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Interview with Bleeding Love's Kim Zimmer and Jake Weary

(2/14/24) (Watch Here) Mother and son acting duo, Kim Zimmer and Jake Weary will join me live in the Locher Room on Thursday, February 15th at 12:30 p.m. EST / 9:30 a.m. PST to discuss their new film, Bleeding Love opening in select theaters and video on demand on Friday, February 16th.

Bleeding Love is a drama starring Ewan McGregor and his daughter Clara McGregor. The film was written by Ruby Caster from an original story by Caster, Clara McGregor, and Vera Bulder (Jake’s wife). Vera also stars in the film alongside her husband and mother-in-law.

The story centers around a father (played by Ewan) who secretly drives his estranged daughter (played by Clara) to rehab after she overdoses, aware that she has inherited his addiction problems, and after he has started a new family elsewhere.

Orgies, open marriage and Diana Ross: Inside Billy Dee Williams’ wild love life

(2/13/24) In the 1980s, Billy Dee Williams boasted about being able to read women’s body language in a commercial for Colt 45 malt liquor. In real life, too, he prided himself on being an expert.

“The Empire Strikes Back” star’s colorful new memoir “What Have We Here?” is brimming with stories about his seven-decade career — but also more than a few salacious tales about orgies and open marriages.

But the one woman Williams couldn’t get close to was Diana Ross, his movie co-star in both “Lady Sings the Blues” and “Mahogany.”

“Diana was a gorgeous woman and I enjoyed kissing her. I loved kissing, period. Sometimes kissing could be even better than sex,” the actor writes. “The only person who had a problem with our kissing was Berry [Gordy].”

Gordy, the founder of Motown Records and producer of “Mahogany,” was Ross’ longtime secret lover and the father of her daughter Rhonda.

“During rehearsals, [Gordy] always found a reason to step in and stop us just before we got to the point where we kissed,” Williams, now 86, writes. “That’s good, that’s enough, you got it, and then you kiss.”

Once cameras were rolling, “it was Berry and not … the director, who would say, ‘Cut!'”

But Williams romanced plenty of other women. The Manhattan-raised actor, 87, shares that he lost his virginity at age 17 to a neighbor in his Harlem building.

“A woman in our building who was raising several children lured me into her apartment one day and seduced me,” he writes. “It didn’t take much effort … once she got me inside her place, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. I was at that age where all I knew was that I was having sex. I didn’t know how or why, only that it was happening.”

Williams won a scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design and snagged a job as an extra for the Metropolitan Opera through a friend named Joey.

“He was gay, and so it seemed were most of the other extras, except for me,” he recalls. “Every night we partied in the Met’s basement, transforming this bastion of culture into one of the city’s hottest underground clubs … What an extraordinary time!”

The actor got his break on Broadway and was cast opposite Joan Plowright in the play “A Taste of Honey” in 1960.

Williams, then 23, writes that he loved working with “Joanie” and that he “flirted with constantly and unabashedly” with her — albeit in an odd way.

“She liked onions and I liked garlic. Onstage, we breathed all over each other and we got a kick out of quietly finding out what the other had eaten for lunch or dinner. I flirted with her constantly and unabashedly.”

But the actress’ much older fiancé, Sir Laurence Olivier, was starring in a play at the theater next door. One day, the Shakespearean legend came to visit and “caught me hitting on her. He feigned shock and anger and then let loose an infectious cackle,” Williams writes.

He had married actress Audrey Sellers in 1959 and, after that union ended in 1963, Williams began dating a woman named Yvonne, whom he had known since he was a teen.

The actor recalls coming home one day from the theater to find Yvonne hosting an orgy.

“There were women and men, and a lot of nakedness,” he writes. “The craziness was more than I was prepared to deal with after work.” So he decided to go take a shower and “invited a young woman who was already undressed to join me. Why not?”

As revenge, Yvonne insisted that Williams watch her have sex with another man — a scene he found hilarious.

Annoyed, Yvonne then grabbed a pair of scissors and cut up Williams’ “beautiful alpaca sweaters … that hurt almost more than if she’d cut me. It was the excuse I needed to get away from Yvonne.”

Williams and Richard Pryor starred in four movies together, including “Lady Sings the Blues,” “Hit” and “Carter’s Army.” They were even both in one of Williams’ favorite films of his career, “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings,” about the Negro Baseball League.

The two actors were “good friends” for a while — but that “unraveled when I witnessed him abuse his girlfriend Patricia [Price], verbally and physically.

“It wasn’t a one-time incident either. Teruko [Nakagami, Williams’ third wife] and I saw him strike her with a still smoldering log he took out of the fireplace and that ended our friendship.”

Later, Williams, writes, Patricia “told me about other examples, including one time when he hit her with a Courvoisier bottle.”

Witnessing the abuse ended the actors’ friendship.

“I couldn’t be around someone that behaved that way,” Williams writes of Pryor. “He knew that, and it made working together on ‘Bingo’ tense.”

Years later, Williams — who had an open marriage with Teruko — embarked on his own decades-long affair with Pryor’s ex.

“The intense passion of our trysts was something we both craved. I was totally, thoroughly caught up in the romance of each one of our assignations,” he writes. “But Patricia was truly, madly obsessed. She once spray-painted a message on the guardrails along Mulholland Drive: I love Billy Dee.”

It ended when Patricia accused Williams of assault, but she later recanted her story and the charges were eventually expunged.

He eventually separated from Nakagami but they never officially divorced — realizing it was financially easier to stay married.

As for those Colt 45 commercials, which cast Williams as a smooth-talking ladies’ man, he writes: “They made me a lot of money. That was a big part of my motivation for doing them. … But I was also expanding my brand in the way I always imagined. I was a romantic leading man.”

The idea, he says, is “They were scripted like mini romances. I impressed a beautiful woman by pouring an icy cold can into a glass, then walked away with her and intoned, ‘Works every time.'”

He took his best-known role — playing Lando Calrissian in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back” — because he loved the idea of the character wearing a cape.

“Amazing! It was old-school….I saw him in my head. He wasn’t written Black or White. He was beyond that. Bigger than that. He was straight out of [Alexandre] Dumas via ‘Flash Gordon.’ He was a star.”

In his ninth decade, Williams is still working and says he always tells people: “Don’t worry so much…Enjoy life. It’s a gift, an astonishing, mysterious, beautiful, absurd gift.”erm

Talk Show Appearance

(2/9/24) The View - ABC

AIRING Feb 13, 2024

Actor Billy Dee Williams.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/9/24) The Kelly Clarkson Show - Syndicated

AIRING Feb 16, 2024

Billy Dee Williams

Jordi Vilasuso’s Baby Girl Is Home From the Hospital!

(2/8/24) (soapsindepth.com) Some wonderful news to report! Lucy Vilasuso is home from the hospital! Just two weeks after Kaitlin and Jordi Vilasuso announced the birth of their baby girl, the infant was rushed to the hospital with RSV. A few days later, the parents offered an update on Lucy’s condition saying that she was improving, and now, almost two weeks after going into the hospital, the precious little girl is back with her family.

“Lucy is home!” Kaitlin shared on Instagram. “Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of love and every single prayer lifted up for our sweet baby. We are so happy to have her home and healthy (Lord, please help us keep her healthy) and for us to be back together under one roof. I missed that so much.”

Vilasuso has earned many fans from his various daytime roles (Rey on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, Dario on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Griffin on ALL MY CHILDREN, and Tony on GUIDING LIGHT) and they were all kept up to date on Lucy’s progress via social media posts. The parents posted positive updates like when Lucy was able to bottle feed again and as they weaned the infant off the oxygen so she could finally breathe on her own.

“Children’s Hospital L.A., we are forever grateful for how well you took care of our girl,” Kaitlin added. “More on that when I’m a little less PTSDish, but forever grateful for the intelligence and compassion of each person who cared for her — especially her ICU nurses who are angels taking care of baby angels day in and day out. I have so much more to say about that, but for now, holding each and every child and family within those walls (and each and every person taking care of them) in our hearts.

“Thank you again, friends,” she concluded. “For loving on us like you do and loving this baby girl! Praying things are boring around here for a while and I am just posting happy baby/family updates.”

Giancarlo Esposito Takes On Andre Braugher’s Role In Netflix’s ‘The Residence’; Al Franken Playing Senator Among Other Cast Additions

(2/7/24) Putting a touching bookmark on their professional relationship, Giancarlo Esposito (Guiding Light, Another World) will succeed Andre Braugher in the cast of Shondaland‘s comedic murder-mystery Netflix drama series The Residence following Braugher’s untimely death.

Production on The Residence, which had been paused due to the writers strike, has resumed, with former U.S. Sen. Al Franken set to play one on TV: Aaron Filkins, the senior senator from Washington state. Also joining the cast of the series, headlined by Uzo Aduba, are Andrew Friedman (Better Call Saul) as Irv Samuelson, director of the National Park Police, and Julian McMahon (Another World) as Stephen Roos, the prime minister of Australia.

Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul alum Esposito is taking over the role of White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter, a lead opposite Adubo that previously was played by Braugher. Two and a half decades ago, Esposito succeeded Braugher on Homicide: Life on the Street, joining the NBC drama as a series regular for its final season, following Braugher’s exit. The duo then starred together in the 2000 follow-up TV movie.

“I couldn’t be prouder and more honored to be stepping into Shondaland’s The Residence for someone that I loved and respected and cherished in Andre Braugher,” Esposito said. “To be afforded the opportunity to create in his honor with this incredible team extends the depth and breadth of his legacy through all of us who loved him so dearly.”

The casting will not interfere with Esposito’s starring role on AMC’s new series Parish, should the drama get a second season.

The Residence, from executive producer/showrunner Paul William Davies and executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, shot four episodes of its eight-episode order before suspending filming during the early days of the writers strike in May.

The series had been slated to return to production January 2. In light of Braugher’s December 12 death, the restart of filming was postponed to give the cast and crew more time to mourn while Netflix and the producers charted a course to continue without the actor. Braugher’s scenes will be reshot with Esposito.

Using Kate Andersen Brower’s book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House as a jumping-off point, the Netflix series is described as a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.

After a dead body is found, one wildly eccentric detective (Aduba) comes in to investigate 157 suspects attending a state dinner.

The cast also includes Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Al Mitchell, Dan Perrault, Bronson Pinchot, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mary Wiseman, Randall Park, Kylie Minogue, Jane Curtin, James Babson, Eliza Coupe, Izzy Diaz, Paul Fitzgerald, Ros Gentle, Chris Grace, Juliette Jeffers, Sumalee Montano, Nathan Lovejoy, E. L. Losada, Julieth Restrepo, Mel Rodriguez, Brett Tucker and Rebecca Field.

Esposito has earned five Emmy nominations, three for his signature role as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad and prequel Better Call Saul and two for playing Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian. He is repped by Josh Kesselman of Sugar23, CAA, Jackoway Austen Tyerman and imPRint.

Palm Royale Trailer: Kristen Wiig Attempts to Worm Her Way Into High Society in Star-Studded Apple Comedy

(2/5/24) (Video) Behold, one of the most star-studded casts you’ll see on TV this year.

As part of the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Apple TV+ on Monday released a trailer for the highly anticipated comedy series Palm Royale, which boasts an ensemble including Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney and guest stars Carol Burnett and Bruce Dern.

Premiering on Wednesday, March 20, Palm Royale (fka Mrs. American Pie) is “a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society,” according to the official logline. “As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, Palm Royale asks the same question that still baffles us today: ‘How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?’ Set during the powder keg year of 1969, Palm Royale is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.”

Rounding out the cast are Ricky Martin (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), Josh Lucas (Yellowstone), Leslie Bibb (Popular), Amber Chardae Robinson (Loot), Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), Julia Duffy (Newhart) and Kaia Gerber (American Horror Story).

Loosely based on the novel “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel, Palm Royale is written and executive-produced by Abe Sylvia (Nurse Jackie, Dead to Me, George and Tammy). Wiig and Laura Dern also serve as EPs.

The first three episodes will drop on premiere day, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through May 8, for a total of 10 episodes.

Winners At the 2024 Saturn Awards

(2/5/24) 51st Saturn Awards honor the best in genre entertainment

BEST FEATURED GUEST STAR IN A TELEVISION SERIES: Paul Wesley (Strange Trek: Strange New Worlds)

Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick To Star Alongside Each Other In A Movie For First Time In 20 Years

(1/30/24) Husband-and-wife duo Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick have landed roles together in a movie for the first time in two decades, with The King of Queens creator Michael J. Weithorn penning and directing Connescence.

Principal photography kicked off this week on the movie from Victoria Hill and Greg Clark‘s Fibonacci Films, with Bacon and Sedgwick playing the leads, joined by White Lotus star Brittany O’Grady and Oscar-nominated The Fabelmans actor Judd Hirsch.

Bacon plays Stan Olszewski, a sharp, funny, but chronically underachieving security guard, who breaks up an attempted robbery at the home of Cynthia Rand (Sedgwick), a successful urologist married to brilliant former Watergate prosecutor Warren Rand (Judd Hirsch). From this chance encounter grows a charged and dynamic friendship – first as late-night text sessions filled with humor and intimate revelations, growing into something that shakes the foundation of both their lives.

Bacon and Sedgwick, who married in 1988 and have two children including actor Sosie Bacon, haven’t acted together since 2004, during which they starred in both Cavedweller and The Woodsman. Bacon has since directed Sedgwick in Loverboy and Sedgwick directed Bacon in Space Oddity, while the pair have scooped numerous gongs for roles in the likes of The Closer and Taking Chance.

Sedgwick and Bacon said: “We are so excited to work together on screen again for the first time in 20 years in such a funny, moving and original script.”

Hill added: “We are thrilled and excited to bring this timely, entertaining and moving story to life with such a stellar cast.”

Across a plus-40-year career, Weithorn has mainly directed small screen projects such as CBS’ The King of Queens, which ran for nine seasons and more than 200 episodes. Other credits include The Goldbergs, Weird Loners and Schooled.

Filming on Connescence will continue for 22 days in and around Brooklyn. Hill is producing with Sedgwick, Bacon and Andrew Mann. Laura D’Augello is co-producer. Director of photography is Andrew Wonder, production designer is Michael Fitzgerald with costume designer Gina Ruiz, and casting directors are Jen Euston and and Allison Jones.

Michael Jackson Biopic ‘Michael’ Sets Nia Long As Matriarch Katherine Jackson

(1/30/24) Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael has cast Nia Long as Jackson matriarch Katherine Jackson.

The Antoine Fuqua directed movie is now shooting for an April 18, 2025, global theatrical release.

“Beyond Nia’s incredible talent, I was deeply moved by her connection to the material and her commitment to honoring Katherine and the love she had for her son,” said Michael producer Graham King.

Fuqua added, “Nia has delivered iconic performances throughout her career. I’ve been a fan for a long time because her characters stay with you. I’m excited to now work alongside her as she pours all of that into Katherine Jackson: a woman who was the glue, the rock, and the heart of the Jackson family during its best and its most turbulent times.”

Long exclaimed, “Katherine Jackson is an incredible pillar of strength and grace for the entire Jackson family. As a mother, she was selfless and endured forces beyond her control yet still managed to help build a legacy beyond measure. I am honored to bring her voice to the screen and share Michael Jackson’s story with audiences everywhere.”

Long is a 4x NAACP Image Award winner and star of the Best Man franchise, Netflix’s You People, Sony’s Searching, Love Jones, Friday, Soul Food, Boyz N the Hood, and several other films and TV series.

She’ll be starring opposite Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson who will play his King of Pop uncle; and recent Oscar nominee Colman Domingo who will play Katherine’s husband, Joe, in the movie scripted by 3x Oscar nominee John Logan.

Long is represented by Verve Talent and Literary Agency, Narrative, and Meyer & Downs.

Michael is also produced by the co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate, John Branca and John McClain. Lionsgate has domestic distribution, while UPI has all offshore territories sans Japan.

Jordi Vilasuso asks for prayers as baby daughter is admitted to NICU

(1/29/24) “The Young and the Restless” alum Jordi Vilasuso and his wife, Kaitlin Vilasuso, are asking fans for prayers as their daughter has been admitted to the NICU for a partially collapsed lung.

The soap star, who announced Lucy’s arrival earlier this month, shared that their baby’s health scare is due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

“We found out Monday that Lucy had RSV and by Monday night she had been admitted to the hospital w/ difficulty breathing,” the couple wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of Lucy lying in an incubator and hooked up to various machines.

“Last night, things unexpectedly took a turn for the worse and she was moved to NICU w/ what the doctors described as a partially collapsed right lung. I am still struggling to believe this as I type.”

RSV causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2; however, it can cause severe infections in babies under 12 months.

“Please please pray with us for miraculous healing for Lucy’s precious little body,” the couple concluded. “We love her so much and just want her home and happy and in our arms.”

Early Monday, Kaitlin, 37, shared a video of Lucy sleeping with her hand on a pacifier.

“This little hand [prayer emoji],” she wrote over the clip on her Instagram Story. “..hi sweet baby.”

She also posted a snap of herself holding holding hands with the former “Guiding Light” star, 42, and their older daughters, Riley Grace, 10, and Everly Maeve, 7.

“Thankful for family bedtime prayers for the first time since all of this happened..anxious to have the littlest hands in our circle back home,” Kaitlin captioned her Instagram Story.

The pair have grappled with numerous obstacles throughout their fertility journey, including two pregnancy losses before Kaitlin, who is also an actor, became pregnant with Lucy last year.

Hayden Panettiere Accuses Nashville Writers of Exploiting Her Real-Life Woes for Drama: ‘They Weren’t Creating New Storylines’

(1/26/24) Hayden Panettiere is alleging that Nashville‘s writers lightly fictionalized her own real-life problems when coming up with storylines for her character on the country-music drama, a situation she found “traumatizing.”

Though the actress has previously acknowledged that “they really wrote my life into it” when she starred opposite Connie Britton on the ABC series, in a new interview with The Messenger, she now accuses the show’s writing team of “not doing their homework.”

She adds: “They weren’t creating new storylines. They were just looking at my life and going, ‘Oh, let’s just take what she’s going through and put our little spin on it.’ And then, ta-da! It’s done and done.”

Panettiere references Juliette’s Season 1 hasty marriage and even hastier annulment to pro athlete Sean Butler, played by Tilky Jones, as well as later seasons’ plots that showed Juliette struggling with alcoholism and post-partum depression and joining a cult.

“Straight from the beginning, it was like, I’m dating a football player, [and then] Juliette dates a football player. And then they turned her into an alcoholic. Then they turned to her leaving her daughter and going to this crazy [place] in Europe,” says the actress, who is about to embark on a speaking tour titled “A Conversation With Hayden Panettiere.”

TVLine has reached out to multiple former Nashville executive producers for comment.

In comments similar to those she made on a 2022 episode of Red Table Talk, Panettiere says playing out the personally resonant scripts made her feel like she had no respite from her troubles. And because Juliette was so frequently upset, “I was like, tear central. I don’t even think on a soap opera that I cried as much [as I did] on Nashville.”

Panettiere has previously spoken publicly about going to treatment roughly four months after Kaya, her daughter with Wladimir Klitschko, was born in December 2014; she has said she was drinking heavily at the time and was diagnosed with postpartum depression at the facility where she sought help. She had two stays before Nashville ended in 2018, and later checked in for an eight-month stay.

Nashville viewers will remember that in October 2015, Panettiere took a very public step back from the show, then in its fourth season. She returned to set the following January but then resumed treatment shortly after the season’s production wrapped.

She appeared in the show’s final two seasons; Juliette’s involvement in the aforementioned cult created a reason for Panettiere to be off-screen for a number of episodes.i

Calista Flockhart Says Anorexia Rumors During Ally McBeal Left Her ‘Embarrassed and Infuriated’

(1/26/24) Calista Flockhart says the anorexia rumors that swirled around her during the heyday of Ally McBeal cast a pall over her experience on the show.

“I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made it sour,” the actress tells the New York Times in a wide-ranging profile. “I was very sleep-deprived and I was depressed about it. I did think that it was going to ruin my career. I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again, because they would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.

“I had days where I was really hurt and embarrassed and infuriated,” she adds. “I was lucky that I had to work. I just put my head down. I always felt like, ‘Calista, you’re a good person, you’re not mean to anybody,’ and I’m confident in that.”

Flockhart believes if Ally had premiered in this decade vs. the ’90s such chatter would trigger a backlash. “I don’t think that would ever happen today,” she muses. “They call it body-shaming now. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, but it’s really not OK to accuse someone of having a disease that a lot of people struggle with.”

For the record, the Brothers & Sisters vet insists, “I honestly have never been in a situation where I have to watch my weight. My mom is 4-11 now, and she weighed 93 pounds when she was married. Talk about a little tiny elf. I just have small bones, and I just am lucky.”

Flockhart — who returns to the small screen next week in FX’s star-packed limited series Feud: Capote vs. the Swans — also addressed speculation about an Ally McBeal revival, telling the Times, “I would definitely consider it.”

Earlier this month, Flockhart briefly reunited with Ally co-stars Peter MacNicol, Greg Germann and Gil Bellows at the Emmys. Before presenting the trophy for best lead actor in a drama series, Flockhart danced to Barry White in an on-stage mockup of Ally’s infamous unisex bathroom. A bearded MacNicol then joined her from a bathroom stall, followed by Germann and Bellows.

“I loved working with Peter, Gil and Greg,” Flockhart told the crowd, adding: “And I still do.”

Hayden Panettiere Defends ‘Scream VII’ Co-Star Melissa Barrera, Calls Her Firing “Very Upsetting”

(1/26/24) In a recent interview, Scream series actress Hayden Panettiere called the firing of the films’ franchise star Melissa Barrera last month “very unfair and upsetting.”

Barrera was dropped from Scream VII following social media posts commenting on the Israel-Hamas conflict. At the time, Spyglass Media cut Barrera, saying in a statement, “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

Panettiere said she thought her co-star was singled out.

“After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right? It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else.”

Barrera later called dismissal was “shocking,” since she’d been playing the lead role of Sam Carpenter since 2022’s Scream V.

“It was shocking,” Barrera told Rolling Stone. “I don’t even know what to say. I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial. It shouldn’t be up for debate.”

Barrera hasn’t abandoned her stance. Barrera last week joined almost 100 protestors marching down Main Street at the Sundance Film Festival chanting a controversial mantra.

Panettiere said she reached out to her co-star after Spyglass let Barrera go.

“Melissa is such a badass as a human being and as an actress,” said Panettiere. “…She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it.”

Earlier this month, at the MPTF’s 17th Annual Evening Before Gala, Barrera, Ortega and a slew of actors from the last two Scream movies reunited for a photo that was posted on Instagram. The image included Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Liana Liberato, Tony Revolori, Jack Quaid and Barrera’s on-screen father and OG Ghostface Skeet Ulrich.

Asked about the support she’s received and specifically about that photo, Barrera told Deadline, “We’re family for life. If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at that event.”

After news that Barrera would no longer continue in the Scream franchise, her on-screen sister, played by Jenna Ortega, also dropped out, citing scheduling conflicts with Netflix’s Wednesday.

In the same interview, the reporter asked about Ortega’s exit saying, “That didn’t seem like the whole story. It seemed like there was some sisterhood-solidarity going on.”

“Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She’s a good person and we love each other. She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what,” Barrera added.i

The Diplomat Season 2: The West Wing‘s Allison Janney Elected Vice President

(1/25/24) The West Wing‘s Allison Janney is returning to her political roots via The Diplomat. The Oscar and Emmy-winning actress is joining Season 2 of Netflix’s Keri Russell-led drama in the recurring role of Vice President Grace Penn.

The Diplomat‘s inaugural season ended with Russell’s titular emissary Kate Wyler and David Gyasi’s foreign secretary Austin Dennison in serious jeopardy after they simultaneously uncovered the conspiracy behind the British aircraft carrier attack. As TVLine exclusively reported over the summer, when Season 2 debuts later this year the crisis will quite literally still be unfolding.

“It will pick up right away,” a Diplomat source confirmed to TVLine, before noting that the series “has a really compressed timeline — something like three weeks pass in Season 1 — so it makes sense that Season 2 would start moments later.”

Netflix renewed The Diplomat for Season 2 just 10 days after Season 1 dropped in mid-April. The decision was a no-brainer: Upon its release, the show immediately shot to No. 1 on the streamer’s consumer-facing Top 10 list, with 57.48M hours viewed in its first weekend.

“Fans around the world are loving every minute of The Diplomat’s gripping and propulsive drama, and embracing Keri’s powerful performance,” Netflix’s VP of Drama Series Jinny Howe said in a statement at the time. “After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we can’t wait for them to see what the amazing visionary team of [series creator] Debora Cahn, [and fellow EPs] Janice Williams, Alex Graves and Keri have in store for Season 2.”

Matt Bomer To Receive Trailblazer Award At 2024 SCAD TVFest in Atlanta

(1/25/24) Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers) is one of several actors who will be honored at this year’s SCAD TVfest in Atlanta.

Bomer will receive the THR Trailblazer Award. Other recipients are Joel Kim Booster (Loot), who will receive the Rising Star Award; Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), the Legend of Television Award; George Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez), the Lifetime Achievement Award; Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery), the Spotlight Award; Charlotte Stoudt (The Morning Show), the Variety Showrunner Award; Josie Totah (The Buccaneers), the Rising Star Award; and Ken Watanabe (Tokyo Vice), the Virtuoso Award.

Now in its 12th year, The Savannah College of Art and Design’s signature event celebrates the best in television and will take place at the new SCADshow theater. The event is scheduled for Feb. 7-10.

“It is always a pleasure to celebrate the best in television at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta,” said Christina Routhier, senior executive director of SCAD theaters and festivals. “From our terrific honorees, including iconic actors Kelsey Grammer, George Lopez, and Ken Watanabe, to our shows and panels lineup featuring some of the most buzzed-about shows like The Gilded Age and The Morning Show, we can’t wait to give Atlantans and our phenomenal SCAD students a full slate of exciting programming.”

Nia Long to Receive $32,500/Mo. in Child Support from Ime Udoka

(1/23/24) Nia Long just got what she wanted in her custody battle with Ime Udoka -- a judge made it so she'll get monthly support ... plus, a majority of the parenting time for their child.

The actress and NBA coach -- who split up in 2022 amid claims of infidelity -- came to terms in court Monday ... with a judge signing off on a custody agreement that hashes out who's paying who, and who their son will live with/spend most of his time with.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, it's actually Nia who'll be receiving monthly child support -- and even though the court said she might be entitled to upwards of $56k ... the 2 parents ended up landing on about half of that, with Ime agreeing to pay her $32,500/month.

The couple went through their financials -- as did the court -- and found Ime makes way more money coaching the Houston Rockets right now than Nia does ... noting he's got more than $400k in net monthly disposable income, whereas she's only got about $20k.

Now, in terms of custody ... they'll continue to share joint legal custody -- but Nia will get sole physical custody with reasonable visitation for Ime as time and scheduling permits.

They note in their docs that Ime is constantly traveling with the team, and this arrangement works better for everyone. Everything else pertaining to their kid, Kez, is pretty even-Steven.

Remember, Nia had filed for pretty much exactly this situation back in August -- and earlier this month, she and Ime had come to these exact terms in a settlement. Now, she's got it all in writing with a stamp of approval ... with the court entering the judgment, making it official.

On its face, it seems both parties are happy ... which is all you can ask for.

Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells Star In Jim Rash-Helmed ‘Miss You, Love You;’ Reunion With ‘Way Way Back’s Gigi Pritzker, Kevin Walsh & Nat Faxon

(1/17/24) Jim Rash is set to direct his script Miss You, Love You, a drama that will star Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells. Madison Wells, The Walsh Company and Nat Faxon will produce a film that will begin production next month in New Mexico. Gigi Pritzker, Kevin Walsh are producing with Rash.

In the film, Janney will play a woman whose husband has passed away. With a funeral to plan and grieving to be done, she reaches out to her estranged son. He refuses to come home, choosing instead to send his personal assistant to help make the arrangements. The widow is forced to process her grief in the presence of a complete stranger.

Oscar-winner Janney reunites with Faxon and Rash, Pritzker and Walsh after they teamed on The Way Way Back, the 2013 comedy that set a record at Sundance in 2013 with domestic and international sales deals totaling nearly $12M between Fox Searchlight and Sierra Affinity.

Rannells most recently starred on Broadway’s Gutenberg! The Musical!, alongside Josh Gad, his stage co-star in Book of Mormon. He had a lead voice in Trolls Band Together, and his second book, Uncle of The Year & Other Debatable Triumphs was published by Penguin Random House/Crown and released in May 2023.

Rash said he sparked to the reunion, and “if I could direct every single movie with the remarkable Allison Janney starring, I would. To pair her with the wonderful Andrew Rannells makes this a dream cast for me. As with all of my projects, actors are contractually-obligated to be my best friends, which is a huge win-win for them,” said Rash.

Also producing is Rachel Shane and Mike Bowes will line produce. Liz Lippman will oversee for The Walsh Company. Rash recently wrapped Project Artemis for director Greg Berlanti and Apple, starring opposite Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson. Faxon just finished shooting the second season of his comedy series Loot for Apple TV+ opposite Maya Rudolph.

Upcoming, Janney stars in Palm Royale for AppleTV+, opposite Kristen Wiig, Carol Burnett and Laura Dern, as well as Everything is Going to Be Great with Bryan Cranston.

Madison Wells plans to adapt the script for live theater, falling under Madison Wells Live’s department headed by Jamie Forshaw. Madison Wells’ upcoming production slate includes My Spy 2, Genius: MLK/X, Nonnas, State of Terror, This Golden State, Magical Boy, and Loch Down Abbey.

Walsh’s The Walsh Company has a producing deal at Apple, and most recently produced the Ridley Scott-directed Napoleon, and the Matt Ruskin-directed Boston Strangler for Hulu. Walsh recently wrapped The Instigators for Apple with Doug Liman-directing Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, and Echo Valley for Apple with Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney starring for director Michael Pearce.

Walsh is repped by attorney Gregory Slewett; Janney is CAA, Thruline Entertainment, and attorney Peter Nelson; Rannells is UTA, Rise Management and Hansen Jacobson. Rash and Faxon are CAA and attorney Rick Genow. Rash is managed by Jeff Morrone at Atlas Artists. Faxon is repped by Brian Dobbins at Artists First. Madison Wells is repped by CAA.-

‘Ally McBeal’ Stars, Led By Calista Flockhart, Recreate Series’ Bathroom Dance In Emmy Reunion

(1/15/24) Four original Ally McBeal cast members, star Calista Flockhart as well as Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows, reunited Monday night during the Emmy broadcast on Fox more than 26 years after the debut of the legal dramedy, which aired on the network for five seasons, from September 1997 to May 2002.

The bit started with Flockhart standing in front of a mirror in a replica of the show’s famous unisex bathroom.

“I knew I drank too much water; I had to take my Spanx off, I had to put my dress back on,” Flockhart is heard “thinking” in a voiceover before she takes a look in the mirror and tells herself, “Girl, you look good.”

That is when there is a series of three toilet flushes, each followed by an Ally McBeal cast member, MacNicol, Bellows and Germann, coming out of a bathroom stall.

One of the signature songs from the show, Barry White’s “You’re the First, The Last, My Everything,” begins playing and the four start dancing, recreating one of the show’s most recognizable scenes. (Below you can watch two versions of the dance from Ally McBeal, including the one in the bathroom.)

“I loved working with Peter, Gil and Greg, and I still do,” Flockhart said as her husband, Harrison Ford, looked on. “The entire Ally McBeal cast was so talented, magical and the show created by the brilliant, 11-time Emmy winner David E. Kelley, groundbreaking, revolutionary, introducing us to a dancing baby and unisex bathrooms. Ally McBeal defied convention with humor and humanity.

Ally McBeal starred Flockhart as Ally, a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish along with her ex-lover and his wife, and followed Ally’s trials and tribulations through life as she looked for love and fulfillment. The main focus of the dramedy was the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot device.

The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999, one of seven Emmys and a slew of other major awards for its run. Ally McBeal‘s original cast also included Jane Krakowski, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Lisa Nicole Carson, who were subsequently joined by other actors, including Lucy Liu, Portia de Rossi, musician Vonda Shepard as well as Robert Downey Jr. in one of his first big roles following his 1990s legal troubles en route to his blockbuster career comeback in Iron Man.

Ally McBeal transcended television to become a pop culture phenom and generate memes before memes existed with its infamous dancing baby. It remains influential two decades after its end, with She-Hulk‘s creative team recently listing the dramedy as an inspiration for their Marvel series.

There have been multiple attempts to reboot the series, most recently by ABC in 2022.

People’s Choice Awards Nominations

(1/12/24) Voting opens today at www.votepca.com and runs through Friday, Jan. 19, at 11:59 pm ET.

THE TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Adjoa Andoh, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Billie Eilish, Swarm
Jon Hamm, The Morning Show
Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers
Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building
Steven Yeun, Beef
Storm Reid, The Last of Us

THE REALITY TV STAR OF THE YEAR
Ariana Madix, Vanderpump Rules
Chrishell Stause, Selling Sunset
Garcelle Beauvais, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Kandi Burruss, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Khloé Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kim Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kyle Richards, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jersey Shore Family Vacation

SANTA BARBARA Co-Creator Bridget Dobson Dead at 85

(1/11/24) (soapsindepth.com) The daytime community has lost one of its most talented creators. Bridget Dobson died on Jan. 3 at the age of 85. The sad news was shared by Pierpaolo Dongiovanni on his Facebook page where he wrote that “Jerome Dobson told me that his beloved wife, Bridget, passed away three days ago.”

Dobson had soaps in her blood as the daughter of GENERAL HOSPITAL creators Frank and Doris Hursley. She married Jerome Dobson in 1961 and began working as a team writing scripts for GH in the early ‘70s. In 1975, the Dobsons were made headwriters of CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT and later AS THE WORLD TURNS.

In 1984 the Dobsons created the iconic NBC soap SANTA BARBARA which became well-known for its wit and humor as well as its creative and dramatic storylines. “We wanted to take risks,” Bridget told the L.A. Times. “Otherwise, we know the show would die in that time slot as other soaps and game shows had. So we created two competitive families, the Capwells and the Lockridges, who were psychologically complicated but also psychologically and emotionally valid. We took the core of our own inner souls and put it on screen, for multifaceted characters with multidimensional personalities. That there was humor made the show unique — each character has a sense of humor.”

Nancy Lee Grahn, who now plays Alexis on GH, became a soap star playing Julia Wainwright Capwell on SANTA BARBARA and paid tribute to the legendary soap creator in a heartfelt Instagram post. “Bridget Dobson and her husband Jerry hired me to play the most curious, absorbing, complex, inspiring character of my career,” she wrote. “Realizing the role of Julia Wainwright, having the privilege of feeling my way through this beautifully constructed character’s relationship with herself and others was life-altering for me. It advanced me as an actress and a woman. It introduced 140 -some countries to me and me to them and it set the path to a career that has so far lasted 38 years. The effect just one person can have on your life is quite extraordinary. Rest in greatness, Bridget, and thank you.”

Our thoughts are with Dobson’s family and friends during this difficult time.

Berto Colon, Louis Herthum & Arienne Mandi Among New Recruits For ‘The Night Agent’ Season 2

(1/11/24) As Netflix‘s The Night Agent gears up to begin production on Season 2, a new list of recruits joining Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan and Amanda Warren is being released.

Berto Colon (Power Book II: Ghost, Orange Is The New Black), Louis Herthum (Westworld) and Arienne Mandi (Tatami) are set as series regulars with Brittany Snow (X, The Good Half) and Teddy Sears (Raising the Bar, Masters of Sex) joining in recurring roles.

Colon plays Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful businessman; Herthum plays Jacob Monroe, an international businessman with powerful global connections that he uses to obtain valuable information; and Mandi plays Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York who is looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family.

Snow plays Alice, Peter’s (Basso) partner and mentor in his first assignment in Night Action. Sears plays Warren, a high-level intelligence officer who becomes the subject of a Night Action investigation.

Based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent is a sophisticated, character-based, action-thriller centering on a low-level FBI Agent who works in the basement of the White House, manning a phone that never rings — until the night that it does, propelling him into a fast-moving and dangerous conspiracy that ultimately leads to the Oval Office.

The series is created, showrun and executive produced by Shawn Ryan (The Shield, S.W.A.T.) through his MiddKid Productions banner. David Beaubaire, Seth Gordon, Julia Gunn, Marney Hochman, Paul Neinstein, William Sherak, Nicole Tossou and James Vanderbilt also EP. The Night Agent is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Colon is best known for playing the role of Cesar in Netflix’s hit series, Orange is the New Black and Lorenzo Tejada in the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost. He will next be seen in the Max limited series The Penguin produced by Matt Reeves and directed by Craig Zobel. He is repped by Anonymous Content, Paradigm, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, et al.

Herthum is most recognized for his portrayal of Peter Abernathy in HBO’s Westworld created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Most recently, he reunited with Nolan and Joy in Amazon’s The Peripheral. Additional credits include Apple’s Home Before Dark and Netflix’s What/If. He is repped by AKA Talent and Main Title Entertainment.

Mandi is best known for her role as Dani Nuñez in The L Word: Generation Q. She most recently starred in the film Tatami directed by Guy Nattiv & Zar Amir Ebrahimi. She is repped by Greene Talent, Rikki Dale Management and attorney Derek Kroeger.

Snow can currently be seen starring in the film Good Grief from director Robert Schwartzman as well as in the A24 film X. She is best known for her portrayal of Chloe in the Pitch Perfect films. In 2023, she made her directorial film debut with Parachute, a drama she also wrote and produced.

Sears most recently starred in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Stories and will next be seen in the new NBC medical drama series Dr. Wolf. Additional credits include three other Murphy collabs: 2011’s American Horror Story: Murder House, 2019’s The Politician and 2021’s Impeachment: American Crime Story. Sears is repped by APA and Vic Ramos Management.À±-§Š.

2024 SAG Awards Nominations

(1/10/24) Winners in SAG’s 15 categories will be announced Saturday, February 24 at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles in a ceremony streaming live on Netflix.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

AMERICAN FICTION
ERIKA ALEXANDER / Coraline
ADAM BRODY / Wiley Valdespino
STERLING K. BROWN / Clifford Ellison
KEITH DAVID / Willy the Wonker
JOHN ORTIZ / Arthur
ISSA RAE / Sintara Golden
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS / Lisa Ellison
LESLIE UGGAMS / Agnes Ellison
JEFFREY WRIGHT / Thelonious “Monk” Ellison

BARBIE
MICHAEL CERA / Allan
WILL FERRELL / Mattel CEO
AMERICA FERRERA / Gloria
RYAN GOSLING / Ken
ARIANA GREENBLATT / Sasha
KATE MCKINNON / Barbie
HELEN MIRREN / Narrator
RHEA PERLMAN / Ruth
ISSA RAE / Barbie
MARGOT ROBBIE / Barbie

THE COLOR PURPLE
HALLE BAILEY / Young Nettie
FANTASIA BARRINO / Celie
JON BATISTE / Grady
DANIELLE BROOKS / Sofia
CIARA / Nettie
COLMAN DOMINGO / Mister
AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR / Mama
LOUIS GOSSETT, JR. / Ol’ Mister
COREY HAWKINS / Harpo
TARAJI P. HENSON / Shug Avery
PHYLICIA PEARL MPASI / Young Celie
GABRIELLA WILSON “H.E.R.” / Squeak

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
TANTOO CARDINAL / Lizzie Q
ROBERT DE NIRO / William Hale
LEONARDO DICAPRIO / Ernest Burkhart
BRENDAN FRASER / W.S. Hamilton
LILY GLADSTONE / Mollie Burkhart
JOHN LITHGOW / Prosecutor Peter Leaward
JESSE PLEMONS / Tom White

OPPENHEIMER
CASEY AFFLECK / Boris Pash
EMILY BLUNT / Kitty Oppenheimer
KENNETH BRANAGH / Niels Bohr
MATT DAMON / Leslie Groves
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. / Lewis Strauss
JOSH HARTNETT / Ernest Lawrence
RAMI MALEK / David Hill
CILLIAN MURPHY / J. Robert Oppenheimer
FLORENCE PUGH / Jean Tatlock

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
MATT BOMER / Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller – “FELLOW TRAVELERS”
JON HAMM / Roy Tillman – “FARGO”
DAVID OYELOWO / Bass Reeves – “LAWMEN: BASS REEVES”
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – “MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE”
STEVEN YEUN / Danny Cho – “BEEF”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE CROWN
KHALID ABDALLA / Dodi Fayed
SEBASTIAN BLUNT / Prince Edward
BERTIE CARVEL / Tony Blair
SALIM DAW / Mohamed Al Fayed
ELIZABETH DEBICKI / Princess Diana
LUTHER FORD / Prince Harry
CLAUDIA HARRISON / Princess Anne
LESLEY MANVILLE / Princess Margaret
ED MCVEY / Prince William
JAMES MURRAY / Prince Andrew
JONATHAN PRYCE / Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
IMELDA STAUNTON / Queen Elizabeth II
MARCIA WARREN / Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
DOMINIC WEST / Prince Charles
OLIVIA WILLIAMS / Camilla Parker Bowles

THE GILDED AGE
BEN AHLERS / Jack
ASHLIE ATKINSON / Mamie Fish
CHRISTINE BARANSKI / Agnes van Rhijn
DENÉE BENTON / Peggy Scott
NICOLE BRYDON BLOOM / Maud Beaton
MICHAEL CERVERIS / Watson
CARRIE COON / Bertha Russell
KELLEY CURRAN / Mrs. Winterton
TAISSA FARMIGA / Gladys Russell
DAVID FURR / Dashiell Montgomery
JACK GILPIN / Church
WARD HORTON / Charles Fane
LOUISA JACOBSON / Marian Brook
SIMON JONES / Bannister
SULLIVAN JONES / T. Thomas Fortune
CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER / Mrs. Bruce
NATHAN LANE / Ward McAllister
MATILDA LAWLER / Frances Montgomery
ROBERT SEAN LEONARD / Luke Forte
AUDRA MCDONALD / Dorothy Scott
DEBRA MONK / Armstrong
DONNA MURPHY / Mrs. Astor
KRISTINE NIELSEN / Mrs. Bauer
CYNTHIA NIXON / Ada Brook
KELLI O’HARA / Aurora Fane
PATRICK PAGE / Richard Clay
HARRY RICHARDSON / Larry Russell
TAYLOR RICHARDSON / Bridget
BLAKE RITSON / Oscar van Rhijn
JEREMY SHAMOS / Mr. Gilbert
DOUGLAS SILLS / Borden
MORGAN SPECTOR / George Russell
JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON / Arthur Scott
ERIN WILHELMI / Adelheid

THE LAST OF US
PEDRO PASCAL / Joel
BELLA RAMSEY / Ellie

THE MORNING SHOW
JENNIFER ANISTON / Alex Levy
NICOLE BEHARIE / Christina Hunter
SHARI BELAFONTE / Julia
NESTOR CARBONELL / Yanko Flores
BILLY CRUDUP / Cory Ellison
MARK DUPLASS / Chip Black
JON HAMM / Paul Marks
THEO IYER / Kyle
HANNAH LEDER / Isabella
GRETA LEE / Stella Bak
JULIANNA MARGULIES / Laura Peterson
TIG NOTARO / Amanda Robinson
KAREN PITTMAN / Mia Jordan
REESE WITHERSPOON / Bradley Jackson

SUCCESSION
NICHOLAS BRAUN / Greg Hirsch
JULIANA CANFIELD / Jess Jordan
BRIAN COX / Logan Roy
KIERAN CULKIN / Roman Roy
DAGMARA DOMINCZYK / Karolina Novotney
PETER FRIEDMAN / Frank Vernon
JUSTINE LUPE / Willa
MATTHEW MACFADYEN / Tom Wambsgans
ARIAN MOAYED / Stewy Hosseini
SCOTT NICHOLSON / Colin Stiles
DAVID RASCHE / Karl Muller
ALAN RUCK / Connor Roy
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD / Lukas Matsson
J. SMITH-CAMERON / Gerri Kellman
SARAH SNOOK / Shiv Roy
FISHER STEVENS / Hugo Baker
JEREMY STRONG / Kendall Roy
ZOË WINTERS / Kerry Castellabate

Ian Ziering Comments On Biker Attack

(1/1/24) (ianziering) Yesterday, I experienced an alarming incident involving a group of individuals on mini bikes. While stuck in traffic, my car was approached aggressively by one of these riders leading to an unsettling confrontation. In an attempt to assess any damage I exited my car. This action, unfortunately, escalated into a physical altercation, which I navigated to protect myself.

I am relieved to report that my daughter and I are both completely unscathed, but the incident has left me deeply concerned about the growing boldness of such groups who disrupt public safety and peace. This situation highlights a larger issue of hooliganism on our streets and the need for effective law enforcement responses to such behavior. As a citizen and a parent, I find it unacceptable that groups can freely engage in this kind of behavior, causing fear and chaos, while the response from authorities seems insufficient.

I have always been an advocate for standing up against intimidation and misconduct, and this incident reinforces my belief in the importance of personal and community safety. We must address the underlying issues that lead to such disruptive behavior and ensure that our streets are safe for everyone. I urge city officials and law enforcement to take decisive action against such lawlessness and provide the necessary resources to prevent future occurrences.

I am thankful for the support of my family, friends, and fans during this time. It’s in challenging moments like these that the strength and unity of our community are most vital. Happy new year.

Ian Ziering Viciously Attacked by Bikers in L.A. ... Jumped in NYE Street Brawl

(1/1/24) (Pic1, Pic2) Ian Ziering got jumped by a bunch of bikers running amok in Los Angeles -- a horrific moment caught on camera ... and one helluva lousy way to end his year.

The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star fell into the crosshairs of several assailants Sunday who were cruising down Hollywood Blvd. on a variety of motorized mini bikes and weaving in and out of traffic ... including, it seems, Ian's vehicle -- which we're told may have been hit.

You can see Ian hop out of his car after one of the bikers seemingly catches his attention, possibly from a collision ... and the altercation erupts in a violent brawl, all seen on video obtained by TMZ.

Check it out ... Ian starts wailing on the guy in question, but soon -- he gets ganged up on by the others ... who begin to whoop on him mercilessly as he tries to make a run for it. Like we said, the cilp is absolutely bananas ... especially considering this a well-known actor.

We're told this beatdown ended with Ian getting back in his car and driving off ... ditto for the bikers, who got the hell out of there. It doesn't appear cops were called -- so you could say it was left in the streets. Not to make light, but this pretty is 'Sharknado'-coded, no?

We've reached out to his camp for comment ... so far, no word back. Here's hoping he's alright -- and if not, someone get Fin Shepard on the horn, STAT, to start kicking ass!

5:33 PM PST -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they're aware of the incident and speaking with the parties involved. No word yet on if there will be any arrests.

6:19 PM PST -- We're told an official report has been taken, and it lists Ian as the victim. Police have not yet made any arrests and are still investigating the incident.

Soap opera vet added to the Young and the Restless

(12/29/23) Soap opera vet Brian Gaskill has been added to the Young and the Restless cast as Seth, who Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) will encounter in AA, according to Soap Opera Digest. Gaskill previously portrayed Bobby Warner on All My Children, B.J. Green on As the World Turns, Rafe Kovitch on Port Charles, Oscar “Ozzy” Marone on The Bold and the Beautiful and Dylan Lewis on Guiding Light.

Frank Grillo Joins Olga Kurylenko & Oliver Trevena In Home Invasion Thriller ‘Misdirection’

(12/15/23) Frank Grillo has joined Olga Kurylenko and Oliver Trevena for Kevin Lewis’ latest feature thriller Misdirection, which is currently shooting in Serbia.

The film follows a desperate couple (Kurylenko and Trevena) who have been pulling off a string of high-end robberies, only to find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse when their latest break-in goes awry. Tables turned, the hunters become the hunted, in a conspiracy of revenge, murder and betrayal.

“I am over the moon to be working with Olga, Frank, Oliver and the rest of our amazing and talented team on crafting a tight, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will entertain audiences worldwide,” Lewis said, who is best known for the recent horror-comedy cult film Willy’s Wonderland starring Nicolas Cage.

Lacy McClory wrote the script for Misdirection. Steven Shapiro (The November Man, The Road Dance) is producing along with Trevena (Another Day In America) via his Ollywood Media banner and Red Productions in Serbia. Trevena recently received the Breakthrough Actor award at the Rome Film Festival for The Paradox Effect, which he starred in with Kurylenko.

GFM Film Sales is handling worldwide sales with Fred Hedman exec producing.

“We’re delighted to be working with Kevin and producing this gripping thriller with the level of talent involved, adding to our growing slate of high concept genre films,” said Hedman.

Trevena added: “I am so excited to be working again with my recent co-star and friend from The Paradox Effect, Olga Kurylenko. With Frank Grillo on board, this will be a thrill ride both on the set and in the theater.”

Shapiro recently wrapped Worth the Wait, an ensemble romantic comedy starring Lana Condor and is in post-production on the romantic comedy The Islander, starring Harry Connick Jr. and featuring his original music.

Kurylenko is repped by Independent Talent Group, UTA and is managed by Untitled Entertainment. Grillo is repped by CAA and manager Bill Choi. Trevena is repped by Independent Talent Group and managed by Luber Roklin Entertainment..

Kristen Wiig’s ‘Palm Royale’ Comedy Series Gets Apple TV+ Premiere Date

(12/12/23) We’re getting the first look at Palm Royale (fka Mrs. American Pie), Kristen Wiig‘s Palm Beach-set comedy series set for premiere March 20 on Apple TV+.

Wiig leads the stellar ensemble cast, including Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Mindy Cohn, Julia Duffy and Kaia Gerber. Bruce Dern and Carol Burnett will guest star.

The first three episodes will drop on March 20, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through May 8.

Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie and produced by Apple Studios, Palm Royale is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, Palm Royale asks the same question that still baffles us today: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” Set during the powder keg year of 1969, Palm Royale is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.

Palm Royale is written, executive produced and showrun by Abe Sylvia for Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Company, executive produced by Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Kristen Wiig, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White, and Sheri Holman and Boat Rocker and Rock Shaink Jr. The series is directed by Taylor, Sylvia, Claire Scanlon, and Stephanie Laing.

Tom Pelphrey Boards HBO’s Mark Ruffalo-Led Crime Drama Series From Brad Ingelsby

(12/11/23) Tom Pelphrey (Outer Range) is set to star opposite Mark Ruffalo in the Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (w/t), currently in pre-production. Pelphrey will portray Robbie, a sanitation worker and dreamer who has been knocked around by life, but has always gotten back up again.

The series is set in the working-class suburbs outside of Philadelphia and follows an FBI agent who heads a Task Force. His goal is to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man. The Untitled Task Force project is based on an original idea by the creator of Mare of Easttown, Brad Ingelsby.

Executive producers include Brad Ingelsby (Writer/EP); Jeremiah Zagar (Director/EP); Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Director/EP); Mark Ruffalo (Star/EP); Paul Lee and Mark Roybal for wiip; David Crockett. Co-executive producers are Nicole Jordan-Webber and Public Record’s Jeremy Yaches.

Pelphrey is currently in production on Season 2 of the Amazon Prime Sci-Fi neo-Western Outer Range in New Mexico alongside Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor and Lewis Pullman. Up next, he will lead ?A Man In Full, a Netflix limited series adaptation from Regina King and David E. Kelly of the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name.

Most recently Pelphrey starred in? Max’s? Love And Death, a limited series about the true story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery’s murder of Betty Gore in 1980. He portrayed Don Crowder, a fellow church member and extremely combative defense attorney.

Pelphrey is represented by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Nominations For The 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards

(12/11/23) The awards ceremony will Air Live on CBS and Stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
BRADLEY COOPER (MAESTRO)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON)
COLMAN DOMINGO (RUSTIN)
BARRY KEOGHAN (SALTBURN)
CILLIAN MURPHY (OPPENHEIMER)
ANDREW SCOTT (ALL OF US STRANGERS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
EMILY BLUNT (OPPENHEIMER)
DANIELLE BROOKS (THE COLOR PURPLE)
JODIE FOSTER (NYAD)
JULIANNE MOORE (MAY DECEMBER)
ROSAMUND PIKE (SALTBURN)
DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH (THE HOLDOVERS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
MATT BOMER (FELLOW TRAVELERS)
SAM CLAFLIN (DAISY JONES & THE SIX)
JON HAMM (FARGO)
WOODY HARRELSON (WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS)
DAVID OYELOWO (LAWMEN: BASS REEVES)
STEVEN YEUN (BEEF)

Ellen Holly Dies: ‘One Life to Live’ First Black Soap Star Was 92

(12/8/23) Ellen Holly, the first Black person to star in a soap opera with her lead role on One Life to Live, died Wednesday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y. She was 92 and died in her sleep.

Her first roles on television included appearances on The Big Story (1957), The Defenders (1963), Sam Benedict (1963), Dr. Kildare (1964) and The Doctors and the Nurses (1963 and 1964).

Holly played the groundbreaking character Carla Gray on the hit ABC show One Life to Live from 1968 to 1980 and 1983 to 1985. She was personally chosen for the role by television producer Agnes Nixon after she saw a New York Times opinion piece that Holly wrote, called “How Black Do You Have To Be?” about the difficulty of finding roles as a light-skinned Black woman.

Holly was born on January 16, 1931, in Manhattan to parents William Garnet Holly, a chemical engineer, and Grayce Holly, a housewife and writer.

A graduate of Hunter College, she became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. during her college years.

Holly began her acting career on New York City and Boston stages. She made her Broadway debut in Too Late the Phalarope in 1956, and she went on to star in the Broadway productions Face of a Hero, Tiger Tiger Burning Bright and A Hand is on the Gate.

From 1958 to 1973, she led productions of numerous Joseph Papp New York Shakespeare Festival productions. Throughout her years in the theater, she worked opposite such luminaries as Roscoe Lee Browne, James Earl Jones, Jack Lemmon, Barry Sullivan and Cicely Tyson. Holly also studied with dance pioneer Katherine Dunham and was passionate about the role of dance in revealing the richness of African-American culture.

On One Life to Live, her attempt to come to terms with her racial identity and her love triangle with two doctors — one white, the other Black — helped launch viewership of the nascent soap opera into high ratings.

Holly was featured in such publications as Newsweek, TV Guide, Ebony, Soap Opera Digest and the New York Times. Soon, there were Black story lines on All My Children and General Hospital, helping ABC to dominate daytime for two decades.

In later years, Holly spoke out about being underpaid and other mistreatment she claimed she and some of her fellow Black cast mates received from show executives despite their contributions to the show’s success.

She continued to appear on the small screen, with a recurring role as a judge on The Guiding Light from 1988 to 1993 and In The Heat of the Night from 1989 to 1990 as well as the television movie 10,000 Black Men Named George, alongside Andre Braugher and Mario Van Peebles.

She also appeared on the big screen in Take a Giant Step, Cops and Robbers and Spike Lee’s School Daze.

Holly wrote numerous pieces for the New York Times. In 1996, her autobiography, One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress, was published. Reflective of a life dedicated to the arts and civil rights causes, in her final years she began preparations on a documentary about her life and the storied activism of her family.

In the 1990s, she took the civil service examination and became a librarian, serving as such for many years at White Plains Public Library. In her autobiography, she referred to her years there as some of the happiest of her life.

Holly was predeceased by her younger sister, Jean H. Gant, and her niece, Holly Gant Jones. She Is survived by her grand-nieces Alexa and Ashley Jones (White Plains), daughters of her beloved niece, Holly Gant Jones, who predeceased her, and their father, Xavier Jones; first cousins Wanda Parsons Harris (Dayton, Ohio), Julie Adams Strandberg (Providence, Rhode Island), Carolyn Adams-Kahn (New York), Clinton Arnold (Los Angeles).

In keeping with Holly’s wishes, there will be no funeral. As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made to The Obama Presidential Center or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Saturn Award Nominations

(12/6/23) The Saturns, which honor the best in genre entertainment across film and television, are organized by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Winners will be announced February 4, 2024 in a ceremony at the LA Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel and will stream live on ElectricNow.

Best Guest Star in a Television Series
Gael Garcia Bernal, Marvel’s Werewolf by Night (Marvel/Disney+)
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Nick Offerman, The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
Amanda Plummer, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Andy Serkis, Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Paul Wesley, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Wednesday (Netflix)

Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations

(12/5/23) The hardware will be handed out during Critics Choice Awards gala on Sunday, January 14. Chelsea Handler will host the ceremony that airs live from 7-10 p.m. in the East on The CW and delayed in the West.

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISIONMatt Bomer – Fellow Travelers (Showtime)Tom Holland – The Crowded Room (Apple TV+)David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+)Tony Shalhoub – Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie (Peacock)Kiefer Sutherland – The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Showtime)Steven Yeun – Beef (Netflix)

Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

(12/5/23) The 39th Spirit Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 on the beach in Santa Monica, CA hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant. The awards will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels, and across other social platforms.

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Murray Bartlett - The Last of Us
Billie Eilish - Swarm
Jack Farthing - Rain Dogs
Nick Offerman - The Last of Us
Adina Porter - The Changeling
Lewis Pullman - Lessons in Chemistry
Benny Safdie - The Curse
Luke Tennie - Shrinking
Olivia Washington - I’m a Virgo
Jessica Williams - Shrinking

Talk Show Appearance

(11/30/23) Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon - NBC

Wednesday, December 6: Matt Bomer

One-on-One with Vincent Irizarry

(11/26/23) (Watch Here) Daytime television veteran and my friend Vincent Irizarry will sit down for a one-on-one interview live in The Locher Room on Thursday, November 30th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PDT.

Vincent made his daytime debut as “Brandon / Lujack Luvonaczek Spaulding” on CBS’s Guiding Light in 1983. Vincent received his first Daytime Emmy nomination for the role in 1985. In addition to his role as Lujack, Vincent went on to play Dr. Scott Clark on Santa Barbara, Nick McHenry back on Guiding Light, Dr. David Hayward on All My Children, David Chow on The Young and the Restless and Deimos Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives.

Vincent has also starred in several TV movies and mini-series, such as Jackie Collins' Lucky Chances (opposite Sandra Bullock), Left to Die (opposite Barbara Hershey), and Lying Eyes, to name a few. His feature work has been opposite Clint Eastwood, (Heartbreak Ridge), Sissy Spacek (Marie: A True Story), and Worth, opposite Jeffrey Johnson, Eric Roberts, and Corey Feldman. His most recent Primetime work has been Guest Starring roles on NCIS:LA, Homeland, and Wild West Chronicles.

Matt Bomer Says “There’s Legitimate Talk” About Reviving ‘White Collar’

(11/17/23) A long in the works revival of White Collar may be coming to fruition.

Matt Bomer, who played a reformed conman on the USA Network series from 2009–2014, told TVLine that “there has been talk. It’s actually very legitimate talk, it’s in conversation. … a lot of things need to fall into place, but there is a plan in effect, at least, so we’ll see what happens.”

Bomer and creator Jeff Eastin began talking about a White Collar revival in 2020 during a charity cast reunion on the Stars In the House YouTube channel. “There is nothing I would want than to be on a set with this group of people again,” said Bomer, who organized the reunion. “There are real conversations happening. There seems to be a lot of excitement about it.”

White Collar certainly isn’t the first old favorite from USA that is looking for a second lease on life. Deadline recently reported that Suits creator Aaron Korsh is developing an offshoot of his legal drama that has been enjoying a renaissance on Netflix. The original Suits was produced by UCP, part of the Universal Studio Group. A network or platform for the offshoot has not been determined.

White Collar was produced for the NBCU-owned USA by Fox TV Studios, which is now a Disney entity. Besides Bomer, it starred Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen and the late Willie Garson.

Bomer also addressed the challenges of moving ahead without Garson, who played Mozzie in the original series. Garson died in 2021.

“Obviously, that’s the first thing that came to my mind, but I felt that what Jeff Eastin presented to Tim and I honors what he contributed to the show and honors him as a person,” the actor said. “There’s no way I would ever be involved with it again if it didn’t do so. So I think it’s a way for him to, in some ways, still be a part of the show.”

Ayo Edebiri & John Malkovich To Topline A24 Horror ‘Opus’; Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder & Others Also Aboard, With Juliette Lewis In Talks

(11/8/23) Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and John Malkovich (Billions) are set to star in Opus, a horror pic marking the first feature of writer-director Mark Anthony Green, which will be financed and produced by A24.

Additional cast set for the film, which has received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA to continue production, includes The White Lotus Emmy winner Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder (Prey), Stephanie Suganami (Power Book II: Ghost), Emmy nominee Young Mazino (Beef), and Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon). Then, there’s Juliette Lewis, the Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner currently starring on Showtime’s Yellowjackets, who is in talks for a role, as well.

While specifics as to its plot are under wraps, the film to be released globally by A24 is said to center on an iconic pop star’s return following his decades-long disappearance. Producers will include Collin Creighton and Brad Weston for Makeready, Poppy Hanks and Jelani Johnson for Macro Film Studios, and Josh Bachove. Macro’s Charles D. King will exec produce alongside Sara Newkirk Simon. Additional EPs include musical artists The-Dream and Nile Rodgers, who will also pen original songs for the film, on the heels of a recent Grammy win for their first collaboration on Beyonce’s “Cuff It.”

A writer, producer, actor and comedian who has emerged as one of today’s buzziest performers, Edebiri is coming off an Emmy nomination for The Bear, the beloved culinary-world FX series recently renewed for a third season, in which she stars opposite Jeremy Allen White. Also recently starring in Emma Seligman’s hit comedy Bottoms from MGM’s Orion Pictures and Brownstone Productions, Edebiri’s other recent credits include Searchlight Pictures’ Theater Camp and Paramount/Point Grey’s Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which had her voicing the role of April O’Neill. Up next for her is Thunderbolts, the film that will mark her introduction to the MCU.

Appearing across several seasons of Showtime’s high-stakes finance drama Billions, Malkovich has also been seen of late in the Tribeca-premiering Alex Wolff drama The Line and Charlie Day’s directorial debut Fool’s Paradise. Other recent credits for the Emmy winner and 2x Oscar nom include HBO’s The New Pope from creator Paolo Sorrentino, as well as the films Velvet Buzzsaw, Bird Box, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

A writer, director, and veteran of the fashion world, Green previously helmed the comedy short Trapeze, U.S.A., which won awards at festivals like Hollyshorts. He also recently served as the Special Projects Director at GQ Magazine, making him one of the magazine’s leading fashion and culture voices.

Edebiri is represented by CAA, Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, Range Media Partners, and Del Shaw Moonves; Malkovich by WME; Bartlett by WME, Anonymous Content, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Midthunder by CAA, Corner Booth Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Suganami by Silver Lining Entertainment; Mazino by UTA, M88 and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Means by AEFH and The O’ Agency; Lewis by UTA and Untitled Entertainment; and Green by CAA and Granderson Des Rocher.rideProvider€

Talk Show Appearance

(10/27/23) Tamron Hall - Syndicated

AIRING Oct 30, 2023

Bethany Joy Lenz ("One Tree Hill") chats and performs.

Soap Opera Digest Is Ending Its Weekly Print Edition

(10/27/23) The weekly print edition of Soap Opera Digest — the newsstand chronicler of daytime drama — is ending after nearly five decades.

Staffers were informed of the decision Friday, according to sources. A spokesperson for a360Media, the company that owns the brand, confirmed that the weekly edition is being discontinued. The company plans to continue publishing special print issues of Soap Opera Digest four times per year.

“Soap Opera Digest, like many other brands, is adjusting its print frequency and shifting more resources to digital to better accommodate its audience,” the a360Media rep said in a statement to Variety.

Soap Opera Digest was first launched in 1975. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp bought the publication in 1989 for $70 million before selling it two years later, per the New York Times, and it has had a succession of different owners ever since.

In its heyday, the magazine had a circulation of 1.5 million in 1991, according to the Times. But the reach of its print edition, as with many magazines, has sharply fallen off in the decades since.

According to its website, Soap Opera Digest is “the leading magazine reporting on the soap opera industry for over 40 years,” serving up “behind-the-scenes scoops and breaking news to passionate soap fans every week.” The mag also has included special editorial features on beauty, fashion, parenting, and health and fitness.

Soap Opera Digest has been available in print and digital subscription plans, priced at $45.97 for six months (26 issues at $1.77 apiece) or $69.97 for one year (52 issues at $1.34 apiece).

A360media houses a media portfolio of celebrity, entertainment and women’s lifestyle brands including Us Weekly, Star, InTouch and Life & Style. The company claims that it is the largest print publisher in the U.S., both in retail sales and units sold, with its titles representing about one-third of all magazines sold at retail.

A360media was formerly known as American Media Inc., which had been the owner of the National Enquirer (involved in the “catch and kill” scandal involving Donald Trump and which Jeff Bezos accused of an extortion attempt). In 2020, AMI was acquired by Atlanta-based logistics firm accelerate360, which sold off the National Enquirer, Globe and National Examiner tabloids earlier this year.

Holiday Movies with Soap Stars on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix and Others

(10/13/23) HEART FOR THE HOLIDAYS - BET+
Release Date: Thursday, Nov. 2
Cast: Erica Peeples, Kyle Lowder, Starletta DuPois, Chuck Inglish, Lanelle Cooper, Leila Weisberg and Asia Harmony
Premise: Hardworking businesswoman Rachel travels to the small town of Cheverly for a life-saving heart transplant. Fate connects her with a heart donor, Ms. Sims, who tragically dies in a car accident. In Cheverly, Rachel crosses paths with Amy, who also received an organ from the same donor. As Rachel attempts to leave the town, an inexplicable force keeps her bound to Cheverly, and she discovers a deep affection for the community. Amid her journey, Rachel unexpectedly falls in love with Scott, Amy’s brother.

SWORN JUSTICE: TAKEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS - BET+
Release Date: Thursday, Nov. 16
Cast: Mishael Morgan, Leland B. Martin, Vivica A. Fox , Melyssa Ford and Preacher Lawson
Premise: On Christmas Eve, a hardened detective and her DA boyfriend are both informed that each other has been kidnapped. As the world closes for the holiday, they are locked out of their computers and phones and must follow the demands of the menacing voice giving them orders. This leads to a snowy night of cat-and-mouse thrills as the two fight for their survival.

SO FLY CHRISTMAS - BET+
Release Date: Thursday, Nov. 23
Cast: Tichina Arnold, Tami Roman, Robert Christopher Riley, Laurissa Romain, Jackee Harry, Tommy Davidson and Michael Colyar
Premise: After being stood up at the altar on Christmas Eve, Wyvetta loses her love on her favorite holiday. To show solidarity, Wyvetta’s best friend, Dione, suggests that the two of them renounce love. Things become complicated when Dione falls for a mild-mannered record store owner and tries to keep it under wraps.

CHRISTMAS RESCUE - BET+
Release Date: Thursday, Dec. 14
Cast: Robin Givens, Raven Goodwin, Donny Carrington, Catfish Jean, Mario Van Peebles, Cameron Bailey and Samantha Neyland Trumbo
Premise: A man abducts the love of his life from her holiday-themed wedding in a desperate last attempt to win her back.

‘TWAS THE TEXT BEFORE CHRISTMAS - Great American Family
Premiere Date: Saturday, Oct. 21 at 8 pm
Cast: Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan
Premise: An unexpected text message sent to the wrong number sets into motion a Christmas tradition with a new family over three separate years.

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING - Great American Family
Premiere Date: Sunday, Nov. 12 at 8 pm
Cast: Lori Loughlin, James Tupper and Jesse Hutch
Premise: A TV chef is divinely inspired to take over her late aunt’s charity with help from a new friend and handsome business associate next door.

A PARIS CHRISTMAS WALTZ - Great American Family
Premiere Date: Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 pm
Cast: Jen Lilley and Matthew Morrison
Premise: In this sequel, a novice dancer pairs with a professional to enter a renowned dance competition… in Paris!

A ROYAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY - Great American Family
Premiere Date: Saturday, Dec. 23 at 8 pm
Cast: Brittany Underwood and Jonathan Stoddard
Premise: In search of her big break, a reporter arranges a Christmas interview with a European Prince visiting the States. Will the reporter’s big story become her love story?

CHECKIN’ IT TWICE - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 pm
Cast: Kim Matula and Kevin McGarry
Premise: A journeyman hockey player falls for a real estate agent in a career crisis when he’s traded to her hometown, then moves into the cottage in her hockey-loving family’s backyard.

WHERE ARE YOU, CHRISTMAS? - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Saturday, Oct. 21 at 8 pm
Cast: Lyndsy Fonseca, Michael Rady, Jim O’Heir and Julie Warner
Premise: When Addy wishes for a year without Christmas, she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic to restore Christmas.

UNDER THE CHRISTMAS SKY - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Sunday, Oct. 22 at 8 pm
Cast: Jessica Parker Kennedy and Ryan Paevey
Premise: Kat is an esteemed astrophysicist, who is scheduled for her first trip into space next year until an accident grounds her. While on leave, coming to terms with the reality that her dream of being an astronaut is over, she volunteers at the local planetarium. There, she is paired up with by-the-book David to work on an exhibit opening right before Christmas. Will the stars align to bring these two together at the holidays?

MYSTIC CHRISTMAS - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8 pm
Cast: Jessy Schram, Chandler Massey, Patti Murin and William R. Moses
Premise: Juniper travels to Mystic, Conn., during the holidays to work at the rehabilitation center and aquarium. She reconnects with Sawyer, the owner of the pizza shop.

JOYEUX NOEL - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Sunday, Oct. 29 at 8 pm
Cast: Jaicy Elliot and Brant Daugherty
Premise: When a romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor Lea, she is sent to France with pragmatic reporter Mark to uncover the mystery behind the artist.

THE SANTA SUMMIT - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Sunday, Nov. 5 at 8 pm
Cast: Hunter King and Benjamin Hollingsworth
Premise: It’s time for the annual Santa Summit, in which revelers put on Santa suits and hop around designated locations in town to eat, drink and be merry. Three best friends decide to go together: Jordin, a recently dumped art teacher looking to cut loose; Ava, a shy woman hoping to run into her crush; and Stella, a Christmas cynic with no interest in the Santa Summit whatsoever. At the start of the night, Jordin meets and bonds with Liam, but doesn’t get his name before getting separated and lost in a sea of Santas. As the night progresses and hijinks ensue, amidst the chaos, celebration, and a sea of Santas, they all find what they’re looking for: Christmas spirit, potential romance, and a strengthened bond of friendship.

A MERRY SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm
Cast: Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf
Premise: When estranged siblings Lindsay and Brad Morgan travel to Scotland at Christmas to reunite with their mother Jo, a big family secret is revealed.

HAUL OUT THE HOLLY: LIT UP - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8 pm
Cast: Lacey Chabert, Wes Brown, Stephen Tobolowsky, Melissa Peterman, Ellen Travolta, Seth Morris and Jennifer Aspen
Premise: As the holidays approach, Emily and Jared are looking forward to celebrating the holidays together again — this time as a couple. Emily, now embracing Evergreen Lane’s uniquely festive spirit, is ready to work with Jared, Ned, Mary Louise and Pamela to make this year’s Christmas celebrations the best yet… even if being the HOA president’s girlfriend doesn’t stop those dreaded decorating citations. When a house on the block goes up for sale, it causes quite a stir with residents. When the soon-to-be neighbors turn out to be holiday royalty, it looks like this year’s competition is about to heat up. As the welcoming committee prepares for the new arrivals, only one thing is certain – this Christmas, Evergreen Lane is going to sleigh!

A BLITMORE CHRISTMAS - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Sunday, Nov. 26 at 8 pm
Cast: Bethany Joy Lenz, Kristoffer Polaha, Jonathan Frakes and Robert Picardo
Premise: Lucy Hardgrove is a screenwriter who lands the job of a lifetime when she’s hired to pen the script for a remake of the beloved, holiday movie classic, His Merry Wife!, which was filmed in 1947 at beautiful, historic Biltmore House. When the head of the studio isn’t satisfied with the ending Lucy wrote because it deviates from the original’s feel-good conclusion, he sends Lucy to Biltmore Estate for research and inspiration. While there, she unwittingly discovers the ability to travel to the 1947 set of His Merry Wife! through the help of an hourglass. While on set, she and Jack Huston, one of the film’s stars, spend time together and become close. But her sudden appearance has set off a chain of events that put the production in jeopardy. Before she can return to the present, Lucy must make things right or threaten to alter the future forever.

CHRISTMAS WITH A KISS - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Sunday, Dec. 3 at 8 pm
Cast: Mishael Morgan, Ronnie Rowe Jr. and Jaime M. Callica
Premise: A woman returns home to help with her family’s Christmas Carnival and romance ignites. A photo journalist curates a surprise reunion.

CHRISTMAS ON CHERRY LANE - Hallmark Channel
Premiere Date: Saturday, Dec. 9 at 8 pm
Cast: Catherine Bell, James Denton, Jonathan Bennett, John Brotherton, Erin Cahill and Vincent Rodriguez III
Premise: A young couple preparing to welcome their first child; an empty-nester and her fiancé ready to start a new chapter; and a couple who unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve celebrate the holiday as they navigate these turning points in their lives.

