Tyler Christopher on Leaving 'General Hospital': "I Just Couldn't Make It Work"

Tyler Christopher

The mystery is solved. Earlier this year, after General Hospital's Nikolas Cassadine plunged over a balcony at his family home on Spoon Island, fans waited to have the fall explained or see Nikolas reappear. Actor Tyler Christopher never did, and now he’s dishing on why not.

As with so much that goes on in daytime these days Christopher left the show for reasons purely economical, he told ABC Soaps In Depth in its latest issue. Nick Stabile briefly replaced Christopher and now Nikolas is presumed dead for good.

"We couldn’t come to a deal that made sense for me and my family. As we all know, the economics of daytime have changed. As a result of that, I just couldn’t make it work," the actor said.

If it’s any consolation to his legion of fans—whom he calls “GH Nation”— Christopher too strongly wishes things could have turned out different. He said playing Nikolas both gave him a career and brought into his life relationships he cherishes. Christopher, for his part, made an indelible mark on the hearts of fans. We could see the brooding prince in his soulful eyes and the fragile little boy in his innocent smile.

Laura Wright Takes 'General Hospital' Vacation

Laura Wright (via Instagram @welcometolaurasworld)

We haven't seen much of Carly's dazzling smile on ABC soap opera General Hospital lately. It looks like we may temporarily see even less.

Laura Wright, Carly Corinthos' portrayer, took to Instagram to alert fans to a change in her normally heavy taping schedule. She is taking "a couple weeks" off from life at the center of so very much Port Charles drama. She will be spending it with her children, daughter Lauren and son Jon. And her pet pup!

ABC has yet to release an official statement on Wright's very temporary departure. So, perhaps the intense storylines Carly finds herself in the thick of will remain unaffected by Wright's absence.

Both Carly and Wright could probably use some time to decompress after the acute, even gut-wrenching, emotion engulfing the Corinthos clan following Morgan's death. It can't be easy on an actress to give such powerhouse performances of a grieving mother day after day. Then there's the Nelle mystery. So far she seems like an innocent young woman out to be an asset to Carly. Viewers—and Bobbie!—know this not to be true, however.

Wright began her storied soap career over 20 years ago as Ally Rescott Bowman on Loving. She continued the role when Loving became The City. When the ABC canceled the latter, she moved on to play Cassie Layne Winslow on Guiding Light, for which gained great fan and critical acclaim. Next she brought her thespian talents to “General Hospital” as Carly Corinthos. She won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in this role. She also won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite New Character when she began playing Cassie on GL.

Wright and her husband, John, an architect, announced their amicable divorce in April of this year. The two continue to co-parent their children.

Akbi Khan has been a soap mega-fan for 31 years. She has been writing about them and working to save the soap genre for several years. Last May she got her Master’s in rhetoric and composition, for which she completed a thesis on the Save Our Soaps (SOS) movement and created her own SOS group, thistimeitsforever.org. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, activism for various progressive causes, traveling down her spiritual path, rollerskating, going dancing, anything having to do with language or words, and laughing heartily and often, and more. You may reach her at akbikhan@gmail.com.

'General Hospital' and 'Dynasty' Actress Emma Samms Receives MBE from the Queen of England

Emma Samms, MBE

Emma Samms has officially become Emma Samms, MBE.

The former soap opera fave became a Member of the Order of the British Empire, bestowed with the honor by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, according to Gloucestershire Live. The monarch pinned a star lapel decoration on Samms who may now use the MBE suffix after her name.

Samms didn’t receive the honor for the legions of fans she entertained and amassed as Holly Sutton on General Hospital or Fallon Carrington on Dynasty. Instead the Queen honored her for her continuing work with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, which she co-founded in 1983. Through that charity, Samms works to improve the lives of seriously and terminally ill children. She and her cousin were inspired to start the charity by the death of her brother of aplastic anemia when Samms was nine.

