Young & Restless Star Joins Days Spinoff as Recast Sonny
Only a week after Days of Our Lives alum Freddie Smith admitted that if asked, he wouldn’t return to the soap as Sonny comes news that the character has been recast for the show’s spinoff, Beyond Salem.
When the limited series debuts on Peacock — aka NBC’s streaming service — a whole slew of fan favorites will be featured, including several couples who are not currently residing in Salem. Among them? Will and Sonny, who’ve been living in Arizona since leaving town last fall. In the original press materials released to announce the show, it was mentioned that Billy Flynn’s Chad would be “visiting old friends in Phoenix.”
More: Why Days star won’t be coming back
Enter Will and Sonny… with one slight change. While Chandler Massey will once again be stepping into Will’s shoes, Sonny’s will be occupied by Zachary Atticus Tinker, best known to daytime fans as The Young and the Restless’ Fenmore Baldwin.
Truth be told, Tinker was woefully underused during his time in the Genoa City-based soap, despite playing the son of longtime favorites Michael Baldwin and Lauren Fenmore. When last seen, Fen had dropped the news on his parents that he no longer planned to follow in dad Michael’s footsteps by becoming a lawyer and was instead going to pursue a music career.
More: Which other past favorites will Beyond Salem feature?
As for Smith, he announced in late July that if the show were to ask, he would not return. “Every character, even if that character dies, comes back at some point,” he said, seeming to acknowledge the inevitability of both Sonny’s return and the part being recast.
Having relocated to Florida with wife Alyssa Tabit, the actor admitted that he had been struggling with “having one foot in the future and one foot in the past.”
No word yet on when Beyond Salem will be launched on the streaming platform. What we do know is that the storyline will find several of Days‘ most popular characters — including Ben and Ciara, John and Marlena, and Lani and Eli — involved in the search for stolen gems.
As we wait for more news on Beyond Salem, why not check out this photo gallery of the actors who, like Smith, have recently departed Days of Our Lives.
