Dateline Port Charles: Pikeman Mystery Continues

Link to the previous GH thread.

I'm having a hard time picturing Josh Swickard playing Peter August.

Wes put such an evil spin on Peter, I just can't see a good guy like Josh playing him.

Thanks for the new thread, OP!

So after Frank told Josh he wasn't going to be Peter August did he say "But I have excellent news for you! Your new character will be singing and dancing at the Nurses' Ball! You can sing and dance, right?" LOL.

What happened to Anna between the boat blowing up in 1992 and showing up in Pine Valley in 2001 has never been adequately explained.

Lots of room for her to have had babies, doubled crossed Pikeman, been a double agent for the WSB, start up many liaisons, etc.

Maybe she’s Dex’s mom!

Just watched yesterday’s. Why have they turned Portia into Black Carly, except somehow cuntier?

All the silent vamping underneath Eddie Maine’s song was hilarious. This show needs writers back.

R2 Chase plotting revenge on Michael and Willow, for sneaking around behind his back, wasn't a good enough glimpse into his dark side for you was it lol

Were you impressed with Wes' portrayal?

R4 😆 Josh was the frontrunner out of seven other guys until Frank added Wes into the mix. Frank had a tough time picking between Josh and Wes; Josh said they specifically created Chase for him only after Ryan Paevey left, because they were short a cop. However, Frank would've found a way to bring Josh in regardless in some capacity, had Ryan stayed imo because Josh stayed on Frank's mind for months.

R5 Exactly. That's the timeline they were going to explore; CVE had a whole storyline planned out where Anna was experiencing memory loss while having a son with Faison that she couldn't remember. They were going to explore that before Frank brought in Wes to audition and ultimately hired him, instructing CVE to change Peter's birth year to the 70's and pre-Robert/Robin.

r10 So, they could still revisit that plotline filling in the gaps for those 9 missing years of Anna's life.

R11 I was actually agreeing with your point, not arguing against it.

I loathe MO but even I have to admit he was handsome once. MO JR looks like a gnome. What the hell is this nepotism?

Is MOs mother still alive? Just curious what unqualified family member he is getting a job next...

The nepotism on this show is out of control.

Ego Maniac Mo said his son is the "next James Dean"!

I think GH is in trouble.

R13 Yep Mo was very attractive in his younger days, even up until about 2014/2015 era imo when he grew his beard out during that Sonny prison stint. Joshua looks like a combination of both his parents, however not in a good way lol I used to be friends with a Brazilian guy who looks almost exactly like Mo's son, like they could be brothers. Only difference is he's taller than Josh.

R14 Yep his mother is still alive. They could've cast as her as that person who's heading Pikeman 😆 before their identity was changed from female to male under scab writing

Nancy Lee is embroiled in somewhat of a controversy, once again; she urged the public to not condemn Ashton and Mila for writing letters in defense of Danny, for they were just looking out for a friend who did bad things. Some speculated that she was only doing that in an effort to defend herself for possibly writing letters on Haley's behalf, which come to find out she did- Maurice wrote a letter to the judge for Haley as well.

Nancy has been described as being "mentally unstable" according to some rumors, beyond her usual far left rhetoric; rumors are that her "mental illness" is a reason why Alexis has been diminished onscreen to mainly a supporting character. She has also been accused of being cold to both Holiday Mia Kriegel and Brooke Anne Smith, since she wasn't happy with neither one as Molly. She has been somewhat warm to Kate Mansi, even the she's closer to Lexi. Maurice isn't as bothered by her as he used to be (during the Guza era) although he still couldn't help himself from laughing with Ingo during a live stream they did together a few years ago, where Ingo lamented to him about having to work with her.

Nancy Lee also recently spoke out against Scientology in defense of Leah Remini, fueling speculation that she isn't exactly on good terms with Michelle Stafford anymore.

R17 What makes you think that lol because of the Disney/Charter & Spectrum conflict?

NLG’s post about the Masterson support letters didn’t seem unreasonable to me. She’s outspoken but in no way does she seem mentally unstable. And she’s on the show once or twice a week, even if she isn’t driving her own story as much.

R22 I'm not saying it's true that she's mentally unstable, I'm saying there are rumors about her being seen as mentally unstable at work, which supposedly played into her reduced screentime. Nancy has always been outspoken, far left leaning, and has called out coworkers, especially male coworkers, for the longest. Even her speaking up on Scientology isn't out of character for her. I think the unstable rumors started more when John Callahan passed away, and Nancy made a comment about having dirt on him for at least 20 years, in regards to female coworkers he was allegedly inappropriate with, which many deemed was in poor taste, along with some of her Twitter/X feuds. So people are looking at her as someone who's creating problems, along with he unwavering support for Haley, who many see as biased.

Spectrum and Disney have ended their feud.

ABC is back on Spectrum cable lineup right now!

Wonder how the week that ABC was off Spectrum systems affected ratings?

I thought cutie pie Jake was meeting his secret skater boyfriend at Kelly’s but he’s just another hetero.

Maxie was a fucking mess today. Look at this.

Jake (HW) must be taking acting lessons because he used to flame in every scene. Why the show didn't go gay with Jake is perplexing. But GH is so boring not even that storyline would help ratings.

Ozempic must not play well with all the other meds KStorms is on. That's only reason I can think of she hasn't jumped on that band wagon.

Emme Rylan keeps issuing statements saying she is available to play Lulu again anytime. It's going to be awkward when they recast and don't even call her...

I don't think LuLu will ever be back. Same with Lucky. Sadly this is the General Mobster show and it isn't going to change.

R28 If any of Liz's children were closest to be gay, remember when Aiden was suspected of being gay? They were actually heading in that direction, giving hints about him being somewhat different when Charlotte was bullying him, along with his affinity for cooking. Liz and Franco even suspected it, going as far as talking to Lucas and Brad about him. Once again, there was network interference, so that storyline was dropped, however they can always pick it up again, although they'll probably have issues from the network again. Same with Jake, they can plan a coming out story for him, although if the network intervenes, then there's no point in telling it. Supposedly Jake is rumored to be for Charlotte and Georgie, although Georgie comes off younger than Jake/Chatlotte imo

R29 Yeah rumors are Frank wants Lulu back eventually, just not as Emme Rylan, since he's the one who got rid of her in the first place. Most likely he'll go the Kristina route, bringing in a known actress from another soap; even though that's what he did with Emme, he no longer wanted her as Lulu. It'll be interesting if he tries to get Marci Miller as Lulu lol then have her in scenes with Kate Mansi. If she's unfamiliar to anyone here, she was on DAYS too; she replaced Kate as Abigail (after Kate quit), then Kate replaced her (after Marci quit), then she replaced Kate again (after Kate quit again).

R31, yesterday’s ep featured Jake on a date with Charlotte, which is odd since they’ve been raised as first cousins.

What's Kim Matula (ex-Hope, B&B) up to these days? She might make a spunky Lulu.

R33

I don’t see the problem

I really don’t need to see Lulu revived. The show has too many 30something sob sisters with no personality.

Violet is such a nosy piece of shit.

And she needs to stop with that baby talk.

well fuck,, I may start watching again

Not a big surprise but I’m glad it’s confirmed.

Spencer was manic and desperate today. In contrast, Dex was cool and masculine.

OG Victor Cassadine Thaao Penghlis as an imposter on 1971 To Tell The Truth. He was good looking back then, creepy looking now.

R40 Right, this has been in the works for months. Ted King is still scheduled to return too, although it's understandable that if it isn't officially confirmed, its pretty hard to believe

Disney is currently in early talks to sell ABC to Nexstar Media Group. Wherever ABC lands, one major benefit is that GH will most likely have a greenlight towards more dark storylines Disney deemed unsuitable and not exactly family friendly.

Just in case anyone here hasn't heard yet, John J. York has cancer, so Mac is exiting.

JJY has several blood disorders? Geez.

From his years as werewolf…

R46 Correct it's more complicated than just cancer; didn't delve into it at R45 however it's two different disorders. He has a cancerous condition "Myelodysplastic Syndrome" which are " a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells" along with a precancerous condition "Smoldering Myeloma" which alters certain proteins in blood and/or increases plasma cells in bone marrow" but it does not cause symptoms of disease. For many months now, he's had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments and is close to getting a blood stem cell transplant. He expects to be out for about three-four months.

Supposedly today wraps up AH's latest stint as Nik.

That’s frustrating.

Will we get a new Nikolas for long term? Frustrating we have Willow, Sasha, Cody, Finn, Drew, Austin…yet no Nik, Lucky, or Lulu?!!

R51 Eventually there will be a new permanent Nikolas, Lulu and even Spencer, since rumors are NAC still plans to leave next year. Frank for some reason never keeps a temp in a permanent role; Nikolas would have to be another newcomer or recast with an actor from another soap before AH

Bobbie's passing along with SEC whistleblower are both planned for Carly, they're just on hold for now

Colin egglesfield or Jason Shane Scott both seem like good Nik’s!

Rena gave an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet in December of last year; she stated that Ned and Lois were in love, not Rena and Wally. Rumors are Lois and Lorenzo might reunite (even though Lesli's Lois was the one who Lorenzo dated) while there's Lois and Finn/Lois and Austin as other rumored interests for her love. She's wanted to come back for awhile, everyone's just always on Frank's timetable, unless it's network mandated.

GH slipped in the ratings, as some here predicted, the week of the blackout during the Disney/cable dispute; GH lost 77,000 viewers that week.

