There are certain times when a soap character should be rested. It could be when the show has nothing for them to do. Or it could be that the audience just needs a break from them. For whatever reason, they need to be removed from the chessboard for a time period. To be clear, if I were making a list of soap characters that need to be gone forever, it would be very different from this list. I’m not putting anyone who I would love to see fall down a sinkhole.
10. Brady, Days of Our Lives
Eric Martsolf is a good actor, but it is clear they don’t know what to do with Brady. This pairing with Sarah is a dud and a chore to watch and the same could be said for a lot of Brady’s other pairings. Frankly his best pairing in the past decade was with Kristen, but they are toxic and the show is unwilling to reunite them. There’s also that his son Tate is going to be gone soon. This just makes me think Brady should go away for a little while.
Would it be risky to take Eric Martsolf off contract? Yes, but every character he fits on other soap operas are also roles he would be unlikely to get. I could see Eric as Rick on B&B, but Brad Bell tends to go younger with recasts and not older. I could see Eric as Lucky on GH, but it is clear they are unwilling to recast Lucky again even to the detriment of the character. His best shot would be Y&R since they love hiring Days actors, but who would he play? A J.T. recast? Yeah, I think Eric would still be available when they needed Brady back.
9. Nick, The Young and the Restless
Nick should go away to rehab for three months. It would give fans a break from this dumb addiction story and could give the show space to build up his son Noah who should be more of a lead. I don’t think they’d have to worry about Joshua Morrow trying to get a job on another soap because he knows he wouldn’t be a lead on the other shows. He would just chill out for the three months until his return and then the show would work on putting him in another flop pairing since they refuse to reunite Nick with Sharon.
8. Britt, General Hospital
I know that Kelly Thiebaud’s contract stints on GH last about two years, but it has been a year so far and I’m ready for a break from Britt. One of the big problems is they regressed the character. She is not remorseful for what she did to Lulu and Dante. It also doesn’t help that they write Rocco like he wants to crawl back into Britt’s uterus and live there. Finn Carr says he plays Rocco when he’s interacting with Britt like she’s a “cool aunt,” but what comes across onscreen is that Rocco wants to be breastfed and be pushed on a swing by Britt. It is gross and the show doubling down on it just pisses fans off more.
Britt can just go away after the Cassius reveal. They love Kelly over there so she can return in a year or two when she really needs to pay that electric bill. I’m not a big fan of Britt, but I would be fine with her being a character that pops in and out when needed. And I think that would suit Kelly since she clearly doesn’t want to be an actress that sticks around for years on end given that she requested Britt die a few years ago.
7. R.J., The Bold and Beautiful
This is the third attempt to make R.J. happen. I really don’t understand why it has been so difficult. He’s the son of two of the most famous characters on the show! He should be a big deal on B&B. Anthony Turpel was decent in the role, but the most material he ever got was a lame after school special story about texting and driving. Joshua Hoffman was dreadful and the writing certainly didn’t do him any favors. Now with Brayan Nicoletti, they set him up for failure even more than the prior two attempts. Why make R.J. a weirdo who wants to bang his cousin?
If they don’t start walking this back fast, Brayan will be fired in 2027 and then we’ll get the fourth attempt at making R.J. happen in 2028. I just assume by then Brad Bell will want to reheat Matthew Attkinson as Thomas nachos and R.J. will be making out with an Electra doll.
6. Samantha, Beyond The Gates
I think Samantha is going to be the Katie Logan of Beyond The Gates. On B&B, Katie was a part of the original cast, but no one really gave a shit about Katie, so they ditched her and she became a character that just dropped in for visits. That was until Heather Tom took over the role in 2007 and Katie became a lead. I very well could see that trajectory for Samantha. Send her off to some school in Europe and then have her return with a new actress in the role and a new direction.
5. Alex, Days of Our Lives
The only reason that Alex is still around is because they want to keep Rob Scott Wilson. It is very reminiscent of how Frank Valentini twisted himself into knots to keep Roger Howarth and Michael Easton on GH until he couldn’t anymore. I think one of the main reasons they are hellbent on retaining Rob is they don’t want the other soaps to have him. I do think he would get snatched up fairly quickly if Days let him go. They should just do it. He doesn’t really fit as Alex and the pairing with Stephanie just drags her down. If you love someone, set them free.
4. Maxie, General Hospital
I do think given certain sensitive real life circumstances that GH should bring on a temporary recast of Maxie for the Cassius story. Then once that is resolved, Maxie can leave town and be rested for a bit. Then when Kirsten Storms is ready, Maxie can return to town. If circumstances necessitate a permanent recast in the future, that can be explored. Hopefully that won’t be necessary and Kirsten will return to the role, happy and well.
3. Cody, General Hospital
I don’t hate Cody anymore. They have done sufficient work to make him mostly likable. The problem is that GH has a big canvas and I don’t think he’s relevant enough to keep around. Let’s start with his job. He works with horses which isn’t exactly the best job to generate soap opera stories. It also means when they want to show him at work they have to haul out the barn set and possibly have a horse which is another expense.
There’s also his pairing with Molly. I suppose they are cute when he isn’t overreacting to things like her basing a romance novel hero off him. GH just has too many other pairings giving off lovely picnic energy like Michael/Jacinda and Emma/Gio. There needs to be different vibes and frankly I want Molly to have a stronger love interest. At least with Michael it is pretty clear that Jacinda is a stopgap pairing until something better comes along and Emma and Gio are supposed to be the cute young couple. Molly could be stuck with Cody since they have a history of being complacent with her character. I think it would be for the best for Molly if Cody rejoined the rodeo.
2. Leslie, Beyond The Gates
One of the biggest problems fans have had with this show is that Leslie hasn’t had consequences for her actions. All she does is win! She tried to kill a woman twice and harassed an entire family and she inherited a fortune right afterwards. Soap fans know that characters getting away with crimes is a part of the genre, but it was a bit too much to just have her getting almost everything she wants.
This could be easily fixed with a prison stint. If Leslie were in prison for three months to a year, I think fans would be more willing to tolerate her. You could even do a prison storyline where one of the female characters goes to prison on trumped up charges and Leslie is her cellmate. And once she’s out, they can decide if she’s a character that sticks around or just pops in to cause chaos and bounce. I genuinely believe it would benefit the character.
1. Phyllis, The Young and the Restless
Ever since Michelle Stafford returned as Phyllis in 2019, the character has been all over the place. First, it was the dumb Vegas story, then dinosaur bones, then she was faking her death and cosplaying as Edna Mode. Now she’s used A.I. to take over Newman Enterprises and is harboring an amnesiac rapist. Enough is enough. Take the character off the canvas to give fans a break and bring her back when they have a head writer who doesn’t just throw spaghetti at the wall.
The sad part is I could have loved a story about Phyllis getting revenge on Victor. That man had her raped by a Peruvian doppelganger! She could have taken a golf club to his balls, and I would have cheered her on. This could have been soap gold, but what we got is another round of corporate takeovers and using psychos as bargaining chips. It is insipid. Fans deserve better and Michelle Stafford deserves better.
Dispatches From Soap Land
*It is clear that GH didn’t have much notice in regard to Kate Mansi’s decision to leave. However, that doesn’t excuse the odd choice to send Kristina off to medical school. She doesn’t have a college degree, and she’s shown no interest in being a doctor before! I know Kristina has a history of being impulsive, but they could have thought a little more about this exit.
*I am excited that Ryan Quan is joining Days as co-head writer. It is unfortunate that we won’t see his work until summer 2027.
*Katie should worry more about hiring designers and spend less time hiring people who look at other people’s work and say things like “Change the buttons.” Hope doesn’t know how to work a sewing machine! Only straight men can do that in the B&B world. You have to love boobs to know how to hem a dress!
