Salem International: Casting Notes: Arrivals & Departures

[RedElf]

AJ McLean from Back Street Boys is going to have a cameo next week.  He said Days is his grandmother's favorite show.

 

[peachmangosteen]

I've been wondering when he was gonna be on. He posted that vid of him on set like 2 years ago it seems lol.

[buffynut]

These would fit better in the behind the scenes, but because of casting spoilers, putting them here.

 

 

 

 

[peachmangosteen]

So Leo is definitely coming back then?

[Kitty Redstone]

Very glad to hear that MA/Jack isn't going anywhere!

[DisneyBoy]

So he'll still be changing his grown-ass daughters' diapers months from now?

Terrific.

Hopefully he gets a better storyline 

[Artsda]

Yeah if he's only here to prop Gwen more, he's better off going to Jenn offscreen.

[bunnyblue]

I was resigned to MA leaving yet again, so I welcome the news that he's staying (at least I hope that's what it means by him being at the 56th anniversary party). While I hate that Jack has been turned into an idiot when it comes to Gwen and that it has affected his relationship with Abigail, I hope now that he knows all of Gwen's secrets & lies we'll see him stop treating her like a child. Friday was a nice start.

I think it's unfair that Jack's/MA fate on the show is always tied to Jennifer's/MR and I'm happy he won't be written out when she visits for Christmas. I still think Jack being torn between his daughters is a good storyline for him because it's about him and not Jennifer. Now that Gwen's been exposed, I have a bit of hope that Jack will start treating her like an adult and his relationship with both daughters can be repaired. More Jack & Steve scenes would be great too.

[KBrownie]

1 hour ago, bunnyblue said:

Jack being torn between his daughters is a good storyline for him because it's about him and not Jennifer. 

At no point has any of this Gwen mess, in any shape or form, been about Jack.  He has had almost NO POV about anything.  He's just been the vehicle through which the show tried to give the flailing dud Gwen a tie to Salem.  He's been nothing but a prop whose characterization has been so twisted to the point of unrecognizable to tell poor, poor Gwen's sad, sad story.  Gwen gets multiple repetitive monologues about why she is the way she is and why she does what she does to the point of ridiculousness, but crickets from Jack unless it's to serve the purpose of propping Gwen.   He doesn't even show up onscreen unless it's with Gwen or talking about Gwen.  Gwen, Gwen, and more Gwen.  Like or dislike JnJ, but every other word, thought, or action has never been "Jennifer."

It was SO refreshing to see him briefly interacting with Doug and Julie and it not having anything to do with Gwen.  Him and Julie used to mix it up all the time back in the day.  He still lives with Julie, but nothing else with them about Doug's situation.  Jack was close with John and Marlena during Jen's coma, he could be another one noticing something off with her or he could be talking with her about how he's felt since the retcon showed up, but no.  He's nothing but Gwen's fool to lie to.  She doesn't care about him.  It's all about making up for her bad life.  Even this most recent episode she's going on about how he would look at HER.  Nothing about how he might have felt about being lied to all this time.  Has she ever apologized to him for trying to kill his beloved daughter.  Trying to break up his marriage to the love of his life?  Setting up his son to be a witness to all of it?  Nope.  All about Gwen and her feelings.  But it's HIS story.  

This was never his story.  It's ALWAYS been Gwen's.  RC, KC, or whoever decided she was going to be a "thing" no matter what and they are still bouncing her around trying to make it happen no matter what character has to be sacrificed.  They talk only about her in interviews.  How she's affected.  Not anyone else. 

He's also never been "torn" between Gwen and Abigail.  One of the most nonsensical, OOC, features of this story has been Jack's quick and total willingness to turn his back multiple times on the child he raised and basically forget about his other child in favor of the lying attempted murder Gwen.  

Sure, this isn't about Jennifer.  But it sure as hell ain't about Jack.  Not by a long shot.  If anyone really cares about Jack's character, they should be praying for Jennifer because being Gwen's daddy is destroying him.  Once the writers are ready to move Gwen on to the next attempt to make anyone care about her, Jack will have served his purpose and disappear, and somehow it will be Jennifer's fault.  Not the useless retcon.  

Edited November 9, 2021 by KBrownie

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, KBrownie said:

At no point has any of this Gwen mess, in any shape or form, been about Jack.  He has had almost NO POV about anything.

This.

This is ALL about poor, poor, pitiful Gwen and how Daddy abandoned her! (He had no idea she existed.) So if she is a bitch and a manipulator and goes after Abby or anyone else, well...she had a BAD CHILDHOOD! So, PITY HER.

Fuck all of it. Fuck Gwen for ruining Jack. And fuck the justification for this worthless retcon by Ron.

[CanaryFan98]

Wasn't MA recurring before they said he was going to leave?

 

That could still happen its just that Jack/Jennifer move to Boston but we see Jack visit? 

