Days of our Lives‘ Billy Flynn [Chad DiMera] has joined The Younger and the Stressed as Cane Ashby, bringing a storyline shake-up that Christel Khalil, who performs Cane’s ex-wife, Lily Winters, is blissful to embrace.
“I’ve been wanting for use extra, so it’s nice to be working much more and have one thing to essentially sink my enamel into,” Khalil begins. “For a very long time, it’s been primarily a enterprise storyline, which has been actually enjoyable to play and work with Victor [Newman, Eric Braeden], nevertheless it’s good to have that different layer of emotion and relationship and connection to play as properly.”
Khalil reveals she had no thought Cane can be written again in till shortly earlier than Flynn started taping. “Josh Griffith [executive producer and head writer] stored it a secret for a really very long time,” she shares. “I didn’t understand they had been bringing Cane again till per week or two earlier than he began. I used to be tremendous excited; it was such an amazing character, and it was a disgrace to not have the character there.”
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Though Khalil had by no means met Flynn, his status preceded him. “I heard nice issues from a few of the different solid members who had both labored with him or knew people who labored with him,” she reviews. “He’s such an amazing man and nice to work with.”
However this isn’t a easy “Lane” reunion, Khalil previews. Moderately than revisiting the acquainted dynamic between Lily and Cane, viewers ought to put together for one thing solely recent. “I really feel just like the story may be very compelling, and I believe if followers can have a look at it with a brand new lens, they’ll actually prefer it,” Khalil says. “I believe the nice factor that Josh has achieved is he’s utterly modified the character of Cane.
“It doesn’t really feel like we’re attempting to have somebody step in Daniel Goddard‘s [ex-Cane] footwear,” she continues. “It’s just about a wholly new character, so it’s been attention-grabbing to have scenes as a result of we’ve got the historical past there, nevertheless it’s somewhat bit totally different. They’ve additionally added in flashbacks that Lily has of interactions that she and Cane have had previously, 5 or 6 years [since he’s been gone]. So, it’s virtually somewhat little bit of a brand new relationship once more, in a means.”
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For sure, Cane’s shock return will trigger main upheaval for Lily. “It’s the primary time in Lily’s life that she’s single, and he or she’s invested in working with Devon [Winters, Bryton James] and Nate [Hastings, Sean Dominic] and simply actually centered on enterprise,” Khalil factors out. “Her children [twins Charlie and Mattie Ashby] are gone. She doesn’t have a man in her life, and he or she’s been specializing in work. So having Cane come again, it’s like the bottom type of falls out from beneath her in a means.”
Which Lily doesn’t admire. After Cane reveals himself in France to be the mysterious Aristotle Dumas, “Effectively, clearly she’s upset,” notes Khalil. “The entire time she thought that this particular person [Dumas] was someone else, so it’s quite a lot of being actually upset, feeling betrayed, and feeling like, how may this person who she was married to and have children with have been mendacity this complete time?”
Plus, there are different elements for Lily to consider. “Even earlier than Lily finds out Dumas is Cane, the principle concern she has is that Dumas is coming after her firm,” Khalil explains. “So, when she finds out it’s Cane, I believe that worry remains to be there as a result of she hears from Victor and different people who Cane is type of scheming, and nobody actually is aware of what he’s as much as. So, she’s actually frightened. What’s Cane’s plan? Why is he again in Genoa Metropolis? What does he need from everyone? What’s he attempting to perform? Clearly, he’s right here for a purpose, so I believe proper now, she’s simply attempting to determine what Cane is doing.”
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What Lily isn’t in search of is to leap again right into a relationship with him. “As of proper now, no, completely not,” Khalil states. “She’s very disturbed by his conduct and the way a lot he’s lied and stored secret and what he’s hidden from the children and what he’s hidden from her, and the truth that she finds out he was working along with his dad, Colin [Atkinson, Tristan Rogers], who’s a really dangerous particular person. So proper now, it’s very very similar to, ‘I would like nothing to do with you. We’re by no means getting again collectively, particularly in spite of everything of this. It’s by no means occurring.’”
As this new chapter unfolds, Khalil urges followers to maintain an open thoughts in regards to the new “Lane” dynamic. “On the finish of the day, it’s not going to be the identical Cane,” she says. “It’s a totally totally different particular person, and I actually hope that everyone offers Billy an opportunity and tries to have a look at the character by new eyes, as a result of it’s a new particular person, and actually, it’s a brand new character. He’s nothing like Daniel Goddard, and that’s type of the purpose. The purpose was to make this character one thing utterly totally different. And so hopefully folks give it an opportunity and have a look at it like a brand new relationship reasonably than like an outdated one coming again.”
For Khalil, having a meaty story 23 years into her Y&R run is a nice shock, and one which she by no means anticipated. “It’s good as a result of I began as a child once I was an adolescent, and I used to be all the time solely part of the summer season teen storyline,” she displays. “I actually thought that I used to be solely going to be on the present for 3 years and didn’t anticipate nonetheless being there, however I’m so blissful that I’m. I really like this job. I really like the people who I work with. And it’s actually superb to have the ability to play the identical character for this lengthy, as a result of the character actually does type of change into you. There’s been so many several types of tales that I’ve gotten to play over time, and it’s been actually enjoyable and superb. I find it irresistible.”
The Younger and the Stressed, Weekdays, CBS, Examine Native Listings