General Hospital Fan Fave Steve Burton Joining Days of Our Lives Spinoff Beyond Salem

Soap-hopper Steve Burton is heading back to the soap he first called home… and no, that doesn’t mean General Hospital. Because several years before slipping into Jason Morgan’s iconic black t-shirt, the actor played the recurring role of Harris Michaels on Days of Our Lives. Now, the folks at Peacock confirm that he’ll be joining the cast of that soap’s spinoff, Beyond Salem.

When rumors first began circulating that Burton would be appearing on Beyond Salem, many were skeptical, to say the least. After all, the actor had exited the ABC sudser — on which he’s played Jason on-and-off since 1991 — in a cloud of controversy involving the show’s vaccine policies.

“I know there’s been a lot of rumors and speculation about me and [the show],” he explained to Instagram followers in late November, “and I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate.” Although he had applied for both medical and religious waivers, both were denied. Soon after, viewers watched as Jason “died” following a tunnel collapse. Of course, in true soap style, the body was not found, leaving the door open for a possible future return.

“Maybe one day, if these mandates are lifted, I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan,” he wrote, adding that doing so would “be an honor.”

Like the General Hospital rumors, those regarding his appearance on Beyond Salem have proven true: Burton will be appearing on the five-episode Days of Our Lives spinoff when it hits Peacock — aka NBC’s streaming service — beginning on July 11.

Already, there’s a great deal of excitement around the latest Peacock venture. The project received an awful lot of attention from the start by revealing that Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso will be reprising their iconic roles as Bo and Hope Brady. At the time, it was also revealed that a slew of much-loved Salemites — including Ben, Ciara, John, Marlena and others — would be taking part, with other announcements forthcoming.

The original five episodes of Beyond Salem centered on the search for missing jewels which, when reunited, had the power to unleash massive destruction. Fortunately, with a little help from Lisa Rinna’s Billie Reed, chaos was avoided, order was restored and everyone returned home safe and sound.

This second chapter will also, in keeping with the title, take place largely outside the confines of Salem.

Check out our photo gallery of former General Hospital stars, then and now!