MYSTERY ON MISTLETOE LANE - Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Premiere Date: Thursday, Nov. 9 at 8 pm
Cast: Erica Cerra and Victor Webster
Premise: New to town, Heidi Wicks and her kids discover a Christmas mystery in their historic home. Local handyman and historian David helps along the way, finding his own surprising connection.

A WORLD RECORD CHRISTMAS - Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Premiere Date: Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8 pm
Cast: Nikki DeLoach, Lucas Bryant and Aias Dalman
Premise: Charlie is an autistic boy determined to set a Guinness World Record by stacking 1400 Jenga blocks. His mother Marissa and stepfather Eric encourage him to reach for his dream and they all celebrate when he gets the good news that he’ll have get his chance on Christmas Eve. In the spirit of the holiday, they organize a fundraiser giving the townspeople an opportunity to donate and decorate a Jenga block, with the proceeds going to benefit kids with autism. Charlie’s journey to setting the Jenga world record gives them all the chance to learn more not just about themselves, but about what family really means.

HEAVEN DOWN HERE
Premiere Date: Thursday, Dec. 14 at 8 pm
Cast: Krystal Joy Brown, Tina Lifford, Juan Riedinger, Richard Harmon and Phylicia Rashad
Premise: Inspired by Mickey Guyton’s song of the same name, Heaven Down Here tells the story of four disparate people who find themselves stranded in a local diner on Christmas Eve when a snowstorm hits the town. Imami is a widowed mother of two who’s having trouble making ends meet and reluctantly agrees to work the Christmas Eve shift, where she clashes with her boss Dan, who doesn’t exactly embody the Christmas spirit. Felix is a local pastor desperately trying to secure food for parishioners while his faith is challenged by his alienation by his son. Clara is a hospice nurse with an obstinate patient and whose daughter is moving away, causing her to question her place in this world. Throughout the evening, these four bicker, bond and unwittingly provide each other with the answer to their respective prayers.

A CHRISTMAS FREQUENCY - Hulu
Premiere Date: Wednesday, Nov. 1
Cast: Denise Richards, James Hyde, Ansley Gordon and Jonathan Stoddard
Premise: Richards stars as morning radio show host Brooke Walkins, who is not only secretly separating from her husband Todd but hemorrhaging ratings on her show. When she finds out the show is being axed, Brooke’s producer Kenzie Parker has the bright idea of setting up the host with a series of blind dates live on air to help Brooke find someone to take to the company’s Christmas party. But things take an unexpected turn when Kenzie finds out Ben, a guy she’s interested in, has applied to date Brooke. As Ben proves a hit with listeners, Kenzie finds herself having to choose between her heart and her job.

LADIES OF THE ’80S: A DIVAS CHRISTMAS - Lifetime
Premiere Date: TBA
Cast: Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheridan
Premise: The movie follows five soap opera divas readying for a reunion show who take on playing cupid during Christmas to bring together their director and producer as they all learn the meaning of true Christmas spirit.

BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER! - Netfilx
Premiere Date: Thursday, Nov. 16
Cast: Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood and Jason Biggs
Premise: Every Christmas, Jackie sends a boastful holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte feel like a lump of coal. When a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her family on Jackie’s snowy doorstep just days before Christmas, she seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend’s life can’t possibly be that perfect.

HOW TO FALL IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS - Roku
Premiere Date: Friday, Nov. 3
Cast: Teri Hatcher
Premise: A beloved writer-turned-CEO must save her company by writing a column on her falling in love by the holidays – which is complicated by the handsome photographer who has been assigned to the piece.

YULETIDE THE KNOT - Uptv
Premiere Date: Sunday, Dec. 3 at 7 pm
Cast: Mary Antonini, Peter Porte, Kelley Jakle, Kelsey Scott and Melissa Peterman
Premise: When small town wedding planner Rachel is faced with planning her biggest Christmas wedding yet for an out-of-town influencer couple, she is thrown an unexpected surprise when the bride’s manager turns out to be Logan, her first love and high school sweetheart. He reminds her what it is to love, and through rediscovering the magic of Christmas, she rediscovers a part of her heart she closed off long ago.

Kaley Cuoco, Tom Pelphrey And Others Join Forces To Raise Money For IATSE Members With ‘Love Kills’, A Night Of One-Act Plays By Don Nigro

(10/10/23) Kaley Cuoco, Tom Pelphrey, Briana Cuoco, Midori Francis, Rebecca Mozo and Justin Chatwin are set to star in the play Love Kills, a special event that will see all proceeds going towards IATSE members who have been impacted by the strikes.

Based on the one-act plays by Don Nigro, the event will run November 15-18 at the Colony Theater in Burbank.

Kevin Kittle is directing with Cara Christian producing. Justin Huen will be the technical director, with Dana Schwartz serving as stage manager.

The plays explore all the ways that “love can be deadly,” and they are shared like campfire ghost stories; full of suspense and atmosphere, infused with humor and a few winks at the audience. As with most of Nigro’s plays, they are a celebration of storytelling, and hopefully a reminder of the simple magic that can be created with a writer, a couple actors, a few stools, and a talented crew.

Performing Binorrie will be Francis and Rebecca Mozo; performing Lurker will be Chatwin and Briana Cuoco; and performing Fair Rosamund and her Murderer will be Kaley Cuoco and Pelphrey.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Fellow Travelers Trailer: Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey Embark on Secret Love Affair in Showtime Series — Watch

(10/3/23) (Video) Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey share “a great, consuming love” behind closed doors in the first full trailer for Showtime‘s Fellow Travelers.

Based on Thomas Mallon’s novel, and adapted by Homeland/Ray Donovan vet Ron Nyswaner, the eight-episode limited series stars Bomer (White Collar) as the charismatic Hawkins Fuller, “who maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the-scenes career in politics” during the 1950s, per the official synopsis. “Hawkins avoids emotional entanglements — until he meets Tim Laughlin (Bridgerton‘s Bailey), a young man who’s brimming with idealism and religious faith."

In the above trailer, Hawkins and Tim begin a secret romance while “Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on ‘subversives and sexual deviants,’ initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history,” the synopsis continues. Hawkins denies having any relations with a man when questioned, proclaiming that there’s a special woman (Girls‘ Allison Williams) in his life.

“We lie about who we sleep with,” Hawkins says to Tim, who corrects him, “Not who we sleep with. It’s who we love.”

As the series spans four decades, “through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s,” Hawkins and Tim’s relationships, both with each other and the people in their lives, grow more complicated and tense. Hawkins’ significant other has suspicions about his secret activities, while Tim’s feelings for Hawkins seem to be tearing him apart.

Rounding out the cast are Jelani Alladin (The Walking Dead World Beyond) and Noah J. Ricketts (American Gods).

Fellow Travelers debuts Friday, Oct. 27 on Paramount+ With Showtime, two days ahead of its linear Showtime premiere on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 9/8c.

Talk Show Appearance

(9/29/23) The Jennifer Hudson Show

AIRING Oct 4, 2023

Taye Diggs (podcast "You Had Me at Hello")

Kurt McKinney One-on-One Interview 10/6/23

(9/28/23) (Watch Here) Fan favorite Kurt McKinney will be live in The Locher Room on Friday, October 6th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT to look back at his career working in television and film.

Kurt made his film debut playing Jason Stillwell in the 1985 martial arts film No Retreat, No Surrender. He also appeared in the film Sworn to Justice. He began his martial arts training at the age of 12.

In addition to his film roles, Kurt had a number of guest starring roles on some hit prime-time series early in his career including; such Gimme a Break!, Highway to Heaven, and ALF. Recently, he’s appeared on Blue Bloods, Power and the limited series The Thing About Pam.

He is well-known to daytime audiences for his three-year stint as Ned Ashton on General Hospital and his role of Matt Reardon on Guiding Light which he played on and off from July 1994 through the end of the series in 2009.

Kurt recently appeared in the Gabriel Inferno series and is working on a new martial arts film, The Last Kumite.

Emmy Award-winning Writer Lisa Seidman Interview

(9/28/23) (Watch Here) Emmy Award-winning writer Lisa Seidman will sit down for a live interview in The Locher Room on Thursday, October 5th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT to look back at her almost 40-year career as a television writer.

Lisa has written for some of the hottest shows on primetime TV starting with Cagney & Lacey in 1984. She went on to write for Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing and Knots Landing: Back To The Cul-De-Sac to name a few. Lisa also spent five years in Russia writing nighttime soaps and won the equivalent of an Emmy for best show.

In daytime, she has written for Another World, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, Sunset Beach and The Young and the Restless. Lisa has been nominated multiple times for a Daytime Emmy and has won the award for her work on DOOL and Y&R.

Lisa has also taught writing at USC and UCLA.

Bradley Cole and Friends Concert

(9/27/23) (Tickets) On Saturday, October 7, The Locher Room is bringing you the Bradley Cole & Friends concert to your preferred device as part of the 19th Annual Daytime Stars and Strikes weekend. Host Alan Locher will provide behind-the-scenes access at Smash Studios in New York, where he will chat with the performers, other surprise guests and fans attending the show in person. Joining GUIDING LIGHT’s Cole (ex-Richard/ex-Jeffrey) are former co-stars Robert Newman (ex-Josh et al), Ron Raines (ex-Alan), Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva et al) and French singer/actress Elsa Esnoult. Tickets for the event cost $35 and can be purchased here. Once a ticket is purchased, you will receive an email with special instructions on how each ticketholder can view the event. All profits benefit The Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund for autistic children.

Soap Alum John Wesley Shipp Shares a Health Update

(9/26/23) (soapsindepth.com) Please join us in sending healing thoughts to daytime alum John Wesley Shipp, who recently revealed on social media that he is recovering from surgery.

“Hello out there!” he shared. “Friends and contacts have written recently like, ‘Where are you? Are you OK?’ Well, here’s the deal: I had surgery early this month for a health issue that had to be dealt with immediately. All went well, but I’ve had to postpone a theatre production and personal appearances as the recoup will take some weeks.

“I do read and appreciate what you share with me, that you entrust me with your thoughts and feelings,” he continued. “You are ever on my mind and in my heart, and I look forward to getting active and out there again as soon as possible. Until then, remember to play nice, be kind, and stay engaged! Our futures depend on it!”

Shipp made his daytime debut playing Dr. Kelly Nelson on CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT from 1980-84. From 1985-86, he moved over to sister soap AS THE WORLD TURNS to portray Douglas Cummings, a role which earned him the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1986. In 1987, he won his second Daytime Emmy, this time for Outstanding Guest Star for his stint as Martin Ellis on NBC’s SANTA BARBARA.

The actor also had small roles on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and ALL MY CHILDREN in 1989 and 1992, respectively. Shipp then found primetime fame beginning with his starring role in THE FLASH, then appearing on shows like SISTERS and DAWSON’S CREEK. He returned to daytime in 2010 playing the villainous Eddie Ford on OLTL, and most recently enjoyed multiple roles on THE FLASH and other superhero series in The CW’s “Arrowverse.”

It sounds like Shipp is already on the mend following his surgery, so we’re hoping he’ll be back to full power very soon!

Joe Lando Is Recovering From Surgery

(9/26/23) (soapsindepth.com) (Video) Please join us in sending best wishes to Joe Lando as he recovers from surgery. The actor — best known to soap fans as Jake on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Macauley on GUIDING LIGHT, and Judge McMullen on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL — shared a selfie video from his hospital bed immediately following the operation on Sept. 25.

“Happy total knee replacement Monday,” Lando joked. “And no, Dr. Quinn didn’t do the surgery. She’s more of an open heart specialist.”

The former star of DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN shot his video while lying in the recovery room with quite a lot of commotion going on around him. “Just had my knee replaced,” he explained. “And I’m laying in recovery. And there’s some trouble breathing. But I think I’ll get over it. I’m really, really high right now.” He then panned his phone over to show a couple of nurses at the nearby nurses station and added: “There’s the wonderful ladies that are taking care of me. I’ll keep you posted. Bye!”

While most patients can go home the same day following knee replacement surgery, the at-home recovery can take several weeks. While high-impact exercise like jogging should be avoided, lower-impact activities like walking, swimming, and biking are okay. Lando is an avid cyclist, so hopefully, he’ll be back on his bike before too long!

Shonda Rhimes, Lena Waithe And Matt Bomer To Be Honored At Human Rights Campaign National Dinner

(9/25/23) Shonda Rhimes, Lena Waithe and Matt Bomer will be the honorees at the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner next month.

The Oct. 14 event, to take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, also will recognize four transgender kids and teenagers, Grayson McFerrin, Libby Gonzales, Hobbes Chukumba, and Daniel Trujillo, who organized Trans Youth Prom.

Rhimes will be honored with the National Equality Award, Waithe with the Visibility Award and Bomer with the Impact Award.

HRC also is launching a new event as part of the weekend, the Equality Convention, which will take place the night before the dinner. The event will feature political and cultural figures as well as volunteers and other movement leaders to talk about LGBTQ+ equality.

Kelley Robinson, president of HRC, said in a statement that the three honorees “are pioneers in their field and deserve to be celebrated for the immeasurable contributions they’ve made to the LGBTQ+ community.”

In June, HRC declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States, citing the wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ rights. More than 525 bills were introduced in 41 states in 2023, according to the group.

Taye Diggs Signs With A Management Co. & Global Artists Agency

(9/20/23) Taye Diggs (Guiding Light), known for his five-season run starring as the beloved Billy Baker, former NFL player turned high school football coach, on CW’s All American, has signed with A Management Company and Global Artists Agency for representation.

Diggs can next be seen leading the two-part BET+ film Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy based on the true crime story of businessman Lance Herndon. In the film, Diggs stars as Lance (Diggs), a successful Atlanta businessman, renowned in equal measure for both revolutionizing the city’s 911 system, and his womanizing ways. When he is found murdered in his own home, questions and allegations abound as to who might have wanted him dead.

Diggs also is set to voice King Triton with Amber Riley as Ursula in Ariel, the Disney/Disney Junior animated series.

Other TV credits include the series regular role of Dr. Sam Bennet in Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series Private Practice as well as the TNT serial crime drama Murder in the First as homicide inspector Terry English. He also had recurring roles in Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Will & Grace as Eric McCormack’s boyfriend in the show’s final season, The Good Wife, Rosewood, and Empire as city councilman Angelo Dubois, a love interest for Taraji P. Henson’s character.

Notable film credits include Go, The Wood, The Best Man, House on Haunted Hill, Equilibrium, The Way of the Gun, Brown Sugar, and The Best Man Holiday among others.

Diggs made his film debut in How Stella Got Her Groove Back starring opposite Angela Bassett as her younger love interest Winston Shakespeare. From there, he went on to build a successful career across film, television, and theatre. On the film side, Diggs portrayed The Bandleader in Rob Marshall’s film version of the Broadway musical Chicago. He also reprised the role he originated on Broadway, landlord Benjamin Coffin III, in Chris Columbus’ film version of the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent. He continued his theatre career and went on to appear in Broadway musicals including Chicago, Rent, Wicked, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Diggs has served as a producer on several projects in addition to starring including the critically acclaimed UPN series Kevin Hill in which he plays the title character who juggles work as a lawyer while raising his ten-month-old cousin, and the ABC series Day Break in which Diggs’ Detective Brett Hopper relives the day he is accused of murder to discover the true killer. Diggs has also produced and starred in the films Til Death Do Us Part and Incarnation. He executive produced and hosted two variety specials alongside Ne-Yo and Eric Bellinger titled The Black Pack for The CW which featured music, dance, and comedy. He also executive produced and hosted the Hulu reality dating series Back in the Groove based on Digg’s original starring vehicle.

Diggs is also an author and has penned five children’s books, Mixed Me!, Chocolate Me!, I Love You More Than…, My Friend!, and Why? A Conversation about Race..

Hallmark Announces 40-Title Holiday Movie Slate Not Impacted By Strikes

(9/19/23) (Video) Hallmark has revealed that it will have 40 all-new, original movies for both its flagship channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, as well as special content for Hallmark Movies Now, the company’s subscription streaming service.

Even though the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes impacted TV and film productions, Hallmark anticipated the labor dispute by getting a head start on production in Canada. “Christmas is a year-round business at Hallmark, so we were able to mitigate early in the year understanding that the strikes were unfortunately imminent,” Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP of programming at Hallmark Media, was recently quoted as saying. “We’re grateful to meet all our goals for a full, all-new holiday slate and to bring our viewers the content they love most to celebrate the season.”

Holiday programming kicks off Friday, Oct. 20 with the channel’s Countdown to Christmas and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ Miracles of Christmas.

Among the actors set to headline Hallmark’s movies include Lacey Chabert (A Merry Scottish Christmas, Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up); Benjamin Ayres, Katherine Barrell, Catherine Bell, Jonathan Bennett, Krystal Joy Brown, Warren Christie, Cindy Busby, Erin Cahill, Paul Campbell, Nikki DeLoach, James Denton, Brooke D’Orsay, Jaicy Elliot, Brennan Elliott, Tyler Hynes, Dan Jeannotte, Hunter King, Bethany Joy Lenz, Luke Macfarlane, Chandler Massey, Niall Matter, Barbara Niven, Ryan Paevey, Janel Parrish, Brendan Penny, Kristoffer Polaha, Michael Rady, Marcus Rosner, Ronnie Rowe Jr., Jessy Schram, Kimberley Sustad, Andrew Walker, and Victor Webster.

Here’s the full slate for Hallmark Channel:

Friday, October 20: Checkin’ It Twice starring Kim Matula and Kevin McGarry. A journeyman hockey player (McGarry) falls for a real estate agent (Matula) in a career crisis when he’s traded to her hometown and moves into the cottage in her hockey loving family’s backyard.

Saturday, October 21: Where Are You, Christmas? Starring Lyndsy Fonseca, Michael Rady, Jim O’Heir, Julie Warner. When Addy (Fonseca) wishes for a year without Christmas, she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic (Rady) to restore Christmas.

Sunday, October 22: Under the Christmas Sky starring Jessica Parker Kennedy, Ryan Paevey. Kat (Kennedy) is an esteemed astrophysicist, who is scheduled for her first trip into space next year until an accident grounds her. While on leave, coming to terms with the reality that her dream of being an astronaut is over, she volunteers at the local planetarium. There, she is paired up with by-the-book David (Paevey) to work on an exhibit opening right before Christmas. Will the stars align to bring these two together at the holidays?

Friday, October 27: Christmas by Design starring Rebecca Dalton, Jonathan Keltz. A fashion designer (Dalton) gets accepted into a Christmas challenge to create a new holiday-themed collection and not only finds the inspiration for her next line but decides to redesign her approach to what’s most important in life.

Saturday, October 28: Mystic Christmas starring Jessy Schram, Chandler Massey, Patti Murin, William R. Moses. Juniper (Schram) travels to Mystic, Connecticut during the holidays to work at the rehabilitation center and aquarium. She reconnects with Sawyer (Massey), the owner of the pizza shop.

Sunday, October 29: Joyeux Noel stars Jaicy Elliot, Brant Daugherty. When a romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor Lea (Elliot), she is sent to France with pragmatic reporter Mark (Daugherty) to uncover the mystery behind the artist.

Friday, November 3: Flipping for Christmas starring Ashley Newbrough, Marcus Rosner. It’s almost Christmas when busy realtor Abigail (Newbrough) agrees to help her sister with the “simple flip” of a recently inherited home. Unfortunately, co-beneficiary Bo (Rosner) has other plans in mind.

Saturday, November 4: Never Been Chris’d starring Janel Parrish, Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes, Tyler Hynes. Home for the holidays, BFFs Naomi (Parrish) and Liz (Lamothe-Kipnes) reconnect with high school crush Chris Silver (Hynes). A complex love triangle forms, forcing them to take stock of their lives and find the value of friendship.

Sunday, November 5: The Santa Summit starring Hunter King, Benjamin Hollingsworth. It’s time for the annual Santa Summit, in which revelers put on Santa suits and hop around designated locations in town to eat, drink, and be merry. Three best friends decide to go together: Jordin (King), a recently dumped art teacher looking to cut loose; Ava, a shy woman hoping to run into her crush; and Stella, a Christmas cynic with no interest in the Santa Summit whatsoever. At the start of the night, Jordin meets and bonds with Liam (Hollingsworth), but doesn’t get his name before getting separated and lost in a sea of Santas. As the night progresses and hijinks ensue, amidst the chaos, celebration, and a sea of Santas, they all find what they’re looking for: Christmas spirit, potential romance, and a strengthened bond of friendship.

Friday, November 10: Everything Christmas starring Katherine Barrell, Cindy Busby, Corey Sevier, Matt Wells. Lori Jo’s (Busby) love for Christmas takes her on a road trip to Yuletide Springs with her roommate Tori (Barrell), where Christmas is celebrated year-round, to participate in a longstanding town tradition to honor her late grandmother. Along the way, the friends meet Carl (Sevier) and Jason (Wells), and the foursome make stops during their journey to enjoy more small-town Christmas attractions. But when a series of events puts a damper on their plans, a little Christmas magic may put this trip back on the right path.

Saturday, November 11: Christmas Island starring Rachel Skarsten, Andrew Walker. When a snowstorm diverts Kate’s (Skarsten) first private flight en route to Switzerland to Christmas Island, she must team up with an air traffic controller (Walker) to secure her dream job as the family’s pilot.

Sunday, November 12: A Heidelberg Holiday starring Ginna Claire Mason, Frédéric Brossier. Heidi Heidelberg (Mason) receives the dream opportunity to sell her beautiful, handmade glass ornaments at the prestigious Heidelberg Christmas Market in Germany. While there, she meets Lukas (Brossier), a local artisan who helps her reconnect with her lost heritage.

Friday, November 17: Navigating Christmas starring Chelsea Hobbs, Stephen Huszar. Recently divorced Melanie (Hobbs) and her son Jason visit a remote island for Christmas, only to find themselves running a real working lighthouse where she connects with the curt but cute owner (Huszar).

Saturday, November 18: A Merry Scottish Christmas starring Lacey Chabert, Scott Wolf. When estranged siblings, Lindsay (Chabert) and Brad (Wolf) Morgan travel to Scotland at Christmas to reunite with their mother Jo, a big family secret is revealed.

Sunday, November 19: Holiday Hotline starring Emily Tennant, Niall Matter. After leaving London, Abby (Tennant) connects with an anonymous caller while working at a cooking hotline. The caller is single dad “John” (Matter) who Abby unknowingly has become smitten with in real life.

Thursday, November 23: Catch Me If You Claus starring Italia Ricci, Luke Macfarlane. Avery Quinn. (Ricci) is an aspiring news anchor who’s finally getting her big break on her station’s Christmas morning newscast. But that’s put in jeopardy when she captures an intruder in her home wearing a red suit claiming to be Chris (Macfarlane), Santa’s son, who is on his first mission. A night of adventure ensues as they find themselves being pursued by the police as well as some shady characters. Along the way, they connect over living in the shadow of their parents and inspire each other to go after their dreams.

Friday, November 24: Letters to Santa starring Katie Lecler, Rafael de la Fuente. When young siblings receive a magic pen from Santa that appears to be granting wishes, they request a Christmas gift they want more than anything – for their separated parents (Leclerc, de la Fuente) to reunite.

Friday, November 24: Holiday Road starring Sara Canning, Warren Christie. When bad weather leaves each of them stranded at the airport for the holidays, a tech entrepreneur (Christie), a travel writer (Canning), a devoted mother (Enid-Raye Adams) and her son (Kiefer O’Reilly), a stubborn senior (Trevor Lerner), an enigmatic woman with a hint of mystery (Brittany Willacy), a couple traveling from Hong Kong (Sharon Crandall, Ryan Mah) and a social media influencer (Princess Davis) all agree to rent a shared van to embark on a road trip to Denver. When their unexpected journey brings them into uncharted territory, they navigate a series of misadventures together and form a deeper bond that just might change the trajectories of each of their lives. Inspired by true events.

Saturday, November 25: Christmas in Notting Hill starring Sarah Ramos, William Moseley. Famous soccer star, Graham Savoy (Moseley), has always been too busy for love, but when he comes home to Notting Hill for Christmas, he changes his mind after meeting Georgia (Ramos) – a visiting American and the one person who has no idea who he is.

Saturday, November 25: Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up starring Lacey Chabert, Wes Brown, Stephen Tobolowsky, Melissa Peterman, Ellen Travolta, Seth Morris, Jennifer Aspen. As the holidays approach, Emily (Chabert) and Jared (Brown) are looking forward to celebrating the holidays together again, this time as a couple. Emily, now embracing Evergreen Lane’s uniquely festive spirit, is ready to work with Jared, Ned (Tobolowsky), Mary Louise (Travolta) and Pamela (Peterman) to make this year’s Christmas celebrations the best yet – even if being the HOA president’s girlfriend doesn’t stop those dreaded decorating citations. When a house on the block goes up for sale, it causes quite a stir with residents. When the soon-to-be neighbors turn out to be holiday royalty (Morris, Aspen), it looks like this year’s competition is about to heat up. While there, she unwittingly discovers the ability to travel to the 1947 set of His Merry Wife through the help of an hourglass, where she meets one of the film’s stars, Jack Huston (Polaha).

Sunday, November 26: Our Christmas Mural starring Alex Paxton-Beesley, Dan Jeannotte. Olivia (Paxton-Beesley) is a single mom who returns home for Christmas. Her mom secretly enters her into a mural contest; she wins but partners with teacher Will (Jeannotte) to create a Christmas masterpiece.

Sunday, November 26: A Biltmore Christmas starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Kristoffer Polaha. Lucy Hardgrove (Lenz) is a screenwriter who lands the job of a lifetime when she’s hired to pen the script for a remake of the beloved, holiday movie classic, His Merry Wife!, which was filmed in 1947 at beautiful, historic Biltmore House. When the head of the studio isn’t satisfied with the ending Lucy wrote because it deviates from the original’s feel-good conclusion, he sends Lucy to Biltmore Estate for research and inspiration. While there, she unwittingly discovers the ability to travel to the 1947 set of His Merry Wife! through the help of an hourglass.

Friday, December 1: My Norwegian Holiday starring Rhiannon Fish, David Elsendoorn. JJ (Fish), grieving the loss of her grandmother and seeking dissertation inspiration, stumbles upon an unexpected holiday destiny. Meeting Henrik (Elsendoorn), a Norwegian from Bergen, their connection deepens when he discovers she has a troll figurine from his hometown. To explore the troll’s history and her grandmother’s ties, JJ agrees to join Henrik on a journey to Norway. In Bergen, they’re drawn into Henrik’s family Christmas and wedding traditions, with his sister’s wedding the day before Christmas Eve. JJ embarks on a holiday adventure, uncovering the troll’s origins and finding her own path to healing, love and family.

Saturday, December 2: A Not So Royal Christmas. Starring Brooke D’Orsay, Will Kemp. Tabloid journalist Charlotte (D’Orsay) attempts to land an interview with a reclusive Count. In response, the royal family has a groundskeeper (Kemp) pose as the Count since the real one fled years ago.

Sunday, December 3: Christmas with a Kiss starring Mishael Morgan, Ronnie Rowe Jr., Jaime M. Callica. A Mahogany Presentation. A woman (Morgan) returns home to help with her family’s Christmas Carnival and romance ignites. A photo journalist (Rowe) curates a surprise reunion.

Friday, December 8: Magic in Mistletoe starring Lyndie Greenwood, Paul Campbell. Harrington (Campbell) is the author of a popular book series but commercial success has left him a bitter recluse. As he returns to his hometown for an annual Christmas festival celebrating his books, he’s joined by April (Greenwood), a publicist for the major publishing house he works with. April is there for damage control after Harrington’s recent comments on social media have ruffled some feathers. But as she gets to know him better, hope springs that April can unlock Harrington’s guarded heart and help him rediscover the spirit of the holiday.

Saturday, December 9: Christmas on Cherry Lane starring Catherine Bell, Jonathan Bennett, John Brotherton, Erin Cahill, James Denton, Vincent Rodriguez III. A young couple preparing to welcome their first child (Brotherton, Cahill); an empty-nester (Bell) and her fiancé (Denton) ready to start a new chapter; and a couple (Bennett, Rodriguez III) who unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve celebrate the holiday as they navigate these turning points in their lives.

Sunday, December 10: Round and Round starring Vic Michaelis, Bryan Greenberg, Rick Hoffman. Rachel’s (Michaelis) stuck in a time loop, reliving the night of her parents’ Hanukkah party. Can Zach (Greenberg), the “nice boy” Grandma’s trying to set her up with, help her make it to tomorrow?

Friday, December 15: The Secret Gift of Christmas starring Meghan Ory, Christopher Russell. Bonnie (Ory) is a personal shopper who helps her new, widowed client Patrick (Russell) reconnect with his young daughter. Though Bonnie and Patrick’s ideas of shopping couldn’t be more different, she is determined to get Patrick and his daughter everything on their wish list.

Saturday, December 16: Sealed with a List starring Katie Findlay, Evan Roderick.This holiday season, festive Carley (Findlay) sets out to conquer her list of abandoned resolutions from last year. Aided by coworker Wyatt (Roderick), she finds love and the confidence to chase her dreams.

Sunday, December 17: Friends & Family Christmas starring Humberly Gonzalez, Ali Liebert. Daniella (Gonzalez) has recently moved to New York to pursue an art career and decides to stay in town to share the holidays with her circle of artist friends, instead of going home to see her sweet, if overbearing parents. Amelia (Liebert) is a talented entertainment lawyer trying to stay focused on her work after a broken engagement. When Daniella and Amelia are set up by their parents, they agree to pretend that they are dating, to appease them for the holidays. However, as they spend time in eachother’s worlds, they soon build a connection that is deeper than either of them could have hoped for.

Doom Patrol’s Final Episodes Now Have a Premiere Month — When Will It Be Back?

(9/19/23) We’re inching ever closer to a proper return date for Doom Patrol‘s in-progress final season.

TVLine has confirmed that the DC Comics series will be back for its final batch of episodes (aka Season 4B) in October, as first reported by Entertainment Weekly. A specific premiere date, though, is still TBD.

Doom Patrol‘s Season 4A finale dropped way back on Jan. 5, with minimal news afterward about when the show would be back. In July, some concerned fans asked DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn if Doom Patrol would ever really return for its final installments, prompting his reassuring response that he “can’t imagine a world where completed episodes are not going to be released.”

“I now have confirmation: As I surmised, no, Doom Patrol episodes are absolutely NOT being shelved,” Gunn later followed up, “even though the premiere date for the next shows hasn’t yet been announced to the public.”

It was revealed in January that Doom Patrol and fellow DC series Titans would both end their runs with their respective fourth seasons. At the time, Gunn noted that “the decision to end the series precedes [me and co-chairman Peter Safran],” while a Max spokesperson maintained “we are very proud of these series and excited for fans to see their climactic endings.”

Titans ultimately came back in April for its final stretch of episodes, with the series finale dropping on May 11.

Dishing with Digest - 9/15/23 - Kassie DePaiva

(9/15/23) (Listen/download) Kassie DePaiva talks about reprising the role of DAYS’s Eve, previews her GH return as Blair, reveals what she’s up to now and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also talk about the latest storylines making headlines.

'Young and the Restless' Alum Jordi Vilasuso Expecting Third Baby with Wife Kaitlin: 'Beyond Excited'

(9/10/23) (people.com) The Young and the Restless alum Jordi Vilasuso and his wife Kaitlin are expecting their third baby!

Jordi, 42, shared a post on Instagram Friday celebrating the couple’s “growing family,” and reposted a heartfelt note Kaitlin, 37, posted on her own account that same day.

In her caption, Kaitlin detailed that they are “expecting a precious addition to our family in January,” and she asked fans to “join us in praying" for their unborn daughter after she previously lost two children and found out she requires a surgical procedure during her current pregnancy.

“Grateful for your prayers for our growing family, my friends!” Jordi began his caption, which was posted alongside a family photograph of the actor, his wife and their two children — Riley Grace, 10, and Everly Maeve, 7 — who held a sonogram of their unborn sibling.

“Also, I know this was not easy to put out there my love, but your openness and call for prayer inspire me and I know will do the same for others! With faith and love!” he continued.

Jordi — who played Rey Rosales on The Young and the Restless between 2018 and 2022 — then reposted the caption his wife had penned in her own Instagram post.

“Sweet friends! We come to you with big, exciting news and perhaps an even bigger prayer request. We are beyond excited to share that we are expecting a precious addition to our family in January!” Kaitlin wrote, before opening up about their heartbreaking journey to becoming parents for a third time.

“After two losses, this precious girl (??) is an answer to our prayers and has already filled our hearts with so much hope and joy. But, while she is growing perfectly, we learned last week that my body is struggling to hold her and she’s at risk of coming far too early,” she said.

Kaitlin then explained that “after many visits with some incredible doctors” the couple made the decision “to undergo a procedure called a cerclage in hopes that it will help keep her safe in my belly.”

According to the American Pregnancy Association, cervical cerclage is a surgical procedure where the cervix is sewn closed in order to prevent premature labor.

“There are risks to the procedure, but we are standing in faith that God did not bring us this far -with Riley and Everly feeling her move in my belly night after night- or bring her this far (20 weeks!) for her to not breathe the breath of life and have a long, beautiful one at that,” Katlin added in her caption.

The expectant mom then acknowledged the support of fans and followers in the past and revealed that she is undergoing the procedure next Wednesday.

“While we didn’t expect to share the news like this, you all have covered our family in love and prayer many times before and we are humbly asking that you do it again. I’m scheduled for surgery Wednesday evening and we are praying she stays snug in my belly until then, that our doctors are not met with anything unexpected, and that their God-given skill leads to a successful surgery- specifically that my water does not break during the procedure and that the procedure itself doesn’t put me into labor,” she wrote, adding, "We are praying for many many more boring weeks of me mostly laying in bed while this baby girl grows stronger and more ready for this world.”

“I know that God knows the desires of our hearts. I know He is knitting her together in my womb, that she is already fearfully and wonderfully made, that He has a plan for her life. I ask that you’ll join us in praying that that plan is on this side of heaven. ???? We will keep you posted. Thank you for your love always,” Kaitlin's emotional post concluded.

Last month, the couple — who married in 2012 and welcomed their first daughter the same year — celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary, with Jordi posting a sweet tribute to his wife on social media.

“My one and only, @kaitlinvilasuso ! They say 11 is a lucky number…well I’m feeling especially lucky to have had you by my side for all these years!” he wrote in the caption of his post.

“This year in particular has had so many things to celebrate as we’ve navigated this beautiful journey together! May God continue to bless us, our girls, and our family as we love, grow together, and continue to stay faithful to one another no matter what life throws at us. You’re my rock green eyes!" Jordi continued.

His wife, meanwhile, posted her own celebration of their marriage that same day.

“ELEVEN beautiful years of getting to say ‘I still do’ .. Happy anniversary, my love.” Kaitlin began her tribute, which was accompanied by photos of the couple and their children laughing and hugging on a rooftop.

She continued, “Thank you for filling my soul with joy and peace, for fighting for us and our family day in and day out, and for being the good good man that you are. Words could never express how grateful I am that it is YOU that I get to hold hands with and raise beautiful little humans with and continue to build a life with each and every day. A lifetime could never be long enough. Love you forever @jordivilasuso.”

The sweet post ended with a cheeky nod to her ongoing attraction to her husband of more than a decade: "Ps ur hot.”

Barn Theatre's production of 'Clue' to open on Thursday

(9/7/23) The Barn Theatre has announced that its next production will be Clue. The play is scheduled to open on Thursday.

Clue will be performed September 7-10, as well as September 14-17. On Thursday and Friday, the play will be performed at 8 p.m. The performances on Saturday will be held at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. On Sunday, it will be performed at 5 p.m.

The Barn Theatre production of Clue will feature Lance Barber as Colonel Mustard. Barber is well-known for playing George Cooper Sr. in the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon. His other work includes playing Paulie G in HBO’s The Comeback and Bill Ponderosa in FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The production will also star Robert Newman as Wadsworth. Newman is well-known for playing Joshua Lewis in the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. His other work includes playing Prescott Harrell on ABC’s General Hospital and Kirk Cranston in NBC’s Santa Barbara.

The play also stars Penelope Alex as Mrs. White, Melissa Cotton Hunter as Miss Scarlet, Charlie King as Mr. Green, John Jay Espino as Professor Plum, Allena Evans as Mrs. Peacock, Gabrille Bieder as Yvette the maid, Elliott Austin Wirshba as the motorist, Will Davis-Kay as the cop, and Elizabeth Volpe as the cook.

In Clue, the cast of characters find themselves in an opulent mansion, where they must solve the mystery of who committed a murder.

The play also stars Penelope Alex as Mrs. White, Melissa Cotton Hunter as Miss Scarlet, Charlie King as Mr. Green, John Jay Espino as Professor Plum, Allena Evans as Mrs. Peacock, Gabrille Bieder as Yvette the maid, Elliott Austin Wirshba as the motorist, Will Davis-Kay as the cop, and Elizabeth Volpe as the cook.

In Clue, the cast of characters find themselves in an opulent mansion, where they must solve the mystery of who committed a murder.

The Barn Theatre’s production of Clue was directed by Eric Parker. The scenic designers of the production were Brendan Ragotzy and Brett Burradell. The costume designer was Nettie Fischer and the hair/wig designer was Garrylee McCormick. Steven Lee Burright designed the properties and Adam Guerriero designed the lights. The sound designer was Troy Benton. Brett Burradell was the technical director.

The play is based on the Clue board game that was designed by Anthony E. Pratt, and first released in 1949. It is also based on the 1985 film adaptation of the game. The film was written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, who worked on the story with John Landis. The movie version stars Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Peacock, Tim Curry as Wadsworth, and Martin Mull as Colonel Mustard.

The Barn Theatre’s production of Clue will open on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased on the theatre’s website.

Author and Actress Sonia Satra Interview

(9/7/23) (Watch Here) Mind-body expert and former star of Guiding Light and One Life to Live Sonia Satra will join The Locher Room on Thursday, September 14th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT to discuss the upcoming release of her debut book, WHAT IF IT WERE EASY: Using Movement & Mindset to Create Success in Life, Love, and Business. The book is available for pre-order now and will be released on October 17, 2023.

The book breaks down her award-winning approach, the Mindset Reset, with easy-to-follow steps for setting and reaching personal attainable goals. It illustrates how her own revolutionary Moticise™ program combines cardio exercise with mindset tools like visualization, goal setting, and affirmation.

Sonia’s mission in life is to help people find their core purpose, overcome fear, and make their dreams a reality. Since 2005, Sonia has become an expert on the mind-body connection. She founded her award-winning wellness company, Moticise™, which gives clients the tools to set their life in motion. Certified as a life coach, holistic health coach, hypnotist, and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, she has presented at UPenn's School of Positive Psychology, Aquinas College, Cisco, the Entrepreneurs' Organization Global Conference, the Grace Institute, and dozens of other high-profile companies.

Please join Sonia on Thursday, September 14th, when she stops by to discuss her new book and look back at her roles as Lucy Cooper Spaulding on Guiding Light and Barbara Graham on One Life to Live.

Kevin Bacon Urges “Let’s Make A Deal” In Ongoing Strikes As He Unveils ‘Six Degrees’ Podcast

(9/5/23) Kevin Bacon addressed the ongoing dual Hollywood strikes today as he unveiled his new podcast Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon.

In an interview on Today show where he announced the podcast, Bacon was asked about the current status of the strikes and a response to those who would say it’s about rich actors who just want to make more money.

“In terms of rich actors, a very small percentage of our union is doing very, very well. Most of the people are living hand-to-mouth, those are the people that we are striking for,” Bacon said. “My situation is not the same as the majority of our union. When it comes to writers and actors, we are artists, so all of our membership are artists so if you do well you get to make your art. On the other side, they’re dealmakers, so if they do well, they get to make a deal. So let’s make a deal, let’s get it done.”

Bacon announced his new podcast Six Degrees Tuesday, in celebration of International Day of Charity, in which he “will encourage listeners to make a difference in the world around them and will help them to lean in, learn and be inspired to act.”

In each weekly episode, Bacon chats with his celebrity connections about their lives, passion projects and favorite charitable causes. Every episode also features the changemakers behind the charitable organizations, who share inspirational stories about their efforts to motivate and?bring about positive change in their communities.

Upcoming guests include Mark Ruffalo (The Solutions Project), Matthew McConaughey?(Just Keep Livin’),?Penn Badgley?(Tahirih Justice Center),?Idina Menzel?(A BroaderWay),? Alyssa Milano?(UNICEF),?Jewel?(Inspiring Children’s Foundation), Ron Funches?(School on Wheels), among others.

The podcast is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures and in collaboration with iHeartPodcasts and Bacon’s nonprofit SixDegrees.org.

Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon is executive produced by Bacon, Stacy Huston, Coltan Gibby, SixDegrees.org and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. It’s distributed by?iHeartPodcasts and is available now on the iHeartRadio app and all major podcasting platforms. Episodes will be released weekly each Tuesday.

‘Suits’ Spinoff ‘Pearson’ Lands On Peacock After Meghan Markle Legal Drama Becomes Hit On Netflix

(8/31/23) Peacock is hoping to drive some eyeballs to Pearson, the short-lived Suits spin-off, after the latter became a surprising hit on Netflix this summer.

The NBCUniversal streamer has added the show, which starred Gina Torres, to its service today. It is hoping that new Suits fans may discover the spinoff as well, which is not available on Netflix.

Pearson ran for one season on the cable network in 2019 but was canceled a month and a half after its season ended.

Toplined by mothership series alumna Torres, Pearson centered on her character, powerhouse lawyer Jessica Pearson, as she enters the dirty world of Chicago politics. It also stars Bethany Joy Lenz, Morgan Spector, Chantel Riley, Simon Kassianides, Eli Goree and Isabel Arraiza.

Pearson originated on Suits, whose Season 7 finale served as a backdoor pilot for the spinoff.

The offshoot, which hailed from Universal Cable Productions, was executive produced by Suits creator and EP Aaron Korsh; Suits EP Daniel Arkin, who served as showrunner; Torres; and Suits executive producers Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein of Hypnotic.

The move will see NBCU try and win over some Netflix subscribers who may have binged (or be binging) parent show Suits, which has spent six weeks on top of the Nielsen charts.

Earlier this summer, the series broke a Nielsen streaming record for acquired programming; it drew 3.1B viewing minutes during the week of June 26 to July 2 across Netflix and Peacock. The first season of the show was also watched for 27.7M hours in the w/c June 19 after being added to Netflix and stayed in that streamer’s top ten for a number of weeks.

Don’t expect any more spinoffs, though, any time soon. Suits creator Aaron Korsh recently revealed that there was nothing in the works.

General Hospital: Kassie DePaiva Set to Bring One Life to Live‘s Blair Back to Port Charles

(8/28/23) (Photo) Port Charles will play host to another ABC Daytime alum this fall when Kassie DePaiva brings her One Life to Live alter ego, Blair Cramer, to General Hospital for a brief stint.

DePaiva will begin airing in September, an ABC rep confirms, although it’s unclear what brings Blair to town (zoom in on her phone in the exclusive image above for a possible clue.)

This will not be DePaiva’s first trip to OLTL‘s sister soap. In March 2012, just two months after OLTL ended its broadcast run on ABC, the actress brought Blair to GH for a multi-month crossover event that also featured her longtime Llanview leading man Roger Howarth, AKA Todd Manning. Coincidentally, Howarth has been starring on GH for much of the past decade in myriad new roles, first as Franco Baldwin (R.I.P.) and, currently, as Austin Gatlin-Holt.

Earlier this month, DePaiva — who recently returned to Days of Our Lives as Eve Donovan — discussed a possible GH return (and the inevitable deja vu with Howarth), telling Soap Opera Digest that she would be game to return to the soap as Blair.

“There’s a lot of history there, a lot of time, a lot of water under that bridge,” she told to the mag, before acknowledging, “But I guess Todd is not Todd, right? So if I was to go back on that show, he probably wouldn’t recognize me. But I could go, ‘You’re hot. You look like somebody I used to know.'”

In July, GH rolled out the welcome mat for fellow ABC soap alum Walt Willey, who reprised his role as All My Children‘s Jackson Montgomery for three episodes. He is set to resurface on GH this week for another arc.

Nia Long Wants Primary Custody Of Son W/ Ime Udoka, Says Coach Not Supporting Child

(8/22/23) The split between Nia Long and Ime Udoka is getting nastier ... the actress is now asking for primary custody of the couple's child -- after she claims the NBA head coach has been failing to support the kid.

Long made the allegation in a court filing in Los Angeles last week ... while requesting a judge give her primary legal and physical custody of their 11-year-old son, Kez.

According to the docs, however, she did ask the judge to allow Udoka a reasonable opportunity to visit their kid to the extent "consistent with the child's best interest."

A ruling on the petition has not yet been handed down. Udoka has yet to respond.

As we reported, the couple broke up in late 2022 after 13 years together ... following allegations that Udoka had an affair with a team staffer while he was the Boston Celtics' coach.

Long had said at the time that the scandal was revealed that she was heartbroken ... adding that it was all "devastating" to her and her family.

Udoka, meanwhile, has since landed a new gig after the affair led to his ouster from Boston -- the 46-year-old just became the head coach of the Houston Rockets this offseason.

Taye Diggs To Voice King Triton With Amber Riley As Ursula In ‘Ariel’ Animated Series

(8/18/23) Hot dog! A signature Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior animated series whose catchy opening and closing songs are likely engraved into the brain of every parent with children born in the 2000s, is coming back. Disney Junior has greenlighted Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0 (working title), a new incarnation of its former flagship series, to premiere in 2025. The announcement was made by Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, during the “Disney Junior & Friends Playdate” event at the Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim.

Other Disney Junior programming news made at the event included the lead cast for the channel’s upcoming Ariel animated series, with Mykal-Michelle Harris (Raven’s Home) in the title role, Taye Diggs (Rent) as King Triton and Amber Riley (Glee) as Ursula. In the recent Disney live-action movie The Little Mermaid, the parts were played by Halle Bailey, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy, respectively.

Additionally, Cynthia Erivo, Valerie Bertinelli, Alan Cumming, Susan Kelechi Watson, Ana Gasteyer, Alison Pill and Dulé Hill have been tapped for recurring guest star roles in new animated series RoboGobo.

A stop-motion Halloween special Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats also was announced, along with holiday-themed episodes of Disney Junior’ SuperKitties, Pupstruction, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse‘s successor Mickey Mouse Funhouse as well as Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends. Additionally, there were several premiere date reveals.

The CG animated Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which aired originals from 2006-2016, anchored a Disney Junior – Live On Stage! show at Disney California Adventure.(You can watch the opening theme and the famous Hot Dog Dance closing song below at your own risk.)

Disney Junior is the U.S. linear home of the Australian animated series Bluey, which just notched two consecutive weeks of over 1 billion minutes on Disney+ domestically as the streamer’s most watched program.

“Disney Junior captures the hearts and imaginations of preschoolers and their families everywhere with stories and characters filled with magic, wonder, adventure and heart,” Davis said. “From providing early entry points into classic Disney franchises to introducing brand-new IP that becomes the latest kid obsessions, Disney Junior is always there with infinite opportunities to engage and play.”

DISNEY JUNIOR’S ARIEL — (Premieres 2024 on Disney Junior and Disney+)
Produced by: Wild Canary in association with Disney Junior
Executive Producer: Lynne Southerland
Producer: Ezra Edmond
Supervising Director: Kuni Tomita
Art Director: Chrystin Garland
Story Editors: Norma P. Sepulveda and Keith Wagner

Mykal-Michelle Harris (Raven’s Home) has been cast in the lead role of Ariel in Disney Junior’s Ariel, an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” Broadway, film and television stars Taye Diggs (Rent) and Amber Riley (Glee) will voice King Triton and Ursula in the series, which follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. In addition to Harris, Diggs and Riley, the series stars Elizabeth Phoenix Caro (The Christmas Chronicles) and Cruz Flateau (SuperKitties) as Ariel’s friends Lucia and Fernie, respectively, and Gracen Newton (Puppy Dog Pals) as Flounder..

‘Fellow Travelers’: Matt Bomer & Jonathan Bailey Limited Series Gets Showtime Premiere Date

(8/17/23) Showtime has set a fall premiere for its limited series Fellow Travelers, starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. Fellow Travelers will make its streaming debut on the Paramount+ with Showtime plan beginning Friday, October 27 before its linear debut on Sunday, October 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. The series will also premiere on Paramount+ on October 27 in Canada and on October 28 in all the UK, Australia, Latin America, South Korea, Italy, Germany Switzerland and Austria.

Jelani Alladin (The Walking Dead World Beyond), Allison Williams (Get Out, Girls) and Noah J. Ricketts (American Gods) also star.

Created by Oscar-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) based on Thomas Mallon’s novel, Fellow Travelers is a love story and political thriller, chronicling the clandestine romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Bomer plays charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics. Hawkins avoids emotional entanglements – until he meets Tim Laughlin (Bailey), a young man brimming with idealism and religious faith. They begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history. Over the course of four decades, we follow our five main characters – Hawk, Tim, Marcus (Alladin), Lucy (Williams), and Frankie (Ricketts) – as they cross paths through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, while facing obstacles in the world and in themselves.

Bomer and Nyswaner executive produce with Robbie Rogers (All American, My Policeman) and Dee Johnson. Daniel Minahan (Halston, American Crime Story: Versace) executive produces and also directs the first two episodes. Fellow Travelers is co-produced by Fremantle and Showtime.

Tom Pelphrey Talks Love & Death and Life With Kaley Cuoco

(8/15/23) (wmagazine.com) (Video) The Ozark actor who plays the real-life lawyer of Candy Montgomery in the HBO Max true-crime series just might have a future in law.

When Tom Pelphrey first read David E. Kelley’s script for the true-crime drama Love & Death, he assumed the famed television writer had embellished the story of axe-wielding murderous housewife Candy Montgomery. “I thought, He must be taking liberties. This must be a bit hyperbolic,” Pelphrey recalls. “But not so. Everything he wrote was true.” In the HBO Max show, Pelphrey portrays Don Crowder, the pompous, inexperienced lawyer who defended Montgomery (played by Elizabeth Olsen) in her 1980 trial. For the New Jersey native, who got his start in soap operas (he has two daytime Emmys for his work in Guiding Light) and whose recent credits include Ozark and the Oscar-winning film Mank, playing a litigator was a nice change of pace. “Usually, I’m the one getting arrested,” Pelphrey says with a laugh. Off-screen, he and his partner Kaley Cuoco lead a rather laid-back life at home with their 4-month-old daughter, Matilda, and their growing pack of rescue dogs.

This interview was conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Are you a true-crime fan in general?

I'm somewhat of a true-crime fan. My partner loves Dateline, so sometimes I'm absorbing it just by proximity. The Candy Montgomery story is pretty fascinating because it's one of those stories where truth is stranger than fiction.

How did you prepare for the role?

I didn't get to meet Don Crowder, unfortunately. Don took his own life in the ’90s. I learned a lot about him, though, and I got to talk with one of his friends who was also his law partner, Robert Udashen. He was on set when we were filming the courtroom scenes, and he actually said he thought I defended Elizabeth better than Don defended Candy.

Were you interested in acting from an early age?

I don't know that I always wanted to be an actor, but when I was 14 years old, I had a high school acting teacher, Steve Kazakoff, who changed my life. From the moment I met him, I wanted to be an actor. I went to a public high school in New Jersey, and it just so happened that the school had a magnet performing-arts program. I auditioned for the school musical my freshman year on a whim, even though I couldn't sing or dance. And I still can't.

Did you have crushes on any actors during that time?

I definitely had a crush on Winona Ryder from Beetlejuice, from Heathers, from The Crucible, with Daniel Day-Lewis. I just thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen when I was a kid. But now I have a crush on Kaley Cuoco—a deep and abiding crush, a love crush on Kaley.

Did you ever watch The Big Bang Theory?

Never. Matter of fact, when I first brought Kaley to New Jersey to meet my family and friends, my mom's partner—who apparently was a Big Bang Theory fan—was there, and he kept calling her Penny. I had no clue what was going on. So I pulled Kaley aside, like, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what's happening. Why does he keep calling you Penny?" She's like, "That's my character in The Big Bang Theory." I was completely unaware. I've watched a few episodes with her since, and, obviously, she's fantastic.

So you hadn't seen her in anything?

I hadn't seen Kaley in anything. Look, I live in a cave. Before I met Kaley, I was living in upstate New York, on a dirt road, in the middle of the woods, without much Wi-Fi. She's brought me into modern times.

Well, you still kind of live a wild life, since you have so many animals? How many now?

We're up to six dogs, all rescues. And now we have a beautiful little girl. A human to add to the mix.

Do the dogs accept the human?

The dogs all accept the human. Five of the dogs are over 10 years old. And then, about four weeks before Matilda was going to be born, Kaley said, "I saw another dog that needs to be rescued. Is it crazy to rescue another dog right now?" I said, "It's absolutely crazy, but let's do it."

What is your zodiac sign?

My birthday is July 28. I'm a Leo. I am a Libra rising and a Scorpio moon. My daughter shares two of my three signs. She's not a Leo. She's an Aries sun, but she is Leo moon and Libra rising, just like me.

Do you see yourself in her?

I see myself a little bit in her. She's got one dimple on her left cheek, like I do. Other than that, though, I see Kaley. Kaley says she sees me, but when Matilda's kind of confused or frustrated about something, she makes these faces and I'm like, "Oh my god, there's your mom."

When you were growing up, did you have any posters in your room?

I had a poster of Jack Nicholson coming through the bathroom door in The Shining, when he sticks his face in and says, "Here's Johnny!" and his eyes are kind of crazy. I had that on my wall, which was an interesting choice. And then I had a framed poem—I'm just remembering this—from Shel Silverstein, which my grandfather made for me.

Do you remember what it said?

It read: "Listen to the mustn'ts, Tom. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never-haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, Tom. Anything can be."

Join Bradley Cole & Trent Dawson for a special interview

(8/14/23) (Watch Here) Actors Bradley Cole (Prince Richard / Jeffrey, Guiding Light) and Trent Dawson (Henry, As the World Turns) will join me live for a special episode of The Locher Room on YouTube and Facebook to discuss the 19th annual Daytime Stars and Strikes fundraiser weekend in New York City. Join Bradley and Trent live this Wednesday, August 16th at 8 p.m. EDT / 5 p.m. PDT to learn more about the upcoming October weekend.

This year there are four events at Port Authority’s Frames Bowling Center. An extravaganza of events featuring fan fave soap and web series actors runs Saturday and Sunday with proceeds going to the Autism Society of America and the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund. This Scholarship honors Jerry’s legacy of his love for the theatre and Daytime Stars and Strikes, which he hosted for 18 years. The Jerry verDorn Scholarship sends children with autism to theatre camps, tuition-free.

Saturday, October 7th 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Trent Dawson and Friends Play Reading. As The World Turns alumni Trent Dawson, Michael Park and Roger Howarth (Trent/Henry Coleman/ATWT, Michael (Jack Snyder/ATWT, and Roger (Todd Manning/OLTL & Paul Ryan/ATWT) will perform a play reading with an intimate meet and greet, question and answer session to follow.

Saturday, October 7th 8:00 – 10:00 pm: Bradley Cole & Friends Concert – Some of your favorite actors will perform with Bradley Cole (Prince Richard/Guiding Light) and his band. All proceeds will go directly to the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund – sending children with Autism to theatre camps.

Sunday, October 8th 12:00 - 2:00 pm: Daytime Stars and Strikes Bowling for Autism. Liz Keifer (Blake/GL) and Ron Raines (Alan/GL) co-host this fan fav bowling event with an 80’s dress up theme and contests for best dressed, strikes, spares, etc. Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price. Numerous soap actors are scheduled to appear and can be found on our website at www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com under the Events link.

Sunday, October 8th 3:00 – 5:00 pm – The Fifth Annual “Bauer” Barbeque hosted by everyone’s favorite “Bauer” - Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer/GL). Grab a Bauer burger, brush up on your Guiding Light trivia and get ready for some handbag bingo where you have an opportunity to win name brand handbags! Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price.

Join Bradley Cole & Trent Dawson for a special interview

(8/14/23) (Watch Here) Actors Bradley Cole (Prince Richard / Jeffrey, Guiding Light) and Trent Dawson (Henry, As the World Turns) will join me live for a special episode of The Locher Room on YouTube and Facebook to discuss the 19th annual Daytime Stars and Strikes fundraiser weekend in New York City. Join Bradley and Trent live this Wednesday, August 16th at 8 p.m. EDT / 5 p.m. PDT to learn more about the upcoming October weekend.

This year there are four events at Port Authority’s Frames Bowling Center. An extravaganza of events featuring fan fave soap and web series actors runs Saturday and Sunday with proceeds going to the Autism Society of America and the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund. This Scholarship honors Jerry’s legacy of his love for the theatre and Daytime Stars and Strikes, which he hosted for 18 years. The Jerry verDorn Scholarship sends children with autism to theatre camps, tuition-free.

Saturday, October 7th 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Trent Dawson and Friends Play Reading. As The World Turns alumni Trent Dawson, Michael Park and Roger Howarth (Trent/Henry Coleman/ATWT, Michael (Jack Snyder/ATWT, and Roger (Todd Manning/OLTL & Paul Ryan/ATWT) will perform a play reading with an intimate meet and greet, question and answer session to follow.

Saturday, October 7th 8:00 – 10:00 pm: Bradley Cole & Friends Concert – Some of your favorite actors will perform with Bradley Cole (Prince Richard/Guiding Light) and his band. All proceeds will go directly to the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund – sending children with Autism to theatre camps.

Sunday, October 8th 12:00 - 2:00 pm: Daytime Stars and Strikes Bowling for Autism. Liz Keifer (Blake/GL) and Ron Raines (Alan/GL) co-host this fan fav bowling event with an 80’s dress up theme and contests for best dressed, strikes, spares, etc. Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price. Numerous soap actors are scheduled to appear and can be found on our website at www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com under the Events link.

Sunday, October 8th 3:00 – 5:00 pm – The Fifth Annual “Bauer” Barbeque hosted by everyone’s favorite “Bauer” - Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer/GL). Grab a Bauer burger, brush up on your Guiding Light trivia and get ready for some handbag bingo where you have an opportunity to win name brand handbags! Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price.

One-on-One with Fiona Hutchison

(8/13/23) (Watch Here) Actress Fiona Hutchison will join The Locher Room live on Thursday, August 17th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT.

Fiona is well known to daytime audiences for her portrayal as Gabrielle Medina on ABC’s One Life to Live; and the role of Jenna Bradshaw on CBS' Guiding Light, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Fiona will be here to look back at her time on both shows and share memories of working with her friend and co-star Andrea Evans (Tina, OLTL) who we lost to cancer in July.

‘One Tree Hill’ Star Bethany Joy Lenz’s Upcoming Memoir Will Talk About Her Decade In A Cult

(8/10/23) Bethany Joy Lenz is working on what promises to be a bombshell memoir, expected to arrive early next year.

Lenz is sparing on the details, but says the book will cover her 10 years spent in an unnamed cult, a period which overlapped with her years on the television show “One Tree Hill.” She claims the cult involved “spiritual abuse,” actions that led to “lots of therapy” to overcome the induced issues.

“Recovery looks different for everyone, depending on your experience of trauma,” she said in an interview with People. “I had to start from a baseline of my personal understanding of God and the experiences I had had. And then there was a lot of going back to who I was before and remembering that, and then acknowledging that there was so much I just didn’t know.”

The writing process has been “painful” at times, she confessed. But “I’m a writer at heart, so turning a phrase is easy for me. Exploring the memories, and really facing them, can be challenging — but I’m doing it.”

The “One Tree Hill” actress played Haley James Scott for nine seasons on the popular CW coming-of-age drama. She often relives those times with former costars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton on the “Drama Queens” podcast, which revisits the behind-the-scenes moments, as well as bullying and sexual harassment they allegedly experienced on set.

“It’s been really valuable,” she says. “I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the hard things are meant to be shared, not hidden. They can be helpful and healing.”

Daytime Stars And Strikes Charity Event Returns

(8/10/23) Daytime Stars and Strikes returns for its 19th annual fundraiser weekend with four events in New York City at Port Authority’s Frames Bowling Center. Proceeds from the events, featuring fan fave soap and web series actors, will go to the Autism Society of America and the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund. This Scholarship honors Jerry verDorn’s [ex-Ross, GUIDING LIGHT et al] legacy of his love for the theater and Daytime Stars and Strikes, which he hosted for 18 years. The Jerry verDorn Scholarship sends children with autism to theater camps, tuition-free. All events are located at the Frames Venue on the bowling lanes, in the BBQ picnic room as well as the Karaoke Room, all located in the facility, second floor of New York City’s Port Authority. All ticket pricing, actors scheduled to appear, location of the venue and a special hotel block of rooms at the Sheraton near Port Authority can be found on the website at www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com

Saturday, October 7th 2:00– 4:00 p.m.: Trent Dawson and Friends Play Reading. AS THE WORLD TURNS alums Trent Dawson (ex-Henry), Michael Park (ex-Jack) and Roger Howarth (ex-Paul; Austin, GH) will perform a play reading with an intimate meet and greet, question and answer session to follow.

Saturday, October 7th 8:00–10:00 p.m.: Bradley Cole & Friends Concert – Some of your favorite actors will perform with Bradley Cole (ex-Jeffrey/ex-Richard, GUIDING LIGHT) and his band. All proceeds will go directly to the Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund.

Sunday, October 8th 12:00—2:00 p.m.: Daytime Stars and Strikes Bowling for Autism. GUIDING LIGHT’s Liz Keifer (ex-Blake) and Ron Raines (ex-Alan) co-host this fan-fave bowling event, with an ’80s dress-up theme and contests for best dressed, strikes, spares, etc. Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price. Numerous soap actors are scheduled to appear and can be found on our website at www.daytimestarsandstrikes under the Events link.

Sunday, October 8th 3:00–5:00 p.m.: The Fifth Annual “Bauer” Barbeque hosted by everyone’s favorite Bauer — Michael O’Leary (ex-Rick, GUIDING LIGHT). Grab a Bauer burger, brush up on your GL trivia and get ready for some handbag bingo, where you have an opportunity to win name brand handbags! Food and soft drinks included in the ticket price.

Over the course of 18 years, Daytime Stars and Strikes have raised over $500,000 for its beneficiaries. This small group of volunteers is thrilled to continue this mission as the landscape of daytime drama and web dramas continues to evolve. Updates are available on the website www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com as well as Twitter (@DStarsNStrikes) and Facebook.

Elizabeth Hubbard - A Tribute

(8/8/23) (Watch Here) Come pay tribute and help us celebrate the life of the one and only Elizabeth Hubbard live on The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 16th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT. Two of her biggest fans and co-stars Martha Byrne and Scott Bryce will honor Liz by sharing memories, funny moments and most importantly what they learned from working opposite this incredible mother, actress and humanitarian.

As the World Turns fans were mesmerized by Elizabeth’s creation of Lucinda Walsh from the moment she walked on screen in April of 1984. Elizabeth was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award nine times for her role as Lucinda. In addition to Lucinda, Elizabeth portrayed Dr. Althea Davis on The Doctors for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Actor Mark Margolis, murderous drug kingpin on 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul,' dies at 83

(8/4/23) Emmy-nominated actor Mark Margolis (ex-Harry Jones, Guiding Light/ex-Helmut, Santa Barbara), who played murderous former drug kingpin Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” and then in the prequel “Better Call Saul,” has died at age 83.

The actor died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City following a short illness, according to a statement from his son, Morgan Margolis.

Margolis was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for “Breaking Bad,” for outstanding guest actor, as Salamanca, the elderly don of his drug clan who was unable to speak or walk due to a stroke. Much of his character’s backstory later played out on “Better Call Saul,” the prequel in which he guest-starred from 2016 to 2022.

Margolis also was known for many film roles, particularly in the films of Darren Aronofsky: “Noah,” “Black Swan,” “The Wrestler” and “Pi.” He also played Alberto “The Shadow” in “Scarface.” Other film roles included “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Gone Baby Gone,” and “Stand Up Guys.”

Margolis was born in Philadelphia in 1939 and studied acting in New York City with noted teacher Stella Adler. Focusing on the stage in his early career, he appeared in dozens of shows off-Broadway, including at the Public Theater in New York, and on Broadway in “Infidel Caesar,” based on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” He founded Blue Dome, a touring theater troupe.

Margolis is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jacqueline Margolis, and his son Morgan, who is CEO of Knitting Factory Entertainment. The family plans to have a private memorial and funeral.

Actor and Fitness Trainer Jeff Phillips Live

(7/28/23) (Watch Here) Catch up with Jeff Phillips live in The Locher Room on Friday, August 4th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT. Jeff will be here to look back at his time as an actor working on All My Children, Another World, Guiding Light.

Jeff left acting behind to run Jeff Phillip Fitness where he trains exclusive clientele where together they address short and long-term goals. Jeff specializes in whole body wellness.

Kassie DePaiva Returns to DAYS OF OUR LIVES

(7/28/23) (soapsindepth.com) A familiar face resurfaces when Kassie DePavia returns to DAYS OF OUR LIVES as Eve Donovan! In their new issue, Soap Opera Digest is reporting that she will appear in the episode scheduled to air on Thursday, Aug. 3.

“I was sitting up in the Catskills last winter when the phone rang,” DePaiva revealed. “I looked over and saw that it was Marnie [Saitta, DAYS’ casting director]. We talked for about 20 minutes and then she said, ‘They’re writing a quick little story arc. It’s one episode. Would you be interested?’”

DePaiva took over the role of Eve back in 2014 and she came and went a few times over the years with her last appearance being in August 2020 when Eve abducted Ben and tried to brainwash him back into being a serial killer. While the actress thought her alter ego was sent to prison, Eve was actually sent to a mental institution to get the help she so desperately needed.

This is where she will run into Harris, who has also been sent to Bayview. The two characters share some unfortunate history together as back in the late ‘80s, Harris was a jock who treated Eve terribly, making a bet with his friends to see who could sleep with her first. Of course, back then, the role of Eve was being played by Charlotte Ross, who originated it in 1987.

But DePaiva was already familiar with Steve Burton (Harris) from back in the day when they were both stars on ABC Daytime — him as Jason on GENERAL HOSPITAL and her as Blair on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. And while it’s only a brief return this time around, if Eve manages to get her life back together, perhaps she could rejoin Salem society once more! In soaps, anything is possible!

‘Halloweentown’ Star Kimberly J. Brown Goes Wedding Dress Shopping: 'I Felt Like a Princess!’

(7/21/23) (people.com) (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5) Kimberly J. Brown is one step closer to walking down the aisle with her Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge costar Daniel Kountz.

The 38-year-old actress has found her dream wedding dress — and she’s giving PEOPLE an exclusive sneak peek at the process!

“Dress shopping has been one of my favorite parts of wedding planning," says Brown. "Lili Bridals made the process so fun and relaxed. I felt like a princess trying on all the fancy gowns! I started the whole shopping journey with a specific dress style in mind, and was surprised at how many other styles I liked as well.”

Brown says that she began the process by trying on dresses that she wouldn't normally choose. "I realized you truly can’t know what a dress looks and feels like until you put it on,” she says. “I thought it was going to be like the movies, where I would put the dress on and know immediately which one was ‘The One,’ but I got so overwhelmed by all the beautiful choices that I had to go home and sit with some of the photos to really take them all in.”

After spending some time reflecting on all the gowns, she came to her decision.

“There was this one dress I kept coming back to and that ultimately became my choice,” says Brown, who also shared a video of the shopping excursion on TikTok. “When a few of my friends saw the picture of the one I chose, they were all like, ‘It’s so you!!’ I keep going back and looking at the pic because I'm so excited to wear it!”

Last October — 21 years after co-starring in the beloved Disney Channel movie together — Brown and Kountz, 44, announced their engagement on Instagram.

"Have I introduced you guys to my Fiancée?" Brown captioned a photo of herself smiling beside Kountz, adding a few emojis and a hashtag: "?????? #isaidyes."

Kountz also shared the news on his Instagram account, posting a slideshow of photos from their relationship beside a message to new fiancé.

As fans know, the pair weren't exactly a perfect match in Halloweentown II, which was released in 2001.

Brown, who played Marnie Piper — a young witch beginning to understand her powers — crushed on Kal (Kountz) early on in the film. She hoped to dazzle him with her grandma’s enchanted room, but discovered that he was the son of evil warlock Kalabar (Robin Thomas), who wished to destroy Halloweentown.

In July 2018, PEOPLE reported their budding romance after Brown uploaded a photo of the pair kissing. "#internationalkissingday you say?" she captioned the pic. "I'll just leave this right here then ??"

Brown and Kountz shared more about their relationship, to E! News in October 2021, noting that they'd loosely kept in touch for years before reuniting in person.

"I know it took me by surprise," Kountz recalled. "I hadn't seen her in years and I'm waiting, I'm sitting at the bar waiting and she comes walking in and I was like, 'Well hello there, it's been a while, hi!' So it was pretty much just right away I was like, damn girl."

"If it wasn't for the movie we never would have met each other and reconnected later and we wouldn't be sitting here now and she's a pretty awesome lady," he added. "It just ended up working out really well."€8É ..

Kim Zimmer and Jada Rowland Interview - The Doctors 1980 Episodes

(7/17/23) (Watch Here) Retro TV has just announced they have found 181 episodes from 1980 of the beloved soap opera, The Doctors and they are now streaming on the It's Real Good TV app and soon on the cable outlet.

To help launch the last season available to longtime fans of the series, the Michael Fairman Channel welcomes two of its iconic stars, four-time Daytime Emmy winner, Kim Zimmer (ex-Nola Dancy Aldrich, The Doctors, ex-Reva, Guiding Light, ex-Echo, One Life to Live) and Jada Rowland (ex-Carolee Aldrich, The Doctors) to reminisce about their time on the former NBC soap opera, the storylines fans can see for the first time in years, and more insight into the making of the series and more on their enduring careers.

Join us on Monday night, July 17th at 8 PMET/5PM PT for this very special livestream conversation on The Michael Fairman Channel.

Frank Grillo & ABM Sumon Action Movie ‘MR-9: Do Or Die’ Gets North American Deal, Release Date

(7/17/23) (Photo1, Photo2) Frank Grillo action film MR-9: Do or Die has struck a North American distribution deal with Canadian outfit Swapna Scarecrow.

Swapna is due to release the film in 150 screens in U.S. and Canada on August 25, the same day it will be released in Bangladesh by Jaaz Multimedia. Above and below are first look images from the film.

The project was shot in Bangladesh and the U.S. and co-stars Bangladeshi actor ABM Sumon. Also starring are Michael Jai White, Sakshi Pradhan, Matt Passmore and Niko Foster.

LA-based sales company Premiere Entertainment world sales. Producers are Chasing Butterflies Pictures, Jaaz Multimedia, The Film Post, Al Bravo Films and MR-9 Films.

Based on the popular Bangladeshi spy novel series Masud Rana, the film charts the story of spy MR-9, a skilled and veteran spy with a muddled past. He is chosen to join forces with an elite group of international agents. Together they must stop a terror attack aimed at Las Vegas, organized by tech villain Roman Ross (Frank Grillo).

Director Asif Akbar told us: “We are proud and honored to be having an exclusive theatrical release of our film MR-9: Do or Die and for the mass audience to have the opportunity to see this picture on the big screen as it deserves to be. This film is not only for the built-in fan base of this very popular and historical franchise out of South Asia, but I am also very excited to introduce this spy-action hero on a new global platform. This will be the first time we see the iconic Masud Rana character on the silver screen, since the characters first debut back in the 1974 Bangladeshi classic hit film Masud Rana, based on the hundreds of novels by Qazi Anwar Hossain in the series. This film has talent from literally all over the world and I believe that is something unique in itself for a film like this where so many diverse people and talent have come together in collaboration to bring this film to the big screen.”

Actor with roles in ‘Guiding Light,’ ‘Hunger Games’ film accuses resort owner of sexual harassment

(7/15/23) An actor and model who had roles in the soap opera “Guiding Light” and movies including “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” says in a lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by the owner of a Rhode Island resort where she had been hired to work as a consultant.

Alison McDaniel’s lawsuit, filed this week in federal court in Rhode Island, seeks more than $3.3 million in damages and unpaid back wages.

McDaniel, 42, was subjected to “repeated sexual advances including attempts to kiss her on the mouth, requests for sexual favors, inappropriate touching, ogling with suggestive overtones, and verbal and physical harassment of a sexual nature” by Paul Mihailides, owner of The Preserve Sporting Club & Residences, in Richmond, she says in the lawsuit.

An attorney for Mihailides disputed the claims.

“Sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable at any level and The Preserve holds all who work there in any capacity to a high standard,” attorney Nicole Benjamin said in a statement. “It is important to keep in mind a lawsuit is not made of facts, but rather allegations that must be proven. In this case, the defendants are confident that a jury will ultimately reject the allegations made by Ms. McDaniel.”

McDaniel was paid for all the work she did, and a discrimination complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was dismissed and closed, Benjamin said.

Mihailides also told guests that McDaniel was his “mistress,” “future ex-wife,” and “girlfriend,” she says in the lawsuit.

When McDaniel refused Mihailides’ sexual advances, he retaliated against her by refusing to reimburse her for expenses, the suit says.

