20 Craziest Daytime Soap Moments of 2018
And the Emmy Goes to…No One?
Due to a submission error, prime time Emmy-winner Patrika Darbo (Mickey, The Bay) had her Daytime Emmy for Guest Performer in a Daytime Digital Drama taken away. The award reportedly was set to go next to Jennifer Bassey (Beverly, Anacostia), but ultimately, it was decided that no one would receive the award.
The Necktie Killer Returns!
Robert Scott Wilson was written off Days of Our Lives after it was revealed that his character, Ben, was a serial killer! The actor’s performances were so compelling, however, the show decided to spring Ben and his rock-hard abs from jail and say that he’s redeemed. The writers have launched a Ben and Ciara (Victoria Konefal) dynamic, but the challenge now is to somehow truly redeem him. It’d be a “Cin” not to!
(Not) Forever Young
Mal Young appeared to be firmly entrenched at The Young and the Restless as both executive producer and head writer. His announcement this month that he has exited the soap and has returned to England came as a shock. Changes in Genoa City are inevitable as the new creative team settles in next year.
The Marrying Man
There’s changing your mind on soaps and then there’s switching back and forth between two love interests that viewers get whiplash! The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) was set to reunite with estranged wife Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), but then decided he wanted to marry Hope (Annika Noelle). That was called off – and then he decided to go ahead and marry Hope. Along the way, Liam impregnated both What’s going on? Let’s just say the addition of Wayne Brady as Dr. Reese Buckingham has given us “hope for the future.”
General Hospital Brings Back Ryan Chamberlain!
He was believed dead after killing himself in the mid-90s, but it turns out bad guy Ryan (Jon Lindstrom) is really alive! He’s replaced his twin brother Kevin (also Lindstrom) and, currently, the most recent body count stands at two. Will more die before Ryan’s exposed?
Abusive Behavior
Y&R viewers were thrilled that fan favorite Thad Luckinbill reprised his role as J.T. Hellstrom. However, reaction was mixed, to say the least, to the revelation that J.T., a teen rebel turned hero, started expressing behavior that went from controlling to abusive. Y&R shined a light on how and why a strong woman like Victoria (Amelia Heinle) could be manipulated by her bullying ex. If it happened to Vicki, who else might fall prey to an abuser who plays mind-games with people about whom he claims to care?
“Taylor” Made
The list of suspects in the “Who Shot Bill Spencer (Don Diamont)?” story on The Bold and the Beautiful read like the show’s cast list! But the writers pulled off a real shocker when it was revealed that Taylor (Hunter Tylo) was the one who plugged lead into Bill.
Dear Abby
There was nothing Days of Our Lives could do to take the sting out of Marci Miller quitting her role as Abigail Deveraux after playing the part since late 2016. Unless, of course, it was the news that Kate Mansi would be reprising the part!
Father’s Daze
Before Det. Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) was killed off on GH, we learned his dad was (gasp!) none other than long-running baddie Cesar Faison (Anders Hove)! An even bigger shock was that Anna (Finola Hughes) and Faison are the parents of Peter August (Wes Ramsey)!
Jack’s Not an Abbott?
The Young and the Restless is no stranger to paternity puzzle storylines, but Jack (Peter Bergman) not being an Abbott just didn’t ring true. Having Albert Miller (the late George Kennedy) being Jack’s dad would have tied him to Victor (Eric Braeden), but something about that just didn’t make sense as the two men look nothing alike. What did make sense is that Ashley (Eileen Davidson) orchestrated Jack’s dilemma as payback for the pain she felt over not being the birth daughter of the late John Abbott (Jerry Douglas).
And the Winner Is…?
The four daytime broadcast soaps, B&B, DAYS, GH, and Y&R sent a letter to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) asking for reform and changes to be made to the process in light of the snafu involving Patrika Darbo (Mickey, The Bay) and Jennifer Bassey (Beverly, Anacostia) and other issues. After an investigation, the four soaps told Deadline, “As a group, we are not in agreement with all of the conclusions that NATAS reached. However, in the spirit of working with NATAS and the TV Academy on improving the integrity of the Daytime Emmys, we have lifted our boycott. We look forward to meeting with NATAS to discuss their findings and our concerns in greater detail.”