Week of September 4th-8th 2023 1. Y&R (3,077,000) (up 102,000 from previous week; down 165,000 from this time last year)

2. B&B (2,601,000) (up 2000 from previous week; down 134,000 from this time last year)

3. GH (1,861,000) (down 77,000 from previous week; down 189,000 from this time last year)

Is Rena just doing a short arc or is she on contract?

I wonder if Lois will return with a boyfriend or husband in tow thus eliminating any need for intimate scenes between Eddie and Lois and making it more comfortable for Rena and Wally.

R57 Since this has been in the works for awhile, it's supposed to be for a long arc, even if she's not on contract. Arriving with a new guy is a possibility or linking her with someone already on canvas besides Ned seems more than likely, since they're cordial, just not that cordial lol especially once Ned gets his memory back, he'll most likely reunite with Olivia

WGA and AMPTP are scheduled to have another meeting next week

Why Blair Kramer for the Deceptor story?

Cady McClain would have made more sense and caused more of buzz reuniting Dixie and Tad. Cady unavailable or did FV low ball her?

R60 Cady's available; Frank just wanted a reason to bring Blair back because he had already planned on having her reunite with Todd, so they had to figure out another way to pencil her in. A lot of people were expecting Cady to be one of the ex wives, which could be another reason why Frank didn't do it, since he tried to surprise the audience.

Then there's the thing with Jackson being on, yet instead of Tad there's Martin and instead of Ryan there's Drew (which is Frank's fault, since ABC has had the rights to the ABC soap characters back in Fall 2016) so Cady as anyone other than Dixie might not be what he's willing to do. Since Michael played two characters on AMC, they could easily say Martin is really Tad's double, Ted Orsini, while recasting Drew, again, in favor of Ryan coming back.

John Lindstrom was emotional in his twitter plea for fans to sign up to see if they are a donor match or just make a donation for John York.

Rebecca Buddig may be Hayden in Port Charles, but she's Greenlee in Pine Valley.

Cameron may be Drew in Port Charles, but he's Ryan in Pine Valley.

Michael Knight may be Laura's brother Martin Gray in Port Charles, but he's Tad Martin in Pine Valley.

Meanwhile Finola Hughes is Anna and Alex in both Pine Valley and Port Charles and Walt Wiley is Jackson Montgomery in both Pine Valley and Port Charles.

But then there's Ted King who is Lorenzo Alcazar in Port Charles but Tomas Delgado in Llanview.

R63 😆 😆 all true, although with the exception of Hayden/Greenlee, Tad and Ryan could've came back (then after Hayden was out of town for awhile, Greenlee could have too) except Frank's going to do what he wants to do.

R60 Forgot one of the main reasons why Frank has Blair paired with Martin, along with Carly and Drew; do you remember ABC's What If? Frank produced those so he's reliving some of his fantasy couples, Carly/Ryan and Blair/Tad in a way he sees fit, even though those go back all the way to 2010

I'm guessing Kristen Alderson and Robin Strasser aren't happy right now. Kristen because FV won't give her a second chance and Robin because FV won't even give her a first chance in PC.

Maurice Benard is Sonny in Port Charles but Nico Kelly in Pine Valley.

Jane Elliot is Tracey in Port Charles but Cynthia Preston in Pine Valley.

Robin Christopher is Skye Chandler Quatermaine in Llanview, Pine Valley and Port Charles.

Linda Dano is Gretel Rae Cummings in Llanview, Pine Valley and Port Charles.

Kassie De Paiva is Blair Cramer in Llanview and Port Charles

Roger Howarth is Todd in Llanview, but Todd, Franco and Austin in Port Charles.

Michael Easton is John McBain in Llanview but Caleb Morley, Stephen Clay, John McBain, Silas Clay and Hamilton Finn in Port Charles.

r67 And I thought I was crazy because I was Heather in Port Charles and Janet in Pine Valley, not to mention Gina in Santa Barbara.

Not funny in the slightest. : |

I can’t believe Spencer and Trina still haven’t fucked. These soaps are so puritanical.

R63 R67 You have a glaring omission on your lists, did you possibly leave her out on purpose?

Kelly Monaco as Olivia "Livvie" Locke/Tess Locke in Port Charles and also Samantha "Sam" McCall/Alicia Montenegro in Port Charles

R66 I'm guessing your guesses are correct 😁

R70 Supposedly Frank is more in favor of Joss/Dex than Spencer/Trina, so he's the one who's keeping them apart. Spencer/Trina have a bigger fan base; rumors are Frank wants the same love for Joss/Dex

[quote]You have a glaring omission on your lists, did you possibly leave her out on purpose? Kelly Monaco as Olivia "Livvie" Locke/Tess Locke in Port Charles and also Samantha "Sam" McCall/Alicia Montenegro in Port Charles

No, it wasn't on purpose. I try to block that person and those characters out of my mind whenever possible. And I was quite successful in blocking her out when making that list.

Lets face it, she's a forgettable person and plays very forgettable characters.

