Soap alum Victoria Rowell (“The Young and the Restless”) has signed on for a recurring role on the CBS drama series “Good Sam,” which stars Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”) as Dr. Sam Griffith, a gifted heart surgeon who excels in her new leadership role as chief of surgery after her renowned boss/father, Dr. Rob “Griff” Griffith (played by Jason Isaacs), falls into a coma.
According to Deadline, Rowell is set to play Tina Kingsley, a high-powered, sophisticated, chairwoman of the hospital board with the kind of power that does not assert itself. Alienated from her son Malcolm (Edwin Hodge), Tina possesses a strong will to take what’s in her sights, even when it means navigating complicated relationships from her past. Her son also happens to be romantically involved with Sam which, with the presence of Tina, can only cause more drama in all of their lives.
In 2015, Rowell sued CBS and Sony Pictures Television (producer of “The Young and the Restless”) over allegations of retaliation, claiming she was “impoverished and blackballed because she had chosen to speak out against the discrimination and injustice that she had endured and witnessed happen to other African Americans” during her time working on the daytime drama series before opting to leave in 2007. Her character on the series, Drucilla Winters, was presumed dead after falling off a cliff. With a body never discovered, the character hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
In April 2019, Rowell appeared as herself in a special tribute episode aired in the soap’s timeslot that was dedicated to the life of the late Kristoff St. John who passed months earlier. She appeared alongside former co-stars Christel Khalil, Bryton James and Shemar Moore on the set of the soap and on a special edition of “The Talk.”
Watch a clip of Rowell talking about her friend and former on-screen love interest below.
Outside of “The Young and the Restless,” Rowell has gone on to create, produce and star in the original series “The Rich and the Ruthless.” All four seasons of the series are currently available to stream on BET+.
During her run on “The Young and the Restless,” Rowell also starred opposite Dick Van Dyke in the primetime series “Diagnosis Murder” which ran from 1993-2001 on CBS. She played Dr. Amanda Bentley in the medical drama which found Dr. Mark Sloan (Van Dyke) working with his homicide detective son, Steve (played by real-life son Barry Van Dyke), in solving mysteries and crimes.
“Good Sam” airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.