The Bo Brady News That Days Of Our Lives Fans Were Not Prepared For
When Peter Reckell made a brief return to "Days of Our Lives" in 2015 after leaving the soap behind for what seemed like the final time in 2012 (via IMDb), there wasn't a dry eye with fans. At the time, his iconic soap character, Bo Brady, died in Hope Brady's arms after just discovering he had an inoperable brain tumor. In 2016, Reckell made a one-off appearance on the soap in Hope's imagination as she examined her life and the people who had the most effect on it (via Michael Fairman TV).
In 2020, actress Kristian Alfonso left Hope behind when she left town after believing Bo and Hope's adult daughter, Ciara Weston (Victoria Konefal), had died (via Entertainment Tonight). While Ciara returned, Hope did not, and Alfonso explained that it was time for her to exit the soap she had called home off and on, but mostly on, since 1983.
So, fans were thrilled in April 2022 when NBC announced that both Reckell and Alfonso would be returning to their soap roles, but not on the daily version of "DOOL." Instead, they would be appearing on the second installment of the streamed Peacock miniseries spin-off show, "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem" (via TV Insider). However, when NBC released its latest weekly promo for the broadcast soap on May 13, fans were in for a major surprise.
Peter Reckell returns to 'Days of Our Lives' as Bo Brady
On Friday's episode of "Days of Our Lives," it ended with Ciara Weston and Ben Weston's (Robert Scott Wilson) newborn baby, Bo Brady Weston, laying in a basket placed inside a pentagram with the satanically-possessed Allie Horton (Lindsay Arnold) trying to use the baby as a permanent host body (via Soaps.com). Ciara was in tears as she prayed for her late father to save his new grandson, and it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen.
The official NBC "DOOL" promo for the week of May 16 features Ciara looking into a light and seeing her father appear as it's announced, "Bo Is Back." The scenes are clearly newly-taped material with Peter Reckell back in the role he hasn't embodied for nearly seven years. This is a major surprise to fans who only expected Reckell's return on "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem," which streams July 11 (via TV Insider).
Whether Bo also appears as a spirit in the spin-off series remains to be seen, as presumed dead characters have made short comebacks as spirits before only to turn out to be alive. However, that doesn't mean that fans aren't going wild over this early surprise Reckell appearance.
'Days of Our Lives' fans are overjoyed by Peter Reckell's return
As "Days of Our Lives" tapes months in advance (via TV Line), it's often easy for big casting news to leak onto social media. However, Peter Reckell's May 2022 return, that looks to spell an end to the devil possession storyline that began in the fall, stayed a secret. Some fans are so excited that they don't even care that he is a ghost and not the real deal.
"I don't understand how anyone could complain about ghost Bo! You don't get anymore soap royalty than BO BRADY!!" one Twitter user wrote. "We're lucky they brought him back and Peter agreed to it. Some people need to stop."
Another fan just can't wait for the moment when on-screen father and daughter reunite, writing, "Bo on my screen helping his baby girl protect her baby boy. I'm not ready." Yet another fan said it will turn her into a "Days of Our Lives" fan once again, tweeting, "This has brought me immense joy tonight!!! I haven't even watched this show in YEARS but BO BRADY IS BACK BABYYYYY!!!"