On The Young and the Restless, Nick Newman’s (Joshua Morrow) addiction to Fentanyl is hitting all-time lows. The Friday, May 15 episode saw Nick meet up with his drug dealer where he scored another baggie and took more pills, escalating his mood swings, outbursts and more.

While Nick wants Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) to hand over Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) to him now (she was keeping him stored in a guest room at the GCAC, but now he’s MIA). Victor (Eric Braeden) and Adam (Mark Grossman) and company, all are using the Matt/Nick rivalry as a part of the play to get Newman Enterprises back in the family. However, Phyllis looks to be setting up a double-cross and working another angle to keep the Newman portfolio for herself.

Meanwhile, Nick has truly gone down the darkest path of his life. During this week’s livestream interview on the Michael Fairman Channel, Joshua Morrow along with his on-screen brother, Mark Grossman participated in a chat and discussed all the complexities of playing this important storyline which has become a medical and social crisis across America.

Photo: JPI

FENTANYL REAL-LIFE VS. SOAP LIFE

“I did some research on Fentanyl, which as everybody knows is obviously a major problem,” explained Morrow when first finding out about his storyline. “We’re doing a different version of what a true Fentanyl problem looks like. We’re doing the more television version (if you will). Fentanyl is obviously a very scary problem. I’m trying very hard to stay true to the story while also properly conveying that this guy has an issue with it. When in all actuality, this drug is way, way, way more serious than we’re able to show.”

In intense and heartbreaking scenes, Nick told his father Victor, his mother, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and sister, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) that he had developed a drug problem, but was goig to get help. Joshua explains how he approached each admission to the Newman family members.

“Nick had to which I loved, go to three family members that didn’t know about his pill addiction,” began Joshua. “So, his explanations of what was going on with him were all very different. With Victor, he told him it was just shame: ‘I’m sorry I let the family down. I know you count on me, and I’m so sorry.’  With his mother, it was, ‘I’m okay, because I know that you have dealt with this. I’m going to be OK. I don’t want you to worry about me.” He says that because Nick knows what Nikki’s gone through. With his sister, Victoria, that’s his ride or die homie, his best friend. They are inseparable. He said to her, ‘You and I agreed, we’re never going do anything like this to the family because we’ve seen it. And, you know, we always have to step up and protect the family at any cost.’ Nick just knows that he is going to disappoint his best friend in that moment.”

Photo: JPI

WHO WILL ULTIMATELY GET NICK INTO RECOVERY?

So far, Nick says he will go to rehab, Adam says he is going to get his brother into rehab, and on and on. Problem is, Nick won’t go until he puts an end to Matt Clark’s reign of terror himself and wants to end the guy and his threat to all his loved ones. But the way things are going, he may not even make it that far to make his plan come to fruition. Leaving the question, who will make a big enough difference to get him the proper help he needs? Joshua Morrow weighed-in.

“Coming up, I think his mother is going to be pretty integral in helping Nick with this process,” revealed Joshua. “I think, I can comfortably say that without conveying too much of what’s ahead. Nick knows that there’s a completely different dynamic with his mother with this issue than it is with his father. Nikki knows what’s going to happen (in rehab). She knows what he can expect. Nikki can give Nick, hopefully, the blueprint on how to deal with it. So, we shall see.”

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Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) might also be in the ticket to Nick’s sobriety having actually battled his addiction to pills himself. Could Victor’s nemesis also be the person to save his son, which will either make Victor more determined to destroy Jack, or could it end the long-running feud for now if he helps out Nick?

“Jack and Nick have a very good relationship,” reminds Joshua to viewers. “I think that is certainly something that is in the cards, but I also think that Jack’s got a lot going on right now with his crazy super sexy, stalker chick (Patty). Jack’s dance card might be a little full right now, then to help his old boy Nick with his pill problem.”

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Then, there is Sienna Bacall (Tamara Braun), who is currently with Nick’s son, Noah (Lucas Adams). Previously, she dropped that her brother went though an addiction problem. Might she be the one to help Nick turn a corner? Can she even be trusted?

“Nick and Sharon (Sharon Case) both are not completely trusting of Sienna,” explains Morrow. “The credit for that goes to Tamara Braun’s (great) choices on Sienna. She plays her with always an element of ‘I don’t know what this girl’s doing or what her agenda is or what her past is?’ There’s a mystery always surrounding her. She and Noah seem to be pretty tight, but it doesn’t really give Nick a ton of good feelings yet. It’s probably mostly because of the Matt connection, but it doesn’t seem like a relationship without a ton of promise to Nick.”

Courtesy/CBS

GIVE ME THE BALL

This June, will mark Joshua’s 32nd anniversary with The Young and the Restless, and thus far this has been the best storyline for Morrow in his enduring career with the top-rated soap. Joshua knows the importance of being given something to play that is you own in the world of daytime drama.

“I’ve been saying that to Josh Griffith (head writer, Y&R), or to whoever was at charge at the time, give me the ball. Just trust me. I say it all the time. It’s a sports reference, obviously. It’s like everybody on the show feels, ‘If you just gimme the ball, I promise you I will deliver.’ We all want (as actors) to show everybody what we can do. This is tough work for me (in this storyline), but it’s very fulfilling work.”

