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“Surprise! We’re back,” says Brandon Beemer (Shawn Brady), who is poised for another Days of our Lives return on November 29, joining costar Martha Madison (Belle Black), who popped in on November 8.
Madison first appeared in Salem in 2003 as the on-screen daughter of supercouple John Black (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), followed by Beemer, whose Shawn is the offspring of Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and Hope Williams Brady (Kristian Alfonso), in 2006. The pair has come and gone multiple times since and another opportunity wasn’t guaranteed after their last run in 2023.
“I didn’t expect I would ever be back,” admits Madison. “So I think I just kind of made the most of it, not really knowing what to expect, and not really signing on for an extended period of time at the beginning, just kind of see how it went. And it was, honestly, my wish list come true and it’s been so nice. I’ve had the best time I’ve ever had this last year. Janet [Spellman Drucker, co-executive producer] is so wonderful. And Ron [Carlivati, former head writer] was great at the beginning when we came back — we were doing lots of fun things — and the new writers [Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford] who took over are [a] chef’s kiss.”
After so much back and forth, Beemer says he has tried to roll with the punches when it comes to playing Shawn, but it still takes him by surprise when he gets the call. “I didn’t expect it,” he says of a comeback. “Especially after the first go round, the first little stint. I was like, ‘All right, never going back.’ And then you come back, and then you go, and then you come back again. But every time you go, it’s one of those, ‘Hey, man, it’s great working with you.’ ‘No, no, no. Don’t shake hands, don’t say goodbye. We’ll see you again. Stop doing that.’ And I was like, ‘But it doesn’t feel that. It feels like ‘bye’ to me.’”
Chris Haston / ©NBC / courtesy Everett Collection
Observes Madison with a smile, “I think that our journey as actors on this show is very representative of a soap journey: lots of twists and turns, lots of unexpected phone calls and events, but here we are still together, still doing this show, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”
The duo is proud of their association with the soap, which just marked 59 years on the air and will celebrate its 60th in November 2025. “It’s an honor,” points out Beemer. “It’s such a cool thing to be part of it.”
Which wasn’t always a given to hear them tell it. “I remember my first anniversary party was the 40th anniversary,” recalls Madison. “And I remember all the whispers of, ‘This might be the last big one.’ And here we are, 20 years later, about to celebrate 60, and we’re going stronger now than we were then. So, I’m very optimistic.” Adds Beemer, “I remember the 50th and people were like, ‘This is the big one. We had one at 40 but this is the big one. We’re probably not going to have another one.’ And now we’re at 60.”
The enormity of the milestone is not lost on them. “It’s kind of mind-blowing,” marvels Madison. “And I think for Hollywood standards, it’s hard for anyone to really truly grasp the importance of this show in just the zeitgeist and in Hollywood in general.”
For the actress, a fan of the show before landing her job, it’s been a dream come true. “I always wanted to be on this specific show, and I always wanted to be like a Deidre Hall,” Madison explains. “I wanted to be one of these people that my whole career would be spent here. So I feel like, in a way, it sort of manifested, but [I’m] just so glad to still be here.”
But she feels the loss of on-screen father, Drake Hogestyn, who passed away on September 28 from pancreatic cancer, profoundly. “I was just thinking of him today because we’ve been doing some scenes where he comes up,” Madison shares. “And I can just say he was a huge influence, obviously, team captain of our little ship over here, and I worked with him so much. I know I’ve said this before, but even when it’s pretend, when you call somebody ‘Dad’ for 20 years, there’s just something to that. And we just miss him every day. But I feel his presence all the time. It doesn’t feel like he’s not here.”
Notes Beemer, “Feels like he’s here, feels like he’s going to pop out and be like, ‘Hey, kids!’” Which suits Madison just fine. “Maybe that’s just where we all are in the grief process, but I prefer it that way.”
As the year winds down, Madison teases there’s a lot to be excited about in the months ahead on Days. “There’s a lot of chapters for a lot of things coming,” she reveals. “I love how much it’s all kind of criss-crossing. We’re getting to work with everyone, and there’s a lot of great drama coming. We’re eight or nine months ahead right now, so it’s going to be a while before you see all of it, but it’s been amazing.”
Days of our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock