HOTTEST HEADLINES 2018
All of the news that was fit to print.
CASTING ABOUT
■ Annika Noelle (Hope) debuted on B&B; other newcomers included Nia Sioux (Emma), Adain Bradley (Xander), Kiara Barnes (Zoe), Finnegan George (replacing Zane Achor as Will), Maile Brady (Tiffany) and Wayne Brady (Reese), while Robin
Givens guested as Dr.
Phillips and Joe Lando took on the role of Judge
Craig Mcmullen. Hunter
Tylo made a surprise return to the show as
Taylor, while Jennifer
Gareis (Donna) made an on-contract comeback. Jacob Young was dropped to recurring as
Rick, Reign Edwards
(Nicole), Rome Flynn
(Zende) and Ashleigh
Brewer (Ivy) departed, and the Spectra clan —
Courtney Hope (Sally),
Patrika Darbo (Shirley),
Courtney Grosbeck
(Coco), Alex Wyse (Saul) and Danube Hermosillo
(Darlita) — were written out, but Hope (and, for a short stint, Darbo) were later rehired. Ashley
Jones (Bridget), Pierson Fodé (Thomas) and Linsey Godfrey (Caroline) popped in .... DAYS fans reeled when Stephen Nichols exited as Steve after failing to come to terms on a new contract. The show received visits from Louise Sorel (Vivian), Leann Hunley (Anna), Jen Lilley (Theresa), Christie Clark (Carrie), Lisa Rinna (Billie), Brandon Beemer (Shawn),
Martha Madison (Belle),
Paul Telfer (Xander),
Farah Fath (Mimi),
Jaime Lyn Bauer (Laura), James Read (Clyde), Alison Sweeney (Sami), Will Utay (Dr. Rolf) and Arianne Zucker (Nicole). Robert Scott Wilson (Ben) returned; Tionne “T-boz” Watkins was back as Sheila, and Judi Evans (Adrienne) and Deidre Hall (Marlena) reprised the dual roles of Bonnie and Hattie, respectively. The show announced that Matthew Ashford (Jack) had been rehired, along with Chrishell Hartley (Jordan), and that Brandon Barash (ex-johnny, GH) would
temporarily take over as Stefan from
Tyler Christopher. Kate Mansi came back as Abigail when Marci Miller ended her run. Kyle Lowder was back, but as Rex, not Brady, and Linsey Godfrey was in as Sarah. Stacy Haiduk took over as Kristen and Susan, while Gilles Marini (Ted) and Greg Rikaart (Leo) joined the ranks. Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) returned from maternity leave, Bryan R. Dattilo (Lucas) was written out (but will be back), Christopher Sean wrapped as Paul and Vanessa Williams was out as Valerie .... GH icon Genie Francis spent most of the year off camera as Laura, but was put back on contract and returned in October. Ryan Paevey opted to leave as Nathan, and Dominic Zamprogna (ex-dante) quit after a nine-year run. Hayley
Erin (ex-kiki) and Chloe
Lanier (ex-nelle) also checked out. Max Gail joined the cast as Mike;
Vinessa Antoine exited, so Jordan was recast with
Briana Nicole Henry;
Tristan Rogers visited as
Scorpio; Lexi Ainsworth returned as Kristina;
Patty Mccormack temporarily replaced Leslie
Charleson as Monica while the vet recovered from an accident; baddies Greg Evigan (Jim
Harvey) and Anders
Hove (Faison) were killed off, while James Depaiva
(Dr. Bensch) was written out; and the show introduced Elizabeth
Hendrickson (Margaux),
Josh Swickard (Chase),
Will Lipton (Cameron), Cassandra James (Terry), Katelyn Macmullen (Willow), Kelsey Wang (Daisy), Nigel Gibbs (Marcus) and Janet Hubert (Yvonne), with Tajh Bellow taking over as TJ from Tequan Richmond. James Read popped in as Finn’s father, Gregory, while Donna Mills (Madeline), Nicolas Bechtel (Spencer), Jessica Tuck (Cassandra) and Kelly Thiebaud (Britt) made short-term comebacks .... Two of Y&R’S most popular actresses, Eileen Davidson (ex-ashley) and Mishael Morgan (ex-hilary), exited, while another, Christel Khalil (Lily), went off contract as did the show’s longest-running actor, Doug Davidson (Paul). New faces in Genoa City included Jason Canela (Arturo), Michael Mealor (a recast Kyle),
Brooks Darnell (a recast Nate), Jordi Vilasuso (Rey), Sasha Calle (Lola), Noemi Gonzalez (Mia), Alice Hunter (Kerry) and Loren Lott (a recast Ana). Daniel Hall (Scott), Max Shippee (Graham), Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea), Robert Adamson (Noah), Thad Luckinbill (J.T.) and
Tristan Lake Leabu (Reed) were out, though Adamson and Reed visited. Hunter King was back as Summer, Zach Tinker took over as Fenmore, and the show got blasts from the past via visits from Jaime Lyn Bauer (Lorie), Meg Bennett (Julia), Janice Lynde (Leslie), Kelly Kruger (Mackenzie), David Scott Lago (Raul) and Lauren Woodland (Brittany).