Some actors are thrilled to land a role on a TV series that lasts six or 13 episodes. Then there are Melody Thomas Scott and Peter Bergman. As all soap fans know, they’ve starred for decades as Nikki Newman and Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless. The series is in its 52nd year on both CBS and Global.
Scott and Bergman, who were interviewed in Toronto this month, say the fact that these characters change all the time keeps things fresh.
Sometimes those changes include new actors being cast. This November sweeps, Nikki’s grandson Noah is bandaged up like a mummy after a car accident. When the bandages come off – poof! – there’s a new actor (Lucas Adams) to go with the new face.
Says Bergman, “It’s a miracle to me that the audience will buy this.” On the other hand, as he says, they bought it when Bergman replaced Terry Lester as Jack Abbott 36 years ago – and they’ve been buying it ever since.
Abbott also talks about how he was cast in the first episode of the new AppleTV sci-fi drama from Vince Gilligan, Pluribus. It’s the story of a friendship that started with a softball game 44 years ago in New York.
To watch the video version of this episode, follow this link to the Bill Brioux YouTube channel.
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To listen to the audio-only version of this episode, simply click on the white arrow in the blue dot above.
