Move over, Marcia! Beloved Brady Bunch ingenue Maureen McCormick has joined the cast of Passions, NBC's deliciously innovative daytime soap, as Rebecca Hotchkiss, on-screen mother to a character played by Susan Lucci's real-life daughter!
"Rebecca is manipulative and calculating," McCormick tells TV Guide Online. "She wants to control everything! She wants money, power and, from what I can see, to take over the Crane empire. I've already had a small fight with Pilar [the Cranes' housekeeper], who I've heard is always very nice, so the actress who plays her was really excited to do that."
McCormick's soap character, who debuts July 5, obviously comes from luxury, but the actress doesn't have the luxury of time working on Passions, which tapes one episode a day. "Oh, it's overwhelming! I want to go back and redo everything," she confesses. "I'm a perfectionist, so it's frustrating, but at the same time it's really challenging and makes me want to get better."
The perky performer is concentrating on new projects, but she admits that she keeps an eye on the rash of trashy tell-all Brady Bunch movies and specials. "I think it's really strange how they're making movies that are not 100 percent true," McCormick explains. "Things have gotten blown out of proportion. It's weird that the media [are] doing this. I just find it kind of sad. I just feel like there's so much other stuff in life, and, it's like, just get on with it! [The Brady Bunch] was a great part of my life then, but I want to do [acting projects] that are here now." — Jonathan Reiner
© TV Guide Insider Friday June 16 2000.