Spencer and Trina have no chemistry. Their fans are deluded. Trina actress should save and invest her money wisely, I don't see a big career for her post GH meritless accolades. NAC may be another Justin Hartley who went on to bit parts and short arcs on primetime shows after he left soaps and didn't hit it big until he was in his late 30s/early 40s with This is Us. He even had to return to soaps at one point, Y&R, to keep afloat right before This is Us.

Can't stand Snarly Jr. so she and Mo's onscreen/offscreen lapdog are FF for me.

Charlotte and Jake are a cute idea in theory but no chemistry or witty banter or intrigue so I think it will fizzle. Both good kid actors though. Charlotte should have found a bad boy boyfriend at school to give Valentin cause for worry and her half-brother Rocco cause to interfere.

Put Jake with T.J. after Molly dies in a tragic explosion.

I like the die in an explosion idea. I do suspect TJ is going to end up drowning his sorrows at The Savoy after the surrogate miscarries and end up fathering a child the natural way with Neeka or someone else. Hopefully that will prompt Mollie to leave town and not be heard from again until Frank learns how to properly recast twentysomethings.

R77, he totally has to father a child with Kristina, making Molly’s head explode.

I wanna see Molly lean into her Ric Lansing side. Causing some real drama in PC.

Billy Miller dead at 43.

that makes me sad

Really sad...guy had alot of talent and potential. Rumors it was suicide too. Ugh.

We've had at least two months of shows written by scab writers. Maybe longer.

And at this point, the November sweeps will be penned by the scabs as well.

Overall, I've been happy with what they've put on air. It's kept me involved. And its not just treading water; it's moving storylines ahead.

How firmly is Frank overseeing the scabs? Is he directing all storylines? Is he essentially the HW at this point? Or he is giving them some leeway?

R84 No you're right, we're coming up on two months with the show that airs on September 25th. They're writing is about six weeks ahead of air time, so going by that timeframe, as of right now, they're writing the start of November sweeps.

Supposedly, Frank is overseeing the scabs just as much as he did with the regular writers. He's also directing the storylines as well, so yes he's essentially still the head writer. The only leeway they have is if they come up with something different that he approves of, however, these are still virtually the same storylines that Chris & Dan started, which were also signed off on by Frank. Reportedly, the scabs are interested in closing these storylines out in favor of starting their own, which Frank wanted to wait until Fall (which is why you're seeing the climax of certain stories soon, along with a change of direction in some, like the reintroduction of Lois, which was placed on hold by Frank- a lot are waiting to see what ideas the scabs have conjured up)

R.I.P. to Billy, it's very sad, poor guy. He seemed to be well on his way in a career outside of soaps. In January, his dad died, so some are saying that it was still heavily affecting him, along with his depression. He also had a birthday yesterday, so that was most likely affecting him too.

What do you guys think about Cyrus possibly being Austin's father? This looks like it came from the scabs. Supposedly Sasha's parentage will be revealed eventually; originally Cyrus was supposed to be her father, which he still could be.

Rumors are that Felicia was reconsidered as Esme's mother because of Kristina & Jack's son unfortunately passing away, so they went with Heather instead of doing a heavy story with Felicia and Ryan, which is where they were headed

Making Cyrus Austin's father could actually salvage the character. Un-Q Austin (Cyrus tampered with DNA results when he ran the hospital) and give him storylines with Laura and Marty. Nothing panned out with the Q's anyway.

Make Sasha Nina's niece. Nina's father had an affair, fathered a daughter, that now dead daughter was Sasha's mother. Maybe it turns out Sasha's mother never died and just ran away and comes back thus giving Nina a half-sister and a niece.

Is everybody in Port Charles related? What a big incestous mess.

[quote]Is everybody in Port Charles related? What a big incestous mess.

That's what soap opera is about. The longer its on, the more incestuous it gets.

Look at all the people connected to Victor Kiriakas on Days. His recent funeral proved just how incestuous things can get.

R87 They probably will try to figure out a way to have Sasha related to Nina. I was wondering if either Lucy or Felicia would be relatives of hers somehow, although it still might be Cyrus. Some silly rumor has her and Cody as twins lol although I don't think that's where they're going with them.

It would have been so much more interesting to have Esme be Felicia’s daughter. Instead, they’ve had to scramble to find story for Kristina—helping Maxie movie and becoming a patient advocate at GH (yawn).

I thought it was going to be Undead Nik on the security footage but instead Charlotte is a teen psycho? Does she secretly hate Anna for taking Daddy away?

Helena is her grandmother and Victor is her grandfather, little Miss Charlotte is going to be hell on wheels. Jake better not cross her....

Nelle. Esme. Charlotte.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I'm surprised Chloe Lanier hasn't dropped by for a stint as Nelle during the strike.

The strike made Jeff Kober available. Can't imagine Chloe doesn't need work.

oh my.....DEX off script...And he LISPS.....FABULOUS!!!...Evan is one of us...

