‘General Hospital’ Alum Steve Burton Joins New Soap Show

General Hospital alum Steve Burton has joined a brand new soap opera show that is coming back for a second season later this month. According to Deadline, Burton will appear in Days of Our Lives spinoff Beyond Salem when the show returns on July 11. Burton spent the majority of his soap career starring as Jason Morgan on General Hospital from 1991 to 2012 and then again from 2017 to 2021. He also portrayed Dylan McAvoy on The Young and the Restless from 2013 to 2017.

Notably, Burton will be playing Harris Michaelsin Beyond Salem, a recurring role he originally played on Days of Our Lives back in the late ’80s. Speaking to Deadline about the character, Burton explained, “He’s not operating on a code of ethics that is great. Albert [Alarr, Days of Our Lives executive producer] was like, ‘Do you care about being a bad guy?’ I said, ‘No, man. Whatever. I can play anything.’ I don’t know how much I can say but he does some not nice things in this chapter. There may be some redemption.”

When asked if this new role could lead him to join Days of Our Lives in a more permanent situation, Burton replied, “I don’t know. You really have to ask Ron Carlivati and Albert. From what I gather, Peacock’s happy with this, NBC’s happy with this. But if the opportunity’s there, sure. I never say never.”

He continued, “You know, for a while, daytime was kind of in the dumps. Until streaming came along, daytime was hanging by a string. Then NBC goes, ‘Hey, we have a great brand here. Let’s let’s do a spinoff.’ Now there is such great energy in the building. They just have this energy like, ‘Hey, we’re doing something cool.’ I had a blast and got to see a bunch of old friends that I haven’t seen for a while ‘cuz obviously the daytime community’s small and we only see each other at award events.”

Finally, Burton offered his thoughts on the strength of the soap industry currently, saying, “I think a lot of times, people forget the power of our fan bases and how loyal they are. I wouldn’t have a career and I wouldn’t be able to go on the road and do these comedy shows. I wouldn’t be able to do a podcast. I wouldn’t be able to do any of the things I do if the fans weren’t so loyal and loved our shows and wanted content so much.”

He added, “And this is where NBC kind of took the ball and ran with it. They’re giving the fans what they want. That’s why the first Beyond Salem was so successful, and hopefully the second one will surpass or equal that.” Fans can watch of Beyond Salem Season 1 anytime on Peacock, before Season 2 debuts.