[katie9918]

Quite frankly, I’d give up both propped Gwen and played out Abby (and… who? oh, yeah Chad) for Jack and (MR) Jennifer (and a non-ruined JJ) playing with Steve and Kayla. What do I have to do for some actual Jack/Steve scenes?!??

Gwen is non-redeemable unless she owns up to every lie she’s told, including the miscarriage lie. As horrible as Abby might be (and it’s debatable), she doesn’t deserve what lying disgusting Gwen has brought on her.

 

[DisneyBoy]

No, Abby still sucks.

[CanaryFan98]

17 hours ago, katie9918 said:

Quite frankly, I’d give up both propped Gwen and played out Abby (and… who? oh, yeah Chad) for Jack and (MR) Jennifer (and a non-ruined JJ) playing with Steve and Kayla. What do I have to do for some actual Jack/Steve scenes?!??

Gwen is non-redeemable unless she owns up to every lie she’s told, including the miscarriage lie. As horrible as Abby might be (and it’s debatable), she doesn’t deserve what lying disgusting Gwen has brought on her.

 

I would love this scenario of Steve/Kayla with Jack/Jennifer/JJ!

If only this show had a writer that I could trust to make it happen. Sadly it would've been Hogan Sheffer who unfortunately passed a couple years ago.

[Frozendiva]

Soapdirt has an article about Clyde, Leo, and Jennifer retuning.

[Artsda]

Was watching 'This is Us' and Mike Manning (Charlie Dale) was playing a character opposite Justin Hartley.

[BuckeyeLou]

16 hours ago, Artsda said:

Was watching 'This is Us' and Mike Manning (Charlie Dale) was playing a character opposite Justin Hartley.

Yes, I posted that over on the "This is Us" forum.  He was playing the new, younger "Manny"...I kept saying I recognized him & then it clicked who he was :)

[methodwriter85]

6 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Yes, I posted that over on the "This is Us" forum.  He was playing the new, younger "Manny"...I kept saying I recognized him & then it clicked who he was :)

I still think it's funny he's playing like early/mid-20's when he's about like 35. lol

[DisneyBoy]

On 11/6/2021 at 4:38 PM, RedElf said:

AJ McLean from Back Street Boys is going to have a cameo next week.  He said Days is his grandmother's favorite show.

 

When did this happen? I totally missed it...how did it play out?

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

When did this happen? I totally missed it...how did it play out?

He was one of the prison guards that Ava/Gwen convinced to help Kristen escape prison. I don't think he even had any lines. Maybe 1.

[Retired at last]

LOL - I read that (Kyle Lowder) Rex is leaving again. Have we even seen him other than to tell his story about Sarah? Oh well, he picked up a few dollars.

[Chellfairy]

11 hours ago, Retired at last said:

LOL - I read that (Kyle Lowder) Rex is leaving again. Have we even seen him other than to tell his story about Sarah? Oh well, he picked up a few dollars.

Ohhh real Brady, KL, please come back. Let’s make EM Brady Rex. The ‘ole switcharoo, its been done before! Show would be so much better .. for me, which is , of course,  most important!

Edited January 21, 2022 by Chellfairy

[Guest]

On 1/20/2022 at 1:23 PM, Retired at last said:

LOL - I read that (Kyle Lowder) Rex is leaving again. Have we even seen him other than to tell his story about Sarah? Oh well, he picked up a few dollars.

I feel sad for the guy. Ron treats KL like trash and never give him anything to work with. They can give Sarah/Rex and Xander/Gwen a real shot instead of going for revolving doors of masks again. 

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, sweetautumn said:

I feel sad for the guy. Ron treats KL like trash and never give him anything to work with. They can give Sarah/Rex and Xander/Gwen a real shot instead of going for revolving doors of masks again. 

Give Gwen to Rex; I don't give a shit about him. Or Gwen. Perfect!

[peachmangosteen]

Love that idea! Two characters I actually like getting together would be great. I feel like Rex is too much of a good guy for Gwen though. Although, I do love a bad/good ship.

[DisneyBoy]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:31 AM, peachmangosteen said:

He was one of the prison guards that Ava/Gwen convinced to help Kristen escape prison. I don't think he even had any lines. Maybe 1.

That's weird. I know his star has faded but he's still a celeb. You'd think they'd use him for more than a cameo.

I thought he said he was playing a taxi driver...

[Pearson80]

21 hours ago, sweetautumn said:

I feel sad for the guy. Ron treats KL like trash and never give him anything to work with. They can give Sarah/Rex and Xander/Gwen a real shot instead of going for revolving doors of masks again. 

To be fair, the only characters that Ron likes to write for are Jarlena, Abigail, Kristen, Brady, Gabi, Ava, Gwen, Sami. If you are not a fan of theirs, then the show is a torture to watch.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Pearson80

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

That's weird. I know his star has faded but he's still a celeb. You'd think they'd use him for more than a cameo.

I thought he said he was playing a taxi driver...

