The Best of 2019 Soap Operas: Best Daytime Villains

You can call them “good guys and bad guys” or “saints and sinners” or “heroes and villains,” but everyone knows soap operas would be nowhere without antagonists that make life difficult for protagonists.

Soap Operas: The Best Of The Year

We wouldn’t want to run into any of these folks in a dark alley, but they sure make watching our shows fun.

The Bold and the Beautiful: Dr. Reese Buckingham

Reese (Wayne Brady) wasn’t on the canvas much in 2019, but he was present long enough to commit a crime that sparked story for the rest of the year and the ramifications continue to play out as we head into 2020.

By stealing Hope’s (Annika Noelle) baby for money (or was it the prize behind Curtain No. 2?), Buckingham lit a fuse that has resulted in dynamite ratings for the half-hour sudser. He’s off-camera in prison, but we’d like to see Reese return in 2020 to pay for his crimes in person.

Days of our Lives: Kristen And Vivian

Yeah, like we’re going to choose between Vivian Alamain (Robin Strasser) and Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) as who was more potent over the last year?

Viv’s antics led to the death of her own son Stefan (Brandon Barash) while Kristen created heartbreak for Eric (Greg Vaughan) and others by making them think that Nicole (Arianne Zucker) was still alive (well she was but still). We sure hope the Nicole/Kristen rubber mask reveal is on Haiduk’s Emmy reel next year. It’s a winner!

General Hospital: Cassandra Pierce

It’s a testament to Emmy-nominee Jessica Tuck’s abilities as an actress that she can make us love and fear the characters she plays. Beloved for her run as the late Megan on One Life to Live, Tuck recurs now as villainess Cassandra Pierce (what a great name!) in Port Charles.

Poisoning Sasha was one thing, but kidnapping little Charlotte was crossing the line! Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) took revenge by blowing up the boat she was on, but we are so crossing our fingers that Cassandra jumped ship and will live to torment Port Charles citizens again!

The Young and the Restless: Simon Black

The show was in the “black” with the casting of Emmy-nominee Jeffrey Vincent Parise as Simon Black, a man who felt Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) owed him money. During his short stay in Genoa City, Simon proved he meant business by taking folks hostage in the Grand Phoenix Hotel.

Parise infused Simon with true gravitas. He saw through Chelsea’s scheme to have Kevin (Greg Rikaart) and Chloe (Elizabeth Hendrickson) pose as law enforcement agents with ease. Simon’s in jail now, but we’re hoping that he rises like a “Grand Phoenix” and returns for more villainy.