Jere Burns Heads to Genoa City—And Diane’s Love Life May Never Be the Same

The Young and the Restless (Y&R) spoilers confirm that veteran primetime actor Jere Burns is slated to join the CBS soap as Diane Jenkins Abbott’s (Susan Walters) ‘new’ leading man.

Burns will be playing Dr. Laurence Markham, and he’s slated for a multi-episode storyline starting this Monday, June 15.

The only information the Y&R is releasing right now is that the actor will have scenes with Diane, so there’s a ton of question marks surrounding why this new character is entering the canvas.

Especially considering Diane has been MIA for weeks now in Genoa City.

While Diane was seen in the DMV schmoozing with Fairmont Crest’s elite during the Beyond the Gates crossover, during the week of June 8-12, she’s been missing from work and her hotel room for quite some time in GC.

As such, it’ll be interesting to see if and how Dr. Markham is linked to that.

Fun fact though, not only will this Y&R role be Burns’ debut in the land of soaps, but it’ll also reunite him and Walters onscreen for the first time in three decades.

Some fans may recall that Walters and Burns worked together on the NBC hit comedy, Dear John.

The show was on the air from 1988 to 1992, as Burns played egomaniac Kirk Morris, and Walters, who entered the series as of Season 2, was Mary Beth Sutton.

Walters told TV Insider, “I loved working with Jere Burns on Dear John, so I was thrilled when I was told that we’d be working together again on Y&R.”

In addition to Dear John, Burns has also had roles on Justified, Breaking Bad, as well as Something So Right, and Good Morning Miami.

The actor has made primetime appearances on shows like NCIS: Los Angeles and Dead to Me, too – just to name a few.

With that said, as there’s been worry that Diane has been kidnapped, is Dr. Laurence Markham behind this?

Will he be the one to find her, or are the two potentially romantically involved?

Diane was on the cusp of reuniting with her estranged husband, Jack Abbot (Peter Bergman), before she went missing, so it would be strange if she’d hooked up with someone new.

The Young and the Restless spoilers suggest there’s a ton of mystery with this new character, so it’ll be intriguing to see who and what brings the good doctor (or maybe not-so-good doctor) to Genoa City.