Weirdest rumor I hear about Pikeman is that it's going to turn out to be Morgan Corinthos (with possible plastic surgery).

R97 I heard that too, also that he's been brainwashed by Lorenzo to despise Sonny.

Charlotte as Anna's tormenter was rumored, however it seemed so ridiculous that it wasn't worth repeating lmao now it seems like it's true.

Another rumor is they wanted Susan Lucci guest starring as Erica Kane for the Martin Grey ex-wife storyline. The story was being patterned for her (adding Jackson Montgomery; the Erica Kane references) however she turned Frank down (like she has a few times before, yet he continues to ask her to make guest appearances, with her constantly saying no, yet he hopes he can change her mind) then Cady McClain was considered. Bringing in Blair for this story was actually their third choice, which she's apparently aware of, for they were really planning to have her return down the line, once Ted King returns.

WGA and AMPTP are meeting today in hopes of reaching a deal

Rumor is that Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Tony, GL; ex-Griffin, AMC; ex-Dario, DOOL; ex-Rey, Y&R) is interested in playing Nikolas, after a small Twitter/X campaign suggested him. Now it's up to Frank to decide lol

I think Vilasuso would be a great choice, and could hold his own with West, Chavez and Francis.

Hard to believe he is only 42. I can remember him on Guiding Light in the early 2000's.

Blair Cramer slept with David Vickers!

Wonder what Dorian had to say about that?

Does this Jordi fella possess the aristocratic air the character has been lacking in the last couple of incarnations?

I like Jordi as a Nik option. Not sure he plays prince aristocratic but worth a try!

I can't really see Jordi pulling off the entitled aristocrat.

I like Jorid, but think he would be wrong for Nikolas.

Is it true bad girls are into pegging?

R83 Update for you, according to Alan Sarapa, the scans are completely veering off from the directions that Chris and Dan were going in, which Frank is allowing them to do. At R84, that was meant for you as well. Alan's amusingly wondering what Chris and Dan are going to do when they come back. Although Frank has final say over all storylines, apparently he likes what the scabs are coming up with. Some believe that Gary Tomlin is the secret headwriter, which is why Frank is going along with his storyline ideas.

*Sorry meant the scabs are completely veering off from the directions lol not the scans

It's just not my day today lol R83 I meant that R84 & R108 are both for you.

Marci Miller (ex-Abigail, DOOL) is rumored to be under consideration as new new Lulu, although unconfirmed.

Lulu needs to get back to town and deal with her vandal daughter.

WGA and AMPTP are close to a deal, could come as early as Thursday or Friday

Did they find Kin sleeping in his car outside the studio and decide to throw him a bone yesterday?

I bet EH (Dex) and Chase hit the gay clubs in costumes when they are in Memphis for Halloween weekend..

The long-awaited Sprintercourse is finally happening!

Will Spencer fly the bloody sheet off the parapet at Wyndermere when he’s finished taking Trina’s virtue?

Spencer and Trina are finally hitting the sheets?

It's September. It's not even a sweeps month. Why do this now?

R117, blue balls.

Happy Sprina Nocta, everybody.

R117 Apparently Frank is giving the temporary writers more leeway, veering away from Chris & Dan's stories, wrapping them up while coming into their own. The original story was supposed to be Spencer bonding with Esme and Ace as a family unit, reconnecting him to her while Trina was on the outside. Now even if that's still a possibility, they're pushing him back towards Trina's orbit.

The temp writers storylines are scheduled to be the focus this fall, unless the WGA/AMPTP come to an agreement this week.

John J. York announced that he has a match, if everything goes well, he'll have surgery in November

What were Chris and Dan thinking, R120? That’s nuts.

R123 Apparently they're both big fans of Esme, especially Chris iirc so they want to reform her in order to keep her on and to endear her to the audience. Felicia being her mother was also supposed to make her even more sympathetic.

Frank signed off on keeping them apart, however now he's signed off on the temp writers changing directions in certain instances, like Charlotte being the one who's tormenting Anna, possibly breaking Anna and Valentin up, along with dropping Kristina as the surrogate, with her now being shifted to Blaze most likely, after today's testing of them.

Some people are assuming that NAC is on drugs, claiming that his scenes are coming off too hyper.

On another note, was anyone wondering if they were going to go there and have Drew gang raped?

NAC really was very hyper today, it was just weird.

It's possible he's happy about sharing scenes with Tabyana, although besides coming to a conclusion that he's on drugs, he's also being accused by fans of "overselling"his pairing.

Another reason why there seems to be a sudden push to pair Spencer and Trina is because their ratings are under 2.0 so this is definitely creating instant buzz amongst their fans. It also seems to be little less interest in Joss/Dex together under temps

If the Felicia/Esme rumor is legit, (and I think it is judging bu the on air build up and the sudden heather reveal that didn’t make much sense.), we’re the going to do long lost kids for Mac and Felicia at the exact same time?

