News
Stephen Nichols OUT At The Young and the Restless!
Photo Credit: Hutchins Photo
More exits at The Young and the Restless and this time Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) is losing her long lost son!
Daytime favorite Stephen Nichols is reportedly out at the number one soap as Tucker McCall, and in fact, according to Soap Opera Uncensored the actor finished his final scenes today at the set of the CBS Daytime drama. In addition, SOU has also reported that Jessica Heap is on her way out as Eden as well!
So soapers, what do you think of the departure of Stephen Nichols? Was the character of Tucker McCall not working? Do you think the new regime should have kept him around and created new story for the character? Or, do you think this is the right decision? Weigh-in!
The new regime has gotten rid of the good actors, instead of the no-talents like Christel Khalile.
AMEN!! The new TAKE OVER GROUP SUCKS!! THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES TO GO!! THIS SOAP SHOULD BE CALLED THE VICTOR NEWMAN WAY!! I FAST FORWARD THRU ALL OF HIS CRAP!! JUST SAYING…..
Thought I was the only one who can’t stand Christal Khalil. I mentioned how I’d like to see her (& Kane) go during her contract negotiations and posters jumped all over me. I think she is lovely, but no talent as an actress. BORING! Y&R needs to ship off Lilly, Kane and the twins to Australia or parts unknown. Please!
Neil is great, but since Dru went over the cliff the Winters clan is FF material.
omg i couldn’t agrree more!! when Christal Khalil is on screen I fast forward as well
they are so boring…and it just surprises me on how they keep this storyline going. I call that crew the “fillers”
Actually Christel Khalil (there is no e there) is a popular, talented Emmy winner. The fact that the writers cannot find a story for her is THEIR fault, not hers. Does the fact that Cain is almost 20 years older than her just bother me?
I agree, the age difference is just too great. Cane and Lilly are either sickening, or having problems, no middle ground.
Big mistake letting Stephen Nichols go!!!!!
They should and could have done so much more
With his character…..He is a great actor , Victor is starting to show
His age…I was in hopes of Tucker being a bigger part
Of the show..
AMEN! He could give Victor and Jack a much-needed adversary. On top of that his story with Katherine was really going places!
Horrible decision to let Stephen Nichols go! Back to the same old Victor rules everything in the world crap, huh? YAWN.
I like SN, but the whole character of Tucker was ill conceived- I was not against Katherine having a long lost child, and when they said that child was Jill- that was an interesting twist that alter the whole Katherine/Jill relationship. But then changing that, making the child a male out for revenge was a mistake. They made Tucker so unlikable that I was rooting for Abby when she ran him down.
Then they try to make him nice, repenting his wrongs against mom, making him Devon’s deadbeat daddy- none of it worked. So I think Tucker has out lived his purpose in GC- but it is a shame they had to let go of talent like SN. If given the right role he could have done a lot for the show.
As for Eden, she is hardly on any more and has no connection to anything happening at the moment, I think it would be okay to ditch her for a while. Maybe if the show ever brings her and Micheal’s con artist father back on the show, she might be able to come back, but I think at that time they should recast because the present actress never seemed right for the role.
They are idiots! Stephen is the finest actor in daytime (and gorgeous)! What a loss.
Stephen, come back to GH. Everyone knows Helena has been holding Stefan captive since he left for Milan! Bring back Stefan! 🙂
NO-he’s not georgous and he is just kinda “there”…Better not get rid of ADAM though!!!
I never liked Tucker because of the mullet, they should have cut his hair to look like the 21st century!
Wow! I’m not a Y&R fan BUT, Stephen Nichols is a great talent.
IF Days could write a decent storyline, I would welcome him back with open arms!
Once again JFP makes the stupidest decisions.
Your funny Ces.. .we think too much alike… We both have soo much resentment against Days for their writing abilities and both keep watching!!! If your in the Washington area. .we could start up a support group to quit watching Days..
haha! I’ve noticed your comments as well 🙂 I guess I watch Days because it comes before GH on Soapnet and there isn’t anything else to watch. I suppose I could go out or read at that hour (??) I’m on the verge of giving up on this show though … it’s just not good.
Not happy. Y&R sucks for the first time ever in 40 years. I am about to quit.
Robin, maybe if they bring on our favorite Emmy-winning Facebook friend, it would be interesting. I say CK has got to go. The reasons many dislike her, including myself, is that 1): she is talentless and 2) she is one of the reasons her TV mother, Victoria Rowell, left the show.
Yes! Couldn’t stand the character. There was just no point to him.
Maybe back to Days?
They should have kept Stephen Nichols. He’s a good actor, worth more then all the newbies put together. My advise to the entire cast of all the soaps, find real jobs, because sooner then later, they will yank all of the soaps off the air.
Agreed! He is a great actor and they keep characters like Chelsea around.
LOVE Chelsea. Why is it when someone is NICE nobody likes her?????
He never worked for me but it is because of the writing I knew he was gone when they had Devon go back to work for Neil. Probably Days or GH will pick him up since word is they want to build back the Cassadine fold on GH. I know he was suppose to be dead but you never really die on daytime.
Really not surprised!!!
Neither Tucker nor Eden have been integral to Y&R for a long time now, so I have no objections to their dismissal.
I do wish that this new Producer would discontinue bringing in more and more newcomers. I also find the presence of soooo many teen-agers adding nothing of interest to the plot – their stories are shallow, save for Jamie – his back-story may contain some merit. As for Summer and Fen, why they were aged is beyond me, and why their parents don’t also age is also mystifying. Love Victor, but please have him see a barber pronto!!!!!
Along with bizarre aging, wish those who cast would consider the likelihood that the child they just cast looks even remotely like the parent. Abby related to Ashley and Victor? In what universe? I realize the pool might be small, but a little discretion adds to credibility.
Stephen Nichols was doing just fine. The problem was not him but rather the storylines that were written for him. He was always one of daytimes best actors and he is not the only one to be released from this show due to poorly written storylines. Someone better get something done in the new year or this will not remain the number one soap opera as it has been in the past.
They are insane. Seriously, not as an SN fan, but objectively, I think YR has blown chance after chance to truly develop Tucker beyond what SN has been able to do with him, which is quite alot. The Devon reveal was amazing work from this actor. there is so much story material that they could have given him that they just chose not to. Or that they chose to drop. Letting Eileen go was bad, but Tucker had alot of options for story without her, much as I wanted him with her. But what do they do? Let go another good actor to make room for 20yo’s and FOJs. So disappointing. YR, what do you want? What are you really looking for? Do you even know? Meh.
Like Stephen Nichols, never liked the Tucker McCall character. Maybe GH or DOOL could use his talents once again. Wish him well.
Tucker was an unnecessary character….
He was undoubtedly expensive, as a major soap star, and it’s been said previously that TPTB are under pressure to cut costs. One would have thought that Katherine’s son would have been considered an integral part of the show, but like many characters from the Maria Bell era, Tucker was badly conceived and badly executed, and it may simply be that there was no way to repair that. I feel the same way about Nichols that I felt about the losses of Maura West, Debbi Morgan, Genie Francis, Jennifer Landon, and why-can’t-I-think-of-her-name-who-plays-Abby: what a waste. They (MAB and crew) attracted all of this top-rate talent and then they screwed things up so badly. It’s a real pity.
Good bye and good riddance, Tucker McCall – now that you are history, perhaps the new regime can rewrite Devon’s alleged parentage and ties to Katherine Chancellor???
Sorry, but this was just another half-baked Maria Arena Bell-created character that added nothing to the GC landscape and his alleged blood ties to Katherine is just stale by soap opera standards!
You will not be missed – neither will Eden – adios!!
Good-by to Tucker I wish he would of gotten his dues before he left. I also think he will end up on GH.
I wish they would put Phyless out of the front burner I don’t know how she gets the top story lines every day. I fast forward her. I am sick to death of her whinning put her in prison where she should be. ughhh or vacation who cares just less of her. Victor should get HIS company back the sooner the better it was ding bat Sharon that did this. I am happy that Avery and Nick are together. Y and R is not the number one show acording to the award show. GH is.
Oh well. Sorry to hear that. Anyone else leaving soon !
Return of Stephan on GH!? That would be very cool…Alexis needs family! (remember no one ever really dies lol)
I’m sorry to hear that because I love Stephen so much! However I really want to see him back on Days of our lives so hopefully that’ll happen !
Stephen is a great actor, Y&R did not give him a good storyline. We do not get GH in Australia, and I have given up on DAYS as it has been awful last few years, so BB is only other option for him as far as I am concerned
Very disappointed. Hope Days grabs him. Really not happy with a lot of the things new regime has done.
Shocker … not.
He is another one that just has not been on lately. They just stop writing for them.
The Eden character is another story. She should have been taken off the canvas a long time ago.
Would be fun to have him back on GH!
I’m not surprised by this exit; with Eileen Davidson gone, he really doesn’t have much of a story connection. I hope Sony can lure him officially back to DAYS!
wonder if he’ll end up back on Days of our Lives? Kayla is still over there not dating anyone…maybe??
He needs to come back to GH! Now is the perfect time.
bring him back to gh!
Resurrecting Stephan would be quite convoluted. Cartini has enough bizarre plots going on GH. And without Constance Towers and Genie Francis, Stephan doesnt serve much purpose.
Too many characters on GH right now to give SN a good storyline.
Right decision. Cast is top heavy.
Not to mention totally boring. Good luck Stephen!
Stephen was the best part of the show. Huge mistake and missed opportunity.
One less show for me to watch.
I was waiting for him to leave,,,he belongs on Days of our Lives! I am crossing my fingers her returns as Steve “patch” Johnson! Yay for Steve and Kayla fans!
Sony owns both Days and YR, and from what Ive heard that havent used Mary Beth Evans’s Kayla much at all. I dont think theyre interested in revisiting that pairing. Sony is much more interested in the younger demographic these days. Sad but true.
All Kayla does is pour coffee and dispense advice. DOOL couldn’t handle writing a decent storyline for them like they did before. The would fail.
Replying to Ces, that is not actually true. Kayla is Chief of Staff now, she has been back since December 14th in a recurring capacity, and if they didn’t want her they could have cut her loose a long time ago. There is potential there. Not sure what this team would do with it, the last run was a Hogan Sheffer-cum-Dina Higley creation. TomWhit certainly was there at the end of their second, run, so that is concerning, agreed. But just saying, they’ve broght the hospital set back, they’ve gotten her out of the Pub and into the hospital, TPTB have shown that they’re more than willing to acknowledge people over 40 (and over 50) in real storylines now, and I think there is possibility.
I hope SN comes back to Days as Steve. If YR is going to let him go — totally nuts — then hoping something works out for a Days return so they can fix Steve and Kayla.
I’m torn, like you I was a huge Patch and Kayla fan. They were one of the true super couples of the early 90’s. So a part of me would like to see them come back together and thinks if put in the right writing hands, there still can be story to be told for these two characters. So if they reintroduced the character Steve as well as they did Kristen, I would love it. But it is a bust like Carrie and Austin or Billy then I rather have my memories than see them ruin the characters.
Uh, Mary…Patch died in September 1990 and was not resurrected until spring 2006. So i am not sure how you can say they were a true super couple of the 90‘s. They appeared for 8 months in 1990.
I stand corrected- late eighties, early nineties when you become my age the decades kind of blur together.
Mary Beth Evans – ala’ Kayla: Lights up my screen… with Bo gone… would Days, invest in a Leading Man? Wishful thinking that Patch could return…. however, I hope that DAYS/writers would start first, with the possible Kayla/Abe relationship first…
Bring him back to Days as Steve because Kayla needs her man and with Bo gone they need another male lead.
I would think that SN would go back to Days to join MBE and ED. Steve was the one who filled the void when Bo left in 87. He could do it again.
Fine by me. None of MAB’s characters ever clicked, and it always seemed like they never knew what to do with either. Personally, I liked William Russ from Boy Meets World in the role of Tucker.
Out with the new, bring in the old!
Would be glad to see him back on Days with Kayla.
And now the Chancellors will head the way of the Brooks family… slowly and surely written out and eventually forgotten. Losing a great talent like SN doesn’t do JC or JW any favors. JFP is going to make Y&R a showcase of her friends and favs, and the token vets who remain will eventually fade away to the occasional appearance around the holidays or funerals – because we all know no one goes to weddings anymore. With SN gone, I’m no longer interested in Y&R.
