News
Y&R's Christian LeBlanc Named Power Performance Of The Week!
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
It’s been a few months since we have given out the On-Air On-Soaps Power Performance of the Week accolade, but that is about to change, because in riveting and key scenes on this week’s episodes of The Young and the Restless, three-time Daytime Emmy award winning actor, Christian LeBlanc (Michael) was once again in the spotlight, and boy … did he deliver!
The brilliant complexities set in motion by the Y&R writing regime has once bad boy Michael Baldwin desperately trying to keep his troubled son Fenmore (Max Ehrich) from going down the same path as he did. And with that comes drama between father and son, and husband and wife.
Lauren (Tracey E. Bregman) is beyond frustrated with her husband that he could choose and believe helping bullying victim Jamie (Daniel Polo) over their own son, Fen! On-Air On-Soaps previewed this story back in December with our very special interview with LeBlanc, Bregman and Max Ehrich here!
In key scenes on Tuesday and Thursday’s episode of Y&R, Christian LeBlanc reminded us all of just why he has those three Daytime Emmys! When Michael confronts Fen about Jamie, and the possibility he could face jail time for his actions, Fen pushed back and played dirty throwing Michael’s previous crimes in his face! It was here that the masterful work of LeBlanc was at its best. Horrified that his son knows of his past with Christine and Paul, and through his tears, Michael tells his son that it is indeed true. However, through years of therapy and begging forgiveness to all those that he hurt, he was able to change his life. Now Michael fears for his son, if he doesn’t change his ways.
And still later in a subtle and magnificent performance, LeBlanc listens as Jamie is brought to the Baldwin home to give his statement to Michael (who is the DA), with Paul present, of his account of what Fenmore had perpetrated on him. As Jamie gives his statement, Michael listens intently with tears in his eyes at the thought of what the more underprivileged Jamie suffered at the hands of his son! Next, Michael has Fen arrested and cuffed, as Lauren looks on and says she will never forgive Michael. This sets the stage for significant trouble for Michael and Lauren’s relationship! The question is; will this duo be able to withstand the riff that Fenmore’s troubled life is causing them?
In his portrayal as a conflicted father on the right side of the law, Christian LeBlanc’s range of emotions, and his ability to convey so much, whether it is in a emotional battle of words, or a restrained scene where you see it all play out through his eyes, gives him the honor of On-Air On-Soaps Power Performance of the Week!
Watch Christian’s ‘Power Performance’ clips below! Then let us know, do you agree with our choice? And, are you into this storyline that is tearing the Baldwin family apart?
General Hospital
Anthony Geary’s Husband, Claudio Gama, Shares Remembrance of How Much the ‘General Hospital’ Legend Loved Working with Erika Slezak
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been five months since the passing of General Hospital icon and eight-time Daytime Emmy winning actor, Anthony Geary. Since the news of Tony’s passing at the age of 78, broke last December 14, 2025, tributes have poured in from Geary’s co-stars, and GH even honored the incredible legacy of Luke Spencer on a special episode where the characters take a moment to remember him.
On-screen, Luke had died in 2022. Geary retired from the soap in 2015, to spend his life full-time in Amsterdam with his husband, Claudio Gama and only made one other brief appearance in 2017 to usher off Jane Elliot, who at that time was leaving as Tracy Quartermaine.
Gama, has continued to provide memories of his beloved husband over the past many months as he continues to mourn his loss. Now, with it being the 5-month mark since Tony’s death, Claudio took to his Instagram to share how Tony felt about his leading ladies, and in particular, in this post, six-time Daytime Emmy winner, and One Life to Live icon, Erika Slezak (ex-Viki).
Photo: ABC
It was back in 2010 that then ABC Daytime launched the What If series which featured crossover vignettes or mini-stories which crossed a character from one soap in their daytime line-up with a character from another soap. And of course, the one that every one waited for was to see Erika and Tony act together for the first time.
In fact, after Geary’s passing and as previously reported, Erika Slezak shared a statement, on her official website, Erika expressed, “I am so terribly saddened by the death of Tony Geary. He was a charming man, a brilliant actor and all together a very nice man. I send my sincerest condolences to his husband Claudio, and I will keep him in my prayers. We had such fun together when we did the What If crossover promotions in 2010. I thoroughly enjoyed him and loved watching him on television.”
LUKE SPENCER AND VICTORIA LORD MEET
In his new post, Gama wrote: “It has been exactly six months since you left to be up there, where the stars shine for eternity. I miss you so much every day. I miss your smile, your warm hugs that wrapped me in love. Rest in peace, my love. Max and I miss you and will always love you. Greetings to everyone from Amsterdam — it’s a holiday here today, Hemelvaartsdag (Ascension Day). I’m going to do a little work, then head back home to Max and continue sorting through more videos and photos. So many tears, but also so many beautiful memories, and those keep me going. Have a safe and healthy week”
Claudio then added, “Tony always loved Erika Slezak, a truly classy lady. As Tony would say about all the talented ladies he worked with, he was always a gentleman. I was just told it is 5 months actually but it feels like a long time.”
