Veteran Soap Star Jacob Young Joins Hit Show The Walking Dead

Soap veteran Jacob Young has been on hugely popular serials like The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, All My Children. Now, the actor is joining the cast of another hit series, AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Jacob Young Joins The Walking Dead

“So excited and pumped about joining such a successful and long-running franchise!” Young posted on Instagram. “Looking forward to sharing more with everyone. @deadline 🤘#thewalkingdead.”

Deadline broke the news that Young hinted at last month when he dropped by Soap Hub for a Fireside Chat. Young will be playing the part of Deaver for The Walking Dead’s 11th and final season. Specifics about Deaver’s origins and with whom he’ll be interacting are being kept quiet for now.

The Walking Dead is based on the comic book created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Viewers of the series recall that in Season 10, the tension between Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohen) emerged. Negan went back to Survivor’s headquarters. The final season is set for 24 episodes and is set to premiere on Sunday, August 22 on AMC.

Young’s pals are weighing in with congratulatory posts. Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, The Young and the Restless) expressed his support by posting a handful of applause emojis. “Good for you, my friend!” posted John McCook (Eric). “Take it all the way…Love you.”

Young made his daytime debut as BB’s Rick in late 1997. He stayed on the half-hour soap until 1999, but he wasn’t gone from daytime for long. The actor took over the role of Lucky Spencer on General Hospital from Jonathan Jackson. He stayed there until 2003, taking home the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Young Actor in a Drama Series.

Next, Young moved 3,000 miles across the country to assume the role of JR Chandler, the son of Adam Chandler (David Canary) and Dixie Martin (Cady McClain). Young stayed on AMC from 2003 to 2011.

BB rehired Young to reprise Rick and he was back on-screen shortly after AMC aired its finale on ABC. He remained on the show until 2018 when Rick, his wife Maya (Karla Mosley), and their daughter Lizzie moved to Europe.