refreshing and so much fun to really spend time together and get to know each other and work together. I think we have really great on-camera chemistry and banter with each other. I really enjoy working with him.”
With the stakes at an all-time, Thiebaud explained how she views her on-screen alter-ego’s involvement with her more hot-to-temper sibling and why Britt revealed the truth about Josslyn to him. “People finding out about Cassius would expose what she’s involved in and what she agreed to do,” explains Kelly “And now Josslyn is digging around, and she’s connected to Carly (Laura Wright) to Jason (Steve Burton) and that whole dynamic! It’s messy!”
BRITT’S MURKY FUTURE
Britt has currently also reached her breaking point with Jason being carted away by the WSB, Rocco (Finn Carr), the child she gave birth to, shooting Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) to protect her and Jason, Marco (Adrian Anchondo) being killed after trying to help her, and Cullum holding over her head getting her Huntington’s disease medication to control her symptoms, while blackmailing her into finishing the research on her father, Cesar Faison’s, final project. Thiebaud summed it up best for Britt right now, sharing, “It’s been a really tough time for her.”
So, who do you think will be the person to blow Cassius’ cover? Will it be Britt herself? Josslyn? Liesl? Brennan? Nina? Lulu? Rocco, Maxie, Cullum or someone else? Let us know your pick in the comment section.
‘Brilliant Minds’ Officially Canceled After 2 Seasons at NBC; DAYS Alum Al Calderon, OLTL Alum Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto Among the Cast
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Has Dylan’s Mystery Caller/Stalker Been Revealed to Be an Alive Luna Nozawa?
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Nick Confesses His Drug Problem to Victor; Joshua Morrow, Mark Grossman, Eric Braeden Bring the Newman Bond
‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Receives 3 ‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ Nominations for Hallmark Series, ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Sophia Seemingly Plans to End Her Life, But Not Before Setting Fire to Johnny’s Apartment With Him Trapped Inside
DAYS Stephen Nichols Remembers Drake Hogestyn as the ‘Most Vital, Enthusiastic, Committed Man I Ever Knew’ Ahead of the PanCan PurpleStride Walk
DAYS Stephen Nichols and Co-Stars Walk in Honor of Drake Hogestyn at PanCan PurpleStride LA, ‘I Felt Him With Us’
Brandon Barash Granted Restraining Order Against ‘General Hospital’s’ Kirsten Storms
‘Days of Our Lives’ Rob Scott Wilson Talks ‘Turning Heel’ as Necktie Killer, Ben Weston
Paige Herschell Marks One-Year as ‘General Hospital’s’ Jacinda Bracken
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Has Dylan’s Mystery Caller/Stalker Been Revealed to Be an Alive Luna Nozawa?
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Nick Confesses His Drug Problem to Victor; Joshua Morrow, Mark Grossman, Eric Braeden Bring the Newman Bond
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus Talks Humble Beginnings, Test and Albert, WrestleMania 22 with Mickie James, Current Women’s Roster (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Michael Reveals His Plan to Set Up Chase and Willow to Have an Affair
Judith Light Talks Her Role in ‘The Terror: The Devil In Silver’ Dropping on AMC+ with Co-Star ‘Downton Abbey’ Alum, Dan Stevens
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thats nice
Im glad he will be on ,Ive always like james depaiva,always wondered why they never brought him back. guess lack of a storyline .can not believe we have 6 more days ,and its over.next friday will be a very sad day.
James has been working behinnd scenes as a director.
I didnt know that ,and Im always up on the one life to live news ,Still think they should have brought him back , well Its to late now,today when star sang you only have one life to live ,the tears were going ,bo is shot ,cole ,vicki ,clint had a heart attack ,will be an interesting monday,but it only brings us closer to the end.1loveabcsoaps,what are you going to call yourself after friday?1loveabcsoap?and abc soaps in depth ,never will be the same ,more than half of my life Ive watched one life to live ,my afternoons will be different .
OLTL always seems to get less than it deserves. One hour of The View won’t be long enough to survey 43 years of history, or even the last 10. And what about Florencia Lozano, Trevor St John, Jerry Van Dorn, and other significant players? I like James DePaiva, but he hasn’t been a regular since 2003.
James has been working behind scenes as a director.
OK, thanks, I had no idea DePaiva directed. I didn’t mean to discount his role or influence.
One Life to Live has always been the black sheep of ABC because it historically has had the lower ratings among ABC’s three soap operas. Brian Frons didn’t even bothered to go to New York to tell the OLTL cast that their show had been cancelled; he just made the annoucement to them through a camera. That tells you a lot about ABC thinks of OLTL. I remember back in the 1980s and 1990s, ABC would regurarly air promos of All My Children and General Hospital during the evening while restricting promos of OLTL during the day only.
But no matter what ABC or the Nielsen survey say, I will always find OLTL to be a product far superior than AMC or GH.
Heather you are Right! In retrospect, I remember the night-time promo’s of AMC and GH.
Your Right! OLTL has never been the Darling of the lineup. It’s always been AMC because of Susan Lucci and her strong ties to Agnes Nixon, and that over top, Super Glamorous Erica, whose character and glamour of the show attracted Hollywood types. And then there was the Super Couple of General Hospital (Luke and Laura) who made History in their role, and not long after came dreamy eyes Sonny Corinthos, and Brenda Barret another Super Couple who burnt up the screens and was as POPULAR as Like and Laura. OLTL was just sugestive of cow boys and gals, who had some money, and was intertaining in it’s own right, more grounded if anything. It was the “middle child” in the TRUE sense of the word. But let me tell you this, what goes up, must come down, and everyone and everything has it’s moment and JUST do… The Fall out of OLTL is far superior than it was for AMC. Yes, there was a Fall out when it was announced that BOTH soaps would be canceled, BUT people on these Blogs on the internet are NONE STOP in their conviction for OLTL. Although General Hospital is still on, (and we all have hope that GH will redeem itself BC IT always does) GH is taking a licking FROM the FANS, bc OLTL got canceled. So the other two darlings of the ABC line up is having their EGO’s served to them on a Silver platter by the Fan’s who have been NONE STOP with their petiton and SUPPORT of OLTL, relinquishing AMC and blasting GH. To tell you the truth, it took me by surprise myself. It just goes to show, everyone has their moment…. And sometimes the middle child can come out on TOP, as the Fans show of support for OLTL.
I think part of the problem has been that OLTL has been sandwiched in between the AMC and GH time slots for so many years. Everybody always assumed AMC and GH were better and that OLTL was some kind of cheap filler. It’s true, as you say, that AMC and GH were more heavily promoted. AMC and GH supposedly had bigger stars too.
But I have never cared for either AMC or GH compared to OLTL. I always thought OLTL was better and was baffled why I was in the minority, but I assumed it was because OLTL was never as trendy or attention-grabbing as the other two. But the intergenerational family drama and acting by the ensemble cast on OLTL has been consistently superb. It’s such a shame it took cancellation for more people to notice.
It really irritates me when people suggest only “old” people watch soaps. For the Week of December 19-23, 2011, when kids were on vacation, OLTL was second in the rating among girls 12-17 years old. It had more than twice the number of viewers in this category compared to either B&B or GH:
Girls 12-17 Viewers (Compared to Last Week/Last Year)
1. Y&R 81,000 (+43,000/-7,000)
2. OLTL 67,000 (+37,000/+24,000)
3. B&B 33,000 (+3,000/-29,000)
4. GH 29,000 (+1,000/-10,000)
5. DAYS 12,000 (+2,000/-27,000)
https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/ratings/ratings-days-hits-lows-for-third-straight-week
OLTL had the potential to build on and increase its number of viewers. Nobody will ever admit it was a mistake to cancel OLTL, when it should have been GH instead. What monumental stupidity; sfs.
The reason OLTL was canceled instead of GH was because GH had higher ratings than OLTL as the time of the cancellation notice. I believe OLTL took over GH in the ratings around the month of June, especially with that persistent mob storyline that just won’t go away.
OLTL has always been a simple soap and that’s why I always enjoyed it. Too bad it never ranked #1 in its history as did AMC, GH, Y&R or ATWT. But then again, the reason OLTL never ranked #1 is probably because of its simplicity and its tight budget whereas AMC continued, even on its very last day, to be overbudget. I do agree with 1loveabcsoaps that most of the backlash comes from OLTL rather than AMC. It sure took everyone by surprise: the fans, ABC, the media and certainly Agnes Nixon who has always prefered AMC over OLTL.
I’m not a fortune-teller. But I doubt that GH and DAYS will get the fan support that OLTL received when it’s their turn to get canceled.
RIP OLTL (1968-2012)
I dont buy it, the ratings that is,abc lied as they are now about the chew,the ratings werent counted , soapnet not counted anyone that taped the soaps at the time they went on ,not counted and heres the big one anyone over 49 years old NOT COUNTED,ABC said they are getting rid of the soaps because women are working ,and as Ive said before, oh ok abc the reason the ratings are high now for the chew is because all the working women are staying at home now to watch the chew, yeah right , they all decided to quit there jobs and come back home to watch the chew,who watches that stuff? as erika slezack says BULLSHIT,abc killed the soaps because of greed the almighty dollar.and because of that greed hundreds of people are without work at 2 soaps possibly 3 soaps ,abc I hope your happy with all that money and your cheep crap programing .And I dont care what anyone has to say abc /disney has enough money to keep those 3 soaps on ,3 hours 5days a week .abc daytime will never be the same,3 soaps with all that history killed for shit tv ,I just dont understand ,who are the real morons at abc who did this ,brian frons didnt do this alone.I know I keep repeating myself ,but this pretty much is the truth behind abc/ disney.
I agree all the other soap on today is boring. At least OLTL keeps you hanging everyday. I am a 43 old male and have been watching OLTL since 1985. ABC is so stupid getting rid of one of the best soaps ever.
