Breaking News
John Oliver Lands Roles on ‘General Hospital’ and ‘Days of Our Lives’
The soap opera Gods haves smiled down upon late night talk show and Emmy winner, John Oliver. The Last Week Tonight host revealed on Sunday’s June 28 episode of his HBO Max series, that he booked two roles on two different soap operas, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives and his long-fueled desire to appear in a role on the genre had been fully realized, twice over!
Previously, Oliver let it be known back in the March 8 episode of this late night show, that after realizing ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith (Brick) had a recurring role on a soap opera, that he was tinged with jealously and wanted to do the same sharing, “To all the soap operas out there, let me say this: I am officially offering myself to you. Write me a role, and I will be on your set so fast, it will make your head spin.” Oliver also had some mandates he wanted a character with a “ridiculous” name, and he wanted,” something juicy, like murder, or slapping, or being slapped, or being someone’s long-lost something.”
So, who came a calling? First up, General Hospital! Oliver will be playing a “significant” character to a major storyline (and i think you know who it will be!) in episodes that begin this week for a three-episode arc starting on Thursday, July 2, Friday, July 3 and wrapping Monday, July 6.
Photo: JPI
JOHN OLIVER COMES TO PORT CHARLES
In a statement, GH executive producer, Frank Valentini told Variety, “When John Oliver publicly threw down the gauntlet and said he wanted to appear on a soap, we didn’t hesitate for a second. He was everything you’d hope he’d be: prepared, professional, funny and genuinely kind to everyone on set. He plays an integral character in the story, and I can’t wait for fans to see who he crosses paths within Port Charles.”
John Oliver added: “General Hospital was everything I hoped it would be. It’s a true honor to be a small stain on the history of this illustrious show.”
On the Sunday, June 28 episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver shared, “General Hospital had genuinely picked me for a role and given me the chance to hang out in Port Charles, the home of Luke and Laura, the Corinthos family and Brick, and given me the chance to join the ranks of guest stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Sammy Davis Jr, and of course the great Colonel Sanders.”
Oliver explained, “I’ll be on General Hospital next week and while I’m not going to spoil anything. I will show you this picture of my character. Yes, that is me surrounded by men with guns. And yes, my hair has been dipped in an ink well (see lead photo of this article), and if you can tell from my face, I’m acting my hardest.”
As the story broke, GH’s Chris McKenna (Brennan) took to X and said “Go to ‘Z’ with the hashtags #GH and @HBO, meaning Oliver has to be playing the never-before-seen boss of Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), who Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) are trying to get to.
JOHN OLIVER COMES TO SALEM
Following, his stint on General Hospital and as first reported by Oliver himself, he will next be seen in episodes streaming on Peacock of Days of Our Lives, August 11, 12 and 14. Given DAYS usually tapes ten-months in advance of streaming, it’s clear they worked in some new scenes featuring Oliver just the other week.
In a statement on his guest star role on Days of Our Lives, series executive producer, Ken Corday shared, “When John Oliver said, ‘Call me soaps, I’m available and willing to travel. I want to be a part of that world,’ our world, we had to heed the call!”
Photo: CordayProductions/ChrisHaston
On Last Week Tonight, Oliver explained, “I’m thrilled to announce I have an update, because I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of little show called Days of Our Lives. The show that gave us unforgettable moments like the Devil possessing Marlena, Sami Brady trying to rescue Phillip from Iraq by going in full soldier drag and Bo Brady discovering a mysterious woman in a bayou that everyone called Swamp Girl until learning she was actually a princess. Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve already taped a week of episodes on Days of Our Lives!”
He acknowledged being part of the iconic series and its legendary stars: “This is clearly a huge honor to come to the home of some of the more renowned soap actors like Deidre Hall (Marlena), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie), and the late John Aniston (ex-Victor).”
Photo: IG
Oliver then showed a photo of himself in a scene with EJ DiMera played by Dan Feuerriegel and wearing a rather humorous hair piece. On Monday, Feuerriegel took to his social media and shared a behind the scenes photo of himself next to Oliver and writing, “Well, this happened 🤭 Can’t wait for y’all to enjoy the shenanigans. John crushes it. #daysofourlives #JohnOliver”
So, what do you think of John Oliver being given two soap roles from two shows, who quickly picked up on the the late night talk show host’s desire to appear on a soap and wrote roles and booked him? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out the promo from this week’s General Hospital featuring Oliver below.
I wondered who would play the role of Z. All hell’s going to break loose. I hope we see the end Cullum and also finally rid the world of that snake Sidwell.
He accidentally spilled the beans that he most likely will play Z! I love it. John was hilarious last night making fun of himself and most specifically, his hair style on Days. Kudos to John Oliver for giving attention to the soap opera genre. Ratings will be boosted by his appearances on both soaps for sure.
Not going to lie, this is ridiculous for both soaps. Not looking forward to this at all.
John Oliver played a character (whose name I can’t recall immediately) on Community for years. It’s not as if he went into this with no experience.
My comment has zero to do with John Oliver’s experience. I’m fully aware of his acting background.
