19 Biggest Soap Villains of 2024: ‘GH’s Cyrus, ‘Y&R’s Aunt Jordan & More
Soaps would be lost without evil antagonists. We’re talking about those characters that live outside the law and who do the kinds of things that we law-abiding citizens only dream about doing. They lie, scheme, manipulate, and even kill.
The year 2024 was filled with them across the four series. On General Hospital, Cyrus (Jeff Kober) pretended to have changed, while The Young and the Restless (sort of) brought Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby) back from the dead. Over on The Bold and the Beautiful, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) was still villainous even though she faced a baddie herself, and on Days of our Lives, the truth about AnnaLynne McCord‘s character was shocking.
TV Insider has compiled a list of 19 soap villains from over the last 12 months. Read on to see who’s the most wicked one of all!
19. GH's John "Jack" Brennan (Charles Mesure)
Initially, we saw Mesure’s Brennan as a short-term baddie. However, GH opted to reform him more than a little bit by springing him from Pentonville and sticking him behind the desk of the World Security Bureau’s Port Charles office. Despite being decked out in some fancy suits, Brennan still has his detractors, but Carly’s (Laura Wright) not one of them. In fact, Mesure and Wright have immeasurable (see what we did there?) chemistry.
18. DAYS' Sloan Petersen (Jessica Serfaty)
It sounded like a feasible plan. About a year ago, Sloan, still mourning the loss of her own child, kidnapped Nicole’s (Arianne Zucker) baby boy and adopted him so that she and Eric (Greg Vaughan), the baby’s true dad, could have a son. Sure, Sloan was upset that she’d lost Eric’s baby but that doesn’t give her the right to take Nicole’s! The truth came out, as it always does. Sloan professed to Eric and Nicole that she did what she did out of love, hoping they’d forgive her. EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) had his own agenda as he once thought he was Jude’s dad so he made sure that Sloan got away.
17. B&B's Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown)
Sheila, arguably soaps’ greatest villainess, isn’t often a damsel in distress but that’s just the role she was thrust into earlier this year when she was kidnapped by her doppelganger, Sugar. Left for dead, Sheila survived thanks to the persistence of her now-husband Deacon (Sean Kanan). Sheila’s more villainous moves this year were limited to threatening Tom (Clint Howard) and giving Liam (Scott Clifton) an unwanted shoulder massage at Il Giardino. Still, Shelia will always make our list of villains. She’s just that good – or bad, take your pick!
16. DAYS' Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel)
Who better to take Stefan (Brandon Barash) off the canvas than the woman who brought him to Salem in the first place? Sorel reprised her role as Stefan’s mom, Vivian, to help facilitate her son’s exit from the story canvas. Viv’s visit was brief, but it’s always great seeing Sorel on our screens. She’ll always be remembered as the villainess who took some mind-altering herbs and buried Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell) alive!
15. Y&R's Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby)
Soaps have never let a little thing like death keep a good character from popping up if the story calls for it. When Y&R wanted to give Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) a “talk to” while she was battling for her mental health, the show came up with the idea of having the spirit of Cameron appear to her as a figment of her imagination. Ashby didn’t let a little thing like Cameron being in the afterlife affect his character’s smooth charm. He had Sharon going there for a while – until she summoned the strength to banish him!
14. GH’s Sidwell (Carlo Rota)
Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) couldn’t just hop on a plane and head back to Port Charles once the character returned to the GH canvas. He was being held, of course, by a super-baddie and needed rescuing before he could be reunited with his family. Enter actor Carlo Rota to play the diabolical Sidwell. The veteran performer of such series as TV series 24 and the film Saw V brought an element of danger to his GH role. We had to believe that Lucky, Anna (Finola Hughes), Jason (Steve Burton), and Holly (Emma Samms) were all in danger. Bravo to Rota for adding another villain to the GH rouges gallery of meanies.
13. DAYS' Fiona Cook (Serena Scott Thomas)
It wasn’t so much that Fiona ran over her daughter-in-law Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) on DAYS that made her a villain. It was what came after. First, she let Brady (Eric Martsolf) take the rap, letting him believe he was the one behind the wheel. Then, after Sarah came to the realization that her mother-in-law was the one who put her without the use of her legs, Fiona attempted to push a wheelchair-bound Sarah down a flight of stairs. Fortunately, Xander (Paul Telfer) arrived in time to prevent his mum from giving Sarah the bumpety, bump, bump, crash treatment. Scott Thomas brought an electric charm to her role as the complicated Fiona. Let’s hope she returns to the canvas – minus her driver’s license, of course.
12. GH’s Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard)
Sonny, a villain? No way! He’s a loyal father to his kids, a fierce defender of his family and friends, and does his best to love unconditionally. So, what put him on our villains of 2024 list? Well, there was that “little” matter of fatally shooting John “Jagger” Cates (Adam J. Harrington) in cold blood. Oh, sure Jagger was going after Sonny and his family but did he really need to pay with his life? Will GH address this unsolved crime in the future? Stay tuned.
11. DAYS' Konstantin Meleounis (John Kapelos)
Konstantin earned his spot on this list by sabotaging Victor Kiriakis’s (John Aniston) plane, causing his death. Then, the cad romanced Victor’s widow Maggie (Suzanne Rogers), using a childhood photo album with pictures of himself and a young Victor to worm his way into her life. His plans were exposed, however, and Konstantin met a fatal end, taking his secret of Xander’s parentage to his grave.
