Table of contents for March 25, 2019 in ABC Soaps In Depth

The In Depth Story: The fates have not been kind to poor Oscar and Josslyn. Even their attempt to get away from their troubles by hanging out with their pals in Niagara Falls took a disastrous turn when their attempt to make love for the first time instead landed him in the hospital following a seizure! Can these two adorable kids find a little bit of happiness even as his illness casts its dark shadow over them? “They’re simply trying to live what seems to be a normal teenage life,” sighs co-headwriter Shelly Altman, “and yet there is this ticking bomb which could dash all their dreams!” “There is this ticking bomb which could dash all their dreams!” Eden McCoy (Josslyn) admits that the situation is hard on her alter…

GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Kelly Monaco might deserve a Grammy as much as this Gold Star, because in her hands, Sam played Shiloh like the proverbial fiddle! The Con Is On Having set herself up as both reluctant to trust Shiloh and intrigued by him, Sam let herself be convinced to go on a “pilgrimage” with him and even climb the staircase at his creepy abandoned tower. He was in his element, spouting Dawn Of Day talk to outmaneuver her, but each time Sam lost ground, she made it fit her play. It was only in the moments that Shiloh didn’t see that Sam betrayed herself to viewers. Not only did she surreptitiously call Jason so he could listen in, but when her face was hidden, Monaco let it reflect Sam’s growing…

Blackmail is never a good way to start a marriage, but that didn’t stop THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Summer from using the fact that she’s the only match as a liver donor for Lola to force Kyle down the aisle! And while the hunk has agreed to exchange vows with the beauty, his acquiescence shouldn’t be mistaken as a sign that he’s feeling good about the situation! Sighs Michael Mealor, who plays the put-upon groom: “Kyle’s like, ‘I’ve told you time and time again that [Lola] is the woman that I love. And now you’re going to [twist my arm] into marriage? Why would you do that, Summer?’” The bride, of course, knows exactly why she is doing that! “Summer really is in love with Kyle,” defends her portrayer,…

When Melody Thomas Scott snagged the role of THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Nikki — the poor gal from the other side of the tracks with dreams of stardom — viewers were smitten. Forty years later, they still are! In honor of our favorite blonde, let’s take a walk down memory lane with her portrayer! “Oh my gosh, I had forgotten how low Nikki had sunk!” Scott says. “What stands out for me is the dichotomy of how sick she was compared to how normal she looks. The casual passerby would never have guessed she was a serious alcoholic until she took a swig out of her brown paper bag. And what was the well-known Nikki Newman doing in a public park in broad daylight, risking drinking in front of…

GH Luke & Laura 1979 Love was always at the root of the future Luke and Laura Spencer’s relationship — only it wasn’t necessarily love for one another. Luke, a scoundrel to the marrow, was called to Port Charles by his kid sis, Bobbie. She was determined to drive a wedge between her sometime bedmate, law student Scotty Baldwin, and Laura Webber, his too-perfect-for-words girlfriend. Heaven — or would that be hell? — knows, Bobbie came to the right person. But even from the first time that Luke found himself face to face with the young woman he was supposed to erase from Scotty’s life, the troublemaker seemed to sense that she was destined to become much more than a mark. After she walked away from the encounter, with him…

FYI The Artist: Hall’s newest hobby is water-color painting. Namesake: Marlena’s wild-child daughter, Sami, was named for her Aunt Samantha, who was played by Hall’s real-life twin sister, Andrea. Sign Of The Times: “I took sign-language classes for a couple of years at a local college,” Hall reveals. Hurray For Hattie: Playing Marlena’s look a like “allows me more creativity,” says the actress, “and she’s way outside the margins.” Deidre Hall (Marlena, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) has no trouble recalling some of the silly pontifications of childhood. “Like ‘Would you rather lose the ability to speak or be deaf? Would you rather be blind or…’ You know, we were crazy kids!” she shares. “And across the board, what was the one thing nobody ever wants to lose? Their eyesight!” It…