The late great St. Elsewhere made a habit of hiring comedians such as Steve Allen, Louis Nye, and Bob Newhart (who also did drama on ER). Don Rickles played a serious role on Medical Center. And no one questions the acting chops of Robin Williams. Comedians have an innate understanding of human nature that makes them wonderful actors. Oliver will do just fine in both roles.
My comment has nothing to do with John Oliver or his acting capabilities. It has to do with the casting itself.
Scott, I appreciate your in-depth knowledge of soap opera history, as well as the behind the action mechanisms. But honestly, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, figuratively speaking, you’ve got to stop clenching those cheeks in order to produce diamonds out of coal.
Huh? So because I have an opinion of something you may not agree with, I am “clenching” my cheeks “in order to produce diamonds out of coal.”Kind of rude and presumptuous of you, if I am being honest. I’m not trying to do any, Harry. At all. I’m just expressing my opinions just like everyone else.
You have a history of getting bent out of shape out of absolute nonsense so it’s really not presumptuous at all.
Why wouldn’t soap fans want a celebrity actor for a meaningful 3 day role? Anything that draws more eyes and support to our continued stories should be welcomed… shouldn’t it? I can’t wait for the rating and for John’s appearances.
Agreed! It’s a 3 day shoot, love John Oliver! Happy he chose GH to appear on. Should be interesting!!!
This is good news but on the other hand, so many actors that are out of work.. I don’t really get into it when stunt casting is done
It’s going to be quite brief. John Oliver was so hilariously self deprecating about these stints. Unlike Steven A Smith, (Brick) he doesn’t take himself seriously.
I’ll wait until the episodes start airing before a full comment. If the acting is decent, then we can handle 3 episodes. It’s the ongoing slog of Stephen A Smith’s Brick that is past its expiration date.
As for DAYS… somebody must have read my comment on this site about Ryan Gosling’s praise of Deirdre Hall and how they could shoehorn him into episodes despite the 10+ month gap in air dates.
Corday must’ve known Oliver was committed to GH. It would’ve been embarrassing to follow up GH’s announcement about this week with a “look for Oliver also to appear on DAYS next April. As it stands, GH gets most of the press due to the structure of Oliver’s announcement.
Ghoul girl FFS
I don’t know what this means.
Kudos to GH and DOOL for playing along, i was really curious how DOOL was able to get his airdate to air so quickly considering how everyone talks about how so far in advance they filmed, so thanks Michael for clearing that up, but that made me think about how Ryan Gossling also made headlines about being a DOOL fan and if the show would take advantage of that and do the same as oliver and insert “new” scenes to air earlier then wait 10 whole months.
Someone in the comments of this John Oliver thread needs the stick removed from their ass…The person is too uptight and should lighten up.
Beyond the Gates
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Winners: ‘General Hospital’ Takes Drama Series, Tamara Tunie and Scott Clifton Top Acting Honors
The 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards have just concluded on Friday night, October 30, and it was ABC’s General Hospital who took home the top prize for Outstanding Drama Series for the sixth time in row. Executive Producer, Frank Valentini accepted the award on behalf of the show.
Beyond the Gates scored its first two acting honors in the young history of the show. Veteran actress, Tamara Tunie won her first ever Emmy for Lead Actress a Daytime Drama Series for her performances as Anita Dupree, while Ambyr Michelle took home the gold in the Emerging Talent category.
Scott Clifton won his fourth Daytime Emmy overall, and second Lead Actor Emmy for his heart-tugging performance as Liam Spencer, who believed he was battling an inoperable brain tumor, only for it to turn out to be medical ruse to bilk Liam’s father out of $1 million dollars.
Courtesy/NATASYouTube
DECADES BETWEEN BETH MAITLAND AND ROGER HOWARTH LAST EMMY WIN
In the Supporting Actor and Actress categories, Daytime Emmy history was made with Beth Maitland (Traci Abbott, The Young and the Restless) winning her second Emmy 41 years since she won her first won, and Roger Howarth (Matt Clark, The Young and the Restless) following suit for the men with his coming 32 years after he won in 1994 for One Life to Live.
Courtesy/NATASYouTube
Jeff Kober picked up his second Daytime Emmy win for his role as Cyrus Renault on General Hospital in the Outstanding Guest Performer in a Daytime Drama Series category. He previously won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2022, following a nomination in the same category in 2021.
The Kelly Clarkson Show, meanwhile, won Outstanding Daytime Talk Series it its final year, while Sherri Shepherd won for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host after finding out her talker had been canceled after four seasons.
Photo: NATAS/YouTube
THINK OF LAURA
General Hospital star Genie Francis (Laura) received the Lifetime Achievement Award and shared from the stage, “I know 50 years sounds like an awfully long time, but it doesn’t feel like that to me,” she said. “As they say, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”
Overall, General Hospital, Beyond the Gates and The Kelly Clarkson Show received the most gold statuettes for the night with four wins apiece.
