19 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

I'm interpreting this thread as focussing more on recasts that had to replace popular performers, and thus had to prove themselves rather than just taking the place of actors who hadn't made much of an impression or proven to very popular with viewers.

eg Michael O'Leary as Rick on GL replaced Phil McGregor but Phil hadn't made much of an impression in the role and that was why he was replaced in the first place.

D'oh! That makes sense. In that case, Jill Larson (AMC) as Opal. She had the additional advantage of the character being offscreen for a half-decade.

7 hours ago, Taoboi said:

Understandable. It's only now with this Deacon storyline that Rebecca is coming across as a Taylor. And even THAT storyline started (and stopped) when Krista was in the role. But as I've mentioned, it was just one of those times where B&B did everything right with how you introduce a recast so I can't believe Brad had to be spiteful allegedly.

That was a messy story. I'm still waiting for Krista to write her tell all book. 😄

Cherie Jimenez as Gabi on Days. I am not sure if Camila Banus was ever super popular, but she led storyline and was on the show for years.

Not to veer off topic, but I am also quite fascinated by the Carly situation on GH. I know TB wasn't immediately accepted, while Laura was due to the Bransford situation, but it has to be rare to have such longevity and success with three separate actors in the role. Are there other roles/actors that have achieved that?

24 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Not to veer off topic, but I am also quite fascinated by the Carly situation on GH. I know TB wasn't immediately accepted, while Laura was due to the Bransford situation, but it has to be rare to have such longevity and success with three separate actors in the role. Are there other roles/actors that have achieved that?

Maybe the three key Margo Hugheses on ATWT? There was a fourth like Bransford who didn't go over well, but the others were very distinctive and to my understanding popular.

Vicky Hudson on AW might be the same, though I have never cared much for Jensen Buchanan lol.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Vee

9 minutes ago, Vee said:

Maybe the three key Margo Hugheses on ATWT? There was a fourth like Bransford who didn't go over well, but the others were very distinctive and to my understanding popular.

Vicky Hudson on AW might be the same, though I have never cared much for Jensen Buchanan lol.

I think those are both good examples.

I do believe JB was popular as Vicky. Although I don't know if she got really lucky or was actually good. Her role as Melissa on GH and her off screen antics make me think it was the former.

15 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I do believe JB was popular as Vicky. Although I don't know if she got really lucky or was actually good. Her role as Melissa on GH and her off screen antics make me think it was the former.

She was, but I think the same.

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

That was a messy story. I'm still waiting for Krista to write her tell all book. 😄

hehe. Some day.

AMC:

Alicia Minshew - Kendall

Robin Mattson - Janet

Jill Larson - Opal

Annika on Bold as Hope went in very nice. Her first year was some of her most exciting material. (by Bradley standards) Don't remember people disliking her at all.

11 hours ago, Taoboi said:

Same.

Let me add Alexia Havins's Lulu on GH, Mark Valley's Jack on DAYS I believe was quickly accepted, Nathan Fillon's Joey on OLTL if I'm not mistaken as well.

I could be mistaken but I thought Valley's Jack was divisive at first because his stoic take was so different than Ashford's more comedic character.

If we're counting actors who replaced unpopular recasts I remember Lisa Brenner being well liked as Maggie on AW taking over for Jodi O'Keefe (who went on to a good career after).

In the category of returns after a long gap Mark Collier as Mike on ATWT & Wendy Moniz as Dinah on GL qualify.

For quick turnaround recasts, Windsor Harmon was accepted quickly as Thorne. No offence to those 4 or 5 Jeff Trachta truthers who protested the studio.

It was so long ago, but what I remember is that a lot of fans never got over JER's shabby treatment of Matt Ashford (which continued for decades, lol) and kept demanding him back in the '90s. But at some point Mark Valley was so hot that enough people came around lol. I was not around for J&J's heyday but I was never really interested in Jack without MA either. He just had it. I still don't think he's gotten a really fair shake since after being killed like half a dozen times, but I may be alone in that.

Steve Wilder OTOH, forget it.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Vee

Jess Walton, Brenda Epperson, RKK (Bo Brady) and Mark Valley as Jack are perfect examples of recasts who clicked instantly. Total wins! 👏

IIRC, people had very low expectations for Chad Duell when he was announced as Drew Garrett's replacement on GH, but once he appeared onscreen, fans accepted him.

Some AMC examples:
- I want to say Nick Benedict as Phil on AMC is a good example for this thread, but I'm not sure if Richard Hatch's Phil was popular or if we just view him as popular because he's the only Phil we have any footage of today (and a good bit of it, relatively speaking). Considering he survived the initial recasting spree the show had in its first year, I'd say he was popular. There were many more examples of recasts who took on roles after original cast members who didn't quite make their mark (Richard Van Vleet as Chuck, Judith Barcroft as Anne, Peter White as Linc, etc).
- Vasili Bogazianos as Benny Sago. Larry Fleischman had originated the role and played it for several years, including a fling with young Brooke English. I believe Benny was written out for much of 1979 before VB brought the character back the following year.
- Christina Bennett Lind as Bianca. I remember the general consensus being that if Eden wasn't going to commit to sticking around long-term, then CBL was a more-than-decent recast. There were people who actually preferred her to Eden.
- Lee Meriwether as Ruth. Considering Mary Fickett was officially retired due to health reasons and they weren't doing much with Ruth anyway, LM was perfectly fine and acceptable as a recast. I think it helped that they mostly leaned away from the character's real history and relationships because it just wasn't going to hit the same with someone else in the role.

Sometimes I wonder how big the audience overlap was between Mart Hulswit's heyday as GL's Ed vs. Peter Simon's. I know it was a pretty quick turnaround in 1981, but by the time PS returned in 1986, GL was extremely different from the show it was during MH's run. I also imagine Robert Gentry's Ed was popular in the late 60s.

Still on GL, I figure Jone Allison's Meta was a pretty big draw on radio in the early 50s and brought the character to TV, and then Ellen Demming took over as Meta moved from being the show's young heroine to supporting character.

Love of Life had three popular actresses in the role of Vanessa back-to-back-to-back with Peggy McCay, Bonnie Bartlett, and Audrey Peters, plus a popular Meg with Jean McBride in 50s and then a hugely popular recast with Tudi Wiggins in the 70s.

Never mind - misread about Barcroft.

Edited 8 minutes ago8 min by Vee