General Hospital won’t be the only show paying tribute to the late Jacklyn Zeman, who portrayed Bobbie Spencer on the ABC soap opera starting in 1978. Zeman, who passed away after a brief illness in April, was also a cast member of the digital drama The Bay. Executive producer Gregori Martin tells Soap Hub about The Bay‘s plan to honor Zeman, who played Sofia Madison.
Jacklyn Zeman: Honoring a Daytime Legend
“Jackie Zeman was always a dream to work with,” Martin tells Soap Hub. “So loyal to the show, she was always the first to contact me whenever she received a new script. She constantly shared her appreciation for Wendy [Riche, executive producer/writer] and me for including her character in a script and always came to work with such enthusiasm.
“Jackie was a director’s dream to have on set, and she made my job so much easier,” Martin adds.
Daytime veteran Nicolas Coster (ex-Lionel, Santa Barbara), who died in June and played Sofia’s husband, Jack Madison, is also being honored by the soap. “[Nicolas] was also always a consummate pro on set. He was a true legend, so getting to work with him and direct him in anything was amazing,” Martin shares. “He had no trouble ever bringing his A-game and delivering the character with such grace and perfection. Such a wonderful actor.
Coster aired for the final time back in Season 5 of The Bay. (John Aprea, ex-Lucas, Another World, assumed the role of Jack Madison for its 6th and 7th seasons.)
Zeman’s Sofia, however, continues in episodes that will debut through Friday, December 29. “We created a wonderful special montage to honor the characters that [Jackie and Nicolas] portrayed in today’s 100th episode,” Martin says. “Jackie and Nic played Sofia and Mayor Jack Madison prior to The Bay becoming a long-form drama series in 2015 when the show was a 12-minute web series.
“For the tribute and moving forward, we will keep Nicolas Coster’s memory alive for his portrayal of Jack,” Martin shares. “I could never recast the role of Sofia. We have some ideas on how to keep Jackie’s character, Sofia, on the canvas without recasting.”
The Bay airs weekdays at 4 pm ET (1 p.m. PT) with encore presentations at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) and midnight ET (9 p.m. PT) on Popstar! TV.
The soap has been nominated for Daytime Emmys in the categories of Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Directing. The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards airs on Friday, December 15th, at 9 p.m. on CBS.
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