McDaniel was told by another Preserve employee that Mihailides insinuated to others that he and McDaniel were involved in a sexual relationship, and Mihailides often told McDaniel that he was having multiple extramarital affairs, which she found “unwelcome and offensive,” she says in the lawsuit.

McDaniel was paid $6,000 per month from December 2019 until February 2022 to act as a spokesperson for the resort, act in commercials, appear in videos for social media and advertising, appear at events, and create marketing campaigns, among other duties, she says in the lawsuit. On one occasion, she even helped wait tables.

The Preserve is located on 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) and has luxury accommodations and dining, a spa, and offers sports including shooting, hunting, tennis, golf, and horse riding, according to its website.

According to her resume, McDaniel has a recurring role in the soap opera “Guiding Light” and has appeared in several other television shows and movies, including “J. Edgar Hoover” and a minor role in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” She has also been a model on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today” show, and has appeared in commercials.a

Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations - Soap Stars

(7/12/23) This year’s Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held September 18 live on Fox, but a writers strike and a potential SAG-AFTRA strike could change that if no talent is available for the primetime showcase celebrating the best of TV over the past year.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

Welcome To Chippendales • Hulu • 20th Television
Murray Bartlett as Nick De Noia

Black Bird • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios
Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix
Richard Jenkins as Lionel Dahmer

Beef • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production
Joseph Lee as George Nakai

Black Bird • Apple TV+ • Apple StudiosRay Liotta as Big Jim Keene

Beef • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production
Young Mazino as Paul Cho

Love & Death • HBO Max • HBO Max in association with David E. Kelley Productions, Blossom Films, Whatever Lola Wants Productions, and LionsgateJesse Plemons as Allan Gore

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

The Last Of Us • Long, Long Time • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Murray Bartlett as Frank

Succession • Church And State • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
James Cromwell as Ewan Roy

The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Lamar Johnson as Henry Burrell

Succession • Honeymoon States • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini

The Last Of Us • Long, Long Time • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Nick Offerman as Bill

The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Keivonn Montreal Woodard as Sam Burrell

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Ted Lasso • Mom City • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television
Becky Ann Baker as Dottie Lasso

Saturday Night Live • Host: Quinta Brunson • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Quinta Brunson as Host

Abbott Elementary • Mom • ABC • Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and 20th Television
Taraji P. Henson as Vanetta

Poker Face • Time Of The Monkey • Peacock • T-Street, MRC Television, Animal Pictures
Judith Light as Irene Smothers

Ted Lasso • Smells Like Mean Spirit • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television
Sarah Niles as Dr. Sharon Fieldstone

Ted Lasso • So Long, Farewell • Apple TV+ • Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television
Harriet Walter as Deborah

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Succession • Honeymoon States • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Hiam Abbass as Marcia

Succession • The Munsters • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Cherry Jones as Nan Pierce

The Last Of Us • Endure And Survive • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen

The Last Of Us • Left Behind • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Storm Reid as Riley Abel

The Last Of Us • Infected • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Anna Torv as Theresa “Tess” Servopoulos

Succession • Church And State • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Harriet Walter as Lady Caroline Collingwood

‘One Tree Hill’ star Bethany Joy Lenz was in a cult for 10 years: ‘There’s a lot to tell’

(7/11/23) Bethany Joy Lenz opened up about her past, revealing she spent a decade of her life in a cult.

On the Monday episode of her “Drama Queens” podcast, which she co-hosts with fellow “One Tree Hill” alums Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton Morgan, the 42-year-old shared she hopes to write a tell-all book about her time in a cult to help others.

“I would love to write about my experience, you know, I was in a cult for 10 years,” the Everly frontwoman shared. “That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — 10 years of recovery after that.

“So, there’s a lot to tell.”

Lenz, who said she already has some pieces written, added that “her ADHD has made it really difficult over the years” to complete her book.

However, she explained that she is “really commit to putting it all together, I would love to write about my experience.”

“The pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved, and also I don’t know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that,” the “Royal Matchmaker” star added.

Lenz admitted that she is concerned about “the pressure of getting it right” and making sure that everything is “exactly real.”

“Also, I don’t know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that,” she admitted.

Aside from writing, Lenz teased that she is also working on several forthcoming projects with her music and plans to use her songs as a creative outlet to express her pain from her past.

Lenz, Bush and Morgan have not shied away from divulging all of the hard times they faced on the set of “One Tree Hill” on their podcast.

In a November 2022 episode of the iHeartradio show, Bush and Burton, 41, shared that they were coerced into doing a sexy 2006 Maxim shoot by show creator Mark Schwahn.

“At that time, I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do this,’ and I was told I had to,” the “Chicago P.D.” star, also 41, alleged.

Bush claimed she did not want to be on the set of the teen drama because it was “not a safe place for her.”r

Interview Magician, Comedian, Actor, Writer & Director & Photographer Shawn Thompson

(7/6/23) (Watch Here) Catch up with Shawn Thompson live in The Locher Room on Friday, July 14th at 3 p.m. EDT / 12 p.m. PDT. Shawn will be here to look back at his time in Springfield playing the role of “Simon Hall” on Guiding Light.

Shawn began his career as a magician and circus performer and moved over to comedy. After his early days as a stand-up Shawn moved over to acting. In addition to his role on Guiding Light, Shawn played “Corny Collins” in John Waters’ cult classic Hairspray and performances alongside Rod Steiger, Jon Cryer, Eric McCormack, Ed Asner, and Michael Rooker to name a few. He also wrote and starred in the comedy series, The Newz for Fox Television. Shawn was also the lead in the Netflix / BBC series, My Perfect Landing.

Shawn has turned back to a teenage passion, photography. His work will be on display in Prince Edward County at the Maison Depoivre Gallery (July 28th through September 4, 2023).

Brittany Snow Divorce Finalized From Tyler Stanaland

(7/5/23) Brittany Snow's divorce from her husband Tyler Stanaland is officially a done deal, TMZ has learned.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Pitch Perfect" star, who said in her OG filing there was a prenup, is walking away with what appears to be all -- or at least, most -- of her possessions ... things like her furniture, clothes, artwork, jewelry, her leased 2022 Audi, and all of her cash.

It looks like Tyler's keeping the majority of his stuff, including his leased 2021 Toyota 4-runner ... and the docs say both waived their rights to collect any spousal support.

TMZ broke the story, Brittany filed for divorce from her real estate broker hubby in January, citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for pulling the plug on nearly 3 years of marriage.

The filing didn't come as a shock, though -- they had already announced back in September that they called it quits.

BTW, Tyler was spotted getting close with his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall on the day they announced their split ... but he said they're just pals and nothing more.

He and Brittany were seen together just a few days later -- but it appears that didn't stop Brittany from ending things.

Kevin Bacon To Star In Horror Action Series ‘The Bondsman’ For Amazon From Grainger David & Blumhouse TV

(6/29/23) Kevin Bacon is fronting another television series.

The Following and City on a Hill star is to lead genre action series The Bondsman for Amazon’s Prime Video.

The drama, which scored a straight-to-series order, comes from creator Grainger David, whose short film The Chair screen in competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Blumhouse Television.

It is a return to Amazon for Bacon, who starred in I Love Dick.

Erik Oleson, who was showrunner for the second season of Amazon’s Carnival Row, will serve as showrunner on the half-hour, eight-episode series, via his CrimeThink production company, which has a deal at the streamer.

The Bondsman is centered on Hub Halloran (Bacon), a backwoods bounty hunter who comes back from the dead with an unexpected second chance at life, and love, and a nearly-forgotten musical career — only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist.

It is based on an original idea from David.

Production will not start until labor negotiations are resolved.

David will exec produce alongside Bacon, Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold and Chris Dickie for Blumhouse Television and Paul Shapiro for CrimeThink.

It is Blumhouse’s latest series for Amazon as well, the company is behind horror dramedy The Horror of Dolores Roach, which launches on July 7.

Bacon is represented by MGMT, Viewpoint and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole and David is represented by Grandview and Cohen Gardner.

Lawrence Saint-Victor Interview 6/16/23

(6/15/23) (Watch Here) The Bold and the Beautiful’s Lawrence Saint-Victor will join The Locher Room this Friday, June 16th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to discuss his and the show’s recent travels to Rome, Italy.

The trip marks a first for the show in its 36-year history. These episodes will start airing June 16 through Monday, June 26th. The Eternal City and its stunning architectural beauty will be the setting for seven episodes of a magically romantic storyline. The episodes also feature a glamorous haute-couture Forrester Creations’ ‘Hope for the Future’ fashion preview and a surprise performance by legendary operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Thomas Forrester (Matthew Atkinson), Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton), Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye), Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), Hope Logan (Annika Noelle), Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), and Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) arrive for their Italian adventure, but with romantic sights and locations across the city, the feeling of love is very much in the air. As preparations are underway for the Hope for the Future preview, fashion icon Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) gears up to showcase the elegant new fashion collection at the historical Piazza Navona. The magic of the moment could either break or fulfill the promise of true love.

Globally-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli makes a guest appearance airing Monday, June 26th. Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), with the help of her friend, wife of Andrea Bocelii, (Veronica Bocelli as herself), arranges to surprise Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) with a special live performance of Bocelli’s famous hit song, “A Te.” Their daughter Virginia Bocelli also appears in the episode as herself.

Kaley Cuoco Shares Sweet Family Photo with Tom Pelphrey and Baby Daughter Matilda: 'Our Girl'

(6/14/23) (Photo) Kaley Cuoco is full of love for her family!

On Tuesday, the Based on a True Story actress, 37, shared an adorable photo of her family of three sitting on their sofa to her Instagram story.

In the picture, Cuoco holds her 10-week-old daughter Matilda's hand up while her daughter holds Tom Pelphrey's pinky.

"Our Girl," the star wrote across the photo, tagging boyfriend Pelphrey, 40.

The couple welcomed their first baby together in March.

Last week, Cuoco shared a sweet photo of Matilda and her dog Opal cuddling. In one photo, Matilda touched noses with Opal as she cuddled up on the couch. Cuoco added a "besties" sticker to the image.

In another close-up picture, Matilda and Opal stared into each other's eyes. "She always gets so excited when Opal comes to give her kissies!" wrote the proud mom.

Since giving birth in March, Cuoco has shared several photos of Matilda on her Instagram. In May, The Big Bang Theory star shared a hilarious video on her Instagram Story where Cuoco wore a black T-shirt and baggy pants while holding her daughter. As music from the Jonas Brothers music played, Cuoco noticed that Matilda's meltdown subsided.

"Not kidding. Was screaming," Cuoco captioned the story. "Turned on @jonasbrothers. Stopped crying lol we have a fan here folks."

In April, Cuoco exclusively told PEOPLE about her life as a first-time mom and how "natural" Pelphrey is as a dad.

"I cannot believe how natural he is, how much he loves it," she said. "I mean, when we were in the hospital, he did everything — every diaper, he's the swaddle king. All the nurses said, 'Oh my God, you're the best guy swaddler we've ever seen."

Interview with Grant Aleksander, Judi Evans, Michael O'Leary and Krista Tesreau Strauss - The Four Musketeers

(6/10/23) (Watch Here) Guiding Light’s Four Musketeers made their debut back in June of 1983 and we will celebrate the 40th anniversary live in The Locher Room on Thursday, June 15th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Grant Aleksander, Judi Evans, Michael O’Leary and Krista Tesreau Strauss will look back on their time in Springfield creating one of the most memorable foursomes to hit daytime television and Guiding Light.

Producer and Director Roy Steinberg

(6/5/23) (Listen/download) Come meet Producer and Director Roy Steinberg live in The Locher Room on Friday, June 9th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Roy started his daytime career at Guiding Light before moving over to One Life to Live briefly and then landing in Salem on Days of Our Lives.

Roy is an actor, director, producer and educator and he is currently the Producing Artistic Director of the Cape May Stage. The 2023 season kicks off with Roy directing Emmy Award-winner Cady McClain in the Tony-winning one-woman showstopper Shirley Valentine (June 7th to July 2).

Fellow Travelers: Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey Make Love Across Four Decades in Sweeping Showtime Limited Series — Watch First Trailer

(6/1/23) (Video) As a fitting kickoff to Pride Month, Showtime on Thursday unveiled the first footage from its forthcoming Matt Bomer-Jonathan Bailey period love story Fellow Travelers.

The teaser trailer — which was first glimpsed on EW.com (and can be viewed above) — offers flashes of the decades-spanning romance between Bailey’s earnest and optimistic Tim Laughlin and Bomer’s charismatic and intimacy-avoidant “Hawk” Fuller.

Based on Thomas Mallon’s novel, and adapted by Homeland/Ray Donovan vet Ron Nyswaner, the eight-episode drama charts the pair’s 35-year relationship, from their first meeting in the McCarthy-era ’50s through to the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s.

Per Vanity Fair, the sex scenes in Fellow Travelers between White Collar alum Bomer and Bridgerton star Bailey will mark “uncharted territory for mainstream” television.

“Not that it will be shocking to people, but I hope when people watch it, they’re like, ‘Oh, wow. They really went for it,’” exec producer Robbie Rogers told the mag. Added Bailey: “I will be so interested to see how people respond to it. To me, being queer also is about, as two men, how you negotiate your giving of your body to the other person. That is something that I’ve always yearned to see properly done because I know how extraordinary it is to experience it.”

Fellow Travelers is slated to premiere this fall on Showtime.

Kaley Cuoco: I wanted to have a baby with Tom Pelphrey ‘when we met’

(5/28/23) Motherhood was not “a goal” of Kaley Cuoco’s — until the moment she met Tom Pelphrey.

“When we met, it was instantaneous,” the actress gushed to Emmy magazine in an interview published Friday.

”Tom came along, and something changed.”

The “Big Bang Theory” alum remembers realizing, “Oh, my God, I want to have a kid with you.”

The 37-year-old noted that Pelphrey, 40, also wanted to start a family with her “so badly.”

She explained, “We’re not 20, so we felt like we probably couldn’t wait too long. Then we got so blessed — it happened right away.”

The “Based on a True Story” star, who welcomed daughter Matilda in March, admitted that having a child wasn’t on her “radar” prior to their relationship.

“As a young girl I dreamed of it, but I became involved in my career,” Cuoco said. “[This is] not what I thought my life would be. I love my career and wanted to just keep living my life.”

The “Flight Attendant” star explained, “We have the same management team. My manager actually took me as her guest to the ‘Ozark’ premiere, and I met him there.

“It was like the angels started singing,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Hallelujah.’ It was very magical. … It was perfect.”

Cuoco was previously married to tennis pro Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016, as well as equestrian Karl Cook from 2018 to 2022.

While wed to the latter, Cuoco told Entertainment Tonight that she “wasn’t quite” ready to become a mom.

“I’m a worker bee right now — kind of my career is my focus and my husband,” she noted. “But we love kids and we love animals, so we’re meant to have children.”

Kassie & James DePaiva Interview 5/31/23

(5/24/23) (Video) Real-life husband and wife duo Kassie and James DePaiva will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, May 31st at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Kassie and James will be here to look back at their incredible careers and take us back to when they first met in Llaneview on One Life to Live. The couple were married on May 31, 1996, and will be celebrating their 27th anniversary with all of us.

James joined the cast of One Life to Live as Max Holden in 1987 and Kassie moved over to Llaneview as Blair Cramer in 1993 where she remained until the show went off the air.

Brittany Snow suggests she was ‘blindsided’ by Tyler Stanaland divorce

(5/23/23) Brittany Snow is getting candid about how her ongoing divorce from Tyler Stanaland has impacted her mental health.

During a recent interview with Bustle, Snow — who announced her split from Stanaland in September 2022 — insinuated that it was the “Selling the OC” star that decided to call off their marriage.

“In the past year I went through probably the hardest mental health challenge I’ve ever faced,” she told the outlet. “In one day, in a matter of hours, my life turned completely upside down.”

She continued, “I was blindsided and every thing I thought I knew, held sacred and truly trusted in my life was completely different. A couple days later my grandmother passed away and I think every thing I knew about mental health was tested.”

Despite losing her marriage and grandmother at the same time, the “John Tucker Must Die” star turned to her loved ones for support.

“Thank god for my friends. I don’t know if I would have made it without them,” she said. “They reminded me who I was and the things I stood for. I used all the tools I knew. All of them.”

Although she didn’t name names, Snow revealed one of her “Pitch Perfect” co-stars “nursed [her] back to health for like four days” amid her breakup.

“The last year has been really tricky for me, and one of the girls, I just, you know, opened up her door and I just fell down to the ground and just cried and laid there.”

Just two years after Snow and Stanaland tied the knot, the pair announced that they were separating.

“This decision was made with love and mutual respect for one another. We have realized we need to take some time and make sure we are each living our most fulfilling and authentic lives,” Snow wrote on Instagram at the time.

Then, in January 2023, the actress officially filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split.

Weeks before the big announcement, Stanaland raised eyebrows for his flirty behavior on “Selling The O.C.”

“Everyone who knows Tyler and Brittany knows she wasn’t comfortable with the show,” a source told Page Six exclusively at the time. “That’s why he did his best to keep his marriage and the show separate, but it only backfired.”

In fact, fellow agent Kayla Cardona even admitted to trying to kiss him off-camera, while castmates Alex Hall and Polly Brindle shamelessly flirted with him throughout filming.

Since then, Hall and Stanaland have been photographed getting cozy on numerous different occasions — most recently at a bar in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Snow has not been linked to anyone in the midst of their divorce.

Talk Show Appearance

(5/19/23) Today - NBC

Tuesday, May 23

(9-10 a.m.) Mind Matters: September Letters with Brittany Snow and Jaspre Guest

Brittany Snow, Garrett Hedlund, Stephen Lang & Hamish Linklater Set For Crime Thriller ‘Barron’s Cove’ From ‘Air’ Production Company Mandalay Pictures & Yale Entertainment

(5/18/23) Mandalay Pictures (Air) Yale Entertainment, and Post Film have partnered to produce a new thriller titled Barron’s Cove, starring Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound), Stephen Lang (Avatar), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, X), and Hamish Linklater (The Big Short).

The film will be directed by Evan Ari Kelman who also penned the script. The film is set to begin filming later this year. Yale Entertainment’s sales arm, Great Escape, will introduce the project to buyers at the Cannes market.

Billed as a “poignant” pic about the unbreakable bond between fathers and sons, the story follows a grieving father with a violent past, whose life is shattered by the tragic murder of his young son. Consumed with the need for answers, he kidnaps the child he believes is responsible for his son’s death, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by the kidnapped boy’s powerful politician father.

Producers are Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman and Will Raynor, Yale Entertainment’s Jordan Yale Levine, and Jordan Beckerman, and Post Film’s Chadd Harbold and Cory Thompson. Executive Producers include Russ Posternak, Clay Pecorin, and Peter Anske. Co-Producers are Derek Rubin, Parker Hill, and Nick Phillips.

“We are honored to collaborate with an exceptional ensemble cast, anchored by the extraordinary Garrett Hedlund, who is poised to deliver a breathtaking performance,” Berman and Raynor said in a joint statement. “With a world-class team behind the camera as well, it’s our privilege to announce the feature debut of writer/director Evan Ari Kelman, and to support him in bringing this incredible film to life.”

Levine and Beckerman added: “We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with our friends at Mandalay on this engrossing, fast-paced emotional roller coaster of a movie. As fathers to young children ourselves, we were deeply affected by the lead character, Caleb, and his tireless quest to uncover the truth about his son’s tragic fate. With an expertly crafted blend of fast-paced action and heartfelt drama, we are confident this film has all the ingredients to captivate audiences around the globe.”

Garrett Hedlund is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners & Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Stephen Lang is repped by Innovative Artists. Hamish Linklater is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Brittany Snow is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment, and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Yale Entertainment is repped by APA and Lon Haber & Co.t

A Tribute for Marnie Schulenburg

(5/17/23) (Watch Here) Come celebrate the life of Marnie Schulenburg live in The Locher Room on Thursday, May 25th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Marnie’s husband Zack Robidas and her father John Schulenburg will be here to tell us about the Marnie’s Army which was formed to honor the legacy of this remarkable woman by supporting breast cancer research and Cape Cod Theater and Music.

Joining Zack and John are Guiding Light’s Bonnie Dennison and her As the World Turns co-stars Tala Ashe, Eric William Morris and Jake Silbermann.

Five months after Marnie and Zack’s daughter Coda was born, Marnie was diagnosed with Stage IV, metastatic, triple negative, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Marnie, Zack and their family decided to share Marnie’s diagnosis with their friends on Facebook. They never anticipated the response. Over the next two and a half years, Marnie’s Army Facebook group grew close to 1,000 people. This Army gave Marnie, Zack & Coda the kind of support you usually see from immediate family members who love each other unconditionally. Marnie loved her family, friends, theatre, and music. The few expletives she ever uttered, were when she talked about cancer. Let’s help Marnie’s army grow….and grow to become a force of support for Cape Cod Theatre & Music and an overwhelming enemy of cancer.

I hope you’ll all join the army by donating to the Marnie’s Army Fund via The Cape Cod Foundation. https://marniesarmy.org/

A Mental Health Conversation 5/24/23

(5/17/23) (Watch Here) Please join The Locher Room for a very informative and important mental health conversation live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 24th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. We are at a unique time in history when more and more people are finally speaking up about their strugges with isolation, anxiety and depression, fear of death and losing loved ones to suicide.

Helping to lead this conversation is Dr. Charissa Chamorro who left her career in acting to focus on a career in the mental health profession. Dr. Chamorro specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, ADHD, and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Joining us to share and open up about their own personal journey with mental health are Ryan’s Hope Brian McGovern and Guiding Light’s Michelle Ray Smith.

Gavin Houston Returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL!

(5/17/23) (soapsindepth.com) A familiar face is popping back to Port Charles for another visit! Gavin Houston is returning to GENERAL HOSPITAL as Zeke! The actor let the news slip during an interview with WJBF Digital about his career. When asked to look back at his recent appearance on the ABC soap, Houston revealed: “I’m still on GH, actually. I go back to playing Zeke for this meaty storyline in like, two weeks.”

Houston got his big break when he made his daytime debut as Remy Boudreau on CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT back in 2002. While appearing in various primetime series, the actor first appeared on GH back in 2010 as Sly Thomas, a CSI tech helping Mac investigate Claudia Zacchara’s murder. But in February 2023, Houston was back in Port Charles as another character, Portia’s brother, Zeke.

While Zeke only appeared in a handful of episodes alongside Ricco Ross as Portia and Zeke’s father, Dr. Sterling Robinson, to attend his sister’s wedding, it sounds like his next visit won’t be such a happy occasion. Could Houston’s “meaty storyline” have to do with supporting Portia during the aftermath of Trina’s paternity test to discover whether Curtis or Taggert is her father?

Houston is also honored to be appearing on GH as the soap celebrates its 60th anniversary on television. “Soaps were such a big thing, growing up,” he said. “Going through all of this where a lot of soaps, including GL, have been canceled, it was great to be a part of that achievement for them. GH was this big thing, and I was like, ‘Wow, they’re so lucky. It must be amazing to work on that show.’ And then here I am, a part of that show. So it’s really a blessing.”

If Houston is returning to the studio in late May, Zeke should be back on screen sometime in late June. So stay tuned to see what brings Portia’s brother back to town… and how long he’ll be sticking around this time!

Famous Soap Opera Star's Family Shares Frustration Over Long-Term Care Policy

(5/15/23) (Video) Elizabeth Hubbard once played a doctor on television, but her role was recently reversed as she battled cancer in real life.

The popular soap opera star, who starred in “The Doctors” and “As the World Turns,” had a plan in place for life’s unexpected plot twists, but when she and her son counted on her insurance policy to cover costs of her care before her death, they say it didn’t help them.

NBC CT Responds was invited to her Roxbury home, just 10 days before she died, to see their frustration firsthand.

“This is my mother here. I mean, I, this is all I have. And this has been a situation in which I can't sleep at night,” said her son Jeremy Bennett.

Hubbard’s colon cancer diagnosis became dire at the start of the year.

Bennett says for two decades, his mom paid thousands and thousands of dollars into a long-term care policy since February of 2003.

“She was scared because being a single mother and also having only an only child and having no immediate family, she wanted a policy to take care of her in case something happened in the end,” her son explained.

But when Hubbard needed the help, the policy’s intricacies shocked her son and Hubbard.

“It’s a financial carrot that they're dangling,” said Bennett.

Hubbard’s long-term care claim went into effect January 13, 2023. But $363 of care each day wouldn’t be shelled out for 90 days, a policy deductible of sorts called an “elimination period.”

A term alone that sickened her son, “An elimination period. We’re talking about my mother here.”

Insurance experts say it’s to ensure long, not short-term care is needed.

Hubbard passed away April 8 - five days before the elimination period was set to end.

Every penny she paid into the policy was out of reach.

“The product is not so popular anymore for very obvious reasons. She wasn't tricked. She signed a policy, and the policy isn't paying what one would think it would pay,” said Melissa Hladek, a friend and certified senior care advisor.

She waited on hold with Bennett, after weeks and weeks of trying, to get information about when the elimination period was set to end and begin, among other questions he was having a hard time finding.

“I can’t even begin to explain to you how many times I call. I hold for I don’t know how long,” as they waited with hold music playing on repeat for almost an hour.

Hladek said a lot of the problem is the lack of compassion companies have as loved ones are navigating a loved one’s illness.

“He's seen his mother decline, this invincible person, start to decline, so it's very it's been, it's very heavy to take all of that in,” said Hladek.

“You should not have to learn vocabulary words when you're going through a crisis,” she added.

When someone did pick up, they were working in a noisy call center in the Philippines.

“There's so much background noise in the back of the call center that you feel like you're getting a warranty renewal for your computer. It's just, it's the impersonal part of that is what this is about,” said Hladek.

“You're trying to be strong, while someone is, you know, taking this final journey…and this policy that I thought was going to help us has basically been hindering us,” said Bennett.

“There’s no question it’s complicated and it’s confusing,” said Howard Bedline, the government relations and advocacy principal for The National Council on Aging. “There are lots of different variables and you’re shelling out a lot of money.”

The National Council on Aging says about half the people watching this story who reach their mid-60s or older will eventually need some kind of paid long-term care.

That means help with daily activities that keep you independent, like bathing or getting dressed.

Hladek and other experts NBC CT Responds spoke with commended Hubbard for planning ahead. Unfortunately, it didn’t help when she needed it.

Bennett says while people assume his famous mom was made of money, she was on a fixed income like many her age.

While he says Medicare helped cover some costs, he was left grieving with a pile of bills, too.

“On the one hand you can say, ‘Oh my goodness they paid all these years and got nothing out of it.’ On the other hand, you can make the argument that they paid all of these years that they had the benefit of knowing if they have significant long-term care needs, they had significant protection,” said Marc Cohen, a co-director of the UMass Boston Leading Age LTSS Center.

Not many long-term care policies exist these days as the insurance premiums have skyrocketed over the years. Hubbard received a notice hers would be increasing while she was sick.

So, what other options are there?

Experts say if constant help can’t come free from a loved one, it’s not cheap, and not covered by Medicare.

“Unfortunately, right now, most Americans are going to have to spend down their life savings to receive the care they need and depend upon Medicaid,” said Bedlin.

The National Council on Aging is pushing for policymakers to step up and help solve this aging crisis.

“We could use unbiased assistance with how we navigate this long-term care mess right now because right now, it’s just too expensive and virtually incomprehensible for the average American,” Bedlin said.

Connecticut’s Department of Insurance says it can help loved ones navigate policies.

“And we can oftentimes cut through the red tape and help you get the information that you deserve from the insurance company,” said Gerard O'Sullivan, the department’s director of consumer affairs.

O’Sullivan advises families to look over any insurance policy every year to make sure the coverage still meets your needs.

NBC CT Responds consumer reporter Caitlin Burchill said, “It's hard, you don’t want to talk about your end of life.”

O’Sullivan said, “But it is something that you should have - these conversations with your loved ones, make sure that you're understanding what options there are because a lot of times they may be incapacitated and can't tell you at that time.”

The department shared this shopper’s guide with us to help educate viewers.

Under Connecticut law, a child can receive notifications about a parent’s insurance policy from the company with the consent of the policy holder of course.

The CT Insurance Department says this is one way for a loved one to stay in the loop.

Bennett says the stress of trying to figure out coverage took away precious time that he could have spent with his mom, who spent her life not just acting, but advocating for causes she believed in.

“We want no special treatment at all. We're not expecting that. But if there's a way we can actually show the rest of Connecticut residents, people in America that this happens to everybody. And that the, this indecision and the not knowing what's going on is enough to literally, I don't want to say the words because that's what we're talking about, but to put you in the grave,” said Bennett.

He says his mom wanted to tell her “darlings,” what she called her fans, that she’ll see them on the other side.s

Tina Sloan is a Page Turner

(5/12/23) (stuartmagazine.com) Cliff-hangers are a constant theme for Hobe Sound resident Tina Sloan, the actress best known for her 26-year stint as nurse Lillian Raines on the long-running CBS soap opera Guiding Light.

As soap fans are fully aware, the television genre is all about leaving viewers hanging after each daily episode. And when the show was canceled in 2009 after 57 years on the air, Sloan found herself facing a cliff-hanger of her own: She was a 60-year-old actress at a time when there were not many roles for women her age.

She decided, why not write a book? In 2010, she penned her first—an autobiography titled Changing Shoes. She also launched a one-woman show to go along with it, touring the country including stops in South Florida in Jupiter, Stuart, and Palm Beach. The play took audiences on a “walk” through the different stages of Sloan’s life, as the actress changed her shoes throughout the performance to correlate with each story she was telling.

“For example, at one point [in the show], I was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and I had on pink boots,” explains Sloan. “Or if I was running a marathon, I’d put on running shoes. I wore beautiful high heels at the beginning, and then as I was getting older, I went into the black flats.”

Changing Shoes kept her busy for a decade before it was time to move on to yet another new chapter. Springing from a dream she’d had years before, she decided to give romance fiction a try and, in 2020, she self-published her debut novel, Chasing Cleopatra. The sequel, Chasing Othello, followed in 2022. “Having been on a soap opera, I knew how to write cliff-hangers, sexy scenes, undercover things, and people coming back from the dead,” says Sloan of the books’ story lines. “Readers have said that after about two chapters, they just couldn’t put it down, which is nice to hear.”

Her novels offer some super steamy scenes that leave readers blushing. Sloan recalls a moment when she was having her blood pressure taken, and the nurse told her she now looks at Sloan’s husband differently after having read the books. “I almost fell off the seat!” says the writer.

Rounding out the trilogy, Chasing Czars is set to publish this summer, and an on-screen adaptation of Chasing Cleopatra is in the works. Sloan dreams of casting Angelina Jolie as the film’s lead. “I wrote a scene for myself as her mother,” she says.

The octogenarian (she turned 80 in February) shows no signs of slowing down. She and her 85-year-old husband, Steve, love to travel the world—they have summered in Paris, will spend this off-season in England, and have trips to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt on the horizon. The two have been married for nearly 50 years and share a son and three young grandchildren who live in Tennessee, as well as two more children from Steve’s previous relationship.

Sloan’s life here at home in Hobe Sound is just as active. She plays croquet with friends twice a week, enjoys daily walks, boating, participating in a chorus, going to the gym, being part of a book club, and frequenting local restaurants and museums.

An English literature major when she studied at Manhattanville College in New York, Sloan says she made a choice years ago to learn everything she could about social media. Today, she has more than 18,500 followers on Instagram, where she shares aging tips and more. @tinasloan (Instagram)

Tom Cruise, Joan Collins, Tom Jones Will Make Pre-Recorded King’s Coronation Concert Appearances

(4/28/23) Tom Cruise, Tom Jones, and Joan Collins have been added to the plans for the May 7 King’s Coronation Concert.

The new additions will appear in pre-recorded sketches for the event. TV host Bear Grylls, “Strictly Come Dancing” professional Oti Mabuse, and Winnie the Pooh will also make appearances, the latter a potential call-back to the Paddington Bear star turn with Queen Elizabeth that was a memorable part of the Platinum Party at the Palace event in 2022.

The concert will be staged at Windsor Castle and will be broadcast on BBC TV and radio. About 20,000 attendees are expected.

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, a reunion of some members of Take That, classical acts Andrea Bocelli and singer Sir Bryn Terfel, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, Steve Winwood, Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, Nigerian singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage, DJ Pete Tong, and the teenage winner of “The Piano” TV talent show, Lucy. will perform.

Taye Diggs To Star In True Crime Film Series ‘Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy’ For BET+

(4/26/23) Taye Diggs is set to star in the true crime film series Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy from Mona Scott-Young of Monami Productions and Eric Tomosunas of Swirl Films. It is set to debut on BET+ later this year.

Courtney Miller will direct, based on Ron Stodghill’s book Redbone: Money, Malice and Murder in Atlanta. Gregory R. Anderson will pen the script.

Atlanta Playboy follows Lance (Diggs), a successful Atlanta businessman, renowned in equal measure for both revolutionizing the city’s 911 system, and his womanizing ways. When he is found murdered in his own home, questions and allegations abound as to who might have wanted him dead. An investigation into the murder is launched which reveals the truths and suspicions behind Lance’s professional and personal life. Was it a business rival, threatened by Lance’s bid for a big contract? Was it a scorned lover jealous of the place occupied in Lance’s bed? The film, much like the book, reconstructs Lance’s life as told by the various players in it.

“Working in partnership with Mona and her team at Monami Productions to produce this film series is certainly a career highlight. This is the beginning of many collaborations that will emphasize important stories that will be told by an extraordinary producing team. We couldn’t be more excited,” Tomosunas said.

Adds Scott-Young: “I am so excited to collaborate with Swirl Films on our first project, Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy. The film series is a captivating true life crime story that captures the unique culture of Atlanta. BET has always provided a platform for stories that are authentic and relatable and we are proud to be partnered with them on this project.”

Scott-Young and Tomosunas executive produce, and Stodghill serves as co-executive producer with Stephanie R. Gayle of Monami Productions and Abbey MacDonald of Swirl Films. Ron Robinson and Keith Neal of Swirl Films serve as producers.

Brian Rikuda and Devin Griffin also produce. Lorisa Bates and Marvin Neil serve as co-executive Producers. John Baldasare and Noelle Broussard serve as consulting producers all for BET Films.

Taye Diggs guests on S.W.A.T.

(4/24/23) “All that Glitters” – Following a string of violent home robberies, the team rushes to stop a crew targeting elderly victims. Also, Hondo’s longtime friend and former Marine squad leader Danny Wright (guest star Taye Diggs) turns to Hondo for help when his daughter goes missing, on S.W.A.T., Friday, May 5 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Series star Jay Harrington directs.

WRITTEN BY: Ryan Keleher

DIRECTED BY: Jay Harrington

Talk Show Appearance

(4/21/23) The Kelly Clarkson Show - Syndicated

AIRING Apr 25, 2023

Tom Pelphrey

Bryan Cranston, Allison Janney, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth & Jack Champion Set For Jon S. Baird Film ‘Everything’s Going To Be Great’ From eOne, Astute Films

(4/20/23) After partnering with eOne on the BAFTA- and Golden Globe-nominated drama Stan & Ollie, director Jon S. Baird is reteaming with the studio on Everything’s Going to Be Great, a new film on which it’s partnered with Astute Films. Set to star in the pic, heading into production around the Toronto area tomorrow, are Bryan Cranston (Your Honor), Allison Janney (To Leslie), Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor) and Jack Champion (Avatar: The Way of Water).

The film penned by I, Tonya‘s Steven Rogers is billed as a valentine to big dreamers whose dreams won’t necessarily come true. It’s about individuality vs. conformity, fantasy vs. reality — but mostly, it’s about family. As the Smart family moves from one state to the next, they cope with loss and struggle with identity, all while performing in regional theater.

eOne is co-financing, with Jillian Share, Jen Gorton and Courtney L. Cunniff overseeing production, alongside Astute Films’ Fred Bernstein and Rick Jackson. Rogers is also producing alongside Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless and exec producer Scott Morgan, in the trio’s third collaboration following I, Tonya and Hulu’s Mike Tyson miniseries Mike. Also producing is Alex Lalonde. Additional EPs include Michael Souther and Teza Lawrence from Amaze.

An Oscar nominee and six-time Emmy winner, Cranston can currently be seen in the second season of Showtime’s crime drama Your Honor. He’s part of the sprawling A-list ensemble of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, which will first hit theaters June 16th after bowing at Cannes, and will also appear in Matthew Vaughn’s Apple spy pic Argylle.

Most recently appearing in films including The People We Hate at the Wedding, Lou and To Leslie, as well as the CBS sitcom Mom which she led with Anna Faris, Janney is an Oscar and seven-time Emmy winner who stars in Gareth Edwards’ forthcoming 20th/New Regency film True Love, and will also soon be seen starring in the Apple series Mrs. American Pie.

Ainsworth voiced Pinocchio in Robert Zemeckis’ take on the classic character for Disney+ and has also been seen on series like The Sandman and The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Champion stars in James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, also recently appeared in Scream VI, and will also soon be seen in the films Freaky Tales and Retribution, as well as further installments in the Avatar franchise.

A BAFTA nominee who most recently directed Taron Egerton starrer Tetris for Apple TV+’s , Baird has in addition to Stan & Ollie, directed titles like Filth, also helming episodes of such series as Stonehouse, I’m Dying Up Here and Vinyl.

In addition to the 3x Academy Award-nominated I, Tonya, Rogers has written films like Love the Coopers, P.S. I Love You and Kate & Leopold, also creating and writing Hulu’s Mike.

Baird is represented by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Rogers by Gersh and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Cranston by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Janney by CAA, Thruline Entertainment and Nelson Davis; Ainsworth by CAA, Curtis Brown Group and Alan Siegel Entertainment; and Champion by CAA, Industry Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.y

Peter Hermann guests on Blue Bloods 5/19/23

(4/19/23) BLUE BLOODS (10:00-11:00 PM) Friday, May 19

Jennifer Esposito, Stacy Keach, Dylan Walsh, Sami Gayle, Peter Hermann and Tony Terraciano Guest Star

“Forgive Us Our Trespasses” – Danny (Donny Wahlberg) and Baez (Marissa Ramirez) team up with Danny’s old partner, Jackie Curatola (Jennifer Esposito), to find a copycat killer emulating a criminal’s murders from a previous case; Frank (Tom Selleck) and Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) battle over how best to handle the city’s rising homeless population; and Jamie (Will Estes), Eddie (Vanessa Ray) and Erin (Bridget Moynihan) team up to build evidence against a man previously released, but once again committing criminal assault. 13th season finale.

DC’s ‘Creature Commandos’ Gets Voice Cast Including Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Maria Bakalova, Indira Varma, More

(4/12/23) Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Maria Bakalova, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao, Alan Tudyk, Sean Gunn and Steve Agee have been set as the voice cast for DC’s new animated series Creature Commandos.

The seven-episode show focused on the creation of a black ops team out of prisoners (a precursor to the Suicide Squad in DC mythology) was part of the initial 10 film and TV projects revealed in January by new DC Studios co-chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Those projects are interconnected in the DCU in the Chapter 1 phase “Gods and Monsters.”

Sean Gunn will voice Weasel, Grillo is Rick Flag Sr., Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Varma is The Bride, Chao is Nina Mazursky, Tudyk is Dr. Phosphorus, Harbour is Eric Frankenstein and Agee is John Economos.

James Gunn wrote all the episodes of the series, which doesn’t have a premiere date as of yet.

James Gunn confirmed the castings via Twitter and noted that Grillo was joining as Flag “across all media,” furthering the plan by Gunn and Safran to have actors play DC characters in both animated and live-action incarnations in the DCU.

Collider broke the first news of the casting Wednesday ahead of Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming presentation that included the first look at the DC Batman spinoff series The Penguin starring Colin Farrell.

Elizabeth Hubbard, Soap Star Known for 'As The World Turns' and 'The Doctors', Dead at 89

(4/11/23) (people.com) Elizabeth Hubbard has died at age 89.

The soap actress's son shared the news of her death in a Facebook post on Monday morning. "I'm sorry to say with a broken heart mi mum passed over the weekend," Jeremy Bennett wrote alongside a photo of Hubbard.

"Thank you for being an unmovable rock that guided me through life," he connected. "I will try to honour your memory for as long as I live. Love & Prayers. Jeremy"

No immediate cause of death was shared. PEOPLE reached out to Hubbard's team for comment.

In the wake of Hubbard's passing, her TV daughter Martha Byrne shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram. "As many of you are finding out this morning, Elizabeth Hubbard passed away. First and foremost I want everyone to know I made sure she was aware of how much everyone loved her. I would share your comments from social media, videos and your fond memories of her as Lucinda, Althea, every time I saw her," wrote Byrne, who worked with Hubbard on As the World Turns.

"She loved the audience and fought like HELL to bring truth and honesty to her performances. On a personal level there aren't words to describe how much she meant to me. Only feelings, which override words in so many cases when it comes to love," she continued. "I will be sharing more so we can all grieve together but here are our last words together only just a few days ago. I said, 'Liz, do you know how much you have done for me?' She said, 'You can do more.' Because of what she has done for me over the last 38 years, the strength and fearless nature in how she lived her life, she is right, I can AND WILL do more."

Byrne added, "I look forward to sharing more about her life, which encompasses so much more than her INCREDIBLE career on daytime television. She also said to me when I told her how much the fans loved her… 'I tried.' She more than tried. She left it all on the screen. I'll miss her every day but grateful the universe gifted me with such a force of nature, of which the world will not see the likes of again. ??"

Hubbard was best known for her role as Dr. Althea Davis on the drama series The Doctors, which aired between 1964 and 1982. She appeared in a whopping 2741 episodes of the show.

She's also known for playing Lucinda Walsh in As the World Turns, which aired from 1975 to 2010. She appeared in 1975 episodes of the show.

Her last on-screen appearance was on the soap series Anacostia, playing Eva Montgomery in nine episodes airing between 2015 and 2018.

For her success in the daytime television world, Hubbard garnered 11 Daytime Emmy nominations. She won the Daytime Emmy for Best Actress in Daytime Drama in 1974 for her role as Dr. Althea Davis. She also won the Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special Emmy in 1967 for her role in First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson.

In 2015, Hubbard was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Gold Derby. She also accumulated 11 Soap Opera Digest awards nominations, though she did not win in any categories.

Giving one of her last formal interviews to Soap Opera Digest in 2015, Hubbard spoke lovingly of her dedicated fanbase.

"I love them and I mean that. They're in my heart… let the fans know that I love them and honor them and I still look at the poems I sent them," she said. "I've dated many men in my life, but my secret love affair is with the fans."

Elizabeth Hubbard, Soap Star on ‘As the World Turns’ and ‘The Doctors,’ Dies at 89

(4/11/23) (hollywoodreporter.com) Elizabeth Hubbard, who appeared 14 times on Broadway and had long runs as Dr. Althea Davis and the cutthroat Lucinda Walsh on the daytime soap operas The Doctors and As the World Turns, respectively, has died. She was 89.

Hubbard died Saturday of cancer at her home in Roxbury, Connecticut, her son, Jeremy Bennett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

On the big screen, Hubbard played the gynecologist girlfriend of Gene Hackman’s character in I Never Sang for My Father (1970) and appeared in The Bell Jar (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Cold River (1982) and Center Stage (2000).

She portrayed Dr. Althea on NBC’s The Doctors from 1964-82 and the manipulating mogul Lucinda on CBS’ As the World Turns from 1984 until the show’s conclusion in September 2010. (Lucinda and Larry Bryggman’s John Dixon headed off to Amsterdam at the end.)

“I’ve been so lucky playing Lucinda — a character who could do anything,” she told TV Guide in 2010. “She could lie, break the law, she didn’t have to be good, and she always had that checkbook ready. Always!”

Nominated for 11 Daytime Emmys, Hubbard won in 1974 for her turn as Davis and for playing Edith Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, on NBC’s First Ladies Diaries in ’76. Her next eight noms came for her work on As the World Turns (all losses), followed by a final one in 2016 for a turn as an American sexologist on the digital soap Anacostia.

One of three kids, Hubbard was born in New York on Dec 22, 1933. Her mother, Elizabeth Wright Hubbard, was a pioneer in homeopathic therapies and one of the first women to receive a medical degree from Columbia University.

Hubbard graduated from Radcliffe College in 1955, studied acting in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her Broadway debut as a replacement actress in a revival of Threepenny Opera soon after its ’55 bow.

Her Broadway résumé also included Compulsion, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, I Remember Mama and her final credit, 1983’s Dance a Little Closer.

Hubbard started out on the CBS soap Guiding Light in 1962 when it was live and 15 minutes long. “I replaced some actress who had flipped her lid,” she recalled. “They just needed somebody to round out the week, but then they kept me, and the rest is history.”

She and Gerald Gordon as Dr. Nick Bellini made for a popular romantic couple in daytime television on The Doctors.

She appeared on another CBS daytime drama, The Edge of Night, soon after that and on ABC’s One Life to Live as the wealthy Estelle Chadwick in 1983-84 before joining As the World Turns.

Her TV credits also included guest stints on The Virginian, Marcus Welby, M.D., Law & Order, Hope and Faith and Life on Mars.

“I’ve been very lucky in this thing called daytime,” she said, “first with Dr. Althea on The Doctors and then with Lucinda — two smart career women, both of them ladies who made their own way in the world, and I’m very proud to have put that out there.”

Soap Alums Pay Tribute To Elizabeth Hubbard

(4/11/23) AS THE WORLD TURNS alums took to social media to post tributes to Elizabeth Hubbard (ex-Lucinda et al), who passed away at the age of 89. Additionally, the @CBSATWT Twitter account announced there will be a memorial event on Sunday, April 16 at 5:00 p.m. CT on their Twitter account, which will include Martha Byrne (ex-Lily).

Mary Beth Evans (ex-Sierra; Kayla, DAYS): “I was so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Elizabeth Hubbard for six years on As the World Turns, where she played my mother. What an amazing powerhouse this woman was … always striving for spontaneity and keeping it real. My favorite times with her were riding in the car from Manhattan to Brooklyn — the stories she would tell were so much fun. Rest in peace, sweet lady. #RIPLIZ #ATWT”

Michael Park (ex-Jack): “If Liz was involved in a scene I was lucky enough to be in, I could always count on learning a little something and laughing a whole lot. She was a ferocious talent in love with her craft. One of the greats that will certainly be missed.”

Peter Boynton (ex-Tonio): “Rest in peace, Boss! Working with/for you at ‘Walsh Enterprises’ was a highlight of my NYC years! Your encouragement and respect meant the world to me. I’m raising a glass to you and feel so lucky to have worked with you in that great ‘ATWT’ community. On angels wings. – Peter ‘Tonio Reyes’ Boynton.”

Kin Shriner (ex-Keith; Scott, GH): “I had the great pleasure of spending a year on @CBSATWT and spent time with Elizabeth Hubbard and was time well spent a class act!”

Martha Byrne (ex-Lily): “As many of you are finding out this morning, Elizabeth Hubbard passed away. First and foremost I want everyone to know I made sure she was aware of how much everyone loved her. I would share your comments from social media, videos and your fond memories of her as Lucinda, Althea, every time I saw her. She loved the audience and fought like HELL to bring truth and honesty to her performances. On a personal level there aren’t words to describe how much she meant to me. Only feelings, which override words in so many cases when it comes to love. I will be sharing more so we can all grieve together but here are our last words together only just a few days ago. I said, “Liz, do you know how much you have done for me?” She said, “You can do more.” Because of what she has done for me over the last 38 years, the strength and fearless nature in how she lived her life, she is right, I can AND WILL do more. I look forward to sharing more about her life, which encompasses so much more than her INCREDIBLE career on daytime television. She also said to me when I told her how much the fans loved her…”I tried.” She more than tried. She left it all on the screen. I’ll miss her every day but grateful the universe gifted me with such a force of nature, of which the world will not see the likes of again. ”

Alec Baldwin (ex-Billy, THE DOCTORS): “I worked on THE DOCTORS with the great Liz Hubbard. An amazing woman and remarkable actress.”

Terri Conn (ex-Katie): “[She] always fought hard for the truth of her character and the integrity of the story and I was always inspired by that…. She was a force and will be greatly missed!”

Lauren B. Martin (ex-Camille): “An incredible woman. A mentor, an icon. A vocabulary ad a wit, unrivaled.”

Scott Bryce (ex-Craig): “She was astonishing. Liz RIP. Love you woman.”

Elizabeth Hubbard Dies: Emmy-Nominated ‘As The World Turns’ Star Was 89

(4/10/23) Elizabeth Hubbard, who earned eight Daytime Emmy nominations for her indelible performance as trouble-making businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on CBS’ As The World Turns, died over the weekend. She was 89.

Her death was announced by son Jeremy Bennett on Facebook. Additional details were not immediately available.

“I’m sorry to say with a broken heart mi mum passed over the weekend,” Bennett wrote. “Thank you for being an unmovable rock that guided me through life. I will try to honour your memory for as long as I live.”

Although best known for her portrayal of the tough-as-nails Lucinda, Hubbard won two Daytime Emmys for other performances: She won her first in 1974 for her role as Dr. Althea Davis on NBC’s The Doctors, and her second in 1976 for the daytime drama TV movie First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson.

Born in New York City, Hubbard began her TV career in 1962 as Anne Fletcher on the soap opera Guiding Light, and the following year played Carol Kramer on The Edge of Night. In 1964 she joined The Doctors, beginning a five-year run on the show. She also played the role from 1970 to 1977, and again from 1981-1982.

With the cancellation of The Doctors, Hubbard briefly pivoted to ABC’s One Life To Live in 1983, and the following year joined As The World Turns for what would be her signature daytime role of Lucinda Walsh. Except for a brief period in 1999, Hubbard remained with the show until its final episode in 2010. In 2005 her character was featured prominently in a storyline about Lucinda’s battle with cancer.

Most recently, Hubbard appeared in the digital drama series Anacostia, earning a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2016.

Other credits include the films I Never Sang for My Father (1970), The Bell Jar (1979) and 1980’s Ordinary People.

"Soap Night" at White Girl In Danger

(4/6/23) (Watch Here) The Locher Room was on location in New York City at “Soap Night” at Michael R. Jackson’s new off-Broadway musical, White Girl in Danger Soap Night was co-hosted by the Vineyard Theater, 2nd Stage and Soap Opera Digest.

Alan I will sit down with two of the stars from the musical, Eric William Morris who played Matt O’Connor on As the World Turns, and Molly Hager on Monday, April 10th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning writer Michael R. Jackson will sit down for an interview as well as join appear on the red carpet for interviews with cast members from Another World and Guiding Light.

Don’t miss this special on location episode to see some of your favorite Bay City, Llaneview, Oakdale and Springfield residents on Monday, April 10th. White Girl in Danger is currently playing at The Keiser Theater in New York City.

‘MaXXXine’ Adds Lily Collins, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey & More To Cast

(4/5/23) Ti West has locked in an all-star cast for his Mia Goth-led A24 horror pic MaXXXine, with Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.), Moses Sumney (The Idol), Michelle Monaghan (Nanny), Bobby Cannavale (The Watcher), Lily Collins (Emily in Paris), Halsey (Americana), Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul) and Kevin Bacon (City on a Hill) closing deals for roles.

MaXXXine is the third title in A24‘s first major horror franchise, on the heels of West’s films X and Pearl, both of which were released to much acclaim last year. The ’70s-set X had Goth pulling double duty as Maxine, who sees her pornography-shooting friends violently murdered in Texas, and one of their elderly assailants, Pearl. The latter film, set in 1918, meanwhile, served up an origin story for the latter villain character.

MaXXXine reverses the franchise’s trajectory through time to pick with Maxine after the violent events of X, as their sole survivor continues her journey towards fame, setting out to make it as an actress in 1980s Los Angeles. A24, Jacob Jaffke, West, Goth, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss will produce the film, which heads into production this month.

Well known for her portrayal of Sovereign High Priestess Ayesha in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, Debicki will reprise the role in franchise ender Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3., which hits theaters on May 5th. The actress otherwise best known for her Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Princess Diana on The Crown has also previously been seen on series like AMC’s The Night Manager. Other notable film credits include Tenet, Widows, The Cloverfield Paradox, The Tale, Breath, Everest, Macbeth and The Great Gatsby.

Sumney is an acclaimed singer-songwriter known for albums like Aromanticism and Græ who has previously been seen in Ryan Coogler’s Creed and Terence Nance’s HBO series Random Acts of Flyness. Also coming up for him is the anticipated drama series The Idol from HBO, A24, Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.

Monaghan stars opposite Anna Diop in Nikyatu Jusu’s recent Sundance prize winner Nanny and has also been seen in multiple Mission: Impossible films, Patriots Day, Source Code, Due Date, Somewhere, Gone Baby Gone, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Bourne Supremacy, among other prominent big-screen titles. She earned a Golden Globe nom for her performance in True Detective‘s first season, led Hulu’s The Path opposite Aaron Paul and has also been seen on series like Echoes and Messiah. Also upcoming for the actress is Apple and Skydance’s action comedy The Family Plan, which has her starring opposite Mark Wahlberg.

Two-time Emmy winner Cannavale stars opposite Naomi Watts in Ryan Murphy’s hit Netflix series The Watcher, which has been renewed for a second season. Other notable TV credits include Nine Perfect Strangers, Homecoming, Mr. Robot, Angie Tribeca, Will & Grace, Vinyl and Nurse Jackie. The actor recently appearing in films like Blonde will also soon be seen in comedian Bill Burr’s directorial debut Old Dads, Tony Goldwyn’s comedy Inappropriate Behavior and more.

Collins is an Emmy- and two-time Golden Globe nominee best known for exec producing and starring in the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris, which returned for its third season in December. She prior to that produced and starred in Charlie McDowell’s Netflix thriller Windfall with Jason Segel and Jesse Plemons and has also been seen, in recent years, in films like David Fincher’s Mank. She’s currently set to exec produce and star in the series The Accomplice, based on Lisa Lutz’s same-name novel, which is in development at Amazon.

Halsey is a Grammy-nominated and Billboard Music Award-winning singer-songwriter who has thus far released the studio albums Badlands, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, Manic and If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, among other works. She stars alongside Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser and Zahn McClarnon in Tony Tost’s first feature Americana which recently world premiered at SXSW, and prior to that lent her voice to Uni/Illumination’s Sing 2.

A five-time Emmy nominee best known for his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and prequel Better Call Saul, Esposito currently stars in MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem and has also been seen on such notable series as The Boys, The Mandalorian, Once Upon a Time and The Get Down, to name a few. He’s also been seen in two Maze Runner films, as well as titles like Stargirl, Okja and Rabbit Hole. The actor lends his voice to the forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and will also be seen in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Megalopolis, the Russo brothers’ Netflix pic The Electric State and more.

Bacon is a Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning screen icon who recently led Showtime’s crime drama series City on a Hill, also appearing as himself in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+. He’’ also been seen in recent years in films like Peacock’s horror-thriller They/Them and Sarah Gubbins and Joey Soloway’s Prime Video series I Love Dick, among other projects.

Debicki is repped by CAA; Sumney by UTA; Monaghan by CAA, Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Cannavale by CAA, Peg Donegan and Schreck Rose; Collins by CAA, LBI Entertainment, Definition Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Halsey by UTA; Esposito by Sugar23, CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; and Bacon by Mgmt Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.m

Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Murray Bartlett Set For Searchlight’s Rock Opera ‘O’Dessa’

(4/4/23) Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier) and Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) have closed deals to star opposite Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink in Searchlight Pictures’ original rock opera O’Dessa from Patti Cake$ filmmaker Geremy Jasper. It is heading into production in Croatia in May.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa follows Sink’s farm girl of the same name on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love – but in order to save his soul, she must put the power of destiny and song to the ultimate test.

While no details as to Bartlett’s role have been disclosed, sources tell Deadline that Harrison will play O’Dessa’s love interest, Euri Dervish — a punk performer described as an “unholy mix of Iggy Pop, Marlene Dietrich and Prince.”

Written and to be directed by Jasper, O’Dessa will feature original songs written and produced by Jasper and Jason Binnick. Michael Gottwald will produce the film for the Department of Motion Pictures along with Noah Stahl, and Rodrigo Teixeira for RT Features. Exec producers include Jonathan Montepare, Dan Janvey and Lourenço Sant’Anna. SVP Taylor Friedman and Creative Executive Cornelia Burleigh are overseeing the project for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to Heads of Production and Development Katie Goodson-Thomas and DanTram Nguyen.

A BAFTA, Gotham and Spirit Award nominee, Harrison was most recently seen playing blues legend B.B. King in Baz Luhrmann’s Warner Bros smash Elvis, which grossed over $288.6 million worldwide and was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture. Before that he starred opposite Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett in Joe Wright’s take on Cyrano and has also been seen in such films as The Trial of the Chicago 7, Waves, Luce, Jinn, Monsters and Men, It Comes at Night and Mudbound, among others. He appeared opposite Forest Whitaker in the first season of Epix/MGM+’s crime drama Godfather of Harlem and later this year will be seen portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in National Geographic’s Genius: MLK/X. While Harrison is set to voice the role of Scar in Barry Jenkins’ The Lion King prequel for Disney, he’ll next be seen on the film side playing Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges in Searchlight’s Chevalier, out April 21.

Australian actor Bartlett shot to international recognition with his turn as resort manager and recovering drug addict Armond in the first season of Mike White’s megahit HBO series The White Lotus, which earned him an Emmy and a Critics’ Choice Award, as well as Spirit and SAG Award nominations and other accolades. While he’d previously been seen in the HBO series Looking and Netflix’s Tales of the City, among numerous other film and TV projects, he’s followed up his breakout role with a notable turn opposite Kumail Nanjianai in Hulu’s prestige miniseries Welcome to Chippendales and a recurring part on Apple TV+’s Physical, as well as a guest starring role opposite Nick Offerman in perhaps the most discussed episode of The Last of Us Season 1.

Harrison is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Del Shaw Moonves; Bartlett is with WME, Anonymous Content and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.r

Hayden Panettiere, Hoping to Leave Her Struggles Behind, Is Back Onscreen

(4/4/23) (nytimes.com) LOS ANGELES — Hayden Panettiere has always been a survivor.

She survived being a child actor in the early 2000s when the media obsessively treated the lives of young women as entertainment fodder; she survived early adulthood in the 2010s when she starred in the popular soap opera “Nashville,” a role that mirrored her own issues with postpartum depression and substance abuse; and she survived the aggressive tabloid coverage of her daughter’s move to Ukraine after her father was granted custody of her.

Recently Ms. Panettiere, 33, found herself in survival mode once again, because of grief. About three weeks before the release of “Scream VI,” in which she reprises her character Kirby Reed, her brother, Jansen Rane Panettiere, died at 28. He was an actor and budding artist, and he died from heart complications, her family said in February.

Ms. Panettiere tried to push through the press tour for the film in New York, but on March 6, two days before her brother’s funeral, she could sit through only one interview. She canceled the rest of her appearances, aside from the premiere.

On an overcast morning in late March in her Los Angeles condominium, Ms. Panettiere reflected on the past month of her life. Her brother’s ashes were atop a mantel, across from which she posed for a portrait in a Christian Siriano dress. She stood in front of a canvas teeming with hidden words, which her brother had created for her.

“I always see a few secret messages that maybe he meant to put there, maybe he didn’t,” she said. Mr. Panettiere was working on it when he died. “His art, that was the thing that made him happiest,” she said, her voice cracking.

After the photo shoot, Ms. Panettiere climbed the spiral staircase in her living room and curled up under a blanket on her velvet sofa in the lofted part of her condo. Her home is “the last place my whole family ever lived together” before her parents separated, she said.

Ms. Panettiere, who was born and raised in New York, has lived most of her life in the public eye. She landed her first gig in a commercial at 11 months old and was a child actor in films like “Remember the Titans” and “Bring It On: All or Nothing” and TV shows like “Guiding Light” and “Ally McBeal.”

She said her parents gave her a great childhood where she was able to attend prom and play sports, though she was always working. “I don’t think I really had a lot of time to be a kid,” she said. “I would miss these pockets of time, and because of that, it wasn’t easy for me as a young girl to slide back into a friend group and to belong.”

She solidified her place in Hollywood through roles like Claire Bennet in “Heroes,” the high school cheerleader with special powers; Kirby, a quirky horror aficionado, in “Scream IV”; and Juliette Barnes, a troubled country diva, in “Nashville.”

But in her private life, she struggled. When she was 18, her parents separated, and she ended up in the midst of an eight-year divorce battle. There were times, she said, when she felt like she had to choose one parent over the other and would end up staying by herself or with Wladimir Klitschko, an ex-boxer whom she dated on and off between 2009 and 2018.

“Of course, kids are always caught in the middle,” Ms. Panettiere said. “But my relationship with my parents now is good and even more special to me, because we lost my brother.”

In 2014, while she was working on “Nashville,” she gave birth to a daughter, Kaya (Mr. Klitschko is the father) and began suffering from postpartum depression. Ms. Panettiere said she turned to alcohol and opioids to self-medicate.

She ended up leaving “Nashville” during the fourth season in 2015 to go to a treatment facility for her depression. In 2018, when the show ended, her daughter went to live with her father, Mr. Klitschko, in Ukraine. Ms. Panettiere said she sees Kaya as much as she can (Kaya and Mr. Klitschko live in an undisclosed location since the war broke out last year).

Ms. Panettiere said that many of her real-life experiences were reflected in the show’s script while she was going through them, which was traumatizing. But there wasn’t much she could do about its story lines, and she had spent most of her life doing what she was told by those who had power over her. “Even if something was too much for me, I would never admit to it,” she said. “It was always about making them happy.”

The demand of her career took its toll. “When I went home after acting out what I was really going through, the last thing I wanted to do was properly manage or talk about what I was feeling in a healthy way,” she said. “So I turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms.”

That meant cocktails with friends and hiding under the covers and pouring herself a drink almost every day. Her life, she said, could be summed up by the adage “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

In some ways, Ms. Panettiere said, her tumultuous behavior stemmed from the time she lost in growing up as a child actor. “I wanted that control back,” she said. “I wanted to do things I wasn’t supposed to do, and I wanted to just let go and act like a kid.”

Ms. Panettiere said that at some point she couldn’t recognize herself in the mirror anymore. “My eyes were yellow,” she said, adding that doctors told her that her liver was failing and she was septic. She was 27 at the time and would wake up shaking, needing an entire bottle of alcohol to get through the day. She would often swap in opioids to stave off drinking alcohol, she said.

In 2021, Ms. Panettiere re-entered a treatment center for eight months. She has been sober for almost two years, now swapping substances for Peloton rides and organic meals, and has deleted most of the photos from her time deep in addiction, except for one.

Why? “To remind myself what I looked like,” she said. “The fact that I thought I looked OK at that time is the scariest part to me.”

At the height of her addiction, she dated Brian Hickerson on and off for about four years. In 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring the actress and served time in jail. Mr. Hickerson was in the condo during our interview, walking around, vacuuming and shooting a basketball through the hoop in her living area.

Both Ms. Panettiere and Mr. Hickerson became sober and later reconnected as friends. During the photo shoot, Ms. Panettiere called him “babe” a handful of times. When asked if they were dating again, she was hesitant to define their relationship, but said, “There are feelings there, yes.”

She added that she doesn’t condone what he did. “He knows he deserved what happened to him,” Ms. Panettiere said, referring to his arrest and jail time. She noted that their relationship was “contingent on him continuing on this road of recovery,” and she is self-conscious about how people may perceive her letting him back into her life. “I did not do any of this lightly,” she said.

When Ms. Panettiere heard “Scream V” was in the works, her team reached out to see if she could be involved in the film. It was too late, but Ms. Panettiere ended up connecting with one of the sixth film’s executive producers, Kevin Williamson, with whom she had done “Scream IV.” Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directors of “Scream V,” wanted to bring Ms. Panettiere back for that movie but “felt like we’d be forcing her character in as a cameo,” they wrote in an email. Instead they had her return for a more fully fledged part in the next film.

Ms. Panettiere had some anxiety about returning to set as she struggled to remember her lines. “I used to memorize things like that, within two seconds,” she said, snapping. “Suddenly it was taking me hours to memorize something. It was like that muscle atrophied, so I was terrified.”

Fans of Ms. Panettiere’s singing on “Nashville” will be happy to know that the thought of making an album has crossed her mind. “I would love to do that one day and really do it right,” she said. Ms. Panettiere also said she’d love to take on more comedy or action roles.

Perhaps Ms. Panettiere might even make an appearance in another future “Scream” movie. When she initially took on the role of Kirby, she did it with the contingency that her character’s fate was left open-ended. “I was stabbed, but you never saw me die,” she said, laughing.

Kaley Cuoco Welcomes First Child With Tom Pelphrey

(4/1/23) (Video) Kaley Cuoco has given birth to her first child with boyfriend Tom Pelphrey.

“Introducing, Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, the new light of our lives!” the “Meet Cute” star wrote alongside a slideshow of photos of her newborn daughter on Instagram Saturday.

“We are overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle ?? Thank you to the doctors, nurses, family and friends who have helped us immensely over the last few days. We are blessed beyond belief ??.”

The first-time mom concluded with a message to her boyfriend, saying, “@tommypelphrey didn’t think I could fall even more in love with you, but I did.”

Cuoco also shared in the post that Matilda was born on Thursday.

(Photo1) The actress, 37, first surprised her Instagram followers with a pregnancy announcement in October.

“Baby girl Pelphrey coming 2023,” the then-expectant star captioned a slideshow at the time.

“beyond blessed and over the moon,” she continued. “I ??you @tommypelphrey !!!”

(Photo2) (Photo3) In a post of his own, the 40-year-old “Ozark” alum gushed, “And then it was even MORE BETTER. ??????. Love you more than ever @kaleycuoco ??????.”

The reveal came five months after the couple made their relationship Instagram official.

Cuoco, who was previously married to Ryan Sweeting and Karl Cook, called her bond with Pelphrey “love at first sight.”

(Photo4) The “Flight Attendant” star explained to “Extra” in October that she and the actor met because they have “the same management team.”

She added, “My manager actually took me as her guest to the ‘Ozark’ premiere, and I met him there. It was like the angels started singing. I was like, ‘Hallelujah.’ It was very magical. … It was perfect.”

Cuoco and the “Outer Range” star met after she underwent “a lot of therapy and self-reflection.”

After announcing their expanding family, the duo continued to document the Golden Globe nominee’s pregnancy progress — including her “horribly sick” first trimester.

“We’re so excited,” Pelphrey told “Extra” in an October interview. “It’s the most incredible thing.”

The former soap star concluded by calling himself “very blessed, very fortunate [and] very lucky.”&

Hayden Panettiere Reacts to Her BIGGEST Career Moments

(4/1/23) Hayden Panettiere Reacts to Her BIGGEST Career Moments: Video.

One-on-One with David Andrew Macdonald 4/5/23

(3/29/23) (Watch Here) Catch up with Guiding Light’s David Andrew Macdonald live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, April 5th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

David originated the role of Edmund Winslow in June of 1999 and played the role through 2005. He returned to the canvas in October of 2007 and remained with the show until 2009. In addition to his role on Guiding Light, David played Father Matchet on ABC’s Loving and Jordan Stark on NBC’s Another World.

In addition to his roles in daytime, David has appeared on Broadway in Skylight, Rocky, Mamma Mia!, Coram Boy, and Two Shakespearean Actors. On primetime, he has been seen in numerous hit series including, The Deuce, Elementary, Person of Interest, The Blacklist and The Big C to name a few.

David is currently training to be a volunteer firefighter.

Guiding Light Watch Party with Nancy Curlee & Kimberley Simms

(3/27/23) (Video) Tune-in for a very special Guiding Light Watch Party to help honor the third anniversary of The Locher Room on Saturday, April 1st at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Emmy Award-winning writer Nancy Curlee and actress Kimberley Simms will join Alan Locher to celebrate as we all look back and watch the culmination of Alexandra, Roger and Mindy’s story unfold before our eyes.

Hayley Sparks Interview 3/31/23

(3/26/23) (Watch here) Don’t miss the chance to catch-up with As the World Turns alum Hayley Sparks in The Locher Room on Friday, March 31st at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

An actress in NYC for the first decade of her professional life including a successful career on Broadway, in film and T.V., daytime fans will remember Hayley for her role as Courtney Baxter Dixon on As the World Turns. She also filled in for Beth Ehlers as Harley Cooper on Guiding Light.

Today, Hayley is a portrait, fashion and advertising photographer with a career spanning over 15 years working for a variety of national and international clients including Marie Claire, The New York Times, Sunday Life, Camilla, Cotton On, and Westfield. She has a way with connecting with her subjects, storytelling, and creating beautiful, cinematic light. Hayley's focus is youth, she's interested in seeing and empowering young people, in capturing the truth, beauty and magic of childhood.

Hayley interned for Annie Leibovitz at the beginning of her career and holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Talk Show Appearance

(3/22/23) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Wednesday, March 29: Guests include Kevin Bacon

Peter Hermann recurs on Blue Bloods 3/31/23

(3/20/23) “The Naked Truth” – Jamie and Eddie find themselves at odds when Jamie learns that Eddie’s close friend Tracey (Alysha Umphress) may be using the restaurant she owns as a drug front. Also, Erin forms an alliance with Anthony and her ex-husband, Jack Boyle (Peter Hermann), when she is accused of causing the suicide of a former colleague; Frank weighs whether he should fire a female officer who has an online profile featuring naked photos of herself; and Danny and Baez try not to be influenced by their own biases when they are faced with various descriptions of the same suspect, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, March 31 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

WRITTEN BY: Nicole Abraham & Daniel Truly

DIRECTED BY: Donald Thorin, Jr.

Brody Hutzler - The Interview 3/24/23

(3/18/23) (Watch here) Brody Hutzler will join The Locher Room live on Friday, March 24th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to look back at his acting career that started 27 years ago when he was cast as Zachary Smith on Guiding Light.

In addition to his role on Guiding Light, Brody went to play Cody Dixon on The Young and the Restless and Patrick Lockhart on Days of Our Lives. Fans of the hit series, Angel will remember Brody for his recurring role of Landok. He also made several guest appearances on the primetime series, Charmed, NCIS, Ringer, 7th Heaven, Family Guy and Ally McBeal to name a few. He also starred in the films, Beach Kings and Mega Shark vs. Kolossus. One of his most proud roles to date is that of dad to his daughter, Vivienne.

Besides his career in acting, Brody has a successful career as a realtor. He covers all of California and helps his clients buy and sell property anywhere from San Diego to San Francisco.

Barbara Crampton Interview 3/22/23

(3/14/23) (Watch Here) Celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Young and the Restless with actress Barbara Crampton live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, March 22nd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. EST. Barbara is reprising one of her favorite roles of all time, the colorful and complicated Leanna Love. Don’t miss Barbara’s return on Friday, March 24th. She won a Soap Opera Digest award for “Best Scene Stealer” for her portrayal of Leanna Love, during her six years on Y&R.

Barbara made her television debut on Days of Our Lives as Trista Evans. She went on to play Mindy Lewis on Guiding Light and Maggie Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Barbara’s career as an iconic figure in the horror/thriller genre has spanned four decades and continues to gain momentum. Currently she is producing and co-starring with Heather Graham in the horror thriller Suitable Flesh. Barbara produced and starred in Jakob’s Wife. Other recently completed features include Run Hide Fight, King Knight with Aubrey Plaza, Superhost and Sacrifice, a thriller shot in Norway.

This year, Barbara will appear in Larry Fessenden’s new film Blackout, Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls which premiered at Sundance 2023, and the thriller Last Stop in Yuma County. On television, Barbara guest starred on the last season of Channel Zero: The Dream Door, on season 2 of Creepshow and in an episode of the highly acclaimed series Into the Dark: Culture Shock.

In addition, Barbara writes a column for Fangoria magazine entitled Scene Queen, for which she won two “Rondo Hatton Horror Awards” in 2020 and 2021.

Barbara made her film debut in 1984’s Body Double. The cult classic Re-Animator, in which Barbara portrayed the leading role of Megan Halsey, continues to be a huge fan favorite. Other films she has starred in include From Beyond, the original and remake of Puppet Master, You’re Next, and We Are Still Here.

Interview with Emmy Award-Winning Writer - Dave Rupel 3/15/23

(3/7/23) (Watch Here) Emmy Award-winning writer Dave Rupel will join me live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, March 15th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to look back at his career writing for General Hospital, Guiding Light and The Young and the Restless.

Dave fell in love with the ABC daytime line-up of soaps at a very young age. He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and worked as a Production Assistant for Mary Tyler Moore studios. Dave believes it was reading scripts for St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, and Remington Steele that really taught him how to write for TV.

Dave got his first agent in 1988 and wrote his first prime-time TV script for the series, In the Heat of the Night in 1989. Dave wrote for various other series and moved to daytime TV for the first time in 1998 when he became a break down writer for General Hospital. He won his first Emmy Award as part of the Outstanding Writing Team for Guiding Light in 2007 and his second win was in 2019 for the writing team of The Young and the Restless. Additionally, he was part of the General Hospital writing team that won Writers Guild Awards in 2017 and 2018.

In addition to his work in daytime, Dave has worked in reality TV as a Story Producer on The Real World, a Producer on Temptation Island, and an Executive Producer/Showrunner on The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hill.

Hayden Panettiere tears up in first TV interview since brother Jansen’s death

(3/6/23) (Video) Hayden Panettiere paid a heartfelt tribute to her late brother, Jansen Panettiere, in her first TV appearance since his unexpected death.

“He’s right here with me,” the “Scream VI” actress, 33, tearfully said on “Good Morning America” Monday after Michael Strahan offered his condolences at the end of their interview.

Jansen was found dead on Feb. 19 in New York. He was 28.

The artist’s family revealed eight days later that his cause of death was an enlarged heart.

“His charisma, warmth, compassion for others and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered,” the family added in a statement.

A police report obtained by TMZ stated that friends had grown concerned about Jansen when he did not show up to a business meeting prior to his death.

One pal rushed to check on the actor and found him unresponsive in his apartment, sitting upright in a chair, according to the outlet. They then called 911 and started doing CPR.

Jansen’s dad, Skip Panettiere, reportedly told police that he had talked to his son the night before and he sounded “OK.”

But a source told “Entertainment Tonight” that the former child star struggled with mental health issues.

“Art was his therapy and escape,” the insider shared. “In the past, Jansen was open to family and friends about his struggles. Hayden was always there for him and constantly tried to help Jansen when she could.”

The source added that Hayden, who has publicly battled addiction, was “absolutely heartbroken” over the death of her only sibling.

“She loved her brother unconditionally, and the two shared a special bond,” the insider told “ET.”

Hayden and Jansen seemed to have a close relationship, as he shared a photo with her on Instagram in January in which she smiled while cutting his hair. His final post on the social media platform was a selfie in front of a graffiti-covered wall.

As a child, Jansen had small roles in “Even Stevens,” “Hope & Faith,” “Blue’s Clues,” “Ice Age: The Meltdown” and “Everybody Hates Chris.”

He was nominated for a Young Artist Award for his work on Nickelodeon’s “The Last Day of Summer” in 2008.

Jansen also collaborated on a few movies with Hayden, including 2004’s “Tiger Cruise” and 2005’s “Racing Stripes.”

Most recently, Jansen appeared in the 2022 comedy-drama “Love and Love Not.” He had been working on four other projects prior to his death, according to his IMDb page.

Hayden Panettiere Is Standing Strong After Battling Addiction And Postpartum Depression

(3/5/23) (womenshealthmag.com) It’s the fourth consecutive day of rain in Los Angeles, and Hayden Panettiere, clad in a white sweatshirt and sweatpants, is lighting candles in the guest room of her apartment before cozying up underneath a blanket. The 33-year-old actor has owned this home since she was 16 years old— one of her first big purchases after moving from New York to L.A. and landing the role of Claire on the hit NBC series Heroes.

“This is the last place my family lived all together,” she says of her parents and younger brother, Jansen. Hayden moved multiple times over the past 15 years, including relocating to Tennessee to film the TV show Nashville. But she always held on to this place.

Recently, she’s been renovating it into her personal sanctuary since returning to L.A. after a four-year hiatus from acting. “I’ve completely redone it,” she beams, looking over her shoulder at two black-and-white prints she brought back from Montreal, where she shot Scream 6. She’s particularly fond of the lighting she installed—bulbs that change color to suit your mood. Now, they’re pink and yellow for warmth. “It feels like home,” she says.

There’s no missing the symbolism: This homecoming isn’t simply about a place. For Hayden, it’s a state of mind, a return to her roots—to herself—after years of struggling with postpartum depression and substance abuse and giving up custody of her daughter, Kaya, to her ex, retired pro boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Hayden admits she’s nervous to do a cover tied to a movie release—it’s been awhile. But she says it’s important to her.

Plus, she has decades of experience to guide her.

Hayden started work as a child actor at 4 years old. She went from roles in popular daytime soap operas to Grammy nominee before she was 10. She starred opposite Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans at 11, and at 14, she trained to race a zebra in South Africa for the movie Racing Stripes. She’s done her own stunts (in heels) and learned to ice skate like a pro. She became a prime-time television staple for most of her teens and 20s, and while other celebrities her age were out partying, she was constantly working—and her star continued to rise.

Then, at age 22, she moved to Nashville and began drinking to cope with stress.

“I was being told how to be and how to live by so many people in my life,” she says. “I wanted certain decisions to be my own, and nobody could stop me. What I put in my body was like an act of defiance.”

Hayden maintained her professionalism on-set, and with no paparazzi following her, it was easy to hide her habit.

“Some people work out. I wish that was my coping mechanism,” Hayden says. “Alcohol might make you feel better in that moment, but it makes you feel so much worse the next day, and then you do it all over again.”

Her drinking ramped up in 2014 after giving birth to her daughter and dealing with crippling postpartum depression, which she describes as feelings of “extreme hopelessness” and “like all the walls are closing in.” (Postpartum depression occurs in about 6.5 to 20 percent of women after childbirth and can last for years.)

It was around this time that an old neck injury flared up, and Hayden began taking opioids. “I was in a lot of pain,” she says. “My tolerance got so high so fast that it became a problem.” She found herself in a vicious cycle, alternating between opioids and alcohol.

“I should have gone on antidepressants [to cope with the postpartum depression], but you have to find the right one that works for you,” she says. “They don’t mix well with alcohol, and I wasn’t ready to stop drinking.”

She entered rehab in the middle of production on Nashville’s fourth season in 2015. “I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center,” she says. “I was drowning.”

In treatment, she was told to change everything about her daily routine, from what she read to the people she surrounded herself with, yet returning to work made that advice basically impossible. In a cruel twist of fate, art was imitating life.

“They wrote my character as having postpartum depression,” says Hayden, whose daughter was going back and forth between Nashville and Ukraine (with her father) at the time. “They wrote that she abandoned her child and went to a different country. And it was very difficult to go on-set and to act out these feelings about these things that I was truly going through in my real life.”

Hayden eventually left the industry and the public eye to work on herself but returned to drinking to manage anxiety. That’s when her physical health caved. “I struggled with sleep deprivation,” she says. “Sleep is massive. It affects your motor skills, your ability to think, and your overall health.

“My body was like, ‘enough,’” she continues. “I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn’t normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps.”

She went back to treatment in 2021, enrolled in a 12-step program, and even went to trauma therapy.

“I did a lot of work on myself,” Hayden explains of this soul-searching period. “After eight months of intensive therapy, I felt like I had this blank canvas to work with.”

Now, without alcohol or opiates, her body is recovering, and she’s choosing which habits will fill that blank canvas. At night, she sips chamomile tea with milk and honey while soaking in vanilla-scented bubble baths. She’s finally sleeping again. She works out with trainer Eddie Pavese, whom she met while in treatment, and keeps a Peloton in her bedroom—though she admits she doesn’t have a rigid workout schedule in order to keep exercise from feeling too much like a chore.

Part of her recovery process has included reclaiming herself after childbirth too.

“My body still didn’t feel like it belonged to me,” Hayden says, explaining why she decided to get a breast reduction in November 2022. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with somebody who wants to tweak something if it makes them feel more confident. That’s all I have to say about it. My confidence is back.”

Perhaps the biggest shift is how Hayden has learned to connect to herself emotionally and view her journey with compassion. “A big part of my therapy has been living in forgiveness,” she says. “A step in the 12-step program is making amends. If somebody wants to be a good person and to be the best version of themselves, they can choose to do that.”

Speaking of amends, her daughter, for now, doesn’t know about her mother’s struggles, but Hayden’s “looking forward to the day where I get to have these conversations with her,” she says. “I’m grateful that I’m equipped with the information and with the experience that I’ve had with postpartum depression.”

Hayden’s return to acting was inspired, in part, by the desire to go back to a feeling of “home,” in the well-being sense.

“In therapy, I kept wanting to go back to the beginning of the period of time where I was really happy and healthy,” she says of reprising her role as Kirby Reed in Scream 6. (Hayden has fond memories of filming Scream 4 in 2010 and says she’s still on a text thread with her costars from the movie.)

This time around, though, she and her character have something in common: They’re both survivors. “We saw Kirby get stabbed, but we never saw her die. We didn’t see her rescued either,” Hayden says of her character’s fate. “She has that human trauma, and it’s changed her. That’s something I can obviously relate to.”

Kirby is back, and so is Hayden. Her homecoming has been hard-earned—rebuilding from the inside out to become the strongest, healthiest version of herself. This is the Hayden of the future, the woman who creates her own environment and makes her own moves. The best part? She feels like she’s just now getting started.

A version of this story ran in the April 2023 issue of Women's Health. The interview with Hayden took place in January.n oa

Talk Show Appearance

(3/5/23) The View - ABC

AIRING Mar 8, 2023

Actress Hayden Panettiere

Talk Show Appearance

(3/5/23) Good Morning America - ABC

AIRING Mar 6, 2023

actress Hayden Panettiere

Dishing with Digest - 3/3/23 - Barbara Crampton

(3/3/23) (Listen/download) Barbara Crampton looks back on her stints on DAYS, GUIDING LIGHT and B&B, talks about her success in the horror genre, her return as Leanna for Y&R’s 50th and more with Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the latest storylines and cast changes.

Joe Lando - One on One 3/8/23

(3/1/23 (Watch Here) Actor Joe Lando will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, March 8th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to look back on his incredible career that began over 30 years ago.

Joe booked his first big break as Jake Harrison on One Life to Live. His popularity soared after appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show twice, and soon Hollywood came calling and he was offered the role of mountain man Byron Sully, starring opposite Jane Seymour on the CBS prime time hit Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The show sold in over 100 countries around the world and still maintains a loyal following 25 years later.

Since then, Joe produced and starred in 22 episodes of the critically acclaimed series Higher Ground for the Fox Family Channel. He also starred in more than a dozen independent films and has recurred on JAG, Wildfire, Melrose Place, Hit the Floor, Summerland, 1-800 Missing, and Secret Circle. Most recently, he can be seen as Jane Seymour's love interest in Lifetime’s highest-rated holiday film A Christmas Spark, and the feature film Night Train, now playing in theaters and streaming.

Joe also appeared on Guiding Light as Macauley West in 1993 and recently appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful as Judge Craig McMullen.

Jansen Panettiere Family Reveals Actor’s Cause Of Death

(2/27/23) The family of Jansen Panettiere, including his sister Hayden, have revealed that the 28-year-old actor’s death last week was caused by cardiomegaly, or enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications.

“Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications,” the family said in a statement to ABC News.

“We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support towards our family as we navigate this unthinkable loss, and ask that we be gifted our privacy during this time of mourning,” the family said. “We love you so much Jansen and you will be in our hearts forever.”

Jansen Panettiere, the younger brother of actress Hayden Panettiere, died Feb. 19 in Nyack, New York. He was an actor who had followed his sister Hayden into show business with appearances on Even Stevens, Blue’s Clues, Ice Age: The Meltdown and The Walking Dead.

Born September 25, 1994, in Palisades, NY, Panettiere earned his first credits as a voice actor before landing a 2002 appearance on Disney Channel’s Even Stevens starring a young Shia LaBeouf. Subsequent credits include 2003 appearances on the sitcom Hope & Faith and the drama Third Watch, and the following year he voiced the recurring character Periwinkle on Blue’s Clues.

As a voice actor, his credits include 100 Things To Do Before Middle School, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and The X’s,among others.

Panettiere, also a painter and artist, appeared alongside his sister in the 2004 Disney Channel movie Tiger Cruise. In 2019, he co-starred in MTV’s How High 2. Hayden Panettiere is best known for her roles in TV’s Heroes and Nashville, as well as the Scream movie franchise.

In the statement to ABC News, the late actor’s family, including his mother Lesley Vogel, father Skip Panettiere and sister Hayden, said, “Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit. His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.”

Crystal Chappell and Michael Sabatino Interview 3/2/23

(2/26/23) (Watch Here) Please join real-life husband and wife duo Crystal Chappell and Michael Sabatino live in The Locher Room on Thursday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Crystal and Michael will be stopping by to look back at their incredible careers on television while taking us back to Days of Our Lives where they first met while playing Dr. Carly Manning and Lawrence Alamain. The couple just celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary this past January.

Michael gained fame when he first appeared as Chip Roberts on the hit prime-time series, Knots Landing. Besides his role on Days, Michael is known to daytime audiences for his roles on The Bold and the Beautiful as Anthony Armando, on All My Children as Dr. Jonathan Kinder, on Sunset Beach as Phillip Vargas, on Passions as J.T. Cornell, on Guiding Light as Vince Russo and on Crystal’s series Venice as Alan Anders.

Crystal made her daytime debut as a day player on All My Children before landing a short-term role on Santa Barbara. She spent three years playing Carly on Days before moving over to One Life to Live where she played Maggie Carpenter. She joined the cast of Guiding Light as Olivia Spencer in 1999 and remained with the show until the last episode aired in 2009. On Guiding Light, Chappell and Jessica Leccia were paired together creating the uber popular same sex pairing of, OTALIA. Crystal went on to win the Daytime Emmy-Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role in 2002. She also played another Spencer, Danielle on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2012.

In addition to her roles in front of the camera, Crystal has created, Executive Produced and directed the Emmy Award-winning Venice: The Series and Beacon Hill.

Together they are the proud parents of two sons Jake and Dylan. Jake and his wife Grace welcomed their first grandson Zeke in 2021.

More SAG Awards Presenters Revealed – The Latest List

(2/23/23) The SAG Awards has announced the latest group of presenters for the 29th annual ceremony on Sunday. They include Ozark alum Jason Bateman, Jeff Bridges (The Old Man), Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Adam Scott (Severance), Zendaya (Euphoria), SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek) and Amy Poehler (Restless Leg Tour).

NAACP Image Awards Winners

(2/22/23) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special

Nia Long
The Best Man: The Final Chapters

Queen Latifah To Host 2023 NAACP Image Awards; Taye Diggs, Zendaya, Janelle Monae, Among Presenters

(2/22/23) Queen Latifah has been tapped to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards set to air live Saturday, February 25 at 8 PM on BET. The show will also simulcast across Paramount Global networks including BET Her, CBS, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian, TV Land, and VH1.

“It’s an honor to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards, especially in the year we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop,” said Queen Latifah. “This is a night to celebrate Black excellence and Black contribution to our industry and beyond. Celebrating one another, lifting each other up and you know we’ll have fun doing it!”

BET and NAACP Image Awards also announced presenters including Brian White, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Damson Idris, Taye Diggs, Harold Perrineau, Issa Rae, Janelle Monáe, Janelle James, Jonathan Majors, Kerry Washington, Letitia Wright, Morris Chestnut, Ms. Pat, NAACP President Derrick Johnson, NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Terrence Howard, Tracee Ellis Ross and Zendaya.

Nominees for the 54th NAACP Image Awards include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Woman King leading the film side and Abbott Elementary and Black-ish topping TV. Nominees in the marquee Entertainer of the Year award are Angela Bassett, Mary J. Blige, Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis and Zendaya.

Queen Latifah is one of our generation’s most influential and iconic voices. We are excited to collaborate with the groundbreaking megastar as she hosts the 54th NAACP Image Awards,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET. “As always, we look forward to partnering with NAACP to celebrate Black creativity and ingenuity for an unforgettable night of Black excellence that will inspire, entertain, and empower viewers worldwide.”

“Queen Latifah is one of our generation’s most influential and iconic voices. We are excited to collaborate with the groundbreaking megastar as she hosts the 54th NAACP Image Awards,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET. “As always, we look forward to partnering with NAACP to celebrate Black creativity and ingenuity for an unforgettable night of Black excellence that will inspire, entertain, and empower viewers worldwide.”

Latifah stars in CBS’ The Equalizer, which has been renewed for a fourth season.

The NAACP kicked off the first night of the Image Awards Monday night with winners including Beyoncé for the Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Soul/R&B Song for “Cuff It” and Outstanding Album for Renaissance. Rihanna took the award for Outstanding Video/Visual Album for “Lift Me Up” while the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack took the trophy for the Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album category.

Hayden Panettiere's Brother Jansen Panettiere Dead At 28

(2/20/23) Hayden Panettiere's brother Jansen Panettiere has died ... TMZ has learned.

A family source tells us Jansen died over the weekend in New York. His cause of death is currently unclear. Law enforcement sources tell us they got a call to a residence Sunday night around 5:30PM. We're told there's no foul play suspected in Jansen's death.

Jansen, 5 years Hayden's younger, jumped onto the scene in the early 2000s, working on projects like "Even Stevens," "Blue's Clues," "Robots," and "Ice Age: The Meltdown." He also had a recurring role as Truman X in Nickelodeon's "The X's."

At one point, Jansen worked alongside Hayden in 2004's "Tiger Cruise" and 2005's "Racing Stripes."

He went on to star in Disney Channel original movies and made-for-TV Nickelodeon films, picking up a nomination for a Young Artist Award back in 2008 for his work on "The Last Day of Summer."

Jansen kept acting through the 2010s, working on shows like "Major Crimes" and "The Walking Dead." He also was attached to 5 more projects at the time of his death.

Jansen was only 28.

Paul Wesley officially files for divorce from Ines de Ramon

(2/18/23) It’s officially over between Paul Wesley and Ines de Ramon — despite both of them already moving on.

The “Vampire Diaries” star filed for divorce from his estranged wife on Friday after five years of marriage, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly.

Wesley, 40, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split but noted the division of their assets will be decided later on.

The former couple, who started dating in 2018, announced their separation in September 2022 — but actually called it quits five months prior.

However, neither Wesley nor the jewelry dealer, 30, seem too heartbroken.

Wesley was first linked to model Natalie Kuckenburg in August 2022 after they were photographed holding hands in New York City.

Things seem to be going strong for the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” star and Kuckenburg, who is 18 years his junior, as they even spent the holidays together this year.

Prior to his relationships with Kuckenburg and de Ramon, Wesley was previously married to “Vampire Diaries” co-star Torrey DeVitto from 2011 to 2013.

Meanwhile, de Ramon has been dating Brad Pitt since November and the pair have been making the most of their long-distance relationship.

In fact, the A-list actor made sure de Ramon’s Valentine’s Day was one to remember.

The 59-year-old sent a bouquet of pink peonies and a baguette to his leading lady at her office in Los Angeles on Tuesday — despite being across the country to film in New York.

Similarly to her soon-to-be ex-husband, de Ramon also spent the holidays with her new flame.

Pitt and de Ramon enjoyed a relaxing — and very scantily clad — New Year’s Eve day while lounging by the pool in Cabo.

The couple left little to the imagination while sunbathing, with Pitt showing off his chiseled physique in swim trunks and the jewelry executive deciding to forgo her bikini top altogether.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/17/23) Live With Kelly and Ryan - syndicated

Wednesday, Feb. 22 – The hosts chat with actor TAYE DIGGS

Talk Show Appearance

(2/17/23) THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW, syndicated

Fr 2/24: Taye Diggs

HBO Max Limited Series ‘Love & Death’ With Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons Releases Teaser, Sets Debut Date

(2/16/23) (Video) The seven-episode HBO Max Original limited series Love & Death has released its official teaser and set an April 27 launch date.

The drama starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons will offer three episodes on April 27, followed by one episode each week through May 25.

The series tells the true story of Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allan Gore – two churchgoing couples enjoying their small-town Texas life, until an extramarital affair leads somebody to pick up an axe.

Plemons and Olsen are joined by Lily Rabe, Patrick Fugit, Krysten Ritter, Tom Pelphrey, Keir Gilchrist and Elizabeth Marvel.

The series is coproduced by Lionsgate. Executive producers are David E. Kelley (who writes the series) through David E. Kelley Productions; Nicole Kidman and Per Saari through Blossom Films; Lesli Linka Glatter (who directs the first four and final episodes); Scott Brown and Megan Creydt through Texas Monthly; Matthew Tinker; Michael Klick and Helen Verno.

The limited series is inspired by the book, Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, and a collection of articles from Texas Monthly (Love & Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I & II).

The Flash Brings Back Teddy Sears as Zoom, John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick

(2/16/23) Two more speedsters are making tracks for The Flash‘s final season — one superfriend, and one fiendish foe.

Series vets John Wesley Shipp and Teddy Sears are both set to appear during Season 9, TVLine has learned exclusive, reprising their respective roles as Jay Garrick and Hunter Zolomon (aka Zoom).

The duo in turn join a final-season guest star slate that already boasts Stephen Amell (as Arrow‘s Oliver Queen/Green Arrow), David Ramsey (as John Diggle/Spartan), Keiyan Lonsdale (as Wally West/Kid Flash) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (as Dr. Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork), all in Episode 9 directed by Danielle Panabaker; Batwoman‘s Javicia Leslie (as Red Death), Nicole Maines (reprising her Supergirl role of Nia Nal aka Dreamer), Rick Cosnett (as Eddie Thawne), Matt Letscher (as Eobard Thawne) and Jessica Parker Kennedy (as Nora/XS). As for Cisco, time will tell?

Previewing Sears’ encore, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace says, “As one of our most memorable villains ever, he scared and delighted audiences in Season 2. And now, I’m happy to announce that the brilliant Teddy Sears is coming back as the evil Zoom aka Hunter Zolomon… for one more battle against Team Flash.

“It’s a reunion I’ve been hoping could happen for several seasons,” the EP adds, “and now I’m so excited that we were finally able to bring Teddy and incredible talents back into our Flash Family for our epic and emotional ninth season. So, get ready to be frightened again, Flash fans!”

And as for Shipp’s latest swing by Central City, “Flash fans have loved John Wesley Shipp’s heroic and heartwarming portrayals on our show since its inception,” Wallace notes. “So, it’s a huge honor to have John back as part of our epic final season. This time, John’s lent his incredible talents to an incredibly emotional story — one that sheds new light on Barry Allen’s tragic past.”

Jason Alexander Sets Broadway Directing Debut With ‘The Cottage’ Starring Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy & Lilli Cooper

(2/16/23) Jason Alexander will make his Broadway directing debut this summer with Sandy Rustin’s comedy The Cottage. Starring will be Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy and Lilli Cooper.

The Cottage, inspired by the works of Noel Coward and set in the English countryside in 1923, begins previews at the Hayes Theater July 7, with an opening night on July 24. The strictly limited engagement runs through October 29.

Described as a “tale of sex, betrayal and love,” The Cottage unfolds when a woman decides to expose her affair to both her husband and to her lover’s wife. The synopsis continues, “The true meaning of fate, identity and marriage are called into question as a surprising and hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculous – potentially murderous – romantic comedy.”

Additional casting and creatives are to be announced.

Jason Alexander said, “To be a Broadway director doing a new and delicious comedy with a team and cast I adore is the definition of a dream come true. I am incredibly excited to bring this hysterical play to an audience that is ready to laugh and have a fantastic time.”

“What thrills me about crafting comedy for the stage,” said playwright Rustin, “is the secret magic conjured by playful collaboration – with the director, the actors, the designers, and, of course, ultimately the audience. I couldn’t dream of more perfect partners in magic making than comedy guru, Jason Alexander, this incredible cast, and our unparalleled creative team. We can’t wait to fill the Hayes with laughter at The Cottage this summer.”

Though The Cottage will mark Alexander’s Broadway directing debut, the Seinfeld actor won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, for which he also wrote the libretto. In L.A., he served as the artistic director for the Reprise Theatre Company and has directed stage productions including The God of Hell, Broadway Bound, and Sunday in the Park with George, among others.

Will & Grace star McCormack made his Broadway debut as The Music Man in 2001, then co-starred in the Tony-nominated Gore Vidal’s The Best Man in 2012.

Bundy made her stage debut at age nine in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and played the roles of Tina in Ruthless, Amber in Broadway’s Hairspray, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical and Glinda in Wicked.

Cooper, currently starring as Doc in Apple TV’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, appeared on Broadway: Chris in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Tootsie, Spring Awakening and Spongebob Squarepants, among others.

The Cottage is produced by Broadway & Beyond Theatricals (Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner, Tracey McFarland), Martian Entertainment (Carl White, Gregory Rae), and Cornice Productions (Eric Cornell, Jack Sennott). Broadway & Beyond Theatricals will Executive Produce.

Morning Show Appearance

(2/10/23) Today - NBC

Thursday, February 16

(9-10 a.m.) Catching Up with Taye Diggs.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/8/23) Late Night with Seth Meyers - NBC

Wednesday, February 15: Taye Diggs (All American).

Catching Up with Actor Gavin Houston 2/15/23

(2/7/23) (Watch here) Please join actor Gavin Houston live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, February 15th at 3p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Gavin will be here to look back at his time as Remy Boudreau on Guiding Light and will tell us about his return to ABC’s General Hospital.

Gavin is well known for his role as Jeffrey Harrington on the Oprah Winfrey Network primetime television soap opera, The Haves and the Have Nots. He has appeared in the prime time hit series, Roswell: New Mexico, Shameless, NCIS:LA, Grey’s Anatomy and Without a Trace to Name a Few. Gavin also played Grammy Award-winner Babyface in the Lifetime movie Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/4/23) THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN - CBS

Friday, Feb. 10

Allison Janney

Dishing with Digest - 2/3/23 -Krista Tesreau

(2/3/23) (Listen / download) Krista Tesreau recalls her days as GUIDING LIGHT’s Mindy, ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Tina and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also preview the hottest February storylines.

Tina Sloan One-on-One

(1/28/23) (Watch here) Actress, playwright, and author Tina Sloan will join Alan live for an Author’s Afternoon in The Locher Room on Thursday, February 2nd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to discuss her latest book Chasing Othello, the second in the steamy-CIA-terrorist-busting-thriller.

Continuing Chasing Cleopatra’s fast-paced, sexy thrills, Chasing Othello takes us deeper into the thrilling saga that you will willingly fall into. This addictive series contains all the soap-opera-esque thrills and chills with romance and adventure we all dream of.

Tina will also look back on playing Lillian Raines on Guiding Light for 26 years. She has also appeared in numerous films- "Black Swan" with Natalie Portman, Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck, Woody Allen's Celebrity and many others, She's also a cast member of "Venice “and "Beacon Hill'- online series.

Tina has co-written a one-woman show, "Changing Shoes," which she's performed around the country to great reviews. And has been a featured Speaker around the country and London. She also wrote a memoir titled Changing Shoes... going from sexy high heels to black flats as we age.

Talk Show Appearance

(1/28/23) THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT - CBS

Monday, Jan. 30

Murray Bartlett

Nia Long on thinking a white guy wrote 'Boyz n the Hood,' her deep love for Will Smith and being turned down for 'Charlie's Angels'

(1/25/23) (yahoo.com) Nia Long is having a moment right now. A month ago came The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Peacock's joyous reunion series spun-off from two popular rom-com ensembles. Soon, she couples with Eddie Murphy as Jonah Hill's disapproving wannabe in-laws in Netflix's You People. And Friday, she hits theaters in the virtual thriller Missing, the big-studio sequel to 2018's innovative Sundance hit Searching.

Long has had plenty of moments in her accomplished career. Still, she's an actress who seems to draw the utmost respect yet remain vastly underappreciated at the same time.

Black audiences, in particular, have long given the 52-year-old Brooklyn-born, Los Angeles-raised Long her flowers after her appearances in seminal films like Boyz n the Hood, Friday, Love Jones, Soul Food and a pair of Best Man movies (The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday), not to mention television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Empire. She's called "generational," "timeless," "America's sweetheart," "Black culture," and of course, every variation of "beautiful." Rappers from Ghostface Killah to Kanye to J.Cole have dropped her name in their lyrics.

Her Missing co-star Storm Reid gets it.

"My mom loves her, and one of her favorite movies is Love Jones, so I've been a Nia Long fan for a very long time," laughs Reid, who plays the teenage daughter who goes searching for her missing mother (Long) in the Nick Johnson and Will Merrick mystery that, like Searching, plays out entirely on computer and mobile screens and apps. "She's incredible to work with… I've had a few movie moms but she has to be Number One."

In a candid new Role Recall interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Long looked back at some of her most famous gigs. She recalled thinking Boyz n the Hood' mustve been written by a white man before meeting the late John Singleton. She defended Fresh Prince co-star and longtime friend Will Smith in the wake of heavy backlash the actor has faced since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars and got emotional as the scrutiny reminded her of her recent breakup with husband Ime Udoka. And she debunked internet lore that she passed up a role in Charlie's Angels (2000) to co-star with Martin Lawrence in Big Momma's House.

On being an extra on the Ricky Schroder sitcom Silver Spoons in 1982

"I remember having the biggest crush on Ricky Schroder. I thought he was so cute and he did not look at me at all. He didn't pay the extras any mind. He was just like, 'Whatever. What’s the next scene?' [After being told that Schroder is more well-known these days for being a right-wing activist than an actor:] Oh, well cut this part outta the interview. I don't pay attention to what they're doing over there. No, I'm kidding [laughs]… I'm not down with that, though. That's probably why he didn't look at my ass. Think about it… You know what, that was a very healing moment for me, because now I understand."

On having her first lines — but no character name (she was credited as "Girl") — on another '80s sitcom favorite, 227

"I remember the amazing Marla Gibbs was lovely. My friend Regina King was starring on the show at that time. We were young and it was exciting and quick and I think I had like two or three lines and that was it. But it was like, 'Oh my gosh.' My first real experience. So it was cool… I [was happy] to be 'Girl.' S***, if that's going to get me in the door. This girl got in the door by playing 'Girl.'… It was legendary because of 'Girl,' right? No, only because of Regina King and Marla Gibbs and all of the other amazing women that were on that show. Like, let's be real. I'm joking. But that show was iconic and one of a kind."

On living with roaches in New York City even after inking a three-year contract to play Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the long-running CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1991-1993)

"It was good. It was sort of like going away to college because you had to be on your toes every single day. And the amount of dialogue that we would have to memorize was insane. Like, I don't even know how I did it, but I think that was the biggest gift from that experience was just understanding the technicalities of film and television and camera angles and how things worked and being a part of a big group and seeing the same people every day, making those long-term friendships…. It was like my family. I had left California, I had graduated from high school, went straight to New York, which is where I'm from. And I lived on 39th Street between First and Second Avenue in New York City. And I had, you know, roaches in my apartment and I was walking to work and eating slices of pizza because soaps don't pay like people probably assume they do. It was the nineties. It was the era of Puffy parties and Biggie and Nas and Shaq and Heavy D. It was just an amazing time to be Black, and to be Black in New York City. It's always an amazing time to be Black. But those were the formative years of curating the culture and I'm so happy to be a part of that."

On her first impression of John Singleton’s groundbreaking inner-city drama Boyz n the Hood (1991), in which she’d costar as Brandi, girlfriend to Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Tre

"I thought, 'Who was this person doing this film called Boyz n the Hood?' In the early years of one's career, you don't always get the script. You might just get like three pages of dialogue to kind of go in and audition. And I remember walking in, it was a super rainy day. I was sitting in the corner [of the room] and I had a baseball cap on. I put no effort into getting ready that day. I was like, 'I can't.' I didn't wanna go because I honestly thought, 'Who is the white guy writing a movie called Boyz n the Hood?' That's what I thought. I'm gonna be totally transparent. And my agent was like, 'No, you have to go.' But she didn't even know. With a name like John Singleton, it could kind of go either way. You kind of wanted to lean Black, but you weren't quite sure.

"So I remember walking into this casting office and all the actors were standing around, and John Singleton was walking around the room looking at every actor. And he came up to me and he looked me up and down and he said, 'What's your name? Who are you?' I said, 'Well, who are you?' And I kind of gave him that look like, 'If you don't get outta my face, boy we're gonna have problems' [laughs]. And he was like, 'I'm John Singleton, the director.' And I was like, 'Oh, hi, nice to meet you' [laughs]. And we hit it off. I went in and I auditioned and I just believed that he was going to tell a really important story that was close to my personal experiences and that he would be our Spike Lee on the West Coast. Spike was really representing the Black experience on the East Coast, and not just the East Coast, but he identified with Brooklyn… But there's a whole situation going on in South Central that I really lived as a young girl. And I just think there will never be another John Singleton."

On playing two separate roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (a one-off as Claudia in 1991, and a recurring role as Will Smith's girlfriend-turned-fiancée Lisa from 1994-1995), and her deep love for Smith in the wake of the actor’s uncharacteristic attack on Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars

"They recycled me on Fresh Prince… You know what, I think sometimes that's where you take the creative license and you're like, 'I don't have to explain s***.' Forget Claudia, you are now Lisa. Those were good old days. It was my first consistent job where I was actually working every day and learning what it meant to be on a show with three cameras versus film where there's one camera… And I just remember that Will was this energetic, goofy, funny guy that was obsessed with playing golf and sneakers. And he was just the happiest person. He was like Disneyland. Will Smith was like Disneyland during The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And I love him and I will always love him. And he's had an incredible career and he's carried a burden for many years to try to represent what perfection looks like or achievement looks like. And I don't think that, at least when we were growing up, there was room to be human. And I think he's now able to be human and I'm just thankful and grateful for that moment in my career because it taught me a lot about comedy.

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Can you stop being so damn happy?' You cannot be this happy. But he really is. He's a joyous person. But I think we all have our moments in life where we have to reconcile things that maybe we suppress. And I think it's hard growing up in this business and being front and center every day, all day… I can go to the grocery store anytime I want to. And for the most part people are like, 'Hey Nia Long, how you doing?' No one's chasing me down the street. I still have my anonymity and I appreciate that about my career. I appreciate that. However I've managed to do that. That it's, it's the thing that allows me to stay connected to the people and to be human and not try to be this perfect being. And you know, I've had some pretty devastating moments in my life over the last couple of months and I've had to just say, 'It's all right. You'll pick yourself back up…' Oh my God, I'm about to cry. You pick yourself back up and you keep it moving.

On meeting Chris Tucker on the hood stoner comedy Friday (1995)

"One of the funniest moments while shooting Friday was my drive to work. I'm on the freeway driving to work, and I thought I was the s***. I had the starter kit BMW. 'Cause I'd had a couple jobs now, I got a nice car… I'm still living at home. And I was like, 'OK, I got a nice car.' I'm driving on the freeway, I have my windows down, 'cause that was the thing. You put your windows down and play your music loud to let 'em know you were rolling up… And I hear, 'Nia! Nia! Nia Long!' Like screaming. And I turn to my left and it's Chris Tucker in a hooptie. I don't I've ever seen this type of car before. But it was the raggediest piece of s*** I had ever seen in my life. And he's like, 'Nia Long, when I grow up, I wanna be just like you!' And [as he's driving], I realize his back window is a pizza box. The whole window had been busted out and he had taped a whole pizza box in the window. I said, 'Well, what happened to your window?' 'I dunno, somebody f***ed up my s***. And he takes off and, and then I see him like, you know, 20 minutes later at work… Can I curse like this? I just wanna make sure because it makes for a better story when you used profanities.

"Then cut to years later, I don't know how many years later, but it was at least 20 years later, maybe not that long. It doesn't matter. [It was after Tucker hit it big with Rush Hour.] The point is he's like, 'Nia, what have you been up to? Let's get together. I wanna see you.' I'm like, 'Yeah, let's go to dinner.' He picks me up… He had an airplane pick me up. I don't know what kind of car this was. It was like the top-of-the-line Rolls-Royce with the doors that [open backward]. I couldn't even get in the damn car. I was like, 'Chris, how do I get in here?' The doors were flying up and the whole time we were in the car, he's singing Michael Jackson songs. And I was like, 'Oh my God, he wants to be Michael Jackson.' He knew every lyric and every dance move from [the waist] up. So we danced and sang Michael Jackson songs all the way down Sunset Boulevard to the restaurant and then all the way back home. I love Chris Tucker. That's my guy."

On her instant love for the romantic drama Love Jones (1997), which paired her with Larenz Tate and struggled at the box office before eventually becoming a cult classic

"Oh man, I just remember shooting that film and thinking it just felt so representative of the Black love that I know. And even though I was super young, like we all know that feeling, that warmth when you connect with someone. And what was really cool was I really connected with Larenz. We have such a special friendship. Our friendship, it's to the end of time. And to me, whatever level I was at in my career or wherever we were as a film community, to me that film is perfection. I would not change a thing. I would not go back and redo it. I'm not interested in doing a sequel. I think that film is timeless. And I remember when it came out, mind you, I had all of these feelings while we were filming. But the film came out and it made $9 million. It was a flop. Nobody went to the theater to see it because we were coming off the era of the gangster films, of the Black hood stories, which are equally as important. No one knew who I was. I mean, maybe a couple people did. Some people knew who Larenz was. Now it's like a cult classic. And so some things get sweeter with time. And so I would say Love Jones is one of those things. And I would just never, never touch it."

On the family vibe of The Best Man (1999), in which she played journalist Jordan Armstrong opposite Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard and Sanaa Lathan — and reviving the character in a sequel and TV series

"We always got along. There's never any drama on that set with the actors. Other things maybe, but not with the actors… I think [writer-director] Malcolm [D.] Lee was a genius in the way that he cast that film because we were all educated, confident, established, maybe not star status, but we were established actors that knew when we were onto something. We knew we were onto contributing to the culture in a big and important way. But there was also an unspoken mutual respect for one another because we also understand how difficult it is. And you put us in a room together, it was like the best dessert, most decadent dessert you could ever imagine. Because we just know our s***. And that's why the [new] series did so well, because we know those characters like the back of our hands. What I love about Jordan is she's funny, she's sensitive, she's ambitious, she's fearless, she's vulnerable. I've had the opportunity to explore this woman at every stage of her life. And it's been fun."

On the internet tidbit that she passed on a lead role in the 2000 action movie Charlie's Angels for the Martin Lawrence comedy Big Momma's House, released that same year

"That is the biggest fattest lie. Charlie's Angels did not want me because they said I looked too sophisticated and too old next to Drew Barrymore… But listen, I thought Lucy Liu was great in that role. When I went back and looked at it, I was like, 'Whoa, she's really doing some stunts.' I don't know if I was quite ready for that. I don't, you can't do everything, and every opportunity isn't for you. And as much as it would've been fun to play that character, I think Big Momma's House was probably more fun for me. And working with Martin Lawrence, another genius comedian who I have so much respect for… You know, the turnover [in this industry] is so frequent that we forget about the guys that really just came and allowed Black people to have success in television. Do you know how many people worked because of Martin Lawrence? Do you know how many people worked because of Tichina Arnold? Just that whole group on [Martin]. Tisha Campbell is a legend. When you go back and you watch Tisha Campbell in School Daze, I was mesmerized by her growing up, her dancing, her singing. She's a triple threat. She does it all. Like these are the women that I admired and we're the same age, but they were the ones that kind of got their breaks before I got my breaks. And so I look at them and I just go, 'Wow, they need to be celebrated more.'"

On filming Missing on cellphone and computer cameras

"Oh my God. It's driven by technology. It's thrilling, it's fast-paced. It's a mystery. It's shot in a very unorthodox way. Everything that you think that you know about the process of filmmaking, all the rules are broken in this. And what's really exciting is we are now reminded of how much technology runs our lives, but also there's another way of expressing this art that doesn't have to be so shiny and pretty and perfect, and that we can get closer to the real world that we live in."

Missing is now playing.

‘Titans’ & ‘Doom Patrol’ To End With Seasons 4 On HBO Max

(1/25/23) Two of the DC series on HBO Max, Titans and Doom Patrol, will be coming to an end. Both recently wrapped their six-episode Season 4A runs on the streamer, and the upcoming second halves of their fourth seasons will be the shows’ final chapters. Both had been crafted to give the series proper ending.

Titans and Doom Patrol, both from Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, are the last live-action series from the slate of the now-defunct DC Universe. They made the transition to HBO Max after the first two seasons when DC Universe folded. Titans and Doom Patrol then ran for two more seasons, with the creatives behind both mapping those seasons to complete their story arcs.

Both Titans and Doom Patrol have been well received by critics, with high marks on Rotten Tomatoes, and have done well on the platform, according to the scarce HBO Max performance data available. They, along with other DC shows that are coming to an end, including The Flash and Stargirl on the CW, close a chapter in Berlanti Prods.’ tenure at Warner Bros. Television Group which was just extended with a massive new deal.

“While these will be the final seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol, we are very proud of these series and excited for fans to see their climactic endings,” an HBO Max spokesperson said. “We are grateful to Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television for making such thrilling, action-packed, heartfelt series. We thank Titans showrunner Greg Walker, executive producers Greg Berlanti, Akiva Goldsman, Sarah Schechter, Geoff Johns, Richard Hatem, and the team at Weed Road Pictures. For Doom Patrol, we celebrate showrunner Jeremy Carver and executive producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Geoff Johns, Chris Dingess and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson. For four seasons, fans have fallen in love with the Titans and Doom Patrol, investing in their trials and tribulations, and in their legendary battles saving the world time and time again.”

Titans, developed by Goldsman, Johns and Berlanti based on the characters from DC, stars Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Joshua Orpin, Franka Potente, and Joseph Morgan.

In Season 4, having saved Gotham, the Titans hit the road to head back to San Francisco. But after a stop in Metropolis, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a supernatural cult with powers unlike anything they’ve faced before.

“I’m immensely proud of our gifted cast, crew, and writing staff and their efforts in bringing to life all forty nine episodes over the last five plus years,” Walker said. “I couldn’t have asked for better partners in Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, and HBO Max, and from the beginning, Geoff Johns and Akiva Goldsman. I’m incredibly grateful for their unyielding trust throughout this process. Lastly, I have to thank our incredible fans for their continued support, engagement, and the passionate community they’ve built around our show. We have six episodes left to unleash upon the world that we hope will give our beloved characters the creative closure we all know they deserve.”

Doom Patrol, which was part of newly minted Oscar nominee Brendan Fraser’s return to Hollywood, reimagines some of DC’s most recognized superheroes: “Robotman” aka Cliff Steele (Fraser), “Negative Man” aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), “Elasti-Woman” aka Rita Farr (April Bowlby), “Crazy Jane” (Diane Guerrero), “Cyborg” aka Victor Stone (Joivan Wade), joined by former super-villain “Madame Rouge” aka Laura de Mille (Michelle Gomez). The series also stars Skye Roberts, Riley Shanahan and Matthew Zuk.

The series was developed by Carver based on characters created for DC by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.

Season 4 opened with the team unexpectedly traveling to the future to find an unwelcome surprise. Faced with their imminent demise, the Doom Patrol must decide once and for all which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world?

“To our wonderfully supportive partners at HBO Max, Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and DC Studios, thank you for indulging us these past four seasons,” Carver said. “Also, what were you smoking? To our brilliant cast, indomitable crew, fearless writing staff and, most of all, to our beautiful fans: thank you all the more. You made this a once-in-a-lifetime ride.”

Talk Show Appearance

(1/20/23) LIVE WITH KELLY AND RYAN, syndicated

Wednesday January 26: Nia Long

Talk Show Appearance

(1/20/23) THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW, syndicated

Friday January 27: Nia Long

Extrapolations sets debut

(1/19/23) Extrapolations — a limited series featuring eight interwoven stories about what happens “when the planet is changing faster than the population,” per Apple TV+ — will premiere with three episodes on Friday, March 17, followed by one new episode every week (through April 21). The star-studded cast includes Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Edward Norton, Diane Lane, Yara Shahidi, Matthew Rhys, Gemma Chan, David Schwimmer, Keri Russell, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker, Eiza González, Murray Bartlett, Tobey Maguire, Heather Graham, Michael Gandolfini, Cherry Jones and Judd Hirsch, among others.

‘Scream VI’ Trailer: The Call Waiting Is Over As Ghostface Returns For More

(1/19/23) (Video) (Pic, Poster) Paramount on Thursday released the official trailer for Scream VI, the continuation of the horror franchise that began in 1996. The Paramount-Spyglass pic hits theaters March 10.

The latest pic, co-directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, follows on from last year’s Scream V and returns the four survivors of the latest Ghostface killings. The cast includes returnees Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere and Courteney Cox. Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra and Samara Weaving also star.

A notable absentee in the trailer that dropped today: Neve Campbell, like Cox a franchise regular, who revealed last year that she wasn’t returning.

It’s Cox’s Gale Weathers that gets the iconic phone call in the footage revealed today.

“It never works out for the dipsh*t in the mask,” Gale tells Ghostface over the phone. “Maybe,” responds the voice, “but there’s never been one like me, Gale. I’m something different.” It looks like Barrera’s Sam might be involved in the final showdown.

James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick, who wrote Scream V, return as scribes, William Sherak, Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein are producers. Kevin Williamson, Gary Barber, Peter Oillataguerre, Chad Villella, Cox, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena are executive producers.

'Pitch Perfect' Star Brittany Snow Files For Divorce From Husband Tyler Stanaland

(1/19/23) Brittany Snow is officially waving the white flag on her marriage ... because she just filed for divorce from her reality TV star husband.

The "Pitch Perfect" star beelined it to court Wednesday and filed to divorce Tyler Stanaland, who appears on "Selling the OC," after nearly three years of marriage.

Brittany is citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split ... and she says there is a prenup.

The divorce filing is not out of left field ... as we reported, the pair announced in September that they had separated.

On the same day the couple announced their separation, Tyler was spotted getting up close and personal with his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall ... but he says they are just friends.

But a few days later Tyler and Brittany were hanging out, and even spent the night together.

Nevertheless, it appears reconciliation is not in the cards ... because Brittany is forging ahead with a divorce.

Brittany and Tyler tied the knot March 14, 2020 ... just as the pandemic was shutting the world down ... and they did not have any kids together.

We reached out to Tyler ... so far no word back.

Good news for Tyler, it was announced this week “Selling the OC” got picked up for 2 more seasons. It's unclear if the divorce will be covered on the show, but fans can hope!

Guiding Light - The Watch Party

(1/19/23) (Watch Here) Please join Alan Locher and friends, Guiding Light’s Jill Lorie Hurst, Danielle Paige and Brett Staneart live in The Locher Room on January 25th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST for a Guiding Light Watch Party.

Guiding Light made its radio debut on January 25, 1937, and this January the show would have celebrated its 86th birthday on radio and television.

To honor this anniversary, they invite you to join us as they look back on one of the most impactful storylines to hit Springfield. 30 years ago this month, Guiding Light fans mourned the death of Maureen Bauer. The impact of her death left an indelible mark on all of us. Join them as they come together to watch scenes from January 1993 and mourn the loss of both Maureen Bauer and our Springfield family.

Let’s celebrate all things Springfield on January 25th as we come together to watch some classic Guiding Light acting, writing and production from 1993.

NAACP Image Awards Nominations

(1/12/23) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Alexis Floyd – Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Danielle Deadwyler – From Scratch (Netflix)
Melissa De Sousa – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Nia Long – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Phylicia Rashad – Little America (Apple TV+)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)
Billy Porter – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)
Cedric the Entertainer – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)
Chris Bridges – Karma’s World (Netflix)
Cree Summer – Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
Kyla Pratt – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)

Talk Show Appearance

(1/12/23) The Talk - CBS

Monday, Jan. 16

actor Lawrence Saint-Victor (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL)

Brittany Snow to guest on “Not Dead Yet”

(1/11/23) ABC’s newest addition to its comedy roster, “Not Dead Yet” starring and executive produced by Gina Rodriguez, makes its highly anticipated series debut with a two-episode premiere on WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, starting at 8:30-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

The series follows Nell Serrano, a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind five years ago. When she lands the only job she can find ? writing obituaries ? Nell starts getting life advice from some unlikely sources, the dead people whose lives she’s writing about. Joining previously announced Martin Mull (“Clue”) as Nell’s ghostly visitors is a star-studded roster, including Ed Begley Jr. (“Amsterdam”), Mo Collins (“Fear the Walking Dead”), Deborah S. Craig (“Meet Cute”), Telma Hopkins (“Family Matters”), Don Lake (“Space Force”), Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”), Paula Pell (“Saturday Night Live”), Tony Plana (“Ugly Betty”), Brittany Snow (“X”) and Julia Sweeney (“Saturday Night Live”).

Additional series guest star announcements to follow.

“Not Dead Yet” stars Gina Rodriguez as Nell Serrano, Hannah Simone as Sam, Lauren Ash as Lexi, Rick Glassman as Edward, Josh Banday as Dennis and Angela Gibbs as Cricket.

‘All American’ Renewed For Season 6 At The CW; Marks First Scripted Deal Under New Owners

(1/11/23) The CW may be scaling back its scripted ambitions but it’s keeping All American.

The network has handed an early sixth season renewal to the drama series, marking the first scripted renewal after Nexstar took ownership earlier this year.

All American, which was The CW’s number one linear series in adult 18-49, most-watched series on digital and the largest show in total audience across all platforms, will launch its fifth season on January 23.

It will then return for season six in the 2023-24 broadcast season.

Deadline understands the series, which comes from Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios, will continue to be produced in line with its previous seasons. This comes despite talk that the network is looking to cut budgets for scripted orders and floating a target license fee for drama series of $1 million dollar per episode going forward.

The move also marks the first renewal since the hire of Brad Schwartz as President of Entertainment.

It bucks a trend where a large number of The CW’s scripted shows are coming to an end including DC’s Stargirl, The Flash, Riverdale and Nancy Drew.

Season five kicks off when Laura (Monet Mazur) throws Billy (Taye Diggs) a surprise birthday party, everyone comes together to roast Billy, but Billy has a looming decision hanging over his head. Spencer (Daniel Ezra) makes an effort to do what’s best for himself, hoping it helps Olivia (Samantha Logan) and him take a step towards moving on. Jayme (guest star Miya Horcher) offers some sage advice to Asher (Cody Christian) about his speech with JJ (Hunter Clowdus), but she ignores her own about watching out for red flags. Meanwhile, Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) and Layla (Greta Onieogou) get in their first fight over something neither of them could have predicted.

All American is exec produced by Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, John A. Norris, Jameal Turner, Mike Herro and David Strauss.

“Over the last five seasons, All American has established itself as one of the all-time CW flagship franchises,” said Schwartz. “All American is not only the network’s youngest series, but also the strongest performer when combining all our platforms. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, the entire creative team and the incredible cast for another season of captivating family drama.”

Joe Lando Returns to THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL!

(1/7/23) (soapsindepth.com) Fans will be seeing a familiar face back in daytime when Joe Lando returns to THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL as Judge Craig McMullen!

Lando first appeared on B&B back in September 2018 for a couple of months when he presided over Katie and Bill’s custody argument over their son, Will. Soap Opera Digest is reporting his first episode is scheduled to air on Monday, Jan. 9.

Although perhaps best known for playing Byron Sully on the popular primetime series DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN, Lando made his daytime debut back in 1990 playing Jake Harrison on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, creating a very popular supercouple with co-star Jessica Tuck (Megan). He also appeared as Macauley West on GUIDING LIGHT, an ex-cop who got involved with Mindy Lewis. In recent years, Lando could be seen in TV movies like A Very Charming Christmas Town, Paloma’s Fight, and A Christmas Spark.

Now, the last time around, Judge McMullen allowed himself to be… persuaded by Ridge into making sure he decided the custody case in Katie’s favor. This time, he’ll be dealing with Sheila’s fate, so it’s entirely likely justice may not be served for the villainess. Will Lando’s judge do the right thing or will Sheila be set free once again?

Stay tuned to B&B to find out!

John Wesley Shipp Interview

(1/3/23) (Watch Here) Emmy Award-winning actor John Wesley Shipp will join The Locher Room live on Friday, January 6th at 3 p.m. EST. John has been a continual presence on television for over four decades with popular roles on some of daytime and prime-time TV’s biggest shows.

John made his television debut on Guiding Light where he played, “Dr. Kelly Nelson.” John is a two-time Emmy winner, garnering his first award for his incredible performance as the duplicitous Douglas Cummings opposite Julianne Moore on As the World Turns and his second Emmy the following year for his guest turn as Martin Ellis on Santa Barbara - making him the only actor to win consecutive Emmys for two different daytime dramas. Other memorable roles include stints on One Life to Live, and All My Children.

John currently portrays Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash and will return to Vancouver soon to shoot the ninth and final season. John has played five different roles across five different shows in the FLASH franchise for over 30 years.

He starred as The Flash when CBS brought the series’ first to television in the 1990’s; he has played Barry Allen, Professor Zoom, Henry Allen, and Jay Garrick. He just appeared in the series finale of STARGIRL on December 7, 2022.

John took on another iconic role after The Flash that of Mitch Leery, James Van der Beek’s father, on the WB’s series Dawson’s Creek. He continued with a memorable turn as boxer Lucky Williams, love interest to Julianne Phillip’s Frankie, on NBC’s hit drama Sisters, and terrified audiences with his haunting arc as Isaac’s abusive father and Beacon Hills gravedigger, Mr. Lahey, opposite Daniel Sharman on MTV’s drama Teen Wolf.

John is a classically trained theater actor who also studied opera. He was featured on Broadway playing the Welsh wastrel, Gerry Evans, in the TONY Award winning production of Dancing at Lughnasa, as well as in Safe Sex at the Lyceum Theatre opposite Harvey Fierstein to name a few. John just played Henry Fonda in a workshop of a new play Hank and Jim Build a Plane written by One Life to Live’s David Gregory.

Phideaux Xavier Interview - Celebrating 25 Years Directing Daytime Television

(12/29/22) (Watch here) Emmy Award-winning director and musician Phideaux Xavier will join me live in The Locher Room on Thursday, January 5th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to celebrate his incredible 25-year career directing some of your favorite daytime dramas.

Phideaux began his career on Guiding Light (under his original name of Scott Riggs) as a Student Intern and then worked as a PA, Associate Director, Writer and Director. In NYC, Phideaux spent time directing on Another World, One Life To Live, As The World Turns and All My Children before relocating to Los Angeles to direct Sunset Beach, MTV's Spyder Games, Passions, Days Of Our Lives, The Young And The Restless and ultimately General Hospital where he currently resides.

Phideaux has also written two songs for General Hospital's “Nurses Ball” which were performed on the show by Eden McCoy. He also made an on-camera appearance singing an original song on General Hospital.

Bradley Cole Interview 1/4/23

(12/28/22) (Watch here) Bradley Cole will help me kick-off the New Year when he sits down live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Bradley will be here to look back at his time on Guiding Light, his role as Dad to Sean and Maya and fill us in on what’s ahead for him in 2023.

Bradley first joined the cast of Guiding Light back in July of 1999 as the charismatic Prince Richard Winslow. He left that role in 2002 and to the fans’ delight he returned to GUIDING LIGHT in May of 2003, taking on the new role of District Attorney, Jeffrey O’Neill.

A veteran of both movies and television in Europe, Cole has appeared in the international soap opera Riviera. His film credits include the made-for-television movies Jewels and The Sun Also Rises, as well as the feature films Sweet Revenge, Touch and Die, and 5 Days in June.

An accomplished musician and songwriter, Cole has released five albums: Tonite, All Your Dreams, In Our Time and most recently Live Tracks and A Human Thing. Songs off of his albums were also featured on GUIDING LIGHT. Bradley is headed out on tour with French musician Elsa Esnoult in the US in early 2023. In addition to performing with Elsa on stage in Paris, he also has a recurring role playing her father in Les Mystères de l'amour.

Guiding Light - Kathleen Cullen Interview 12/9/22

(12/8/22) (Watch here) Actress Kathleen Cullen will join The Locher Room live on Friday, December 9th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Kathleen will be here to look back at her time playing Amanda Wexler Spaulding on the CBS daytime drama, Guiding Light.

Kathleen made her debut in August of 1978 and played the role through August of 1983. Kathleen certainly left her mark as fans always hoped to see her return to the canvas over the years.

For the past few years, Kathleen has been an audition coach to young Broadway Actors transitioning into more mature material, and audition coach to conservatory and Broadway bound artists.

Kathleen has two daughters and is a proud grandmother of three equally hilarious and brilliant grandchildren, Aidan, Chloe, and Finley. They are the light of her life.

FX Orders ‘The Border’ Pilot Based On Don Winslow’s Cartel Trilogy; E.J. Bonilla To Lead Cast

(12/7/22) FX has given a pilot order to The Border, a drama based on the third book in Don Winslow’s bestselling Cartel Trilogy, from Daniel Zelman, (Damages, Bloodline), Shane Salerno (Salinger, Avatar sequels and FX Productions. E.J. Bonilla (The Old Man, The Long Way Home) is set to lead the cast, which also includes Frank Blake (Sanditon, Normal People), Annie Shapero (Red Skies), Sebastián Buitrón (Amsterdam, No fue mi culpa) and Luis Bordonada (Selena: The Series, Vida). Produced by FX Productions, the pilot will begin production in Mexico in 2023.

Zelman will write and serve as showrunner and executive producer along with Salerno, who adapted The Border for television with Zelman, Winslow, Diego Gutierrez, Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona, Tremors), who will direct the pilot, and Scott Free. Anabel Hernández will serve as Consulting Producer. 

The Border is an epic saga that reveals the dark truths about America’s failed 50-year war on drugs.  Taking us from the streets of New York to the poppy fields of Mexico, the jungles of Central America, and The White House, The Border  explodes the myths of the drug war through the intertwining narratives of characters on both sides of the Mexican-American border: an obsessive Mexican-American DEA agent, a young boxing promoter who inherits a drug empire, a jaded teenager who rises to power in the world of high class escorts, and an Irish kid from the streets of Hell’s kitchen who becomes a ruthless, international hitman.  We follow these characters on a raw, unflinching journey through history, as they are pulled ever deeper into the drug war and forced to confront the limits of their humanity.

Bonilla will play Art Keller; Blake portrays Sean Callan; Shapero is Nora Hayden; Buitrón plays Adan Barrera and Bordonada portrays Miguel Angel Barrera.

The three global bestsellers in the trilogy – The Power of the Dog (2005), The Cartel (2015), and The Border (2019) – have sold millions worldwide.

Bustamante has earned numerous awards for his films, including the 2019 Venice Film Festival: Winner – GdA Director’s Award, the 2019 Venice Film Festival: Winner – Best Film, and the 2015 Berlin Film Festival: Winner. He is repped by CAA and M88.

Bonilla is repped by Innovative Artists and MKSD Talent Management. Blake is repped by Curtis Brown, the Lisa Richards Agency and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Shapero is with Karli Doumanis at Zero Gravity Management and Collective Talent Management (Australia). Buitrón is repped by Lizzy Cancino at Jerry ML. Bordonada is with Park Noack Agency and Authentic Talent & Literary Management. Zelman, Salerno and Gutierrez are repped by CAA.

Talk Show Appearance

(12/7/22) Tamron Hall - syndicated

Thursday, Dec. 15: Tamron welcomes the cast of “The Best Man: The Final Chapters.” MORRIS CHESTNUT, NIA LONG and MELISSA DE SOUSA reunite. Plus, HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE discusses the importance of her new film, “Holiday Heritage,” which marks Hallmark’s first-ever movie celebrating Kwanzaa!

Critics Choice TV Nominations

(12/6/22) The winners will be unveiled at the Critics Choice Awards gala, which will broadcast live on The CW from the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7 p.m. ET/delayed PT.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
Mandy Moore – This Is Us (NBC)
Kelly Reilly – Yellowstone (Paramount Network)
Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs (FX)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Julia Garner – Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Lily James – Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Amber Midthunder – Prey (Hulu)
Julia Roberts – Gaslit (Starz)
Michelle Pfeiffer – The First Lady (Showtime)
Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout (Hulu)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Murray Bartlett – Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu)
Domhnall Gleeson – The Patient (FX)
Matthew Goode – The Offer (Paramount+)
Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Ray Liotta – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Shea Whigham – Gaslit (Starz).

Murray Bartlett Signs With WME

(12/6/22) Emmy winner Murray Bartlett has signed with WME.

After a breakthrough performance on season one of HBO’s The White Lotus, Bartlett won his first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series. Additionally, he took home the Critics Choice Award and was nominated for a SAG Award and Independent Spirit Award for the role.

He can currently be seen starring in Hulu’s limited series Welcome to Chippendales, which premiered in November.

Bartlett will return to HBO in the upcoming series The Last of Us, which premieres January 15. He has also joined the Apple+ anthology series Extrapolations. On the film side, Bartlett recently wrapped production on the independent feature Ponyboi, written by River Gallo and directed by Esteban Arango.

Additional TV credits include Apple+ series Physical, Marvel/Netflix’s Iron Fist, CMT’s Nashville, CBS’ Limitless, Netflix revival of Tales of the City, and the HBO series Looking, which culminated in an original HBO film. On the feature side, additional credits include Girl Most Likely, Dan and Dave, and The Stand In.

Bartlett continues to be represented by Anonymous Content, Relevant, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Nia Long Udoka Scandal 'Was Devastating' ... Blasts Celtics Org, Too

(12/1/22) Nia Long is finally breaking her silence on the cheating scandal involving her fiancé, suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka -- saying she was devastated when the news broke two months ago ... and still is.

As we previously reported, Udoka -- hired as the Celtics HC last year -- was shelved for the entire 2022-23 season in September ... after having an inappropriate relationship with a female staff, violating team policy.

Long -- who got engaged to Udoka in 2015 and has an 11-year-old son with the coach -- hasn't spoken publicly about the scandal until recently doing an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face," the actress said, "when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public."

"It was devastating, and it still is."

The "Friday" actress -- who did not discuss her relationship status with Udoka -- also called out the Celtics for not reaching out when they revealed the personal details of the scandal.

"If you're in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.”

In spite of that, Long said she had "a tribe of women and men" instead ... protecting and comforting her through this difficult time.

Plus, Long is looking forward to directing her first film ... and it's a love story.

"I have to commit myself to that because I think sometimes when so much is happening, it takes your breath away and then it’s like you’re holding your breath, and you feel this angst and this panic of constantly being in fight-or-flight survival mode," Long said.

"I think mothers, Black women, we understand that more than anyone."

Yvonna Kopacz-Wright guests on FBI: Most Wanted 1/3/23

(12/1/22) “Processed” – When a celebrity child psychiatrist specializing in generational trauma is kidnapped by the relative of a former client, the team races to track down the perpetrator and learns what really happened to the psychiatrist’s client. Also, Kristin confronts her own deep-rooted trauma, on the CBS Original series FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesday, Jan. 3 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

GUEST CAST includes: Alexander Neher (Noah Tramble), Alison Thornton (Ruthie Denham), Erin Cummings (Sandy Denham), Yvonna Kopacz-Wright (Dr. Olivia Kramer).

‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters’ Trailer Sets Up Emotional Reunion

(11/30/22) (Video) More than two decades after the premiere of Universal’s The Best Man, fans will revisit with the cast in Peacock‘s limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters premiering on December 22. The streamer released the first official trailer above.

Based upon the eponymous film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the 8-episode series will catch up with the beloved cast as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.

Returning cast includes all the originals: Morris Chestnut as Lance, Melissa De Sousa as Shelby, Taye Diggs as Harper, Regina Hall as Candy, Terrence Howard as Quentin, Sanaa Lathan as Robyn, Nia Long as Jordan, and Harold Perrineau as Murch. Rounding out the cast are Michael Genet, Yvonna Pearson, Aaron Serotsky, Terrence Terrell, Tobias Truvillion, and Eric Scott Ways.

The Best Man: The Final Chapters is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is created, written and executive produced by Malcolm D. Lee of Blackmaled Productions & Dayna Lynne North of Loud Sis Productions. Sean Daniel, of Hivemind, will serve as executive producer. Dominique Telson will also serve as executive producer and oversee production for Blackmaled Productions.

Watch the trailer in full above.

One Tree Hill Cast Recalls Being Forced Into 'Uncomfortable' Maxim Shoot by Bosses Who Called One Star 'Too Fat'

(11/28/22) Every diehard One Tree Hill fan remembers when three of the CW drama’s stars appeared on the cover of Maxim in 2006, but as revealed in a new episode of the show’s iHeartRadio rewatch podcast, it’s a moment that the actresses involved would much rather forget.

Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz detail the instances of misogyny and abuses of power surrounding that cover shoot in the Nov. 28 episode of Drama Queens. The shoot, which featured Bush, Burton and Danneel Ackles, was loosely tied into a Season 4 storyline in which Rachel (played by Ackles) lands the cover of Maxim‘s “Hometown Hotties” issue.

According to Bush and Burton, participation in the shoot was not optional.

“We got told we had to do it,” Bush says. “Because [my character] Brooke had been so sexualized on the show and the whole idea of this ‘Hometown Hottie’ was Rachel’s storyline, I was like, ‘If the girls want to do it, that’s great. I don’t. I have gone to battle trying to make Brooke less of this thing that you guys have tried to force me into. I don’t want to do it.’ I literally got told: ‘If you don’t go and shoot this cover with your costars, we will guarantee that you will never be let out for a press day, a movie, an event, any of your charities — we will keep you here forever.'”

Burton also recalls being coerced into doing the shoot. “I remember getting pulled into the production office and [sitting] on the floor while our boss was on the couch,” she says. “We were given this very friendly soft pitch: ‘Look, all the other shows have been on the cover of every single magazine, and no one wants you guys. You finally have someone who wants you, and you’re really going to turn your nose up at that?'”

Lenz, who did not take part in the shoot, then adds the most horrific detail yet: she remembers hearing that Bush and Burton were in Los Angeles for a photo shoot, and that she’d been “replaced” by Ackles.

“They told me that [Maxim] didn’t come to me because I was too fat, and I just wasn’t the ‘hot girl,'” Lenz says, who adds that negative references to her character’s appearance were also inserted into the scripts around this same time.

This was news to Bush and Burton, both of whom remember being told that Lenz turned down the opportunity. As Bush recalls, “When I said I didn’t want to do it, they said, ‘She said no, so you have to say yes.'” Bush tells Lenz, “They threw you under the f–ing bus. Like, why does she get to say no and I don’t? I didn’t understand. … We weren’t mad at you, but we were pissed about it.”

“We tried our hardest,” Bush says of the actual shoot. “We got cute vintage one pieces and high-waisted bikinis, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll wear this corset top that totally covers my tummy, and these shorts, and it’ll look like a ’50s pin-up shoot.’ And then the Photoshop they did of that outfit? Half of my ass is gone. Literally one of my legs is half of its size. … It’s like someone started to make one of my boobs bigger, then went to lunch and forgot they weren’t done. I have one normal-sized boob and one huge boob. It’s the worst.”

The actresses also recall their unnamed “boss” visiting the shoot with a gift for Burton. “It was an iPod that he had loaded with music he thought was applicable to me,” Burton says. “He wanted Sophia to see it to put her in her place, and he wanted Danneel to see it to try and make her jealous. Who does that with a pack of 24-year-olds?”

“A married adult man 20 years your senior,” Bush says, adding that it was “scary and uncomfortable” to watch him hand Burton this iPod. “I could see you collapse a little bit,” Bush says, to which Burton replies, “I was so f–ing embarrassed.”

It was this type of behavior, Bush says, that made the One Tree Hill set “not a safe place” for her. “This season, I was leaving every chance I got,” she says. “I wanted out. I wanted to go home.”

But if there must be a silver lining to this experience, let it be the white jeans of empowerment that Burton possesses to this very day. Allow her to explain:

“Guess who wore pants in Maxim? This guy!” Burton says. “Guys, I have kept this pair of white jeans for so long. I showed up that day and was such a righteous bitch. Such a brat, such a baby. I was like, ‘I’m wearing pants. I’m uncomfortable. Put me in the pants.’ So I’ve saved those white jeans as a testament to [that decision].”

This is the latest in a series of disturbing behind-the-scenes stories shared on Drama Queens. The podcast still celebrates what fans loved about One Tree Hill, but its hosts are also incredibly candid about their negative experiences on set, the hostile nature of which wasn’t fully revealed until years after the show’s 2012 conclusion. In 2017, Bush, Burton and Lenz joined 15 other One Tree Hill female cast and crew members in releasing a joint statement accusing series creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment.

New episodes of Drama Queens are released every Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.

Rebecca Budig Interview 11/30/22

(11/23/22) (Video) Catch up with actress Rebecca Budig live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, November 30th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Rebecca will be here to tell us about her new movie-of-the-week Fit For Christmas airing on Sunday, December 4th on CBS.

Fit For Christmas tells “the tale of Audrey, an enthusiastic Christmas-obsessed fitness instructor at a beloved, financially beleaguered community center in quaint Mistletoe, Mont., who begins a holiday romance with a charming, mysterious businessman, complicating his plans to turn the center into a more financially profitable resort property.” The film also stars The Talk’s Amanda Kloots.

Rebecca joined the cast of Guiding Light as Michelle Bauer in 1995 and moved over All My Children to play Greenlee Smythe in 1999. She remained in Pine Valley on and off through the show’s finale in 2011. In 2015 she joined the cast of General Hospital as Hayden Barnes.

Talk Show Appearance

(11/23/22) The Talk - CBS

Friday, Dec. 2

Host, actress and executive producer Amanda Kloots is joined by her CBS film FIT FOR CHRISTMAS co-stars Paul Greene, Rebecca Budig and son Elvis Cordero, who shares an exclusive clip of his acting debut

Hayden Panettiere, ex Brian Hickerson go on a trip following July split

(11/22/22) Back on again?

Hayden Panettiere and her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, were spotted together at LAX just three months after announcing their latest split.

In photos obtained by Page Six, the pair tried to stay under the radar while wearing dark clothes and baseball caps as they made their way around the airport.

The “Remember the Titans” actress and Hickerson — who dated on and off since the summer of 2018 — also enjoyed a bite to eat before jetting off on vacation for the holidays. However, it’s unknown where they were going.

The pair’s reunion may come as a surprise after Panettiere, 33, spoke out about her abusive relationship with Hickerson following a wild hotel brawl in May.

“It was a very dark and complicated time in my life,” the actress told People about dating in the midst of her alcohol and opioid addiction. “But a lot of women go through what I went through, and I want people to know it’s OK to ask for help.”

However, the pair seemingly tried to maintain a friendship following their split, with Panettiere saying “making amends is a really important thing that you learn in treatment.”

Hickerson also confirmed that he and the actress were “absolutely not” together in July after their very tumultuous four-year relationship seemingly came to a head.

Hickerson, who was on probation at the time, told paparazzi that there was no way the exes were ever going to reconcile and said he is “looking forward to new chapters.”

He was arrested back in May 2019 for domestic violence after he and the actress got into a drunken, physical altercation in their Los Angeles home.

Although Hickerson pleaded not guilty, he was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Panettiere — only to be arrested again in 2020 for domestic violence.

Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail for two felony counts of injuring a partner.

Following the second arrest, the “Nashville” star released a statement saying she would do anything she could to ensure “this man never hurts anyone again.”

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me in the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she wrote.

‘Back In The Groove’: Hulu Drops Trailer For Dating Show Hosted By Taye Diggs

(11/22/22) (Video) Hulu is offering a first look at its new dating show hosted by Taye Diggs.

Back in the Groove will follow three women in their 40s, stuck in the grind of their everyday lives, who will check into The Groove Hotel, a resort on an island of the Dominican Republic. The goal is to rediscover their youth, live joyously, and hopefully find love with men half their age.

The special four-night premiere event kicks off Monday, December 5 with two episodes, on Hulu. Two all-new episodes will be available to stream daily through Thursday, December 8.

The show marks the first unscripted Hulu Original series under the Walt Disney Television Alternative Banner. There will be eight episodes.

The three women are Sparkle, a 43-year-old from Atlanta; Steph, a 41-year-old from Miami, and Brooke, a 42-year-old from Los Angeles.

The series is executive produced by showrunner Elan Gale, Bill Dixon, Sonya Wilkes, Evan Wilkes, Michael Krupat, John Luscombe, Shannon Stoeke and Diggs. Back in the Groove is produced by Walt Disney Television Alternative and Beyond Media Rights Ltd.

NBC LAUNCHES NEW GAME SHOW ‘THE WHEEL’ WITH A TWO-WEEK TAKEOVER DURING THE HOLIDAYS, BEGINNING MONDAY, DEC. 19

(11/21/22) NBC rounds out the year with a two-week takeover of the UK’s smash hit game show “The Wheel,” hosted by renowned British comedian Michael McIntyre. The all-new U.S. version showcases a colossal spinning wheel of celebrity guests who help everyday contestants win life-changing money.

The takeover begins Monday, Dec. 19 with new episodes airing nightly at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and continues the following week with new episodes airing at 8 p.m. The series features suspenseful high-stakes trivia, laugh-out-loud moments and more than 50 all-star guests seated on a spectacular 42-foot-wide spinning wheel.

The all-star lineup includes Clay Aiken, Carole Baskin, Brie Bella, Tom Bergeron, Bobby Berk, Bre-Z, Jaime Camil, Christine Chiu, Margaret Cho, Deepak Chopra, Cat Cora, Victor Cruz, Ester Dean, Russell Dickerson, Taye Diggs, Sheila E., Shawn Johnson East, Josh Flagg, Kate Flannery, Vivica A. Fox, Debbie Gibson, Todrick Hall, Tony Hawk, Matt Iseman, JoJo, Chris Kattan, Steve Kornacki, Ricki Lake, Lyric Lewis, Loni Love, Judge Greg Mathis, Mark McGrath, Chrissy Metz, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, Terrell Owens, Kyla Pratt, Christina Ricci, Andy Richter, Amber Riley, Adam Rippon, Captain Lee Rosbach, Jalen Rose, Sanya Richards Ross, Amber Ruffin, Mark Sanchez, Tori Spelling, Curtis Stone, Raven-Symone, Jackie Tohn, Bruno Tonioli, John Urschel, Buddy Valastro, Kym Whitley, Justin Willman, Carnie Wilson and Captain Sandy Yawn.

