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You never know what you’re going to get with a character recast. Because while it’s bound to happen with pretty much every soap opera character sooner or later, it’s not always a smooth process. And when someone’s as beloved as Billy Flynn’s Chad on Days of Our Lives, it can be a tough act to follow!
Then again, Flynn (now The Young and the Restless’ Cane) was already a recast, having taken over the role from Casey Deidrick. And it didn’t take long to win fans over. Now, it looks like history is repeating itself with Conner Floyd! The former Young & Restless star began his run this week and, honestly, we’re a bit stunned at the response.
That’s because the fans almost universally seem to be in love. To be clear, we’re not stunned because of his performance. Two episodes in and Floyd already feels like a natural for Chad, while still making the role his own. There’s an ease to Floyd’s performance that’s balanced by a version of Chad who’s not about to take things sitting down — or take his brother at his word!
But rather, we’re a bit stunned because we know how tough it can be to come in as a recast. And we get it, change, in any form, can be difficult. A lot of times, even the positive reactions tend to be more along the lines of, “Not won over, but I’m willing to give them a try and see how they do.” But when we asked fans how they felt over on Soaps.com’s Facebook page, the response was downright amazing!
“It usually takes me a while to get used to” someone new, Cheryl Dando Westbrook wrote. “Sometimes months. In about five seconds, I was all in.”
Then there was Sylvia Hazy who wrote, “Seems like they found a good replacement with Conner! I really think he fits the bill in playing the former Chad DiMera. Usually it’s not a smooth transition when actors/actresses need to be replaced.”
And as Sondra Massraf added, “I really thought I was going to have a hard time accepting this change, but after watching his debut I saw so many similarities in his portrayal of Chad with Billy Flynn’s. Well done casting, well done!”
A good chunk of those similarities probably have to do with Floyd and Flynn working together for two months on Young & Restless and getting to talk over the role. Plus, as Floyd shared with us, he studied his predecessor’s performance — along with Stefano’s! By the time Conner Floyd stepped into the role, he really had a good grasp of Chad.
Heck, after Thursday’s episode, some folks were even looking at Chad and Gwen differently. Redditor u/NoPianist7807 noted on the Days of Our Lives Reddit that, “Conner Floyd has chemistry with Emily O’Brien. Both are incredible actors.” At the same time, that might be a double-edged sword. “I don’t know if I would want Chad and Gwen to be explored again.”
Fair enough. But if they were explored just as EJ brings Abigail back (yeah, that may happen), that would make for some good drama!
Clearly, Days of Our Lives followed the same winning formula that’s worked so well with the DiMeras before, like fan faves Dan Feuerriegel and Stacy Haiduk taking over for EJ and Kristen. We may only be a couple episodes in, but it sure seems like Conner Floyd has already won over most of the audience. And that’s a testament to just about everything from casting to writing to, of course, Floyd himself. Sometimes things just click. And when they do, magic can happen!
