Days of our Lives star Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso are exiting the show, while General Hospital alum Steve Burton has signed a contract.
Kristian and Peter have only been back on Days for a few weeks playing the supercouple Hope and Bo Brady.
However, the fan-favorite veterans won’t be on the canvas much longer as their storyline will wrap up during May sweeps.
It’s not uncommon for Days of our Lives to have a revolving door of cast members doing brief stints.
That appears to be the case with Peter and Kristian, who recently chatted about their return and exit with Soap Opera Digest podcast.
Unfortunately for fans, Bo and Hope’s return wasn’t meant to be a lengthy one.
Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso out as Bo and Hope Brady on Days
The talented actors revealed on the podcast that they initially planned to return for Beyond Salem Chapter 3 to wrap up to Hope and Bo storyline.
When Days moved to Peacock last fall, that changed everything as the streaming service didn’t order another Beyond Salem. It was then decided to move the storyline to the mothership show.
Peter agreed to return, declaring it was “only fair to wrap up or continue, I should say, something that had been started.”
Kristian was on board too, but they each only wanted to do a certain number of episodes, like five with Beyond Salem. Ultimately, she revealed they finish the storyline in 15 episodes before the supercouple heads off again.
It makes a little more sense now why this storyline only happens in one or two episodes a week—this way, the climax is saved for May sweeps.
The good news is that Peter has spilled Days fans have not seen the last of Hope and Bo.
“We’ve left the show in a place where, yeah, we’ve got to see what’s going to. It’s got to be a continuing story, not only for us as actors but for the audience,” he teased.
Meanwhile, Hope’s current man Harris Michaels (Steve Burton), isn’t going anywhere just yet.
Steve Burton signs contract with Days of our Lives
The character of Harris was also brought in during Beyond Salem Chapter 2. Like Kristian and Peter, Steve agreed to continue on the story on Days of our Lives, but Steve’s stint turned out to be a much longer one.
During an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Steve opened up about signing a one-year contract after exiting General Hospital in 2021.
“I don’t want to say it was an easy decision,” he expressed before adding, “I have businesses I’m growing that are doing well. I’m doing what I love to do, coaching people. And I’ve got my kids. So my life was great; I have all this stuff going on. But I do love to act and how this came about was great. So I was like, ‘Yeah, sure. I’ll come back.”
Steve has been in the soap opera world for over three decades. He knows it’s a privilege people are still calling him to work, and he’s grateful for the opportunity on Days.
Although the talented actor didn’t give any details on what’s next for Harris, Steve admitted he’s having the best time on the show. Steve loves the environment, the cast, and the crew and can’t wait for fans to see his new chapter.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.