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Lauralee Bell and Michael Damian returning to The Young and the Restless for May Sweeps!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: Lesley Bohm

Photo Credit: Lesley Bohm

Yesterday, we reported that Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) had mentioned over the weekend at Joyce Becker’s Soap Opera Festival that Michael Damian was returning to Y&R to reprise the role of Danny Romalotti.   Then last evening, TV Guide confirmed that not only is Damian set for a return, but so is Lauralee Bell!

TV Guide reports, that the set-up of their return has to do with something that the show has decided to dig up from its glorious past!   “When bat-crap crazy Phyllis attempted to kill Cricket in a hit-and-run.  No one ever found out who did the dirty deed and Phyllis’ days as a sociopath are long behind her.  Will she get busted after all this time?”

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

It should be interesting to see Christine’s reaction when she finally learns the truth, and should give Michelle Stafford some material to sink her teeth into.   Bell arrives back in Genoa City on May 17th and Damian arrives on the 18th!

What do you think soapers? Does this story being revisited hold interest for you?  Let us know!

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well finally after all these years the truth will finally come out. paul williams was hurt and christine blair. what will happen will phyllis finally go to jail. lets see what the writers do to phyllis. lets hope the writers do this properly and soap fans and me are satisfied with the storyline. is angelina gone for good. or is she coming back. please let me know michael fairman. angelina has really grown on me. in the beginning when diana degarmo came to the young and the restless i did not like her role. now i love her. great singer and actress. the soap magazines did not say she was leaving. so whats with her leaving. please michael fairman let us know. she angelina gone for good. because that brought carmine her ex boyfriend yesterday on the young and the restless. love your interviews michael fairman. i am a great fan of yours. keep up the good work michael. we all love you in my family. hugs to you michael.

Because of Maria Arena Bell’s lack or creativity, she resorts to going back to the past storylines created by her brilliant father-in-law Bill Bell. Must I remind those of you out there regarding the .000 batting average this woman and her co-hacks have in regards to dregging up past characters and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with them?!? MAB killed Liz Foster in order to make Jill a Fenmore – REALLY?!? Patti Williams is brought to Genoa City by Victor, given a facelift to look like her psychiatrist Emily Peterson, kills Colleen and causes assorted troubles for others, escapes and comes back to shoot Jack Abbott AGAIN – REALLY?!? Diane Jenkins returns 20 years younger, makes enemies with everyone is murdered and the audience is stuck with a boring-as-all-hell convoluted murder mystery that went on for close to 6 months – REALLY?!?

Do we really need the triumvirate of Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer & Scott Hamner to go back to the show’s glory days AGAIN in order for them to attempt, and undoubtedly fail to ,build on its’ rich history? Along with the SORAS’ing of Kyle, this just smells of desperation – with any luck, all three of these hacks will be out once the viewership hits below 4K (and its on its way!)

Bart, I agree completely with your comment. It sounds like you and I have similar opinions of this once-great show.

Other historical nuggets that MAB unsuccessfully mined: (1) The unresolved story about Nina’s son that was sold by Rose Deville. His whereabouts remained a mystery for 20 years until MAB introduced us to Ronan BUT didn’t even bother to focus on the relationship between Nina and Ronan!!!!! Frankly, I would have preferred if the potential for a great plot was still out there versus what MAB did with it; and (2) MAB jumped through MASSIVE plot holes and convulted twists to reveal to us that Phillip Chancellor III was alive and had faked his “death scene” (which I vividly remember). Once Kay and Jill learn that he is still alive and he inanely trots back to Australia after reuniting with everyone, the women seem to forget about him even though they mourned his death for over 20 years! Honestly, poor Phillip was more loved and remembered when everyone thought he was dead!!

Something is NOT working at Y&R. I have watched this show for over 30 years. I am watching fewer and fewer episodes these days and, rather than loving the show, following it seems like a chore. I can’t believe Y&R remains the top rated soap. For the frist time ever, I honestly think B&B, the ‘trashy, campy sister” show, has surpassed Y&R in quality.

