Bad Boy Deacon & Ex-Wife Nikki Reunite in ‘Y&R’ and ‘B&B’ Crossover

Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful have been doing crossovers with characters from their respective shows since 1992. Now, the two CBS soap operas are at it again! TV Insider can exclusively report that B&B’s bad boy Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) is headed back to Genoa City, Y&R’s locale, where he will share screentime with ex-wife Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott).

It’s easy to guess why Nikki wants to see Deacon – he helped fake the death of Diane Jenkins (then, Maura West; now, Susan Walters) over a decade ago by finding a lookalike corpse, which enabled Diane to leave town and begin anew. TV Insider chatted with Scott and Kanan about their characters meeting face to face after all this time. The crossovers begin on Tuesday, September 20 when Deacon shows up in Genoa City; The following week, Nikki arrives in Los Angeles, B&B’s locale. Read on for the scoop as to what viewers can expect to see.

This is Nikki’s first visit to B&B? How has this never happened before?

Melody Thomas Scott: I’m not sure why it took so long, but I’m so glad that if finally did happen! It seems like almost everyone at Y&R has crossed over to B&B so I was shocked when I received the call that it was my turn! Being a part of the Bell Family legacy is something I never take for granted, so I was honored by Brad Bell’s [head writer/executive producer, B&B] invitation.

(Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Studios, Inc.)

Deacon and Nikki had a very tumultuous relationship. While they ultimately weren’t good for each other long term, what did Deacon bring to Nikki’s life that was positive? And what did she bring to his that was positive?

Thomas Scott: As an actress, it was great fun welcoming the character of Deacon into Nikki’s world.  Deacon was nothing but trouble for Nikki right from the start; not only did he lead her to fall off the wagon but destroyed her marriage to Victor at the time.  Nikki realized Deacon was bad news and got him out of her life, but not until after he manipulated her into marrying him!

What’s it like working with each other again?

Thomas Scott: Sean is such a wonderful actor and brings so much creativity to his work.  I loved working with him all those years ago and loved every minute of shooting our scenes together this time around! It is an absolute pleasure to create “reality” with him.

Sean Kanan: We had a lot of fun working together. I really enjoy working with Melody; she’s got a really fun sense of humor.

Nikki may be unaware of how hard Deacon’s been working at turning his life around; is she expecting to find that Deacon hasn’t changed after all this time or is she hoping that he can help her?

Thomas Scott: A leopard doesn’t change its spots, so Nikki does not expect to find a changed man when she reconnects with Deacon.  Deacon will see that Nikki is much stronger (and sober) than when they were together and that she is calling the shots this time.

Kanan: Nikki is a woman who’s a class act. I’m guessing on some level she’s an in-your-face reminder that there’s a difference between the life Nikki leads and the life Deacon leads. He’s genuinely remorseful for helping Diane [let Nikki think she’s a killer]. He wants to make amends; Nikki’s not interested but she is interested in getting information.

(Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS)

Deacon’s role in helping Diane fake her death could hurt Hope who is looking to keep custody of Douglas; this could all reflect poorly on Hope. If Deacon isn’t careful, he could hurt his daughter.

Kanan: That’s definitely the last thing he wants. I think that definitely Deacon has gotten sucked into something that wasn’t of his own construct with Sheila; Sheila’s pretty adamant that she’s staying there. She’s proved herself to be dangerous. Deacon could just run away and go tell the cops, I guess; but Sheila’s got a long reach; he’s between a rock and a hard place.

At one point, Deacon professed to care for Nikki but  he let her believe she’d killed (in self-defense) Diane; in reality, he helped Diane fake her death. How does Nikki feel about Deacon’s actions?

Thomas Scott: Deacon did some pretty terrible things to Nikki during their time together but allowing her to take the fall for Diane’s “death” was heinous and unforgiveable. Diane almost destroyed Nikki’s life in faking her own death and Nikki is determined to make her pay…with a little help from Deacon Sharpe.

Sean, Y&R, or in this case, isn’t the only show or character you’re revisiting. Can you talk about reprising Mike Barnes from Karate Kid III on Cobra Kai?

Kanan: It was great but it was different. One of the things I talked about to the producers of the show was making Mike more than he was in the movie. The character has many more colors and facets. Mike’s an adult now.

Sounds like it was a great experience.

Kanan: It was extraordinary; I went to Atlanta and shot it a year ago. I was down there for a while. I was asked hundreds of times a week in person and on social – will I be in it? I kept saying, ‘Keep the faith and we shall see.’ Now I can’t wait for people to see it. It’s terrific. Season 5 is really great. I think it’s going to be really well received.

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Melody, what was it like working with your husband Edward Scott, former Y&R executive producer, now B&B’s supervising producer, again? Does B&B shoot very or any differently than Y&R does?     

Thomas Scott: Edward is a great producer and he hasn’t changed a bit! Though Y&R is an hour versus B&B’s half hour, both shows shoot in the same format.

Were there any other familiar faces at B&B from their Y&R days? Did being over there feel the same but different?

Thomas Scott: I was thrilled when I was told that Nikki would cross paths with Eric Forrester (John McCook) during my crossover. John has visited Y&R several times over the years so it was nice to work together on his turf.  John was still on Y&R as “Lance Prentiss” when I joined Y&R in 1979. I remember sitting on the sidelines watching his scenes  with Jaime Lyn Bauer [ex-Lorie Brooks] and thinking how solid he was in his scenes.  His Daytime Emmy win this year was long overdue.

Deacon’s on parole; was crossing state lines an issue?

Kanan: (Beat) Apparently not…(Wryly) especially when all you have to do is walk across the hall. There’s a wormhole between Los Angeles and Genoa City. (Editor’s note: Both soaps tape across the hall from one another at TV City.)

What might Nikki’s reaction be to seeing Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and Katie Logan (Heather Tom)? Would she do a double take or have each of their portrayers so immersed themselves in new roles that Nikki wouldn’t see the actors’ respective Y&R characters — ‘Brad’ or ‘Victoria’ — in them?

Thomas Scott: Let’s just say during her trip, Nikki runs into some familiar and not-so-familiar faces….

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS (streaming on Paramount+)

The Bold and the Beautiful, Weekdays, CBS (streaming on Paramount+)