The Young and the Restless star Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott) said that she reduced her time at the CBS soap opera and left The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in part to spend more time with her family. She wasn't kidding, as her latest project is a total family affair: she has signed on to star in Duke of the Valley, a sitcom that will also star her husband, Vince Van Patten, and is based on the memoirs of his father, late actor Dick Van Patten, who was best known for portraying father figure Tom Bradford in the late 70s ABC dramedy series Eight Is Enough.
Co-created and co-written by Vince Van Patten and Duke Van Patten (his son with Davidson), Duke of the Valley will follow the life of Duke Van Patten (who plays himself) as he tried to make it as an actor in Hollywood while living in a dingy apartment in the San Fernando Valley that is owned by his "crazy uncle Jimmy" (James Van Patten).
According to the Wrap, the fictional apartment is packed to the brim with eccentric tenants, including Heather (Caitlyn Jenner), a transgender "white trash" woman who sells perfume at the counter at Macy's; Heather's roommate, Fong (Thai Fong); and a homeless killer named Skippy (Vince Van Patten), who demands to camp outside the apartment building. Davidson will star as Brenda, a washed-up actress who can't accept that her career in showbiz is over.
Duke of the Valley is currently shooting and has filmed a first episode, but the series currently doesn't have a network or release date. Vince Van Patten is directing and producing with help from James Van Patten, Stefan Colson, and Kim Waltrip.
This isn't the first time that Davidson has worked with her husband. The actress also starred in his 2019 film 7 Days to Vegas (previously titled Walk to Vegas), which you can read more about here.
Davidson has been playing the role of Y&R's Ashley on-again, off-again since 1982. Not long after taking home a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Lead Actress category for her work on Y&R in 2018, she shocked the daytime community when she announced that she was walking away from the CBS soap opera to spend more time with her family. However, she has returned since then to be part of the Alzheimer's storyline that involved Ashley's mother, Dina Mergeron (Marla Adams). Davidson is also known to daytime audiences for her five roles on Days of our Lives -- Kristen DiMera, Susan Banks, Thomas Banks, Penelope Banks, and Mary Moira -- for which she also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2014.
What are your thoughts on Eileen Davidson working on a project with several of her family members? What do you think about the casting and premise of Duke of the Valley? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