You might be right about JFP but I suspect Sony will have a say in her decisions and if the ratings drop because of her changes she will not be there for long. But as for Tucker, he was hardly a legacy character. The character has only been on the show for what two or three years? He wasn’t a vet of this show, but SN is a talented actor who got stuck with a badly written role that wasn’t well thought out to become a legacy character. But I agree losing both Phillips, Mac, Brock and others have made the Chancellors, a legacy family, woeful low on numbers on air.
Is there one person who knows for sure if he was fired or if he chose to leave??
We do not know if he was fired
or
if he decided to leave ..
Michael you left out the most crucial info for this story. Did Stephen quit or was he fired? People have this tendency to jump to the conclusion that actors and fired. But many times they jump ship themselves for various reasons. It hard to give an opinion without knowing that fact.
If he quit on his own accord, well I say good luck in the future. If Sony fired him I say thats a big mistake. He’s a great actor and so far Tucker has been an interesting character.
JFP strikes again, she doesn’t like SN much. She killed him off on GH.
Tucker was a waste of time. The only time I had any interest in him was at the very beginning when he was played by another actor. He was fabulous with Jill. The re-cast ruined the Tucker/Jill paring and the Katherine & Jill dynamic. The addition of Devon as Katherine’s grandson made it even worse. Maybe Tucker’s exit story will undo the mess MAB made of the Chancellors. *fingers-crossed*
The character of Tucker was ruined by MAB and as talented as the actor is I am ok with the decision to write him out. He would be much better back on GH or DOOL with better written characters. I am liking the new sets on Y&R and some of the new cast members. Really like Leslie and the fact she is getting story. If MAB had any idea how to write she would have been on this months ago. Abby returns in the guise of Marcy Rylan in January and this is GREAT news!!!!!! Eden is a character that has never been cast with the right actress. Perhaps when the character returns it will be with the right actress.
This has nothing to do with Tucker, but since you mentioned Abby- do you think they are planning to hook her up with the Green Energy guy that showed up a few shows ago? I could see a Big Bang Theory thing happening- the hip beautiful heiress investing in this nerdy scientist company- maybe a triangle with her and the mob guy and the nerd- what do you think?
I heard Abby was only coming back once in awhile and only on a recurring basis.
Not surprised. Tucker was a terrible character. Jessica Heap was also a waste.
SN is a gifted actor who turned a boring character into a complex one. Although at times he had little to work with in terms of script, he always brought in his “A” game and delivered a great performance every time!! There was so much unexplored territory with the Tucker character. Shame on Y&R’s new regime for failing to keep this talented actor!! Hopefully one day SN will return to the role.
I’ve never bought the story about Katherine having a long lost child. I found it difficult to believe she’d given birth to Brock as it is. However, I’ve gotten use to having Tucker around, and will miss him. Eden was never a vital character on this show, so she won’t be missed. We haven’t seen her in weeks already. Maybe now that Stephen is free, the Cassadines will be revived and he’ll go back to GH.
Nichols rocks; McCall does not. MAB never got Tucker McCall right and the potential of a vital actor/character to spar with Victor, to add dimension to Katherine, to give some definition to Devon and such… Well, it failed.
I am struck at the level of vitriol toward JFP and Josh. I am waiting to see. You cannot turn a soap around on a dime, and you have to allow for new characters and situations to allow for growth. The near incest nearly kills the show for me. I would welcome a new family and new characters. Just please give them compelling stories than link them to the legacy characters. It cannot be that difficult!
It is true you have to give new characters a chance. All the vets on right now, were at one time the new kid on the block. Victor was suppose to be a temporary character and look what happen, now the character is at that core of the show. If the story is there, if the writing is there, and the acting is there- any new character has the potential to be tomorrow’s soap fave. I’m with you, give it time,we won’t know for a while yet if things are as gloomy as some think they are. They are only about 55 or 56 shows pass the 10,000- which MAB penned, in soap time that is nothing.
Michael, you can’t tell me this surprises you? This is something JFP does on a regular basis. Since I haven’t watched Days Of Our Lives in years, Srephen Nichols needs to come back to GH as Stephan Cassidine. Just my humble opinion.
