Finally, it has been confirmed that Jason Thompson is arriving in Genoa City to take on the role of Billy Abbott in January 2016.
Entertainment Weekly exclusively learned that Thompson will begin to appear on the CBS soap in January. He will replace Burgess Jenkins who just recently confirmed that he will exit "The Young And The Restless."
Jill Farren Phelps, executive producer of "Y&R" said that he "feels so lucky to have the opportunity to work with Jason again." He then added that "Jason is an exceptional actor and a wonderful human being. He will bring so much to the character and we're thrilled to welcome him to The Young and Restless family." Phelps used to be the executive producer of "General Hospital."
CBS head of daytime Angelica McDaniel said, "Jason Thompson is an incredibly gifted actor and we are thrilled to welcome him." She continued, "Playing the pivotal role of Billy Abbott, Jason joins the talented cast of The Young and the Restless as the show celebrates an unprecedented 27 consecutive years as daytime's No. 1 drama."
It was just last month that Thompson announced on his Instagram page that he was leaving "General Hospital" after playing as Dr. Drake for 10 long years. He posted a video along with a caption that says, "Yesterday morning. Nov 20th. 5:55 am. It was my birthday and also my last day of playing Patrick Drake on GH after 10 years. It was a long, emotional, exhausting, thrilling at times overwhelming day, and I am so grateful for every one of those moments. Change can be exciting and scary all at once. Shake it up..see what comes out."
A video posted by Jason Thompson (@myjasonthompson) on Nov 21, 2015 at 1:21pm PST
Meanwhile, Thompson will be replacing Jenkins as Billy Abbott who reportedly had a hard time trying to fit in the role given that Billy Miller was able to portray it very well. With that being said, now the challenge is up for Thompson on how he will be able to give justice to Billy Abbott's character.