I think he said he was playing 'a driver,' which turned out to be the driver of the prison van that helped Kristen escape.

I expected him to at least have a few lines so I was surprised.

[carrier76]

7 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

To be fair, the only characters that Ron likes to write for are Jarlena, Abigail, Kristen, Brady, Gabi, Ava, Gwen, Sami. If you are not a fan of theirs, then the show is a torture to watch.

Don’t forget about CIN… 🙄

[Sidney]

Someone posted a pic of RSW on the Days set yesterday. I'm guessing he probably posted it to reassure his fans.

[peachmangosteen]

17 minutes ago, Sidney said:

Someone posted a pic of RSW on the Days set yesterday. I'm guessing he probably posted it to reassure his fans.

Link?

[Jaded]

11 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Link?

Here is the pic he uploaded to his IG Stories yesterday. As we all know it doesn't mean he was actually there though. 


 

[Sidney]

28 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Link?

I was just about to post that someone posted his pic on twitter. I see someone has posted it.

[Sidney]

16 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Here is the pic he uploaded to his IG Stories yesterday. As we all know it doesn't mean he was actually there though. 


 

Yeah, I was reading on twitter some of his fans were confirming he posted it yesterday, but who knows. lol.

[Artsda]

He did post it himself. I don't think he's done filming. 

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, Artsda said:

He did post it himself. I don't think he's done filming. 

Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a new photo. Steve Burton was posting photos of himself at the GH studios when the rumors he was fired were going around and he was indeed fired.

[CanaryFan98]

Well we'll find out however I think RSW/Ben isn't gone completely either.

[peachmangosteen]

Maybe they'll have Ben leave with Ciara and then bring him back.

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Maybe they'll have Ben leave with Ciara and then bring him back.

At this point, have him just come back as one of Sonny's brothers that we've never seen the adult version of before. He's the right age, the character is a total blank slate, he looks mildly similar to NuSonny, and they can avoid the drama with Cin fans because it's an entirely new character. Seriously, if we must have RSW, just give him a new character! They do this on General Hospital like all the time.

[Kitty Redstone]

If he comes back to play an occasional GhostBen (and I mean occasional!) I'd be ok with that, although I'd prefer he be written off entirely.

[Artsda]

6 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a new photo. Steve Burton was posting photos of himself at the GH studios when the rumors he was fired were going around and he was indeed fired.

Steve Burton is a whole different type of person. 

I don't think RSW faked being there, maybe they really are done and he's filming scenes out of order, maybe he was cleaning out his dressing room, maybe he's not leaving. But I believed he was on set that day. 

 

[Peanut6711]

I vote Ron brings that stupid Romeo and Juliet CIN storyline full swing and have them go out Romeo & Juliet style. 

[DisneyBoy]

 I just want Ben gone you guys.

Is that too much to ask?

[buffynut]

 

17 hours ago, Artsda said:

I don't think RSW faked being there, maybe they really are done and he's filming scenes out of order, maybe he was cleaning out his dressing room, maybe he's not leaving. But I believed he was on set that day. 

Over on the DR site, where I still lurk, one of the mods has posted that due to people testing positive for Covid, that scenes get filmed out of order more than ever, so not to trust dressing room pics as proof an actor is still on contract.  

[KBrownie]

1 hour ago, buffynut said:

not to trust dressing room pics as proof an actor is still on contract. 

But everyone should totally trust the random people, blogs, and third-hand sources on Twitter and FB though. 

I mean, the point is absolutely true, but the actors get way more scrutiny about what they post than the super random people on Twitter who supposedly know entire storylines that people just repeat as fact so many times that it becomes fact even though no one reputable has supported it.

I guess it doesn't matter as the truth will be revealed eventually, but I just find it funny that the actors get more scrutiny than random Twitter posts.  At least the actors have a pic as some proof.  Twitter is just "I heard . . . ," "Insiders are reporting . . . " a bunch of times 😕 .   

Edited February 6, 2022 by KBrownie

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, buffynut said:

Over on the DR site, where I still lurk, one of the mods has posted that due to people testing positive for Covid, that scenes get filmed out of order more than ever, so not to trust dressing room pics as proof an actor is still on contract.  

They might be filming out of order but a soap contract usually has an end date.  

If they released him, they'd have to pay him to film more episodes.   

[CanaryFan98]

On 2/5/2022 at 5:13 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Maybe they'll have Ben leave with Ciara and then bring him back.

I can believe this the show cares more about him than her anyways despites her being the daughter of one of the show's iconic couples.

[MsTree]

14 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

 I just want Ben gone you guys.

Is that too much to ask?

As they say "if you have to ask, you already know the answer"....

[tribeca]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:23 PM, CanaryFan98 said:

Well we'll find out however I think RSW/Ben isn't gone completely either.

But there are no clothes in his closet 😳

[boes]

1 hour ago, tribeca said:

But there are no clothes in his closet 😳

But there ARE bats in his belfry!