When news of Jason Thompson‘s decision to leave ABC’s “General Hospital” after a decade first came to light, timed around the announcement of Burgess Jenkins being out as the third Billy Abbott in two years at CBS’ “The Young and the Restless,” rumors ran rampant that “GH’s” loss would ultimately become “Y&R’s” gain and that is now proven true. Thompson will officially join the “Y&R” cast on screen beginning in January 2016.
Thompson’s joining “Y&R” reunites him with current “Y&R” executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, who first brought the actor to “GH” in 2005, when she helmed that soap to a number of Emmy wins.
““I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with Jason again,” said Phelps on landing Thompson in Genoa City in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, which first broke the news. “He’s an exceptional actor and a wonderful human being. He will bring so much to the character and we’re thrilled to welcome him to The Young and Restless family.”
“Jason Thompson is an incredibly gifted actor and we are thrilled to welcome him,” noted Angelica McDaniel, the executive in charge of CBS Daytime. “Playing the pivotal role of Billy Abbott, Jason joins the talented cast of The Young and the Restless as the show celebrates an unprecedented 27 consecutive years as daytime’s No. 1 drama.”
“There are a lot of guys who have played this character and one of them did it for a number of years, Billy [Miller, now ‘GH’s’ Jason]. I’ve become really friendly with Billy and we’ve had a couple conversations about it and he was nothing but gracious to me… It’s going to be hard to fill his shoes,” said Thompson in an interview with Soap Opera Digest appearing in the magazine’s next edition on sale next week.