ICYMI: you can watch the replay of our conversation with Joshua Morrow and Mark Grossman from their visit to the Michael Fairman Channel below.

Now, let us know your thoughts: Do you think it will be Nikki, Jack, Sienna or someone else that will be there for Nick at his darkest time and help him get into rehab and deal with his addiction? Share your picks in the comment section.

EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) is always in the thick of things on Peacock’s Days of Our Lives. Currently on all-new episodes his pet project to bring his sister, Lexie Carver (Nikki Crawford) back to life, seems in part, successful.

Meanwhile, his machinations with the women in his life continue as viewers wait to see just what he may remember about Cat Greene (AnnaLynne McCord) and his past, and what trouble he and Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’Brien) will stir up, and that’s only part of EJ’s story.

Recently, viewers learned at the reading of Stefano’s will, that the Phoenix’s Queen of the Night, Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) was bequeathed a chess set. In fact, Stefano left it not only for Marlena, but her late husband and Stefano’s ultimate adversary, John Black. Clearly, there is more to the story, after Marlena declined the gift and walked out without saying a word, opening up another mystery.

Photo: JPI

In a brand new conversation with Days of Our Lives leading man and villain, Dan Feuerriegel now featured on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, he previews just how EJ may be deployed into the mystery of Marlena’s chest set from his father, the iconic Stefano DiMera.

CHECKMATE

First, Feuerriegel weighed-in on what EJ truly thinks of Marlena. “Respects, but cautious. Marlena’s the Queen Bee,” explained Dan. “So, there are some people on DAYS that EJ will not mess with, shall we say, and Marlena is one of those characters.”

As to what is up with the chess set that Marlena was given and turned down at the will reading, Dan shared, “There’s some fun that that occurs with that chess board and shall we say, like a little adventure. Obviously, EJ is suspected of having something to do with this, but also, in regards to the will reading, he was shut out. So, he’s curious. EJ’s kept a little bit to the side about what it is, because it’s his father. However, it’s going to lead to some pretty fun stuff.”

EJ has always wanted his father’s respect, so might that be what drives him to make sure Stefano’s wish with Marlena is carried out? Dan weighed-in. “I think in the end, EJ will do what his father wanted. So, whatever that entails that’s what he’ll do. With this and the chess set, he’s a little bit out of the loop, which is infuriating for him, but it also gives him a lot of curiosity. He definitely wants to keep himself involved. But as I mentioned, he’s kept to the side a bit, but he’ll get his mitts in there somewhere.”

THE HARD GOODBYES

In soap operas, cast members come and go, and sometimes, often like a baseball team analogy, they are traded from one show to another, or their story has run out for now. But in soaps, never say never.

For Dan, he had to say goodbye to some very key members of his on-screen family when they departed Days of Our Lives for various reasons: his on-screen brother, Billy Flynn (ex-Chad, now Cane, Y&R), on-screen son, Carson Boatman (Johnny) and on-screen sister, Stacy Haiduk (Kristen/Susan, now Patty, Y&R). As DAYS fans know, the series tapes ten-months in advance of dropping new episodes, so fans can expect to see both Boatman and Haiduk firmly in their Salem roles for months yet to come.

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BILLY FLYNN

“It was a bit of a bummer because I had developed a close bond with him and he was a lovely guy,” Dan shared fondly. “We shared a lot of the same kind of humor and views on the world and things like that. We were able to chat and it was shame. But look, Billy’s got a big family now, and he needs to do what’s best for him and his wife and his family. And so, you completely understand it. Then, Connor Floyd came in and Connor is just as lovely. It kind of sucks because the guy that is more handsome than me leaves, and then is replaced with a guy just as handsome. I’m like, ‘okay, alright.”

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CARSON BOATMAN

It’s no secret that some of the best scenes were always between EJ and his son, Johnny. So, when Carson Boatman was let go from the show late last year, it was hard for all involved. “It’s a similar situation to Billy to be honest. It’s like the people that I loved the most moved on from the show and it’s sad,” shared Dan. “It’s because Carson and I were friends outside of the show. We would hang out and just like me and Billy we’d talk to with each other and everything like that and that just translated into (our on-screen) father/son dynamic.”

Photo: JPI

STACY HAIDUK

Since Dan became the new EJ DiMera back in 2021, he had the opportunity to work with Stacy Haiduk not only as EJ’s sister, Kristen, but as the wacky Susan Banks, EJ’s mother! Here he sums up his experience working with Haiduk and the respect he has for her as a performer.

“I adore Stacy so much. Whenever she plays (Susan Banks) my mother, it’s so much fun,” said Feuerriegel. “They give her so much dialogue and the way she talks is so different. Stacy will improvise a little bit here and there. But the amount of times I’ve had to bite my lip from not laughing because she just makes such great, fantastic, outrageous choices … and she’s also an absolute sweetheart. Then, to go from that, to the dynamic of Kristen where it’s very brooding and a very similar brother/sister dynamic, it’s fantastic. To be able to work with with her was really, really lovely. She’s an amazing woman and a fantastic actor. I know she’s at Y&R now which is great. But, that’s another a bummer for me. There’s been a few little heartbreaks for me, personally.”

Now below, check out our full conversation with DAYS Dan Feuerriegel now on the Michael Fairman Channel, where we touch on many subjects on the life and times of EJ DiMera.

Then weigh-in: what do you think is the story behind Marlena (and her late husband John) being gifted the chess set by Stefano? What are your hopes for EJ DiMera in the months to come? What did you think about the sentiments shared by Dan on the departure of several of his beloved co-stars? Drop your thoughts in the comment section.

This week, The Young and the Restless, Mark Grossman is celebrating the beginning of his seventh year as Adam Newman. Viewers first saw Mark make his debut on the CBS daytime drama series back on May 13, 2019.

Mark along with his on-screen brother and co-star, Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman) took part in a livestream chat on the Michael Fairman Channel were a myriad of subjects from current to past storylines, to his beginnings as the black sheep of the Newman clan were discussed.  In addition, Mark teased what he is looking forward to coming up in story for Adam and what he thinks lies ahead.

On recent episodes of the top-rated soap opera, Adam has been by Nick’s side, trying to help him bring down his nemesis and standing by his brother, after learning that Nick is suffering from a fentanyl addiction. Playing the good side of Adam has been rewarding but will he be the good-natured Adam down the line?

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THE EVOLUTION OF ADAM

“I think, Adam has definitely evolved a bit and he’s just not as reactive,” shares Grossman. “So, there definitely has been a lot of opportunities to where, maybe if he doesn’t always see it, his instinct is always going to be to protect the family. We’ll see how long it lasts.”

Part of the recent trip to Adam’s old haunting grounds in Vegas, reunited him with none other than Riza (Tina Casciani) which is where in 20189, Mark was first introduced to Adam going by the name of “Spyder.” But will seeing Riza spark something in Adam that is yet to come?

“It was amazing that they got Tina that played Riza all those years ago. So that was really cool,” expressed Mark. “We really didn’t know much about their relationship but after talking with our head writer Josh Griffith and kind of getting a little backstory that maybe there was more to their relationship. It was really fun to go back to Vegas, kind of back where I started. Who knows where that’ll go, or if anything will come with that, but Adam’s very happy with Chelsea (Melissa Clare Egan). So that definitely would throw a wrench in that.”

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BABY DRAMA HEATS UP

Meanwhile, Adam is still in the dark that his ex-Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) is pregnant with Billy Abbott’s (Jason Thompson) child and they are engaged, given Adam’s heartbreaking past with Sally and her losing their child, Grossman knows this sets up a potential emotional windfall.

“Adam’s going to find out and it’s going to definitely weigh on him. That’s a big deal, especially with Billy, who is a huge rival,” shares Mark. “There’s a lot there. We will see how the storyline goes, but there’s a lot of story to be had there. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re going to write for that.”

Joshua Morrow and fans in the live chat agreed that as Mark marks 7-years on Y&R, that they loved his performances surrounding Sally losing the baby. Grossman agreed it was one of his favorite stories to play to.

“Sally losing the bay was an excellent story, and Courtney Hope was phenomenal and that was a lot of fun.  It was obviously a heartbreaking storyline, but working with Joshua and Courtney and everybody else that was in that storyline, that was great,” expressed Mark.

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FIRST TIME MEETING TV DAD

As Mark recalls his first day on the set back in 2019, he certainly remembers the moment he met his TV dad, the icon, Eric Braeden (Victor Newman).  “I still remember the first time I met him walking on the set. He was talking to Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Rey, Y&R now Grayson, Beyond the Gates) at the time. I was so intimidated to talk to him. He’s just such a big teddy bear. I love working with him. It’s just been amazing to work with him and to get to be a Newman and share the scenes with him.  It’s been an honor and a pleasure. He is amazing. I just love that guy.”

Photo: JPI

FROM ONE AMNESIAC TO ANOTHER

With the Newman family undergoing so much drama with Nick’s drug addiction, Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) back in town, Victor trying to get his company back, and more, Mark gave his outlook for what fans can expect.

“We are going to have to see where the chips fall with Newman. As of now, Newman Media is nowhere to be found and Adam and Chelsea ae out of a job. So that’s definitely a priority. And as far as Matt Clark’s amnesia, I don’t think Adam believes him. After all, Adam had amnesia more than once, right?  Nick needs to figure himself out right now. He’s got some other issues to deal with. Adam definitely has his eye on Matt Clark and is a little skeptical and also wants to be there for his family.

So, what do you think will happen with Adam coming up on all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless? Will he continue to stand by the Newman family as they struggle to help Nick with his addiction and get Victor’s company back? Is there more to Adam’s relationship with Riza that we don’t know?

Will finding out Sally is pregnant and having a baby with Adam’s enemy Billy Abbott flip Adam out? Can Chelsea and Adam keep their relationship together without outside forces tearing them apart? Share your thoughts below and give a shout out to Mark for 7 years and counting as Y&R’s Adam in the comment section below.  But first, check out the full chat with Mark and Joshua Morrow below.