KEY POINTS
- Eileen Davidson is returning for the “Days of Our Lives” spinoff “Beyond Salem”
- The actress portrayed Kristen DiMera on the original show from 1993 to 2017
- Greg Rikaart, Leann Hunley and more stars have joined the Peacock spinoff
More original cast members of “Days of Our Lives” have joined Peacock’s spinoff of NBC’s long-running soap opera.
Eileen Davidson has officially joined Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem,” Deadline exclusively revealed Monday. On the original show, she played Kristen DiMera from 1993 to 2017 before she was replaced by Stacy Haiduk the following year after her departure.
On the same day, Entertainment Weekly announced that Greg Rikaart, Leann Hunley and Thaao Penghlis have also jumped aboard the project. Rikaart is reprising his role as Leo Stark, while Hunley and Penghlis are playing Anna and André DiMera once again.
The news comes a week after it was revealed that “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Lisa Rinna is reprising her role as Billie Reed on “Beyond Salem” about two years after she decided to retire from doing soap operas and exited the show.
At the time, it was already confirmed that Rinna will be joining a star-studded cast for the five-episode limited series that will exclusively run on NBC’s streaming platform.
Among the confirmed cast last week were Deidra Hall (Dr. Marlena Evans), Jackée Harry (Paulina Price), Victoria Konefal (Ciara Brady), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), James Reynolds (Abe Carver), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben Weston), Lamon Archey (Eli Grant), Sal Stowers (Lani Price) and Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera).
This week, the lineup of stars taking part in the project had grown to include Christie Clark (Carrie Brady), Austin Peck (Austin Reed), Chandler Massey (Will Horton) and Zachary Atticus Tinker as Sonny, as per EW.
“Over a long weekend, John and Marlena travel to Zurich, Ben and Ciara have a romantic getaway in New Orleans, Chad visits some old friends in Phoenix, and Abe, Paulina, Lani, and Eli vacation in Miami. All find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving stolen jewels which, in the wrong hands, could cause dire consequences for Salem. It's a race against time for ISA agent Billie Reed as she crosses the globe in search of this missing treasure,” the official description of “Beyond Salem” read.
“Days of Our Lives” chief Ken Corday and Albert Alarr are executive-producing the show, while Ron Carlivati has been tapped to pen the script.
The premiere date for the much-anticipated spinoff has yet to be announced.
Pictured: Eileen Davidson attends Variety's Creative Impact Awards and 10 Directors to Watch Brunch during the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 4, 2019 in Palm Springs, California. Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Festival