James is the BEST. I have tried to write something 3 times regarding his devotion to the show, meeting his wife there, and his contribution to making OLTL, MUST WATCH T.V., in the 80’s and 90’s, before moving behind scene as a director. (This website has knocked me off 3 times, this is my 4th times writig this, but I’m afraid to invest a 4th times writing ALL OF THAT, and being booted off again.) He is married to Kassie (Blair) and my heart goes out to he family if two jobs where lost when the show cancelled. James, Thank you for the triangle of Cord, Tina and Max. U always brought so much enthusiasium to the role. I also shall never forget how Max and Blair set out TV screnes on fire…. (and obviously feel in love for real). Thank you for your contribution to daytime and one of the BEST triangles in soap history. May God Bless you, your wife and family.
So sad – 43 years of history. It will be great to see James & all the past actors that were such a big part of the show – especially Robin Strasser who always spoke her mind.
Join us in sending soap bar’s to the ABC Studio’s in NYC. PASS THIS ON…. AND POST ON OTHER SOAP OPERA SITES, including abc.com. See how abc likes being BOMBARDED with soap bar’s from Fan’s all across the United States.
@1loveabcsoap
LOL, you do realize that ABC is gonna go completely berserk when they see all these soap bars on their studio on January 16. I remember two years ago, ATWT fans did the same thing to CBS. CBS completely freaked out because they thought that the soap was anthrax . Procter & Gamble had to step in to tell fans to cut it out.
I don’t think anything can be done to save OLTL at this point (Slezak even acknowledged it on an interview last week). But if sending soap bars can scare the living sh!t out of ABC to stop them from cancelling General Hospital, I say GO FOR IT.
I’m so happy James is going to be a part of this. I wanted him to return for the end……and win Blair back. I am not a Todd and Blair fan. On a related note…..I remember when Kassie was the guest host of The View. If only she would have gotten the job over that annoying Elizabeth Hasslebeck. We need more Kassie on TV!!!!
Yes ,on one life to live ,elizabeth hassle beck is not the only annoying person on the view ,all five of those women are loud mouths ,thats why I dont watch ,abc is going to have hour after hour of non stop garbage on.and the best way to get even with abc ,DONT WATCH.You really dont like todd and blair?
They have great chemistry….but i would be happy if Blair fell back in love with Max. Todd will always be Todd and hurt her…..like if she finds out Tomas is innocent and being held prisoner because of Todd. Everyone makes Todd out to be some romantic hero…..but he is an evil murderer….kidnapper…and rapist. Blair deserves so much better after all he put her through. She should end up happy and not a foolish victim.
I have always loved todd and blair together ,I hope that todd is not the killer I hope his mother messed with his head I never liked the rape story but it was good drama. ,if I recall ,I could be wrong but todd wasnt to have a story after the rape ,r.h. was that good so they had to make todd feel bad about what he did .anyway ,theres only 5 more days ,we will never know if blair and max could have crossed paths again,I just want all my one life to live family to live happily ever after .Ive watched for 43 years,best soap ever.
I FLOVE James DePaiva. Max Holden was a great character and I never understood why the show wrote him off after killing off Luna, Al, Gabrielle and never mentioning his twins with Luna. I was sure I would see Max before the finale but Mr. DePaiva was never asked back. I am enjoying OLTL as the end nears but I’d trade seeing the crazed, one-note characters for seeing the characters that made Llanview a community, like Max, Larry, Wanda, Hank, RJ and Renee.
Max has been behind the scene for year’s directing.
Thanks for the info. You stated that up-thread. I would had loved to see Max Holden on-screen. Kassie DePaiva confirmed that James DePaiva was never asked to return as Max Holden before the finale.
I loved James DePaiva as Max and am glad he is going to be on the View. He had such great chemistry with Andrea Evans, Fiona Hutchinson, Luna, and of course his real life wife Kassie.
I have loved Max on one life to live.With Blair and all has beens they shared was tremendous and spectacular with Gabrielle and Asa and the Beucannons and the Mannings it was the best. Watching Starr grow up. I have seen for so many years that i get tongue tied on what to say about all the episodes i have seen. I was always running to see or find out what was going on next. sitting there on Monday hoping to see what else the show was doing and i felt like i was there with the marriages and Vicky and Clint . I have seen all and when the stories would break i would know why and i loved solving the mystery which is where drama came from these soaps.The are the Pride of our lives and i don’t know where i would’ve been without them watching them and growing with them. One Live to Live All My children and General Hospital are my shows and i just can’t jump on a plane to see them but tv i was able to see they story and just feel like i was apart of it all.I am so upset with ABC i know they are doing what they think is best but i really think they don’t know what they have done by ending these beautiful shows and there isn’t any show that they put on worth it. it is just like dancing with the Stars you never know what story they will have up next.Generations and story lines that they have told to help and i have watched them and i have learned a lot by sitting and watching them knowing how to love and how to stand up for yourself . i have learned from soaps.