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL Hope met Flo, who was working at Bikini Bar. But before Flo’s guilt prompted her to tell Hope the truth about Beth, Zoe interrupted and introduced the Vegas transplant as Phoebe’s birth mom. Already rattled by his wife’s suggestion that he dump her for a life with Steffy, Liam was further unnerved to discover that Hope had met Phoebe’s biological mom. After bumping into his old high school girlfriend, Flo, Wyatt invited her to a friendly dinner party at his home. She expected to meet Sally, but was floored when Hope also showed up with Liam! A tension-filled dinner ensued, culminating with Flo urging Hope to try to have another child. When Zoe saw a social media post of Flo hanging with Wyatt and Hope,…

GH and PORT CHARLES alumna Carly Schroeder — who grew up before viewers’ eyes as Scotty and Lucy’s daughter, Serena — is taking a break from Hollywood to serve our country. “For 22 years, I’ve played dress-up for a living,” she wrote on Instagram. “As an actress, I’ve been kidnapped, gone blind, nearly eaten by lions and murdered on more than one occasion. I tormented Lizzie McGuire’s little brother on the Disney Channel, was a dolphin trainer, the first female soccer player on an all-boys team, and Harrison Ford once rescued me during an intense home invasion. That’s exciting and all, but in January, I decided to raise my right hand and swear into the United States Army.” A graduate of California Lutheran University, Schroeder joined the Army’s Officer Candidate…

IN Why Co-Star Feels “Blessed” To Have Ingo Rademacher Back! Ingo Rademacher is set to bring Jax back to GENERAL HOSPITAL sometime this spring, and there isn’t anyone more thrilled than his on-screen daughter, Eden McCoy (Josslyn)! The In Depth Story: With GH remaining mum about when and why Jax will pop up in Port Charles, fans are pretty excited — and so is McCoy! “Oh, he’s the best ever,” she gushes to Soaps In Depth. “He’s one of my favorite people alive. He’s so talented. I could go on forever about him. And we get along so well.” Rademacher’s been playing the role on and off since 1996, and when the Aussie returned to the soap in 2016 after a long hiatus, Jax’s daughter had been SORAS’d and recast.…

FYI Twitter Handle: @parryshen. Shy Guy: The introvert says, “When the cameras turn on, I’m able to turn it on.” Fanboy: Shen’s “never asked anybody ever for their autograph” — except childhood hero Tristan Rogers (Robert). Playtime: “I wasn’t a gamer… until I started voicing video games,” Shen admits. Although GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Brad has come a long way from the remorseless conniver that he once was — especially since falling for Lucas — his part in Nelle’s baby swap has him once again scrambling to keep a secret. We might argue that he’s become another of the scheme queen’s victims, but not everyone sees it — or the character — that way. “There are still plenty of people who find him despicable,” says portrayer Parry Shen. “On-line, I always see…

Having Faith GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Josh Swickard (Chase) comes from a family of performers, so it’s no surprise he caught the bug. “The rule growing up was you had to play instruments, sing and do all that good stuff,” he shares. But as the son of a pastor, Swickard didn’t quite follow in his father’s footsteps. “All of my sisters’ husbands are worship leaders at their churches,” he notes. “But I don’t think it’s in the cards for me to straight-up go be a pastor. Still, no matter what career you pick, you can talk about God. I’ve had some of my favorite moments talking about my faith in night clubs at 4 in the morning. I don’t think you need to be in a certain place to have those conversations.…

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Scott Clifton kicked off 2019 with a grueling storyline — namely, the aftermath of losing a child. Though Beth’s supposed death has knocked the wind out of Liam (and flat-out devastated his wife, Hope), Clifton says he’s making the most of it. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to sustain an emotional state for as long as this one,” he says, “but there have been pockets of really rewarding storytelling, which has been fun to do.” Case in point: The scene in which Liam broke the news to Hope that their daughter died in childbirth (or so they thought) left viewers in emotional shambles. “I had to walk this tightrope,” says the actor, referencing Liam’s reluctance to come right out and drop that bombshell in…