I have been a fan for over 20 years, and I cannot for the life of me understand what has been going on with the show. It actually started a few years back when they started letting go of fine talents and their characters who have served the show so well over the years. It perplexes me even more how some of the other actresses and actors remain on the canvas. I can say without reservation that I have seen better performances from high school productions. The show has always been character driven. I feel like now it is more about the outlandish stories they decide to tell. Their decisions are manifesting in poor ratings and will eventually lead to their cancellation. Sad, but true.
Tucker’s sell-by date was long past and it was time for everyone to cut their losses on the character. If Days could get their act together, it would be great to see a return. GH is a better show at the moment, but with so many characters already on canvas, it’s hard to imagine him fitting in.
I like Stephen Nicols ,but never really had much use for Tucker – crappy storylines.
I would much rather see him on GH.
As for the character of Eden – it drove me crazy when she showed up in Genoa City…this whole mysterious story that supposedly happened between her and Noah in Paris that never came to fruition….and canning Kevin Schmidt (Noah) BIG MISTAKE and I don’t like newest version of Kevin either (he seems to old to be Nick and Sharon’s son).
Not happy with Y&R these days.
I meant newest version of Noah ,lol !
YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! Time to go back to DAYS!!!!!!
The character of Tucker has never made sense or clicked with anyone. Perhaps it was due to the botched storyline that made Jill NOT Katherine‘s daughter, or the fact that Stephen never put much effort into the role. Whatever the case, this is no loss for the show. A high salary for a “name“ actor that did. Nothing for the show. That was Maria‘s specialty.
News
Christel Khalil Reveals She Almost Quit Acting After ‘That’s So Raven’ Audition, But Then Came ‘The Young and the Restless’
The Young and the Restless fan favorite, Christel Khalil (Lily Winters) is the special guest on this week’s edition of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart which dropped today on Tuesday, June 23rd.
During the interview with Rebecca and Greg, Khalil who had played Lily Winters on-screen since August of 2002, nearly 24 years with the CBS soap, shared how early on her teenage acting career, she was ready to call it quits in show business, after a heartbreaking audition for the lead of a new Disney Channel sitcom, which later turned out to be the hit seres, That’s So Raven, starring Raven-Symoné which ran for four seasons from 2003-2007.
Christel recalled what happened. “I was 14 and I had always auditioned for all these Disney projects. So I auditioned for That’s So Raven, it was between me and Raven-Symoné and it was called at the time Absolutely Psychic,” explained Khalil. “The character was this girl who had psychic ability, but then when Raven got the role, they named the title of the show after her.”
Photo: CBS
HOW A BROTHERLY TALK CHANGED THE COURSE OF CHRISTEL’S CAREER
Reliving the disappointment to Greg and Rebecca, Christel explained, “I lost that part and I was just so devastated, because for the network call there were 20 people in the room watching me, and I just have always had such performance anxiety. I just completely bombed the audition and it was terrible. So, I was just devastated. I was actually going to quit acting and then I got the final call for The Young and The Restless and I wasn’t going to go.”
It was Khalil’s brother, who actually got her to reconsider, and if he hadn’t, we would not have our Lily Winters in Genoa City! Christel recounted, “I was like, ‘You know what? I’m done. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m just going to hang out with my friends.’ I was just devastated. My brother, who is seven years older than me, and he had quit acting at the same age that I was at that time. He said to me, ‘I promise you, I actually really regret quitting. Just go on this audition and if you don’t get it, you can quit.'”
Christel’s screen-test for the role of Lily was actually with the late, great, Kristoff St. John who would play her father Neil (Later it was revealed to Lily, that Neil’s brother, Malcolm Winters was her bio-dad).
Photo: CBS
ACTING WAS EASY WITH THE LATE KRISTOFF ST. JOHN
“So, I went (to test for Lily) and I remember the screen-test was with Kristoff St. John. It was just so easy to act with him because he’s just so there. I remember just being on set, and that was my first time there for a screen-test where you were actually on set. I had never experienced that before. It was my first time being with an actor and having makeup done, which just helps you really be able to do your best work.”