Life Begins (Again) at 40
Doug Davidson celebrated his 40th anniversary on Y&R this year as Paul Williams; alas, the show opted to drop him to recurring status in early 2018. The actor has been vocal in thanking his fans for their support via social media. Now that there’s been a regime change at the top-rated sudser, they’re hoping Paul returns to action in the New Year.
Mission (Not So) Impossible
Some roles just can’t be recast, but Days fans learned that baddie Kristen DiMera is not on that list! The NBC serial hired Stacy Haiduk (ex-Patty, The Young and the Restless) to fill both Kristen’s big bad shoes and Susan’s big fake teeth! Haiduk delivered big time. Among her supporters? Eileen Davidson, who originated the roles and tweeted that Stacy “is a fantastic actress”!
Hasty Exit
It’s never easy to write out a character when an actor’s exit from a show is sudden. Days explained the absence of Steve Johnson (fan favorite Stephen Nichols) by saying he’d been arrested off-camera! Here’s hoping Days “patches” this story up and brings Nichols back to the show in 2019.
Killing Kiki
We knew there was a serial killer on the loose in Port Charles and we knew that Hayley Erin had landed a role on The Perfectionists, a spinoff of Pretty Little Liars. Still, Kiki’s grisly murder on General Hospital came as a shock. The silver lining to her passing was a series of powerful performances from her bereaved TV mother, Maura West (Ava), who had viewers feeling for her as Ava screamed at Kiki’s corpse: “Lauren Katherine Jerome, you open your eyes and sit up!”
Fourth Time Is Charming
The Young and the Restless had cast three adult actors to play the role of Kyle Abbott, Jack’s (Peter Bergman) son over the last several years. Each time, before any of them could truly sink their teeth into a big storyline, the show wrote the character off the canvas. So, when news of a fourth actor taking on the part was announced, we kept our fingers crossed that the show would position the character in a good place. Newcomer Michael Mealor hit the ground running, turning Kyle into both lovable rascal and appealing leading man.
Tastes Like Chicken
If you thought the freezing of Port Charles back in 1981 was the most surreal moment on General Hospital, well, you might have to think again! In 2018, actor George Hamilton, who plays Kentucky Fried Chicken spokesperson Col. Sanders, brought the fast food military man to town in scenes with Maxie (Kristen Storms) and Lulu (Emme Rylan) in honor of – what else – National Fried Chicken Day!
Stephanie Returns
Susan Flannery, a multiple Emmy-winner for her run as The Bold and the Beautiful’s controlling Stephanie left the half-hour soap in 2012. Stephanie died on-camera so a return in the flesh hasn’t been likely since her exit. However, she revived Steph as a spiritual voice, talking to Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) via her portrait after Brooke married Ridge (Thorsten Kaye).
Who’s Conning Whom?
After fan favorite Melissa Claire Egan announced her exit from The Young and the Restless, the show tapped into her character Chelsea’s con artist past to write her out of the show. Chelsea kept a straight face as she wondered who was ripping off her company? It turned out to be Chelsea herself. She grabbed the dough, her son Connor, and bolted out of town. But Y&R left out one important factor from this story – why? Chelsea had a happy life and it made no sense for her to give it all up.
Jack’s Back
In the six years that Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) has been presumed dead on Days of Our Lives, viewers haven’t truly taken to any of the pairings that have been created with his “widow” Jennifer (Melissa Reeves). It’s been reported that Ashford’s back on the show, and the year 2019 will be one that Jack and Jen fans won’t want to miss!
Soaps went through a series of crazy moments both on-screen and off over the last year.
From Emmy drama to surprising returns and shocking deaths, series like The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, and more sent fans into a tizzy more than once in 2018.
Click through the gallery above for a look back at some of the more memorable events that rocked the daytime world this year!