10. Y&R’s Victor Newman (Eric Braeden)
Did you forget that Victor Newman had a history of holding his enemies hostage in his basement? Y&R didn’t. Years after keeping Michael Scott (Nick Benedict) a prisoner underneath his home, Victor decided to keep lethal Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) under lock and key. We saw Jordan become terrified by Victor’s actions. She was right to be afraid. Victor is someone you should never cross. Is he a villain? Some say yes. Others would disagree. In any event, Braeden reminded viewers just how powerful his alter-ego is when he taunted a captive Jordan.
9. GH’s Heather Webber (Alley Mills)
Daytime Emmy winner Alley Mills continued to show up on the GH canvas in 2024. Heather may have been the Hook (the show’s most recent serial killer), but, apparently, she had a legit reason for killing all those people. Heather had had a hip replacement, leading to cobalt poisoning, which affected her cognitive thinking. Thanks to Ric Lansing’s (Rick Hearst) legal maneuvering, Heather was released from prison. Just to prove she’s truly not all bad, Heather opted to leave Port Charles with her son, Steven Lars (Scott Reeves), to allay the fears of everyone who slept with one eye open.
8. DAYS' Cat Greene (AnnaLynne McCord)
What kind of awful person would pretend to be someone’s back-from-the-dead wife? Well, Cat Greene would. The lying manipulator pretended to be back-from-the-dead-oops-she’s-really-still-dead-for-now Abigail Deveraux DiMera (last played by Marci Miller). Abby’s husband Chad (Billy Flynn) got his hopes up only to have them dashed upon learning Cat’s true identity. McCord’s made sure that Cat’s not totally unlikable. She eventually admitted the truth after Chad confronted her. It turns out that Cat was being forced to do the bidding of Clyde Weston (James Read), another DAYS villain, who was threatening to harm Cat’s mom (and namesake), Catherina.
7. GH’s Ava Jerome (Maura West)
Ava’s wicked in a good way. We really can’t classify her as a villain but not everyone in Port Charles agrees with us. The art gallery owner takes pragmatism and self-interest to Abby Ewing levels in her efforts to look out for No. 1. A jury found Ava innocent of causing the death of Kristina’s (Kate Mansi) unborn baby. We, however, find West guilty of making us root for Ava no matter what she does!
6. DAYS' Doug Williams III (Peyton Meyer)
When we first met Doug Williams III, we thought it was a flashback to when his granddad (Doug Williams, played by the late, great Bill Hayes) was incarcerated. Instead, his grandson was finishing up his own stint in prison. He traveled to Salem and met his granddad’s family. Doug showed he’s got a bit of a con artist in him (it runs in the family) as he swiped a beautiful Horton family necklace that once belonged to beloved Alice (Frances Reid).
5. and 4. Y&R’s Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Ian Ward (Ray Wise)
Move over Boris and Natasha! Y&R has paired lethal Aunt Jordan with mastermind Ian Ward. While these two teaming up came as a surprise, it really shouldn’t have. They both have very strong feelings towards members of the Newman family. Jordan hates Victor, and she is obsessed with her niece, Claire (Hayley Erin). Meanwhile, Ian has long had a fixation with Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Victor’s wife. We’ve gotten goosebumps, just knowing that these two are conspiring. They have no moral compass and both are quite calculating. That combination is going to be tough to beat!
3. B&B’s Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada)
In a twist that nobody saw coming, aspiring fashionista Luna turned out to be the killer of both nice guy Tom, her biological dad, and hottie Hollis (Hollis W. Chambers). Yamada chilled us to the bone as we saw “Lunatic” Luna unveil her master plan. She wanted to lead the glamorous life, and that wasn’t going to happen if the world found out she was Tom’s offspring. Additionally, we learned that Luna wasn’t unintentionally seduced by Zende (Delon de Metz) while zonked out on her mother Poppy’s (Romy Park) “happy mints!” She was orchestrating everything! Perhaps the biggest twist is the show’s latest villain has popped back up on our screens… Will she find a way out of her legal jam in 2025?
2. DAYS' Connie Viniski (Julie Dove)
Hell hath no fury like a Connie Viniski scorned! When Li Shin (Remington Hoffman) rejected unbalanced Connie, she grabbed a knife and plunged it into his back, killing him! But Connie was just getting started. She also attacked Rafe (Galen Gering) and then poisoned and framed Bobby Stein (Blake Berris) for the attack on Rafe. Clearly, Connie is a force with which to be reckoned! Dove deeply dove into Connie’s psyche, making her one of Salem’s most memorable wackadoodles in the process. If Connie couldn’t have Li, she’d settle for his cardboard cutout! Connie’s off the canvas for now, but perhaps Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) can get her into therapy and on meds. Hey, it worked for Ben Weston (Robert Scott Wilson), right?
1. GH’s Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober)
Why is it that ex-cons who claim to have found religion rarely ever do? We have to admit that we initially believed that Cyrus had turned a corner and had become a man of God. But Laura’s (Genie Francis) half-brother recently had a flashback to him killing our beloved Samantha McCall (Kelly Monaco). This act earns him the No. 1 spot on our list of villains this year. What was his motive? Who’s next on his list? Did Cyrus have a hip replacement surgery? We can only hope!
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