The much-anticipated crossover between Beyond the Gates and The Young and the Restless kicks off on June 9, when members of Y&R‘s Newman, Abbott and Winters families descend on Fairmont Crest.
In the storyline, Y&R‘s Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) travels across the country at the invitation of his close friend, BTG‘s Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis). Victor has backed Vernon’s political campaigns over the years, while Vernon has championed legislation benefiting Newman Enterprises. Now, Vernon asks Victor to deliver the keynote speech at Martin Richardson’s (Brandon Claybon) political fundraiser.
For Braeden, agreeing to go to Atlanta to film the episodes was an immediate yes. “Danielle Unger [vice president of current programming, CBS] asked me, and I like and respect her, and I said, ‘OK,’” recalls Braeden. “I think a Black soap is sorely needed; it’s about time, so I said, ‘Let’s go.’”
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TV Insider was the exclusive press partner on the set, and one sentiment came up repeatedly from the BTG cast: excitement over sharing scenes with Braeden. “That’s so nice to know,” he demurs. “I am happy to hear it, but I don’t let it really sink in because I’ve known people who have allowed that to happen and it changes them too much. I will be damned if that happens to me, so I don’t take it too seriously. I have seen some dreadful stories where you don’t recognize someone anymore after they believe all the publicity. They don’t remain who they are.”
Stepping onto another soap studio stirred memories of the years before Y&R made him a daytime icon. “When you’ve been around for as long as I’ve been, since 1962, I did a lot of guest-starring in a lot of shows before I did Y&R,” he recounts. “The only thing you get tired of is the travel and the location. You go to another city, another hotel, and that all plays a role in how comfortable one feels. It starts with assistant directors or production managers or wardrobe people, and they were all wonderful on Beyond the Gates. They’re really very warm, wonderful people, and that makes you feel good.”
Even in unfamiliar territory, Braeden says he felt completely at ease. “No nerves at all,” he reports. “The only thing that every actor has nerves about is when he has to learn all the dialogue. But I trust it by now. I trust myself by now, and that is really the only thing that I’m concerned about: get it done and do it as believably as one can.”
Braeden says he thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the landmark episodes. “I think they did a wonderful job,” he cheers. “And I must say, they were a joy to work with, all of them. Steve Williford [who directed] had been a director on our show, so I knew him, and I felt comfortable. But everyone was really very nice down there, and they have a great studio, great cameras, great set. I was amazed. I thought, ‘This is much more up to date than what we have here at TV City.’ I was impressed.”
Even after decades in the business, Braeden’s enthusiasm for the work hasn’t faded. “I love making this stuff real,” he explains. “I love it when we do a scene written by writers who sit in different parts of America. I don’t know them, they don’t know me, and yet somehow, we make it work. I still enjoy that. Had I stayed at nighttime, I would have directed, and I would have enjoyed that as well.”
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Meanwhile, life in Genoa City has kept Braeden busy both emotionally and professionally. The actor appreciates the story being told with Nick Newman’s (Joshua Morrow) fentanyl addiction and was especially moved by the moment where Nick finally came clean to Victor about his struggles. “It was a wonderful scene,” Braeden praises. “It was one of those scenes where you finish it, and you say, ‘OK, that’s what it’s all about. I love this because it was real.’ That’s what one does it for, really. And the money.”
Victor’s family tensions haven’t been limited to Nick. Victor and Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) have also been at odds, a dynamic Braeden still gets a kick out of playing 42 years after the characters first wed. “Victor doesn’t back down,” he notes. “But the point with the Victor and Nikki story is that it’s simply about the green monster. It’s jealousy. In other words, Victor doesn’t trust that she sees Jack Abbott [Peter Bergman] to consult him, to commune with him. He suspects they had something to do in the hotel room [in 2024, when Jack helped Nikki detox from alcohol]. Victor is pissed off about that, and she keeps on seeing Jack, so it’s a constant rubbing of salt in the wound. That’s what that is about. He thinks it’s disingenuous on Nikki’s part to pretend that everything is fine. No, it’s not, because Victor still suspects they had something to do in that hotel room, period. He has never been convinced otherwise.”
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Amid Victor’s personal frustrations, the patriarch is also fighting to reclaim Newman Enterprises from Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), reigniting familiar instincts. “It made him go back to what Victor’s always been,” Braeden points out. “He goes after things, and he’s tough, and he’s ruthless, and he has to be. He’s a man who doesn’t trust anyone. Because of his time in an orphanage and having been left by his parents and his mother, that’s a deep wound. So, all the success afterwards covered the wound a little bit, but he’s in a place of survival mode, and where he fights for his life. So, this only makes him stronger.”
More than four decades into his run, Braeden remains grateful for the material that continues to challenge him. “Josh Griffith [head writer] is doing a great job,” Braeden says. “One plays what one is given by the writers, so you really have to look at the writers for coming up with these storylines. We just interpret them, and he has done a great job. That’s all there to it.”
Beyond the Gates, Weekdays, CBS, Check Local Listings
The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS, Check Local Listings