Sully Reveal Coming November 1st on 'The Young and the Restless' (Spoilers)

Sharon Case

It looks seven days from now will be a day fans of CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless will refer to in “pre and post” terms. Genoa City history will be divided into pre-November 1st and post-November 1st. That day the news of Sully MacAvoy's true paternity comes to light—and Genoa City will never be the same!

The news breaks in possibly the worst way, on GC Buzz, which Hilary is trying her best to turn back into an unscrupulous gossip rag, Sharon Case told Michael Logan of TV Insider.

“Oh, this mess is just beginning,” Case told Logan. Even after the truth comes out that Sully is Christian, the baby Nick thought he and Sage had and then suffered through the loss of, there is another heartbreaking layer to the story that viewers and a select for Genoa City residents know. Sully is actually Adam’s baby. When someone lets that bombshell drop, even more worlds stand to be rocked.

Case maintains that while Sharon has made this predicament worse than it had to be, she’s also a victim in it.

“No one in town wants to acknowledge that, for a long time, she really did think this baby was hers. She bonded with him. She loved him,” Case says. Add to that Sharon’s bi-polar illness and the Sully predicament becomes even more complicated and less easy to point fingers in.

Case says she understands when her many fans fret that she is often been written in a negative light lately, especially with the Sully situation. However, she says it may be one of the reasons she’s become a daytime staple, synonymous with the genre and its stories history.

“There’s no drama in always being happy and never doing wrong…If she [Sharon] were always the good girl, I wouldn’t still be here after 22 years,” Case said.

Akbi Khan has been a soap mega-fan for 31 years. She has been writing about them and working to save the soap genre for several years. Last May she got her Master’s in rhetoric and composition, for which she completed a thesis on the Save Our Soaps (SOS) movement and created her own SOS group, thistimeitsforever.org. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, activism for various progressive causes, traveling down her spiritual path, rollerskating, going dancing, anything having to do with language or words, and laughing heartily and often, and more. You may reach her at akbikhan@gmail.com.

'General Hospital' Star Emme Rylan Breaks Nose While Playing With Sons, Scheduled for Surgery Today

Fan fave and soap vet Emmy Rylan took to social media to announce a painful but temporary setback.

The talented actress broke her nose playing with her two sons.

Port Charles legacy character, Lulu Spencer, may have to alter her appearances on the ABC soap to allow Rylan to get the surgery and recuperation she says she needs.

On Tuesday, Rylan updated fans on Twitter: "Injury update- I have surgery Thursday morning but because of already scheduled dark weeks i will not be taking time off from work. :) #GH"

Lulu is in the thick of three juicy storylines right now. She’s trying to have a second child with her husband, Dante. Next she is attempting to decode the mysterious empty envelope with an mysterious address on it that Helena Cassadine left to her in her will. Finally, she is mourning the loss of her brother, Nikolas—whom she will soon find out is not dead at all!

Jon Lindstrom Dishes His Romances, On and Off 'General Hospital'

Jon Lindstro

Emmy nominated General Hospital actor Jon Lindstrom recently dished to On Air On Soaps about his Port Charles renaissance, his budding on-screen romance with Laura, and more!

Lindstrom expressed great joy at coming back to GH, which to him is like coming to a party full of dear old friends.

“I have so many friends [at GH] and the crew, so it’s always like a party to me when I return to the show, Lindstrom said.

While he had never worked with Genie Francis before, he has known her for over 20 years and had a great affection for her, he said.

“Genie is so talented, and an actress of real depth. I’m having a great time,” Lindstrom said of their exciting storyline together.

'General Hospital' Star Emme Rylan Dishes Possible Cassadine Baby and More!

Emme Rylan

Fan fave Emme Rylan talked about her portrayal of Lulu on General Hospital and all the wacky things that implies! Some of what she dished on included hubbies, babies, a mysterious message from Helena Cassadine, and more.

