Connect with us

News

47

B&B’s EP and Head Writer, Brad Bell Confirms Luna’s ‘Dead’ and Arrival of R.J. Forrester Recast

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Photos: JPI

The Bold and the Beautiful is stepping into 2026 with some changes to the younger set of the characters at the CBS daytime drama series. According to longtime series executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, any question out there that Luna Nozawa is supposedly alive, after she was run down by a car off-screen, should be put to bed.

In a 2026 preview discussion with TV Insider, Bell commented on the status of groundbreaking Daytime Emmy winner, Lisa Yamada (Luna) who in October of 2025 became the first Asian-American performer to win a Daytime Emmy in its 52-year history for her work as the villainess young woman with a penchant for murder, kidnapping and more.

Bell explained, “Luna is dead. We all saw it. I mean, Lisa Yamada — wow. And to cap it off with an Emmy and to have her bring levity and that spark in her eye and the unique delivery? What a joy she was to work with and what a wonderful person. She took that character and ran with it, and it was so wonderful collaborating with Lisa.”

Photo: JPI

With Luna out of the picture, the head honcho and scribe, says that in the new year, viewers should watch for a different set of twists and turns. “We have a new group of young characters being featured. We’ve signed Sydney Bullock as Miss Dylan and Brayan Nicoletti playing R.J. (Forrester). We’re at a great time in the show where you have that next generation to play with their core family members.”

With the official word that as had been teased over the B&B holiday party, Nicoletti is taking over the role of Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) son from Joshua Hoffman who last played the part from 2023-2024. The role has also been played by several other actors over the years including: Anthony Turpel, Jack Horan and Mace Coronel.

In addition, it looks like Bell is positioning and hinting at a rivalry between Will and R.J. which then leads to most likely a quadrangle involving Miss Dylan and Electra. “Now that Luna is dead, it’s smooth sailing for Will (Crew Morrow) and Electra (Laneya Grace) but that begins to see some bumps in the road,” shared the exec. “They know Miss Dylan is living in her car, so they’re going to find a little place for her to stay at the beach house until she gets her footing and finds that next teaching job. And we will have another Spencer/Forrester rivalry with Will and RJ, so that’s going to be some fun. Years ago, when R.J. and Will were born, we thought, ‘Well, we’re never going to be around to see these guys acting as adults against one another,’ and here we are.”

So, what do you think about Brad Bell confirming the death of Luna Nozawa? Do you believe the story has ended? Also, how do you feel about yet another R.J. recast? Are you interested to see the younger set now featuring Crew Morrow, Laneya Grace, Brayan Nicoletti and Sydney Bullock? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

47 Comments

47 Comments
oldest
newest

I thought Joshua Hoffman was great in the role, why the recast

Right? Joshua was a doll.

He was!

I WISH THEY COULD BRING LUNA BACK AS A LONG LOST TWIN THAT HER MOTHER NEVER KNEW EXISTED.

Luna was the girl I enjoyed her but I dont think Luna is dead I think bell is pulling our leg

He was a horrible actor, I was happy to see him go.

I so agree, he was a terrible actor at least for this role with Luna. He was to immature, with the persona of a highschool reject. Her child be cat as sometimes younger brother it something.

I am all for a RJ/Will rivalry, but making Electra a Forrester was a mistake because RJ is related to her. And IF Dylan is really Diana Marone, that means she is Ridge’s half-sister and RJ’s aunt.

The actress portraying Dylan has been upped to contract status, so she will end up being related to someone on the show. They need to bring Amber Moore back to LA with Rosie in tow. RJ could be paired with Rosie and Brooke would FLIP. There would also be some drama bc Amber could go design at LOGAN, Deke aka Lil Eric is there, so there is alot to mine there considering Amber was his adoptive mother. Or they could bring back Sally. The new RJ is HOT.

Electra gets on my nerves so I hope Dylan is mean to her!

Why would they paired Rj with Rosie they are cousins because Rj and Marcus is cousins Donna is Marcus Mother so brooke and Donna are Sisters

@ Richard, Ridge is not really a Forester he’s a Marone, so a RJ & Electra hookup wouldn’t be taboo. I don’t remember ROSIE, can you help me there?

Yep let’s look for hot actors that can’t act that’s the ticket . A different audience and that’s ok in the past you looked for a Tom p a David Tom a Billy Miller etc now days you don’t just somebody who looks pretty . Signed off and won’t complain you have politics involved with everything and I’m worn out .

Too funny, but so true!

This is great. We need fresh stories. Tired of the brooke taylor ridge triangle. I was beginning to wonder if B&B needed new writers. I will take a new generation instead. Great!!!

