Steve Burton Returning to ‘Days of Our Lives’ After ‘General Hospital’ Exit

Meredith Jacobs November 9, 2022, 11:35 am

Days of Our Lives is bringing back a face familiar to its fans as well as soap opera viewers.

Steve Burton, who first appeared on Days in 1988 and went on to play Harris Michaels in 12 episodes then reprised the role in five episodes of the spinoff Beyond Salem, is back on the soap, Deadline reports. He’ll once again play Harris, beginning “early next year.” No other details have been revealed as to what brings him back or what to expect.

Burton previously played Jason Morgan on General Hospital, beginning in 1992, until he was fired in November 2021 because of the COVID vaccine mandate. “General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts,” he said on Instagram. “But this is also about personal freedom to me. I don’t think anybody should lose their livelihood over this.” To write out his character, General Hospital had Jason die in a tunnel collapse.

Days of Our Lives made the historic move from NBC to Peacock in September. “This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers,” Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement at the time. “With a large percentage of the Days of Our Lives audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.”

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With Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem already a Peacock Original, that made the streaming service the ultimate destination for fans of the franchise. The show’s robust library was already available to stream for Premium subscribers at the time.

Days of Our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock