News
Y&R’s Jason Thompson Weighs-in on Billy’s Relationships with Sally and Phyllis; While Josh Griffith Teases Triangle
If you caught last Friday’s episode of The Young and the Restless, you know that Billy (Jason Thompson) and Sally (Courtney Hope) finally hit the sheets. In its aftermath, they clarified that it wasn’t “exactly” about revenge sex on Adam (Mark Grossman) and Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan), but that they have thought of being together for awhile now, hence revving up a new romantic turn. As luck would have it, who should see the two making out in public after they had sex? None other than Adam, Sally’s ex.
As to where the love life of the often self-sabotaging Billy Abbott goes from here may be more interesting than you may think, especially, because Y&R’s executive producer and head writer, Josh Griffith, talked about the romances in Genoa City as 2024 comes to a close to Soap Opera Digest. Josh teased, “I think the audience is going to be intrigued by a Billy/Sally/Phyllis triangle.”
Recently, Michael Fairman TV caught up with Jason Thompson to get his take on where his soap opera alter-ego is with two of the women in his life, Sally Spectra and Phyllis Summers. As fans recall, Phyllis and Billy were hot and heavy for awhile (when Gina Tognoni was playing Phyllis), until Billy found out she had slept with Nick (Joshua Morrow), so in turn, he hit the sheets with Phyllis’ daughter, Summer (then played by Hunter King) as revenge sex. Although, Summer had been relentlessly trying to seduce Billy for months, the two only did the deed one time.
Photo: JPI
When asked where he thinks Billy is at at his love life, the Daytime-Emmy winner, expressed, “I don’t know. There’s Billy and Sally. There’s Billy and Phyllis. I think working with Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) has been great. We feed off each other a lot. I think Billy and Phyllis have been there in the past, but they actually have an interesting relationship now.”
Photo: JPI
As to working with Courtney Hope, Thompson shared, “I’ve been loving working with Courtney. She’s so fun and so prepared, all that kind of stuff. There’s always so much story to tell, which I’m stoked (about), because a lot can happen with this character.”
Approaching Billy’s continued rise and falls in Genoa City, Thompson noted that Billy’s impulses can often lead to disastrous results. “Thats what I appreciate about him. I try not to put the guardrails on him,” said Jason. “He doesn’t put the guardrails on himself. So, I just try and live in that world.”
Photo: JPI
Check out our full conversation with Jason from Y&R’s 13,000th episode red carpet celebration below.
Now, let us know, are you rooting for Billy/Sally, Billy/Phyllis, or neither? If neither, who would you like to see Billy romantically involved with in Genoa City? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
No one. Why can’t he just be single? Sally meh, Phyllis? hell no. At least his relationship with his rapist is over.
As long as it’s not Chelsea I don’t care. Worst pairing ever.
Victoria. The only one who’s real with him and actually knows him. The only true love story he’s ever had. But at this point, even she deserves better than the manchild.
No to Phyllis. She hijacks every story. I would like to see Sally / Billy / Chloe. There’s alot of history with Billy and Chloe and ofcourse Sally Chloe and Chelsea. Kevin s m.i.a so Chloe needs to be set free. The character of Phyliss needs a break
A… Verry berry long one I hope❗️ gets in
EVERYONE’S face— WHY hadn’t she been
Punish d for the MANY CRIMES/HORRIBLE
things she has donre including murder, faking her in death! Why is that????”
I cannot stand Michelle’s portrayal of Phyllis since she returned. Gina brought the character to a deeper level and I miss her. And Gina and Jason were actually the best pairing I have seen for Billy Abbott since he took on the role.
well I have to disagree on Michelle vs Gina. Michelle Stafford is the original Phylis and then there was Sandra Nelson who took on the role before Michelle came back and then Gina. I love Michelle’s acting. She can command emotions, cry at the drop of a hat and then go into rage. She is worthy of her Emmy very much to me. Different strokes for different folks I guess Gina overacted to me with the neck jerks and such
Victoria is the best for him but I will say that Phyllis working for him and looking out for him while short lived was gold! Btw the character of Jill Abbott has been destroyed. Her treatment of billy is a hard watch can’t stand it !
Agreed
Well Said!
I am over the directionless Billy. We seem to be falling into an endless loop with this character and so many others on Y&R. What fun it would be to have Billy take charge and succeed at something.
Yes!!! He is such a great character. Let him win at a job or love life. Sally and Adam are the ones that have the undeniable chemistry!!!!
Yes!!!!
I can’t believe people still feel Gina was better in the rile than stafford . not one to put down anyone’s acting ability and it could have been the writers but it felt like Gina was playing a totally different character! Michelle Stafford is the one and only Phyllis
Michelle Statford plays Phyllis the best.
I do not care who Billy will be bedding..Couples bore me, same ol’ ..
Jason is 100 better as Billy than he was as ho-hum Patric…
Not Chelsea. Find someone who hasn’t been on the show. Bring in someone new for Billy and Phyllis. They both deserve it. No Victoria and Lily.
It has been ten years since Billy Miller left the role . I like JT but he has never captured the role for me it’s hard to get in the game when you have the third Billy trying to recreate Delia’s death etc. AH had dynamite chemistry with BM she has not had a good pairing since then . I have tried but can’t get into Jt version of Billy .
Neither, please bring Amanda back and put Billy with her. There is still so much story to tell with those two.
Give Billy time. I did not enjoy the switch of couples. Let the Abott family come together. Bring a positive to your stories. So worried about Jordan entering the picture. Wonderful actor but cannot watch her.
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.
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.”
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.
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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.
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.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Y&R’s Matt Cohen Talks Role as Compassionate Zookeeper in Rom-Com ‘Christmas at the Zoo’
Alice Halsey Returns to ‘Days of our Lives’ as Rachel Black – Find Out How Long!
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