Get ready for an action-packed story arc when several of Genoa City’s most prominent residents descend on Fairmont Crest for a fundraiser for congressman Martin Richardson’s (Brandon Claybon) campaign which kickstarts the four episode CBS daytime crossover event between Beyond the Gates and The Young and the Restless.

Beginning Tuesday, June 9 and airing though Friday, June 12 on CBS and streaming on Paramount+, in true soap opera fashion, a tornado is heading straight towards the D.C./Maryland area and strikes during the soiree, putting everyone’s life in peril.

Participating in the crossover from The Young and the Restless are: Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor), Devon Winters (Bryton James) and Abby Newman (Melissa Ordway). 

Photo: CBS

Now, as is soap opera tradition, when a tornado strikes your soap town, expect the story to be anchored on who is stuck with who? Is it an ex-husband, a former flame, a hot stranger, feuding sisters, anything and everything is on the table for this one, folks!

As a prelude to what fans will see, Peter Bergman and Daphnée Duplaix (Nicole Dupree Richardson, Beyond the Gates) visited the Michael Fairman Channel to give us the ultimate tease. Below are just a few nuggets we learned from the conversation.

JACK AND DIANE CAN’T SEEM TO FIND COMMON GROUND

Already on the outs with his wife, Diane, how does coming to Fairmont Crest impact a reconciliation between the two? Peter Bergman shared, “One would think you could build on that and that it would bring them closer together. A fellah can dream! Jack was hopeful that this little exit to Maryland might rekindle some things, might help things heal. However, Jack goes back to Genoa City fighting for his marriage.”

Courtesy/CBS

WILL NICOLE CHOOSE A MAN WHILE IN THE RUBBLE?

As for Nicole, she has been playing the field dating two men: Dr. Carlton Fitzgerald (Robert Christopher Riley) and Dr. Kial Rollins (Greg Vaughan), and she still has her ex-husband Dr.Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) wanting her back, might the epic tornado bring her some clarify?

Duplaix explained, “Nicole is still very much in, ‘I am having fun. I’m discovering myself. Do not give me any pressure. Don’t stress me out,’ mode. She does want to give her heart to somebody, but is still scared. So she’s like, ‘let’s just sit back and have some fun.’ As for Ted, I’m still friendly. I’m still kind (towards him).”

Both Daphnée and Peter reported they were most impressed by how Beyond the Gates was able to pull off a natural disaster ripping through Fairmont Crest, so the enormity of it could be played out on-screen in soapy fashion, but leveled up the Beyond the Gates way.

THE MAKING OF A SOAP OPERA TORNADO

“This was movie level quality on a daytime soap,” exclaimed Duplaix. “We used a completely different stage to be able to have the amount of people that we had in these scenes. It was pretty incredible and intense. I think everybody held their own from the front of the camera to the behind the camera, and I think the fans audience are going be not just surprised, but definitely satisfied.”

Twenty-five time Daytime Emmy nominee and a three time winner, Peter Bergman, certainly knows a thing or two about soap operas. Through the year, he has made no bones in previous interviews that he is a student of the genre and does watch other soaps and actors from those respective soaps. Peter was well aware that Beyond the Gates in its year and a half existence has delivered every time they have a major reveal planned.

Courtesy/CBS

ANOTHER SHOCKER IS ON THE WAY

Bergman agreed and added, “So, you are a brand new show. What do you know about what really works in daytime television? Let’s work the things that really work and those shows that have been on 50 years, are not looking for those moments. They’re just kind of keeping the whole thing going. These people are artistically and scientifically looking at what works. Beyond the Gates is a really clever show in that way. There are Cliffhangers left and right. Great idea.”

In the end, Duplaix and Bergman summed up what viewers are about to see best, with Peter giving us a major spoiler alert to be on the lookout for. “It’s all exciting. There’s twists, there’s turns. Things you’re definitely not going expect to happen,” stated Duplaix. “The thing that we are used to as far as natural disasters in the soap opera world are there, but the storylines around what you expect are going be really fun to watch.” Peter concluded with (and wait or it!), “Just when you think they just got through all this crazy wind, something happens that is just nuts!”

You can check out the full conversation with Peter Bergman and Daphnée Duplaix below from You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, followed by the official Beyond the Gates promo for the crossover event. We say, look closely at who’s with whom, and what is going down and compare notes from our interview with that, and let us know if you think you have some things figured out!

Now, are you looking forward to the crossover between Beyond the Gates and Y&R? what do you think will be the surprise twist at the end of the tornado episodes? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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.”

Photo: JPI

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.”

Photo: JPI

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.

Photo: JPI

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.”

Photo: JPI

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.