With that, as you can see in the Instagram post below, Claudio posted the What If Luke Spencer crossed paths with Victoria Lord, as they get stuck in an elevator together. Check that out, followed by the What If Series Promo. The What If series was the brainchild of current General Hospital executive producer, Frank Valentini.
Now let us know, what did you think about Claudio’s heartfelt message missing his husband, Tony? Did you love seeing Tony and Erika together in the What If series? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
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Dancing with the Stars
ABC/Disney Upfronts: ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 35 Adds ‘Savannah Bananas’ Jackson Olson, ‘The Bachelor’ Franchise Spin-Offs Not on Fall Schedule
On Tuesday, May 12 at the ABC/Disney Upfronts, there were several headlines coming out of it for the upcoming 2026-2027 television and streaming season.
First, Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson Olson will be taking some swings on the ballroom dance floor when he joins other celebrities already locked in for Dancing with the Stars season 34.
Olson will join already confirmed reality stars: Maura Higgins (The Traitors and Love Island) and Ciara Miller (Summer House). The full cast list and their pro partners will be announced on September 2nd.
Photo: SavannahBananasIG
SAVANNAH BANANAS COME TO DISNEY+
The news of Olson who has also become a social media influencer, comes out of the Disney upfront that also revealed that Disney+ will become the exclusive home of the Banana Bowl streaming live this October, hence the tie-in.
The Banana Bowl will feature the top teams in the Banana Ball league facing off for the season championship. Known for blending athleticism with entertainment, the game will include one of the biggest performances the league has ever seen, bringing together all six teams, along with its signature on-field showmanship.
NO BACHELOR FRANCHISE THIS FALL
Meanwhile, ABC revealed that a new season for the troubled The Bachelor franchise offshoots is not on the fall schedule where they usual place: The Bachelorette, The Golden Bachelor or Golden Bachelortte are no where to be found. This is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that there will be no Bachelor-branded series on ABC’s fall schedule.
Photo: ABC
The Bachelor will return as usual in the midseason in 2027, Grant Ellis was the lead as the man looking for love and vying for a woman’s heart in 2025.
All this, amid the turmoil surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette being pulled and currently never seeing the light of day after the domestic violence surfaced with her throwing a chair towards the direction of her child, while she got into a melee with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Ari Goldman, SVP, Content Strategy and Scheduling said of removing The Bachelor from the new season ABC lineup, “We’ve had to take a look at just managing the franchise properly. These shows have enormous fan bases, and we were so thrilled the year that we were able to launch Golden Bachelor and have it stand out in that fall season the way that it did. But I think that the usual cadence that we like to find ourselves in is really the flagship series in midseason and then having some summer edition, which we have already locked in on Bachelor of Paradise for next season. So this is more of a return to a steady state on the franchise.”
So, what do you think about Jackson Olson from the Savannah Bananas joining the new season of Dancing with the Stars? Do you like how the show is making efforts to cast social media influencers and talents with a mass number of followers to draw eyeballs to the reality-competition series? Meanwhile, are you for or against even The Bachelor coming back in 2027, or do you think its time to rest the entire concept all of its spin-offs for good? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Get ready, because on Wednesday, May 13th at special time, 6pm ET/3pm PT, The Young and the Restless Newman Brothers: Mark Grossman (Adam Newman) and Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman) will chat live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel in a conversation not-to-be-missed.
Currently in story on the top-rated CBS soap opera, Nick has found himself addicted to painkillers and especially fentanyl, in part, thank to the machinations of the return of his nemesis Matt Clark (Roger Howarth).
Nick is in serious trouble and Adam is trying to make sure his brother gets into a drug rehab program and get the help he needs; only things keep going awry and from bad to worse.
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NEWMAN FAMILY
In addition, with Matt now back in Genoa City claiming to have amnesia, Adam trying to do good for his brother and their father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), who is battling to get Newman Enterprises back from Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), the family dynamics are key to how this all plays itself out on upcoming episodes.
With Nick teetering on the edge, Adam who reconnected with Riza (Tina Casciani) in Las Vegas, might still find himself drawn into her web. Much to discuss with Joshua Morrow, who this June will celebrate his 32nd year as Nick while Mark Grossman celebrates his 7th year with us as the black sheep of the Newman clan having debuted back on May 13, 2019.
GOT A QUESTION FOR MARK OR JOSHUA?
Make sure to be with us in the live chat with your questions or comments for Mark and Joshua. If you cannot be with us live, you can drop a comment below and we just might ask it live during our broadcast.
For upcoming celebrity features, livestreams and special event coverage, make sure to “subscribe” to the Michael Fairman Channel.
So, do you think anyone will get through to Nick to stop using drugs? Will Adam fall back into more darker ways? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Anthony Geary’s Husband, Claudio Gama, Shares Remembrance of How Much the ‘General Hospital’ Legend Loved Working with Erika Slezak
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Agree. Christian LeBlanc was perfect with the bullying storyline as does his on-screen son, Max Ehrich (Fen).
Agreed! Christian LeBlanc is an awesome actor and would be great in movies. I am also loving Josh Griffith as a head writer. He is giving Christian great storylines to show his awesome talent.