“There was something that happened during those island scenes. Everyone was really on and really living that imaginary circumstance, and it was fun. I loved it,” Rylan (Lulu Spencer) told On Air On Soaps of her recent scenes with the motley Port Charles crew trapped on Cassadine Island.

Rylan couldn’t keep a straight face as she repeated the escape route off Cassadine Island over and over as Lulu had to remember it. Dominic Zamprogna’s (Dante Falconeri) teasing her didn’t help either.

“The cast was laughing the entire time. But it was actually a fun week of shooting for many reasons,” Rylan said.

'General Hospital' Stars Rebecca Herbst & Rebecca Budig Dish Real-Life Friendship

Rebecca Herbst and Rebecca Budig

On-screen, Rebecca Budig and Rebecca Herbst play bitterest enemies on ABC soap opera General Hospital. They exchange icy glares, resounding slaps, and cutting insults. However, off-screen these two have been close friends for over ten years.

During ABC’s 2004 Super Soap Weekend, Budig danced the night away with Herbst’s son, Ethan, for hours. That set the stage for solid two-member girl squad, the pair told Soap Opera Digest in its latest issue.

“She’s just a perfect partner,” Herbst said of Budig. There’s no doubt she meant this as a thespian and as a gal pal.

Both actresses expressed great satisfaction that they have consistently worked together since Budig's arrival in Port Charles as Hayden.

“I would have been annoyed if she were working with other people,” Herbst said with a laugh.

Renée Elise Goldsberry Recounts Frustrating Early Time on 'One Life to Live'

Renée Elise Goldsberry

Renée Elise Goldsberry delivered some straight talk on life as an actor, especially a black actress in daytime, in an interview earlier this month.

These days Goldsberry is riding high on the starring role that won her a Tony Award. She plays Angelica Schuyler Church in the smash hit musical, “Hamilton,” currently racking up sold out shows on Broadway night after night.

It wasn’t always that way for Goldsberry, though. Her career has had many ups and downs like so many show biz careers. Navigating the unpredictability of a career in show has special challenges for African-American actors, she told Cosmopolitan.

“The formula for soap operas makes it hard for an African-American to get any traction,” the actress said.

'Criminal Minds' Guest Star Stole $60K from 'The Young and the Restless' Alum Shemar Moore

Shemar Moore

A former costar embezzled over $60,000 from former The Young and the Restless heartthrob Shemar Moore.

Keith Tisdell, whom Moore met on the set of nighttime drama Criminal Minds, diverted funds from a charity Moore started, reported Soap Central Tuesday.

Moore expressed feelings of betrayal in a pre-court appearance statement. “You don’t do this to people,” he said.

Moore and Tisdell hit it off and started a friendship and furthered their professional association after the two costarred on Criminal Minds in 2006. Tisdell again appeared on the series in 2013. Moore starred as Derek Morgan in eleven seasons of the CBS cop drama from 2005-2016.

In addition to forming a personal bond with Tisdell, Moore invited him to work at his charity, Baby Girl, for survivors of Multiple Sclerosis. Moore’s mother also battles the disease. "Baby Girl" was Derek’s catch-phrase on Criminal Minds, reported On Air On Soaps last Friday.

'Days of our Lives' Star Jen Lilley to Play a Prosecutor in Lifetime Movie 'Mommy, I Didn’t Do It'

Jen Lilley at the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards in April.
She co-hosted the ceremony with Days co-star Eric Martsolf.

Soap fans may know her as fiercely protective mom and wife Theresa Brady on Days of our Lives, but Jen Lilley is also a big 1980s-90s TV aficionado. She gushed about getting to work with some TV icons from that era while shooting the Lifetime movie, Mommy, I Didn’t Do It.

“Never in my wildest dreams as a kid did I think I’d be working with Winnie Cooper and Urkel…It was fun!” she told Soap Opera Digest.