That detail is the only one that makes me question it’s legitimacy.

Before anyone gives a lame “oh, dear” to some misspellings created by autocorrect, I’m chatting about a bad soap opera. Not too worried about what else may be graded by scholars.

John York's illness as referenced on GMA

Spencer was definitely hyper in today’s ep, but I think it was because he’s really, really eager to finally get laid. Seemed like a pretty appropriate way to play it to me.

Is his possible match Aunt Liesel?

Why do you think they put Kristina Wagner on contract? All soaps make last minute story changes, but GH, in recent years, has had more obvious story changes than the others. Some say it's Frank. Some say it's ABC. Who knows?

Also, I don't think NAC is on drugs. I think he wants out.

R128 Well the Felicia/Esme rumor was in play before Kristina's son unfortunately passed, then it switched to Heather. However, of course they can always change it, especially with the temp writers now deciding which directions they want certain stories to go. Frank is apparently receptive to them.

Sorry R136 was meant for R129

R132 That's how I felt about it too. I don't think he's a drug addict, even though there's rumors he's on steroids or smokes weed however that's just from people who seem to dislike him and/or Tabyana. You'd expect a young guy to be excited over sex.

R135 That's what I'm thinking too. Supposedly his team is telling him to leave once his contract is up.

R134 It's a combination of both Frank and ABC. Frank is still in charge of the budget, so contracts/recurring are decisions made by him.

It’s clear that NAC is being advised to plan for the next phase of his career. He never mentions the show on social media anymore, doesn’t do fan events, and didn’t even give a quote for the new SOD article about Sprina finally Doing It (only Tabyana gave an interview).

I sort of doubt if he’s on roids; he’s young and he hired the trainer who got Kumail Nanjiani Marvel-ready. And everyone smokes weed, I don’t see what that has to do with anything.

NAC is supposed to start filming that Menendez Brothers movie soon. That was supposed to start filming in September, but likely was delayed by the SAG strike.

Perhaps he's distracted thinking about that.

R140, I'm mixed on NAC; I hear he's still doing his paid fan stuff and he's scrubbed his social where there's no soap stuff; unless you count his Emmy and I think People magazine.

They are probably paying him peanuts so I get doing the paid fan stuff but why scrub all his soap stuff from social.

He's young. This could be him or his people or both. I could see in a year or so -- unless Ryan hires him again and with his arms, I could see him doing that seriously -- NAC could come back to GH.

Helen Slater was Supergirl on the big screen and did a movie opposite Michael J. Fox (The Secrets of My Success); several years ago, she showed up as Dr. Day Player on Y&R.

You can never predict how someone's career is going to go. He DOES have his hammy days though. It's like he's possessed by Liz Hubbard and I don't say that lightly. I do think Rory Gibson would make a good Spencer.

Honestly, the way the rest of the entertainment industry is going, I suspect a contract gig on one of the four remaining soaps is only going to be more appealing in the coming years

I wonder what Ryan Murphys dick looks like in NACs mouth?

Supposedly Bryan Craig and the guy who played Nathan whose name I can't even remember right now both wanted to come back but FV said no. I wonder if NAC will also get a no if he wants to come back in the future. NAC hasn't been troublesome like Bryan but neither was the Nathan actor and he still got a no. I don't think NAC will get the same buzz and adulation in primetime that he has enjoyed in the soap world.

I still fail to see the chemistry between Spencer and Trina.

My guess is he got some new and different attention when he was cast by Ryan Murphy and his manager told him to downplay the soap stuff on his social media. Even if a post soap career is wobbly, he would be a fool to remain on GH past this contract.

[quote]I still fail to see the chemistry between Spencer and Trina.

I think it's all social media driven.

[quote] I wonder what Ryan Murphys dick looks like in NACs mouth?

It would be NACs dick in Ryan's old vampire maw, one assumes.

R140 Right there's talks of him being advised to leave when his contract up since staying on soaps longer than two-three years max when you're a young performer is considered destructive to your burgeoning career, so he already has one foot out the door. There's rumors that Spencer will be recast

Oh that's who's training him? That's cool. I don't believe the roids rumor either or any other drugs for that matter. I think some were trying to imply he was on something harder than weed, although some were saying he seemed like he was high off weed just to get through his scenes with Tabyana. Even though Sprina has a big fanbase, they have a seemingly equal group of non-fans who despise thrm together. Besides saying he's using drugs just to get through scenes with her, they're also saying that he doesn't look into her, he isn't kissing her as well as she's kissing him, he's overacting because he's not physically attracted to her, he's forcing their chemistry, its unnatural etc. He did defend her in instances where she received a lot of racist backlash; they're friends, although she seems closer to Eden and Evan. I also doubt he's on drugs, he'll if it's weed I don't really consider that a drug lol

He's probably gay and can't act excited over a stinkfish

R141 Right it was delayed by picketing. The plan was for NAC to take a break from GH, which Frank had already approved. Spencer was going to be off-screen for the summer, possibly out looking for Nikolas. This was still supposed to happen even after the writer's were out striking, for Ryan Murphy still intended to go forward with filming, even though it pissed a lot of WGA members off. SAG-AFTRA walkout is what made Ryan Murphy place everything on hold, so that's why Spencer's still on. He was slated to return months down the line, to "allegedly" finish out his contract.

