The Originals

Katherine Kelly Lang and John McCook have happily remained B&B constants

- Tom Stacy

Soap Opera Digest: Can you believe that March 23 marks 30 years of B&B? Does it feel like 30 years?

Katherine Kelly Lang: No! It’s hard to believe. I mean, after a while, the time just goes, and it’s really hard to keep track. I try not to pay attention to that part. From 20 to 30, I really don’t know what happened. It’s all a blur [laughs].

John McCook: It actually feels like 10 or 15 to me. I know I’ve been here a long time and it has been a large chunk of my career, but it doesn’t feel like 30 years. I can’t wrap my brain around that, so for us to be able to celebrate this is a great privilege. To be my age and still be doing this show and have the future that’s bright, and strong ratings all over the world, I just keep looking forward.

Digest: How does it feel to be the sole remaining original cast members?

McCook: It feels good. We’re very proud to still be here. Neither one of us had any sort of debate [about leaving] at the 25-year mark, when it seemed to happen for Susan [Flannery, ex-Stephanie] and Ronn [Moss, ex-Ridge] and it became a point of debate for them within themselves. Susan decided to retire from the show and I totally respect that. Ronn decided to move on, too. It was really wonderful to watch Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] and the writers circle the wagons at that point, and instead of seeing that as a crisis, they looked at it as an opportunity to prune the tree back and begin some new growth, and I think they accomplished that very well.