Not only did she hob knob with those TV legends, some familiar Days and other daytime faces joined her in brining the movie’s intriguing story to life.

“I play the lead prosecutor from the D.A.’s office and Paige Searcy’s character is the one being prosecuted,” Lilley said. She also had lunch with movie co-star Heather Tom (Katie Logan, The Bold and the Beautiful).

Two months ago, Lilley posted a picture to Instagram of herself “geeking out” seated on the couch from the set of '90s TV staple, Full House. Netflix is rebooting that show as Fuller House, leading many to wonder if Lilley will have a role on it. To Twitter musings on this topic, Lilley coyly responded, “#buzzbuzz,” tagging Lachlan Buchanan and Rich Keith in the Tweet. Buchanan (ex-Kyle Abbott, The Young and the Restless) has since confirmed a role on the reboot, and Rich Keith is one of its head writers.

Akbi Khan has been a soap mega-fan for 31 years. She has been writing about them and working to save the soap genre for several years. Last May she got her Master’s in rhetoric and composition, for which she completed a thesis on the Save Our Soaps (SOS) movement and created her own SOS group, thistimeitsforever.org. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, activism for various progressive causes, traveling down her spiritual path, rollerskating, going dancing, anything having to do with language or words, and laughing heartily and often, and more. You may reach her at akbikhan@gmail.com.

Kelly Monaco "Extremely Grateful" for 'General Hospital' Family

Kelly Monaco

The famously press-shy Kelly Monaco dished on lots of hot on-set and off-set General Hospital topics in an online interview published Friday.

“I am with this crew every day for the past 16 years, so to me this is my family, and I am extremely grateful,” Monaco said of her overall love of working on GH to On-Air On-Soaps.

It’s no secret that Sam and Monaco both have passionate supporters and vocal detractors, in a classic case of fans conflating a character and her portrayer. Monaco chalks up her critics’ issues with her to two main causes. First, there were appearances in Playboy and Maxim, early on in her career, which she thinks gave fans certain ideas about her. Then she fell in love with Jason while pregnant with Sonny’s child, which she says marked her as “the tramp on the show,” Monaco said.

Justin Hartley Addresses His Status on 'The Young and the Restless'

Justin Hartley poses for a portrait in the the NBCUniversal Press Tour
portrait studio at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 2  in Beverly
Hills, California. Photo Credit: Christopher Polk/NBC

Fan favorite Justin Hartley offered what may be the most definitive statement yet on his future with The Young and the Restless since his primetime pilot, This Is Us got the green light.

There’s a definitely a break [at Y&R],” he reveals. “I don’t know if I can [do both shows]. I try to stay out of that, and gladly don’t wear that hat,” Soap Opera Digest reported Thursday. Hartley spoke at an event for the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. The actor plays Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless.

Presumably what Hartley meant by “staying out of” that decision-making process was that showrunners—producers, casting agents, writers—and his own management team would ultimately have the final say-so on his daytime future.

A casting breakdown went out this for the role of Dean on Y&R that could be Adam.

'I'll Be Damned': 'The Young and the Restless' Star Eric Braeden Writing Memoir

A memoir about the life of the one and only Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, The Young and the Restlessis in the works and will be released on February 7, 2017. It will be titled, “I’ll Be Damned.”

Braeden has played the role of Genoa City patriarch Victor Newman for 36 years. In that time, his name, face, and acting prowess have become synonymous with the magic that is daytime drama, even part of what defines it.

No doubt this memoir will include a candid take on the many on and off-screen dramatics of "The Moustache," as his fans nicknamed him for his ever-present yet ever-changing above-the-lip facial hair.

Memorable Y&R storylines involving Victor and that Braeden may give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into are: Victor’s meeting Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) when she was a stripper and falling in love with her, the never-ending struggle between the Newman and Abbot families, a modern-day Montague and Capulet story; and the latest twist in his wild life, going to prison for hiring a look-alike to take over his rival’s life!