R142 If I'm not mistaken, he's roughly making about $1k a show, with a three day weekly minimum guarantee, so about $3k weekly. That's usually what the standard rookie soap contract pays these days. Of course, he can always go in and try to renegotiate his contract when it's up for renewal, however rumors are he wants out for bigger and better things. Especially since he's already a Emmy winner, which he's extremely proud of obviously (and deservedly so) seeing how he would even take it out with him in public (once he took it to thr beach with him).

I didn't know Helen Slater played a day player Dr. on Y&R 😆 wow learn something new everyday.

I don't know if I can get past a comparison to channeling the ghost of Liz Hubbard oh wow 😆 of all people to compare him too lol not The Grand Dame herself, the incomparable La Liz Hubbard. Now I can't unsee it 😁😁

I don't think he's had heat with any of his pairings. Not with Esme or OGTrina or current Trina. However, he and Esme were very good in fighting scenes before she lost her memory. Now that Esme has been watered down they are boring even when they bicker. He had a sweet friendship/platonic chemistry with OGTrina and they could have been BFFs long term but that's about it. All I see between him and current Trina is a forced situation.

Speaking of forced situations, when is FV going to give up on the LIz/Finn snoozefest?

How does soap money compare to Hallmark/Lifetime movie money? Anyone know?

R143 Possibly so. Michael Mealor learned that the hard way when both him and Hunter King quit Y&R together, out of solidarity when they both wanted more money with extended outs to work on outside projects. One reason why I think he came back without her is because Sony had allegedly paid her a lot when she initially returned, along with the income she had from that show Life In Pieces, she probably had more to live off of. She also had a pilot lined up whereas Michael didn't seem to have much of anything substantial at all in terms of acting jobs outside of Y&R. Of course his best friend Josh could've easily convinced Frank to bring him to GH; Frank being the big Y&R fanatic he is, would've jumped at the chance to hire Michael, or as some of you know him as, "JaBottom"

Hallmark/Lifetime is basic cable TV money, but it's still better than soap money. My guess is 10-20K for a Lifetime/Hallmark movie if you're 1, 2, or 3 on call sheet.

Michael Mealor was a fool to quit Y&R. He is the epitome of a soap actor. He may end up on the Hallmark Xmas circuit, but that is the best he can hope for as a career.

[quote] Michael Mealor learned that the hard way

I remember special bro times with Mikey where we did things the hard way.....

R145 Yes lol both Bryan Craig and Ryan Paevey asked Frank if they could come back after initially quitting and he turned them both down. Same as with Kristen Alderson. Frank's petty like that lol he most likely saw it as they quit on him, so why take them back. I think it also has to do with the way they leave; Chloe Lanier asked him to let her out of her contract two years early, yet he allowed her to return to make guest appearances. That's probably also because rumors were besides Frank and a few others, she wasn't well liked behind the scenes. There was some things said about her head being too big and who does she think she is, the Meryl Streep of GH so she probably felt uncomfortable being there long-term

R146 Yeah the buzz around him on this Ryan Murphy project is bringing him a different set of attention.

Bryan Craig burned his bridges for sure. But I'm surprised Morgan wasn't recast. Craig did a decent job, obviously, but I have to assume either Mo or Snaggletooth didn't want the role of Morgan to take away from their screen time.

R147 Yeah it's pretty safe to say it would go this way, if someone assumes that took place 😆

R161 There's rumors that he plays for the same team. People have accused him of "flaming" especially off-screen so who knows lol

Chloe is a good example of a talented soap actor one expects to do well when they leave but doesn't. I'm surprised she hasn't at least been psycho of the week on multiple episodes of L&O.

R152 A lot of people think he has always had more chemistry with male co-stars (especially Evan most recently) than with the female ones he's supposed to be romantically involved with.

Rumors are that the temps aren't exactly keen on Finn and Liz either; there's speculation they might try reuniting him with Anna after she "allegedly" leaves Valentin over his secrets and lies, however he was boring with her too. Finola didn't exactly find Finn and Anna memorable either so if they are going to reunite, it's because of the temps, for Chris and Dan are big fans of Anna/Valentin. Frank's using Liz to prop Finn to make him stick because he doesn't want to get rid of his friend, no matter how much he flops. He's holding on to Roger too in the same vein, although rumors are Roger has considered quitting often, yet Frank manages to keep him. When Michael tried to quit GH some years ago, Frank convinced him to stay as well

Lifetime movie actors make between $75k-150k per movie. Hallmark movie actors who are starting out can earn anywhere from about $5600 their first movie, with residuals. It increases when they're more known and/or make more movies; that $5600 rate might be slightly higher for a soap star.