Yes. I am enjoying JG’s writing too! Y&R is back……………….Thank you so much CBS!!!
Excellent pick, Michael – I hope Mr. LeBlanc submits either day’s episodes for Emmy consideration! This bullying storyline has been very entertaining & well-performed by all involved!
Christian is doing an awesome job. He is a wonderful actor. This storyline has become my favorite storyline on the show right now and I am looking forward to seeing how this is all going to end.
Yep I truly agree! Christian, Tracey, Max & Daniel were great!
Wow I am stun- it has been so long since I heard anything positive about this show that I forgotten what it is like — I agree CL did a great job, but I still find it difficult to believe Fen went being this nice nerdy guy to Ricky 2.0 just because he liked Summer and was jealous of Jamie. I think the actors are doing a good job portraying it, just find the premise of it is a bit of stretch given Fen has no history of behavioral problems– I’m incline to take Lauren’s view- that Fen is innocent and Michael is projecting his past onto his son. There has to be more to the story than what is being told. But congrats CL for giving an outstanding performance, reminding us fans there is still stuff to love about this show.
I agree! Those scenes this week have kept me on the edge of my seat! Very exciting!
With Friday, February 1 being the last day that we saw Hogan Sheffer’s (his contract expired in November and he was not kept on. So any material we saw up until the 1st of February did have some of Hogan’s writing in it) name in the credits as a part of the writing team and the last hold over from MAB’s regime, we can now breathe a collective sigh of relief and now know that anything on the screen that is written is written by the entire writing team that Josh Griffith assembled together from the time he was hired up until now. The only hold over really is Susan Dansby (who wrote for As The World Turns and was the writer who wrote most of the Luke and Noah storyline on ATWT), who is African-American and she was hired because of the bad publicity that former Y&R star Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla) gave the show due to its lack of diverse talent behind the scenes.
I too agree with Michael that CL has been killing (no pun intended) this storyline as have Tracey Bregman, Max Ehrich, and Daniel Polo. Of all of the bullying storyline’s that I’ve seen on daytime, this has been the most riveting bullying storyline to date. I suspect that when the Emmy nominations are announced in the Spring of 2014, you’re going to see most, if not all of the performers in this storyline having Emmy nominations. Josh Griffith definitely should also submit key scenes that his writing team has written for this storyline for Emmy consideration for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team.
But overall, Y&R as a whole is definitely on it’s way back to it’s glory days of yore and I for one cannot wait to watch each and every episode. It is so nice to see storylines and characters that actually make sense and don’t leave me scratching my head wondering what the hell just happened.
Great job by all involved!
Fantastic!!!!! CL did as he always does, delivers the goods.
Christian was awesome in his scenes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t up for another Emmy Award. Such a brilliant actor.
I agree. Both he and Tracey are awesome. I just wish the storyline weren’t so forced. Y&R just doesn’t flow organically like it did up until 2005. The new regime can take a cue from Cartini at GH and start mining this show’s rich history of interesting characters and stop forcing new ones on us.
Amazing actor I think he will be nominated for an emmy. The new writers are really bringing very powerful material. Keep up the good work.
Y&R has gotten it’s groove back. The writers are magnificent. Yes, I agree, Christian LeBlanc delivered Big Time. I was getting kind of fed up with him letting his family get away with murder. By right, Keving and Phyllis should be in jail. Now he is keeping it real and delivering as only he can. Let us not forget about Peter Bergman in his scenes dealing with his addiction. Another great talent. I am loving Michael. I take my hat off to the new writing team. They are Bringing it to the table.
Finally someone appreciates this great actor who always hits it out of the park..Not only is handsome, Sexy and so believable..I laurgh with him and i cry with him..CLB is delivering and I to am congratulating the writers for seeing this talented man front and center where he belongs..Christian has always made Michael real and you and you sometimes forget that Michael Baldwin is not a real person but a Y and R character.. I have always been a Michael fan and a Christian LeBlanc fan there is no better human being and truly one of he best actors on TV today..Brave Christian Bravo Josh..you are bringing me back to Y and R.
CLB was very moving and powerful in his scenes. He, Tracey Bregman, Doug Davidson, Max Erlich, and Daniel Polo have all been terrific in this story. It is tough to see such a strong marriage as Lauren and Michael’sgo through this, but I think it resonates more because we know how solid they are as a couple and how much they love their son. This situation can happen to any family. Thank goodness Josh Griffith realized the talent he had in Christian, Tracey and Doug as well as young actors Max and Daniel and wrote a compelling story for them. Michael and Lauren were used as support for other favored characters for too long and now are being given the opportunity to shine and have run with it. I hope we will see that a strong marriage can overcome such trying circumstances, Fen admits to his bullying and commits to being a better person, and Jamie can find love and Paul redemption with each other.
Great choice Michael. I am beyond thrilled to see CLB finally get a storyline again that showcases his amazing talent. He is well deserving of those Emmys; and it was beyond frustrating for the fans who know him to be the Powerhouse actor he is to see him be written simply as Victor’s lapdog all that time.