Created and hosted by McIntyre, each hourlong episode follows six celebrity guests spinning, advising and supporting charismatic contestants as they endeavor to be the last one standing. As the contestants vie for the chance to win over $100,000, the celebrities lend their expertise in a variety of hilarious and outrageous categories from candy and comedians to poker and politics.

Below is the episode rollout:

Monday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. – “The Wheel: Premiere”
Contestants receive help from celebrity guests Cat Cora, Mark McGrath, Todrick Hall, Steve Kornacki, Christina Ricci and Amber Ruffin to answer trivia questions tackling a range of categories from Beyoncé and the ’90s to elections and more.

Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 10 p.m. – “Boats, Soaps & Wrestling Ropes”
With categories ranging from soap operas to mathematics, contestants receive help from celebrity guests Vivica A. Fox, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, JoJo, John Urschel, Captain Sandy Yawn and Bruno Tonioli.

Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 10 p.m. – “Déjà Vu & Eyes of Blue”
Celebrity guests Judge Greg Mathis, Ricki Lake, Mark Sanchez, Amber Ruffin, Justin Willman and Tori Spelling lend their expertise in a variety of categories that include candy, magic and Beverly Hills to assist contestants competing for a life-changing prize.

Thursday, Dec. 22 at 10 p.m. – “Divas & Derbies”
With categories including cakes, horse racing, percussion and more, contestants are supported by celebrity experts Buddy Valastro, Amber Riley, Jaime Camil, Carnie Wilson, Steve Kornacki and Sheila E.

Friday, Dec. 23 at 10 p.m. – “Fish N’ Chips & Gold Medal Flips”
Celebrity guests Tom Bergeron, Shawn Johnson East, Captain Lee Rosbach, Kyla Pratt, Victor Cruz and Debbie Gibson lend their expertise to contestants in a wide range of hilarious categories, including “The Three Stooges,” gymnastics and seafood.

Monday, Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. – “Big Cats & Bigger Brains”
With wacky categories including big cats and bowling, contestants lean on celebrities Carole Baskin, Bre-Z, Deepak Chopra, Matt Iseman, Raven-Symone and Terrell Owens to be the last one standing on “The Wheel.”

Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. – “Wigs Galore, Dogs & More”
Contestants hope for answers from celebrity experts Bobby Berk, Margaret Cho, Kate Flannery, Loni Love, Andy Richter and Adam Rippon in categories that include wigs, comedians, dogs, figure skating and more.

Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. – “Sky Hooks & the Almighty Book”
Celebrity experts Taye Diggs, Ester Dean, Josh Flagg, Lyric Lewis, Jalen Rose and Christine Chiu advise contestants on questions about the Bible, real estate, plastic surgery and more.

Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. – “A Spin, a Twin & a Win”
With categories including astrology, presidents and country music, contestants lean on celebrity experts Chrissy Metz, Sanya Richards Ross, Russell Dickerson, Loni Love, Brie Bella and Clay Aiken.

Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. – “The Skater & the Dater”
Contestants get insight from celebrity guests Christina Ricci, Chris Kattan, Kym Whitley, Tony Hawk, Jackie Tohn and Curtis Stone on a variety of categories that include “Saturday Night Live,” pregnancy and meat.

“The Wheel” is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Apploff Entertainment and the original British creative team, Hungry McBear. The series was created by Michael McIntyre and Dan Baldwin, who executive produce alongside Jeff Apploff, Noah Bonnett, Mike Darnell and Brooke Karzen.

Peter Hermann recurs on Blue Bloods 12/9/22

(11/21/22) “Poetic Justice” – Danny crosses paths with Sonny Le (Alex Duong), a criminal from a previous case, when he investigates a gang attack with a shocking motive. Also, Frank and Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) butt heads over an off-duty cop who goes too far making a political statement; Anthony worries Erin’s DA campaign could be threatened by her ex-husband Jack’s unsavory business connections; and Jamie investigates a potentially dirty officer whose identity may be close to home, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, Dec. 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST includes: Abigail Hawk (Abigail Baker), Gregory Jbara (DCPI Garrett Moore), Peter Hermann (Jack Boyle).

Talk Show Appearance

(11/11/22) THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, CBS

Mo 11/14: Murray Bartlett

Talk Show Appearance

(11/11/22) THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, CBS

Tu 11/15: Allison Janney

Kathryn Hays Tribute 11/17/22

(11/9/22) (Watch here) Join us as we pay tribute to the beloved Kathryn Hays live in The Locher Room on Thursday, November 17th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Kathryn joined the cast of As the World Turns as Kim Sullivan Reynolds Dixon Stewart Andropoulos Hughes in 1972 and remained with the show for 38 years until the world stopped turning in September of 2010.

Her long-time co-stars and friends Larry Bryggman, Eileen Fulton and Don Hastings will help us celebrate the life of this beloved mom and actress. Joining Larry, Eileen & Don for this tribute are Kathryn’s real-life daughter Sherri Mancusi as well as her on-screen daughters Mary Ellen Stuart and Claire Beckman.

Wendy Moniz recurs on FBI: Most Wanted

(11/7/22) “Karma” – The team’s Thanksgiving plans are put on hold when they are brought in to investigate whether a shooting at a Buddhist temple was a hate crime or something more personal. Also, Remy and April make a tough decision, on the CBS Original series FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesday, Nov. 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (April Brooks)

CBS ANNOUNCES EIGHT CELEBRITY TEAMS COMPETING ON “PICKLED”

(11/7/22) CBS announced today the eight celebrity teams competing in the new two-hour sports comedy special PICKLED. The pickleball tournament, produced by Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS Studios, will air Thursday, Nov. 17 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Emmy Award-winner Stephen Colbert of THE LATE SHOW hosts this cutthroat pickleball competition.

Below, meet the acclaimed teams playing to benefit the non-profit Comic Relief US and ultimately win the coveted totem of excellence: The Colbert Cup!

TEAM: DINK FLOYD
CELEBRITIES: Kelly Rowland and Murray Bartlett

TEAM: PARTY ‘TIL YOU CUKE
CELEBRITIES: Tig Notaro and “Mystery Player”

TEAM: THE PADDLE SNAKES
CELEBRITIES: June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer

TEAM: TAKE THIS LOB AND SHOVE IT
CELEBRITIES: Jaime Camil and Aisha Tyler

TEAM: THE VOLLEY RANCHERS
CELEBRITIES: Sugar Ray Leonard and Emma Watson

TEAM: DANIEL DAE LUIS
CELEBRITIES: Luis Guzmán and Daniel Dae Kim

TEAM: DILL-I-AM
CELEBRITIES: Jimmie Allen and Max Greenfield

TEAM: WHEN HARRY NET RALLY
CELEBRITIES: Dierks Bentley and Phil Keoghan

All-star announcers, including Cari Champion, John Michael Higgins and Bill Raftery, add color and commentary to the thrilling matches. After the national anthem is performed as a duet by singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins and Stephen Colbert, the eight celebrity teams take to the court to battle for the honor of being named the PICKLED champions.

Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS are joining forces with Comic Relief to re-ignite the magic of creating change through comedy with PICKLED. Calls to action during the broadcast will raise funds to support Comic Relief’s safety programs, which address the life-altering impact of homelessness, rootlessness and lack of safety often experienced by children and families living in poverty.In addition to funds raised from the broadcast event and at ComicRelief.org/pickled, Comic Relief will also be engaging pickleball leagues, lovers and communities across the U.S. to get in on the fun to help children and families experiencing homelessness.

PICKLED partnered with two brands as exclusive sponsors of the event.

Claussen Pickles, the Original Cold Crunch, brought viewers a fun, comedic take on the traditional mid-game recap – “The Claussen Crunch Time-Halftime Show.” The host and analysts gathered in the branded space with the competitors to review first-half highlights and laugh about the lighter moments in the matches. Of course, there were pickles provided by the brand, for everyone including the fans in attendance to enjoy.

OOFOS Active Recovery footwear presented the “OOFOS Recovery Lounge.” After each competitive pickleball match, players could cool off in the courtside branded tent to begin active recovery while conducting their post-match interviews. The premium lounge included a misting system, comfortable chairs and displays featuring the latest OOFOS styles.

PICKLED is produced by Funny Or Die in association with Spartina and CBS Studios. Executive producers are showrunner K.P. Anderson, Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Henry R. Muñoz III, and Spartina’s Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Evelyn McGee Colbert and Tom Purcell.

The Last of Us: Pedro Pascal's Post-Apocalyptic Series Gets Premiere Date

(11/2/22) Joel and Ellie’s live-action journey will begin not long after the new year.

The Last of Us, HBO’s adaptation of the popular video game of the same name, will premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 9/8c, the network announced Wednesday. Season 1 will consist of nine episodes.

Set two decades after the implosion of current-day society, The Last of Us centers on Joel (The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal), a tough survivor, who is hired to smuggle a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Game of Thrones‘ Bella Ramsey) out of an “oppressive” quarantine zone, per the official synopsis. “What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse” across a U.S. ravaged by a lethal disease called the Cordyceps fungus “and depend on each other for survival.”

The cast also includes Anna Torv (Fringe), Storm Reid (Euphoria), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Gabriel Luna (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Merle Dandridge (Greenleaf), Nico Parker (The Third Day), Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and Con O’Neill (Chernobyl).

co-creator and executive producer alongside Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin serves as co-creator and executive producer alongside Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog video game studio. Other EPs include Carolyn Strauss, Carter Swan, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash and Rose Lam.

Celebration Of Black Cinema & Television: Angela Bassett, Quinta Brunson, Michael B. Jordan, Berry Gordy Among Honorees At 5th Annual Event

(11/2/22) A star-studded lineup is set for the Critics Choice Association’s fifth annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, taking place on Monday, December 5, at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

Angela Bassett, Berry Gordy, Quinta Brunson, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi are just a few of the names set to be honored at the event, which has grown into an awards season staple. Now in its fifth year, the celebration will recognize 15 categories as part of a special night honoring standout achievements in Black filmmaking and television.

“The Celebration of Black Cinema & Television has grown tremendously over the last five years,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin. “We’re thrilled to be able to recognize such outstanding projects across both film and television, and to honor these incredible actors and filmmakers for their work.”

Songwriter, producer, director, entrepreneur and Motown Records founder Gordy will receive the Icon Award for his unparalleled contribution to music, film and popular culture, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Bassett will receive the Career Achievement Award for her extraordinary career and her recent role as Queen Ramonda in the Marvel Studios film.

Actor, producer and director Jordan will receive the Melvin Van Peebles Trailblazer Award for his overall contribution to the industry and in celebration of his directorial debut with the United Artists Releasing film, Creed III. In addition to directing the film, he reprises his role as Adonis Creed, as well as produces under his Outlier Society production banner. Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and actor Kid Cudi will be honored with the Groundbreaker Award for his starring role as Jabari in the Netflix television event, Entergalactic, which he also created.

Emmy-winning writer, producer and actress Brunson will be presented with the Actress Award for Television for her role as Janine Teagues on ABC’s hit series, Abbott Elementary, which she created and also executive produces.

Deadwyler will be honored with the Actress Award for Film for her role as Mamie Till-Mobley in the Orion Pictures/United Artists Releasing film Til.

Emmy- and Critics Choice Award-nominated Majors will be presented with the Actor Award for Film for his role as Jesse Brown in the Columbia Pictures/Black Label Media aerial war epic Devotion.

The Director Award for Film will be awarded to director Gina Prince-Bythewood for her work on TriStar Pictures and Entertainment One’s acclaimed The Woman King.

Brian Tyree Henry will be awarded with the Supporting Actor Award for his performance as James Aucoin in Apple Original Films/A24’s Causeway.

Nicco Annan will receive the Actor Award for Television for his role as Uncle Clifford on the hit Starz series P-Valley.

Writer and director Elegance Bratton will accept the Social Justice Award for his inspiring work on the A24 film, The Inspection.

Actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri will receive the Rising Star Award presented by IMDbPro for her role as Sydney Adamu on the FX series, The Bear. And Quincy Isaiah will also accept the Rising Star Award for his role as Magic Johnson on the HBO Original series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Writer-director Nikyatu Jusa will accept the Breakthrough Film Award for the Amazon Studios and Blumhouse film, Nanny, an award winner at Sundance this year.

The Ensemble Award will be presented to the cast of ABC sitcom The Wonder Years.

“It has truly been a year to celebrate,” said CCA Board Member Shawn Edwards, Executive Producer of the event. “The unprecedented amount of content about the Black experience on film and television made it very difficult to choose our honorees for this milestone year. And our special Icon Award honoree, Berry Gordy, pushed open a heavy door during the ’70s and ’80s through his Motown Productions with a string of movies and TV series that helped pave the way for future Black storytellers.”

The Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Black Cinema & Television will be hosted by veteran comedian Bill Bellamy and televised on KTLA in January and shown nationwide on Nexstar stations throughout the month of February in honor of Black History Month.

The show is produced by Madelyn Hammond and Javier Infante of Madelyn Hammond & Associates.

Event sponsors include Delta Air Lines, Fairmont Century Plaza, GreenSlate, IMDbPro, McBride Sisters Wine Company; Milagro Tequila and NEP Sweetwater. Event partners are Four Seasons Resort Nevis and Sunkist Growers.

Kyra Sedgwick Movie ‘Space Oddity’ Lands With Samuel Goldwyn Films

(11/1/22) Samuel Goldwyn Films has picked up North American rights to Kyra Sedgwick’s second feature directorial, Space Oddity, based on Rebecca Banner’s Black List script.

Planets and lives collide as Alex (Kyle Allen) longs to travel to outer space and finally gets the opportunity to do so thanks to a privately-funded Mars colonization program. In the midst of his rigorous preparation, he meets Daisy (Alexandra Shipp), the new girl in town who’s trying to start over. The two wayward souls connect in unexpected ways, both of them harboring secrets that they’re desperately trying to overcome. However, when questions about the legitimacy of the program and the future of his parents’ flower farm begin to crop up, Alex finds himself questioning whether it’s easier to confront his past or fly away into the stars. The movie also stars Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale), Carrie Preston (The Good Fight), Simon Helberg (Annette) and Kevin Bacon (City on a Hill).

The pic had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this past summer.

“We are thrilled to bring Kyra Sedgwick’s feature film to audiences,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Space Oddity has so many facets that seamlessly combine into a warm, engaging picture – swaying easily from a charming romance to a larger tale of the state of our world and the possibilities it holds.”

“Samuel Goldwyn Films is a dream distributor for me, as I’ve been such a fan of their films for many years. I’m grateful for their support and enthusiasm for Space Oddity. This film means the world to us and we can’t wait to share it with audiences,” said Sedgwick.

Space Oddity was produced by Valerie Stadler, Sedgwick and Meredith Bagby of Big Swing Productions. Additional producers include Richard Arlook, Jack Greenbaum, Mark Maxey and Mickey Schiff and executive producers are Paolo Mottola Jr., Joe Z. Crosby, Ibrahim Alhusseini, JL Pomeroy, Daryl Roth and Brent Emery. Stefanie Visser edited the film with cinematography by Alar Kivilo. REI Co-Op Studios also serves as an EP on the film to show how mainstream films can impact change and elevate current topics including Climate Change and protecting the environment. Travis Bacon, the son of Bacon and Sedgwick, is one of the composers on the film Scott Hedrick.

The deal was negotiated by Miles Fineburg on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films and CAA Media Finance negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers.

Interview: Jennifer Landon and Wendy Moniz - Yellowstone Season 5

(10/31/22) (Watch Here) Please join these two co-stars and friends Jen Landon and Wendy Moniz live in The Locher Room on Tuesday, November 1 at 7p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST. Jen and Wendy will stop by to discuss their roles on the hit Paramount Network series, Yellowstone. The two-hour premiere of Season 5 is set for Sunday, November 13th at 8 p.m. EST.

Jen Landon attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied Experimental Theatre but left early when her first audition landed her a three-year contract on the daytime soap opera As The World Turns (for which she subsequently won three consecutive daytime Emmys). Jen has since appeared in Jason Retiman’s feature film The Front Runner, as well as recurred on numerous television shows including Banshee (Cinemax), Animal Kingdom (TNT), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) and will be seen in season 5 of Yellowstone playing the role of Teeter.

Wendy Moniz made her television debut playing "Dinah Marler" on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light. Wendy was upped to a series regular as Governor Perry on Yellowstone and can also be seen as ADA Frasier on Law & Order: Organized Crime. Wendy has worked non-stop since leaving Guiding Light in 1999 appearing in Tuesdays with Morrie, Nash Bridges, The Guardian, Big Shot, Damages, 666 Park, The Grief of Others and House of Cards to name a small few of the amazing roles she has had over the years.

Peacock Drops Teaser Trailer For ‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters’ Limited Series

(10/29/22) (Video) The teaser trailer for The Bast Man: The Final Chapters dropped during the Urbanworld Film Festival, the same event where the film originally premiered in 1999. The Peacock limited series will premiere all 8 episodes on December 22. Watch the trailer in the video posted above.

Based upon the eponymous Universal film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the series will catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.

Cas of The Bast Man: The Final Chapters include Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau.

The Peacock original was filmed on locations like New York City, New Jersey and Dominican Republic. Malcom D. Lee of Blackmaled Productions is the creator of the Best Man franchise, which he Co-Developed, wrote, EP, directed and served as a Co-Showrunner. Dayna Lynne North of Loud Sis Productions also co-developed, wrote, EP and served as co-showrunner.

Executive producers are Sean Daniel of Hivemind & Dominique Telson of Blackmaled Productions. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces. Directors for the series include Malcom D. Lee for four episodes, Charles Stone III, Robert Townsend and Stacey Muhammad.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/28/22) Jimmy Kimmel Live - ABC

Tuesday, Nov. 1

Frank Grillo (“Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend “)

Morning Show Appearance

(10/28/22) GMA3: What You Need to Know - ABC

Tuesday, Nov. 1 — actor Kevin Bacon

‘City On A Hill’ Canceled After Three Seasons On Showtime

(10/27/22) The end has come for City On A Hill. Showtime has canceled the drama series after three seasons, Deadline has confirmed. The Season 3 finale will now serve as the series finale. The third season launched in September.

Sources tell Deadline the decision was made awhile back, prior to the regime change which saw longtime Showtime Networks CEO David Nevins exit parent company Paramount Global and Paramount Media Networks chief Chris McCarthy take over at the helm of the premium cabler.

“City On A Hill concluded its successful run on Showtime with its Season 3 finale,” Showtime said in a statement. “We have had nothing but the best experience working with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge and the entire cast and crew, led by showrunner Tom Fontana and fellow executive producers including Jennifer Todd and Jorge Zamacona. We offer our sincerest thanks to everyone.”

Created by Chuck MacLean, City On A Hill starred Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, along with Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks and Matthew Del Negro.

Set in early 1990s Boston, the series revolved around Assistant DA Decourcy Ward (Hodge) who formed an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rohr (Kevin Bacon).

In the final Season 3, “having left the FBI and thrown his badge into Boston Harbor, Jackie Rohr (Bacon) lands a lavish new gig running security for a wealthy family. Life is good until secrets begin to unravel. When an investigation opens, ADA Decourcy Ward (Hodge) sees an opportunity to finally rip out the machinery perpetuating a broken criminal justice system. Siobhan Quays (Banks), representing a construction worker who was severely injured on the Big Dig, encounters the city’s corruption firsthand, all while coping with the traumatic events of her past year. As Jenny Rohr (Hennessy) can attest, given her history with her father, some experiences will haunt you beyond your breaking point.”

City On A Hill was executive produced by Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street), who also served as showrunner. Jennifer Todd, Jorge Zamacona, Bacon, Hodge, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Barry Levinson also served as executive producers.

‘The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special’ Introduces Kevin Bacon To The MCU

(10/25/22) The Guardians of the Galaxy are headed to Earth once more. This time, in search of Kevin Bacon.

A trailer released Tuesday for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special introduced the actor into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the Guardians determine he would be the perfect Christmas present for Peter (Chris Pratt) to cheer him up as he’s still mourning the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña).

Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) head to Hollywood to bring Bacon back to space with them, though the actor doesn’t seem all that thrilled about the aliens breaking into his home.

(Video) The special, which is directed by James Gunn, also promises appearances from Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Nebula (Karen Gillan), among others.

Gunn, who directed all three Guardians films, has previously called the special a highlight of his career. In an interview with the Radio Times earlier this year, he called it the “greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

“It’s totally ridiculous, and every day we can’t believe that we’re making it,” he added. “We all completely love it. It is unlike anything that anyone’s ever seen before. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will debut on Disney+ on Nov. 25. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters on May 5.

Laura Wright and Cameron Mathison on Entertainment Tonight

(10/21/22) ‘General Hospital’ Stars Laura Wright and Cameron Mathison Tease ‘Crew’ Romance: Video.

A CHRISTMAS SPARK 11/27/22

(10/20/22) A CHRISTMAS SPARK (Lifetime)
Airing Sunday, Nov. 27 at 8 pm
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman reunion! Recently widowed Molly (Jane Seymour) has lost her zest for life and given up on ever finding love again. But when she decides to visit her daughter for Christmas, she has no idea what holiday magic is in store for her. A former drama teacher, Molly reluctantly takes on the job of directing the town’s Christmas pageant and soon finds herself falling for her leading man, Hank (Joe Lando), the town’s most eligible bachelor. As Molly and the irrepressible Hank fall in love, she rediscovers her inner free spirit and finds a new lease on life. And when the star of the pageant loses her voice moments before the show, it will be up to Molly to step into the spotlight and shine brightly for the first time in her life.

Ian Ziering To Star In Israeli Reality Series ‘GoalStar’ From ‘Euphoria’ Firm ADD

(10/20/22) Ian Ziering, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sharknado star, is kicking off a new gig.

The actor is to star in Israeli reality series GoalStar, which comes from ADD Content, the company that distributes the original series that HBO’s Euphoria is based on.

Ziering, who also starred in DC series Swamp Thing, is to compete in the eleventh season of the show, which is set to start shooting in Greece.

The show airs on Hot Cable network in Israeli.

Created by Yaron Lictenstein and Eliav Goldfryd, the series sees ten celebrities enter an intensive training camp, led by two legendary coaches to try and become a winning soccer team

They live together for several weeks being filmed around the clock as they compete against a series of real-world opponents to win the ultimate prize. Every week, they play against an array of rivals including a women’s team, a police squad, and national league champions with one goal in mind – to reach the cup final and become ‘GoalStar’ Champions.

The upcoming season follows seasons being shot in Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and Morroco, alongside three seasons of a female-led version of the show, GirlStar.

Ian Ziering said, “This is such a fun show. As a competitive person, I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.”

‘The People We Hate At The Wedding’ Trailer: Kristen Bell, Ben Platt & Allison Janney Mine Family Dysfunction In Prime Video Comedy

(10/19/22) (Video) Amazon has unveiled the trailer for its comedy The People We Hate at the Wedding, starring Golden Globe nom Kristen Bell (The Good Place), Tony Award winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) and Academy Award winner Allison Janney (Lou). It is slated to launch globally on Prime Video on November 18.

In the film based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Grant Grinder, dysfunctional American siblings Alice (Bell) and Paul (Platt), along with their ever-optimistic mom (Janney), are invited to the British wedding of their estranged half-sister Eloise (The Rings of Power‘s Cynthia Addai-Robinson) as a chance for them to reconnect as — more or less — adults, and learn to love each other like they once did. Pic’s cast also includes Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Isaach De Bankolé (Godfather of Harlem), Karan Soni (Four Samosas), Tony Goldwyn (King Richard), Jorma Taccone (Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers), Julian Ovenden (Avenue 5) and John Macmillan (House of the Dragon).

The People We Hate at the Wedding was directed by Emmy-winning veteran editor Claire Scanlon, who has previously helmed episodes of series including Saved by the Bell, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Miracle Workers, Never Have I Ever, Rutherford Falls, Mapleworth Murders, GLOW, Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and others, as well as Netflix’s films Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend and Set It Up. Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin & Wendy Molyneux (The Great North, Bob’s Burgers) handled the screenplay adaptation, with Ashley Fox and Margot Hand serving as producers.

Check out the trailer for the comedy by clicking above.

One on One with Michael O'Leary 10/20/22

(10/20/22) (Watch here) Emmy nominated actor Michael O’Leary will join The Locher Room live on Thursday, October 20th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. EST. Michael will be here to talk about his latest role in Halloween Ends, the final installment of director David Gordon Green's reboot trilogy of the John Carpenter horror franchise.

As daytime fans know, Michael played Dr. Rick Bauer on Guiding Light on and off from 1983 through the end of the series in 2009. Michael will share his memories of playing everyone’s favorite doc and getting to work with Jerry verDorn on Season 6 of Venice.

He currently has a recurring role on Law & Order: Organized Crime as Father Brendan Hogan and has also appeared in primetime on FBI and New Amsterdam. Michael is hard at work bringing his play Breathing Under Dirt back to the stage and will update us with the latest news.

CBS announced today the 16 celebrities competing in the new, two-hour sports comedy special PICKLED. The pickleball tournament, produced by Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS Studios, will air Thursday, Nov. 17 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Emmy Award-winner Stephen Colbert of THE LATE SHOW hosts this hilarious and cutthroat pickleball competition, featuring teams playing against each other to benefit the non-profit Comic Relief US and ultimately win the coveted totem of excellence: the Colbert Cup!

(10/12/22) “If you love pickleball and you love celebrities and you love helping people, you’re going to love watching these celebrities help people by playing pickleball,” said host Stephen Colbert.

“Funny Or Die is so proud to produce PICKLED. Along with Stephen Colbert, CBS and our celebrity players, we all came together for two great causes: to support Comic Relief US and to add more articles about Pickleball to everyone’s newsfeed,” said Mike Farah, CEO of Funny Or Die.

“Comic Relief US is thrilled to be a part of this special entertainment event to support the millions of children and families living in poverty. Thank you to the amazing Stephen Colbert, Spartina, CBS, Funny Or Die and all of our celebrity friends who will now get to play Pickleball for a good cause!” said Alison Moore, CEO of Comic Relief US.

The 16 celebrities who will team up and battle it out on the PICKLED court are: Jimmie Allen, Murray Bartlett, Dierks Bentley, Jaime Camil, Will Ferrell, Max Greenfield, Luis Guzman, Phil Keoghan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tig Notaro, June Diane Raphael, Kelly Rowland, Paul Scheer, Aisha Tyler and Emma Watson.

All-star announcers, including Cari Champion, John Michael Higgins and Bill Raftery, add color and commentary to the thrilling matches. After the national anthem is performed as a duet by singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins and Stephen Colbert, the 16 celebrities take to the court to battle for the honor of being named the PICKLED champions.

Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny Or Die and CBS are joining forces with Comic Relief to re-ignite the magic of creating change through comedy with PICKLED. Calls to action during the broadcast will raise funds to support Comic Relief’s safety programs, which address the life-altering impact of homelessness, rootlessness and lack of safety often experienced by children and families living in poverty.In addition to funds raised from the broadcast event and at ComicRelief.org/pickled, Comic Relief will also be engaging pickleball leagues, lovers and communities across the U.S. to get in on the fun to help children and families experiencing homelessness.

PICKLED partnered with two brands as exclusive sponsors of the event.

Claussen Pickles, the Original Cold Crunch, brought viewers a fun, comedic take on the traditional mid-game recap – “The Claussen Crunch Time-Halftime Show.” The host and analysts gathered in the branded space with the competitors to review first-half highlights and laugh about the lighter moments in the matches. Of course, there were pickles provided by the brand, for everyone including the fans in attendance to enjoy.

OOFOS Active Recovery footwear presented the “OOFOS Recovery Lounge.” After each competitive pickleball match, players could cool off in the courtside branded tent to begin active recovery while conducting their post-match interviews. The premium lounge included a misting system, comfortable chairs and displays featuring the latest OOFOS styles.

PICKLED is produced by Funny Or Die in association with Spartina and CBS Studios. Executive producers are Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Henry R. Muñoz III and Spartina’s Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Evelyn McGee Colbert and Tom Purcell.

Kaley Cuoco expecting first child with Tom Pelphrey

(10/11/22) Kaley Cuoco is pregnant.

The 36-year-old actress has confirmed via social media that she’s expecting her first child with boyfriend Tom Pelphrey.

Alongside a photo of herself and Pelphrey holding up a slice of cake, Cuoco wrote on Instagram: “Baby girl Pelphrey coming 2023 [heart emoji] beyond blessed and over the moon. I [heart emoji] you @tommypelphrey!!! (sic)”

The actress, who is best known for playing Penny on The Big Bang Theory, posted some shots of her positive pregnancy tests and her growing baby bump, too.

Pelphrey, 40, has also announced the news on his own Instagram account.

The actor, who plays Ben Davis in Ozark, wrote on the photo-sharing platform: “And then it was even MORE BETTER. [ribbon emojis] Love you more than ever @kaleycuoco [heart and prayer emojis] (sic)”

The loved-up couple were first linked in May, and Cuoco took to social media in July to post a birthday tribute to her boyfriend.

The actress – previously married to Ryan Sweeting and Karl Cook – wrote on Instagram at the time: “To the incredible man that saved me in all the ways..happy birthday, baby! To know you, is to truly adore you … the world lit up the day you were born [heart and cake emojis] I love you!! @tommypelphrey. (sic)”

Meanwhile, Cuoco recently revealed that she had to keep her relationship with Johnny Galecki a secret.

The actress started dating her Big Bang Theory co-star around the same time that their on-screen relationship turned romantic.

She said: “When we were dating, Johnny was very worried about ruining the fans’ outlook on Leonard and Penny, because they weren’t even dating yet at that point in the series. He was so cerebral, and I’m like, ‘What?! Who f— cares?! They’re gonna be fine!'”

Talk Show Appearance

(10/8/22) The Jennifer Hudson Show - syndicated

AIRING Oct 12, 2022

Taye Diggs ("All American")

Wendy Moniz recurs on FBI: Most Wanted 10/11/22

(10/6/22) “Gold Diggers” – The murder of a geology professor leads the team to uncover an ancient legend regarding a secret treasure dating to the civil war, and they encounter a deadly fugitive determined to kill to find the gold. Meanwhile, an old friend from Remy’s past shakes up his relationship with April, on the CBS Original series FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesday, Oct. 11 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (April Brooks)

Hayden Panettiere details her, Wladimir Klitschko’s current custody arrangement

(9/29/22) Hayden Panettiere described her and Wladimir Klitschko’s custody arrangement of daughter Kaya — and her “hope” that it will change.

Since the former boxer obtained full custody of the now-7-year-old in 2018, the little one has “never been back to California,” Panettiere told the “Red Table Talk” co-hosts on Wednesday.

The “Remember the Titans” star noted that she has “seen” her daughter, who lived in Ukraine until she was taken “elsewhere because it was dangerous” when Russia invaded.

“I go over there. … I wish there was more of a bringing her to visit,” the “Nashville” alum, 33, said.

However, the actress has not “gotten any hints” that the current custody situation will change.

“I’ve been told that I can go over and see her anytime,” the “Heroes” alum explained. “I just have to keep the hope that one day when she is old enough for her opinion to be respected a little bit more and her wants are heard, that there will be more proactivity on that side.”

Panettiere detailed the “heartbreaking” moment she signed full custody over to her ex-fiancé while Kaya was in Ukraine, saying that it was a “shock.”

“She was already over there in a country where her uncle is a mayor and they are icons over there,” Panettiere said of Wladimir and his brother, Vitali Klitschko. “It is a country that is very male-dominated, and there wasn’t a heck of a lot that I could do.”

Although the Golden Globe nominee considers the athlete to be a “fantastic father” and thinks he believes “he is doing the right thing,” Panettiere wants Wladimir to “fully grasp” what Kaya’s separation from her mom will mean in the future.

“Kids need their moms,” the singer told Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield Norris and guest co-host Kelly Osbourne. “I had never endangered her or done anything that would, in this country, they would never take a child from me.

“It never would have happened,” Panettiere continued. “When she was there, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

The “Scream 6” star went on to describe her “incredibly strong” daughter’s “stoic” personality, sharing her worries over the “trauma reaction” Kaya recently exhibited.

“Kaya is going around and asking other women if she can call them Mommy,” Panettiere, who dated Wladimir on and off from 2009 to 2018, said. “That’s a cry for help.”

Hayden Panettiere Reflects on Entering Rehab While Starring in Nashville: 'I Just Wanted to Escape'

(9/28/22) On ABC’s Nashville, Juliette Barnes’ struggles mirrored star Hayden Panettiere‘s a little too closely, the actress says in a new interview.

“When I was on Nashville, they really wrote my life into it. So on the show, one of the storylines was that I was playing an alcoholic. Another storyline was that I was pregnant on the show, and then I got postpartum depression,” Panettiere says during her appearance on the newest episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk. “I had to go to work every day and be acting out what I was truly going through. So by the time I got home, I didn’t want to sit there with my own feelings and work them out. You know, I just wanted to escape.”

In a sit-down chat with Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield Norris and guest host Kelly Osbourne, Panettiere recalls going to treatment roughly four months after Kaya, her daughter with Wladimir Klitschko, was born in December 2014. The Golden Globe-nominated actress says that she was drinking heavily at the time, “just leaning on that crutch, and it was making things worse.” She adds that she was diagnosed with postpartum depression at the facility where she sought help.

Per Panettiere, her first visit lasted roughly a month; a subsequent one lasted longer. After the country-music drama ended in 2018, she says during the interview, her mental health issues got worse, and she checked into a facility where she wound up staying for eight months.

“I had had it with myself, and I knew it was a longer process,” she says.

Nashville viewers will remember that in October 2015, Panettiere took a very public step back from the show, then in its fourth season. She returned to set the following January but then resumed treatment shortly after the season’s production wrapped.

She appeared in the show’s final two seasons, though Juliette’s involvement in a cult created a reason for Panettiere to be off-screen for a bunch of episodes.

Hayden Panettiere on giving up custody of daughter: 'It wasn't fully my decision'

(9/28/22) (Video) Hayden Panettiere didn’t know she was losing custody of her daughter.

The 33-year-old actress – who has been candid about her struggles with addiction and depression – has opened up about losing custody of Kaya, now seven, after her daughter moved to Ukraine with Hayden’s ex Wladimir Klitschko.

In a clip from Red Table Talk revealed by Entertainment Tonight, she said: “She was almost three, and it wasn’t fully my decision. In fact, I didn’t even know it was happening until she was already over there.”

The Heroes star explained that she realized she needed to focus on herself and the “unselfish thing” would be focus on herself.

She added: “I was trying to tell myself that if I’m not OK, if I’m not good, then I cannot be the best mom to you.

“I was going through such a hard time that I knew the most unselfish thing I could do was to make that hard decision and just try to work on myself.”

Hayden – who would later spend eight months in rehab – previously addressed her battle with alcoholism after hitting her lowest point before Kaya moved to live with her father.

She said: “I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol.

“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I wanted to be a good mom to her — and sometimes that means letting them go.”

While suffering with depression, Hayden has made it clear while she “never had the feeling that I wanted to harm my child,” she “didn’t want to spend any time with her.”

Reflecting on her relationship with ex Klitschko – which ended for good in 2018 – she added: “He didn’t want to be around me. I didn’t want to be around me. But with the opiods and alcohol I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I’d feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction.”

Kevin Bacon Joins Eddie Murphy In ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley’

(9/28/22) The next installment in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise is continuing to add star power to its all-star cast as Kevin Bacon is set to join Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. Production on the sequel is underway with Mark Molloy directing. Murphy is back as Axel Foley and will produce along with Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Will Beall penned the script. Jospeh Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige are also on board with Judge Reinhold and John Ashton Paul Reiser; and Bronson Pinchot reprising their characters from previous installments.

The franchise moved from Paramount to Netflix in the winter of 2019 and follows the adventures of Detroit cop Foley, who first appeared in the 1984 smash hit that followed him to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of a friend. The film became one of the year’s biggest hits and solidified Murphy’s movie-star status. It was followed by two sequels, in 1987 and 1994.

Charisse Hewitt-Webster and Ray Angelic will exec produce the new movie. Melissa Reid of Jerry Bruckheimer Films will co-produce.

Bacon’s crime series City On A Hill just wrapped its third season at Showtime. He also was recently seen in the Blumhouse horror pic They/Them. He is repped by MGMT Entertainment and Gaines Solomon.

James Earl Jones Signs Over Rights To Voice Of Darth Vader, Signalling Retirement From Legendary Role

(9/24/22) James Earl Jones – one of the most distinctive voices in the history of film – appears to have made steps to step back from voicing the Star Wars character, Darth Vader, after nearly 40 years in the role.

Vanity Fair reports that the actor, aged 91, has signed over the rights to his voice to filmmakers using new AI, technology, Matthew Wood of Lucasfilm told the magazine that the actor “wished to keep Vader alive”

“He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Wood told Vanity Fair. “So how do we move forward?”

Jones made his debut as the legendary Star Wars villain in the 1977 film, and followed this up with voicing the same character throughout the franchise up to this point on both the big and small screen. He most recently starred as the character for the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+.

While actor David Prowse dressed in the distinctive black uniform of the Sith Lord for the original films, it was Jones who provided the unique deep tones of the complex Vader.

Besides his work on the sci-fi epic, Jones is a celebrated EGOT. He received an honorary Academy Award in 2011, having been nominated for Best Actor in the 1970 The Great White Hope.

Other stars from the franchise have made a return to the franchise in recent years. Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Mark Hamill have all reprised their characters, much to the delight of fans. But it seems one of the most distinctive actors of all is finally signing off.

Earlier this month, Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed in honor of Jones, and a dedication ceremony was attended by such stage and film stars as Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norm Lewis and director Kenny Leon. The 91-year-old Jones did not attend but had been given a private tour of the renamed James Earl Jones Theatre days prior.

Nia Long Blindsided by Coach Udoka ... He Let Her Move to Boston Amid Affair Investigation

(9/23/22) Nia Long says she's gonna need all the support she can get after getting blindsided by her fiance, Celtics Coach Ime Udoka ... who we've learned kept her in the dark about his affair, even though the team busted him months ago.

Sources connected to the team and the couple tell TMZ ... Nia had moved to Boston with Kez, her 10-year-old son with Ime, just 2 weeks ago, and the couple was house hunting.

The sad twist for Nia is that when she moved, Ime was already fully aware his affair with a married front office staffer was about to blow up. We're told Ime knew way back in July the team was aware of the affair, and was launching an investigation.

Meanwhile, we're told Nia only found out about it in the last few days ... and only because Ime knew it was about to go public.

Nia tells TMZ, through her rep Shannon Barr ... "The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me. I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children."

The social media backlash against Ime, and support for Nia, was swift as soon as the Celtics announced on Wednesday they'd be punishing him.

On Thursday night, the Celtics officially suspended him for the entire upcoming 2022-23 season.

In response, Ime said, "I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down. I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team's decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment."

18th Annual Stars And Strikes Event To Honor Jerry verDorn

(9/20/22) This year’s Stars And Strikes Event, which pre-pandemic was hosted by the late Jerry verDorn (ex-Ross, GUIDING LIGHT et al) and Liz Keifer (ex-Blake, GUIDING LIGHT), will be held virtually. This year, 75% of the proceeds from the event will go to The Autism Society of America and the remaining 25% of proceeds will go to the newly established Jerry verDorn Scholarship Fund, which will help send individuals with Autism to theater camps and other educational programs. verDorn passed away on May 1 after battling cancer. Joining Kiefer are verDorn’s former GL co-stars, Terrell Anthony (ex-Rusty), Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip), Bryan Buffinton (ex-Bill), Jean Carol (ex-Nadine), Beth Chamberlin (ex-Beth), Crystal Chappell (ex-Olivia), Justin Deas (ex-Buzz), Mark Derwin (ex-Mallet), Frank Dicopoulos (ex-Frank), Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus), Melissa Hayden (ex-Bridget), Rick Hearst (ex-Alan-Michael), Crystal Hunt (ex-Marah), Vincent Irizarry (ex-Lujack/ex-Nick), Maeve Kinkead (ex-Vanessa), Wendy Moniz (ex-Dinah), Robert Newman (ex-Josh), Michael O’Leary (ex-Rick), Denise Pence (ex-Katie), Ron Raines (ex-Alan), Peter Simon (ex-Ed), Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian), Krista Tesreau (ex-Mindy), Gina Tognoni (ex-Dinah), Laura Wright (ex-Cassie; Carly, GH), Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva) and verDorn’s former ONE LIFE TO LIVE co-stars Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr), Sean Ringgold (ex-Shaun), Erika Slezak (ex-Viki) and Bree Williamson (ex-Jessica). The event takes place on Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET and can be viewed here. To make a donation, please visit www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com.

Paul Wesley and wife Ines de Ramon separate after 3 years of marriage

(9/19/22) Going their separate ways.

“The Vampire Diaries” star Paul Wesley and his wife, Ines de Ramon, have separated after three years of marriage and are living apart, according to People.

“The decision to separate is mutual and occurred five months ago,” a rep for the couple told the outlet. “They request privacy at this time.”

Wesley was first linked to the jewelry dealer in 2018 when they were seen holding hands during a romantic date night.

They made their relationship Instagram-official one month later while attending a wedding in Montauk, NY.

The “Fallen” actor, 40 and de Ramon, 29, tied the knot in 2019 during a low-profile wedding surrounded by family and friends. News of their nuptials didn’t come out until they were spotted wearing wedding bands months later.

Their relationship status was also confirmed when Wesley’s “Vampire Diaries” co-star Nina Dobrev referred to de Ramon as the actor’s “wife” while on Candice King and Kayla Ewell’s “Directionally Challenged” podcast.

De Ramon — who has since gone private on social media — gave fans a glimpse into the former couple’s special day on their anniversary when she posted photos from the big day on Instagram.

In the photos, de Ramon stunned in a feathered white wedding dress while Wesley pulled her in for a kiss on the beach.

Rumors of the pair’s split started swirling last month when Wesley was spotted hanging out with model Natalie Kuckenburg in New York — without his ring.

Page Six has reached out to reps for Wesley and Ramon and has yet to hear back.

The actor was previously married to “Vampire Diaries” co-star Torrey DeVitto from 2011 to 2013.

Taye Diggs To Host ‘Back In The Groove’ Dating Series For Hulu

(9/15/22) Hulu is getting into the love business with a new unscripted show hosted by Taye Diggs.

Back in the Groove will follow three women in their 40s, stuck in the grind of their everyday lives, who will check into The Groove Hotel, a resort on an island of the Dominican Republic. The goal is to rediscover their youth, live joyously, and hopefully find love with men half their age.

“As the saying goes, you can’t fall in love with someone else until you fall in love with yourself!” according to the Hulu announcement. “At the Groove Hotel, these three women will have the opportunity to do both! Whether they find the perfect fling, friendship, true love, or something in between, this is their chance to take charge and break through the double standards older women face every day. And they’re going to have a lot of fun doing it!”

The show marks the first unscripted Hulu Original series under the Walt Disney Television Alternative Banner. There will be eight episodes.

The three women are Sparkle, a 43-yesar-old from Atlanta; Steph, a 41-year-old from Miami, and Brooke, a 42-year-old from Los Angeles.

The series is executive produced by showrunner Elan Gale, Bill Dixon, Sonya Wilkes, Evan Wilkes, Michael Krupat, John Luscombe, Shannon Stoeke and Diggs. Back in the Groove is produced by Walt Disney Television Alternative and Beyond Media Rights Ltd.

CAA represents all parties (except the contestants).

Brittany Snow Splits from Hubby Tyler Stanaland

(9/14/22) Brittany Snow is a single woman again, because she and her husband are dunzo ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ ... the "Pitch Perfect" star and Tyler Stanaland have officially called it quits -- this after rumors of infidelity, although we're told there's no truth to any of those and that they had no bearing on the breakup.

What we are told, however, is that this uncoupling has been a long time coming -- and mostly has to do with distance. Apparently, L.A. (where BS lives) and Orange County (TS's home) is a bit too far and they were having problems splitting their time between the areas.

Again ... our sources insist this has nothing to do with cheating, with emphasis on the fact that Tyler is NOT dating his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall ... despite speculation they might be a thing. We're told the two Netflix stars are simply friends.

Unclear when exactly they threw in the towel on their relationship, but we do know it's over now. Snow posted Wednesday, "After time and consideration, Tyler and I have made the difficult decision to separate. This decision was made with love and mutual respect for one another. We have realized we need to take some time and make sure we are each living our most fulfilling and authentic lives."

She continued, "We started this journey as best friends and our relationship will continue to be a priority not only for us but for our dog Charlie. We sincerely appreciate your support and ask for privacy as we navigate this new chapter."

Brittany and Tyler got engaged back in 2019, and then hitched in 2020.

Broadway Theater Officially Renamed For James Earl Jones In Dedication Ceremony

(9/13/22) Broadway officially welcomed The James Earl Jones Theatre to its ranks yesterday, as the 110-year-old and much-renovated former Cort Theatre was renamed in a dedication ceremony attended by Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norm Lewis and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Broadway director Kenny Leon told The Associated Press, “It means everything. You can’t think of an artist that has served America more.”

With the renaming – announced last March – the Shubert Organization venue becomes the second Broadway theater named after a Black artist (Jujamcyn owns the August Wilson Theatre, and the Nederlander Organization has announced plans to rename the Brooks Atkinson Theatre after singer-actress Lena Horne).

The James Earl Jones Theatre recently underwent a $47 million renovation project, which included the restoration and expansion of the 110-year-old building on West 48th Street.

Shubert, which owns the theater, commissioned extensive renovations and construction work on the venue over the course of the Covid pandemic years and under the guidance of Francesca Russo Architect. A new contemporary annex, designed by Kostow Greenwood Architects, expands accessibility, increases public space, adds dressing rooms and rehearsal space.

The venue’s name change to honor the venerable actor was previously announced, and followed a renaming pledge by Shubert and other Broadway theater owners that arose out of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement.

At Monday’s dedication ceremony, Broadway’s Norm Lewis performed the song “Go the Distance,” the Alan Menken/David Zippel song from Disney’s Hercules, and Brian Stokes Mitchell sang “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime.

The 91-year-old Jones did not attend the dedication ceremony, but had been given a private tour of the facility on Sept. 8.

Murray Bartlett guests on The Great North 9/25/22

(9/13/22) Honeybee and Wolf discover an outback-themed restaurant they can’t stop going to. Beef confronts his fear of small talk on the all-new “A Knife To Remember Adventure” season premiere episode of THE GREAT NORTH airing Sunday, Sept. 25 (8:31-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX (GRN-301) (TV-PG D, L)

Voice Cast: Nick Offerman as Beef; Jenny Slate as Judy; Will Forte as Wolf; Paul Rust as Ham; Aparna Nancherla as Moon; Dulce Sloan as Honeybee; Megan Mullally as Alyson and Alanis Morissette as Alanis Morissette.

Guest Cast: Murray Bartlett, Katie Crown, Gabe Delahaye as Old Jody Jr, Daniele Gaither as Ruth Shaw, David Herman as Gill Beavers and Santiago Carpaccio, Mindy Sterling as Junkyard Kyle and Sandy Flarts, Judith Shelton Londra Pennypacker, Paul F. Tompkins as Mr. Golovkin.

Australian Actor Murray Bartlett, ‘The White Lotus’ Standout, Wins First Emmy, Thanks Mom Down Under

(9/12/22) (Video) The White Lotus breakout star Murray Bartlett claimed the first Emmy of his career tonight, for his outlandish role as Armond, the ingratiating but conniving luxury hotel manager in the HBO limited series.

Taking the stage at the Primetime Emmys, the Australian actor thanked series creator Mike White, and gave a shoutout to his mother.

“I just want to thank my mom all the way home in Australia for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional love,” he said. “And inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for each other. So, thank you, Mom.“

Bartlett’s win (and first nomination ever) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie put him up against two other co-stars of The White Lotus, Steve Zahn (“Mark Mossbacher”) and Jake Lacy (“Shane Patton”). The other nominees in the category were Will Poulter, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg, all from Dopesick, and Pam & Tommy‘s Seth Rogen.

The role of Armond called for Bartlett to play some outrageous scenes, including a sexually explicit encounter with a male underling, and a sequence in which the vengeful Armond defecates in a hotel guest’s luggage. Bartlett didn’t reference any of those cinematic moments on stage, but he did tell Deadline after his nomination that filming the series was beyond memorable.

“I mean, this was kind of a surreal experience from beginning to the end because we were all plucked out of Covid and whisked off to Hawaii to this kind of fever dream-type TV camp,” he said. “And then, from those kind of humble beginnings to these [nominations], it was very sweet and surreal.”

The White Lotus came into the night already having won five Emmys at the Creative Arts ceremony last weekend. It has been renewed for a second season, although viewers of the first season know Bartlett’s character didn’t survive the debut season. Bartlett has gone on to appear in the Apple TV+ series Physical. He’s now shooting the upcoming Hulu mini-series Welcome to Chippendales.

In his speech, Bartlett spread the love, acknowledging a host of people for his Emmy-winning opportunity in The White Lotus.

“Thank you to everybody at HBO, especially Casey Bloys, Francesca Orsi, Nora Skinner. You guys are true champions,” he said. “Thank you to my family and friends for all your love and support over the years, especially Ahmed, you’re a prince. To my P-Town family, I love you. And to my partner, Matt. Thank you for being my sanctuary.“

Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey make red carpet debut at Emmys 2022

(9/12/22) (Photo) Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Emmys 2022 on Monday night.

The “Flight Attendant” actress, 36, wore a custom pink Dolce & Gabbana gown with floral embellishments, while the “Ozark” star, 40, looked dapper in a black suit at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

The two posed closely together and flashed each other bright smiles as photographers snapped pics.

The pair’s awards show appearance comes months after Cuoco confirmed her relationship with Pelphrey via Instagram.

“Life lately ‘the sun breaks through the clouds, rays of gold slipping into my eyes and heart, rays of yellow to break the grey,’” she captioned a series of photos, including one where Pelphrey was seen kissing Cuoco on the cheek.

That same day, Pelphrey also went Instagram-official with Cuoco, sharing two polaroids of the couple looking extra cuddly.

Weeks later, the duo engaged in light PDA during their first public appearance together at producer Greg Berlanti’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony.

Cuoco — who’s nominated for an Emmy for her role in the HBO series — and Pelphrey were photographed holding hands, exchanging flirty smiles and laughing. At one point, he was seen lovingly touching Cuoco’s arm.

Pelphrey is Cuoco’s first serious relationship since she broke up with husband Karl Cook in September 2021 after three years of marriage.

“Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions,” they had said in a joint statement at the time.

She was also previously married to tennis player Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016.

Despite her new connection with Pelphrey, Cuoco has no plans to tie the knot again.

“I will never get married again,” the “Big Bang Theory” alum asserted in a Glamour cover story interview for the magazine’s April 2022 issue. “I would love to have a long-lasting relationship or a partnership. But I will never get married again. Absolutely not. You can literally put that on the cover.”

Interview with Michael R. Jackson and Kim Zimmer - Sept 14

(9/8/22) (Watch Here) Tony Award-winner and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2022, Michael R. Jackson will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, September 14th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Michael Will be here to talk about his Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway show, A Strange Loop as well as his love of daytime television and Guiding Light. One of Michael’s favorite daytime actresses, Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne Lewis) will join Michael for this interview.

A Strange Loop won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Musical, the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle award. The New York Times called it a “laparoscopy of the heart, soul, and loins… [a] gutsy, jubilantly anguished musical with infectious melodies". The New Yorker wrote "To watch this show is to enter, by some urgent, bawdy magic, an ecstatic and infinitely more colorful version of the famous surreal lithograph by M. C. Escher.” Awards and associations: Dramatist Guild Fellowship, Page 73’s Writers Group, New Professional Theatre Festival Award, Jonathan Larson Grant, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award, Whiting Award, Helen Merrill Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, Obie Award, Antonyo Award, Fred Ebb Award, Windham-Campbell Prize.

Emmy Presenters: Ariana DeBose, ‘Squid Game’ Stars, Jean Smart, Jimmy Kimmel, Selena Gomez & More

(9/7/22) The Television Academy has opened the envelope on its first batch of presenters for Monday’s 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order: Will Arnett, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Bayer, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana DeBose, Taye Diggs, Hannah Einbinder, Selena Gomez, Mariska Hargitay, Squid Game’s Jung Ho-yeon & Lee Jung-jae, Jimmy Kimmel, Diego Luna, Christopher Meloni, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Jean Smart, Kerry Washington and Natalie Zea.

More presenters will be announced as we get closer to TV’s Biggest Night, which will be hosted by SNL stalwart Kenan Thompson from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on NBC starting at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

‘The Bay’ Heading To Peacock; Upcoming Season Featuring Maxwell Caulfield, Stephen Schnetzer, Joe Lando & More

(9/6/22) Fans of The Bay can now find the digital sudser on Peacock.

The multi-camera serial drama is currently in production on 20 all-new episodes that will be released later this year, marking the completion of its 100th episode. Today, the cast and crew will commemorate the milestone while on location in Sun Valley, CA.

Filmed on location in Puerto Rico and Los Angeles, the new episodes star Daytime Emmy winners Kristos Andrews (Survive the Game) and Karrueche Tran (Claws, Bel-Air) as super couple Pete and Vivian Garrett, as well as Daytime Emmy winners Mary Beth Evans (Days of Our Lives) as Sara Garrett, Tristan Rogers (General Hospital) as Commissioner Lex Martin, Eric Nelsen (1883) as Daniel Garrett, and Mike Manning (This is Us) as Caleb McKinnon. Andrews will be doing double duty as Pete Garrett’s diabolical twin brother Adam Kenway, a role that garnered him a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Drama Series in 2020.

Returning series regulars for the upcoming installments include Najee De-Tiege (Power Rangers: Samurai), Celeste Fianna (Bandit), Jackie Zeman (General Hospital), Alicia Leigh Willis (The L Word), Matthew Ashford and Brandon Beemer (Days of Our Lives). Daytime Emmy winner A Martinez (Longmire), as well as newcomer Kiara Liz Ortega and Carlo Mendez (Parks and Recreation) are also series regulars this season.

Special guest stars appearing this season include Maxwell Caulfield (Dynasty), Stephen Schnetzer (Another World), and the returns of Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), John Aprea (The Godfather II & III), and Bruce Davison (Ozark).

Also, guest starring is Latin Grammy Winner Draco Rosa, Ciara Hanna (Power Rangers: Megaforce), Alexia Robinson, Real Andrews (General Hospital), McKenzie Westmore (Passions), Precious V. Mayes (The Magic), Breana Raquel (Purple Hearts), Txunamy Ortiz (Class of 1970), Mariann Aalda (The Blacklist), Dante Aleksander (The Raven), Bianca D’Ambrosio (Call Jane), and Daytime Emmy winner Chiara D’Ambrosio (Slapface).

Created and directed by Daytime Emmy winning producer and director Gregori J. Martin, The Bay is produced by the independent film and television production company LANY Entertainment in association with SheMogul Media. The series is written by Martin and multiple Daytime Emmy winner Wendy Riche (General Hospital), who also serves as Executive Producer.

With a total of 23 Daytime Emmy wins and 56 nominations, The Bay is also available on PopStar! TV, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi in the US, Channel 10 and Ten Play in Australia, SABC in South Africa, and others. The series is distributed internationally by GRB Entertainment.

Lifetime Adds Three Holiday Movies; Includes Reunion Of ‘Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman’ Stars Jane Seymour & Joe Lando

(9/1/22) Lifetime is upping its holiday movie game by adding three movies to its 2022 It’s a Wonderful Lifetime movie slate, which will include a reunion of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman stars Jane Seymour and Joe Lando in a flick executive produced by Toni Braxton.

A Christmas Spark follows a widow (Seymour) who has lost her zest for life and given up on ever finding love again. She reluctantly takes on the job of directing the town’s Christmas pageant and soon finds herself falling for her leading man (Lando), the town’s most eligible bachelor.

A Christmas Spark is produced by Lighthouse Pictures and is being distributed by Sony Pictures Television. Braxton, Stephen Bulka and Jamie Goehring are executive producing. Rhonda Baraka directs from a script by Eirene Tran Donohue.

Gospel artist Kirk Franklin is also returning to executive produce and star in his second holiday movie for Lifetime, Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas. The film will feature Naturi Naughton (Power, Power Book II: Ghost) and Luke James (Star, The Chi). It’s about an estranged mother and daughter (played by Naughton and Lorea Turner) who are caught in a snowstorm that forces them to take refuge inside a church where parishioners are reeling from the cancellation of their annual holiday concert. The spirit of the season takes hold as Journee and Nia weather the wintry storm together with the other churchgoers, including Adam (Luke James) a handsome youth pastor, and a heavenly music teacher (Franklin), who motivate the mother and daughter to reconcile their differences through music, faith and love.

Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas is produced by Swirl Films and Big Dreams Entertainment. Franklin, as well as Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, Eric Tomosunas, Angela Plasschaert, Leslie Greif and Alex Kerr serve as executive producers. Tailiah Breon directs from a script by Tara Knight.

Jodie Sweetin will kick off the holidays at Lifetime with her movie Merry Swissmas on November 5. It also stars Tim Rozon (Schitt’s Creek). Alex (Sweetin) has wonderful memories of Christmas with her best friend Beth (Mikaela Lily Davies), until Beth started dating Alex’s ex, Jesse (David Pinard). Because she has missed the last few Christmases with family due to her demanding job as an architect, Alex is excited to spend the holidays with her mother Caroline (Jane Wheeler), who is opening an inn in Switzerland.

Merry Swissmas is produced in association with Reel One Entertainment for Lifetime. Executive producers include Tom Berry, Barbara Fisher, Kenneth Hirsch, Laura Francis, Serge Desrosiers and John L’Ecuyer, who also directs from a script by Lauren Balson Carter.

These films join previously announced Santa Bootcamp starring Rita Moreno and directed by Melissa Joan Hart, Steppin’ into the Holidays with Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer, A New Orleans Noel starring Patti LaBelle and Keshia Knight Pulliam from EP Whoopi Goldberg, and A Country Christmas Harmony with Brooke Elliott.

Airdates will be announced this fall.

James Earl Jones Theatre Gets Official Broadway Opening: Renaming & Dedication Ceremony Announced

(9/1/22) Broadway’s Cort Theatre will officially become the James Earl Jones Theatre in an official renaming and dedication ceremony on Monday, Sept. 12, the Shubert Organization announced today.

The ceremony follows a $47 million restoration and expansion of the 110-year-old building on West 48th Street in Manhattan’s Theater District. The dedication ceremony will be open to invited guests and members of the press, and will include special performances, tours of the venue and the unveiling of a new marquee.

Shubert, which owns the theater, commissioned extensive renovations and construction work on the venue over the course of the Covid pandemic years and under the guidance of Francesca Russo Architect. A new contemporary annex, designed by Kostow Greenwood Architects, expands accessibility, increases public space, adds dressing rooms and rehearsal space.

The venue’s name change to honor the venerable actor was previously announced, and followed a pledge by Shubert and other Broadway theater owners that arose out of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement.

“The dedication of the James Earl Jones Theatre honors one of the most beloved Broadway and film actors of all time,” said Shubert Chairman and CEO Robert E. Wankel in a statement today. “It’s fitting that the renaming of this beautifully restored building also be a moment in which to recognize the tremendous contribution of BIPOC people to Broadway. Mr. Jones’s name quickly rose to the top of the Shubert Organization’s list due to his illustrious career performing in Shubert houses, his status in the Black community, and his worldwide reputation as one of the most celebrated performers to ever grace the Broadway stage.”

The Cort Theatre opened in 1912 and was designed in the style of an Eighteenth-Century French palace by renowned theatre architect Thomas Lamb. The venue was built to house productions of impresario John Cort and was sold to the Shubert brothers in 1927.

The $47 million restoration project includes refurbishments to the interior and the rehabilitation of the historic landmark’s façade, as well as the creation of a new, modern annex to compliment the historic theater. The new space, designed by Kostow Greenwood Architects, is fully accessible and features lounges and new restrooms for theatre patrons, as well as a rehearsal spaces and offices for theatre staff.

The venue’s dressing room tower has also been relocated to the annex, allowing for the expansion of the stage-left wing and an upgrade of the rigging system. Those renovations, Shubert says, have created an enhanced venue functionality that allows for the presentation of more modern, technically demanding productions with larger casts.

Jones has appeared in 14 Broadway productions at Shubert theaters, including two at the Cort. In all, Jones has performed in 21 Broadway shows, winning Tony Awards for The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

‘Nashville’ & ‘Scream’ Star Hayden Panettiere Signs With APA As Comeback Continues After Addiction Battle Reveal

(8/31/22) Nashville and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has signed with APA.

The two-time Golden Globe nominee recently finished filming on Scream 6 in which she reprises her role as Kirby Reed.

Panettiere’s breakout role came as Claire Bennet in NBC’s Heroes and she went on to get the starring role of Juliette Barnes in ABC’s hit Nashville. She also starred in the final season of David E. Kelly’s Ally McBeal for Fox.

The actress’s other film credits include The Forger opposite Josh Hutcherson, Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington, Custody with Viola Davis, Chris Columbus’s I Love You Beth Cooper, and Bring It On: All Or Nothing.

Scream 6 marks Panettiere’s first movie in six years. She hasn’t acted in TV since Nashville ended in 2018. Last month, the actress opened up to People magazine about a long struggle with alcohol and substance abuse as well as postpartum depression. She explained how she has undergone trauma therapy and inpatient treatment within the last year in a bid to get her life back on track.

Panettiere continues to be represented by Mainstay Entertainment (who she signed with earlier this year) and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.

Netflix Fall & Holiday Film Slate with Former Soap Stars

(8/30/22) Lou (9/23)
A storm rages. A young girl is kidnapped. Her mother (Jurnee Smollett) teams up with the mysterious woman next door (Allison Janney) to pursue the kidnapper – a journey that tests their limits and exposes shocking secrets from their pasts.
DIRECTOR: Anna Foerster
WRITER: Maggie Cohn
PRODUCERS: J.J. Abrams, Jon Cohen, Hannah Minghella
CAST: Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green, Matt Craven, Ridley Asha Bateman

Luckiest Girl Alive (10/7, theaters 9/30)
Luckiest Girl Alive centers on Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe, and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Brentley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life. Based on the book Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll.
DIRECTOR: Mike Barker
WRITER: Jessica Knoll
PRODUCERS: Bruna Papandrea, Jeanne Snow, Erik Feig, Lucy Kitada, Mila Kunis
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jessica Knoll, Lisa Sterbakov, Shayne Fiske Goldner, Steve Hutensky, Mike Barker
CAST: Mila Kunis, Finn Wittrock, Chiara Aurelia, Scoot McNairy, Thomas Barbusca, Justine Lupe, Dalmar Abuzeid, Alex Barone, Carson MacCormac with Jennifer Beals and Connie Britton

The School For Good And Evil (10/19)
Best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides of a modern fairy tale when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where young heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance of good and evil. Based on the bestselling book series by Soman Chainani
DIRECTOR: Paul Feig
WRITERS: David Magee, Laura Solon, Paul Feig
PRODUCERS: Joe Roth, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Jane Startz, Paul Feig, Laura Fischer
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Stephen Jones, Zack Roth, Patricia Riggen, Soman Chainani
CAST: Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Sofia Wylie, Sophie Anne Caruso, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Sir Ben Kingsley, Patti LuPone, Rachel Bloom, Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Delaney and Mark Heap

Falling For Christmas (11/10)
A newly engaged, spoiled hotel heiress gets into a skiing accident, suffers from total amnesia and finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter in the days leading up to Christmas.
DIRECTOR: Janeen Damian
WRITERS: Jeff Bonnett, Ron Oliver, Janeen Damian and Michael Damian
PRODUCERS: Brad Krevoy, Michael Damian
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Amanda Phillips, Eric Jarboe, David Wulf
CAST: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young, Jack Wagner, Olivia Perez

The Noel Diary (11/24)
When best-selling author Jacob Turner (Justin Hartley) returns home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother’s estate, he discovers a diary that may hold secrets to his own past and that of Rachel (Barrett Doss) – a beautiful young woman on a mysterious journey of her own. Together, they embark on an adventure to confront their pasts and discover a future that’s totally unexpected. Based on the book The Noel Diary by Richard Paul Evans
DIRECTOR: Charles Shyer
WRITERS: Charles Shyer, Rebecca Connor, David Golden
PRODUCERS: Timothy O. Johnson, Stephanie Slack, Margret H. Huddleston
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Justin Hartley, Norman Stephens, Andrew Gernhard
CAST: Justin Hartley, Barrett Doss, Bonnie Bedelia, James Remar, Essence Atkins

Peter Hermann recurs on Blue Bloods 10/7/22

(8/29/22) “Keeping the Faith” – The job takes a dangerous turn for the Reagans when Eddie and Jamie deal with a domestic violence case associated with an investigation led by Danny and Baez. Also, Frank and his friend, Archbishop Kearns (Stacy Keach), go on a mission to avail themselves to an unfiltered look at the city; and Erin is presented with a surprising offer by her ex-husband, Jack Boyle (Peter Hermann), regarding her run for District Attorney, on the season 13 premiere of BLUE BLOODS, Friday, Oct. 7 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Stacy Keach returns as Archbishop Kearns, Will Hochman guest stars as Joe Hill and Peter Hermann guest stars as Erin’s ex-husband Jack Boyle.

RECURRING CAST: Abigail Hawk (Abigail Baker), Gregory Jbara (DCPI Garrett Moore), Robert Clohessy (Lt. Gormley), Steven Schirripa (Anthony Abetamarco), Andrew Terraciano (Sean Reagan), Will Hochman (Joe Hill), Peter Hermann (Jack Boyle), Ian Quinlan (Officer Badillo).

‘Yellowstone’ Drops First Season 5 Teaser At MTV Video Music Awards

(8/28/22) (Video) The eagerly awaited Season 5 of Yellowstone bowed a teasing preview of its coming attractions tonight at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Season 5 of the mega hit starring Kevin Costner is set for a two-hour premiere Nov. 13 on MTV sibling the Paramount Network. The teaser promises “All will be revealed” in a quick montage of some of the key players in the series, finishing with patriarch John Dutton (Costner).

Fans of the series or those wishing to catch up can see a series marathon starting on Friday of Labor Day weekend on the Paramount Network, beginning at 11 AM each day of that weekend.

The series ensemble cast includes Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham and Gil Birmingham, with Mo Brings Plenty, Wendy Moniz, Jen Landon, and Kathryn Kelly upped to series regulars.

The upcoming season will also feature the return of Josh Lucas as young John Dutton alongside Jacki Weaver, Kylie Rogers and Kyle Red Silverstein with Kai Caster, Lainey Wilson, Lilli Kay and Dawn Olivieri joining the star-studded cast.

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone season four premiere was cable’s highest rated show, bringing in more than 14 million viewers in total. The season four finale drew more than 10 million viewers.

Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, Yellowstone chronicles the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect – the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and vicious business rivalries.

Yellowstone is co-created by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Wind River, Hell or High Water and Sicario) and John Linson. Executive producers include John Linson, Art Linson, Taylor Sheridan, Kevin Costner, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari and Stephen Kay.

Bob LuPone Dies: Off-Broadway MCC Theatre Founder Was 76

(8/27/22) Bob LuPone, a Tony-nominated actor and the founder of the off-Broadway MCC Theatre, has died. He was 76. The brother of Patti LuPone had been on a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

“The MCC Theater community mourns the loss of our much loved and uniquely inspiring partner, colleague, and dear friend, Bob LuPone, who lived fearlessly and with great curiosity, good humor, a boundless passion for connection, and a whole lot of heart. We will miss him deeply and always,” read a statement from MCC.

LuPone was born on July 29th, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York to Angela Louise (known as Pat), a housewife, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school principal.

His passion for the arts began at an early age. In the sixth grade at his North Port, Long Island elementary school, he saw his younger sister Patti dance at a PTA Dance Concert in a colorful hula skirt. After he told his mother how badly he wanted to wear the skirt, she told him that if that’s what he wanted then he’d have to enroll in dance class, which he did the following year. He started by taking tap lessons after school before enrolling in the Martha Graham Studio, where he studied under Antony Tudor, José Limon and Graham herself, from ages 15 to 18.

LuPone got accepted to Juilliard after a friend suggested he audition, an audition that he improvised. He would graduate with a BFA in Dance in 1968.

In 1966, he landed his first job as part of the ensemble of The Pajama Game starring Liza Minnelli. His Broadway debut would happen in 1968 in Noel Coward’s Sweet Potato and would later on appear in Minnie’s Boys, The Rothschilds, and The Magic Show.

LuPone was cast as Al in A Chorus Line but when one of the actors departed the production, he asked to audition for the part of Zach, which he would land. This role led LuPone to score a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. A Chorus Line opened at the Public Theater, before swiftly transferring to Broadway. The production was nominated for 12 Tony Awards at the 1976 ceremony.

While teaching an acting class at New York University, one of his students was Bernie Telsey, who together would form the Manhattan Class Company — known today as MCC Theatre.

LuPone, Telsey and Will Cantler successfully led MCC for nearly 40 years producing shows like Frozen, Hand to God, School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit.

While serving as a co-artistic director of MCC Theater, LuPone continued acting appearing in Broadway productions like A View from the Bridge, True West, and A Thousand Clowns. He was also in the Chicago premiere of Sam Shepard’s The Tooth of Crime and made television appearances on shows like The Sopranos, Sex & the City, Guiding Light, Ryan's Hope, Search For Tomorrow, Another world, Loving and All My Children, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

LuPone is survived by his wife Virginia, his son Orlando, sister Patti, brother William.

‘Lou’ Trailer, First Look: Allison Janney & Jurnee Smollett Lead Netflix’s Bad Robot-Produced Action-Thriller

(8/22/22) (Video) Netflix has unveiled a trailer and first-look photos for its action-thriller Lou, starring Oscar winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya) and Emmy nominee Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), which is slated for release on September 23rd.

The film from cinematographer-turned-director Anna Foerster (Westworld) follows Lou (Janney), a woman who thinks she’s put her dangerous past behind her, but finds her quiet life interrupted when a desperate mother (Smollett) begs her to help save her kidnapped daughter. As a massive storm rages, the two women risk their lives on a rescue mission that will test their limits and expose dark and shocking secrets from their pasts.

Written by Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) and Jack Stanley, from a story by Cohn, Lou also stars Logan Marshall-Green, Ridley Asha Bateman and Matt Craven. Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams, Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen produced, with Janney and Smollett exec producing alongside Braden Aftergood, Brendan Ferguson, Cory Bennett Lewis and Lindsey Weber.

Netflix also today debuted first-look images and a December 23rd premiere date for Rian Johnson’s anticipated Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which will be released in select theaters at a date not yet announced, after debuting globally on the streamer. The film sees Daniel Craig reprise his role as Detective Benoit Blanc, who travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects. Pic’s cast also includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.

The trailer for Lou can be found above.

‘Ally McBeal’ Sequel With New Lead In Works At ABC From Karin Gist; Calista Flockhart Eyed To Return

(8/19/22) Exactly two decades since David E. Kelley’s Ally McBeal ended its five-season run on Fox, the Emmy-winning legal dramedy starring Calista Flockhart is plotting a comeback with a sequel series, which is in early development at ABC, I have learned.

Written and executive produced by Karin Gist (Mike), I hear the new show will follow a young Black woman who joins the law firm from the original series (or its current incarnation) straight out of law school. The young woman is believed to be the daughter of Ally McBeal’s (Flockhart) D.A. roommate Renée Raddick, who was played by Lisa Nicole Carson on the mothership series.

I hear Flockhart has been approached to reprise her title role from the original in some capacity and to executive produce the follow-up. A decision on her potential involvement likely won’t be made until a script has been written.

Kelley created and executive produced Ally McBeal through his overall deal at 20th Television that had his David E. Kelley Productions function as a mini studio, giving the prolific producer a bigger say in exploiting existing IP. I hear Kelley has been looped in on the idea and has given his blessing for the follow-up. Given the new show’s focus on a new character who is a Black woman, I hear Kelley felt he was not needed and graciously stepped aside out of respect for Gist being able to tell that character’s story. There are no current plans for Kelley to be involved in the sequel, which Ally McBeal studio 20th Television, part of Disney TV Studios, is producing. Gist serves as showrunner and executive produces through her production banner, The Gist of It, alongside the company’s EVP Claire Brown.

Reps for ABC and 20th TV declined comment.

Executives at 20th TV had been looking to bring back Ally McBeal in some shape or form for years; the efforts were stepped up after the 2019 Disney acquisition of Fox assets, including 20th TV, fueled by how well the series’ DNA fits into ABC’s core brand of female-driven character dramas with levity. I hear Gist’s take was very well received across the board, leading to the pitch’s sale to ABC for development.

The setup of the Ally McBeal follow-up is reminiscent of NBC’s upcoming Night Court sequel series, which also features a new lead character (Melissa Rauch) who is the daughter of a character from the original series and has the original lead, John Larroquette, reprising his role alongside her.

Ally McBeal, which aired on Fox from 1997-2002, starred Flockhart as Ally, a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish along with her ex-lover and his wife, and followed Ally’s trials and tribulations through life as she looked for love and fulfillment. The main focus of the dramedy was the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot device.

