News
Y&R’s Joshua Morrow Weighs-In on if Nick Newman Will Become Addicted to Painkillers (Exclusive)
On The Young and the Restless, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow), who is on pain medication following surgery for a broken leg, and against doctors orders is out of the hospital and at Sharon’s (Sharon Case) as the Monday, January 19 episode of the top-rated CBS daytime drama unfolds.
Nick tells his son, Noah (Lucas Adams) how he has Matt (Roger Howarth) stuffed in the trunk of his car as everyone tries to talk Nick down that he does not want to be responsible with doing away with Matt by making him disappear or ending the guy’s life.
Noah is pretty freaked out when Nick says he will not tell him what’s going to happen next to Matt as his son wants to inform the GCPD of Clark’s whereabouts. Nick’s behavior has Noah concerned that his change in attitude is all his father’s pain meds talking, and not truly how he feels nor what he would do if he were completely rational.
So, is this the beginning of what many Y&R fans are suspecting? That the show is about to tell a story of Nick becoming addicted to painkillers, something no one has ever seen the character go through? We went to Joshua Morrow for the answer, when during the Michael Fairman Channel’s livestream chat with Sharon Case and Morrow, the subject of fans being worried Nick is about to become the next Newman with an addiction issue.

Photo: JPI
ADDRESSING RUMORS OF AN ADDICTION STORYLINE AHEAD
Morrow responded, “I mean, it doesn’t seem like something that would happen to Nick. He is really too put together for something like that. I’ve been hearing those questions about that, as well. I’ll just have to say, let’s wait and see.”
Feeling like an out of control Nick would be way out of character, Joshua added, “Nick is like the hero. I don’t know … are fans ready to see him not completely put together and running around and punching people? I mean, who knows? I feel like I’ve played almost everything on this show and I haven’t played anything like that, so we’ll see.”
THE FALLEN HERO GETS BACK UP?
Asked if it would be a storyline he would love to play and sink his teeth into, with a bit of hesitation, Joshua expressed, “If it’s something that fits a story, and gives me something to play, and it affects other characters and really drives story, then sure. However, I’m very much like all the actors on the show. I’m very protective of my character. I like to have things that suit him, and fit what the character does. So, in a situation like what you’re talking about, I would lean pretty heavily on the writers to fit (within) those lines, and make sure that the story and the character are sort of aligned.”
You can check out our conversation with Shick – Sharon Case and Joshua Morrow – from their recent visit to the Michael Fairman Channel below.
Now let us know, do you think Nick is about to become dependent on painkillers? Do you think Matt Clark will escape and get Nick further addicted given we know that Matt wanted to get Noah hooked on fentanyl? This could become very upsetting for Nick and his family, if all this were to be come true? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.
I think it would be very interesting and Joshua is so wonderful and talented he could do it justice.
It is giving a painkiller addiction storyline and given Nikki’s addiction to alcohol, it tracks as a family trait. Plus, I know that Joshua Morrow will play it out of the park!
Totally addiction can run in families I think it would be a great story.
Dottie, I’m asking nicely again for you to not respond to my comments. This is the third time.
Michael, if you or your mods see this, please be mindful of it as well.
It would be interesting and could possibly give Josh an Emmy nomination! He is way past due for winning an Emmy!!! Go Josh!!
At the Abbott Mansion, Jack attempted to give Nick high-dose ibuprofen so hopefully this potential dependency on pain meds will not go into a major addiction spiral. Nick has too many people who love him to let it get super out of hand and can actually provide a true storyline of what families deal with when one has a major physical injury event and how to navigate pain management without getting hooked.
This storyline could be interesting to see Morrow’s acting ability , he’s been just pretty for so long .
The character is the son of an alcoholic as well as the son of parents who both have relationship issues and control issues . His relationships with his ex wives also
Imply addiction to love , sex and control
I’ve been watching y&r since it came on air. Lately it’s getting to be just habit. Recycling the same old crap with no new twists. Ian still being alive and torturing Mariah is really crappy. Nick obviously getting a drug habit… not bringing back decent characters like Paul Williams or his son, who probably had a kid with the girl just before his fake death… Sharon is so trite it’s ridiculous. Never liked her but these days I damn near ff anything with her. Bringing back Cane (Goddard) would of been great, but why use a new Cane instead of a new or different character. Phyllis as the creator of ai program would of been better.
I’m just bored and disillusioned with it and my years of devotion is the only reason o bother these days.
I really don’t like character of Phyllis. She is obnoxious, trys her “feminine wiles” on anything with pants. Awful mother figure. Kind of well-heeled trash character. Sharon is a relatable character–always have liked her. Great mother; bit of a sing-songey voice that’s not attractive though. Wish things would heat up with Nick! They do that very well!
Don’t like Phyllis at all! Always acting seductive & ya just wanna laugh. Sharon a great character–lots of depth. Good mom. Kind & relatable. Though voice is sometimes sing-songey! Have Nick & S heat up–they do that really well! And we love!!
General Hospital
Chris McKenna Reportedly Out as ‘General Hospital’s’ Jack Brennan