Something desparately needs to be done about this show quickly!!!! Trotting out Cricket and Danny for a “guest appearance” to revisit the hit and run storyline isn’t the type of thing that will save Y&R, particularly when the impact of this incident will be forgotten by Phyllis and friends 2 weeks afterwards.

Two more “could-have-been-great” stories that were botched completely and needed mentioning – thank you, Barbara. =c)

I’ve been a faithful viewer since August 1981 – now I turn it on due to habit, not loyalty. Sure Bill Bell and his team had their misfires here and there, but IT WAS HIS SHOW, HIS CREATION, HIS VISION. MAB’s track record with her ‘vision’ is a resounding ZERO! None of her one-note characters work, her pre-occupancy with current pop culture (that horrid Angelina, turning Restless Style into a TMZ-like show) is ludicrous, and she seems hell-bent on doing more damage coming up by screwing with the past.

While I will still never forgive former EP/Head Writer Lynn Marie Latham for killing John Abbott, creating the horrible characters of Cane and Jana, and two horribly botched murder plots (Carmen Mesta & Ji-Min Kim), it seems as though MAB wants to continue doing even MORE damage. The show is over-bloated, yet super-terrific new characters are getting all the attention in horribly-written plot-driven slurry. I am also tired of out-of-work soap actors coming over to this show pushing popular characters to the background.

I don’t know about you, but I still have a hard time buying Daisy & Ryder as the demon spawn of Sheila Carter & Tom Fisher, since they didn’t know one another when Sheila came back to town in 2005. I also don’t buy 49 y o Genie Francis as the mother of 40 y o Daniel Goddard. All I know is we are in for a bumpy ride as the shizz will no doubt continue.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS STORY TO UNFOLD! I hope Phyllis becomes a scheming sociopath again…. so much more interesting to watch than her chasing after Nick again and again!! As an unhinged fangirl in the 90’s, she was absolutely riveting to watch. Hope they have lots of flashbacks to her bat shit crazy antics! 🙂 I hope she squashes that bug FOR GOOD this time!! 🙂

I agree with all the posts MAB & cohorts have ruined this show it is unwatchable? What is on MAB’s resume other then being married to a Bell, and did Hogan Scheffer write pretty bad for ATWT or did I dream that anyway I can tell you I am frustrated with her and have been for years, this could be a good story but she will botch it!!!

U haters of MAB and Y&R are WHACK! WTH? It’s NUMBER ONE for a reason! You may not agree with the direction of the show, but it’s hard to argue with numbers and statistics. Just sayin.

this is crazy, I’m tired of seeing characters get into legal trouble. They could do a lot with L Bell comming back. Danny coule come back and help his son on the custody battle. Dragging an old storyline up is not what I’d want to see. M. Stafford’s character has do been redeemed by the life she is living why bring it up. Get Jack up with Avery. Play off of Sarge being in recovery along with Harmony and Nikki. Bring Adriane Franz back to help Daniel. That would be some good stuff to do. Have Christine investigate Louren for shooting Daisey? There is so many good things that can be done. No need to bring up a long since gone storyline.

Honestly, I’m tired of Y&R constantly reliving the past. How many times has Victor and Nikki gotten back together only to break up again? And then do it all over again! I’m sick of Phyllis and Nick and then Sharon and Nick, blah, blah, blah. It’s no wonder soaps are being cancelled, because Y&R isn’t the only soap doing this, but they seem to rely on the same storylines all the time. And personally, I say leave Cricket out of the show. It’s tired and old.

I am thrilled that michael damian and laura lee bell are coming back……the young and the restless is and has been the best soap on television……the story lines always keep the fans sitting on the edge of our seats……something is always brewing in genoa city.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprongna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is down 100% to play. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.:

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit and the buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other. and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect Ric, Sonny, Lulu? So, much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither of them for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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