Salem International: Casting Notes: Arrivals & Departures

[ByaNose]

2 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Well that and she's not poor either her husband is a multimillionaire.

Or maybe she has another gig lined up and hasn't announced it yet? Days always seems to be in the news if some drama occurs. Honestly this interview isn't really that scandalous. I've seen worse exit interviews of soap actors.

Not so much scandalous but I always thought she’d be like AS and come back for visits. Then again she left twice before.....I think and didn’t return until she did. LOL!!!! That said, I am amazed how much mainstream press Days is getting with all of their exits. I’ve read more about Days in non soap press in the last year then ever before. I find it odd now after all these years and only 4 soaps on the air. Why do they care now? 

[CanaryFan98]

5 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Not so much scandalous but I always thought she’d be like AS and come back for visits. Then again she left twice before.....I think and didn’t return until she did. LOL!!!! That said, I am amazed how much mainstream press Days is getting with all of their exits. I’ve read more about Days in non soap press in the last year then ever before. I find it odd now after all these years and only 4 soaps on the air. Why do they care now? 

Yes she left with PR in 1987 and then came back in 1990 where PR stayed and she left again because I think she was pregnant at the time and returned in 1994 and will leave now. I feel like there's a lot more to KA's exit this time around and I honestly think we're nearing the end here... 

Like I said the end is near for these soaps and the non soap press smell blood in the water. When everyone was released from their contract at the end of last year I kind of suspected that it would end up coming back to haunt the show. While I don't think KA leaving is as big a deal as it would've been maybe a decade ago she was a familiar face and does have fans. Plus I always expected her to be one of the last ones standing and if she's wanting out that makes me wonder about a lot of things...

[WendyCR72]

Well, this excerpt from KA...

But in the last few years, Days of Our Lives is not the Days of Our Lives as I know it," she explained.

...is most definitely not wrong.

[CanaryFan98]

 

[howmanywords]

Just putting this here. Pretty lengthy interview with KA. It makes me grasp her leaving more than SOD did. Still upset we arent getting an actual exit.

 

[DisneyBoy]

She sure is getting a lot of press, which must be satisfying. I just watched the Entertainment Tonight interview she just did, and the interviewer, a fellow soap actor from General Hospital, was gushing over her about how everything she was saying was so true and she "still has such heart and such innocence!"

... I absolutely hate it when people conducting interviews try to fill time with ass kissing. It not only sounds completely insincere and over-the-top, but also so nonspecific. How does her saying she's glad to leave the show have anything to do with her maintaining her innocence?   LOL

She said in the Entertainment Tonight interview that she knows how she's leaving or rather, what the writers have done. She also described her conversation on the phone with Corday in such a way that makes me think that perhaps Hope does have an exit of some sort, but that it was only meant to be temporary, as in for a few episodes and then they were going to negotiate with her taking a longer absence. So maybe Hope does leave in search of something or someone, but now she just won't be coming back.

So she won't have a big grand farewell, but she will perhaps leave in a way that's explained partially.

...does anyone else desperately hope Kristian Alfonso uses this time to just gain 20 lb?

Edited August 1, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[howmanywords]

Here is our new Claire..

[SueB]

Well, she's got signature BLUE eyes.  So there's that.  

[CanaryFan98]

Apparently the actress is Australian and well known there. Days airs in Australia so I think this is a large part of why they were interested in her as well.

She has the look I hope she can hide that Australian accent that would probably be my only issue. 

I also echo that KA would look better with 20 more pounds. Hope was so stunning in the 80s and a large part of it was that she had a fuller face back then too.

[DisneyBoy]

So...she isn't that actress that starred in that Canadian Prairie series about a girl who rides horses that lasted like a million seasons? She looks exactly like that woman.

Edit: Well, she did in that one photo above...apparently she's a dancer. I wonder if Clare will dance and sing now?

Edited August 2, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[CanaryFan98]

Doesn't Claire sing already? Well when she isn't trying to set people on fire that is.

[DisneyBoy]

Yes... It's the dancing that would be the new part.

[bannana]

17 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

So...she isn't that actress that starred in that Canadian Prairie series about a girl who rides horses that lasted like a million seasons? She looks exactly like that woman.

Edit: Well, she did in that one photo above...apparently she's a dancer. I wonder if Clare will dance and sing now?

Are you thinking about Heartland?  She resembles the actress in that series.  I don't watch the series but they did film an episode on my street just a block away from my house. 🐎

Amber Marshall

[DisneyBoy]

Yes! Heartland. Exactly. Thank you!

[howmanywords]

Did you guys see that Cameo VK did? I saw it this morning on instagram and it looks like it got deleted because fans were having fights and meltdowns. There has been so much speculation about her leaving and whether its temporary, going recurring, or just leaving a couple of months for a family emergency.  Well, she couldnt have been more clear in this clip when talking about leaving..even said she thought about it for a long time and that she decided its the best move for her, no hints of returning. Now to speculate how Ciara will leave. Any ideas I had were more for a temp exit hmm.

[Silver Raven]

An actor named Johnny Lee posted this audition video six months ago for a character called "Oliver" interacting with Claire.  From Jason47's facebook page.

 

 

[DisneyBoy]

Oy. That dialogue.

2 hours ago, howmanywords said:

...even said she thought about it for a long time and that she decided its the best move for her, no hints of returning. Now to speculate how Ciara will leave. Any ideas I had were more for a temp exit hmm

If she leaves in the next month, either Ben kills her, tries to kill her and she goes into hiding or she just goes to Hong Kong for bogus reason x.

Edited August 3, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[SueB]

I like the guy in the audition tape. 
 

If VK doesn’t have another acting gig lined up then she’s taking a massive risk IMO.  GV showed the right way.  He HAD another gig, then left.   VK is one of a 1000 pretty girls with some screen time.  It wouldn’t matter if she was a young Meryl Streep.  Getting a job in Hollywood, even with credits, is damn hard. 

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, SueB said:

If VK doesn’t have another acting gig lined up then she’s taking a massive risk IMO.  GV showed the right way.  He HAD another gig, then left.   VK is one of a 1000 pretty girls with some screen time.  It wouldn’t matter if she was a young Meryl Streep.  Getting a job in Hollywood, even with credits, is damn hard. 

I agree. And this is why I imagine she'll come back eventually. Most of them do lol.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, SueB said:

If VK doesn’t have another acting gig lined up then she’s taking a massive risk IMO.  GV showed the right way.  He HAD another gig, then left.   VK is one of a 1000 pretty girls with some screen time.  It wouldn’t matter if she was a young Meryl Streep.  Getting a job in Hollywood, even with credits, is damn hard. 

Being a professional actor is a huge risk, period.  That's what they've signed up for.  The nature of being on a contract makes it difficult to get another gig while they're still under contract to the show they're on.  That's why actors will leave soaps to try to jump into primetime or leave their primetime shows if they want to do movies more than just during their hiatus. 

It's not impossible and sometimes bosses are nice and will let their actors audition with a promise to release them for their contracts if they get other work but most will only allow that if they could go either way on the actor/character (unless the actor managed to get it written into their contract).

It's not like regular jobs where having another job is an advantage in the job market.  In fact, having a soap job might be seen as a disadvantage. 

I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up coming back but she's young.  I do think it's smart for her to explore.

Edited August 3, 2020 by Irlandesa

[QueenSerena]

Greg's full exit interview:

[DisneyBoy]

Nice interview. Now I'm really hoping AZ leaves too. Happy Ending Please!

[Retired at last]

I read somewhere that the scenes that were shot last November should be shown in the next week or two, so Eric should be leaving really soon. I wonder if it will have anything to do with Nicole getting Allie's baby. It is clear that they aren't going to kill him off since he has the offer to come back. (I know, I know)

[Pearson80]

2 hours ago, Retired at last said:

I read somewhere that the scenes that were shot last November should be shown in the next week or two, so Eric should be leaving really soon. I wonder if it will have anything to do with Nicole getting Allie's baby. It is clear that they aren't going to kill him off since he has the offer to come back. (I know, I know)

Nicole better not get Allie's baby and Eric would be a fool to let that happen..  

[katie9918]

5 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

Nicole better not get Allie's baby and Eric would be a fool to let that happen..  

If Allie wants it and Nicole and Eric are okay with it, it’s nobody else’s damn business.

 

Even if Eric is not okay with it, it’s still nobody’s damn business except Allie, Nicole, and Eric’s.

[DisneyBoy]

Even if Eric says "no", that still leaves Kate, Lucas, Marlena, John, Claire, Billie, Austin and Roman, to name a few, who are family that could step in.

I mean, she walked away from her kid, abandoning it in a hospital...! I don't think her stupid scrawled note on a piece of paper counts for much. You walk away, you get no say.

Edited August 8, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[DaphneCat]

4 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Even if Eric says "no", that still leaves Kate, Lucas, Marlena, John, Claire, Billie, Austin and Roman, to name a few, who are family that could step in.

I mean, she walked away from her kid, abandoning it in a hospital...! I don't think her stupid scrawled note on a piece of paper counts for much. You walk away, you get no say.

This times a million.  Sami was right when she said that Allie was treating the baby like "first come, first served at the ice cream parlor" and that note just proves it.  Apparently Allie really DOES think she can simply order someone to take her baby.  I know it didn't actually work with Rafe, but THIS time it's fine.  Really.  Just specify you want someone (who you never even ASKED) to take the kid and they magically just get the kid.  After all everyone has been telling her that it is HER decision so obviously the thoughts of anyone else who MIGHT be affected (Rafe, Nicole, Eric) aren't even a consideration.  Allie tells them to take the baby so they will.

[Retired at last]

Actually, it is NOT just Allie's choice. There is a father and she mentioned that people would be mad if they knew who he was, so that means he has some connection to Salem.

[CanaryFan98]

 

[peachmangosteen]

"I felt like a glorified extra."

Well then lol.

[CanaryFan98]

While I think Eric was treated like an afterthought on this show compared to a lot of characters he was in the Rex/Sarah storyline and baby switch. Both of these stories were on the frontburner. 

 

I guess I don't agree with the glorified extra when you have Abe and Roman who fit the bill.

[DisneyBoy]

Yeah, it does seem a little like he's not seeing the big picture. I think the problem was more that Eric didn't have layers. He was always just the good guy trying to do the good thing, which on this show was...a good thing, honestly, because the last few years so many of the characters have done completely questionable crazy stuff to the extent that it's hard to root for them. Even normally good guys like Roman and Shane and Steve especially and Brady have been turned into guys who have done some really messed up stuff. Eric is one of the few that's emerged unscathed. He was sympathetically portrayed during his breakdown over Dan and Nicole's engagement and the accidental death of Dan, and he served his jail time and was released and tormented by all of it. Eric is very tormented, as you've all pointed out already, but I think at the end of the day he's had a fairly good run since 2012. I could have done without the baby swap storyline and the unending sorrow over Dr Dan, and I definitely think the priest bit went on a bit too long, but it all flowed relatively well without any awkward fits or stops. That people are sad to see his character go is a testament to that. Greg should be kind of happy. They can bring Eric back any time and he'll be welcomed and recognizable and not have to shake off the baggage of storylines that sabotaged him (like Hope, Ciara and Rafe for example).

I'm so glad he and Nicole got married. I would have lost my damn mind if Greg had left the show before that happened.

Edited August 9, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[CanaryFan98]

Nice guys on soaps are written to be complete losers so that's not surprising. I can see why GV would rather play someone like Xander, Brady etc who get more of a POV than Eric would and they can do bad things.

 

I wonder how the other actors who are also leaving are going to handle their exit interviews... I can see Camila saying some choice things.

Edited August 9, 2020 by CanaryFan98

[Retired at last]

I just can't imagine what they will do with Nicole. Now that she is more mature and being an adult and NOT keeping secrets (she has gone the other way and is blabbing everything to everyone), but, without Eric, what will she do? I know she has a job, but all she has been doing is sleeping with Eric and making Sami mad it seems.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Retired at last

[CanaryFan98]

12 minutes ago, Retired at last said:

I just can't imagine what they will do with Nicole. Now that she is more mature and being an adult and NOT keeping secrets (she has gone the other way and us blabbing everything to everyone), but, without Eric, what will she do? I know she has a job, but all she has been doing is sleeping with Eric and making Sami mad it seems.

Assuming she doesn't leave with Eric they could pair Nicole with anyone else as she is not related to everyone in town. Nicole is one of the few characters that never needed a love interest to have a place on this show. She spent over a decade not giving Eric a second thought. They could have her be jaded with life and go back to her old ways, pair her with Brady again(then Eric returns if GV ever decides to come back), or take over the Kate mantle of the show where she's the welcome wagon to the new men of Salem(I mean Kate can't do this forever...) 

I'd take about anything as long as they don't bring back Daniel for her(which given Covid I could see this show wanting some RL pairings on screen if possible).

[DisneyBoy]

Hopefully, if she stays on screen for another 6 months, they just keep her married and loyal and have Eric come back and pick her up. I don't see the logic in making her cheat on Eric at this point in the show's history. I would be very surprised if Days last another two years. They've already wrapped up so many characters and are just keeping them in something of a holding pattern (Hi Jennifer and Jack, Tony and Anna, Abigail and Chad, Will and Sonny, Vivian and Yvon, John and Marlena, etc). Nicole is at her most fun when she's snarky and passing through other character's storylines, contributing some small beats that move the story forward. I could see her running Basic Black and having to deal with Victor and Phillip and Xander, as well as spending time with Allie and Marlena and John, and raising little Holly, and that would be enough to keep her occupied.

 

....I'm still curious who the last unannounced departure will be...but part of me is also kind of excited to know that it will be playing out on screen within the next two weeks, so why spoil it for myself right?