The problem is, we’ll… Different characters same stories .

I love the show. I wish it lasted longer. It has too many commercials and not enough story. Why can’t that last as long as theother two stories.

Agree!

I really was tired of the Luna story……always getting away with her antics. It had gotten old.

I definitely agree that the Luna storyline had gotten old and washed up just like Sheila. I mean they actually made her into a rapist, that was going too far.

If Luna came back I was done. They need better writers.

Maybe if Luna came back and had gotten help. She could come back as a good, kind, really helped people and fit in with everyone. Got to know her dad.

This RJ looks like he can’t act either, who is running casting lol

“Luna is dead. We all saw it”.

We did? I don’t remember seeing Luna’s body after Dylan hit her with the car?

I don’t believe that Luna is really dead. Why would the show get rid of an Emmy award winning performer? Plus, the actress playing Luna is excellent and is exciting to watch!

I think she had another acting job.

We saw Sheila dead how many times??? Lol

Bingo about Sheila dying. She changed her appearance to look like Lauren Fenmore on Y&R, was shot dead, and so many other times. Luna is fine cause she has other jobs, now an EMMY, and doesn’t want to give her life and opportunity to the SOAP WORLD.

Wheres Thomas in these teasers!! He and Hope have sooo much super couple potential! Less Ridge and Brooke and more Hope and Thomas!

Can’t we let Liam and hope be happy for 5 minutes?

Yes and then Liam falls of a cliff into a boiling cauldron of oil

I truly don’t understand the need to recast R.J. Joshua Hoffman was excellent in the role, he’s a much better actor than Crew Morrow. As for Dylan, I really hope the reveal is coming that she’s Sheila’s daughter. But they’re going to have to retcon her parentage if they want to pair her with R.J. since they’d be related if Dylan is Massimo’s daughter.

As for Luna, I really hope she isn’t dead. And frankly, I doubt she is, regardless of what Brad Bell says. We didn’t actually see her die, and she’s too good of a villain and actress to keep down for long. I have a feeling we’ll see her back in about 9 months with the baby she supposedly miscarried to cause drama for the show’s most boring couple, Will & Electra.

I agree.

I know Crew is painting by numbers it’s all very boring. I loved Joshua as RJ!

I like the Luna character but hated it when all the other people started attacking her/ racist overtone and Dr. Breckenridge bring more Black people on with good story lines and show more designs in the fashion not interested in the gay couple

Geez
Lets ask for representation for one demographic and lets shoot down another!

I don’t mind the plan just described. My biggest worry is Luna coming back. I’ve had enough of her and it’s the same old garbage. We need new people and new story lines and more new people to go around for relationships. I think everyone in Genoa City has been married to the same person at least twice and their
Kids are going to be marrying their cousins, aunts and uncles. Let’s pick this SOAP UP. I’ve been watching since 1976.

How do we know Luna is dead all we know is that she was hit by a car
I guess now we know from hearing from the writer Bell

I hate that the character Luna has been missed by my watching. I had a love her character. Congratulations for Lisa Yamada for earning a Daytime Emmy for Groundbreaking Actress.

Luna should come back

For the redundancy of B&B story lines, Brook -Ridge-Taylor; Stephie- Liam – Hope, Brook-Ridge-Bill-Deacon- Oliver-Rick-James. And any other Man BROOK hasn’t slept with.
What could LUNA offer in a new storyline ( even if she was made good and likeable)

I’m excited about the prospects of Fashion, and Fashion house rivalry between Forester, Logan, and potential crossover relationships between B&B,, BTG, and the Y&R (MARCHETTI, FENMORES, SALLY’S DESIGNS). Brings new competition and possible couples mixing and matching.

I don’t know any normal female that would put up with the crap from Ridge! If I was Brook I would have squashed him like a bug! I am sick of I don’t want you, because I want her instead and vice versa!!! time is alright but not 25,000 times! Move on!

It’s sounds like fun a fun sistuation but I dont think luna dead I’m just waiting to see where the story line is going with Mrs dylan.

Why would he lie

Because of soap blogs/bloggers who ruin the fun

Wouldn’t it be nice if Sally would return to help out Katie now that would be something else Spectral and Logan please bring Sally back

Sally is ensconced on Y&R.

It great back Douglas and Rosie as couple

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

Published

on

By

Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Published

on

By

Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

Continue Reading

Breaking News

‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis

Published

on

By

James Reynolds

Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.

Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.

Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET

SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE

Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.

Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.

As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Abe

Photo: JPI

In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”

James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.

You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.

Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

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

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

47
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x