There is speculation by some of the soap magazines that the role of Adam "JR" Chandler, Jr. may be recast in the upcoming weeks.
The rumor started when AMC put out a casting call for a character by the name of Dan. According to a network-issued description, "Dan" is a teenager who comes from a broken home. When the casting call was issued, one network source hinted that Dan might not be a new character, but rather a recast of an already present Pine Valley resident. Readers should not be thrown off by the name issued on the casting call; soaps have a tendency to issue bogus names for casting calls so as not to alert the media and fans of their plans.
While it should again be emphasized that the casting call makes no definitive mention to the role of JR Chandler and all talk of recast is purely speculation. However, if the role were to be recast, it would raise at least one major question.
Many question why AMC would bring a new performer into a role played quite successfully over the past few years by Jesse McCartney. McCartney has played JR since 1998 and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for his work this past year. McCartney is active in a teen pop group called DreamStreet, which AMC viewers saw several months ago when JR performed with his "friends" at Pine Valley High. There is a possibility that McCartney would not be available to carry the work load of the role.