[Irlandesa]

28 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

.I'm still curious who the last unannounced departure will be...but part of me is also kind of excited to know that it will be playing out on screen within the next two weeks, so why spoil it for myself right?

They all haven't been announced?

Hmm.  And it's already confirmed that it isn't either of the DH's? 
 

Spoiler

 

Because I've been trying to figure out why on earth they'd be doing a "John collapses" story in the middle of everything.  Desperation to give them something to do? 

It has made me wonder if DH is on his way out and this is the way they're doing it--at his behest. 

 

 

[DisneyBoy]

I sincerely hope not, to that spoiler theory.

[CanaryFan98]

I heard Drake was still filming before the shutdown so I don't think its either of them.

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

Hopefully, if she stays on screen for another 6 months, they just keep her married and loyal and have Eric come back and pick her up. I don't see the logic in making her cheat on Eric at this point in the show's history. I would be very surprised if Days last another two years. They've already wrapped up so many characters and are just keeping them in something of a holding pattern (Hi Jennifer and Jack, Tony and Anna, Abigail and Chad, Will and Sonny, Vivian and Yvon, John and Marlena, etc). Nicole is at her most fun when she's snarky and passing through other character's storylines, contributing some small beats that move the story forward. I could see her running Basic Black and having to deal with Victor and Phillip and Xander, as well as spending time with Allie and Marlena and John, and raising little Holly, and that would be enough to keep her occupied.

 

....I'm still curious who the last unannounced departure will be...but part of me is also kind of excited to know that it will be playing out on screen within the next two weeks, so why spoil it for myself right?

I honestly see this happening because I don't expect Days to last much longer what would be the point?

 

[Pearson80]

3 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I honestly see this happening because I don't expect Days to last much longer what would be the point?

 

Days is the only soap that I watch and as bad and as awful as it is, I don't want it to go away just yet. It was really awful losing All My Children, One Life to live, Another world, Guiding Light over the years..  The sad thing is that all of those cancellations were avoidable if the networks had invested in them by hiring decent headwriters who love the genre and want it to succeed.. Treating the audience and the beloved characters with respect and not trying to imitate primetime and the movies. 

[CanaryFan98]

40 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Days is the only soap that I watch and as bad and as awful as it is, I don't want it to go away just yet. It was really awful losing All My Children, One Life to live, Another world, Guiding Light over the years..  The sad thing is that all of those cancellations were avoidable if the networks had invested in them by hiring decent headwriters who love the genre and want it to succeed.. Treating the audience and the beloved characters with respect and not trying to imitate primetime and the movies. 

Except they don't they recycle the same failed writers and expect fetch to happen. The equivalent of rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. It didn't have to be this way and had these networks invested more in soaps they would be in a better place financially themselves as you will never have an audience more loyal than soap fans (except sports fans). They have nobody to blame but themselves(although they will try their hardest to blame it on the working woman as if streaming services etc don't exist).

I think the virus afforded Days some time though what better replacement is out there? In this pandemic no less. I see that as a reason they would keep the show around not because they are actually putting out a good product.

They have until Sept 2021 which is nearly over a year away at this point.

[DisneyBoy]

I also don't want to Days to die.... because then this community would die along with it.

 

I like you guys.

[BuckeyeLou]

8 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I also don't want to Days to die.... because then this community would die along with it.

 

I like you guys.

Awww...Thanks DisneyBoy, I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts & opinions also.

[SueB]

They JUST had their 'happy ever after' moment of marriage, so I don't see Eric leaving in a huff.  They'll be some artificial thing ... something with Africa... that sends him out on a humanitarian mission that only HE can do.  And Nicole won't take Holly (or both children).  And they'll wait and see if they can entice Vaughn back.  If not, they'll get a new actor and recast.  That's my speculation.  

 

[CanaryFan98]

I lean towards Eric being killed off given Corday's comments on how nobody really dies.

[CanaryFan98]

I honestly did not miss them although I do like EM's Brady if Kristen is his only option. He was better off gone.

 

[WendyCR72]

13 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I honestly did not miss them although I do like EM's Brady if Kristen is his only option. He was better off gone.

 

Yuck. Just yuck.

[DisneyBoy]

I was so hoping they would both just be gone. Ron is never going to stop writing her the worst possible way.

 

On the flip side, now that she and Marlena are besties, perhaps Marlena will have tea with her and Ben!

[peachmangosteen]

13 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

On the flip side, now that she and Marlena are besties, perhaps Marlena will have tea with her and Ben!

I actually want this. The absurdity would be UCG!

[SueB]

Was yesterday ORK's last episode?  The 'you're all better' scene with Marlena?  It felt like a goodbye with a recast on the imminent