It’s hard to think about ALL MY CHILDREN’s young Greenlee without also remembering the yin to her yang, Leo. “I really loved the sense of humor and passion in their relationship,” Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) recalls. “It was natural between them.” Having developed a friendly rapport while Greenlee was entangled with Jake and Leo remained in a marriage of mercy with a dying Laura, the lovelorn duo breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally free to be together. They Didn’t Want To Tape Leo’s Death Alas, more obstacles — amongst them, Leo’s maniacal mom, Vanessa — got in the way. In fact, it was in trying to save a kidnapped Greenlee from her that Leo died tragically. Rather than giving Vanessa the diamonds demanded in exchange for his lady…

It’s been suggested that art imitates life. Hall believes that DAYS is a prime example of that, because it’s “the show that does topical things very well.” Even in the face of the crazier storylines, her long-running, stalwart character is one of the few on the canvas who has stayed the same (unless you count her demonic possession, but we digress…). “Marlena is the person you want to go to whenever you have a problem, and she’s been written that way for over 40 years,” the actress suggests. “She is consistent, reliable, [and yet] she’s still romantic and funny.” While some cast members find their characters taking a hard left following a hiatus, Hall says that she never worried about that, even when she stepped away in the late ’80s…

The In Depth Story: In Mommy Group Murder, Carnes and THE ORIGINALS alum Leah Pipes star as new parents Natalie and Ryan, who leave behind the big city for small-town living. “Natalie’s suffering from postpartum depression and dealing with the loss of her mother, so she’s a bit lonely, but then she’s taken in by this mommy group with all these women with very distinct personalities,” sets up Carnes. “My character plays the role of the supportive husband. He’s her rock. The first half of the movie is very much a drama about a family that’s working on creating a new life.” Of course, this being Lifetime, things slowly take a dark turn. And while DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Kate Mansi (ex-Abigail) taps in as one of Natalie’s new mom…

The In Depth Story: A spokesperson for Y&R has confirmed that Davidson was on set taping in mid-February, “and that episode will air on Monday, March 25.” Davidson’s longtime castmate, Eric Braeden (Victor), was the first to let fans know about the Daytime Emmy winner’s return when he tweeted a picture of the two of them at Y&R with a sly “He’s back!” caption. Shortly afterwards, Davidson himself weighed in via Twitter. “Okay! So the cat is out of the bag,” the actor wrote, quickly expressing his appreciation to the many fans who have been tweeting him throughout his absence. “None of any of this would happen without all of your undying loyalty, support and kindness. All of you are the reason Paul is back on the canvas. Thank you…

IN Look for GH alum Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny) to take over the role of DAYS OF OUR LIVES villain Stefan from former Port Charles costar Tyler Christopher (ex-Nikolas) before the end of March. During a recent STONE COLD AND THE JACKAL podcast, Barash explained, “I was offered this great, temporary job… To me, it was a no-brainer to accept [it]. Not only is [DAYS] a great place to work, but there comes a time where you decide, ‘I’m gonna provide for my kid, and I’m gonna do whatever that takes.’” Since leaving GH, Barash has steadily worked in primetime and said that it took some time to readjust to the grueling production schedule of daytime. “I thought, ‘How am I going to do this? I’m going to take it a…

Q: What word or catchphrase irritates you? Donnell Turner (Curtis, GH) “I can’t stand when people say, ‘I could care less’ instead of the actual phrase, ‘I couldn’t care less.’ I’m not sure people are aware of what they’re saying.” Sharon Case (Sharon, Y&R) “Well, I definitely hate ‘root canal!’ Those are my least favorite words in the English language. Why couldn’t they have named it something else? It sounds awful!” Karla Mosley (Maya, B&B) “‘Panties.’ It’s so weird. It’s never appropriate.” Annika Noelle (Hope, B&B) “I hate that people call white tank tops ‘wife-beaters.’ I think it’s a bit old and antiquated and kind of not the nicest thing to call it.” Kyle Lowder (Rex, DAYS) “I hate it when people say, ‘Look, I have to be honest with…

It wasn’t until Laura was a tween that she found out that her mother was Lesley Williams (right), not Barbara Vining. Laura so completely blacked out her role in David Hamilton’s death that she was stunned when the terrible memory returned. Only at the end of Laura’s captivity with the Cassadines was she informed that true love Luke Spencer was not, as she’d been led to believe, dead. Later, Laura’s jaw would drop again and again upon discovering that Lesley wasn’t dead, and neither were her sons, Lucky and Nikolas (well, at least the first time he “died”). The return of another awful memory (left) clued in Laura to the fact that she’d once killed stepfather Rick Webber’s mistress. The existence of granddaughter Charlotte was a lovely surprise for Laura;…

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Donna was hanging on to some intense feelings for her ex-husband, Eric, when she returned to the scene this fall, but could another ex, Justin, still be in the running for her heart? Justin hasn’t had a love interest since he and Donna’s amicable split back in 2011, meaning he’s fair game (whereas Eric is quite happily married to Quinn these days). In recent weeks, Donna has spent time with Justin strategizing about how his boss, Bill, might reunite with her sister, Katie, but perhaps they, too, have some unfinished romantic business! “Jennifer [Gareis, Donna] and I had a lot of chemistry right from the beginning, and that’s something you can’t script,” says Aaron D. Spears (Justin). “I don’t know if Justin will ever end…

Attorney Alexis Davis has helped her fair share of GENERAL HOSPITAL characters fight for their rights at the PCPD, on the street and in court. But which of these Port Charles locals has the legal eagle never represented? gh singled out answer ANSWER: e. Ric Lansing…

Admittedly, Jessica Tuck plays a lot of moms on TV. That’s part of the reason why the invitation to portray a complicated villain like GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Cassandra appealed to her. “It’s always more fun to play somebody that wicked!” she laughs. “Plus, I knew that I’d be working with a really delicious lineup of Finola Hughes (Anna), James Patrick Stuart (Valentin), Michael Easton (Finn) and Michelle Stafford (Nina).” Where’s Cassandra Now? Last August, Cassandra had awakened from her coma, only to be kidnapped by someone wearing a Cassadine ring. Where has she been since? “Right now I feel like I’m in limbo; it would be fun to know who she’s with and what’s happened to her,” Tuck says. “I would be happy to continue to twist my mustache or to…

what’s it really like to punch the clock in Port Charles? To find out, we asked Tamara Braun, who came back to GENERAL HOSPITAL to play Kim more than a decade after wrapping her run as Carly. Always happy to pull back the curtain for fans, the Emmy winner took a break from the mayhem to oblige us with a glimpse into her life on the set! My favorite days at work are the ones when I get to: “Laugh.” My very first day on the set, I remember thinking to myself: “I’ve been here before.” When I get to work, the first thing I do is: “Drop my stuff in my dressing room and then go into hair and makeup.” My most embarrassing moment on the set would have…

On THE CW’s DYNASTY reboot, a drunken and despondent Alexis had been about to off herself when she’d spontaneously aimed for pregnant rival Cristal’s horse instead. Not only did she miss — “Whew!” says the animal lover in us — but Mark was felled, and Cristal was dragged by her spooked mount. Executive producer Sallie Patrick says that when the series returns on Friday, March 15, at 8 p.m. EST, the aftermath will be epic! Alexis Diverts Suspicion! Having lost the baby, “Cristal takes to bed to process her grief,” Patrick shares, “and Blake becomes suspicious that the guy he hired to scare off Mark might have gone too far and actually killed him.” Since Cristal also wonders whether her disapproving family might have been involved, Alexis will take advantage…