The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999, one of seven Emmys and a slew of other major awards for its run. Ally McBeal was known for its strong ensemble cast, led by Flockhart and featuring Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Carson, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol, Gil Bellows, Lucy Liu, Portia de Rossi as well as musician Vonda Shepard who rose to fame on the show. Additionally, the series gave Robert Downey Jr. one of his first big roles following his 1990s legal troubles en route to his blockbuster career comeback in Iron Man.

Ally McBeal transcended television to become a pop culture phenom and generate memes before memes existed with its infamous dancing baby. It remains influential two decades after its end, with She-Hulk‘s creative team recently listing the dramedy as an inspiration for their Marvel series.

Gist is among the top creators/showrunners on 20th TV’s roster of overall deals. Under the pact, she is executive producer and showrunner on the new Mike Tyson limited series Mike for Hulu. She co-created, executive produced and showran the Fox series Our Kind of People and served as executive producer and showrunner on the ABC comedy mixed-ish.

Previously, Gist served as executive producer and showrunner of Fox’s Star for Seasons 2 and 3. Before that, she was a co-executive producer on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy from 2015-17. Additional writing and producing credits include WB/CW’s One Tree Hill, Showtime’s House of Lies and ABC’s Revenge. Her film writing credits include Disney’s Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2, Jump In and VH1’s Drumline: A New Beat. She is repped by Adventure Media, Joel McKuin and ID PR.

Frank Grillo Rips L.A. Crime After Boxing Trainer Shot Dead

(8/19/22) Actor Frank Grillo is speaking out about the senseless murder of his beloved boxing trainer ... and he's not pulling punches when it comes to what he views as L.A.'s crime problem.

Grillo, who played Crossbones in Marvel's 'Captain America' films, was visibly upset as he spoke about the death of Azuma Bennett during an interview at Fortune Boxing Gym in Hollywood on Thursday.

"He made everybody feel good about training," Grillo told KNBC. "I don't know what's happened to Los Angeles that a beautiful guy like this gets shot and killed over nothing."

Police say Bennett died en route to the hospital after he was struck by at least 8 bullets outside a marijuana dispensary in Windsor Hills last Friday. Detectives are still searching for the shooter, and there's not yet a motive.

Bennett was a centerpiece at Fortune Gym with a roster of celeb clients, including Grillo, UFC fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller and musicians Kiana Ledé and Eddie Benjamin.

The staff at Fortune Gym released a statement in Bennett's honor, "Azuma was our family. One of the best of the best. We are all so broken."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help Bennett's family.

‘Feud’: Tom Hollander, Calista Flockhart & Diane Lane To Star In Season 2 Of Ryan Murphy’s FX Series

(8/17/22) Tom Hollander, Calista Flockhart and Diane Lane have joined Feud: Capote’s Women, the second installment of FX’s anthology series from Ryan Murphy and Plan B, we have learned. Reps for FX and 20th Television, which is behind the Feud franchise, declined comment.

They join previously announced Naomi Watts and Chloë Sevigny. Hollander will star as Truman Capote, Flockhart as Lee Radziwill and Lane as Slim Keith. As previously announced, Watts stars as Babe Paley, wife of CBS head Bill Paley, and Sevigny portrays C.Z. Guest.

An adaptation of Laurence Leamer’s bestselling book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, the miniseries is set in the 1970s and ends with Truman Capote’s death in 1984. It chronicles the tale of the famous wunderkind author as he stabs several of his female friends — whom he called his “swans” — in the back by publishing a roman à clef short story called “La Côte Basque 1965” in Esquire in 1975. The piece was intended to be a chapter in Capote’s infamous unfinished novel Answered Prayers, his follow-up to the blockbuster In Cold Blood.

Two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant is set to direct all eight episodes, with Tony- and Pulitzer-nominated Jon Robin Baitz writing all episodes and serving as showrunner.

Baitz, Van Sant and Watts are executive producing Feud: Capote’s Women alongside Murphy, Plan B’s Dede Gardner, Tim Minear and Alexis Martin Woodall — who all executive produced/produced Season 1, titled Feud: Bette and Joan. 20th Television is the studio, producing with Plan B Entertainment and Ryan Murphy Productions. Filming is slated to begin in New York this fall.

Hollander is known for his roles in The Night Manager and Gosford Park, as well as films Pride & Prejudice and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Flockhart, best known for her starring role in Ally McBeal, most recently played Cal Grant on the CW’s Supergirl.

Lane next will be seen opposite Jeff Daniels in Netflix limited series A Man in Full. She most recently starred in FX’s adaptation of Y: The Last Man.

Variety was first to report the castings.

Toby Poser Interview 8/24/22

(8/17/22) (Watch here) Actress Toby Poser will join me live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 24th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Toby will be here to talk about her artistic collaboration with her husband and two daughters working together on Wonder Wheel Productions. Wonder Wheel epitomizes a can-do attitude toward independent filmmaking: as cast and crew, they write, act, and shoot; they produce, direct, edit and score it all.

Guiding Light fans will remember Toby for her role as the wicked “Malibu Madam,” Amanda Spaulding. Toby’s career began in NYC theater, acting in productions Off-Broadway including Mike Leigh’s Obie-winning Ecstasy with the New Group and regionally. On TV, she has appeared in all the Law & Order series and in independent films including the iconic The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love.

As a voice over artist, she’s been heard on numerous national campaigns, including the Progressive Auto Insurance commercials with Flo. As the founder of Wonder Wheel Productions, Toby has made seven award-winning feature films within the drama and horror genres; writing, directing, producing, shooting, and acting alongside her husband and two daughters.

Rebecca Budig Is Back at Work!

(8/16/22) (soapsindepth.com) It’s been almost three years since GENERAL HOSPITAL fan favorite Rebecca Budig (ex-Hayden) has been seen on TV screens, but that’s all about to change in a few months! The beloved actress is currently in Canada, filming the made-for-TV movie Fit For Christmas!

The Christmas-themed movie will be one of three original holiday films that CBS airs this coming December. Budig is working with THE TALK co-host Amanda Kloots and Hallmark Channel leading man Paul Greene on Fit For Christmas, which began filming today (Aug 15) in Vancouver.

Kloots — who created the concept of the film over two years ago during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — shared several photos on Instagram of the Fit For Christmas cast and crew out for dinner on August 14. “Dream team right here! I’m the luckiest! After two years, we start filming tomorrow!” In reply to her co-star, Budig commented that she “can’t wait” to work on the Christmas movie!

According to Variety, Kloots headlines Fit For Christmas as Audrey, a fitness instructor at the community center in Mistletoe, Montana, a small town that is (not surprisingly!) obsessed with Christmas. During the holiday season, Kloots’ Audrey starts a romance with a charming businessman (played by Greene) who is secretly planning to buy the struggling center and turn it into a resort.

It’s not clear who Budig is playing in the film, or how her character fits into the storyline. But based on an Instagram story the GH alum shared of Greene carrying her into the restaurant because her high heels were slowing her down, it sounds like the cast bonding is off to a great start!

Fit For Christmas will mark Budig’s first television project since exiting GH back in late 2019. The actress got her daytime start playing Michelle Bauer on GUIDING LIGHT and later became one of ALL MY CHILDREN’s popular leading ladies as Greenlee Smythe. She joined the cast of GH as Hayden in March 2015 and exited for the first time when her alter ego was shot and put into a coma. Budig returned to the soap that August and remained in Port Charles for two more years before being written out again in August 2017. She reprised the role again in July 2019 but was again written out that November.

Since exiting Port Charles, Budig wrote and starred in the 2020 short film About A Girl (directed by GH’s Finn, Michael Easton). Based on Budig’s own experiences with post-partum depression, the short film has won several awards at film festivals. Although About A Girl didn’t have a wide release, Fit For Christmas is slated to air on network television this December.

The Hollywood Critics Association TV Award Winner

(8/13/22) Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast or Cable Limited, Anthology Series, or Movie

Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus (HBO)

Talk Show Appearance

(8/12/22) GMA3: What You Need To Know - ABC

Wednesday, Aug. 17

actor Murray Bartlett (“White Lotus”)

‘Physical’ Renewed For Season 3 At Apple TV+

(8/11/22) Dark comedy Physical will be back for another go-round. Apple TV+ announced today it has renewed the half-hour dramedy, starring and exec produced by Rose Byrne, for a third season.

From creator, writer and exec producer Annie Weisman, Physical revolves around Sheila (Bryne), a woman in the early 1980s who is struggling with bulimia but begins to ascend from housewife to aerobics video star in the face of her husband’s run for a local political office in San Diego. The series tracks her epic journey from a stifled, overlooked enabler to a powerful, confident economic force as Sheila transforms into someone we take for granted today but was entirely radical at the time — the female lifestyle guru.

Season two found Sheila having successfully launched her first fitness video only to encounter some new and bigger obstacles on her path. She is torn between loyalty to her husband (Rory Scovel) and the values he represents, and a dangerous attraction to someone else.

Murray Bartlett also starred in Season 2, alongside Scovel, Dierdre Friel and Paul Sparks.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to continue telling Sheila’s story in creative collaboration with Rose Byrne and the rest of our incredible cast, writers and crew. Rose’s breathtaking, hilarious and brave performance is the north star on our show’s journey of personal empowerment and transformation in 80’s Southern California in all its synth-pop, sun-baked, spandex-clad glory,” said Weisman, creator and showrunner. “The feedback we’ve received from audiences who continue to discover and feel seen by Physical is the most deeply gratifying expefrience of my career and I’m so grateful to our team at Apple and Tomorrow Studios for making this dream a reality.”

Physical is produced by Tomorrow Studios, an ITV Studios partnership. Series is created, written and executive produced by Weisman, who also serves as showrunner. Stephanie Laing directs and also serves as executive producer along with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements for Tomorrow Studios, Craig Gillespie and Byrne. Alissa Bachner serves as co-executive producer.

Soap Stars guest star on repeats of The Talk on CBS

(8/11/22) Monday, August 15: Actor Eric Braeden (CBS’ THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) (OAD: 2/4/22)

Tuesday, August 16: Actor John McCook (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) (OAD: 5/27/22)

Wednesday, August 17: actors Peter Bergman and Susan Walters (CBS’ THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) (OAD: 4/18/22)

Thursday, August 18: actors Lawrence Saint-Victor and ThorstenKaye (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) (OAD: 1/17/22)

Talk Show Appearance

(8/9/22) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Tuesday, August 16: Murray Bartlett

Ariana Muenker Interview 8/10/22

(8/2/22) (Watch Here) Ariana Muenker will be the guest in The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 10th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Ariana will be here to look back at her roles in daytime and fill us in on what she is doing today.

Daytime fans will remember Ariana for her roles Christie Rogers and Christine Valere on Guiding Light, Annie Stewart and Melinda Gray Spencer on As the World Turns, Marianne Rudolph on Another World, Amanda Kirkland on Ryan’s Hope and Kimberly Brady on Days of Our Lives.

‘A Man In Full’: William Jackson Harper, Tom Pelphrey & Aml Ameen Among 6 Cast In Netflix Series

(8/2/22) William Jackson Harper (Love Life), Tom Pelphrey (Ozark), Aml Ameen (Boxing Day), Sarah Jones (For All Mankind), Jon Michael Hill (Widows), and Chanté Adams (A League of Their Own) have been cast opposite Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane in A Man in Full, Netflix’s six-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and Regina King based on Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel.

In A Man in Full, when Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker (Daniels) faces sudden bankruptcy, political and business interests collide as he defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace.

Harper plays Wes Jordan, the incumbent mayor of Atlanta who’s up for re-election. Wes will do whatever it takes to ensure victory over his opponent, who is quickly gaining in the polls.

Pelphrey plays Raymond Peepgrass. Subordinated, libidinous and frustrated, he is an oppressed and lowly loan officer on the verge of personal and professional chaos. He wants respect, but he’ll settle for sex, vengeance and some money.

Ameen plays Roger White, an attorney for Croker Industries. Kind and driven by a deep sense of morality, Roger quickly finds himself entangled in Charlie’s mess.

Jones plays Serena Croker, Charlie’s second wife. She’s an authentic Southern beauty who is both a voice of reason and a steady hand as Charlie’s world tilts off-axis.

Hill plays Conrad Hensley, a humble, hardworking employee of Croker Industries who faces a life-altering decision after a series of unfortunate events.

Adams plays Jill Hensley, Charlie’s beloved executive assistant. Married to Conrad Hensley, the couple is expecting their first child when their personal life suddenly turns.

Kelley serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner, with King directing three episodes and exec producing as part of her first-look deal with Netflix via her Royal Ties production company. Matthew Tinker also executive produces.

Harper, an Emmy nominee for his role on NBC’s The Good Place, can be seen opposite Cristin Milioti in the Peacock series The Resort. He is repped by UTA, AC Management and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Pelphrey is coming off his acclaimed recurring role in Netflix’s Ozark, which earned him an Emmy nomination last month, and he was appeared in David Fincher’s Mank. He’ll next be seen in the Weinstein investigation pic She Said. Pelphrey is repped by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Ameen’s recent TV credits include I May Destroy You and The Porter and on film in Boxing Day. He’ll next be seen in thriller Borderland. Ameen is repped by The Artists Partnership, UTA, Link Entertainment, The Initiative Group and attorney Dave Feldman.

Jones recently starred in Apple TV+’s For All Mankind. Her TV credits also include Damnation and The Path.

Hill is known for his work on the 2018 feature Widows and on television in 61st Street.

Adams appears in Amazon’s series adaptation of A League of Their Own, and she most recently appeared on the big screen in A Journal for Jordan.

New Yellowstone Regular Wendy Moniz Teases 'Killer' Story Ahead of Season 5

(8/1/22) As if we weren’t already anticipating the Season 5 premiere of Yellowstone as eagerly as a ranch hand does the sound of the dinner bell! On Monday, new series regular Wendy Moniz dropped on Instagram a series of photos that only served to make us want to get home to the range even faster.

“It is a gift to work doing something I love; and specifically working on this show,” said the actress, who had recurred as Governor Lynelle Perry since Season 1. “It’s a gift to be in and around this nature. It’s a gift to be surrounded by so many talented actors, and such a hard-working crew.

“It is a privilege,” she added, “to be a part of this killer storytelling. This is a gratitude post… please enjoy the view.”

Moniz, by all accounts, is headed for a banner Season 5. When the Paramount Network hit starts up again on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 8/7c, Governor Perry will be supporting her sometime lover, Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in his bid to replace her — and keep his adopted son Jamie (Wes Bentley) from getting the job. That is, unless there’s a time jump, and the election is already over by the time the super-sized season gets underway.

In addition to Moniz, Mo Brings Plenty (AKA Mo), Jennifer Landon (Teeter) and Kathryn Kelly (Emily) were also promoted to series-regular status ahead of Season 5. New hires include Kai Caster (American Horror Story: Apocalypse) as a young cowboy named Rowdy, Lainey Wilson as a musician named Abby, Dawn Oliveri (1883’s Claire) as a corporate shark named Sarah Atwood, and Lilli Kay (Your Honor) as Clara Brewer, a new assistant to one of the Duttons.

Judge Dismisses Frances Fisher’s Lawsuit Against SAG-AFTRA “With Prejudice”

(7/29/22) A federal judge has dismissed Frances Fisher’s lawsuit against SAG-AFTRA, in which the actress accused the union and several of its former and current leaders of breaching their duty of fair representation over the raising of eligibility requirements for coverage under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan

U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder dismissed the suit with prejudice Thursday, meaning that Fisher and her co-plaintiffs cannot refile it. Snyder previously has dismissed the suit without prejudice and allowed Fisher to file an amended complaint.

Fisher, who is first vice president of the union’s Los Angeles Local and a member of its national board of directors, named former SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, former national executive director David White, chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez and several other SAG-AFTRA officials as defendants. Other plaintiffs in the case included SAG-AFTRA members David Andrews, Belinda Balaski, Stephen Hart, Raymond Harry Johnson, Anne Lockhart and Toby Stone-Mandelberg.

Read the judge’s ruling here.

“With respect to plaintiffs’ DFR [Duty of Fair Representation] claim,” the judge wrote, “the Court finds that amendment would be futile, as plaintiffs’ have been unable in successive complaints to allege facts that meet the causation standard or overcome the six-month statute of limitations. Likewise, plaintiffs have been unable to state a cognizable Section 501 claim in successive complaints, and plaintiffs – in their briefing and in oral argument – did not proffer any further allegations that they could plead that would suggest, for example, that the Defendants’ nondisclosures harmed the Union as a whole, or that Carteris, White, or Crabtree-Ireland received any personal benefits as a result of their challenged actions that could sustain a Section 501 claim.”

Section 501 prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities, and Fisher maintained that the union’s changes in eligibility for health coverage disproportionately affected older members.

Her case was separate but similar to a lawsuit filed in December against the trustees of the Health Plan, which claims that that the changes in its eligibility rules “illegally discriminate based on age” – a charge flatly denied by the plan’s trustees, who say the changes were necessary to keep the plan afloat. Like Fisher, two of the plaintiffs in that case – former SAG president Ed Asner and L.A. Local second vice president David Jolliffe – are aligned with MembershipFirst, the union’s opposition party.

“We are pleased to finally and forcefully put this matter behind us,” a spokesperson for the union said. “The court correctly found that plaintiff’s duty of fair representation claims were doomed. The court additionally found no plausible claims of breach of fiduciary duty by any defendant. This was plaintiffs’ third attempt and the court has now shut the door on any future attempts. We will move ahead and continue fighting for our members.”

Deadline reached out to Fisher and will update if she responds.

Talk Show Appearance

(7/29/22) The View - ABC

Friday, Aug. 5 – Kevin Bacon (“City on a Hill”)

Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Barbara Crampton Lead Erotic Bodyswap Horror Based On H.P. Lovecraft Short Story; Crampton Joins Producer Amp As VP

(7/28/22) Principal photography has wrapped on a new untitled H.P. Lovecraft horror film starring Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) and Judah Lewis (The Babysitter).

Directed by Joe Lynch (Mayhem) and loosely based on Lovecraft’s short story The Thing On The Doorstep, the film is an erotic body-swapping horror, in which a psychiatrist played by Graham becomes obsessed with a young client with multiple personalities.

Also starring are Bruce Davison (X-Men), Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do!), and scream queen Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator).

The film, which recently finished shooting in Mississippi, is produced by Crampton, Bob Portal, Inderpal Singh and Joe Wicker for genre specialist producer and seller Amp, in association with Mississippi-based Eyevox Entertainment. Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator) serves as an executive producer, as does Joe Lynch, alongside Rick Moore for Eyevox, and James Norrie and Nina Kolokouri for Amp. Amp is handling worldwide sales.

Dennis Paoli, who wrote the screenplays for Lovecraft adaptations Re-Animator and From Beyond, penned the screenplay. The project completes a full circle for Paoli with Crampton, who made her name as an actress in those movies, which were directed by the late Stuart Gordon.

Crampton, doyenne of genre cinema, has also joined Amp as Vice President of Production and Development.

The new untitled H.P. Lovecraft picture is the third production that Crampton has worked on at Amp. The first, vampire movie Jakob’s Wife, premiered in the Midnight section of SXSW 2021, and was released by RLJ Entertainment in 2021. Crampton subsequently acted as executive producer on Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious, a supernatural horror starring Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons, which premiered at the 2022 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal and is released on Shudder on August 18.

Barbara Crampton said: “We’ve been so fortunate to work with top talent both behind and in front of the camera on our recent films. At Amp it’s about developing not only memorable, thought-provoking material for an audience, but also fresh and unusual enough to attract the very best creative collaborators. I was ecstatic when first the formidable Joe Lynch, then Heather Graham signed on – her natural charm is always in evidence, but we get to see a different untapped side of her abilities here. I’ve been thrilled to be invited to join seasoned pros at Amp, and we are only getting started.”

Joe Lynch commented: “When I read Dennis Paoli’s adaptation of the story, I felt like there was a fantastic opportunity to update and subvert Lovecraft’s often old-fashioned sensibilities in a way that felt modern, relevant and even dangerous, with a pinch of 90’s neo-noir and a dash of eroticism to spice up the stew. Working with Amp and such a fantastic cast – including Heather, Judah, Barbara, Bruce and Johnathon – we’re so excited that this sexy, funny, scary film isn’t just a modernized love letter to Lovecraft, but the kind of provocatively entertaining “sin-ema” I believe audiences are salivating for!”

Heather Graham is repped by RMS Productions, Paradigm, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes. Judah Lewis is repped by Buchwald, Untitled Entertainment, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes. Bruce Davison is repped by Chris Roe Management, and TalentWorks.

Johnathon Schaech is repped by LINK Entertainment. Joe Lynch is repped by Anonymous Content. Barbara Crampton is repped by AEFH, Silver J Management, and Mark Temple.

Robert Newman Says Good-Bye To Y&R

(7/27/22) Robert Newman Says Good-Bye To Y&R: Y&R Farewell Video (Jul 27 2022)

Talk Show Appearance

(7/27/22) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Wednesday, August 3: Guests include Kevin Bacon

‘They/Them’ Trailer: Kevin Bacon & Carrie Preston Run A Terrifying Conversion Camp With Deadly Consequences In Blumhouse Horror Pic

(7/21/22) (Video) Peacock has released a new, rather unsettling trailer for its upcoming slasher horror film They/Them. The Blumhouse thriller, starring Kevin Bacon and Carrie Preston, is set to be released on August 5.

Set at an LGBTQIA+ conversion camp, the film follows several queer and trans campers who join Owen Whistler (Bacon), the camp director, for a week of programming intended to “help them find a new sense of freedom”. With some more willing than others to be there, the camp starts, but as its methods become more psychologically unsettling (and the camp employees increasingly creepy) the campers must work together to protect themselves. When a mysterious killer starts claiming victims, things get even more dangerous (and terrifying).

Bacon’s Whistler, the camp director, runs Whistler Camp alongside several counselors, including his wife, Cora. Preston plays Cora Whistler, a licensed therapist in charge of the campers’ therapy sessions, and the wife of camp director Owen Whistler.?Anna Chlumsky portrays Molly, the camp’s medic and newest employee. Theo Germaine is Jordan, a transgender and non-binary camper from a religious background who has made a deal with their parents to legally emancipate if attending Whistler doesn’t “work.” Quei Tann plays?Alexandra, a transgender woman whose parents have threatened to kick her out of the house if she didn’t attend the camp.?Austin Crute isToby, a gay camper who negotiated with his parents for a trip to New York in exchange for a week at Whistler Camp. Monique Kim plays Veronica, a bisexual camper who wants to stop fighting who she really is.?Anna Lore portrays Kim, a closeted lesbian camper who puts on a perfectly crafted front for her family and friends, assuming that when she fits in, she’ll finally be loved. Cooper Koch plays Stu, a jock with aspirations of a swim scholarship and joining his father’s fraternity – things he doesn’t feel he can achieve if he’s open about being gay. Darwin Del Fabro is Gabriel, a sensitive gay camper tired of the persistent name-calling and bullying he’s endured his entire life.

They/Them is written/directed by John Logan (Skyfall) and produced by Jason Blum (Get Out) and Michael Aguilar (Penny Dreadful), with executive producers Kevin Bacon (You Should Have Left), Scott Turner Schofield (Euphoria), Howie Young (Mission: Impossible III, Hit and Run), and Jon Romano (Vengeance).

Check out the trailer above.

Frank Grillo Boards Action-Thriller ‘Black Lotus’ From Director Todor Chapkanov

(7/15/22) Frank Grillo (Kingdom) has joined the action-thriller Black Lotus, starring eleven-time world kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, which is in production in the Netherlands.

In the film from director Todor Chapkanov (Viking Quest), Verhoeven plays the role of special forces officer Matteo Donner. After his best friend died while on a joint mission, he roamed the world struggling with guilt. Back in Amsterdam he ends up in a one-man war in the streets and on the canals of the city. Between explosions, flying bullets and crashing cars, Donner has only one goal: to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his dead friend. Details as to the role that Grillo will be playing haven’t been disclosed. The film will also star Marie Dompnier (Black Box), Peter Franzén (Vikings), Rona-Lee Shim’on (Fauda), Magnus Samuelsson (The Last Kingdom), Simon Wan (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Kevin Janssens (Revenge) and Roland Møller (Atomic Blonde).

Tad Daggerhart wrote the script. The film is co-financed by Capstone Studios with Christian Mercuri on board to produce, partnering with Tom de Mol and Marcel de Block from The Netherlands and in co-production with Rico Verhoeven. Capstone’s Jason Carpenter is serving as executive producer. Blue Box International, a subsidiary of Capstone Global, is handling worldwide sales on the title.

Grillo is best known for his performances in the Captain America and Purge franchises, DirecTV’s MMA drama series Kingdom, and in Joe Carnahan’s genre-bending feature Boss Level, as well as his crime thriller Copshop. The actor has also appeared in such series as Billions and The Shield, and in films including Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Black and Blue, Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, End of Watch, The Grey, Warrior, My Soul to Take and Minority Report. He’ll next star alongside Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche in the Lionsgate thriller Paradise Highway, and in the Ambi Pictures biopic Lamborghini, which has him playing the sports car company’s founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Grillo is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Paul Hastings.

‘She Said’ Trailer: Carey Mulligan And Zoe Kazan As NYT Reporters Who Brought Down Harvey Weinstein

(7/14/22) (Video) Universal on Thursday released the trailer for She Said, the movie starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who wrote the the groundbreaking exposé on Harvey Weinstein that would eventually bring the Oscar-winning producer to justice for his sexual assault crimes and fuel the #MeToo reckoning in Hollywood and beyond.

The pic, directed by Maria Schrader (Unorthodox) from a screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, is gearing up for its November 18 theatrical release.

The film is based on the New York Time bestseller, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, chronicling how Twohey and Kantor built and broke one of the most important stories in a generation, helping to shatter decades of silence on hidden abuses.

Tom Pelphrey, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher and Samantha Morton also star.

Producers are Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment. Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle of Annapurna Pictures are executive producers.

Check out the the trailer above which was first shown to exhibitors at CinemaCon back in April.

Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori & Hayden Panettiere Join ‘Scream 6’

(7/14/22) Samara Weaving (The Valet) and Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: No Way Home) are the latest additions to the cast of Scream 6, Deadline can confirm. They join an ensemble that also includes Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega, who toplined the fifth film in the franchise, along with Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra and Henry Czerny.

The next installment in the horror franchise from Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures will pick up with Sam (Barrera), Mindy (Brown), Chad (Gooding) and Tara (Ortega)—four survivors of the most recent batch of Ghostface killings—as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. Details as to the characters Weaving and Revolori will be playing have not been disclosed.

Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed the last Scream film, return as directors. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick co-wrote the screenplay, with Project X Entertainment’s Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein and William Sherak serving as producers. Scream franchise creator Kevin Williamson and Radio Silence’s third member, Chad Villella, are exec producing alongside Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena. The film will hit theaters worldwide on March 31, 2023.

Weaving previously worked with Radio Silence on the 2019 horror Ready or Not. The actress can currently be seen in the Hulu film The Valet, having also recently starred in the streamer’s series Nine Perfect Strangers. She’ll next be seen in Stephen Williams’ drama Chevalier with Lucy Boynton and Minnie Driver, and Damien Chazelle’s buzzy period Hollywood pic Babylon.

Revolori is best known for his collaboration with Wes Anderson on films like The Grand Budapest, The French Dispatch and the upcoming Asteroid City, and for his role as Flash Thompson in the most recent trilogy of Spider-Man films. He stars in the Apple series Servant and will soon be seen in the Disney+ series Willow.

Bloody Disgusting was first to report the news of today’s castings. Weaving is represented by CAA, 111 Media and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Revolori by WME and Circle of Confusion.

Joan Collins on the mend after being airlifted to hospital for pinched nerve

(7/14/22) Joan Collins is handling a pinched nerve in her leg like Alexis Colby would on “Dynasty”: By relaxing at her vacation home in the South of France.

A pal of the nighttime soap opera legend told Page Six that Collins was “airlifted to a hospital in Monte Carlo” this week for the pinched nerve and now, “she’s back home in St. Tropez and is walking around,” they said.

“She’s 89 and is still walking around in six-inch heels,” they added.

Collins posted a photo to Instagram on a yacht “enjoying a great day out one week before I had to go to the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco for a trapped nerve in my leg,” she wrote.

“Not fun! But they were great,” she said about the hospital.

A rep for Collins also confirmed the news, but told us all is well.

“The pain has been excruciating, but fortunately she’s dealt with it, and she’s OK now. She’s in the South of France enjoying the rest of her holiday,” they said.

The rep insisted she’s “recovering and doing fine,” but stressed, “those pinched nerves are brutal. It’s the most painful thing.”

As for Collins’ signature heels?

“As we speak, this will not inhibit her fashion whatsoever. It’s fine,” they said.

As we all know, glamour is the utmost importance for Dame Collins. In 2019, she sounded off on her hatred of jeans to Vogue, telling the fashion bible, “I really hope that people will spend more money on clothes, because nobody dresses up anymore… Everybody’s going to end up in jeans and T-shirts, which I think is tragic”

Here’s to a speedy stiletto recovery!

2022 Emmy Nominations: Soap Alums

(7/12/22) This year’s Emmys will be awarded across two weekends, with the two-night Creative Arts portion set for September 3-4. The Primetime ceremony will be broadcast live Monday, September 12 on NBC and stream live on Peacock.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Prime Video • Amazon Studios
Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel

Abbott Elementary • ABC • Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and 20th Television
Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues

The Flight Attendant • HBO/HBO Max • HBO Max in association with Berlanti Productions, Yes, Norman Productions, and Warner Bros. Television
Kaley Cuoco as Cassie Bowden

The Great • Hulu • Hulu, Civic Center Media, MRC
Elle Fanning as Catherine The Great

Insecure • HBO/HBO Max • HBO in association with Hoorae, A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment and 3 Arts Entertainment
Issa Rae as Issa

Hacks • HBO/HBO Max • Universal Television in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment
Jean Smart as Deborah Vance

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

The Staircase • HBO/HBO Max • A HBO Max and Annapurna Television co-production in association with EMI Pop and What’s Up Films
Toni Collette as Kathleen

Inventing Anna • Netflix • A Netflix Series in association with shondalandmedia
Julia Garner as Anna Delvey

Pam & Tommy • Hulu • Hulu, Annapurna Television, Point Grey Pictures
Lily James as Pamela Anderson

Impeachment: American Crime Story • FX • 20th Television and FX Productions
Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp

Maid • Netflix • John Wells Productions, LuckyChap Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television for Netflix
Margaret Qualley as Alex

The Dropout • Hulu • Searchlight Television, 20th Television
Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

The White Lotus • HBO/HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord, The District and Hallogram Inc.
Murray Bartlett as Armond

The White Lotus • HBO/HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord, The District and Hallogram Inc.
Jake Lacy as Shane Patton

Dopesick • Hulu • 20th Television, Danny Strong Productions, John Goldwyn Productions, The Littlefield Company
Will Poulter as Billy Cutler

Pam & Tommy • Hulu • Hulu, Annapurna Television, Point Grey Pictures
Seth Rogen as Rand Gauthier

Dopesick • Hulu • 20th Television, Danny Strong Productions, John Goldwyn Productions, The Littlefield Company
Peter Sarsgaard as Rick Mountcastle

Dopesick • Hulu • 20th Television, Danny Strong Productions, John Goldwyn Productions, The Littlefield Company
Michael Stuhlbarg as Richard Sackler

The White Lotus • HBO/HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord, The District and Hallogram Inc.
Steve Zahn as Mark Mossbacher

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Succession • Lion In The Meadow • HBO/HBO Max
HBO in association with Project Zeus, HyperObject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions
Adrien Brody as Josh Aaronson

Succession • Retired Janitors Of Idaho • HBO/HBO Max
HBO in association with Project Zeus, HyperObject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions
James Cromwell as Ewan Roy

Euphoria • Ruminations: Big And Little Bullys • HBO/HBO Max
HBO in association with ADD Content Agency | HOT | TCDY Productions, Dreamcrew, Tiny Goat, A24 and The Reasonable Bunch
Colman Domingo as Ali

Succession • Retired Janitors Of Idaho • HBO/HBO Max
HBO in association with Project Zeus, HyperObject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions
Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini

Ozark • You’re The Boss • Netflix
MRC for Netflix
Tom Pelphrey as Ben Davis

Succession • All The Bells Say • HBO/HBO Max
HBO in association with Project Zeus, HyperObject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions
Alexander Skarsgård as Lukas Matsson

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance

Moon Knight • The Friendly Type • Disney+
Marvel Studios
F. Murray Abraham as Khonshu

Bridgerton • Capital R Rake • Netflix
A Netflix Original Series in association with shondalandmedia
Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown

What If…? • What If… T’Challa Became A Star-Lord? • Disney+
Marvel Studios
Chadwick Boseman as Star Lord T’Challa

Big Mouth • A Very Big Mouth Christmas • Netflix
Netflix
Maya Rudolph as Connie The Hormone Monstress

Central Park • Central Dark • Apple TV+
20th Television Animation
Stanley Tucci as Bitsy

Archer • London Time • FX
FX Productions
Jessica Walter as Malory Archer

What If…? • What If… Ultron Won? • Disney+
Marvel Studios
Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher

Hollywood Critics Association TV award nominations

(7/7/22) The awards will be handed out over two nights in ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton. The broadcast network and cable TV awards ceremony will be held on August 13, followed by the streaming awards ceremony on August 14.

Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Movie

Dan Stevens, Gaslit (Starz)
Josh Charles, We Own This City (HBO)
Josh Duhamel, The Thing About Pam (NBC)
Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus (HBO)

Steve Buscemi, Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail (TBS)
Steve Zahn, The White Lotus (HBO)

Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama

Eric Dane, Euphoria (HBO)
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Jon Huertas, This is Us (NBC)
Justin Hartley, This is Us (NBC)
Kieran Culkin, Succession (HBO)
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession (HBO)
Michael Mando, Better Call Saul (AMC)

Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama

Britt Lower, Severance (Apple TV+)
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Laura Linney, Ozark (Netflix)
Ming-Na Wen, The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Simone Ashley, Bridgerton (Netflix)
Victoria Pedretti, You (Netflix)
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things (Netflix)

Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy

Elle Fanning, The Great (Hulu)
Hailee Steinfeld, Hawkeye (Disney+)
Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Kat Dennings, Dollface (Hulu)
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Tiffany Haddish, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)

Best Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout (Hulu)
Anne Hathaway, WeCrashed (Apple TV+)
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fresh (Hulu)
Elle Fanning, The Girl from Plainville (Hulu)
Jessica Biel, Candy (Hulu)
Lily James, Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Margaret Qualley, Maid (Netflix)
Toni Collette, The Staircase (HBO Max).

Hayden Panettiere Opens Up Postpartum Depression, Struggles With Alcoholism

(7/6/22) (Video) After four years away from the spotlight of Hollywood, actress Hayden Panettiere is opening up for the first time about the challenges she's faced that nearly destroyed her career.

"I didn't know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning," Panetierre said. "And I ran myself pretty ragged."

In a People and "Good Morning America" exclusive interview, the 32-year-old said that she'd been "struggling for a long time."

Since her hit show "Nashville" ended in 2018, Panettiere said the years that followed have "been difficult." She added, "The years before were very difficult for me, too. And I just needed a break."

'I was deeply depressed'

Shortly after the birth of her daughter in 2014, Panettiere was overcome with postpartum depression. She told ABC News' Kaylee Hartung she turned to "the bottom of a bottle" for support.

"I didn't have any negative feelings towards my child," she said. "I just knew I was deeply depressed." Panettiere said that she felt like she "was in this haze, this haze that just wasn't me."

"People around me were more concerned about my usage of alcohol than they ever were about the postpartum depression," she said. They thought she was "being a crazy woman" or "an overly emotional female" who was choosing to be depressed, when Panetierre said "it was so out of my control."

"I felt like I was walking blind," she said. "And I don't like to ask for help either. I wanna be that strong, stoic woman. But, I mean, when you see a happy-go-lucky girl for years suddenly on the floor in a puddle of mess and alcohol, you gotta know something is wrong."

Eventually, Panettiere sought treatment. At that treatment facility, she found the help she needed, which included making friends who could understand her struggles.

On sobriety

Panettiere says she is now sober and is taking things one day at a time.

"It's an everyday battle," she said. "It really is. I'm grateful to say that I'm sober today."

When Panetierre was in her darkest days, she described it as "somebody taking an eggbeater and scrambling around your brain." But even worse was her fight to be believed.

"Oh, it was horrible," Panettiere said. "Once you're the identified patient as the alcoholic -- and not as a girl, a woman going through postpartum depression -- then they don't believe anything that comes outta your mouth. So even when you're telling the truth, even when you're doing well, I've been told 'No' -- almost gaslit -- and told no, I wasn't."

"It's frustrating. It's heartbreaking," she added. "You wanna break down and cry, which makes you look even worse. But not being believed, I think to anybody not being believed is -- when they're telling the truth -- is painful."

Panettiere said she hopes other women who are going through the same thing, and are questioning their sanity and want to be heard, know that they're "not alone."

"So many women have been in our positions," she said. "And if the people around you don't believe you, find somebody who does. Find somebody who can help. Go on a journey of exploration and do whatever you have to do to get yourself better, to understand what's going on inside your heart, your mind, your body."

Her 'favorite little person'

Panettiere said she is grateful to be sober and especially grateful for her daughter, Kaya, who is now 7 years old.

"She's my favorite little person," Panettiere said. "All of those, like, little good senses that remind me of what I used to be as like a little kid. She is like the 2.0 version where she's so much smarter. But she's incredible. She's such a little light. She's such an amazing human being."

Panettiere's daughter calls Ukraine her home, having lived there with her father, former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, for several years. Klitschko and his brother Vitali, the mayor of Kyiv, have been on the frontlines of the country's ongoing war with Russia, since it began in February.

Panettiere said her daughter is no longer in Ukraine and is out of harm's way.

"She is very safe," she said. "And where she is, she also has a lot of friends. So she's not alone. She's handled this [in] stride."

"I speak to Wlad a lot," she added. "And I don't think anybody knew that it was gonna be like this. So it was a shock to the system."

In March, Panettiere launched Hoplon International, a relief organization that raises funds for medical supplies and body armor for those defending Ukraine.

"I created Hoplon International to make sure that every dollar that people donate goes to med kits and protective gear, and helmets and blood, for the people who are on the frontlines," she said.

"We're still sending out protective gear to them anytime we can," Panettiere added.

Getting back to work

In addition to helping Ukraine, Panetierre said she's been keeping herself busy preparing to get back to work.

"That is so good for my soul," she said. "I just want to keep that ball rolling. I have a whole new team of people who really believe in me and they have helped me to gain some trust back in myself."

Fans will see the actress back on the big screen for "Scream 6," reprising her role as Kirby Reed.

In looking for the right project to bring her back, she thought back to her days on "Scream 4," more than a decade ago, and said "I just thought, 'This is the perfect role.'"

Celebrate Guiding Light 70th (TV) Anniversary

(6/28/22) (Watch Here) Celebrate the 70th television anniversary of Guiding Light on Thursday, June 30th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. EST with a former Guiding Light head writer, a NY Times best-selling author, the co-Executive Producer of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and a former Guiding Light publicist you may know (host Alan Locher).

Join Jill Lorie Hurst, Danielle Paige, Brett Staneart and Alan Locher as they look back at what prompted them to start watching Guiding Light and how lucky they all were to end up working for one of their favorite daytime dramas.

‘The Old Man’ Renewed For Season 2 At FX

(6/27/22) Jeff Bridges is staying off the grid after FX renewed The Old Man for a second season.

The drama series, which also stars John Lithgow and Amy Brenneman, will be back for a sophomore run after a strong linear and digital debut.

The Old Man, which is based on Thomas Perry’s bestselling book, launched on June 16 with its first two episodes. The network said that, per Nielsen live+3 numbers, that it was the most-watched cable series premiere since January 2021, beating 60 other premium and basic cable dramas, comedies and limited series. The company also said that it was the most-watched FX series debut on Hulu in its opening weekend, although it did not break out digital streaming numbers.

The series follows Dan Chase, played by Bridges, who absconded from the CIA decades ago and has been living off the grid since. When an assassin arrives and tries to take Chase out, the old operative learns that to ensure his future he now must reconcile his past.

With Chase flushed out of hiding, the FBI’s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Harold Harper, played by Lithgow, is called on to hunt him down because of his complicated past with the rogue fugitive. Working alongside Harper is his protégé Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat) and CIA Special Agent Raymond Waters (E.J. Bonilla). When Chase proves to be more difficult to apprehend than the authorities expected, Julian Carson (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a highly trained special ops contractor, is sent to pursue him as well.

While on the run, Chase rents a room from Zoe McDonald, played by Brenneman, who draws on reserves she never knew she had in order to survive the day when she learns the truth about her new tenant.

Bill Heck, Leem Lubany and Pej Vahdat also star.

The series, which comes from Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, had a long journey to screen. It was well into production when it was shut down at the start of the pandemic. Filming restarted but had to be paused after Bridges was diagnosed with cancer and resumed earlier this year.

It is executive produced by Warren Littlefield, Steinberg, Dan Shotz, Levine, Bridges, David Schiff and Jon Watts, who also directed the first two episodes. It is produced by 20th Television in association with The Littlefield Company.

Steinberg, Littlefield and partners thanked the network and studio for “unwavering patience, faith and support” to get season one down and promised to “raise the bar yet again” for season two.

“Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz and Warren Littlefield have done a fantastic job with The Old Man, which delivers on the powerful intrigue and breathtaking action of Thomas Perry’s book,” said Eric Schrier, FX Entertainment President. “The stellar cast led by Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat is really connecting with audiences and we are excited to get to work on season two with our colleagues at 20th Television and this fantastic team.”

“This terrific series has had a long journey to the air, which makes the reaction from critics and audiences these past few weeks all the sweeter,” added Karey Burke, President of 20th Television. “But the truth is, no one who has worked on it these past three years is surprised it’s resonating so deeply. From the brilliant creative execution by Jon, Dan and Warren to the spectacular star turns from Jeff, John, Amy and Alia, this heart racing series delivers and we thank FX for the incredible support.”

PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 49TH ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS

(6/16/22) CBS and The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced today presenters for the 49TH ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY® AWARDS. The Daytime Emmy Awards, hosted by ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT’s Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner, will be broadcast LIVE Friday, June 24 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

The talented stars scheduled to present at the ceremony include Krista Allen, Camila Banus, Drew Barrymore, Tracey Bregman, Sean Dominic, Scott Evans, Galen Gering, Deidre Hall, Tamron Hall, Tanisha Harper, Christian Le Blanc, Cameron Mathison, Natalie Morales, Deborah Norville, Tanner Novlan, Jerry O’Connell, James Reynolds, Suzanne Rogers, Lawrence Saint-Victor and Laura Wright.

Women’s Issues – A conversation with Laura Bell Bundy, Jennifer Herrera & Emily Bonistall Postel

(6/15/22) (Watch here) Join Laura Bell Bundy, Jennifer Herrera and Emily Bonistall Postel live in The Locher Room on Thursday, June 23rd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. as they have a conversation about the most pressing issues facing women in 2022 and beyond. These women prioritize education, empowering women and work towards cultural and social change. Together they are using their voices to awaken the masses to the extreme inequalities and issues in our society, including equal pay, breaking the glass ceiling, the silencing of women, unrealistic beauty standards, obsession with social media, the new masculinity, domestic violence, sexual assault, motherhood, pregnancy and abortion rights.

Laura Bell Bundy is a Tony nominated Broadway actress and Billboard top 5 recording artist. She is also the co-founder of the Women of Tomorrow Foundation and a National Women’s History Museum ambassador. Laura’s Women of Tomorrow album, podcast, web series mentorship program and live concerts have primarily focused on promoting gender equality and raising funds for female causes. Their work has benefited organizations such as: ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Futures Without Violence, National Breast Cancer Coalition, The National Women’s History Museum, The Downtown Women’s Center, & The ERA Coalition.

Dr. Emily Bonistall Postel, Board President of the Women of Tomorrow Foundation, is an educator and activist who has demonstrated a deep commitment to crime victims over the course of her career.

Jennifer Herrera is the chief communications officer for the National Women’s History Museum, where she oversees all public affairs, marketing, and media relations efforts. In this role, Herrera leads the Museum's work with external partners, the NWHM National Coalition, and other key regional and national stakeholders.

Courtney Eaton & Thomas Mann To Topline Brittany Snow’s Feature Directorial Debut ‘September 17th’ For Yale Entertainment; Gina Rodriguez, Joel McHale Also Set

(6/15/22) Courtney Eaton (Yellowjackets) and Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) will lead actor Brittany Snow’s feature directorial debut, September 17th, for Yale Entertainment. Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Joel McHale (Community) are also set, joining the previously announced Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) as part of the supporting cast.

The recently-wrapped September 17th centers around Riley (Eaton), who has recently been released from rehab after struggling with her addictions to food and body image. She soon meets Ethan (Mann) and finds herself navigating the line between unconditional love and a new addiction. Francesca Reale (Stranger Things), Jennifer Westfeldt (Younger), Ekaterina Baker (The Card Counter) and Kathryn Gallagher (You) round out the cast of the pic based on an original story by Snow, who wrote the script alongside Becca Gleason.

Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman are producing under their Yale Entertainment banner, alongside Lizzie Shapiro (Shiva Baby) for The Space Program. Exec producers include The Space Program’s Gus Deardoff, Michael J. Rothstein, Eric Broughton, Patrick Heaphy, Jeff Tussi, Kyle Stroud, Jason Kringstein, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Russell Posternak and Clay Pecorin.

Eaton is an Australian actress who made her screen debut as Cheedo the Fragile in George Miller’s Academy Award-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside Charlize Theron—most recently portraying teenaged Lottie in the acclaimed Showtime drama series Yellowjackets, which has been renewed for a second season. The actress has also been seen in Alex Proyas’ fantasy pic Gods of Egypt and Steven C. Miller’s thriller Line of Duty, among other projects.

Mann is best known for his leading role as Greg in the coming-of-age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl alongside Olivia Cooke. He’ll next be seen in A24’s comedy Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, having previously appeared in such films as Project X, Kong: Skull Island, Halloween Kills, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Beautiful Creatures, The Stanford Prison Experiment and The Highwaymen. The actor has also been seen on such series as Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Moonbase 8 and Fargo. Other upcoming projects include the rom-com About Fate with Emma Roberts, and the comedy Cora Bora led by Hacks breakout Megan Stalter.

Rodriguez is best known for her turn as the titular character on The CW’s Jane the Virgin and has also been seen in such features as I Want You Back, Kajillionaire, Miss Bala, Annihilation and Deepwater Horizon. She was set in March as the lead of ABC’s pilot Not Dead Yet, and will also soon appear on the shows Lost Ollie (Netflix) and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Apple TV+) along with the films Players and Like It Used To Be.

McHale is an Emmy-nominated actor, comedian, writer and producer best known for his portrayal of Jeff Winger on NBC’s Community, and for hosting the satirical weekly show The Soup for E! between 2004 and 2015. Recent film credits include Queenpins, Becky, Game Over, Man!, A Futile and Stupid Gesture and Assassination Nation. He’ll also soon be seen in Eli Stern’s comedy California King with Victoria Justice and Jimmy Tatro.

Other upcoming projects from Yale Entertainment include the recently-wrapped thriller The Kill Room, starring Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Manganiello and Maya Hawke, and writer-director David Duchovny’s adaptation of his novel Bucky F*cking Dent, in which he’ll also star.

Eaton is represented by ICM Partners, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Mann by UTA, Industry Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Rodriguez by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; McHale by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Reale by Gersh and Atlas Artists; Westfeldt by Innovative Artists and Vault Entertainment; and Gallagher by Gersh and One Entertainment.

Name The Tune 7/2/22 on FOX

(6/14/22) Jennie Garth vs. Ian Ziering and Shaggy vs. Kim Fields

Beloved one-hour musical game show NAME THAT TUNE is back for Season Two and is bigger than ever! This season features celebrity singers, actors, Olympians and NFL champions, all playing for their favorite charities. Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski hosts, and Grammy Award-winning producer Randy Jackson serves as band leader. Former “Beverly Hills 90210” sweethearts “Kelly” and “Steve” go note-to-note: Actress Jennie Garth, playing for the Equus Foundation vs. Actor Ian Ziering, playing for The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation; and Grammy Award-winning artist Shaggy, playing for the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation vs. Actress/Director Kim Fields (“The Upshaws”), playing for Back On My Feet. Each one-hour episode of NAME THAT TUNE is comprised of two stand-alone half-hour contests, each pitting two players against each other, as they race against the clock to test their knowledge of songs, performed by the live band. Each contest features a rotating variety of games from the original format, before the iconic Bid-a-Note round. The player with the most money at the end of Bid-a-Note wins the game and takes his or her bank into the final Golden Medley round, for a chance to win additional cash and potentially the $100,000 grand prize in the “The Good, The Shag, and the 90210 Icons” episode of NAME THAT TUNE airing Saturday, July 2 (11:00PM - Midnight PT) on FOX. (NTU-203) (TV-PG D, L)

E.J. Bonilla Interview 6/17/22

(6/11/22) (Watch here) Join actor E.J. Bonilla live in The Locher Room on Friday, June 17th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. E.J. will go head-to-head with John Lithgow in the upcoming FX series The Old Man premiering June 16th and he will be here to tell us all about this new role.

E.J. began his career at 16 years old and got his big break when he joined the cast of Guiding Light playing Rafe Rivera. The role earned him a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor.

Since then, E.J. has built an impressive resume. His first full length feature, the 2009 Sundance Film Festival favorite Don’t Let Me Drown, was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at Sundance and won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival. Continuing his momentum, E.J. starred in the coming-of-age drama Mamitas, which earned him an Imagen Award Nomination for Best Actor. E.J. received an additional Imagen Award Nomination for his performance as "Dexter," a former high school basketball player whose best days were behind him, in Joshua Sanchez's directorial debut, Four. He also starred in the romantic tale Musical Chairs directed by Susan Seidelman.

More recently he was the series lead on the critically acclaimed series THE LONG ROAD HOME (for which EJ won an Imagen Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series). He has also appeared as a series regular on UNFORGETTABLE where he originated the role of wisecracking Detective Denny Padilla. His recurring guest lead TV credits include: “Colony”, “Bull” “Insecure” “Younger” and “Revenge”. Other guest appearances: “Madam Secretary”, “Bored to Death,” “Cold Case,” “The Big C,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” and “Shameless”

‘Yellowstone’: Wendy Moniz & Mo Brings Plenty Upped To Series Regulars, Josh Lucas Leads New & Returning Recurring Cast For Season 5

(6/10/22) Paramount Network’s mega hit Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner, continues to firm up its cast for the upcoming fifth season. Josh Lucas, who has been teasing a potential return, will be back on the show for the first time since 2019 as Young John Dutton, along with fellow recurring cast members Kylie Rogers (Young Beth Dutton) and Kyle Red Silverstein (Young Rip Wheeler), who both last appeared in 2020; as well as Jacki Weaver (Caroline Warner), who was introduced this year. They will be joined by new recurring players Kai Caster (American Horror Story), Lainey Wilson, Lilli Kay (Your Honor and Rustin), and Dawn Olivieri (1883, Bright and House of Lies).

Additionally, fan-favorites Mo Brings Plenty (Mo) and Wendy Moniz (Governor Lynelle Perry), who have been recurring on the show since the start, have been promoted to series regulars for Season 5, which will premiere Nov. 13. They join Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly, who also were recently upped to series regulars in the biggest main cast expansion for the hugely popular drama series whose returning ensemble of series regulars includes Oscar winner Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham and Gil Birmingham.

Caster will play ‘Rowdy’, a young cowboy. Wilson will play a musician named ‘Abby.’ Kay will play ‘Clara Brewer’, the new assistant for one of the Duttons. Olivieri will play ‘Sarah Atwood’, a confident, corporate shark and a new arrival to Montana.

Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, Yellowstone, linear television’s most watched series, chronicles the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect – the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and vicious business rivalries.

Yellowstone is co-created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. Executive producers include John Linson, Art Linson, Taylor Sheridan, Kevin Costner, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari and Stephen Kay.

Moniz is repped by SDB Partners, Thruline Entertainment and Goodman Genow Schenkman. Mo Brings Plenty is with manager Michelle Shining Elk and Meyer & Downs.

Rosanna Arquette, Frank Grillo, Dennis Haysbert Among 5 Cast In Jason Woliner’s Peacock Series

(6/10/22) Rosanna Arquette, Melinda McGraw, Frank Grillo, Dennis Haysbert and Dee Wallace are the first to be cast in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm director Jason Woliner’s Peacock series, from The Disaster Artists producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Caviar.

There are few details about the series, which Peacock describes as a “mind-bending project” in the style of Woliner’s work on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm that “mixes fact and fiction to tell a bizarre and incredible tale.” Woliner, who has directed episodes of The Last Man on Earth and Nathan for You, apparently has been shooting for more than a decade.

The series will be produced by Caviar and Rogen and Goldberg’s Point Grey Studios, via their overall deal with Lionsgate.

Woliner will direct and exec produce. Exec producers also include Rogen, Goldberg, James Weaver, Loreli Alanis, Annapurna’s Megan Ellison and Caviar’s Michael Sagol and Bert Hamelinck. Tyler Ben-Amotz produces.

Arquette can most recently be seen in Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q and Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Ratched alongside Sarah Paulson. She was most recently seen on the big screen in Eleanor Coppola-directed Love Is Love Is Love. Arquette is repped by Greene Talent and Ellen Meyer Management.

McGraw is probably best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Bobbie Barrett in Mad Men, Barbara Gordon in The Dark Knight, and Erin in Men of a Certain Age. Most recently she had strong recurrings in the CW’s Charmed and CBS’ Interrogation. She is repped by AFA Prime Talent Media and Realm Talent.

Grillo next will be seen starring in Lionsgate’s upcoming feature Paradise Highway alongside Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche as well as the Ambi Pictures biopic Lamborghini, playing founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. Grillo is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Paul Hastings.

Haysbert, known for his starring roles in Fox’s 24 and in CBS’ The Unit, was recently seen in a key recurring role in Season 5 of Netflix’s Lucifer. He currently can be seen starring in Hulu/20th Century thriller No Exit. Haysbert is repped by A3 Artists Agency, GS Management Group, Inc. and RGM Global MMA.

Wallace recently wrapped production on Homestead, a thriller from writer-director Marcos Efron, alongside Leven Rambin, Jake McLaughlin, Shane West and Sohvi Rodriguez. Known for her iconic role as Mary in Stephen Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial, among others, Wallace was most recently seen on television on 9-1-1. She’s repped by AEFH Talent Agency.

Woliner also was showrunner and main director for Adult Swim comedy Eagleheart and is set to direct Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’s Paramount+ series Guru Nation.

Frank Grillo To Star In Action Movie ‘MR-9’, Filming To Begin Imminently In U.S. & Bangladesh

(6/10/22) Captain America, The Purge and Copshop star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie MR-9, which is shooting imminently in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Writer-director Asif Akbar’s spy action-thriller is based on the popular Masud Rana novels written by late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain. Plot details are being kept under wraps but we understand Grillo will play the nemesis of secret agent Rana — code name MR-9 — of the Bangladesh Counter Intelligence Agency.

The film is adapted from the original first novel Masud Rana: Dhonghsho Pahar (Demolition Hill). Hussain published 550 novels published in the series, which is influenced by the James Bond franchise.

Bangladeshi production company Jaaz Multimedia, LA-based Al Bravo Films and MR-9 Films have joined forces to get the film into production. Producers are Al Bravo, Hemdee Kiwanuka, Colin Bates, Akbar, Philip Tan and Abdul Aziz with executive producers Niko Foster, Peter Nguyen and Phillip B. Goldfine.

The screenplay for the film has been adapted by Akbar, Aziz and Nazim Ud Daula from the first novel Masud Rana: Dhonghsho Pahar, originally published in 1966.

Grillo is starring in upcoming Lionsgate film Paradise Highway alongside Morgan Freeman and Ambi Pictures biopic Lamborghini, playing founder Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Grillo is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Paul Hastings.

Cynthia Watros & Laura Wright Interview 6/8/22

(6/6/22) (Watch here) Daytime Emmy Award winners and this year’s nominees for Outstanding Lead Performance, Cynthia Watros and Laura Wright will join the Locher Room on Wednesday, June 8th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. These two incredible talents will be here to look back at their time first meeting and working on Guiding Light and tell us what it has been like going toe to toe on ABC’s General Hospital.

‘Animal Kingdom’ Final Season Trailer Sees The Return Of Two Familiar Faces With The Cody Boys Under Fire

(6/2/22) (Video) TNT has unveiled the trailer for the sixth and final season of Animal Kingdom, and it’s packed with action and a few key spoilers.

In the final season, the Cody boys discover that as hard as they may try, they can’t outrun their past. “May we all get what we want and never what we deserve,” is a line voiced by one of the brothers in the clip.

The trailer gives us a glimpse of things to come and a couple familiar faces who make a return. One is Deran’s father, Billy, played by Denis Leary, and, presumably in a flashback, Grey’s Anatomy‘s Scott Speedman as the late Baz. Speedman was last seen in Season 3’s season premiere. We also see Moran Atias’ Detective Thompson’s intense efforts to get Pope to confess to Catherine’s murder.

Per the official Season 6 logline: “With their empire expanding, a cold case investigation sets off a series of events that puts the entire family in jeopardy. Revenge, betrayal, and a reckoning with long forgotten violence leads to an explosive conclusion six seasons in the making.”

Original cast members Shawn Hatosy, Finn Cole, Ben Robson and Jake Weary are all back for the final season.

Animal Kingdom is produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. John Wells, Daniele Nathanson, Erin Jontow, Nick Copus and Bradley Paul serve as executive producers. Animal Kingdom was developed for television by Jonathan Lisco and inspired by the Australian feature film written & directed by David Michôd and produced by Liz Watts, who also serve as executive producers on the series.

Season 6 premieres Sunday, June 19 with back-to-back episodes beginning at 9 pm ET/PT.

Watch the trailer above.

Lee Lawson, 'Guiding Light' Star, Dead at 80

(5/25/22) Lee Lawson, best known for her long-running role as Bea Reardon on soap opera The Guiding Light, died on May 22 at the age of 80.

Lawson played Reardon on the CBS soap from 1981 to 1990. The show ended in 2009.

Her daughter, Leslie Bova, shared the news in a Facebook post that revealed her mother had cancer and COVID-19 before her death.

“Rest, you brilliant woman” Bova wrote Tuesday. “Thank you, mom. R.I.P.”

Lawson was born Oct. 14, 1941, in New York City, and made her debut on the CBS soap Love of Life in 1965. She also appeared in ABC’s One Life to Live in 1979 (as Wanda Webb Wolek) before beginning her role on The Guiding Light as the owner and operator of a 7th Street boarding house (and a single mother of seven).

The role saw her appear in more than 50 episodes of The Guiding Light, which was the second longest-running drama in American television history, having aired for 72 years on radio and television.

Her last episode saw Bea appearing in a video message to her daughter, Chelsea (Kassie DePaiva), sharing support on her wedding day.

Actress Marian Hailey-Moss also remembered Lawson in her own Facebook post Monday, writing “My down-to-earth, sassy smart and beautiful friend Lee Lawson is telling it like it is in a better place. A fine actress and a super generous friend. I’ll meet you there Lee!”

Lawson’s acting resume included apperances on Maude, Kojak and Equal Justice. She also starred in the TV movie Mason, about a boy genius. She also had six Broadway credits, including the 1965 comedy Cactus Flower alongside Lauren Bacall, replacing Brenda Vaccaro in the role of Toni.

Other roles included the title character in 1966’s Agatha Sue, I Love You, as well as My Daughter, Your Son (1969), The Plough and the Stars (1973), An American Millionaire (1974) and Teibele and Her Demon (1979).

Her last screen appearance came in the 1991 TV series Reasonable Doubts, featuring Mark Harmon and Marlee Matlin.

Lawson was predeceased by her husband, Joseph Bova, and is survived by children Leslie, Chris, and Gaby, and grandchildren Gianna, Wilder and Sterling.

Wendy Moniz recurs on FBI: Most Wanted 5/24/22

(5/21/22) “A Man Without a Country” – The team chases an oligarch who goes on a terror spree in New York City in a desperate attempt to escape his impossible situation, on the third season finale of the CBS Original series FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesday, May 24 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Wendy Moniz (Judge April Brooks), Rebecca Brooksher (Claire Scott), Matt Mercurio (George Kouka).

‘City On A Hill’ Gets New Return Date on Showtime; See Kevin Bacon & Aldis Hodge In Latest Trailer

(5/17/22) (Video) Showtime has announced a new date for the third-season return of City on a Hill starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge. The series that also stars Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks and Matthew Del Negro will premiere on Sunday, July 31 at 10 p.m. Eight, one-hour episodes are planned. Watch the new trailer above.

Joining the cast this season are guest stars Corbin Bernsen, Joanne Kelly and Ernie Hudson. Here’s the breakdown for the new episodes, per Showtime: “Season three brings us to Boston’s high society Beacon Hill. Having left the FBI and thrown his badge into Boston Harbor, Jackie Rohr (Bacon) lands a lavish new gig running security for a wealthy family. Life is good until secrets begin to unravel. When an investigation opens, ADA Decourcy Ward (Hodge) sees an opportunity to finally rip out the machinery perpetuating a broken criminal justice system. Siobhan Quays (Banks), representing a construction worker who was severely injured on the Big Dig, encounters the city’s corruption firsthand, all while coping with the traumatic events of her past year. As Jenny Rohr (Hennessy) can attest, given her history with her father, some experiences will haunt you beyond your breaking point.”

City on the Hill is executive produced by Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street), who also serves as showrunner. Other executive producers are Jennifer Todd, Jorge Zamacona, Bacon, Hodge, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Barry Levinson.

Nicole Forester guests on FBI: International 5/17/22

(5/12/22) “Red Penguin” – The Fly Team and Jaeger head to Berlin when the 19-year-old son of an American billionaire is found unresponsive in his apartment. As the team works to determine if foul play was involved, they realize there’s a shadowy group on the case as well, on the CBS Original series FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Tuesday, May 17 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

GUEST CAST includes: William Ludwig (Willem Smit), Matt Corboy (Gabriel Watts), Nicole Forester (Marian Watts).

‘They/Them’: John Logan’s Blumhouse Horror Film Starring Kevin Bacon Heading To Peacock

(5/12/22) Peacock today unveiled They/Them, a new Blumhouse pic starring Kevin Bacon (City on a Hill), Anna Chlumsky (Inventing Anna), Carrie Preston (Claws), Theo Germaine (4400), Austin Crute (Call Your Mother), Monique Kim (What/If), Anna Lore (All American), Cooper Koch (Power Book II: Ghost) and Darwin del Fabro (Dangerous Liaisons), which will debut on the streamer on August 5th.

The LGBTQIA+ slasher, formerly known as Whistler Camp, marks the directorial debut of three-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan (Skyfall). It’s a queer empowerment story set at a gay conversion camp that follows camp director Owen Whistler (Bacon), who is joined by several queer and trans campers for a week of programming intended to “help them find a new sense of freedom.” As the camp’s methods become increasingly more psychologically unsettling, the campers must work together to protect themselves. And when a mysterious killer starts claiming victims, things get even more dangerous.

Logan also wrote the film, produced by Jason Blum (Get Out) and Michael Aguilar (Penny Dreadful) for Blumhouse. Logan, Bacon, Scott Turner Schofield (Euphoria), Howie Young (Mission: Impossible III) and Jon Romano (upcoming Firestarter) served as executive producers.

“THEY/THEM has been germinating within me my whole life. I’ve loved horror movies as long as I can remember, I think because monsters represent ‘the other’ and as gay kid I felt a powerful sense of kinship with those characters who were different, outlawed, or forbidden,” said Logan. “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates queerness, with characters that I never saw when I was growing up. When people walk away from the movie, I hope they’re going to remember the incredible love that these kids have for each other and how that love needs to be protected and celebrated.”

“Original films will be an integral component of Peacock’s content offering, and we are thrilled to partner with Blumhouse on THEY/THEM streaming exclusively this summer,” added Val Boreland, Executive Vice President, Content Acquisition, NBCUniversal Entertainment, Television and Streaming. “The film is not only entertaining and thrilling, but also empowers its audience with its message of acceptance in a way that only a creator like John Logan could imagine and then bring to life.”

Physical Season 2 Trailer: Rose Byrne, Murray Bartlett Make a Dynamic Duo

(5/11/22) (Video) Rose Byrne and Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) appear poised to join forces when Physical returns with its second season on Friday, June 3.

The Apple TV+ comedy’s 10-episode sophomore season finds Byrne’s Sheila Rubin — having successfully launched her first fitness video — potentially teaming up with Bartlett’s newly-introduced Vincent “Vinnie” Green, a charismatic fitness instructor, weight-loss guru and “pioneer of the late-night infomercial.”

Meanwhile, Sheila finds herself torn between loyalty to her husband Danny (played by Rory Scovel) and the values he represents, and a dangerous attraction to local real estate mogul John Breem (Paul Sparks). Also back for Season 2 are Dierdre Friel (as Greta) and Della Saba and Lou Taylor Pucci (as Bunny and Tyler).

The series’ freshman run spanned the same summertime time frame in 2021.

Hayden Panettiere To Reprise Role As Kirby Reed In Next ‘Scream’ Film

(5/11/22) Hayden Panettiere will reprise her Scream 4 role of Kirby Reed for the next installment in the franchise from Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures. She’s set to star alongside Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega, who toplined the recent reboot of the franchise from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (aka Radio Silence).

The next Scream film will pick up with Sam (Barrera), Mindy (Brown), Chad (Gooding) and Tara (Ortega)—four survivors of the most recent batch of Ghostface killings—as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. Panettiere’s Kirby, you might recall, is the former Woodsboro resident who was the lone teenage survivor of the Second Woodsboro Murders in the fourth Scream film. Principal photography on the sequel, also to be helmed by Radio Silence, will kick off this summer.

James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are co-writing the screenplay, with Project X Entertainment’s Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein and William Sherak serving as producers. Scream franchise creator Kevin Williamson and Radio Silence’s third member, Chad Villella, will exec produce alongside Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena. Pic will hit theaters worldwide March 31, 2023.

Panettiere is well-known for her roles on the hit television series Heroes (NBC) and Nashville (ABC), and for starring in such films as Custody, alongside Viola Davis; The Forger, with Josh Hutcherson; and Remember the Titans, opposite Denzel Washington. Other major film credits include I Love You Beth Cooper, Bring It On: All or Nothing and Ice Princess.

The new Scream film will be Panetierre’s first to hit the screen in eight years. She is represented by Mainstay Entertainment.

Flashback: Chicago writer Irna Phillips and the birth of the soap opera

(5/5/22) (chicagotribune.com) In 1931, Irna Phillips stood before a microphone in WGN’s studio and read the part of Sue in a script she had written. Another staffer, Irene Wicker, played Irene.

IRENE: I tell you, Sue, it won’t work. I’ve never worn that shade of orchid in my life. I’d look like a perfect washout. Besides that’s your very best special occasion dress. I wouldn’t think of taking it.

SUE: Don’t be silly. A wedding is a special occasion, isn’t it? And as long as I won’t need to wear it, you might just as well. If you are a bridesmaid, you’ve got to look the part, kid.”

The audience had no inkling of what Wicker or Phillips looked like. They were elsewhere, sitting in front of radio sets and listening to the 25th episode of “Painted Dreams.” Phillips’ brainchild was broadcast from the Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue by WGN, the Chicago Tribune’s radio station.

The previous year, Phillips had been assigned to write the prototype of a dramatic series. In fact, she created brand-new theatrical form that would become the soap opera.

The name was derived from advertisers of laundry products eager to reach housewives taking a break from their chores. ‘Painted Dreams” was sponsored by Lever Brothers, the makers of Super Suds.

The show’s plot lines reflected an advertising executive’s understanding of women’s issues. “Painted Dreams” revolved around Mother Moynihan, a widow who dispenses old-fashioned wisdom to the two young women who live with her:

“Irene is her daughter, frivolous and thoughtless, a cigar counter clerk who has ambitions for a career upon the stage or in radio, and Sue Morton, an orphan, whom life has given some hard knocks,” the Tribune explained on Oct. 4, 1931, the show’s first anniversary.

“What started out as a dialogue between two working girls has become in a year a sketch with seven distinct character parts, and as many more persons who, although they have never entered the story as speaking characters, have become such a vital part of it that listeners regard them as real persons.”

All of the characters were played by Wicker and Phillips, who also created the sound effects. Later in life, Phillips set down her soap-opera philosophy in an unpublished memoir preserved in the Library of Congress.

“The critics say, ‘But why then do soap operas convey such a sense of overwhelming tragedy, of lives gone wrong?’ ” she wrote. “I can only point out that unrelenting bliss can be (in dramatic terms) as tedious as unrelenting misery.”

Like her character Irene, Phillips was raised by a widowed mother. Her writing career began, as it would end, on a melodramatic note.

Upon the initial success of her soap opera, Phillips wanted to take it to a national network, but WGN’s management balked. She sued claiming she owned the rights to “Painted Dreams” and lost a long, bitterly fought courtroom battle.

“The courts have found that she was a salaried employee of WGN and that the idea of the script was conceived by the station manager,” the Tribune reported after the Illinois Supreme Court denied her appeal in 1941. “After a sponsor was found, however, she copyrighted the first 10 scripts without advising her employer.”

She had long since sold a new soap opera to WGN’s rival, WMAQ. The show’s sponsor offered a guide to “Today’s Children.” Thousands of fans sent in a label from Pillsbury Flour to get one.

By the 1940s, Phillips had five shows running simultaneously on various stations. She earned more than $250,000 a year, enabling her to live at 1335 Astor St., in Chicago’s posh Gold Coast neighborhood. Yet Phillips couldn’t type so many scripts.

“Like Scheherazade, I work best before a live audience,” she explained, invoking the putative narrator of the “Arabian Nights,” who told a sultan a tale every night. “And so I dictate to a secretary”

Part of her workday was devoted to keeping tabs on the rivals her success created.

“I often listen to other soap operas, not to imitate but to avoid imitation,” she noted. “In many cases, I have shuffled entire synopses because other programs anticipated a plot line that I was considering.”

Phillips was born in 1901, one of 10 children in a German-Jewish family. Her father died when she was 8 years old, and she grew up wearing hand-me-down clothing. Lonely, she dreamed up stories and enacted them with her dolls, which became the origin of her compositional technique.

“When I dictate, I in fact act out the entire episode,” Phillips recalled. “People who have watched me have commented that when dictating I change my voice to fit each character, that I use certain gestures when speaking the lines intended for this character or that.”

After high school, she enrolled in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She wanted to be an actress, but was discouraged by teachers saying she wasn’t pretty enough for Hollywood or Broadway. So she went on to the University of Wisconsin, where she got a master’s degree in journalism.

For seven years, she taught drama and English at an Ohio teachers college and a Missouri junior college before being hired as a writer on a WGN talk show. Then came the assignment to write a drama, and being among the first to do so for radio, she pioneered the tricks of the trade, such as: an organ to echo a character’s emotion or indicate a change of scene the audience couldn’t see; ending an episode with a cliffhanger, an unresolved twist of plot that entices listeners to tune in the following day; or the use of plot twists such as characters with amnesia.

In her memoir, Phillips specified the essential ingredient of a soap-opera script: “There must be that element of universality in everything — that something that causes the listener to say, ‘Yes, I have felt that way, ' or ‘I have known someone very much like that.’ ”

Her characters were often modeled on people she’d known.

Dr. John Rutledge, the nonjudgmental pastor of “Guiding Light,” resembled Dr. Preston Bradley the nondogmatic Chicago minister in whose radio broadcasts Phillips found comfort when troubled.

Yet Phillips was harshly judgmental of the actors who appeared in her soap operas. When Jane House did a nude scene in the Broadway play “Lenny” in the early 1970s, Phillips tried to kill off her character on “As the World Turns.”

In one instance, Phillips’ art imitated life. “Today’s Children” was the story of a widowed mother trying to keep her family afloat. Upon the death of her own mother, who had similarly struggled, Phillips closed the curtain on “Today’s Children.”

When television leapfrogged over radio she easily made the transition to telling a story with moving images. Her successes continued until 1973, when she drew on a painful chapter of her life for an episode of “As The World Turns.”

At 19, she’d been head over heels in love with an English doctor. When she got pregnant, he turned his back on her and she miscarried. Never married, she adopted two boys.

In the soap opera version, she drew up a character who seduces her brother-in-law and becomes pregnant.

Proctor and Gamble didn’t want their soap associated with a dismal tale of adultery. Phillips stood her ground and was fired. A few months later, she died. The doctor said she had a heart attack.

If soap opera writer were to tell the tale, the script would instruct an organist to play somber chords as a fitting endnote for fans who’d be convinced that Phillips died of a broken heart.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper & Frank Grillo Set For Kieron Hawkes Pic ‘Branded’

(5/5/22) Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo are set to star in Branded, based on the New Yorker article “The Brand” by New York Times bestselling author David Grann.

