Comings & Goings

On Friday, September 18, when Soap Opera Digest reported on a casting call going out for the contract role of Alisha by CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful,” fans of the daytime drama series began pondering if the show had plans to recast the role of Nicole (played by Reign Edwards) as the description for the character soundly awfully similar to that of the younger Avant sister. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In the newest issue of Soap Opera Digest, on newsstands now, it’s revealed that Serena Mason will become the first victim of the upcoming serial killer storyline on NBC’s “Days of our Lives.” The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering the character was one of the first reported to be leaving Salem following the hiring of a new head writing regime earlier this year. In an interview with the magazine, portrayer Melissa Archer talks about how she found out about her character dying, what’s next in her career and how Serena meets her maker!

Since departing “Days of our Lives” in 2007, actor Trevor Donovan (ex-Jeremy Horton) has gone on to add several roles onto his resume including appearing in episodes of The CW’s “90210,” ABC Family’s “Melissa & Joey,” and most recently starring in the History Channel mini-series, “Texas Rising.” Now the actor has been cast as the lead in “The Man Who Wasn’t,” a potential TV series adaptation of the Thomas Caplan series of novels which follows the tales of former covert operative Ty Hunter, who unintentionally becomes the world’s biggest movie star while maintaining a double life as a spy.

In a posting on his Facebook page, hours after his final scenes as Sonny Kiriakis on NBC’s “Days of our Lives” aired, actor Freddie Smith reflected on the roller coster ride he had playing the role and what it meant not just for him, but to the fans as well.

Actress Nadine Nicole is returning to CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” as Gwen beginning Wednesday, September 9, it was announced Saturday, August 15 during the “Y&R” Fan Event Dinner.

With new head writers on the horizon it was inevitable that “Days of our Lives” would also be getting a new teen scene, especially with what executive producer Ken Corday says to TV Insider‘s Michael Logan of something his late mother, Betty, used to share with him: “‘You have to water the roots of the [Days of our Lives] tree with a new generation every 10 years or so’ and that’s what we’ve done,” notes Corday to Logan. “These are the children of the children of the children of the children, and they are vital to our future.”

While only appearing in a handful of episodes of CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” in 2013 as Father Martin, actor Miles Gaston Villanueva is set to return to the soap next month in the newly created role of Luca Santori, a charming and mysterious Spanish prince from a wealthy family. The role is said to be recurring.

Eight months after it was announced that he would be vacating the role of Kyle Sloane on ABC’s “General Hospital” comes word that actor Robb Derringer will be reprising the role he originated from outgoing “As The World Turns” alum Grayson McCouch (ex-Dusty Donovan). Sources tell Soap Opera Network that producers decided to take the character in a different direction, which prompted the change.