The Young and the Restless Comings & Goings: TV Vet Cast as New Doctor in Diane’s Storyline
The Young and the Restless is adding veteran actor Jere Burns to its cast, with the Justified and Breaking Bad alum set to make his daytime debut as Dr. Laurence Markham in a multi-episode arc beginning with the Monday, June 15 episode.
Diane’s New Man
TV Insider broke the news and reported that Burns’s character will be involved in a storyline with Diane, which reunites him with actress Susan Walters over three decades after the pair worked together on the NBC sitcom Dear John. On the Judd Hirsch-starring series, which ran from 1988-92, Burns played cocky ladies’ man Kirk Morris, while Walters debuted in the second season as Southern belle Mary Beth Sutton.
Walters reacted to the reunion in an interview with the outlet, saying, “I loved working with Jere Burns on Dear John, so I was thrilled when I was told that we’d be working together again on Y&R.”
In addition to Dear John, Burns is known for a wide range of prime-time roles, including Jack Farrell on Something So Right and Frank Alfano on Good Morning, Miami, plus appearances on Burn Notice, Angie Tribeca, NCIS: Los Angeles and Dead to Me.
In Diane’s current storyline, her marriage to Jack (Peter Bergman) has been on the rocks since she caught him in bed with his deranged ex-wife, Patty (Stacy Haiduk). Though he tried to explain he’d been drugged and it was all a setup by Victor (Eric Braeden), Diane refused to accept his explanation and moved out of the Abbott mansion on March 17.
The last time that Diane was on screen on Y&R was in the May 14 episode, where she had a dream in which she left a voicemail for Jack saying she wanted to get together and talk about moving forward, insisting she still loved him. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare when she arrived back at the house to reconcile with her husband, only to find Jack living in domestic bliss with Patty.
Since then, Diane has been missing in action — although she did appear on Jack’s arm in the crossover episodes with Beyond the Gates that aired the week of June 8; due to the different production schedules of the two soaps, their respective storylines did not align.
When Burns makes his daytime debut as Dr. Markham, viewers can expect some answers about Diane’s whereabouts.
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