As ABC’s General Hospital continues to make casting additions in front of the camera; a new report indicates that Chris McKenna is the next contract player to be written out of the show as his storyline as Port Charles WSB bureau chief, Jack Brennan, is coming to end this fall.
According to sources close to the situation, who informed Soap Opera Network, McKenna will exit the long-running soap opera when Jack is killed-off the canvas. The outlet shares, Brennan’s death will come about as the soap, “leans heavily into storylines surrounding the World Security Bureau (WSB).”
McKenna, who previously appeared on the soaps when he was 12 as a young Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live from 1990-1993, then as an adult as Mark Harding on The Young and the Restless from 2014-2015, and next on The Bold and the Beautiful in the short term role of Dr. Hayden, began his run as GH’s Brennan back in February of 2025, replacing Charles Mesure in the role.

Photo: ABC
JACK’S ROCKY ROAD TO ROMANCE
In fact, McKenna won the part over Daniel Goddard and Daniel Cosgrove, who eventually were cast in other roles on General Hospital, that of Henry Dalton and Ezra Boyle, respectively. Chris informed his fans via X, back in August of 2025, that he was put on contract at the daytime drama and thanked them for helping make it happen.
Chris told Michael Fairman TV how it was to step into the role previously played by Charles Mesure, “I knew the challenge it was going to be and I had a like 0nly five days to get my head around it, so I was ready for it. Sure, it was challenging, but I was up for it. I was a recast before on The Young and the Restless.”
On-screen, Jack became romantically involved with Carly Spencer (Laura Wright), but that went bust when Carly learned Jack was not up front with her and had secretly enlisted her daughter, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) to join the WSB. Over months, Carly plotted to get revenge on Jack, and suddenly, Valentin Casssadine (James Patrick Stuart), Jack’s mortal enemy, came into the picture and he had fallen for Carly and she for him.
Now, Jack has started up a relationship with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) and has found himself in situations stooping to lows to help Nina and her criminal daughter, Willow Cain (Katelyn MacMullen) out of jams, especially where Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) is concerned.

Photo: ABC
REUNITING WITH ERIKA SLEZAK
Last fall, Chris got a thrill of a lifetime when his OG on-screen mother from One Life to Live, the iconic Erika Slezak (ex-Viki) took on a guest role on General Hospital as Ronnie Bard, the secret sister of Monica Quartermaine (the late Leslie Charleson). While the two did not have a storyline together, Chris did share some tender moments reconnecting with Erika on the set,
McKenna has a laundry list of primetime credits including: State of Affairs, Good Trouble, Lucifer and Castle, where in an ironic twist he appeared alongside another Joey Buchanan none other than Nathan Fillion.
So, how do you feel if the report holds true and GH is killing off Brennan and Chris McKenna would exit the show? How do you think Brennan will die on GH? Will he be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and someone will take him out? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.
All My Children
‘All My Children’ Movie Writers for Lifetime Revealed: Ron Carlivati, Jamey Giddens and Leo Richardson

This week began and as reported with a spotlight article on Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos and how their production entity, Milojo, has been teeing up the All My Children reboot with Lifetime.
The L.A. Times featured the married couple, co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark, and former All My Children cast members (where they met and fell in love) about their plans to bring two All My Children movies to Lifetime and how they are working with the Agnes Nixon estate to make it come to fruition,
On Wednesday, it was revealed by Daytime Confidential, that All My Children reboot producer, Andrew Stearn handpicked none other than Ron Carlivati (ex-head writer, One Life to Live, General Hospital and Days of our Lives) and Jamey Giddens (who is the new co-head writer of The Young and the Restless, following his tenures on the writing teams of Beyond the Gates and Days of Our Lives), as the two scribes who will bring the first of two of Kelly and Mark’s All My Children movies to the page.