R155 Epitome of a soap actor 😁 😁 that's not a compliment is it

Roger Howarth and Michael Easton have been phoning it in for years. Neither of them contributes a thing to GH.

R156 LMAO clever. I see what you did there oh damn although one does wonder exactly how close those two are. Imagining Josh alone in his dressing room jerking would actually be nice to walk-in on 😁

R159 Frank and then head writers Jean and Shelley definitely wanted to recast. Billy Flynn was actually a frontrunner since he was no longer on DOOL at that time, for he's a fan of GH and he made it known that he was interested in joining the show. However Maurice was the one who refused a Morgan recast; he claimed that it was better to kill off Morgan, because he didn't want anyone else outside of Bryan Craig playing him. Jean especially wasn't happy when actors, Frank or even the network made her alter any storyline ideas, yet she reluctantly agreed to get rid of Morgan. Remember there was a scene of someone watching outside of the Corinthos home after he "died" so many assumed it was him.

Does Maurice really have that kind of power? Where he can demand that a role not be recast? As I said in another thread, GH seems like a toxic workplace.

The temp writers are getting mixed reviews; some say they're moving storylines along faster, the dialogue is sharper while they're also utilizing the cast and history more. Others are saying it's just not any different than the permanent writers, some are even saying its worse or at least just more of the same.

WGA and AMPTP are meeting today in a last ditch effort to resolve their disagreement and reach a deal

When Carolyn Hennesy (Diane) was on Mo's show she said Mo is the only actor who attends writers' meetings...

I think it was her subtle way of letting the viewers know while simultaneously appearing to be stroking Mo's huge ego. Well played Carolyn, well played!

R168 Yes he yields a lot of power. Probably not as much as he used to, however he still holds a lot of weight. Frank seemed to start kissing up to him after Maurice organized the mutiny to have Ron fired. Ever since then, Frank has pretty much gone out of his way to make him feel important. Now Frank did refuse to rehire Steve back in 2016 then 2017, because his pettiness with Steve for quitting on him in 2012, in favor of Y&R, got the better of him, so Maurice had to go over Frank's head and contact the network in order to get his friend's job back. Frank isn't in a position to show if he isn't too pleased with Maurice since he knows Maurice can possibly get him fired. That's why he "allegedly" kept Sonny and Carly together for so long when Maurice wanted a new pairing, for spite. He had the network backing him on that one, wanting to keep those two together for nostalgia sake.

R171 😆 yeah she's pretty smart. Very much like Diane in real life.

I love Diane; she’s like the human embodiment of the Lindsay Neagle character from The Simpsons.

Slight correction to R150: NAC’s Menendez series was always scheduled to be a 2024 show, with shooting starting this fall. If it weren’t for the strikes, he would likely just be starting his leave around now.

R175 I stand corrected 😁 I thought they were scheduled to start filming this summer. Thanks.

Spoilers from Twitter/X:

Some characters will be in "Puerto Rico" soon (Sonny's island set)

A character will end up in "Vermont" soon

Mo's son is still taping as of now (already mentioned by someone here that Mo wants him on more; they're trying to work him into more scenes)

Imo, they could actually work Mo's son into more story if they wanted to, even giving him a contract. I think Frank's being petty lol I don't blame him. This way he can appease Maurice without pleasing him too much.

*whispers* I think Mo’s son is actually pretty good.

R179 Lol better than his father? Or more like a younger, earlier version of him?

He just has a natural, appealing presence, R180. If I hadn’t been told he was Mo’s son I wouldn’t have guessed.

R181 Well he's expected to be on more soon.

The WGA and the AMPTP are reaching the home stretch, their lawyers are now going over everything before they solidify the final stages of signing their new contract. It's expected to be finalized either tonight or tomorrow.

I wonder -- and I dont' know anything -- if Gh writers stayed on during the strike. Why shouldn't they? They stop writing and on their next cycle, they're canned and their jobs are taken by scab writers.

Why not write under a ghost name.

I wonder if NAC is gay. He doesn' have chemistry with any of his leading ladies. I think black audiences are so desperate to see a black woman in a frontburner romance they'll swear up and down that NAC and TA are the second coming.

Spencer acts like he's dishing with his gay bestie in his scenes with Trina. It's not believable. There's a huge twitter following for TA and NAC though. Black viewers want to see a black heroine live in Wyndemere, they want her to take down Esme. They want her to be a combination of Kim Hughes, Victoria Lord, Rachel Cory, and Reva Shayne.

I can't fault folks wanting representation. I wish the gays had it past flaming Leo on DAYS.