Recalling the screen-test with the St. John, Khalil, “It was where I had to be emotional ( in the scene) and I always had issues being emotional at auditions. But I was there with him, it just came, and it happened. It was natural and I felt so good and it was amazing. It stands out in my mind a lot.”
You can check out the full Soapy conversation with Christel Khalil where she also discusses juggling motherhood, marital life, and the demands of soap operas.
Fan can listen to weekly episodes of Soapy on Audacy or wherever podcasts are available, and can watch full video episodes weekly on the CBS =Brand YouTube Channel. Whether a lifelong fan or discovering the genre for the first time, SOAPY offers a fresh, fun behind-the-scenes look at the stories – and storytellers – that define daytime drama.
Now let us know, over the years what had been your favorite Lily Winters story on Y&R as played by Christel Khalil? What did you think of of Christell’s recollection where she was up for the lead of “That’s So Raven” as a teenager, before it was even titled that? Let us know via the comment section.
This summer beginning on July 21, Netflix streams the return of WWE: Unreal for its third season. The behind the scenes docudrama series gives fans a glimpse of life in WWE and inside the writers room, as injuries, last-minute pivots, and career-defining decisions reshape WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 42.
WWE Unreal is taking fans deeper than ever inside World Wrestling Entertainment’s creative process, The hit docuseries will once again pull back the curtain on some of the biggest moments, boldest decisions, and unforgettable storytelling with some of the WWE’s greatest legends who’ve shaped the industry and new stars who are emerging as prominent parts of the future.
In the new season of ‘Unreal’ which consists of 5 episodes at 50 minutes each: John Cena says goodbye, a fan favorite returns, and the next generation of Superstars rise to the occasion.
Photo: WWE
The cast and WWE superstars featured include: the aforementioned Cena, plus Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan, CM Punk, AJ Lee, Trick Williams, Lash Legend, Stephanie Vaquer, Oba Femi, Bron Breakker, Chelsea Green, Matt Cardona, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
As previously reported AJ Lee revealed on General Hospital star Maurice Benard’s (Sonny Corinthos) mental health series, State of Mind, that she was part of the cast of WWE: Unreal.
WWE: Unreal production credits include: Directors/Showrunners: Chris Weaver and Erik Powers Executive Producers: Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Keith Cossrow, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser, Marc Pomarico Sr. Producers: Harley Glantz, Brian Decker, Michael Flynn Producers: John Galiani, Dan Gati, Jeremy Lundblad Production Companies: Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports, WWE.
So, what do you think of the loglines for the new season of WWE: Unreal? Who are you most excited to see featured in the behind the scenes drama from the list of WWE superstars and the twists and turns leading into this past April’s WrestleMania 42? Let us know via the comment section below.
If you have ever tuned-in to the soap opera genre over the last 50 years, and witnessed some of the greatest romances, drama, classic and outlandish storylines of all-time, you would have seen Deidre Hall smack dab in the middle of it as longtime Salem heroine, Dr. Marlena Evans.
It was 50 years on this date, June 21, 1976 that Hall first appeared on DAYS on NBC which was its home for 57 years before it moved to its current streaming platform on Peacock in September of 2022.
In Hall’s first episode she was introduced as a psychiatrist treating Mickey Horton (John Clarke) at Bayview Sanitarium after he suffered a complete mental breakdown. Mickey learned that his brother Bill Horton (Edward Mallory) was the biological son of Mike Horton (Wesley Eure) with his wife Laura (Susan Flannery) and that he had been lied to for years and years. From that moment on, the rest is television and soap opera history. Days of Our Lives put Hall front and center.
Photo: NBC
There were so many heartbreaking and shocking story twists involving the beloved Marlena. One of the first was the historic crib death of baby DJ (Don Jr.) in 1980, Marlena’s infant son with Don Craig (Jed Allan). The story had never been told on daytime television and Hall’s performances received accolades from TV critics to fans when Deidre received thousands of letters from grieving mothers who had gone through the same thing in their own lives.
DAYS also brought Deidre’s twin sister, Andrea Hall Lovell to the show as her on-screen sister Samantha, who had a grudge and even locked Marlena up in a sanitarium and took her place! Fast-forward and in 1982, DAYS launched the Salem Strangler story where everyone believed Marlena was his next victim, only it turned out to be Samatha. Jake Kositchek (played by Jack Coleman) was revealed to be the actual serial killer.