Photo: IMDb
RON CARLIVATI AND JAMEY GIDDENS CONFIRM THEIR BOARDING THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE PROJECT
The second installment is said to be written by primetime writer Leo Richardson whose credits include: Star, Katy Keene and more recently the Penn Badgley (ex-Phillip Chancellor IV, The Young and the Restless) starring series, You.
Richardson also wrote for three years on the U.K.’s long-running soap, EastEnders. All My Children revival fans will recall Richardson’s name was attached as the writer for the first incarnation of the All My Children movies, entitled, Pine Valley.
Ron Carlivati took to X and confirmed he is indeed boarding the All My Children movie project. Carlivati shared, “So excited to share this news! Thanks to Andrew Stearn, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini and the Agnes Nixon estate for entrusting Jamey Giddens and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime! Stay tuned!”

Photo: Jeremy Smith/imageSPACE
Jamey Giddens confirmed DC’s announcement by taking to his account on X and expressing, “I’ve been booked and busy in 2026. Thanks to Andrew Stearn, the Agnes Nixon estate, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for entrusting Ron Carlivati, and me with the first of two planned All My Children movies for Lifetime!”
Some fans seemed to question how Giddens could be writing for the first All My Children movie at Lifetime, when he is the new co-head writer at The Young and the Restless with Dan O’Connor. Jamey answered that head on via X and explained, “We turned in our All My Children script months ago. My sole focus as of this past Monday, is Genoa City, Wisconsin! #YR”
ERICA KANE, MARIA SANTOS AND HAYLEY AND MATEO SANTOS TO APPEAR IN THE ALL MY CHILDREN MOVIE REVIVAL?
In the planned stories, Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane and Eva LaRue’s Maria Santos will be two characters whose lives we will get to see for the first time since the series was canceled by ABC back in 2011 after 41 years on the air. As well, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos confirmed they will make brief appearances on-screen; one could assume as Hayley and Mateo Santos.
“It’d be wonderful to give the fans something that they’ve been yearning for so many years,” shared Mark Consuelos to the LA Times. “All My Children gave me my family. I met my wife there. It gave me my start in the business. It gave us so much. It would be a dream to be able to give back.”
So, what do you think of Ron Carlivati and Jamey Giddens getting nod to write the All My Children movie #1 script and Leo Richardson #2? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Ryan Paevey Open to Return to ‘General Hospital’ to ‘Stir the Pot if Cassius Could be a Good Agent of Chaos’

On General Hospital, Ryan Paevey wrapped his comeback to General Hospital on the July 6 episode, when it was revealed that Cassius Faison was not dead, but being held by the WSB thanks to Z (John Oliver).
It was Z who gave Cassius an ultimatum: a one-way ticket to prison or a death sentence, or to become an agent himself! We never got the answer on-screen, but suffice to say, Cassius is still out there somewhere, but we can assume he is working for the WSB.
GH fans were thrilled to see Paevey back on the ABC daytime drama series where he initially played the very popular Detective Nathan West from 2013-2018. It had been over 7 years until Ryan made a return to his former soap stomping grounds when on-screen in September of 2025, he arrived in Port Charles as a very much alive Nathan, who was actually Cassius impersonating his late twin brother.

Photo: ABC
Over this past weekend, Paevey appeared at the annual GH Fan Club Weekend in Burbank, California, where according to a report from Soap Central who was on the scene; when a fan asked Ryan if he would make another visit to the soap opera in the future, he explained, “That’s a ‘Frank Chat,’ referencing a discussion would need to be had with Frank Valentini, GH’s executive producer.
A CASSIUS FAISON SIGHTING ANYTIME SOON?
Ryan also added, “I’m a bit of a drifter. So, I’m not sure that I want to go back and sign forever. Doing so took a lot of things out of my life, stuff that is valuable to me.” Paevey also explained while he was away from GH he was caretaker to his parents and working on his Fortunate Wanderer jewelry business and more.
However, Paevey concluded his thoughts on the matter with, “But, yeah, I would come back and stir the pot if Cassius could be a good agent of chaos… a conversation might be had with Frank about exactly what ‘not dead’ means.”
All this to say, would you like to see Ryan make another comeback to General Hospital? This time as WSB agent Cassius Faison? Do you think he would help out his sister, Britt and his mutter, and even Josslyn, if they got into serious future trouble? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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