Kieron Hawkes (Power) directs from a screenplay by Alessandro Camon, whose work includes The Messenger and the upcoming The Listener.

Branded tells the origin story of organized crime gangs in America’s prison system. Pettyfer plays Taylor, a once promising football player, serving life for murdering a drug dealer. Grillo plays Carter, feared leader of the dominant white gang in San Quentin, who takes Taylor under his wing and grooms him as a future leader. The authorities’ attempt to break down the gang by dispersing members to other prisons only psreads its influence through the entire system, and eventually to the streets. Taylor finds himself at the center of a growing empire, earing serious money and the ability to marry and support the love of his life, Lilly (Bakalova). When Lilly gets pregnant after a conjugal visit and the gang embarks on a course of escalating violence, Taylor is forced to question his choices and to make the hardest one. Has he got the mettle and courage to bring down the empire he helped build?

Grann’s popular stories have served as source material for a raft of feature films including David Lowery’s The Old Man And The Gun and Martin Scorcese’s upcoming Killers Of The Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro.

Branded is an Identity Media production in association with Dark Dreams Entertainment. It is produced by Anthony Mastromauro, Grillo and Alessandro Camon. Pettyfer and Ash Avildsen serve as executive producers. The film is currently in preproduction for a fall start date.

HanWay Films has picked up international sales rights and will shop the project to buyers in Cannes. CAA Media Finance is repping U.S. rights.

Frank Grillo To Star In Brad Anderson’s Creature Feature ‘The Dagon’

(5/5/22) Frank Grillo (Kingdom) has signed on to star in the thriller The Dagon, from director Brad Anderson (The Machinist), which will soon head to Cannes. Independent Entertainment’s Head of International Sales Sarah Lebutsch will handle international at the Marché du Film, co-representing North American rights with CAA’s Nick Ogiony.

The film centers on Jack (Grillo), a father looking to control his family’s isolated rural life. When his eldest daughter comes of age, the family must confront the Dagon—the terrifying, deadly creatures that surround them every night. Pic reunites Anderson with producers Neal Edelstein (Mulholland Drive) and Mike Macari (Alone), following 2019’s Fractured, with an original screenplay penned by Peter Mattei (Outsiders). Production will kick off in the Pacific Northwest this fall.

“The Dagon is one of those rare scripts that delivers a story and characters you completely invest in, only to totally pull the rug from under you,” said Independent Entertainment’s Head of Acquisitions, Marc Hofstatter. “In Frank Grillo the team have found the perfect man for our empathetic but enigmatic lead, and Brad Anderson has consistently delivered outstanding work in this genre and beyond. We couldn’t be more excited to introduce his vision for The Dagon to our buyers.”

“The Dagon is the movie we’ve been looking to find and make for years,” said producers Edelstein and Macari in a joint statement. “Reuniting with Brad and having Frank play the lead gives us the opportunity to make the best version of this riveting thriller.”

“Frank Grillo is one of the most compelling and dynamic actors out there and I have been wanting to work with him for ages. The Dagon is tailor made for his huge talents and I couldn’t be happier to have him on board,” added Anderson. “Collaborating with Neal and Mike on our film Fractured was one of my most exciting creative experiences and I’m thrilled to be doing it again. These days especially I think we need more movies like The Dagon – elevated dark stories that can transport you, horrify you, move you and, like all great fairy tales, work as both cautionary tales and beacons of hope.”

Led by CEO Luc Roeg and COO Cora Palfrey, Independent Entertainment specializes in the development, financing, production and sales of independent feature films. Recent releases include Alice Gu’s SXSW Jury Prize Winner The Donut King, which was released around the world by Vice Media, Gavin Rothery’s debut sci-fi pic Archive, and Sacha Polak’s documentary The Art of Political Murder, executive produced by George Clooney and Dirty God. Upcoming titles include My Policeman, a production with Amazon Studios and Berlanti Productions, starring Harry Styles and Emma Corrin; Pulse Films’ Untitled Lewis Capaldi Documentary; F1 documentary Hill from director Alex Holmes; and Michael Arden’s The Book of Ruth.

Grillo is represented by CAA and Management 360; Anderson by Paradigm.

Kaley Cuoco confirms romance with ‘Ozark’ actor Tom Pelphrey

(5/4/22) Kaley Cuoco and “Ozark” actor Tom Pelphrey confirmed that they are dating by posting PDA-packed photos to their respective Instagram accounts on Tuesday.

“Life lately... ‘the sun breaks through the clouds, rays of gold slipping into my eyes and heart, rays of yellow to break the grey,’” she captioned a series of photos, including a few where she and Pelphrey were cozying up together.

“The Flight Attendant” actress, 36, shared a few polaroids with her boyfriend as well as a few shots of the pair sitting next to each other at a restaurant. In one photo, Pelphrey is seen sweetly kissing Cuoco on the cheek and she smiles and grabs his jaw.

Pelphrey, 39, also shared the exciting news to his own social media account, posting two polaroids with Cuoco where they looked smitten.

Along with his post he shared a lengthy quote, writing, “’But nothing can save you. Not your friends, not the best Fred Astaire musical you’ve ever seen- the grace of it, not your mother’s beauty, not a line from a letter you find at the bottom of a drawer, not a magazine or the next day. Nothing can save you.

“And you stand in the moonlight and a sweetness comes off the top of the trees, and the fence around the yard seals you off from the dark and you can’t breathe. It is all so familiar and possible. It is too simple that there is this much good in the world and you don’t know how to have it. And it makes you wonder when it was you lost your place. Then you catch a breeze, so warm and ripe, it makes you hope that someone will come who also cannot save you, but who will think you are worth saving.’ – from Noah’s wall- 1/31/04.”

Several of the duo’s friends and fans flooded them with comments about how happy they were to have found each other.

“love this for you!!” Jonathan Van Ness wrote.

“BEAMING with joy for you,” a second person wrote.

“soooo happy for you!!” another added.

Cuoco was previously married to Karl Cook for three years but they split in September 2021.

“Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions,” they said in a joint statement at the time.

She was also previously married to tennis player Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016.

Despite finding love again, Cuoco made clear that she has no plans to marry for a third time.

“I will never get married again,” the “Big Bang Theory” alum told Glamour in the interview for her April 2022 cover shoot. “I would love to have a long-lasting relationship or a partnership. But I will never get married again. Absolutely not. You can literally put that on the cover.”

Stars React To Jerry verDorn’s Passing

(5/3/22) As news of the death of Jerry verDorn (ex-Ross, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Clint, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) spread through the daytime community, his colleagues reacted with tributes on social media. Here is a smattering of what they said about verDorn.

Melissa Archer (ex-Natalie, OLTL): “I’m heartbroken to hear of Jerry VerDorn’s passing. I have so many wonderful things to say about this man, but I’ll try to keep it brief. I had the honor of playing his daughter on oltl. He was genuine from start to finish. A giving actor, a caring coworker, funny, talented, and full of smiles. When he took over the role of Clint, it was seamless. It felt as though he’d always been there and he formed family bonds with all of us quickly. His family are in my thoughts and prayers.”

Ron Carlivati (former OLTL head writer; Head Writer, DAYS): “Sad to hear the news that Jerry Ver Dorn has passed away. Jerry stepped into the role of Clint Buchanan in 2005 and quickly made it his own, playing a loving husband and father and eventually a very convincing villain, although the man himself was all heart. Rest in peace. #OLTL”

Kassie DePaiva (ex-Chelsea, GL; ex-Blair, OLTL): “I had the privilege and honor to work with Jerry Ver Dorn on GL and OLTL. What a gentleman and talent. So sad….because the world lost an amazing human being and the soap world lost a giant. RIP my kind hearted friend.”

Frank Dicopoulos (ex-Frank, GL): “This is truly a sad day for all of us at Guiding Light and for [its] fans! Jerry was the absolute best friend, leader, and mentor that you could have! A total class act! May God bless you and your family and thank you for what you did for all of us! You will be missed by all. Rest in peace!”

David Gregory (ex-Ford, OLTL): “Loved Jerry. A true gentleman and a wonderful actor.”

Elizabeth Keifer (ex-Blake, GL): “My heart is broken and filled with profound sadness and bittersweet love for Jerry and his family. Thank you for being my friend – it was an honor and privilege to be yours. Rest well, Dear Jerry. You are loved beyond measure.”

Mark Lawson (ex-Brody, OLTL): “What a gentleman. I remember being so intimidated by both he and Bob Woods [ex-Bo]. Until I finally had scenes with them. Jerry was the consummate gentleman. So elegant and kind. With a blue collar approach to the work and a respect and generosity for his fellow actors that flew beyond what was necessary. He was a benevolent king on that set. And funny. And ready to laugh. Farewell, sir. It was a pleasure to know you. #jerryverdorn #onelifetolive #oltl”

Patrick Mulcahy (former GL head writer): “So sad to hear of Jerry verDorn’s passing. What a fine actor and a good guy. He never stopped thanking me for a special GL episode I wrote for him (Ross’s Election Day dream), but I loved his work way back when Ross was with Vanessa, then Carrie, and then later, with Blake… He and Peter Simon [ex-Ed] played best friends beautifully — abiding male friendships are rare on soaps — and he had crazy deep chemistry with all his leading ladies. Writing Blake and Ross was about as much fun as a writer could have and those scenes always aired so deliciously… Many thanks, sir, for all you offered us, the humor, the depth, the stuffiness and vanity too, which you knew was there in all of us. Sorry you had to leave us in apple blossom time. Sorry you had to leave us at all.”

Robert Newman (ex-Josh, GL; Ashland, Y&R): “This one really hits hard. Jerry Ver Dorn was a wonderful actor and a beautiful person. He was one of my first role models. He actually was instrumental in getting me into Union service. He was our Aftra Deputy on Guiding Light, and eventually I took over for him in that role on the show. That planted seed led me to over a decade of serving on both the National and Local boards of Aftra, then Sag-Aftra after the merger. One of the finest human beings I’ve ever known. Rest peacefully, Jerry.”

Amanda Setton (ex-Kim, OLTL; Brook Lynn, GH, via email): “I am so very sorry to hear this news. I was so fortunate to have worked with Jerry early in my career. I learned so much from him. I remember we would often run lines in his dressing room, classical music playing and all. His preparation and commitment to his craft was inspiring. He was an incredible actor, the consummate professional; prepared, present, supportive, and kind. He treated everyone with such respect and admiration. We have lost someone special. I am holding his family in my thoughts and prayers.”

Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian, OLTL): “#JerryVerDorn a fine actor and true gentleman. It always felt good to see him, not just because he was so darn good looking (he was:) but because he was so affable & easygoing; while being thoroughly hardworking and dedicated to the work. All honor to one of the best of the best!”

Laura Wright (ex-Cassie, GL; Carly, GH): “What an incredible man RIP Jerry”

Frank Valentini (former OLTL executive producer; EP, GH): “I was very sad to learn about the passing of my friend and all around great guy, Jerry verDorn (Clint #OLTL.) On behalf of everyone here at #GH, we send our heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends.”

Bree Williamson (ex-Jessica, OLTL): “I am devastated to hear about the death of Jerry. He was a wonderful man and I am so grateful for the time that I spent with him as my TV father. He was a talented and generous actor and a kind and gentle man. He made it effortless for me to feel close to him and to love him like a dad. I enjoyed everyday I was lucky enough to spend with him and I will hold those memories of him in my heart and mind forever.”

Jerry Ver Dorn, Actor on the Soaps ‘Guiding Light’ and ‘One Life to Live,’ Dies at 72

(5/3/22) Jerry Ver Dorn, the soap opera actor who portrayed attorney Ross Marler on CBS’ Guiding Light for 26 years and then patriarch Clint Buchanan on ABC’s One Life to Live for another eight, has died. He was 72.

Ver Dorn died Sunday of cancer at his home in Sparta, New Jersey, his family announced.

On Broadway in 1979, Ver Dorn was playing an investigator in Eric Bentley’s Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? while also serving as George Grizzard’s understudy in George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman (and starring in matinees) when he was spotted by Guiding Light casting agents.

He joined the CBS soap in March 1979 as Marler and stuck with the role through 2005, earning Daytime Emmys in 1995 and ’96 and five other nominations along the way.

He moved to One Life to Live in October 2005, taking over as Clint from veteran Clint Ritchie. He retired when that show and its online revival wrapped in 2013.

Born on Nov. 23, 1949, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Ver Dorn grew up in various parts of South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota.

He attended what is now Minnesota State University Moorhead with plans to be an English teacher but ended up in the theater department. He had major roles in dozens of productions and many seasons of summer theater and spent a year studying acting in London.

In 1977, Ver Dorn appeared at Rutgers University in Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? which moved to off-Broadway and then to Broadway.

For 17 years, he co-hosted an annual benefit called Stars and Strikes, where fans could bowl and mingle with their favorite daytime actors. He helped raise thousands of dollars for charity.

Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Beth (they first met while acting in a university production of Anne of the Thousand Days); sons Jake and Peter; daughters-in-law Laura and Erin; siblings Bonnie, Jim and Dan; and grandchildren Benjamin, Nora and Penelope.

Contributions in his memory can be made to the American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks or The Actors Fund.

In a 2011 interview, Ver Dorn said that soap operas “got into trouble when they started worrying about production values. I don’t think there is one soap opera fan that tuned in to see how well we would blow something up. They tune in for one thing, and that is story. The special effects we should worry about are: ladies gowns, perhaps, and some perfectly romantic lighting.”

Allison Janney Joins Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern in Apple's Mrs. American Pie

(5/3/22) Allison Janney is ditching Napa, California, for the Sunshine State.

The seven-time Emmy winner is set to star opposite Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern in the upcoming Apple TV+ comedy, Mrs. American Pie, about South Florida’s wealthy elite. Apple TV+ announced the casting Tuesday. This marks Janney’s first live-action TV role since the Napa-set Mom, which ended last year.

Based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie (set in Palm Springs), the streaming series about “gorgeously impossible people” centers on Maxine Simmons (played by Saturday Night Live alum Wiig) in her efforts to secure her seat at America’s most exclusive table: Palm Beach high society. Janney will star as Evelyn, a full-time Palm Beach resident and member of the high society. Dern (Big Little Lies), meanwhile, is slated for a key role that has yet to be revealed.

“As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, Mrs. American Pie asks the same questions that still baffle us today: ‘Who gets a seat at the table?’ ‘How do you get a seat at the table?’ ‘What will you sacrifice to get there?’” according to the official synopsis. “Set during the powder keg era of the early 1970’s, Mrs. American Pie is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance at superficial greatness."

Series creator Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Dead to Me) will write, executive-produce and serve as showrunner. Dern, who developed the project, will exec-produce alongside her producing partner Jayme Lemons. Tate Taylor, John Norris and Katie O’Connell Marsh (F Is for Family, Narcos: Mexico) round out the EPs.

Jerry verDorn Dies: ‘Guiding Light’, ‘One Life To Live’ Actor Was 72

(5/2/22) Jerry verDorn, an actor known for his work in long-running daytime dramas Guiding Light and One Life to Live, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 72. His family shared the news of the actor’s passing.

Born on November, 23 1949, in South Dakota, verDorn graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He initially sought to be an English instructor but began his acting career with major roles in stage productions, including one at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., which led him to New York.

In March 1979, he joined the CBS soap opera Guiding Light as Ross Marler and went on to appear in more than 500 episodes opposite stars Kim Zimmer, Beth Chamberline and Maureen Garrett. In 1990, the actor scored his first Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He later was nominated for the same category six additional times, winning back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. verDorn also reprised his role for the 1983 television movie The Cradle Will Fall.

In 2005, verDorn joined ABC’s One Life to Live as Clint Buchanan, acting alongside Erika Slezak, Michael Easton, Mristen Alderson, Kassie Wesley DePaiva and more. He remained in the cast until One Life to Live wrapped in 2013, spanning nearly 800 episodes.

During and after his acting career, verDorn co-hosted the annual Stars and Strikes bowling benefit that raised funds for the American Cancer Society and Autism Speaks.

verDorn is survived by his wife, Beth; sons Jake and Peter; a sister, Bonnie Simpfender; brothers Jim and Dan; and several nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren. A private memorial will take place later in the summer.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/29/22) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Friday, May 6: Guests include Sophie Turner, Tom Pelphrey and comedian Moses Storm.

‘Confessions’ Drama Starring Paul Wesley In Works At Netflix From Kapital; Julie Plec To Co-Write In ‘TVD’ Reunion

(4/29/22) Netflix has taken in for development Confessions (working title), a drama series starring and executive produced by The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, I have learned. Written and executive produced by TVD co-developer, executive and showrunner Julie Plec and Bradley Paul (Better Call Saul), the project, which is in early stages, is based on Jason Smith’s non-fiction 2015 article The Confessions of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher.

Confessions, produced by Universal Television, stems from the production partnership Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment forged with Wesley and his company Citizen Media in 2019, following Wesley’s starring turn on Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story (created by the other TVD co-developer/EP, Kevin Williamson.).

This has been a passion project for Wesley for years. The Confessions adaptation was one of the first pieces of development he took on when he launched Citizen Media in 2016 with a deal at Warner Bros TV. Smith’s article chronicles his two-year stint teaching public high school in northern California. Despite teaching while anesthetized by a heavy dose of prescription narcotics, Jason finds that his brokenness from addiction begins attracting broken students, and in a town obsessed with high school football, he’s not alone in his obsession to escape from himself.

During the project’s development with Kapital, Wesley reached out to his former TVD showrunner Plec, who came on board, along with Universal Television, where Plec’s My So-Called Company is based.

Wesley is executive producing with his former producing partner Bob Levy, Kapital’s Kaplan and Brian Morewitz as well as My So-Called Company’s Plec and Emily Cummins. Jessie Abbott is the creative executive at Kapital.

Wesley recently joined the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, taking on the iconic role of James T. Kirk in the second season of the Paramount+ series. He can also be seen in Shudder feature History of Evil alongside Stephanie Beatriz. Wesley starred on The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons, directed multiple episodes throughout the series’ run, and served as a producer for the eighth and final season. He has also directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico, Shadowhunters and Legacies. Wesley is repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content and attorney Marcy Morris.

Under her Uni TV deal, Plec has new series Vampire Academy for Peacock and has been executive producing freshman NBC series The Endgame. Additionally, she has series The Girls on the Bus at HBO Max and Legacies and Roswell, New Mexico on the CW. She is with Management 360 and Felker Toczek Suddleson.

Paul’s writing-producing credits include Heels, Animal Kingdom and Lodge 49. He is repped by UTA and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka.

Wendy Moniz guests on FBI: Most Wanted

(4/28/22) “Greatest Hits” – The team searches for a murderer recreating the chilling killings of a notorious ‘80s mobster, on the CBS Original series FBI: MOST WANTED, Tuesday, May 10 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

GUEST CAST includes: Wendy Moniz (Judge April Brooks), Jacob Harran (Georgie), Glynn Turman (Terry Daniels).

Animal Kingdom's Final Season Key Art Drops a Big Hint About Which of the Cody Boys Is Going Down in Flames

(4/28/22) (Key Art Poster) There’s playing with fire, and then there’s… this. In the key art for the sixth and final season of Animal Kingdom that TVLine obtained exclusively from TNT, Shawn Hatosy’s Pope is at once skating on thin ice and skateboarding toward a blaze that looks big enough to incinerate anything it touches.

Were we the betting sort, we’d wager that the poster is a harbinger of doom for the late Smurf’s unstable oldest son. In addition to the whole Cody family’s habit of getting themselves into dangerous scrapes, Season 5 concluded with the police discovering the body of Catherine, the woman Pope loved and was manipulated by Mommie Dearest into murdering.

Mind you, it will be something of a shock if any of the Codys are left standing when the closing credits roll on the series finale. You’ll recall that Ellen Barkin was killed off as the thieves’ cutthroat matriarch in Season 4’s penultimate episode. Before that, Season 3’s premiere made a casualty of future Grey’s Anatomy doc Scott Speedman’s surrogate Cody, Baz. “This is Animal Kingdom,” EP John Wells reminded TVLine back in 2019. “We don’t expect anybody to be alive by the time we get to the end!”

Per TNT, in the show’s final season, which kicks off on Sunday, June 19, “the Cody boys discover that they can’t outrun their past. With their empire expanding, a cold-case investigation sets off a series of events that puts the entire family in jeopardy. Revenge, betrayal and a reckoning with long-forgotten violence leads to an explosive conclusion six seasons in the making.”

‘Nashville’ & ‘Heroes’ Star Hayden Panettiere Signs With Mainstay Entertainment For Management

(4/26/22) Hayden Panettiere has signed with Mainstay Entertainment for management.

Actress, model and singer Panettiere has been acting since age four. She is best known for her role as Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes and subsequently starred in the ABC hit series Nashville, which earned her two Golden Globe nominations.

On the feature side, she played the lead in the film Custody alongside Viola Davis and prior to that starred in The Forger opposite Josh Hutcherson. She was appeared in horror Scream 4.

Other film credits include I Love You Beth Cooper and Remember The Titans.

Panettiere first appeared on-screen in a commercial in 1990 at only 11 months old. However, her full-time acting career began in 1994 on the long-running ABC soap One Life To Live.

LA-based Mainstay’s clients include Katherine Heigl, Lupita Nyong’o, Kim Coates, Peter Facinelli and Franka Potente.

Lisa Brown Tribute

(4/21/22) (Watch here) Celebrate the life of the beloved and talented Lisa Brown live in The Locher Room on Friday, April 29th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Lisa created not one, but two iconic daytime characters that fans have laughed with, cried with and most importantly never forgotten. In 1980, Lisa entered Springfield creating the imaginative, irrepressible Nola Reardon, one of the all-time great soap opera heroines. In 1985, Lisa moved to Oakdale where she brought the character of Iva Snyder to life.

Helping to honor Lisa will be her dear friend, co-star and on-screen daughter Martha Byrne along with some of Lisa's co-stars, writers and producers who had the privilege of working with her on both shows. Joining Martha will be Guiding Light's Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa Chamberlin) and John Wesley Shipp (Kelly Nelson), As the World Turns actors William Fichtner (Josh Landry) and Anne Sayre (Mitzi Matters) with Emmy-winning producer Michael Laibson and Emmy-winning writer Patrick Mulcahey.

Please join us as we pay tribute to this beloved mother, wife, actress and friend on April 29th.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/21/22) The Talk – CBS

Monday, April 25

Actress and author Joan Collins discusses her book My Unapologetic Diaries (n)

Matt Bomer’s ‘Fellow Travelers’ Lands Series Order At Showtime

(4/20/22) Fellow Travelers, a series based on the Thomas Mallon novel starring and exec produced by Matt Bomer, has landed a greenlight at Showtime.

The network has ordered the eight-part limited series, which is created and exec produced by Ron Nyswaner, the Oscar nominated writer of Philadelphia who also served as a co-exec producer on Showtime’s Ray Donovan and an EP on Homeland.

Fremantle, the company behind American Gods and The Mosquito Coast, is co-producing with Showtime. Daniel Minahan, who has directed Halston and American Crime Story: Versace, will executive produce and direct the first two episodes. Robbie Rogers (All American) also exec produces.

Fellow Travelers is a love story and political thriller, chronicling the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Bomer will play handsome, charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics. Hawkins avoids emotional entanglements – until he meets Tim Laughlin, a young man brimming with idealism and religious faith. They begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history. Over the course of four decades, Hawk and Tim cross paths through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, while facing obstacles in the world and in themselves.

It is the latest role for Bomer, who was nominated for an Emmy for playing a closeted writer in The Normal Heart, about the rise of the AIDs crisis in New York. He currently stars in HBO Max’s Doom Patrol and is best known for his role on White Collar. Other credits include The Sinner, The Boys in the Band and the Magic Mike franchise. He is set to star in Netflix limited series Echoes and in feature film Maestro alongside Bradley Cooper.

The series will go into production in Toronto in July.

“As a thrilling and deeply moving exploration of character and American life in the latter half of the past century, Fellow Travelers shines an unprecedented light on stories that are as urgent today as ever,” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks. “The series delivers us directly into an insider world of Washington rife with national consequences, while drawing out the intimate moments that are profoundly personal and often heartbreaking. We are beyond thrilled to have Ron, Matt, Robbie and Daniel take us on this suspenseful and romantic journey.”

Laura Bundy Bell guests on Call Me Kat 5/5/22

(4/19/22) While Kat struggles with keeping her anxiety under control, she comes up with a plan to save the café. Meanwhile, Max finally gets his big break and Carter struggles with his jealousy in the all-new “Call Me Shellfish” season finale episode of CALL ME KAT airing Thursday, May 5 (9:01-9:31 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (KAT-218) (TV-14 D, L)

Cast: Mayim Bialik as Kat; Swoosie Kurtz as Sheila; Cheyenne Jackson as Max; Kyla Pratt as Randi; Leslie Jordan as Phil; Julian Gant as Carter; Christopher Rivas as Oscar

Guest Cast: Ted Wass as Harley; Julia Sweeney as Dr. Greene; Andy Favreau as Nick; Laura Bundy Bell as Nicole; Jay Linzy as Darren

Sam Esmail’s Netflix Film ‘Leave The World Behind’ Adds Kevin Bacon, Farrah Mackenzie

(4/18/22) Kevin Bacon (City on a Hill) and Farrah Mackenzie (United States of Al) have signed on for roles in Sam Esmail’s Netflix film Leave the World Behind, Deadline can confirm. They join a cast that also includes Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Myha’la Herrold, as previously announced.

Leave the World Behind is based on Rumaan Alam’s novel about a family vacation on Long Island that is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout. As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.

Esmail adapted the screenplay and is producing with Chad Hamilton through Esmail Corp, alongside Roberts, Lisa Gillan, and Marisa Yeres Gill for Red Om Films. Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis is exec producing alongside Alam, Danny Stillman and Esmail Corp’s Nick Krishnamurthy.

Bacon is an Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner who currently stars on Showtime’s City on a Hill. In recent years, the actor has also been seen on such series as SMILF and I Love Dick. Recent film credits include You Should Have Left and Patriots Day.

Mackenzie stars on CBS’ sitcom United States of Al and was previously seen on Amazon’s Utopia. She also featured in Steven Soderbergh’s 2017 film, Logan Lucky.

Bacon is represented by MGMT Entertainment and Gaines Soloman Law Group; Mackenzie by A3 Artists Agency, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.

Laura Bell Bundy guests on Call Me Kat 4/28/22

(4/8/22) Louisville has some special visitors -- WELCOME TO FLATCH’s Kelly and Shrub Mallet (Holmes and Sam Straley) stop by, and the one-and-only Robin Thicke is in town for a fundraiser, which Max exploits for his own music career’s benefit. Meanwhile, Kat tries to cut costs at the café in order to pay the rent that her new landlord is demanding in the all-new “Call Me Flatch” episode of CALL ME KAT airing Thursday, April 28 (9:01-9:31 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (KAT-217) (TV-14 D, L)

Cast: Mayim Bialik as Kat; Swoosie Kurtz as Sheila; Cheyenne Jackson as Max; Kyla Pratt as Randi; Leslie Jordan as Phil; Julian Gant as Carter; Christopher Rivas as Oscar

Guest Cast: Holmes as Kelly Mallet; Sam Straley as Llyod “Shrub” Mallet; Robin Thicke as Himself; Andy Favreau as Nick; Laura Bell Bundy as Nicole; Marli Crismon as Kiera; Ren Bell as Ren

Kathryn Hays, Beloved As the World Turns Actress, Dead at 88

(4/8/22) "This is a huge loss to all who knew her," Don Hastings said of his longtime As the World Turns costar Kathryn Hays, who died on March 25 in Fairfield, Connecticut

Kathryn Hays, who played Kim Sullivan Hughes on As the World Turns for 38 years, has died. She was 88.

The actress died on March 25 in Fairfield, Connecticut, according to TVLine. A cause of death was not made available and a rep for Hays did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Her ATWT onscreen husband Don Hastings, who played Bob Hughes on the soap opera, paid tribute to his longtime scene partner in a heartfelt statement.

"Our relationship as Bob and Kim was as close as Kathryn and my relationship, except we were not married," Hastings, 88, said. "We were more like brother and sister and we were great friends. Our biggest squabble was that she always wanted to rehearse and I wanted to take a nap. This is a huge loss to all who knew her."

Hays starred on ATWT from 1972 until the show ended its 54-year run in 2010. "I always say ... it was the longest job I ever had," she said on a 2020 episode of the YouTube talk show The Locher Room.

"Actors never have long jobs like that. I mean, they would play on Broadway a certain amount of times or whatever. But it was the longest job and the best partner I ever had," Hays said of Hastings during the virtual reunion.

Additionally, her soap career also included appearances on Guiding Light and One Life to Live.

Hays' extensive resume also features roles in Bonanza, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Virginian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Star Trek and Law & Order.

Born Kay Piper on July 26, 1933, in Princeton, Illinois, Hays attended Northwestern University. She worked as a model and acted on Broadway, in addition to her busy work as a TV guest star throughout the '60s and '70s.

Hays is survived by her daughter Sherri and son-in-law Bob Mancusi, her grandchildren Kate, Cameron and Garrett Wells, as well as her great-grandson Jack.

Kathryn Hays, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘As the World Turns’ actress, dead at 87

(4/8/22) Soap opera star Kathryn Hays, known for her decades-long role as Kim Sullivan Hughes on “As the World Turns” — in addition to a fan-favorite part in a Season 3 episode of “Star Trek” — died at age 87 in Fairfield, Connecticut, on March 25, TV Line reported.

The cause of death was not available.

She was remembered fondly by her scene partner Don Hastings — who played her husband, Bob Hughes — in a statement, saying that “our relationship as Bob and Kim was as close as Kathryn and my relationship, except we were not married.”

Hastings also shared that the duo’s “biggest squabble was that she always wanted to rehearse and I wanted to take a nap.

“This is a huge loss to all who knew her,” he said.

The Illinois native Hays, who reprised the iconic character for 38 years, also touched the hearts of sci-fi lovers worldwide during a guest appearance in “Star Trek” in 1968. She played the titular, mute hero Gem, in “The Empath.”

Opposite to the more socially dramatic roles Hays was used to playing, in 2010 she recalled the interstellar appearance as one of the most unique experiences of her career.

“I’ve often thought that was an interesting role for me to play. I loved playing that. It was technically very interesting,” Hays told We Love Soaps. “That show was fascinating to work on from a technical point of view. It was so different from a regular show.”

Hays began her career with TV roles in the early 1960s. She appeared in the westerns “Bonanza” and “Route 66,” in addition to the spy series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” and other shows. She appeared in the television film “Yuma” in 1971.

Her breakout role came in the 1966 pre-Civil War-era western “The Road West,” in which she played Elizabeth Reynolds for all 29 episodes of the show’s running.

A few years later, in 1972, the iconic actress joined “As The World Turns.”

She claimed the role of Kim until the daytime staple went off the air in 2010 following a 54-year run on air.

Hays also guest appeared on more than 40 shows during her life, the most recent being a 2007 episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” according to TV Line.

She had a career on Broadway, as well, appearing in “Ladybug, Ladybug,” “The Irregular Verb to Love” and “Hot September,” in addition to other productions.

ATWT Vet Kathryn Hays Dead at 87

(4/8/22) Kathryn Hays, who played Kim on CBS’ As the World Turns for 38 years, died on March 25 in Fairfield, Conn. She was 87.

No cause of death has yet been stated.

Hays’ career began in the early 1960s, with roles on series such as Hawaiian Eye, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, Bonanza and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. In 1966, in The Road West, she landed the role of Elizabeth Reynolds, which she played for all 29 episodes of the 1860s-set serial.

Hays is also well remembered for playing the titular Gem in the 1968 Star Trek episode “The Empath.” All told, she made guest appearances on over 40 TV shows, most recently in a 2007 episode of Law & Order: SVU.

It was in August 1972 when Hays originated the role of As the World Turns‘ Kim Sullivan Hughes, whom she would play until September 2010 (when the CBS sudser went off the air after 54 years).

In a statement, ATWT scene partner Don Hastings said, “Our relationship as Bob and Kim was as close as Kathryn and my relationship, except we were not married. We were more like brother and sister and we were great friends. Our biggest squabble was that she always wanted to rehearse and I wanted to take a nap. This is a huge loss to all who knew her.”

Hays’ career also included Broadway productions of Ladybug, Ladybug, The Irregular Verb to Love and Hot September, plus summer stock productions of Showboat, Richard Rogers’ Two By Two, Follies, Dames at Sea and A Little Night Music.

Hays is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Sherri and Bob Mancusi; three grandchildren, Kate, Cameron and Garrett Wells; plus her great-grandson Jack. Those wishing to honor her memory may contribute to The Greater Bridgeport Symphony in Bridgeport, Conn., The First Church of Christ Scientist in Westport, Conn., or your favorite dog rescue organization.

Animal Kingdom Final Season Premiere Date Set at TNT — Plus, See First Trailer

(4/6/22) (Video) Animal Kingdom is poised to throw its last punch. TNT announced on Wednesday that the crime-family drama’s sixth and final season will kick off on Sunday, June 19.

Along with the premiere date, the cable network dropped a trailer that was, as you’d hope and expect from the show, fairly brutal. Shots are fired and blows taken as the Codys decide to tackle a $5M job that’ll allow them to start fresh. In other words, as Craig puts it, “it’s showtime.”

It also may be curtains for Pope, whose Season 1 murder of Catherine was discovered in Season 5’s finale. (Refresh your memory with our recap.) Now he’s got a detective sniffing around a case whose trail should’ve been as cold as the deceased’s body. But “we’ve buried enough family,” J intones. “This needs to end.”

Yeah, yeah, but who will be left standing when it does?

Animal Kingdom premiered back in 2016 with Ellen Barkin tackling the role of Cody matriarch Smurf that Yellowstone’s Jacki Weaver had played in the Australian movie on which the series is based and Grey’s Anatomy’s Scott Speedman as surrogate son Baz. As if to prove that anything could happen on the show, he was killed off in Season 3’s premiere; she, in Season 4’s penultimate episode.

Of the original cast, only Finn Cole (J), Shawn Hatosy (Pope), Ben Robson (Craig) and Jake Weary (Deran) remain. Of course, as EP John Wells told TVLine back in 2019, “This is Animal Kingdom — we don’t expect anybody to be alive by the time we get to the end!”

‘Call Me Kat’ Casts Andy Favreau & Ups Laura Bell Bundy to Recurring

(4/5/22) (tvinsider.com) Call Me Kat is adding another new face to the mix as Andy Favreau joins the cast of Fox‘s comedy in a recurring role.

Along with Favreau, previously-announced guest star Laura Bell Bundy is being upped to a recurring role, as she’ll stick around a little longer. Favreau has been cast in the role of Nick, a neighboring shop owner who will become a source of conflict for Kat (Mayim Bialik) and her cafe.

As for Bundy, as previously revealed, she’ll portray Nicole, a piano teacher who is also considered a love interest for Cheyenne Jackson‘s Max. We announced Bundy’s role earlier in March as she was cast alongside guest star Madisyn Shipman, the latter of which plays Pippa, an up-and-coming social media star who collaborates on new music with Max.

Favreau is best known for his roles in shows like Mindy Kaling‘s NBC comedy Champions and Hulu‘s drama Little Fires Everywhere in which he appeared alongside Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. The actor’s latest project is the feature film Ambulance from Michael Bay which costars Jake Gyllenhaal.

Bundy isn’t a stranger to TV either with an impressive roster of credits herself, the actress has had roles in shows such as Guiding Light, How I Met Your Mother, Good Behavior, American Gods, Angie Tribeca, Fuller House, Anger Management, and many more.

Call Me Kat, Season 2, Thursdays, 9/8c, Fox

Hayden Panettiere & BF Brian Massive Bar Brawl Fists, Feet Fly Outside Sunset Marquis!!!

(3/26/22) (Video) Hayden Panettiere and her boyfriend Brian Hickerson look less like lovers, and more like tag-team partners after getting into a huge melee at a famous Sunset Strip hotel.

We got this insane video from Thursday night outside the Sunset Marquis where HP, and mostly Brian, threw down with a large group of people. At one point, security was able to calm the situation ... but then Brian broke free, ramping things up again.

An eyewitness tells us everything started inside at the hotel bar, where some sort of argument started between Hayden, Brian and some other patrons. We're told one of the people from the other group claimed Brian spit on them, and the manager kicked everyone out ... leading to this wild scene on the street.

During the fight, you can see Hayden do her best to try to pry Brian off the others -- and it even appears she gets kicked in the face while she was in the scrum. She's heard yelling, "Brian, jail!" ... likely warning him what could happen if cops show up, because he's on probation until 2025.

Once everyone finally gets separated -- Brian and Hayden head back into the hotel -- where she apologizes to staff, and the other group leaves.

Hayden and Brian certainly have a tumultuous history -- he's been arrested for domestic violence and assault for alleged attacks against the actress. Last night, at least, they were a united front.

Law enforcement got a call for a fight at the hotel, but by the time they arrived, everyone had left and no report has been filed.

Ian Ziering guests on Name That Tune 4/12/22

(3/24/22) Jennie Garth vs. Ian Ziering and Shaggy vs. Kim Fields

Beloved one-hour musical game show NAME THAT TUNE is back for Season Two and is bigger than ever! This season features celebrity singers, actors, Olympians and NFL champions, all playing for their favorite charities. Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski hosts, and Grammy Award-winning producer Randy Jackson serves as band leader. Former “Beverly Hills 90210” sweethearts “Kelly” and “Steve” go note-to-note: Actress Jennie Garth, playing for the Equus Foundation vs. Actor Ian Ziering, playing for The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation; and Grammy Award-winning artist Shaggy, playing for the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation vs. Actress/Director Kim Fields (“The Upshaws”), playing for Back On My Feet. Each one-hour episode of NAME THAT TUNE is comprised of two stand-alone half-hour contests, each pitting two players against each other, as they race against the clock to test their knowledge of songs, performed by the live band. Each contest features a rotating variety of games from the original format, before the iconic Bid-a-Note round. The player with the most money at the end of Bid-a-Note wins the game and takes his or her bank into the final Golden Medley round, for a chance to win additional cash and potentially the $100,000 grand prize in the all-new “The Good, The Shag, and the 90210 Icons” episode of NAME THAT TUNE airing Tuesday, April 12 (9:01-10:00 PM PT) on FOX. (NTU-203) (TV-PG D, L)

Laura Bell Bundy guests on Call Me Kat 4/14/22

(3/24/22) Kat has to deal with the consequences of her past actions and make a big decision about her relationship. Meanwhile, Max tries to figure out a great plan for his third date with Nicole in the all-new “Call Me Tiny Boo-Boo” episode of CALL ME KAT airing Thursday, April 14 (9:01-9:31 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (KAT-216) (TV-14 D, L)

Cast: Mayim Bialik as Kat; Swoosie Kurtz as Sheila; Cheyenne Jackson as Max; Kyla Pratt as Randi; Leslie Jordan as Phil; Julian Gant as Carter; Christopher Rivas as Oscar

Guest Cast: Laura Bell Bundy as Nicole; Craig Gellis as Freddie; Alessandra M.K. Caterino as Child Kat; Tremarri Limbrick as Timmy; Chiquita Fuller as Nurse Johnson

City on a Hill Return Date

(3/24/22) City on a Hill Season 3 (starring Kevin Bacon) will premiere Sunday, July 10 at 10/9c on Showtime. Watch a trailer: Video.

Laura Bell Bundy guests on Call Me Kat 4/7/22

(3/24/22) When Oscar and Kat try to set Max up with a woman named Nicole, Kat has a hard time not feeling territorial over her relationship with Max. Meanwhile, Randi, Carter and Phil spy on Randi’s loud neighbors in the all-new “Call Me Cupid” episode of CALL ME KAT airing Thursday, April 7 (9:01-9:31 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (KAT-215) (TV-14 D, L)

Cast: Mayim Bialik as Kat; Swoosie Kurtz as Sheila; Cheyenne Jackson as Max; Kyla Pratt as Randi; Leslie Jordan as Phil; Julian Gant as Carter; Christopher Rivas as Oscar

Guest Cast: Laura Bell Bundy as Nicole; Remington Hoffman as Doug; Samantha Cutaran as Carlie

The CW Renews 7 Series: ‘The Flash’, ‘Kung Fu’, ‘All American’, ‘Nancy Drew’, ‘Superman & Lois’, ‘Walker’ & ‘Riverdale’

(3/22/22) The CW has handed early renewals to a large portion of its scripted schedule including The Flash.

The network also has renewed All American, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Superman & Lois and Walker.

Traditionally, the youth-skewing network hands out early renewals, sometimes as early as January, to the majority of its slate – a boon for its owners CBS and Warner Bros.

However, this year, the broadcaster’s future is up in the air with local affiliate group Nexstar circling, and Deadline understands that a new majority owner likely would have a say in some of its renewal decisions. The network also needs to take into account elements such as streaming rights to shows and other variables that will determine a pickup.

The renewal of flagship series The Flash for a ninth season — making it the network’s longest-running Arrowverse series, taking over that mantle from Arrow, which ended after eight seasons — was paved earlier this year with the news that star Grant Gustin was in talks for a new deal. There’s no word from The CW yet as to whether Season 9 will be The Flash’s swan song.

Some of the other renewals were more of a given that others. All American was expected to return for Season 5, and Superman & Lois and Walker were good for their third seasons.

Riverdale also was expected to return for its seventh season, but similarly there’s no word as to whether this will be its final season.

Kung Fu only launched its second season earlier this month but is now coming back for a third.

Nancy Drew, however, was thought to be slightly more on the bubble and will return for a fourth season. That comes as spinoff series Tom Swift also has yet to launch on the network.

There are two other tranches of shows that the network still has to make renewal decisions on – and these are expected to come over the next month or so ahead of the upfronts in May.

4400, which launched in October, Naomi, which premiered in January, and All American: Homecoming, which started last month, will all be hoping for second seasons.

There also are question marks about the future of Legends of Tomorrow, which is in its seventh season; Dynasty, which is in its fifth; Charmed and Legacies, which are in their fourth seasons; and Batwoman, which is in its third.

Stargirl’s third season and In the Dark’s fourth season have yet to premiere, while Roswell, New Mexico was picked up for a fourth season ahead of its third season.

The scripted renewals follow a batch of unscripted renewals including Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Masters of Illusion, which are both returning for their ninth season, and World’s Funniest Animals, which is heading into Season 3.

Mark Pedowitz, Chairman and CEO of the CW Network, said: “As we prepare for the 2022-23 season, these scripted series, along with the alternative series we renewed earlier, will serve as the start of a solid foundation utilizing some of our most-watched series for us to build on for next year and beyond. These dramas are also important to our overall digital strategy, as they are some of our most-streamed and socially engaged programming, and we look forward to adding more new and returning series to help strengthen and expand our multiplatform footprint.”

Dame Joan Collins fled club after bread roll attack

(3/19/22) Dame Joan Collins fled a private members’ club after being attacked with a bread roll.

The 88-year-old actress was dining with pals at the Chelsea Arts Club in London when an irate guest threw the baked good at her.

Joan told The Daily Mail newspaper’s Eden Confidential column: “A drunken diner who inappropriately wanted to sit with us got upset and threw a hard bread roll at me, and she didn’t even have the decency to follow it up with the butter.

“It was a private dinner for a friend’s birthday, my once PR Stella Wilson.”

Stella revealed that Joan was so upset about the incident, she left the dinner early.

She said: “Joan understandably was upset. Nobody likes to have something thrown at them.

“She and [her husband] Percy [Gibson] left. I was disappointed she had to miss the rest of my birthday but I completely understood why she left. I would have walked out too. Thank goodness it was only a bread roll. That was the frightening part of it.”

Stella revealed that none of her guests knew the bread thrower, who earlier had identified herself as a fan of Joan’s.

She said the woman came over to their table and was “swaying around and not making any sense”.

Stella added: “She knew who Joan was because she told her, ‘I have always admired you.’

“None of us could understand why she threw it. It was an upsetting incident for everybody.”

Bethany Joy Lenz guest stars and Victoria Rowell & Evan Parke recurs on Good Sam 3/23/22

(3/16/21) “Keep Talking” – When Amy Taylor (Bethany Joy Lenz) is admitted to the hospital accompanied by her sister, Gretchen (Hilarie Burton), with signs of premature heart disease, Dr. Sam Griffith discovers a deeper medical mystery. Also, Griff anxiously awaits the results of his MRI, hoping to get to the root of his troubling symptoms, on the CBS Original series GOOD SAM, Wednesday, March 23 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST: Sendhil Ramamurthy (Asher Pyne), Victoria Rowell (Tina Kingsley), Marium Carvell (Nurse Donna Williams), Evan Parke (Byron Kingsley)

GUEST CAST: Bethany Joy Lenz (Amy Taylor), Hilarie Burton (Gretchen Taylor), Sylvan Valladares (Vinit Jain), Rong Fu (Dr. Stacey Lee), Ronica Sajnani (Mrs. Jain), Marcus Nance (Dr. Andre Markov)

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Finds Its James T. Kirk With Paul Wesley

(3/16/21) Paul Wesley is joining the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Wesley is starring in the iconic role of James T. Kirk in the second season of the Paramount+ drama series. The role is best known for starring William Shatner.

The casting comes ahead of the launch of season one, which premieres in May. A second season of the show was renewed in January.

Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn/Una Chin-Riley) as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. Their adventures predate Captain Kirk’s ever stepping foot aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The cast also includes Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas, and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga.

Wesley was previously one of the leads of The Vampire Diaries and also starred in Tell Me A Story for Paramount+ predecessor CBS All Access. He can also be seen in Shudder feature History of Evil alongside Stephanie Beatriz.

He has also directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico, Shadowhunters and Legacies.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is showrun by Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers with the pair exec producing alongside Jenny Lumet, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Aaron Baiers.

The series is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

“Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show. Like all of us, he is a life-long Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role,” said Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers.

Matt Bomer In Talks To Join Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein Pic ‘Maestro’ At Netflix

(3/16/22) Matt Bomer is in early talks to join the cast of the upcoming Netflix Leonard Bernstein pic Maestro, which has Bradley Cooper directing and starring as the iconic composer. If a deal closes, Bomer joins Carey Mulligan, who will play Bernstein’s wife Felicia. Pic will be produced by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg,, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Fred Berner and Amy Durning.

Netflix had no comment.

In his directorial followup to A Star Is Born, Cooper will star as Bernstein, and produce from the script he co-wrote with Oscar-winning Spotlight scribe Josh Singer. The drama spans over 30 years. Bernstein’s career is enough to fill a miniseries: his conducting debut at the New York Philharmonic at 25 when the conductor took ill; without even rehearsing, Bernstein did so well his star was launched the next day when his feat made the front page of The New York Times. He was blacklisted before being cleared of being a communist just before he composed the Oscar-nominated score for On the Waterfront; and he was an activist in the civil rights movement, and outspoken on issues including ending the Vietnam War. But the through line for the movie is the beautifully complex story of the marriage between Bernstein and his wife.

On the film side, Bomer was recently seen in the Netflix pic The Boys in the Band. On the TV side he’s stayed active appearing in the anthology series American Horror Stories and HBO Max’s Doom Patrol. He is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.

Critics Choice Award Winners

(3/13/22) BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus (HBO)

Vincent Irizarry Has Emergency Surgery

(3/12/22) Vincent Irizarry (ex-Deimos, DAYS et al) underwent emergency head surgery on Friday, March 11, following an incident that took place in December. His girlfriend, Yvonne Glisson (@skygirl313), shared on Instagram, “Back in December, Vincent was walking out a restaurant/bar and witnessed a man being volatile to his wife in the parking lot. He went right over to intervene and calm the man down and instead was then violently hit to the ground himself, suffering multiple bruises and a serious head gash and concussion resulting in fluid to his brain.

The man then proceeded to beat his wife unconscious. Vincent was rushed to the ER and had to be treated for his head wound, injuries and tests run. Unfortunately, that fluid has increased substantially over the last 3 months requiring emergency head surgery this Friday morning.” Glisson then posted a photo of the soap vet, with an update on his recovery.

“Vincent’s surgeon performed the procedure early this am skillfully but finding a bit more than he expected,” she wrote. “But he has been watched and tested all day and thankfully fluid has not increased again. They will keep him there and be watching for that or any complications and observing his condition before sending him home. Otherwise Vincent has been awake all day talking, eating and being his ever charming self even with his head bandaged and tubes coming out all over him! On behalf of Vincent, Thank you for all the love and well wishes. It is not overlooked or taken for granted. He is as always grateful.” We are wishing Vincent a very speedy recovery!

Talk Show Appearance

(3/12/22) GMA3: What You Need To Know - ABC

Friday, March 18 — actress Brittany Snow (“X”)

Jeff Branson Interview 3/16/22

(3/11/22) (Watch here) Emmy Award-winning actor Jeff Branson will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, March 16th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Daytime audiences know Jeff for his roles on All My Children (Jonathan Lavery), Guiding Light (Shayne Lewis) and The Young and the Restless (Ronan Malloy).

In addition to his daytime roles, Jeff has appeared in the prime-time series CSI, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Mentalist, Law & Order: SVU, and Supernatural. He also appeared in the first season of Supergirl as the character, Master Jailer and appears as Neil Armstrong in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind.

Frank Grillo To Star In Wonderfilm Thriller ‘Dirty’

(3/11/22) Frank Grillo is set to headline the thriller Dirty from Wonderfilm. Nick Vallelonga is directing the pic, which is based on a script he wrote. The plot is under wraps.

Wonderfilm’s Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon are producing. Stien Davis and Chris Neville will executive produce for Wonderfilm. Mike Hatton is producing for Ton of Hats. Vallelonga is also producing.

“We were so thrilled that Frank loved this script as much as we did,” Saxon and Bowler said. “We’ve been lucky to work with him on two pictures recently and are amazed at his talent and total commitment to his roles. Nick has written a gripping script and we’re looking forward to seeing Frank bring the character to life.”

The film is in pre-production in Atlantic City, NJ. Principal photography begins April 11.

Frank Grillo Sets Horror Thriller ‘Man’s Son’ Inspired By California Desert Occult Activity

Grillo is best known for his performances in the Captain America and Purge franchises and most recently was seen in the action thriller Cop Shop. He most recently wrapped as the title character on the Wonderfilm biopic Lamborghini, based on the life story of Lamborghini founder Ferruccio Lamborghini.

He is repped by Creative Artists Agency, Management 360, Paul Hastings and 42West.

Wonderfilm Media recently wrapped the supernatural horror Lullaby, directed by John Leonetti, with Alcon, in Toronto.

James Earl Jones Theatre Coming To Broadway As Shubert Organization Renames 110-Year-Old Cort

(3/3/22) The great stage, film and TV actor James Earl Jones will once again see his name up in lights: Broadway’s 110-year-old Cort Theater is being renamed in Jones’ honor.

The Shubert Organization announced today that the venue will become the James Earl Jones Theatre “in recognition of Mr. Jones’s lifetime of immense contributions to Broadway and the entire artistic community.”

The Cort has been closed for extensive renovation and construction work during the Covid pandemic, with the work expected to be finished this summer. The renamed James Earl Jones Theatre will include a newly built wing when it opens for productions following the construction work. Shubert plans to hold a formal dedication ceremony at that time.

In a statement, Jones said, “For me standing in this very building sixty-four years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today. Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors.”

Though Jones’ first Broadway casting was as an understudy in 1957’s short-lived The Egghead, his breakthrough came the following year at the Cort Theatre in Sunrise at Campobello, Dore Schary’s play about Franklin Delano Roosevelt starring Ralph Bellamy. In all, Jones has appeared in 21 Broadway productions, including his Tony-winning performances in The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987).

Just since the turn of the century, Jones has starred on Broadway in On Golden Pond (2005), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010), Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (2012), You Can’t Take It With You (2014) and The Gin Game (2015). In 2017 he was awarded the Tony’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and over the course of his career has received the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honor.

In addition to his Tonys, Jones’ accolades include a 2011 Honorary Award Lifetime Achievement Oscar, two Emmys (1990’s Heat Wave, 1991’s Gabriel’s Fire) and a Grammy (1977’s Great American Documents recording), putting him in the rarefied EGOT community.

“The Shubert Organization is so incredibly honored to put James – an icon in the theatre community, the Black community, and the American community – forever in Broadway’s lights,” said Robert E. Wankel, Shubert CEO and board chair. “That James deserves to have his name immortalized on Broadway is without question.” Though it aligns with a pledge made last summer, the renaming was reportedly already in the planning stages when the Shubert Organization became a signatory, along with such other Broadway owners as Jujamcyn Theaters, the Nederlander Organization and Lincoln Center Theatre, to the New Deal For Broadway. Written by the nonprofit advocacy organization Black Theatre United, the New Deal, designed to make Broadway a more racially inclusive industry, included a pledge by theater owners to have at least one venue named after a Black artist (Jujamcyn owns the August Wilson Theatre).

The Cort, designed by theatre architect Thomas Lamb in the style of an 18th Century French palace and located at 138 W. 48th Street in Manhattan, opened in 1912 to house the productions of stage impresario John Cort. The venue was purchased by the Shuberts in 1927.

Frank Grillo Joins Harvey Keitel In Justin Price’s Action-Thriller ‘Hard Matter’

(3/1/22) Frank Grillo (Captain American franchise, Kingdom) has signed on to star opposite Harvey Keitel in Justin Price’s action-thriller Hard Matter for Wonderfilm Media, which is currently in production in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The film written by Price is set in a new America divided by quadrants, in which a power-hungry corporation has taken over the conventional prison system and replaced it with a system of deadly watches. In this version of America, criminals are the new law enforcers that carry out all forms of capital punishment in order to regain their place in society.

Wonderfilm’s Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon are producing alongside Latavius Powell and Justin Price of Powell and Price Productions, with Richard Salvatore exec producing.

“Having just recently wrapped our film Lamborghini, with Frank as the lead, we are so amazed by what he brings to the screen,” said Wonderfilm’s Bowler and Saxon, “and we couldn’t be any more excited to have him in Hard Matter.”

Grillo is best known for his performances in the Captain America and Purge franchises, DirecTV’s MMA drama series Kingdom, Joe Carnahan’s genre-bending feature Boss Level and Joe Carnahan’s crime thriller, Copshop. The actor has also appeared in such series as What If…?, Billions and The Shield, and in films including Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Black and Blue, Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, End of Watch, The Grey, Warrior, My Soul to Take and Minority Report. He most recently wrapped the title role in the Wonderfilm biopic Lamborghini, based on the life story of Lamborghini founder Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Wonderfilm Media recently wrapped production with Alcon on Lullaby, a supernatural horror film from director John Leonetti (Anabelle) that is set for a major release next October. Other upcoming projects from the company founded by Bowler and Saxon include the recently wrapped film Muti, starring Morgan Freeman and Cole Houser, and the recently wrapped feature White Elephant, starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Olga Kurylenko. Wonderfilm is also currently developing a Steve McQueen biopic, taking the form of a limited series, which is based on Marshall Terrill’s book, Steve McQueen: A Tribute to the King of Cool.

Grillo is represented by CAA, Management 360 and Paul Hastings.

Hayden Panettiere confirms her daughter is 'safe and not in Ukraine'

(2/26/22) Hayden Panettiere’s seven-year-old daughter is “safe and not in Ukraine.”

The 32-year-old actress has daughter Kaya with the retired Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko – but Hayden has confirmed via social media that she’s not in any danger, following Russia’s invasion of the country.

In response to a comment on Instagram, Hayden said: “she’s safe and not in Ukraine (thumbs-up emoji) (sic)”

The Heroes actress has also voiced her support for Ukraine on social media.

She wrote online: “I have personally witnessed the strength of the Ukrainian people who fought so hard for their independence and have continued to passionately defend their country over the years.

“This horrific moment in history sends a terrifying message: the message that in this day and age, in year 2022, it’s okay to violate the rights of free people and allow autocrats like Putin to take whatever they please.”

Hayden wishes she could provide more support to Ukraine.

She said: “I’m praying for my family and friends there and everyone who’s fighting. I wish you had more support and I wish I was there fighting with you!”

The actress also encouraged her followers to voice their support for democracy.

She explained: “For now, I ask for those of us who can’t be there to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and show your support for #democracy (sic)”

Meanwhile, Wladimir recently enlisted in Ukraine’s reserve army.

The 45-year-old former heavyweight champion and his brother Vitali Klitschko – who is also a former heavyweight champion – have both pledged to fight for their country.

Wladimir said: “We will defend ourselves with all our might and fight for freedom and democracy. You can also act. Let not fear seize us; let’s not remain frozen. Putin shoots at Ukrainian cities, but he aims at our hearts and, more importantly, at our minds.”

Talk Show Appearance

(2/26/22) LIVE WITH KELLY AND RYAN, syndicated

Tu 3/8: Brittany Snow

Bethany Joy Lenz guests on Good Sam 3/23/22

(2/22/22) GOOD SAM – Sophia Bush reunites with her “One Tree Hill” co-stars Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz, Wednesday, March 23, 10:00-11:00 PM. Their appearance marks the first time the actors have appeared on-screen together since “One Tree Hill” ended a decade ago. Emmy-nominated actress Victoria Rowell (THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) begins a recurring role as Tina Kingsley, the high-powered, sophisticated chairwoman of the hospital board, Wednesday, March 2, 10:00-11:00 PM.

Frank Grillo Sets Horror Thriller ‘Man’s Son’ Inspired By California Desert Occult Activity

(2/22/22) Frank Grillo will star in Man’s Son, a modern horror thriller from director Remy Grillo.

The story centers around a young couple hoping to create an aesthetically pleasing audition tape for an up-and-coming Charles Manson film. But when the couple chooses an eclectic desert Airbnb as the perfect backdrop, the dark events of the audition material slowly slip into their reality. Eventually, they find themselves intertwined in the sinister plot of an occult leader (played by Grillo).

Josh Plasse and Brev Moss wrote the screenplay, which is inspired by Occult activity in the California desert. Cameras are schedule to roll in March in Yucca Valley, California.

Dare Angel will produce in partnership with Mi Nene. Producers include Plasse, Shakira Barrera, Conor Allyn, and Johnny James Fiore. Bobby McMichael, Chido Nwokocha, and Dennis Echelberger will serve as EPs. The film is casted by Lisa Zagoria, CSA.

Grillo is best known for his performances in the Captain America and Purge franchises, Kingdom, Boss Level, and Cop Shop. He most recently wrapped on the Bobby Moresco directed biopic Lamborghini, based on the life story of Lamborghini founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. That movie also stars Mira Sorvino and Gabriel Byrne.

Deadline first told you last month that Grillo is set to star with Mekhi Phifer, Scott Adkins and Dermot Mulroney in the action movie Lights Out.

Grillo is repped by Creative Arts Agency, Management 360, and Paul Hastings.

Critics Choice Super Awards Nominations

(2/22/22) Winners will be revealed on Thursday, March 17. The Super Awards, which will not be telecast this year.

BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIE
Barbara Crampton – Jakob’s Wife
Rebecca Hall – The Night House
Anya-Taylor Joy – Last Night in Soho
Thomasin McKenzie – Last Night in Soho
Agathe Rousselle – Titane
Millicent Simmonds – A Quiet Place Part II

BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE
Mahershala Ali – Swan Song
Timothée Chalamet – Dune
Leonardo DiCaprio – Don’t Look Up
Tom Hanks – Finch
Dev Patel – The Green Knight
Ryan Reynolds – Free Guy

BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIE
Cate Blanchett – Don’t Look Up
Jodie Comer – Free Guy
Rebecca Ferguson – Dune
Mckenna Grace – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Jennifer Lawrence – Don’t Look Up
Alicia Vikander – The Green Knight

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Star Stephanie Beatriz & ‘Vampire Diaries’ Star Paul Wesley Set For Horror ‘History Of Evil’

(2/17/22) Brooklyn Nine-Nine and In the Heights star Stephanie Beatriz has been set to star with The Vampire Diaries actor Paul Wesley in the horror-thriller movie History of Evil.

AMC’s genre streamer Shudder has boarded the film for North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and will release it as a Shudder Original.

Written and directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Bo Mirhosseni, the film is being produced by genre specialists XYZ Films, Under the Shadow outfit Two & Two Pictures and Jake Siegel. Beatriz and Wesley will serve as executive producers.

In the film, a family on the run from a corrupt state takes refuge in a safe house with an evil past — a terrifying last stop on a near-future Underground Railroad. Filming is being lined up for spring 2022.

The movie is the first project under a pact between XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures to make films from first- and second-time genre directors from under-represented demographics. The pact is set to produce two to three pictures a year initially and was hatched as a result of XYZ Films partnering with Two & Two on Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow, which went on to win a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. The companies most recently collaborated on Anvari’s third feature film, I Came By, which is currently in post-production for Netflix.

Beatriz is best known for leading voice cast on hit animation Encanto, rom-com musical In the Heights, and comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She’s just finishing up starring in London’s West End play 2:22: A Ghost Story.

Wesley is known for roles in The Vampire Diaries, Before I Disappear, Peaceful Warrior and Tell Me a Story. He is also directing and producing under his production banner Citizen Media.

“We are thrilled to be working with XYZ and Two & Two Pictures as we continue to spotlight new and emerging storytellers within this genre, and Bo’s thrilling film debut is no exception,” said Emily Gotto, VP Global Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Shudder. “We are excited to have such talents as Stephanie and Paul on board to bring these dynamic characters to life and look forward to sharing the film with Shudder members.”

Anvari and Lucan Toh of Two & Two Pictures commented: “We are delighted to be working with Bo, Stephanie and Paul on this deeply terrifying and unique horror film, and honored to have found a home at Shudder, whose cutting-edge platform has continues to push genre films forward. Everyone on this team has demonstrated a commitment to bringing timely and entertaining stories to the world, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with them.”

Beatriz is repped by ICM Partners, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and attorney Mitch Smelkinson. Wesley is repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content and attorney Marcy Morris.

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 3/10/22

(2/17/22) “Juneau, Froyo, and Mario Kart” – Gina is torn after getting an offer to sell Valley Hills to a rival assisted living residence. Also, Drew prepares to leave on his big trip to Alaska, on the second season finale of the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, March 10 (9:01-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Talk Show Appearance

(2/11/22) THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN - CBS

Monday, Feb. 14- Murray Bartlett

Talk Show Appearance

(2/11/22) GMA3: What You Need To Know - ABC

Thursday, Feb. 17 — author Taye Diggs (“Why?”)

Anna Maria Horsford & Hector Elizondo recur on B Positive 2/24/22

(2/10/22) “Osteoporosis, a Thaaang, and a Slinky” – Gina gets caught in the middle when Norma’s rude sister, Irene (Rondi Reed), arrives at Valley Hills. Also, Harry sets up Drew on a date, and Spencer and Bette take the next step in their relationship, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Feb. 24 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum)

Anna Maria Horsford & Hector Elizondo recur on B Positive 3/3/22

(2/10/22) “Payroll, a Waterwall and Valley Forge” – Gina struggles to keep Valley Hills running smoothly after Mrs. Ludlum quits and starts work at a rival assisted living facility. Also, Drew wonders whether he should go on another road trip adventure or stay close to Gina, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, at a special time on Thursday, March 3 (8:31-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum)

‘Measure Of Revenge’: Vertical Entertainment Acquires Rights To Thriller Starring Melissa Leo, Bella Thorne & Jake Weary

(2/10/22) Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to the psychological thriller Measure of Revenge, starring Oscar winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, The Equalizer 2), Bella Thorne (Midnight Sun, The Babysitter) and Jake Weary (It Follows, Animal Kingdom), slating it for a day-and-date release on March 18.

In the debut feature of Malaysian helmer Peyfa, Broadway actress Lillian Cooper (Leo) is making her final on-stage appearance when her famous son, Curtis (Weary), is found dead. When his death is ruled as an accidental overdose, a suspicious Lillian decides to take matters into her own hands. On a quest for answers, she strikes up an unlikely alliance with her son’s drug dealer, Taz (Thorne), setting in motion a bloody warpath to uncover the truth, inspired by the characters she portrayed on stage.

Measure of Revenge also stars Roma Maffia (Disclosure), Adrian Martinez (The Guilty, Focus) and Benedict Samuel (The Walk). Jen Gatien (Midnight Sun, Limelight) produced with Peter Wong (Clemency, Malignant) and Timur Bekbosunov (Color Out of Space, Come Away) for ACE Pictures Entertainment. Johnny Chang, Bronwyn Cornelius and Emma Lee exec produced, with Jay Cannold co-producing.

“Melissa steps into this role of a grieving and relentless mother seeking justice for her son with such ease that it draws the viewer deeply into her journey and keeps you captivated and rooting for her every step of the way,” said Vertical Entertainment Partner Peter Jarowey.

“We are excited to partner up with Vertical Entertainment on Measure of Revenge to release a film that is an emotional and thrilling experience filled with mystery and surprise,” added Gatien, Wong and Bekbosunov in a joint statement. “Melissa Leo delivers a powerful and energetic performance in the role of a mother hellbent on revenge, forming great screen chemistry with the immensely talented Bella Thorne. We can’t wait for audiences to discover the film.”

ACE Pictures Entertainment is a film production and investment company, with a focus on genre fare. Chang leads its team as CEO, with Wong as President, Lee as VP of Business Affairs and Bekbosunov as VP of Creative Affairs. Since its 2017 launch, the company has provided full financing and production services for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Clemency, starring Alfre Woodard, which was released by Neon and Focus Features; the dark Sundance comedy Blush, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey; the documentary M for Magic about the world-renowned Magic Castle; the supernatural thriller Daniel Isn’t Real, starring Patrick Schwarzenegger and Miles Robbins, released by Samuel Goldwyn and sold internationally by Voltage; and the horror cult hit Color Out of Space, directed by Richard Stanley and starring Nicolas Cage, which was released by RLJ Entertainment and sold internationally by XYZ. ACE Pictures also provided partial financing for the fantastical drama Come Away, directed by Brenda Chapman and starring Angelina Jolie, which was released by Relativity Media, and James Wan’s horror film Malignant.

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor, which was founded in 2012. Other upcoming releases from the company include the SXSW & Venice prize winner Topside; the Sundance thriller Emily the Criminal, starring Aubrey Plaza, which it co-acquired with Roadside Attractions; Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.’s Independent Spirit Award-nominated Wild Indian, starring Michael Greyeyes and Chaske Spencer; Krystin Ver Linden’s Alice, starring Keke Palmer, Common, Gaius Charles and Jonny Lee Miller, which premiered at Sundance 2022; and romantic comedy The Hating Game, starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell.

Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal for Measure of Revenge on behalf of Vertical Entertainment, with Bekbosunov and CAA on behalf of ACE Pictures. Leo is represented by APA and The Initiative Group; Thorne by CAA, Thirty Three Management and Strategic Public Relations; and Weary by Gersh, Management 360 and Shafran PR.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/4/22) JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, ABC

We 2/9: Murray Bartlett

Dishing with Digest - 2/4/22 - Robert Newman

(2/4/22) (Listen / download) Robert Newman talks about getting cast as Y&R’s Ashland, how he’s doing in his new role, what his past as GUIDING LIGHT’s Josh taught him and more with Digest’s Mara Levinsky and Stephanie Sloane. We also preview what stories are coming up on the shows.

A First Look at Robert Newman as Ashland Locke on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS

(2/2/22) (soapsindepth.com) (Photo) The sudden recast of Ashland Locke on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS rattled soap fans as Richard Burgi revealed why he had been let go from the CBS sudser and Robert Newman was quickly named as his replacement. Because daytime dramas shoot about a month in advance, Burgi has continued to appear on Y&R even after the news of his departure broke. And now CBS has announced that Newman’s first episode as Ashland will air on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

“What a wonderful first week of shooting,” Newman shared on Facebook on Jan. 23. “Five episodes in three days right out of the box. Couldn’t ask for a nicer bunch. And this character… what a wild ride. In the old days, we would have called it an E-Ticket. Cheers!”

Newman is best known for playing Josh Lewis for almost three decades on the much-missed GUIDING LIGHT, a role that earned him two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor. During his daytime career, the actor also played Prescott Harrell on GENERAL HOSPITAL and Kirk Cranston on SANTA BARBARA. After GL was canceled, Newman took to the stage, appearing in productions of shows like Peter Pan, Nine, Death Trap, Gypsy, and Annie.

Soap fans are excited to see Newman back in daytime, though, and starting on Wednesday, Feb. 9, they’ll be able to see him step into the designer shoes of Ashland Locke just in time for some major drama! His marriage to Victoria seems to be going well, but they’re already butting heads over business. And it looks like Victor is about to discover the truth about Ashland’s cancer treatments. So make sure you tune in!

AMC+ And RLJE Films Acquire Holiday Comedy ‘Christmas With The Campbells’ Starring Brittany Snow, Justin Long & Alex Moffat

(2/1/22) AMC+ and RLJE Films have acquired worldwide rights to the holiday comedy Christmas with the Campbells, starring Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect franchise), Justin Long (He’s Just Not That Into You), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Julia Duffy (Newhart), George Wendt (Cheers) and JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sweet Magnolias). The film produced by Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show will simultaneously hit theaters and AMC+ in the U.S. in late fall.

Christmas with the Campbells is billed as a traditional holiday romance story executed with unfiltered adult humor. Specifics as far as its plot are being kept under wraps.

Clare Niederpruem is directing from a script by Vaughn, Dan Lagana (American Vandal) and Barbara Kymlicka. Vaughn and Lagana are also producing alongside Peter Billingsley (Couples Retreat) under their Wild West Picture Show banner, with Stan Spry (Creepshow) exec producing. The feature is the second from RLJE and Wild West, on the heels of stand-up comic Steve Byrne’s The Opening Act, starring Jimmy O. Yang, Jermaine Fowler & Ken Jeong.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better cast and a group of filmmakers with whom to work,” said RLJE Films’ Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “This is the second collaboration between RLJE Films and Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley and now, with the partnership with AMC+, we will be able to bring this film to an even wider audience.”

“On the heels of an incredibly successful launch for the twisted black dramedy ‘Silent Night,’ which became one of our most watched films of 2021, we’re delighted to partner with RLJE Films once again – this time adding the comedic genius of Vince Vaughn, Dan Lagana and Peter Billingsley – to bring our subscribers another unexpected and wildly entertaining film for the holiday season,” added AMC+ General Manager Courtney Thomasma. “Between Vince and Peter’s Christmas movie pedigree and the stellar cast, ‘Christmas with the Campbells’ is the perfect addition to our biggest year of programming, as we continue to build AMC+ into a true destination for the best feature films.”

Wild West Picture Show is a production company founded by Vaughn in 2005 that has also produced such films as The Internship, Couples Retreat, Four Christmases and The Break-Up. Wild West’s television credits include Audience Network’s Undeniable with Joe Buck and ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the ’85 Bears, which Vaughn also narrated, along with Audience Network’s Fear(less) with Tim Ferriss, the TBS original sitcom Sullivan & Son and the Netflix animated series F is for Family.

RLJE Films is a business unit of AMC Networks. Its recent and upcoming features include David Oyelowo’s directorial debut The Water Man; Amber Sealey’s No Man of God starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby; Sion Sono’s 2021 Sundance Film Festival premiere Prisoners of the Ghostland starring Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella; and the apocalyptic holiday dramedy Silent Night from writer-director Camille Griffin.

AMC+ is a subscription VOD streaming service owned by AMC Networks that launched in 2020. Films debuting exclusively on the service thus far include Adam Egypt Mortimer’s mystery-thriller Archenemy, Edward John Drake’s sci-fi action pic Apex, Aharon Keshales’ crime pic South of Heaven, No Man of God, Prisoners of the Ghostland and Silent Night.

Ward and Betsy Rodgers negotiated the deal to acquire Christmas with the Campbells for AMC+/RLJE Films with Vaughn and Billingsley on behalf of the filmmakers.

Talk Show Appearance

(1/29/22) GMA3: What You Need To Know - ABC

Tuesday, Feb. 1 – actor and author Taye Diggs (“Why?”)

Talk Show Appearance

(1/29/22) THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, syndicated

Tu 2/1: Murray Bartlett

Morning Show Appearance

(1/29/22) Today – NBC

Tuesday, February 1

(9-10 a.m.) Catching Up with Taye Diggs.

Frank Grillo, Mekhi Phifer, Scott Adkins & Dermot Mulroney Set For Action Movie ‘Lights Out’

(1/27/22) LA-based production company Firebrand has set Frank Grillo (Captain America), Mekhi Phifer (Truth Be Told), Scott Adkins (John Wick: Chapter 4 ) and Dermot Mulroney (Hanna) to star in action movie Lights Out, which is in pre-production.

The movie will follow a drifting ex-soldier (Grillo) who turns underground fighter with the help of a just released ex-con, pitting him against corrupt cops and hired killers now gunning for him and all those he cares about.

An original screenplay by Garry Charles (Welcome To Acapulco) and Chad Law (The Hit List), pic will be directed by Christian Sesma (Paydirt) and produced by Section Eight and Pups Alone producer Brandon Burrows of Firebrand.

Purge star Grillo recently wrapped on the biopic Lamborghini based on the life story of sports car icon Ferruccio Lamborghini.