Later, Deidre would assume the role of Marlena’s look-alike, Hattie Adams in 2004, once played by her sister, Andrea. Over the years, Hattie has come back to Salem and caused trouble giving Hall a chance to play a different type of character, then the always upstanding Marlena.
Photo: JPI
THE LOVES OF MARLENA
Deidre Hall struck gold with all her leading men: from the late Jed Allan, to Wayne Northrop as Roman Brady, and of course, her enduring love story with the late John Black played by the iconic Drake Hogestyn. In fact, Marlena’s 1986 wedding to John (who was believed to be Roman at the time) remains a favorite of fans to this day.
TOP MARLENA STORYLINES OF ALL-TIME
While the list is long, here are several that were some of the memorable during Deidre’s five decades in Salem!
The Possession (1994- 1995)
Considered one of the most ambiguous, outlandish and unforgettable story arcs in soap opera history, then Days of Our Lives head writer, James Reilly went there! Marlena was possessed by the devil! That included; the demonic eyes, hissing at father John (Black) the priest, morphing into creatures, and the classic levitating in her bed! It became a cultural phenomenon and cemented Deidre Hall’s status as a daytime television legend. Just ask Ryan Gosling!
Photo:JPI
The Affair with John Black (1993)
John and Marlena’s forbidden love could not be denied and they had passionate affair, while she was still married to the real Roman. Problem was her daughter, Sami (Alison Sweeney) caught her mother having sex with John on a desk that changed Sami forever.
The Salem Stalker Mystery (2003-2004)
In a shocker, Marlena was revealed to be a serial killer who bumped off several Salem favorites residents who were all alive on the island of Melaswen (spelled “New Salem” backward). Turns out, she was manipulated and gaslighted by Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) to do the “killings” and had no memory of her actions.
The Pier Scene (1991)
This remains Michael Fairman TV’s all-time favorite Deidre Hall moment, which featured some of the best acting in the storied careers of both Hall and Drake Hogestyn.
In the story, a presumed-dead Marlena returns after four years. One foggy night on the pier, John is alone, and Marlena steps out of the fog to reveal herself, and is reunited with the love of her life. You can watch it any year, any decade, and in any moment, and it will have you reaching for the hankies again and again. (best music score fo a soap scene of all-time too!)
Photo: NBC
Kristen’s Secret Room Reveal (1997)
Marlena was caught in Kristen Blake’s (Eileen Davidson) elaborate web of lies, when she was held hostage in a secret wine cellar/room until John managed to track her down, leading to an iconic on-screen reunion. The classic catfight between Hall and Eileen Davidson was one for the ages.
It should be noted that Maison Blanche, Queen of the Night, Possession, Aremid and Lady in a Cage were all a part of classic DAYS storyline and all featured Hall at the epicenter of it from 1993-1996.
THE RECENT YEARS OF MARLENA
In recent years, DAYS brought back the possession 2.0 storyline under then head writer Ron Carlivati in 2021 where the devil leapt back in Marlena after taking advantage of a frail Doug Williams (the late Bill Hayes)
In 2025, viewers watched the end of the love story of John and Marlena, as John succumbed to injuries sustained in an explosion saving a vial of medication needed to bring Bo (Peter Reckell) back to life. Marlena has been a widow on-screen since June of 2025 as Hall as portrayed the good doctor struggling with her grief and to move on with her life since his death.
Photo: JPI
One story that never goes away is Stefano DiMera’s (the late Joe Mascolo) obsession with Marlena, his “Queen of the Night.” Even in death, Stefano is toying with her from the great beyond with the mysterious chess set and the missing “pawn,” that he had gifted John and Marlena in his will. The mystery is currently unfolding on all-new episodes of Days of Our Lives.
Tune-in to Days of our Lives on the Monday, June 22 episode as Marlena looks back at her 50 years in Salem.
Share your congratulations to Deidre Hall for this incredible 50-year milestone as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives in the comment section. Then let us know, what is your all-time favorite storyline or moment in the life of Marlena over the past 5 decades? And, just for kicks, and to celebrate this amazing milestone, here is Marlena levitating below circa Christmas Eve 1994.
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