Here’s a look at the honor roll for tonight’s big winners below:
Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
General Hospital
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress
Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, Beyond the Gates)
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor
Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor
Roger Howarth (Matt Clark, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress
Beth Maitland (Traci Abbott, The Young and the Restless)
Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Ambyr Michelle (Eva Thomas, Beyond the Gates)
Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
General Hospital
Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault, General Hospital)
Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program
General Hospital
Outstanding Directing in a Daytime Drama Series
Days of our Lives
Outstanding Talk Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Outstanding Talk Series Host
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri
Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates
Outstanding Costume Design/Styling for a Daytime Program
The Young and the Restless (Episode 13273)
Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates, The Kelly Clarkson Show
So, who were you happy to see win a Daytime Emmy on tonight’s 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards? Do you think the right show and actors took home the gold? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section. In case you missed it, you can watch the replay of tonight’s livestream of the Daytime Emmy ceremony below.
The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys are just a day away, and one of the more hotly-contested contests is which of your favorite leading men will walk away with the gold statuette for Outstanding Lead Actor?
The 5 actors who are going for gold each have had quite the history with the Daytime Emmys with several already having racked up several wins. Let’s take a look and the take our Michael Fairman TV poll at the bottom of the post and vote for who you think most deserves this year’s Lead Actor Emmy.
The nominees are: Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, The Young and the Restless), Steve Burton (Jason Morgan, General Hospital), Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful), Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful) and Christian Jules Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin, The Young and the Restless).
Photo: JPI
FIVE ACTORS HAVE ALL PREVIOUSLY WON GOLD
As far as the actors Emmy resumes: Eric Braeden has been nominated nine times for Lead Actor and won once in 1998. Steve Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner, both in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for GH as Jason Morgan and Y&R as Dylan McAvoy. This nomination makes it Steve’s 10th overall, and his third time in the the Lead Actor category.
Scott Clifton has won three times previously in 2011, 2013 and 2017 and has the distinction of being the only actor to win in Younger Actor, Supporting and Lead. This is his 8th nomination Thorsten Kaye is a two-time Lead Actor winner in 2023 and 2024, while Christian LeBlanc has also won three times as Lead Actor in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and this is his first nod in over a decade.
The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are set to be handed out in a ceremony on Friday night, October 30 beginning at 8pm ET/5pm PT at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. And while there is no network television broadcast partner this year, fans can watch the ceremonies livestreamed on the NATAS/Daytime Emmys You Tube Channel.
Now below, cast your vote for who you think should win Outstanding Lead Actor tomorrow night, and then in the comment section let us know who you are rooting for on Emmy night.
Breaking News
‘General Hospital’s’ Nancy Lee Grahn Hosts Daytime Emmy Lead Actress Dinner Keeping the Tradition With a Twist!
Leave it to General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) to throw an intimate get together in her own style! That’s exactly what the three-time Daytime Emmy winner did to keep the tradition of last year’s Lead Actress winner throwing a party for this year’s nominees.
But as has been tradition, where the ladies gathered for their annual nominee lunch, this year on October 28, Grahn decided to make it a dinner party and she cooked all the food instead of venturing to a Los Angeles hotspot.
The Lead Actress lunch has been a tradition started by four-time Daytime Emmy winner, Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful and ex-Laura Horton, Days of our Lives) back in 2005. Now, here we are 21 years later and its still going strong.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER?
Joining Grahn for for the Lead Actress dinner were 2026 nominees: Heather Tom (Katie Logan Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers, The Young and the Restless), Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree, Beyond the Gates), Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, Beyond the Gates), and Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera, Days of our Lives).
This year, Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie became first-time Lead Actress nominees, while Stacy Haiduk, also earned her first Lead Actress nomination, although she had been previously nominated in the Supporting Actress category. Currently, going in to Emmy night, Heather Tom is tied with Erika Slezak (ex-Viki, One Life to Live) for the most Daytime Emmys won by an actress with 6, while Michelle Stafford had racked up three, two for Lead and 1 for Supporting.
HEARTFELT THANK YOU’S FROM LEAD ACTRESS NOMINEES
Taking to her Instagram, Michelle Stafford posted some snaps and shared, “This is SO special. A beautiful night with truly beautiful, extraordinary women. What an incredible tradition that Susan Flannery started. Instead of women competing against each other. Here we have five women who have become friends, lifting each other up and supporting each other. We walk into Friday night with a true gift of friendship. Thank you Nancy Lee Grahn for opening up your beautiful home and catering this incredible dinner. Thank you Dylan for being a good girl for the picture! 🐶”
Meanwhile, Nancy Lee Grahn shared a video on her Instagram of the actresses chatting it up around the dinner table, while explaining she cooked the dinner for all the gals! (You can see it below).
So, what do you think about Nancy serving up the annual Lead Actress gathering with dinner at her house? Excited to see all the nominees together before tomorrow night? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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‘General Hospital’ Alum Jeff Kober Accepts His Daytime Emmy Award After Being Unable to Attend the Ceremony
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Winners Walk (Photos)
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‘General Hospital’ Alum Jeff Kober Accepts His Daytime Emmy Award After Being Unable to Attend the Ceremony
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53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Winners: ‘General Hospital’ Takes Drama Series, Tamara Tunie and Scott Clifton Top Acting Honors
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