8 Mile and ER actor Phifer stars in Apple TV series Truth Be Told opposite Octavia Spencer and Ron Cephas Jones as well as the Hulu TV series Love, Victor.

Adkins recently wrapped filming John Wick: Chapter 4 and Netflix’s upcoming movie Day Shift starring Jamie Fox. My Best Friend’s Wedding star Mulroney recently wrapped filming on Agent Game with Jason Isaacs and Mel Gibson. He plays John Carmichael in Amazon series Hanna.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be working with this brilliant cast led by Frank Grillo. Frank and the rest of the cast’s commitment is unparalleled, and I can’t wait to share this action-packed thrill ride that we’re cooking up. Strap in,” said Burrows of Firebrand.

Grillo is represented by Management 360, Creative Artists Agency, and Paul Hastings, Phifer by Brookside Artist Management and The Gersh Agency, Adkins by Link Entertainment, The Gersh Agency and The BWH agency and Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher LLP, and Mulroney by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Paradigm Talent Agency.

AACTA International Awards Winner

(1/27/22) The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced winners of the 11th AACTA International Awards.

BEST ACTOR IN A SERIES: Murray Bartlett – THE WHITE LOTUS

Brian Gaskill Interview 2/3/22

(1/26/22) (Watch here) Join Brian Gaskill live in The Locher Room on Thursday, February 3 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Brian is a vet of daytime and prime-time television and will join us to reminisce about his role as an artist, writer, actor and father.

Brian graduated from the prestigious Acting Conservatory at Suny Purchase in 1993 and upon graduation performed in The Lion in Winter at The Cleveland Playhouse. His co-star, Tony Award-winner Elizabeth Franz convinced Brian to head west to LA where he soon broke into television on Aaron Spelling’s Melrose Place spin-off Models, Inc.

He next landed his first daytime role of Bobby Warner on All My Children. After leaving AMC and appearing in several prime-time series he returned to daytime in the role of Rafe, a vampire slaying angel, on Port Charles. His other daytime roles include Oscar Marone on The Bold and the Beautiful, BJ Greene on As the World Turns and Dylan Lewis on Guiding Light.

Brian wrote, starred in and co-directed a 20-minute short film title, The Speech. He also co-wrote an original song for the short. In addition, he wrote a second short film called, The Audition. Both shorts are available on YouTube.

Brian recently designed the artwork for fellow daytime actor Jon Hensley’s upcoming new album, Sing Out Revolution and co-wrote the title track.

Kim Zimmer - One on One 2/2/22

(1/25/22) (Watch here) Come celebrate the birthday of the one and only Kim Zimmer herself live in The Locher Room on her birthday, February 2 at 3 p.m. EST. Let’s show this four-time Emmy Award-winner some love by raising money for one of her favorite charities, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Kim made her daytime television debut as Bonnie Harmon on ABC’s One Life to Live in 1978. In 1979, she replaced Kathleen Turner in the role of Nola Dancy Aldrich on The Doctors before returning to the role of Echo DiSavoy on One Life to Live. In 1983 Kim took Springfield by storm creating the iconic role of Reva Shayne on the long running Guiding Light. Kim played the part with everything she had for over 20 years earning four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress.

When Kim left Guiding Light in 1990 for five years, she joined the cast of Santa Barbara as Jodie DeWitt Walker and landed some memorable prime-time roles on Seinfeld, Designing Women and MacGyver to name a small few.

Kim has starred in several stage roles, including several at The Barn Theater in August, MI including Blood Brothers, Mama Mia, The Lion in Winter, Gypsy, Sunset Boulevard, Hello Dolly! to name a small few. Kim also joined the first North American tour of Broadway's Wicked where she played the role of Madame Morrible.

Kim has been married to A.C. Weary for almost 41 years and together they have three children Rachel, Max and Jake. Today Kim and A.C. enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren, Vincent, Ava and Reed.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ST. JUDE www.stjude.org/.

‘White Lotus’ Star Murray Bartlett Cast in ‘Physical’ as Rose Byrne’s Rival

(1/25/22) (variety.com) Get ready for the possibility of Murray Bartlett in short-shorts and leg warmers.

“The White Lotus” star tells me on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast that he has been cast in Season 2 of “Physical,” the Apple TV Plus series starring Rose Byrne as Sheila, a 1980s San Diego housewife who begins to find herself after being introduced to aerobics.

“The writing in this season is really fantastic,” Bartlett says. “That stuff that I get to do is really fun, but it’s twisted and smart. It’s interesting because it’s got that whole like ’80s fun thing, but there’s a depth to this show that’s really moving.”

Bartlett wasn’t able to share too much about his character when we spoke, but Apple has now provided some details. He’ll play Vincent “Vinnie” Green, a charismatic fitness instructor, weight loss guru and late-night infomercial pioneer. He and Sheila are both friends and rivals who struggle privately with personal demons.

Bartlett certainly knows how to play a character with demons. In “White Lotus,” he stars as resort manager Armond, whose life implodes when he falls off the wagon. Not only is he caught in his office having sex with a much younger employee (Lukas Gage) during a night of drugs and alcohol, but he also seeks revenge on a guest (Jake Lacy) by defecating in his suitcase.

So, which scene was more challenging to shoot? “I don’t know. That’s a really difficult question. I think any of those kind of intimate scenes that you do are just weird,” Bartlett says. “There’s an element of it that is always going to be weird and sort of slightly awkward, but Mike creates this incredible feeling of play on set, and we were having so much fun. We were all throwing ourselves into the spirit of that, and so they weren’t that difficult to do, those scenes.”

The suitcase sequence was shot sooner than Bartlett anticipated. “We were doing it in two weeks or something and then something happened — I think maybe we had a COVID scare or something — and all of a sudden we were doing that,” he recalls. “I think that was really good because I couldn’t think about it. I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s shit in a suitcase!’”

Bartlett’s work on “White Lotus” has earned him critical acclaim as well as nominations for SAG and Critics Choice awards. I can also reveal that the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts exclusively tells me that the actor has received this year’s International Award for best actor in a series. The full list of winners will be announced tomorrow.

Bartlett is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency, Anonymous Content, Relevant, Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher.

Bartlett recently drove with his boyfriend and their dog from their home in Provincetown, Mass. to Los Angeles. After filming “Physical,” he’ll shoot “Immigrant,” Hulu’s limited series about Chippendales founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani). Bartlett will co-star as producer-choreographer Nick De Noia.

(Listen) Did you have any idea while you were making “The White Lotus” that it was going to become this cultural moment?

Mike White is a genius. These scripts — he wrote them in two months, by the way — were just incredible. And the characters that he’d written were really amazing. I had no doubt that some people would absolutely love it, because it’s brilliantly written. … But yeah, you can never tell how a show is going to hit, right?

Will we see a prequel and see what got Armond sober? I want to see Armond getting sober and what happened that made him get sober.

The night before we started shooting, Mike made a joke. He was saying, “Whoever is the nicest person and the best actor gets a spin-off series.” And I was like, “Excuse me, what about me? I die.” He was like, “We’ll go back in time, not a problem.” He was joking, but wouldn’t that be fun? When they said that they were going to do a second season, I was like, “Maybe 2008?”

Did you or Mike create a backstory for Armond?

There was more of a backstory written into the script and some of those pieces fell away, which makes sense in the final cut. But one of the things that I found really useful was that he wanted to be an actor, and I relate to that. I worked in hospitality. I know a lot of people who work in hospitality. I know people who started out as performers and have moved into hospitality. Some people who have done are perfectly happy and others who have, have this broken dream of having wanting to be a performer.

What celebrity has slipped into your DMs on Instagram to tell you how much they love Armond and your performance?

When the show came out, I got a random message from Sarah Paulson, who I absolutely adore and admire. Very beautifully polite, like, “Excuse me for intruding, but I just … ” And I was like, “Are you kidding?” It inspired me so much. It was a surreal experience for this person who I adore and admire so much reaching out to me. It is all very surreal, but wonderful.

What does the AACTA award mean to you?

It’s not that the other awards don’t count, but there’s something about the SAG Awards, which is voted on by your peers, [it’s] such a beautiful thing. And your home country celebrating you and acknowledging you is such a moving thing. I don’t spend as much time in Australia as I would love to these days because work stuff has happened for me here, but it’s my home, and it’s my people, and I love that industry so much and I love what that industry produces. It’s a big country, but it’s funny when you meet other Australians. I’m working with Rose Byrne at the moment in “Physical.” When you meet other Australians, [it] does feel like this kind of beautiful community that feels a little — it’s not small town, but it’s got that small town feel, like we know each other kind of thing. It is a much smaller industry in Australia, so you do tend to kind of cross paths with more people more often. There’s a different kind of intimacy to it, and a sort of a kinship that you feel with other Australians.

What aerobics outfits are you wearing in “Physical?”

You’ll just have to wait and see.

Leg warmers?

I can’t give anything away, but you won’t be disappointed.

Robin Givens guests on Queens 2/8/22

(1/25/22) “Let the Past Be the Past” – Valeria’s career as a single artist takes off, and Muffin motivates Jill to get back into the recording booth. Meanwhile, Eric confronts his ex-wife (Robin Givens) to help save the future of Nasty Girl Records on an all-new episode of “Queens,” TUESDAY, FEB. 8 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. Watch episodes on demand and on Hulu the day following their premieres.

Guest starring is Robin Givens as Robin.

Musical performances include “Remorse” by Naturi Naughton.

“Let the Past be the Past” was written by Njeri Brown & Jordan Reddout and directed by Ruba Nadda.

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recurs on B Positive 1/27/22 9:00pm

(1/24/22) “Dagobah, a Room, and a Chimney Sweep” – Gina is overwhelmed when all the seniors at Valley Hills compete for a fancy upgraded room. Also, Drew and Harry finally arrive at the Grand Tetons, but Drew doesn’t have the epiphany he hoped for, at a special time on back-to-back episodes of the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Jan. 27 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recurs on B Positive 1/27/22 9:30pm

(1/24/22) “A Boss, a Bear Claw, and a Defibrillator” – Gina struggles with being both a boss and a friend to Gabby and Gideon; Drew volunteers to drive the Valley Hills van; and Jerry learns he’s healthy enough to leave Valley Hills, on back-to-back episodes of the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Jan. 27 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

‘Good Sam’ Reunites ‘One Tree Hill’ Stars Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton And Bethany Joy Lenz

(1/20/22) Sophia Bush is putting the One Tree Hill gang back together.

Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz will appear in an upcoming episode of Bush’s new CBS medical drama Good Sam. The pair will portray sisters Gretchen and Amy Taylor, respectively, who cross paths with Dr. Sam Griffith (Bush) when Amy is admitted as a patient at Detroit’s Lakeshore Sentinel Hospital.

The network will release airdate info and further details about their roles at a later date, but a photo of Bush, Burton and Lenz together on set in Toronto can be seen above.

Written by Katie Wech and directed by Tamra Davis, Good Sam centers on Sam, a talented yet stifled heart surgeon who embraces her leadership role after her renowned and pompous boss Dr. Rob “Griff” Griffith falls into a coma.

When he awakens and wants to resume surgery, however, it falls to her to supervise this overbearing blowhard who never acknowledged her talents — and also happens to be her father.

Bush, Burton and Lenz currently co-host the iHeartRadio podcast Drama Queens about their experience working on One Tree Hill.

New episodes of Good Sam air Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Halloween Ends: Michael O’Leary signs on to play Doctor Mathis

(1/18/22) (joblo.com) Best known for playing the character of Doctor Rick Bauer on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1983 to 2009, actor Michael O’Leary has announced that he will be playing another doctor character – Doctor Mathis – in the Halloween sequel Halloween Ends, which will begin filming in Georgia by the end of this month. Details on what Doctor Mathis will be getting up to in Halloween Ends were not revealed, but fans who already have Halloween Kills memorized have pointed out that he was mentioned in that movie.

Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills director David Gordon Green is back at the helm for Halloween Ends, working from a screenplay he wrote with Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. Green has confirmed that the events of this sequel take place four years after the ending of Halloween Kills, and also said,

There’s not a lot of games in it, there’s not a lot of wittiness and retro joy. It’s kind of a coming-of-age film, and it’s a very different tone. And that’s what excited me about it, is to have the three chapters that I’ve been involved in be very different from each other.”

O’Leary joins a cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, playing franchise heroine Laurie Strode one more time, Andi Matichak as Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson, and Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace. James Jude Courtney is likely to be reprising the role of Michael Myers as well.

‘The White Lotus’ Murray Bartlett Joins Hulu Limited Series ‘Immigrant’

(1/13/22) The White Lotus star and SAG Award nominee Murray Bartlett has boarded Hulu’s limited series Immigrant, which hails from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. He joins star and executive producer Kumail Nanjiani.

Written and executive produced by Siegel, Immigrant is the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.

Bartlett joins the series as a series regular and will appear as Nick De Noia. Producer-choreographer Nick De Noia is a charming, fast-talking New Yorker who’s certain he’s God’s gift to entertainment. Just ask him. He is the person responsible for transforming Chippendales from a seedy male strip joint in West LA to the global juggernaut it would one day become. A man of many passions, Nick loves drinking, drugs, women, men–and most of all, show biz.

Siegel and Nanjiani executive produce Immigrants alongside Dylan Sellers, Jenni Konner, Ramin Bahrani, Emily V. Gordon and Rajiv Joseph, who will write on the series along with Mehar Sethi. Siegel and Konner serve as co-showrunners and Bahrani will direct. Jacqui Rivera is co-executive producer, Nora Silver is producer and Annie Wyman is co-producer. 20th Television serves as the studio on the series.

Bartlett, whose previous credits include Tales of the City and Looking, garnered great attention for his work as hotel manager Armond in HBO’s The White Lotus, which has been renewed for a second season. In the Mike White satire series, Bartlett’s Armond deals with a handful of entitled and privileged guests who test his patience and his sobriety. Bartlett received a number of honors for his work in the series, including nominations for the 2022 Critics Choice Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is set to appear in HBO’s The Last of Us, a series adaptation of the widely popular PlayStation video game.

He is repped by Anonymous Content, Paradigm and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Talk Show Appearance

(1/13/22) The Talk – CBS

Monday, Jan. 17

actors Thorsten Kaye and Lawrence Saint-Victor (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) (n)

SAG Awards Nominations

(1/12/22) The awards ceremony is set to air on TNT and TBS on February 27 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BELFAST
CAITRÍONA BALFE / Ma
JUDI DENCH / Granny
JAMIE DORNAN / Pa
JUDE HILL / Buddy
CIARÁN HINDS / Pop
COLIN MORGAN / Billy Clanton

CODA
EUGENIO DERBEZ / Bernardo Villalobos
DANIEL DURANT / Leo Rossi
EMILIA JONES / Ruby Rossi
TROY KOTSUR / Frank Rossi
MARLEE MATLIN / Jackie Rossi
FERDIA WALSH-PEELO / Miles

DON’T LOOK UP
CATE BLANCHETT / Brie Evantee
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET / Yule
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Dr. Randall Mindy
ARIANA GRANDE / Riley Bina
JONAH HILL / Jason Orlean
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Kate Dibiasky
MELANIE LYNSKEY / June Mindy
SCOTT MESCUDI / DJ Chello
ROB MORGAN / Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe
HIMESH PATEL / Phillip
RON PERLMAN / Benedict Drask
TYLER PERRY / Jack Bremmer
MARK RYLANCE / Peter Isherwell
MERYL STREEP / President Orlean

HOUSE OF GUCCI
ADAM DRIVER / Maurizio Gucci
LADY GAGA / Patrizia Reggiani
SALMA HAYEK / Pina Auriemma
JACK HUSTON / Domenico De Sole
JEREMY IRONS / Rodolfo Gucci
JARED LETO / Paolo Gucci
AL PACINO / Aldo Gucci

KING RICHARD
JON BERNTHAL / Rick Macci
AUNJANUE ELLIS / Oracene “Brandi” Williams
TONY GOLDWYN / Paul Cohen
SANIYYA SIDNEY / Venus Williams
DEMI SINGLETON / Serena Williams
WILL SMITH / Richard Williams

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE HANDMAID’S TALE
ALEXIS BLEDEL / Emily Malek
MADELINE BREWER / Janine Lindo
AMANDA BRUGEL / Rita Blue
ANN DOWD / Aunt Lydia Clements
O-T FAGBENLE / Luke Bankole
JOSEPH FIENNES / Commander Fred Waterford
SAM JAEGER / Mark Tuello
MAX MINGHELLA / Commander Nick Blaine
ELISABETH MOSS / June Osborne/Offred
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI / Serena Joy Waterford
BRADLEY WHITFORD / Commander Joseph Lawrence
SAMIRA WILEY / Moira Strand

THE MORNING SHOW
JENNIFER ANISTON / Alex Levy
SHARI BELAFONTE / Julia
ELI BILDNER / Joel Rapkin
NESTOR CARBONELL / Yanko Flores
STEVE CARELL / Mitch Kessler
BILLY CRUDUP / Cory Ellison
MARK DUPLASS / Charlie “Chip” Black
AMBER FRIENDLY / Layla Bell
JANINA GAVANKAR / Alison Namazi
VALERIA GOLINO / Paola Lambruschini
TARA KARSIAN / Gayle Berman
HANNAH LEDER / Isabella
GRETA LEE / Stella Bak
JULIANNA MARGULIES / Laura Peterson
JOE MARINELLI / Donny Spagnoli
MICHELLE MEREDITH / Lindsey Sherman
RUAIRI O’CONNOR / Ty Fitzgerald
JOE PACHECO / Bart Daley
KAREN PITTMAN / Mia Jordan
VICTORIA TATE / Rena Robinson
DESEAN K. TERRY / Daniel Henderson
REESE WITHERSPOON / Bradley Jackson

SQUID GAME
HEO SUNG-TAE / Deok-su
JUN YOUNG-SOO / Game Operator Voice
JUNG HO-YEON / Kang Sae-byeok
KIM JOO-RYOUNG / Mi-nyeo
LEE BYUNG-HUN / Front Man
LEE JUNG-JAE / Seong Gi-hun
OH YOUNG-SOO / Oh Il-nam
PARK HAE-SOO / Cho Sang-woo
ANUPAM TRIPATHI / Ali
WI HA-JUN / Hwang Jun-ho

SUCCESSION
NICHOLAS BRAUN / Greg Hirsch
JULIANA CANFIELD / Jess Jordan
BRIAN COX / Logan Roy
KIERAN CULKIN / Roman Roy
DAGMARA DOMINCZYK / Karolina Novotney
PETER FRIEDMAN / Frank Vernon
JIHAE / Berry Schneider
JUSTINE LUPE / Willa
MATTHEW MACFADYEN / Tom Wambsgans
DASHA NEKRASOVA / Comfrey Pellits
SCOTT NICHOLSON / Colin
DAVID RASCHE / Karl Muller
ALAN RUCK / Connor Roy
J. SMITH-CAMERON / Gerri Kellman
SARAH SNOOK / Shiv Roy
FISHER STEVENS / Hugo Baker
JEREMY STRONG / Kendall Roy
ZOË WINTERS / Kerry Castellabate

YELLOWSTONE
KELSEY ASBILLE / Monica Dutton
WES BENTLEY / Jamie Dutton
RYAN BINGHAM / Walker
GIL BIRMINGHAM / Thomas Rainwater
IAN BOHEN / Ryan
EDEN BROLIN / Mia
KEVIN COSTNER / John Dutton
HUGH DILLON / Sheriff Donnie Haskell
LUKE GRIMES / Kayce Dutton
HASSIE HARRISON / Laramie
COLE HAUSER / Rip Wheeler
JEN LANDON / Teeter
FINN LITTLE / Carter
BRECKEN MERRILL / Tate Dutton
WILL PATTON / Garrett Randle
PIPER PERABO / Summer Higgins
KELLY REILLY / Beth Dutton
DENIM RICHARDS / Colby
TAYLOR SHERIDAN / Travis
FORRIE J. SMITH / Lloyd
JEFFERSON WHITE / Jimmy Hurdstrom

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

THE GREAT
JULIAN BARRATT / Dr. Vinodel
BELINDA BROMILOW / Aunt Elizabeth
SACHA DHAWAN / Orlo
ELLE FANNING / Catherine
PHOEBE FOX / Marial
BAYO GBADAMOSI / Arkady
ADAM GODLEY / Archbishop
DOUGLAS HODGE / Velementov
NICHOLAS HOULT / Peter
FLORENCE KEITH-ROACH / Tatyana
GWILYM LEE / Grigor Dymov
CHARITY WAKEFIELD / Georgina

HACKS
ROSE ABDOO / Josefina
CARL CLEMONS-HOPKINS / Marcus Vaughan
PAUL W. DOWNS / Jimmy Lusaque, Jr.
HANNAH EINBINDER / Ava Daniels
MARK INDELICATO / Damien
POPPY LIU / Kiki
CHRIS McDONALD / Marty Ghilain
JEAN SMART / Deborah Vance
MEGAN STALTER / Kayla Schaeffer

THE KOMINSKY METHOD
JENNA LYNG ADAMS / Darshani
SARAH BAKER / Mindy Kominsky
CASEY THOMAS BROWN / Lane
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Sandy Kominsky
LISA EDELSTEIN / Phoebe
ASHLEIGH LaTHROP / Breana
EMILY OSMENT / Theresa
HALEY JOEL OSMENT / Robbie
PAUL REISER / Martin
GRAHAM ROGERS / Jude
MELISSA TANG / Margaret
KATHLEEN TURNER / Roz

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
AARON DOMINGUEZ / Oscar
SELENA GOMEZ / Mabel Mora
JACKIE HOFFMAN / Uma Heller
JAYNE HOUDYSHELL / Bunny
STEVE MARTIN / Charles-Haden Savage
AMY RYAN / Jan
MARTIN SHORT / Oliver Putnam

TED LASSO
ANNETTE BADLAND / Mae
KOLA BOKINNI / Isaac McAdoo
PHIL DUNSTER / Jamie Tartt
CRISTO FERNÁNDEZ / Dani Rojas
BRETT GOLDSTEIN / Roy Kent
BRENDAN HUNT / Coach Beard
TOHEEB JIMOH / Sam Obisanya
NICK MOHAMMED / Nathan Shelley
SARAH NILES / Dr. Sharon Fieldstone
JASON SUDEIKIS / Ted Lasso
JEREMY SWIFT / Leslie Higgins
JUNO TEMPLE / Keeley Jones
HANNAH WADDINGHAM / Rebecca Welton

Cinedigm Acquires Horror Pic ‘Incarnation’ Starring Taye Diggs, Jessica Uberuaga & Michael Madsen

(1/12/22) Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to the horror film Incarnation starring Taye Diggs (All American, House on Haunted Hill), Jessica Uberuaga (Take Back) and Michael Madsen (Species, Hell Ride), with plans to release it in theaters and on VOD on February 18.

The first feature from director Isaac Walsh picks up with the young couple of Brad (Diggs) and Jess (Uberuaga) as they move to Los Angeles in search of a better life. When they stumble upon a hidden real estate gem, managed by the laid-back landlord Peter (Madsen), they are elated by their turn of fortune. But their ideal home is hiding a secret far more sinister than they could have ever imagined, for the very walls are alive with an ancient evil, and they soon learn that greed comes with a hefty price.

In the film written by Walsh and Tyler Clair Smith, Madsen takes over a role that was originally to have been played by Mickey Rourke. Mike Hatton produced the project, with Diggs and Uberuaga exec producing alongside Garrett Zinke, Ryan McDonald, Martin Andrew Lyon, Glen D Smith, Gary Smith, Gary Smith Jr, Asko Akopyan, Sandra Siegal, Eric Brenner, Lake Garner, Jerry Tankersley, Grant Guthrie and Michael Walker.

“The best horror movies tap into our basic human fears and desires. With ever-mounting suspense and surprising plot twists, Incarnation explores the nature of greed and how, if left unchecked, it can manifest into deadly consequences for an unsuspecting couple in their very own home,” said Cinedigm’s Chief Content Officer, Yolanda Macias. “We look forward to audiences experiencing this terrifying tale, led by the exceptional Taye Diggs, in theaters and on digital this February.”

“This project came together under extreme conditions during the height of the pandemic and I am proud of the work we accomplished,” added Walsh. “I couldn’t be more pleased with Cinedigm’s expertise in the genre and I’m grateful they’re releasing my debut feature.”

Cinedigm is an entertainment company founded in 2000 that also recently acquired North American rights to Boon—the sequel to the Neal McDonough thriller Red Stone, which it released last month in theaters and on VOD.

Cinedigm’s Vice President of Acquisitions Melody Fowler negotiated the deal to acquire Incarnation with Eoghan Burke, Vice President of Sales on behalf of 101 Films International, an Amcomri Entertainment Company.

Y&R Taps Guiding Light Vet

(1/11/22) The Young and the Restless has found its new Ashland Locke: Guiding Light vet Robert Newman will take over the role from Richard Burgi, who announced his exit from the CBS soap just days ago, Soap Opera Digest reports.

Newman, who played Josh Lewis on Guiding Light on-and-off from 1981-2009, will make his Y&R debut in February.

In announcing his departure, Burgi — who had joined the soap in March 2021 — said in an Instagram video, “I want to say thank you to all of you wonderful folks, who have been so kind and generous and supportive with your words, and I have such gratitude for the support. …. I’ve had a great year on Y&R, and just thoroughly enjoyed the great cast and crew.”

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 1/20/22

(1/11/22) “Louisville, Bubbaroo and Sully” – Gina hires Peter’s son to be her lawyer, but things get complicated when he asks her out. Also, Drew and Harry’s van breaks down during their road trip, leaving them stranded, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Jan. 20 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum)

Allison Janney Joins John David Washington In Gareth Edwards’ ‘True Love’ At New Regency

(1/7/22) Allison Janney has rounded out the ensemble of New Regency’s upcoming film True Love, an original sci-fi project written and directed by multi-hyphenate filmmaker Gareth Edwards. She joins previously announced cast members John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Danny McBride and Benedict Wong. Kiri Hart will serve as a producer on the project along with Edwards. New Regency will produce and finance the film.

Plot details are being kept under wraps other than it being a near-future sci-fi story.

After directing the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One to worldwide success, Edwards had been developing several projects, wanting to make sure the next one was the right one before committing. He finally committed to that film last year, and once the package hit the market, New Regency jumped at the opportunity to work with him.

Janney, who won an Oscar for her role as Tonya Harding’s mother in I, Tonya, hasn’t stopped staying busy, appearing in such films as Bombshell, Bad Education and Breaking News in Yuba County all while still starring in her hit show Mom.

She is repped by Gersh, Thruline Entertainment and Nelson Davis.

Soap Opera Directors Interview - Bruce Barry, Sonia Blangiardo, Scott McKinsey, Phideaux Xavier

(1/6/22) (Watch Here) Go behind the scenes of your favorite daytime dramas with four Emmy Award-winning directors live in The Locher Room on Friday, January 14th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Joining the show are Bruce Barry, Sonia Blangiardo, Scott McKinsey, and Phideaux Xavier.

These four talented directors have brought to life some of your favorite stories, characters and moments in daytime television history over the last few decades. The shows they have worked on include All My Children, Another World, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Guiding Light, Love of Life, Passions, Search for Tomorrow, Sunset Beach, Texas and The Young and the Restless to name a few.

General Hospital - Cynthia Watros Interview

(1/2/22) (Watch Here) Emmy Award-winning actress Cynthia Watros will be live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, January 5th at 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST. Cynthia will be there to discuss her role as Nina Reeves and the on-going love triangle between Carly / Sonny / Nina.

Cynthia joined the cast of Guiding Light in the role of nurse Annie Dutton back in November 1994 and created one of the show's greatest villains. The role earned Cynthia a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Post Guiding Light, Cynthia went on to star in a number of hit prime-time series, Titus (Erin), The Drew Carey Show (Kellie), Lost (Libby), House (Samantha) and Finding Carter (Elizabeth) to name a few.

Cynthia joined the cast of General Hospital in 2019 as Nina Reeves reuniting with her Guiding Light co-star Laura Wright.

Actress Joan Collins Claims Her First Husband Spiked Her Drink on First Date and Raped Her

(1/2/22) Dame Joan Collins claimed her first husband, actor Maxwell Reed, raped her on their first date and attempted to pimp her out to “old rich men” for as much as $13,500 (£10,000) a night.

The British actress, 88, recounted the assault in a BBC documentary on Saturday night, claiming the Northern Irish film star, who was 14 years her senior, had invited her over to his home and spiked her rum and coke. “In those days, my mother would have said I was taken advantage of,” Collins recalled. “Now, we call it date rape.’

Collins said Reed took her virginity and she ended up marrying him in 1952 “out of shame,” and over the course of their four-year marriage was subjected to a steady stream of abuse. The final straw came when Reed allegedly tried to pimp her out to a sheikh.

“We were in Les Ambassadeurs, a terribly chic nightclub in Mayfair,” she said. “Max had a habit of gravitating towards rich, elderly men, and I was starting to get a vague idea of what this was all about. Max told me, ‘He’ll pay you £10,000 for one night—and I can even watch.’ I looked at my handsome, loathsome husband and began to cry. ‘Never in a million years.’ I went home to Mummy.”

The couple divorced in 1956, and Reed died in 1974. Collins went on to marry four more times, tying the knot with actor Anthony Newley, American businessman Ron Kass, singer Peter Holm, and current husband movie producer Percy Gibson.

Nia Long Signs On To ABC’s ‘Let The World See’, Giving Voice To Mamie Till-Mobley

(12/23/21) Actress and producer Nia Long has signed on to ABC’s Let The World See, a limited docuseries chronicling Mamie Till-Mobley’s quest for justice that sparked the civil rights movement after her son Emmett Till’s brutal murder.

Long will read excerpts from Till-Mobley’s memoir Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America, ABC News announced. The first installment of the series begins with an examination of Till-Mobley’s early life, Emmett Till’s childhood, the fate of his father and the events that led to Emmett Till’s murder in Mississippi in the summer of 1955.

Till cousins Rev. Wheeler Parker, who was a witness to Emmett’s abduction, as well as Thelma Wright, Ollie Gordon and Amos Smith will add context and a deeper explanation to the racial climate and chain of events that led Till-Mobley to make the decision to have an open-casket funeral for the world to see what happened to her son.

Former first lady Michelle Obama will also appear in the episode.

Let The World See, a companion docuseries to ABC’s limited series Women of the Movement, premieres Thursday, Jan. 6, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. Episodes will be on demand and on Hulu the day following their premieres.

The Nana Project’: Mercedes Ruehl, Nolan Gould & Will Peltz To Star In Mockumentary From Director Robin Givens

(12/20/21) Oscar and Golden Globe winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Hustlers), Nolan Gould (Modern Family, Friends with Benefits) and Will Peltz (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Manifest) have signed on to star in The Nana Project, a mockumentary-style comedy from actor-director Robin Givens (Haunted Trail, Horror Noire), which is scheduled to enter production in the Atlanta area in January.

The film is set primarily in Timeless Acres Retirement Home and follows feisty chess master Helen “Nana” Lewis (Ruehl) and her estranged grandsons, Andrew (Gould) and Cody (Peltz). With the support of Nana’s resident friends, the family embarks on a road trip to support her rise to state championships.

Givens’ latest feature was written by Eric Ulloa (Jekyll and Hyde, Nickelodeon/Noggin’s Meet the Alpha Beats), Anthony Del Negro (The Girl in the Window) and 12-time Tony Award winner Carl Moellenberg (Wakefield). The latter is also producing on behalf of Dominion Pictures alongside Zach O’Brien, Shane O’Brien and Del Negro on behalf of Stargazer Films.

Givens recently directed episodes of The CW’s Riverdale, along with the TV movies The Jenkins Family Christmas and Ann Rule’s A Murder to Remember. Her recent credits on the acting side include Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming crime drama KIMI, The CW’s Batwoman (in which she plays Jada Jet) and The CW’s Riverdale.

Ruehl earned her Oscar and Golden Globe in 1992 for her supporting turn as Anne in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King. The actress has also appeared on the film side in Hustlers, Last Action Hero, Lost in Yonkers, Another You, Married to the Mob, Big and Radio Days, among other titles, appearing on the TV side in Bull, Power, Frasier and more.

Gould is a four-time SAG Award winner best known for his turn as Luke Dunphy in ABC’s Modern Family. He’s also featured in series including Sofia the First and Good Luck Charlie, along with films including The To Do List and Friends with Benefits.

Peltz has previously appeared in films including 13 Minutes, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Men, Women & Children and Unfriended, as well as such series as Manifest and Euphoria.

Givens is represented by A3 Artists Agency and Kaplan-Stahler Agency; Ruehl by Sue Leibman of Barking Dog Entertainment and Peikoff-Mahan; Gould by Artists & Representatives, MC Talent Management, The Brand Partners and Myman Greenspan Fox; Peltz by Innovative Artists and Management Production Entertainment.

Australia’s AACTA International Awards Nominations

(12/19/21) The 2021 AACTA International Awards will be presented virtually at 7am January 27 Australia time, which is 12pm PT January 26.

BEST ACTOR IN A SERIES
Murray Bartlett – THE WHITE LOTUS
Lee Jung-jae – SQUID GAME
Ewan McGregor – HALSTON
Jeremy Strong – SUCCESSION
Jason Sudeikis – TED LASSO

BEST ACTRESS IN A SERIES
Jennifer Coolidge – THE WHITE LOTUS
Nicole Kidman – NINE PERFECT STRANGERS
Jean Smart – HACKS
Sarah Snook – SUCCESSION
Kate Winslet – MARE OF EASTTOWN.

Jeffrey Wright, Kevin Mambo And Grantham Coleman Among Those Rounding Cast For ‘Rustin’

(12/16/21) Jeffrey Wright and Grantham Coleman have joined the cast of Netflix’s Rustin along with Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Dante Powell, Ayana Workman, Jamilah Nadege Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, Kevin Mambo.

They join previously announced Colman Domingo — who stars as Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin — Chris Rock, Glynn Turman Audra McDonald, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Carra Patterson, Adrienne Warren, Bill Irwin and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

The George C. Wolfe-directed pic, which the Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom helmer co-wrote with Milk Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, tells the story of how Rustin overcame an onslaught of obstacles and altered the course of American history by organizing the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin is the first film production from Michelle and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground, which has their deal at Netflix.

Producers are Oscar winner Bruce Cohen and Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis. EPs are Higher Ground’s Mark R. Wright and Alex G. Scott.

Wright, who recently wrapped production on the fourth season of HBO’s Westworld, next is set to play Commissioner Gordon in The Batman. Coleman is a Juilliard-trained stage actor who most recently starred in Much Ado About Nothing opposite Danielle Brooks for Kenny Leon. He also played Martin Luther King in The Great Society with Brian Cox on Broadway. Also was in Hamlet at the Old Globe.

Wright is repped by CAA; Coleman is with APA and Inspire Entertainment; Workman is repped by Clear Talent Group and MJ Management; Powell is with D2 Management and Talentworks; Hall is repped by Clear Talent Group and Industry Entertainment; Whittington-Cooper is represented by A3 Artists Agency and Authentic Talent and Literary Management; and Kay is repped by Gersh, Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Felker Toczek Suddleson.

Anna Maria Horsford & Hector Elizondo recur on B Positive

(12/16/21) “S’mores, Elvis and a Cubano” – Gina gets a surprise visit from her sister, Natalie (Katie Finneran). Also, Drew and Harry (Hector Elizondo) start a road trip together, but have different destinations in mind, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Jan. 13 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

(12/14/21) The Spirit Awards are skedded for Sunday, March 6, 2022 — live and in-person this year back on the beach in Santa Monica, and broadcast on IFC.

BEST MALE LEAD
Clifton Collins Jr., Jockey
Frankie Faison, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
Michael Greyeyes, Wild Indian
Udo Kier, Swan Song
Simon Rex, Red Rocket

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Olly Alexander, It’s a Sin
Michael Greyeyes, Rutherford Falls
Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus
Ashley Thomas, THEM: Covenant

Nicole Byer & Taye Diggs To Host Critics Choice TV Awards On The CW & TBS

(12/11/21) Taye Diggs is back to host the Critics Choice Awards and will be joined by Nicole Byer.

The All American star, who is soon to reprise his role of Harper Stewart in Peacock’s The Best Man: The Final Chapters, will host for the fourth consecutive year and will be joined by Wipeout host Byer.

The show, which will be simulcast on The CW and TBS, will air on Sunday January 9 between 7pm and 10pm ET (delayed on the West Coast). The show will be produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment.

Succession nearly lapped the field when the nominations were announced earlier this month. The HBO drama nabbed eight noms, with the premium cabler’s Mare of Easttown and Paramount +’s Evil next with five apiece.

HBO edged Netflix for the most noms for the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, scoring 20 to the streamer’s 18.

Succession and Evil will vie for the Best Drama Series prize along with Apple TV+’s For All Mankind, Paramount+’s The Good Fight, FX’s Pose, Netflix’s Squid Game, NBC’s This Is Us and Showtime’s Yellowjackets.

Mare of Easttown is up for Best Limited Series against a streamer-heavy field of Dopesick (Hulu), Dr. Death (Peacock), It’s a Sin (HBO Max), Maid (Netflix), Midnight Mass (Netflix), The Underground Railroad (Prime Video) and WandaVision (Disney+).

Tussling for the Best Comedy Series prize will be Hulu’s The Great and Only Murders in the Building, HBO Max’s Hacks and The Other Two, HBO’s Insecure, FX on Hulu’s Reservation Dogs, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and FX’s What We Do in the Shadows.

“Excited to be again hosting The Critics Choice Awards with Miss Nicole Byer,” said Diggs. “It’s always a fun time and Miss Byer is hilarious. Very much looking forward to it.”

“Ooooh! What a nice treat, I am so excited to be hosting the Critics Choice Awards with Taye!,” added Byer. “Oh, the gowns, the stars, the attention… on me on a stage cohosting! I’m very excited for all of it.”

“This is definitely going to be the best Critics Choice Awards show ever,” said Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin. “Imagine Taye and Nicole up in front of a big, beautiful room full of all the biggest stars in film and television – all dressed to kill, drinking champagne and hoping to win. It’s going to be a blast.”

Wendy Moniz Live Interview Scheduled

(12/8/21) (Watch here) Actress Wendy Moniz will join me live in The Locher Room this Friday, December 10th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Wendy made her television debut playing "Dinah Marler" on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light. Wendy is currently co-starring as Governor Perry on Paramount+ Yellowstone and as ADA Frasier on Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Wendy has worked non-stop since leaving Guiding Light in 1999 appearing in Tuesdays with Morrie, Nash Bridges, The Guardian, Big Shot, Damages, 666 Park, The Grief of Others and House of Cards to name a small few of the amazing roles she has had over the years.

Former Soap Stars Get Critics Choice TV Nominations

(12/6/21) The prizes will be doled out at Sunday, January 9, at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The CW and TBS will simulcast the show live in the East from 7-10 p.m. (delayed in the West).

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Mike Colter – Evil (Paramount+)
Brian Cox – Succession (HBO)
Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game (Netflix)
Billy Porter – Pose (FX)
Jeremy Strong – Succession (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Uzo Aduba – In Treatment (HBO)
Chiara Aurelia – Cruel Summer (Freeform)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Katja Herbers – Evil (Paramount+)
Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets (Showtime)
MJ Rodriguez – Pose (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicholas Braun – Succession (HBO)
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO)
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession (HBO)
Mandy Patinkin – The Good Fight (Paramount+)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Elle Fanning – The Great (Hulu)
Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Sandra Oh – The Chair (Netflix)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus (HBO)
Zach Gilford – Midnight Mass (Netflix)
William Jackson Harper – The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
Evan Peters – Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Christian Slater – Dr. Death (Peacock)
Courtney B. Vance – Genius: Aretha (National Geographic)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus (HBO)
Kaitlyn Dever – Dopesick (Hulu)
Kathryn Hahn – WandaVision (Disney+)
Melissa McCarthy – Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
Julianne Nicholson – Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Jean Smart – Mare of Easttown (HBO)

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 1/6/22

(12/2/21) “Heartburn, Woodstock and Ribs” – Drew returns from his road trip to be with Gina and the retirement home residents and staff and mourn the death of a beloved friend, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Jan. 6 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Eddie Mekka Dies: ‘Laverne & Shirley’ Actor Was 69

(12/2/21) Eddie Mekka, the actor who played Carmine Ragusa, the high school sweetheart of Cindy Williams’ Shirley Feeney on the hit ’70s sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died at his home in Newhall, CA. He was 69.

His November 27 death was announced on Facebook by longtime friend Pat Benti, who did not disclose a cause of death but noted that Mekka “passed away peacefully.”

Michael McKean, who co-starred on Laverne & Shirley as Lenny Kosnowski, remembered Mekka in a tweet: “A sad goodbye to Eddie Mekka this morning. A genuinely good guy and purveyor of cheer whenever things got cheerless. Value these people. RIP, Eddie.”

Born Edward Rudolph Mekjian in Worcester, MA, Mekka had attended the Berklee College of Music and had earned a Tony Award nomination for his leading role in the 1975 Broadway musical The Lieutenant when he moved to Los Angeles and soon landed roles on two Garry Marshall-created sitcoms: Blansky’s Beauties and Laverne & Shirley.

Blansky’s Beauties, the 1977 series starring Nancy Walker, was not a success, but Mekka’s supporting role on Laverne & Shirley from 1976-83 brought him national recognition and his signature role. As the kind-hearted Carmine — known affectionally as The Big Ragoo (sometimes spelled Ragu) — Mekka was part of the sitcom’s primary romantic relationship. His on-and-off relationship with Shirley and his loyal friendship with both Williams’ character and Penny Marshall’s Laverne, provided the series with one of its most significant supporting players.

Mekka’s Carmine was a part-time boxer with dreams of becoming a dancer and singer — ambitions that provided an showcase for Mekka’s musical theater talents and background. In the final episode of the long-running series, Carmine lands a role in the Broadway musical Hair.

Laverne & Shirley was an out-of-the-box smash after premiere in January 1976 on ABC. The characters had appeared briefly on Happy Days — another Garry Marshall creation — but made enough of an impression to lead their own series. Fronted by Marshall and Williams, the midcentury-set sitcom about a pair of workers at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee would finish as the No. 3 series in all of primetime for the 1975-76 season, far outpacing Happy Days.

Mekka appeared in all but a couple dozen of the series’ 178 episodes.

Although his Laverne & Shirley character would prove to be Mekka’s most recognizable role, the actor also appeared on such ’70s and ’80s series as Moonlighting, Family Matters and The Love Boat and had guest roles on shows well into the 21st century, including Children’s Hospital, The Young & The Restless and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Film credits include Beaches (1989), A League of Their Own (1992), Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), Dreamgirls (2006) and Hail Mary! (2018).

Information on survivors was not immediately available.

Broadway and TV actress Lisa Brown, known for roles on ‘Guiding Light’ and ‘As the World Turns,’ dies at 67

(11/26/21) (nydailynews.com) The soap opera world is mourning the loss of one of its most beloved stars.

Lisa Brown, who starred on “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns,” died on Nov. 24 after a brief illness. She was 67.

The Kansas City native became a household name as Nola Reardon on “Guiding Light,” playing the role from 1980 through various stings up until the serial’s 2009 finale.

Paired with the late Michael Tylo’s dashing Quinton Chamberlain, the characters would become one of the iconic CBS soap opera’s most popular romantic couples. Tylo died earlier this year.

In 1985, the actress joined the cast of “As The World Turns” originating the role of Iva Snyder, quickly becoming a fan favorite as a character with a dark past in the Midwest town of Oakdale, Ill.

But before becoming nationally recognized on daytime television, Brown trod the boards of Broadway performing in productions of “Hello, Dolly!” “Pal Joey” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” during the 1970s.

While starring on “Guiding Light,” Brown starred in “42nd Street” on The Great White Way.

Offstage and off camera, she also worked as an acting coach and directed multiple shows including “Gotham the Series” and “One Life to Live.”

For her television work, Brown garnered three Daytime Emmy Awards.

She is survived by her husband, two children and two grandchildren.

Brown’s death was first announced by Soap Opera Digest and later confirmed through statements and remembrances from former co-stars and loved ones.

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 12/9/21

(11/24/21) “A Dog, a Mousse and a Bat” – Gina promises to help Harry give his ailing wife a special anniversary dinner. Also, Drew connects with a charming young woman while on the road, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Dec. 9 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 12/2/21

(11/23/21) “A Camper, A Compass and a Cannoli” – Gina brings her dog Cannoli to the retirement home where he bonds with the seniors. Also, Drew prepares for his new life driving cross country in a camper van, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, x (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Talk Show Appearance

(11/19/21) The Talk – CBS

Monday, Nov. 22

Actor Taye Diggs discusses his The CW series ALL AMERICAN and The CW television special THE BLACK PACK: WE THREE KINGS

Debbi Morgan guests on Our Kind Of People 11/30/21

(11/17/21) Angela holds a “sistervention” for Leah, whose marriage to Raymond is still on the rocks. Meanwhile, Teddy’s birthday celebration includes trying to one-up Alex and keep Raymond at bay, and Nikki and Nate attempt to bond. Then, Tyrique’s jealousy grows as Angela gets closer to Nate in the all-new “Sistervention…” episode of OUR KIND OF PEOPLE airing Tuesday, Nov. 30 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (OKP-108) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)

Cast: Yaya DaCosta as Angela Vaughn; Morris Chestnut as Raymond Dupont; Joe Morton as Teddy Franklin; Nadine Ellis as Leah Franklin-Dupont; Lance Gross as Tyrique Chapman; Alana Bright as Nikki Vaughn; Rhyon Nicole Brown as Lauren Dupont; Kyle Bary as Quincy Dupont

Guest Cast: Debbi Morgan as Aunt Piggy; L. Scott Caldwell as Olivia Dupont; Melissa De Sousa as Alex Rivera; McKinley Freeman as Nate; Nicole Chanel Williams as Taylor

Kate Mulgrew, Molly Ringwald & More Join COLUMBARIUM Short Film

(11/16/21) Fair Oaks Entertainment and It Doesn't Suck Productions announced this week the start of production on a new short film, COLUMBARIUM.

The film stars Emmy Award-nominated Kate Mulgrew ("Ryan's Hope," "Star Trek: Voyager," "Orange is the New Black") and Golden Globe-nominated Actress Molly Ringwald ("Riverdale," KISSING BOOTH, THE BREAKFAST CLUB) as well as actors Stephen Bogardus (JULIE & JULIA, GOLD), Alex Breaux (HUSTLERS, "When They See Us") and Dan Bittner (WHEN BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel").

The film is co-directed by Roger Mancusi, in his directorial debut, and KATIE Schiller, both of whom previously collaborated on the indie darling and Gotham Award-nominated SHIVA BABY. The film is based on the short story "Columbarium," by Nicholas Mancusi.

In COLUMBARIUM, faced with their grandmother's dying wish, two brothers are tasked with stealing her dead dogs' ashes from her ex-husband, their grandfather, on his 80th birthday. This is dysfunctional even for them. The film is inspired by the real life experiences of Roger and Nicholas Mancusi, and their grandmother, nine-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, Claire Labine.

Labine co-created the soap opera "Ryan's Hope," which starred Mulgrew, and served as a head writer of various soap opera programs including "General Hospital," "One Life to Live," and "Guiding Light." At its core, COLUMBARIUM is the humorous attempt to grapple with the loss, and honor the memory, of a treasured family matriarch.

"While many only knew Claire Labine as an acclaimed soap opera writer, to us, she was Grandmere, our family's fearless and eccentric leader, who kept us on our toes up until her final request," said Roger and Nicholas Mancusi in a joint statement. "In an effort to celebrate her fascinating life, we are excited to share this story that encapsulates a small part of what made her so special, and unpack the humorous moments that accompanied the grief of losing her."

"I cherish my memories of Claire, and was always moved by her smart and bold writing that challenged the narrative boundaries of television," said Mulgrew. "I'm thrilled to partner with her grandsons to share this story that I think perfectly captures the adventure, wit, and love of Claire and her unique and incredible legacy."

The Mancusi Brothers, Schiller, and Kieran Altmann (SHIVA BABY) will produce the film, along with Muglrew, Bronwyn Cornelius (CLEMENCY) and Bess Donoghue (LAVENDER) set to executive produce.

Additional crew for the film include Melissa Langer (Netflix's CHEER) as Director of Photography, Michele J. Li (SHIVA BABY) as costume designer, and Claire DeLiso (EARLY LIGHT) as production designer.

COLUMBARIUM will go into production later this month.

Hector Elizondo & Anna Maria Horsford recur on B Positive 11/18/21

(11/6/21) “A Dishwasher, a Fire and a Remote Control” – Gina is pressured by the seniors at Valley Hills to fire the chef, Bert (D.B. Sweeney). Also, a frustrated Drew blows up at one of his therapy patients, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Nov. 18 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

RECURRING CAST: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Ben Vereen (Peter), Priscilla Lopez (Meredith), Jim Beaver (Spencer), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum), D.B. Sweeney (Bert).

Patrick Mulcahey Interview 11/11/21

(11/5/21) (Watch here) Nine time Emmy Award-winning soap scribe Patrick Mulcahey will join me live in The Locher Room on Thursday, November 11th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to look back at his incredible career writing for many of your favorite daytime dramas. As Patrick tells it, "I was having a fine misspent youth in 1979, writing plays and waiting tables in New Orleans, when a call came asking: Would he be interested in writing for Search For Tomorrow? Sure, I said. “What is it?”

Patrick has written for Another World (briefly), Texas, Guiding Light (twice), Loving, Santa Barbara, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, two short-lived primetime series, and two Movies of the Week. Patrick earned his first Emmy win at Guiding Light working where he was working side by side with Douglas Marland until Douglas left the show. 40 years after his start at Search for Tomorrow, Patrick left The Bold and the Beautiful at the end of 2019 and in his post-soap pandemic shutdown life, he’s writing plays nobody’s seen (no eyeballs in shutdown theaters), submitting to contests nobody’s heard of (won three of them, though), and enjoying the wilds of the North Cascade Mountains in Washington state, where he lives quietly and happily with his husband, who’s also named Patrick Mulcahey, to the amusement of everyone but the TSA. (In Patrick's words)

Kevin Mambo Interview 11/10/21

(11/5/21) (Watch here) Two-time Emmy Award-winning actor Kevin Mambo will be live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, November 10th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Mambo can currently be seen on the new Netflix drama, Hit & Run. The series tells the story of a man searching for the truth behind his wife's death who becomes caught up in a dangerous web of secrets and intrigue stretching from New York to Tel Aviv. Mambo plays an NYPD detective with a wry sense of humor who has seen it all and nothing can phase him. The series is streaming now.

He is no stranger to the small screen. Mambo had prime roles on hit series such as Luke Cage and High Maintenance. Daytime fans will remember him from his two-time Emmy winning role as Marcus Williams on Guiding Light. Other film and television credits include Cadillac Records, Nina, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blacklist, and Elementary just to name a few.

Mambo has added to his repertoire with a very impressive list of on-stage roles. He played the title character in the Tony Award nominated Fela!, and brought his talent to the role of Mafala in Book of Mormon. He was also seen in the revival of The Color Purple and The Public Theater's Fortress of Solitude.

Vincent Irizarry Returns to DAYS OF OUR LIVES!

(10/28/21) (soapsindepth.com) On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, a possessed Marlena is wreaking all sorts of havoc on her friends and family. But starting next week, things are going to get even worse for the folks in Salem because the devil will be resurrecting some of the town’s former residents… and not necessarily well-loved ones, but positively wicked folks like villain Deimos Kiriakis!

Actor Vincent Irizarry — who played Victor’s black-sheep half brother for a little over a year — confirmed his return on Facebook. Punctuating his announcement with a devil-face emoji, Irizarry teased, “Heeeeere’s Deimos!” and informed at least one excited viewer that he’d be airing on DAYS “next week.”

Although Irizarry didn’t divulge any details of his return from the grave, his return lines up with a teaser from the soap that Nicole’s past will come back to haunt her on Nov. 2. As longtime DAYS fans will recall, Nicole killed Deimos back in 2017 when he drugged everyone at a party with the hallucinogen Halo so he could steal a priceless amulet that belonged to Sonny. During a struggle with Nicole, Deimos was accidentally stabbed by his drugged ex and died on the living room floor of Martin House.

In addition to his role on DAYS, soap-hopper Irizarry has played ALL MY CHILDREN villain David Hayward, GUIDING LIGHT twins Lujack Luvanoczeck and Nick Spaulding, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ politician David Chow, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Dr. Jordan Armstrong, and SANTA BARBARA’s Scott Clark.

DAYS typically does a standalone Halloween episode where a character has a crazy dream of some sort. But with the devil running around town in control of Marlena, anything crazy that happens can impact the soap’s storyline for real this year! Stay tuned to see which other familiar faces from the past will be rising from their graves this Halloween in Salem!

‘The Black Pack’: CW Sets Two Variety Specials With Taye Diggs, Ne-Yo, & Eric Bellinger

(10/28/21) Two variety specials featuring Taye Diggs, Ne-Yo, and Eric Bellinger have been set at The CW—The Black Pack: We Three Kings and The Black Pack: Excellence. We Three Kings will premiere on Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. ET.

Both specials will feature music, dance, and comedy. Confirmed guests include Jordin Sparks, Tank, and Sevyn Streeter.

We Three Kings will be a holiday-themed celebration with both classic and new music brought to life on stage.

The trio will return to host Excellence at an as-yet-unannounced date with a focus on celebrating Black excellence and culture through musical and dance performances. Viewers can expect appearances by a star-studded list of guests commemorating Juneteenth. The Black Pack—a hat tip to the Rat Pack— explores how to celebrate America’s newly acknowledged national holiday while glorifying those that came before.

The Black Pack also pays tribute to rat packer Sammy Davis Jr. and will feature a newly penned Juneteenth anthem.

Both specials are produced by Magic Lemonade and executive produced by Taye Diggs, Shannon Stoeke, and Rikki Hughes, who also serves as the showrunner of both specials.

Rebecca Staab Interview 11/3/21

(10/28/21) (Video) Catch up with actress Rebecca Staab live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, November 3rd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Rebecca will be here to talk about her new role in the romantic comedy Love Hard premiering on Netflix on November 5th. Rebecca continues to work non-stop and will fill us in on all the projects she's been working on. She will also reminisce about her daytime roles on Guiding Light (Jesse Matthews) and Port Charles (Elizabeth Barrington). Rebecca will also talk about her work with dog rescues.

Billy Porter To Direct ‘Camp’ For HBO Max And Warner Bros

(10/26/21) (Watch here) Emmy Award-winning writer Victor Miller will join The Locher Room live on Friday, October 29th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Victor introduced the world to Jason Voorhees when he wrote the original Friday the 13th film. In addition to Jason, Victor wrote for several daytime dramas including All My Children, Another World, Guiding Light and One Life to Live.

Victor was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, raised in Long Island. He graduated from Yale University with a BA in English and Tulane University in with an MA in Theatre and Speech. He was co-founder of The American Shakespeare Theatre's Center for Theatre Techniques in Education.

Morning Show

(10/23/21) Today – NBC

Monday, October 25

(9-10 a.m.) Guests: Catching up with Taye Diggs.

Rick Dennis & Patrick Howe Interview - The Production Designers Episode 10/28/21

(10/21/21) (Watch here) Production Designers Rick Dennis and Patrick Howe will be live in The Locher Room on Thursday, October 28th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to discuss their incredible work designing sets for As the World Turns and Guiding Light.

Rick Dennis spent 23 years from 1986 - 2009 as Guiding Light's Production Designer earning seven Daytime Emmy Nominations for his work in Springfield. After Guiding Light went off the air, Rick has worked as an Art Director / Production Designer on a number of prime-time series including The Americans, Homeland, Madame Secretary, The Following to name a small few.

Patrick Howe spent four years as a Production Designer on Another World before moving to Oakdale and As the World Turns where he worked for 11 years. Patrick earned five Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for his work. Since leaving Oakdale behind, Patrick has worked as a Production Designer on Only Murders in the Building, Godfather of Harlem, Marvel's Iron Fist, The Get Down and Unforgettable to name just a few.

Don't miss the chance to learn from these two incredible designers who helped bring your two favorite daytime dramas to life day after day.

More 2021 Christmas Movies with former Soap Stars

(10/21/21) A CHRISTMAS WITNESS
PREMISE: A no-nonsense federal marshal (Arielle Kebbel) is tasked with protecting a low-level, charming mobster (Colin Egglesfield) until he testifies against his mafia boss two days after Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 28 at 8/7c (ION)

A KISS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
PREMISE: When nice-guy Ethan casually wishes his life had taken a different course, he wakes up the next day to find nothing is the same – he’s not married to his wife Joyce, he doesn’t have two teenaged kids and he’s CEO of his company. If he wants to reclaim his original life and the family he loves, he must convince Joyce he’s telling the truth and win her over…and he only has until Christmas Day. James Denton, Teri Hatcher and Marilu Henner star.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 21 at 8/7c (Hallmark Channel)

AN UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS
PREMISE: A writer convinces his ex-girlfriend to pose as a couple for Christmas. Bethany Joy Lenz and Tyler Hynes star.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 26 at 8/7c (Hallmark Channel)

A VERY MERRY BRIDESMAID
PREMISE: Leah’s 30th birthday is on Christmas Eve, the same day as her brother’s wedding. Her childhood crush is back in town for the wedding and he is determined to make sure her birthday does not go by the wayside. Emily Osment and Casey Deidrick star.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 4 at 8/7c (Hallmark Channel)

OUR CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
PREMISE: As a single mom and her teenaged son with autism come to a crossroad during Christmas, she must learn to let go so he can flourish as she finds her own heart healing in unexpected ways. Holly Robinson Peete, Lyriq Bent, Nik Sanchez and Aloma Wright star.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 4 at 10/9c (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)

THE CHRISTMAS THIEF
PREMISE: Lana Lawton (Michelle Borth), a fledgling private eye home for the holidays, realizes the only way to save her career is by solving a string of local burglaries where the main suspect is Santa Claus. With little evidence and having to contend with a local detective with an investigative style that clashes with hers, the season may prove to be anything but holly and jolly. Vivica A. Fox co-stars.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 5 at 8/7c (ION)

A NEW LEASE ON CHRISTMAS
PREMISE: A single real estate agent (Claire Coffee) falls for a handsome coffee shop owner (George Stults) — only to discover that the job she just took requires her to evict him from his shop.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 11 at 8/7c (ION)

PEOPLE PRESENTS: BLENDING CHRISTMAS
PREMISE: The Hacienda de la Sierra is Emma’s (Haylie Duff) favorite place to spend the holiday season and her boyfriend Liam (Aaron O’Connell) has been secretly planning to propose to her there, surrounded by both their families. Emma is delighted when she arrives to find the whole family bunch there. Of course, no holiday gathering is complete without drama, and soon the families are bickering over every detail! The added stress from trying to blend the two families eventually takes a toll on Emma and Liam, who start questioning their own relationship. Now just days before Christmas, the two families realize that they’re going to have to work together in order to reunite Emma and Liam! Blending Christmas also stars Beth Broderick, Christopher Knight, Greg Evigan, Mike Lookinland, Barry Williams, Susan Olsen, Robbie Rist, Telma Hopkins and Jennifer Elise Cox.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 12 at 8/7c (Lifetime)

JOY FOR CHRISTMAS
PREMISE: When her family firm’s annual Christmas toy drive is in jeopardy, Holly Silver must convince pro athlete Jack Kane to be the public face of the toy drive to help save it. As Noelle helps Jack rediscover the meaning of Christmas, Holly reconnects with her own family and family traditions. As Jack and Holly go through challenges of making Christmas dreams for others come true, they discover kindred spirits in each other and the potential for the gift of romance this holiday season. Cindy Busby and Sam Page star.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 19 at 8/7c (GAC Family)

‘Doom Patrol’ Renewed For Season 4 At HBO Max – DC FanDome

(10/16/21) Doom Patrol is sticking together.

The superhero drama series has been renewed by HBO Max for a fourth season.

The series, which is currently airing its third season, premiered exclusively on DC Universe in 2019, while HBO Max and DC Universe aired the second season and HBO Max took the show on exclusively for its third run (watch a mid-season trailer below).

The show follows a group of superheroes who all suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities, but also left them scarred and disfigured. Part support group, part superhero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of superpowered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.

In season three, the Doom Patrol is at a difficult crossroads and each member struggles to face who they are and who they want to be. And things get a whole lot more complicated when Madame Rouge arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it.

Season three stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Joivan Wade, Timothy Dalton, Skye Roberts and Michelle Gomez.

Doom Patrol is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television with showrunner Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Chris Dingess and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson serving as executive producers. The series is based on characters created for DC by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani. (Video)

Anna Maria Horsford & Hector Elizondo recur on B Positive 11/4/21

(10/15/21) “Baseball, Walkers and Wine” – Gina comes up with a plan to help a resident, Meredith (Priscilla Lopez), get some space from her overprotective husband. Also, Drew works up the courage to tell Gina he has feelings for her, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Nov. 4 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

RECURRING CAST includes: Hector Elizondo (Harry), Jane Seymour (Bette), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum).

Soap Stars Terrell Tilford and Victoria Platt are Divorcing

(10/12/21) (soapsindepth.com) After 20 years together, former GUIDING LIGHT stars and real-life married couple Terrell Tilford (David) and Victoria Platt (Vicky) have decided to divorce. “September 29, 20201,” Tilford shared on Instagram. “Today was our 20th anniversary and marks our final year of marriage. Victoria beat me to the idea that we should have dinner together to celebrate and honor us… and it was wonderful. And she ate everything… okay, we both did.”

The couple’s on-screen romance as David Grant and Vicky Spaulding on GL blossomed in real life and the pair were married on Sept. 29, 2001, the same year that they both exited the CBS sudser. They have a daughter, Marley, who was born on Aug. 24, 2014. “For y’all that know us,” Tilford wrote, “we love each other profoundly. 22 incredible, magical, crazy years together, culminating in the manifestation of our little Marley Tilford, who, well, I’ll let her tell her own story.

“Vic, I love you and always will,” he concluded. “Thank you for our marriage and now our friendship. God could not have given me a better partner to co-parent with. I love you, too. What a journey, huh?!”

During their years together, Tilford made appearances on soaps like ONE LIFE TO LIVE (as Dr. Greg Evans), THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (as Dr. Barton Shelby), and on DAYS OF OUR LIVES (as Dr. Bob Carrington and also D.A. James Giddens). He also had roles on primetime shows like SWITCHED AT BIRTH, SINGLE LADIES, and THE PROTECTOR. Platt also appeared on DAYS where she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her work as Dr. Raynor, and in primetime shows like THE GATES, STAR-CROSSED, and NCIS.

While it’s sad to see such a long marriage come to an end, it’s wonderful to know that Tilford and Platt have remained friends are will continue to co-parent their beautiful daughter.

Givens Joins New Head of the Class

(10/12/21) (Video) A Head of the Class alum will return as a mom in HBO Max’s upcoming reboot: Robin Givens is set to reprise her role as honors student Darlene Merriman, which she played on the original ABC sitcom 35 years ago.

The forthcoming multi-cam series follows a group of overachieving high school students who meet their greatest challenge — a teacher (played by One Day at a Time‘s Isabella Gomez) who wants them to focus less on grades and more on experiencing life.

Now known as Darlene Hayward, Givens’ character is a single parent to one of the students. “She’s still Darlene Merriman, but her last name has changed,” the actress tells the site. “She’s become a lawyer, she’s a single mom and very close to her son and very much a mama bear. She’s Darlene Merriman, all grown up.”

The new Head of the Class (premiering Thursday, Nov. 4) comes from writers/executive producers Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen (American Vandal) and EP Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso).

'Getaway’ Drama Pilot Not Going Forward At NBC, Freeing Up ‘Manifest’s Matt Long & ‘All Rise’s Marg Helgenberger

(10/9/21) NBC has opted not to proceed with its drama pilot Getaway. Headlined by Annie Ilonzeh, it starred two leads of recently canceled broadcast series that have since been resurrected, Manifest’s Matt Long and All Rise‘s Marg Helgenberger. Both actors are now available to do other shows, including their old ones, which both have been picked up for 20 episodes. Meanwhile, NBC’s other drama pilot, Dangerous Moms, remains in contention.

I hear Long is in talks about rejoining Manifest as a series regular though it is unclear if a deal will be reached. The missing plane drama was picked up for a fourth season by Netflix in August following its cancellation by NBC.

“I will be back for some of it, we’re just trying to find out the maximum I can do,” Long said backstage at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last month when he was still attached to Getaway. “After (Manifest) was canceled, it was heartbreaking. But then we got picked up by Netflix, it’s so much more than we ever could’ve dreamed of. I can’t wait to get back to it and see everybody and be part of the story again.”

Helgenberger was the only major All Rise cast member who was not signed on for the recently ordered Season 3 at OWN, with streaming windows on Hulu and HBO Max, as she had contractual obligations to Getaway. The door was left open for her and any other All Rise alums to appear on the new season subject to availability.

Written and executive produced by JJ Bailey and Moira Kirland, Getaway centered on a destination wedding at an isolated luxury resort that quickly descends into chaos after a group of dangerous criminals takes the island hostage. The small group of guests, led by a fearless female Army vet (Ilonzeh), will do everything they can to stay alive.

Jasmine Mathews and E.J. Bonilla also starred in the pilot, executive produced by John Davis and John Fox for Universal TV.

Soap Actor Patrick Horgan Dead at 92

(10/7/21) Veteran actor Patrick Horgan has died at the age of 92, his wife, Susan Bedsow-Horgan sadly reported on Facebook.

Born in Nottingham, England, Horgan’s career began in the ‘50s with appearances on BBC Sunday Night Theatre and THE GENTLE FALCON. The ‘70s brought his career to soaps, where from 1970-74, he played Dr. John Morrison on THE DOCTORS, and from 1978-79, Thatcher Ross on RYAN’S HOPE. In the ‘80s, he played Neil Blake on GUIDING LIGHT and then Anton Cunningham on AS THE WORLD TURNS. His final daytime role was playing Andrew Berryman and Arthur Vandenburg on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 1985 and 1995, respectively.

In addition to his daytime roles, Horgan could be found guest-starring in numerous primetime series over his decades-long career in acting. Viewers can see him in episodes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, GREEN ACRES, STAR TREK, THE WILD WILD WEST, BEWITCHED, THE FACTS OF LIFE, and THE COSBY SHOW. He also appeared in films such as The Thomas Crown Affair, Zelig, and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

David Duchovny and Nia Long Join Jonah Hill In Netflix’s Untitled Kenya Barris Comedy

(10/2/21) David Duchovny and Nia Long have rounded out the cast of a new untitled Netflix comedy starring Jonah Hill with Kenya Barris directing. They join an ensemble that already includes Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sam Jay and Molly Gordon.

The film follows a new couple (Hill and London) and their families, who find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences.

Barris will produce through Khalabo Ink Society, Hill will produce through his Strong Baby banner and they will be joined by Kevin Misher who will produce through Misher Films. Mychelle Deschamps and Hale Rothstein will exec produce for Khalabo Ink Society along with Matt Dines and Ali Goodwin for Strong Baby; Andy Berman for Misher Films and David Hyman and Charisse Hewitt Webste.

Duchovny has been on a roll as of late recently wrapping production on Paramount Players’ new Pet Sematary prequel while also earning rave reviews playing himself in Netflix’s The Chair. Outside of his acting he also recently released another album and published his fourth book earlier this year. He is repped by WME and Mosaic.

This project marks a reteaming for Long and Barris who recently worked together on Barris series #BlackAF. On the film side she was also recently seen opposite Anthony Mackie in The Banker. She is repped by Verve and by attorneys Neil Meyer and Emily Downs.

Michael Tylo Dies: ‘Guiding Light’, ‘The Young And The Restless’ Actor Was 73

(9/30/21) Michael Tylo, an actor who appeared on appeared on the soap operas All My Children, General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and, in his signature role of the wealthy, brooding archaeologist Quinton Chamberlainn on CBS’s Guiding Light, died Tuesday at Henderson Hospital in Henderson, NV, following an illness. He was 73.

His death was announced by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where Tylo was a film professor. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“Michael Tylo was a beautiful and caring human being — he was so special,” said Nancy Uscher, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, in a statement on the university’s website. “He was an exemplary friend, colleague, teacher, and artist. He had such a distinguished and rich career, but he was humble about his accomplishments. He loved his family dearly and lived a joyous life, but he left us way too soon. We will miss him greatly, but feel deep gratitude about all that Michael contributed to the College of Fine Arts, UNLV, and the world.”

Tylo broke into the soap world in 1980, with a short-term casting on Another World. In 1981 he began a three-year run on Guiding Light (he briefly returned in 1996), with his dashing Quinton Chamberlain eventually pairing with Lisa Brown’s Nola Reardon in what would become one of the series’ most popular romantic couples.

He took on an equally meaty role of soldier-of-fortune Matt Connolly on ABC’s All My Children in 1987, plunging into major storylines involving, among others, the show’s star Susan Lucci.

The late 1980s also brought appearances on primetime programs Lonesome Dove and A Man Called Hawk, and in 1989 he returned to daytime with a brief run on ABC’s General Hospital. In 1990 he became a cast member on the TV series Zorro, and in 1992 joined CBS’ The Young and The Restless. In 2000 he had a brief run on The Bold and The Beautiful, and in 2003 he accepted a position with UNLV as a visiting professor in theater and film. He later became the school’s assistant dean for the College of Fine Arts and taught acting.

On Wednesday, The Young and The Restless tweeted its condolences, writing, “Our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Michael Tylo who graced #YR with his talents as Blade and Rick.”

Tylo is survived by wife Rachelle, daughters Kollette, Izabelle and Katya. He was preceded in death by Michael Tylo Jr., his son from a previous marriage to The Bold and The Beautiful actress Hunter Tylo. Michael Tylo, Jr., known as Mickey, drowned while having a seizure in 2007.

Our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Michael Tylo who graced #YR with his talents as Blade and Rick. https://t.co/sttd5qwodD pic.twitter.com/cEGTEqW2Ae — Young & The Restless (@YRInsider) September 30, 2021

It is with tremendous sadness that the College of Fine Arts and Dean Nancy Uscher share the passing of beloved film professor, Michael Tylo. Read More: https://t.co/lnGCQwb6WA pic.twitter.com/N5BtfZ7GmQ — UNLV Fine Arts (@UNLVFineArts) September 29, 2021

Anna Maria Horsford recurs on B Positive 10/21/21

(9/30/21) “Vermont, Switzerland and Connecticut” – Gina and Eli’s relationship is tested by Gina’s new wealth. Also, Drew gets a surprise visit from his long-distance girlfriend, Adriana, on the CBS Original series B POSITIVE, Thursday, Oct. 21 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. CBS Diversity Showcase alumnus Michelle Ortiz guest stars as Adriana.

RECURRING CAST: Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Ludlum)

Passing of Film and Theatre Professor Michael Tylo

(9/29/21) It is with tremendous sadness that the College of Fine Arts and Dean Nancy Uscher share the passing of beloved film professor, Michael Tylo.

A native of Detroit, Michael Tylo came to UNLV as a visiting professor in theatre and film in 2003 after a long and distinguished stage and screen career as an actor and director that included motion pictures, television series, and major roles in popular soap operas. He served as an assistant dean for the College of Fine Arts and taught acting for UNLV Film. He performed with students at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre and in Stealing Las Vegas, a feature film produced by UNLV and Roger Corman.

Among his numerous soap opera roles, he was best known for his portrayal of Quinton Chamberlain on Guiding Light. He played the role from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1996 to 1997. He was half of the very popular supercouple Quint and Nola, with the role of Nola played by actress Lisa Brown.

Tylo also appeared on the soap operas All My Children (as Matt Connolly), General Hospital (as Charlie Prince), and The Young and the Restless as Blade Bladeson and Rick Bladeson. He also made a brief appearance in The Bold and the Beautiful (as Sherman Gale). In addition to soaps, Tylo has done several movie and television roles, including two seasons as Alcalde Luis Ramon in Zorro and as Dee Boot in Lonesome Dove.

For more details on his storied career, look for Michael Tylo on imdb.com.

"Michael Tylo was a beautiful and caring human being — he was so special," said Uscher. "He was an exemplary friend, colleague, teacher, and artist. He had such a distinguished and rich career, but he was humble about his accomplishments. He loved his family dearly and lived a joyous life, but he left us way too soon. We will miss him greatly, but feel deep gratitude about all that Michael contributed to the College of Fine Arts, UNLV, and the world.

Information for services forthcoming.

17th Annual Daytime Stars and Strikes Virtual Charity event for Autism

(9/28/21) Don't miss the 17th Annual Daytime Stars and Strikes Virtual Charity event for Autism live in The Locher Room on Sunday, October 10th from 2:00 p.m. EST to 6:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PST). Joining me to host the show will be Guiding Light’s Liz Keifer (Blake Marler), Jerry verDorn (Ross Marler), and Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer). (Watch Here)

We have an incredible line-up of guests to help us raise funds for The Autism Society of America including: Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), John Bolger (Phillip Spaulding), Jeff Branson (Shayne Lewis), Bryan Buffinton (Bill Lewis), Jean Carol (Nadine Cooper), Beth Chamberlin (Beth Raines), Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer), Jan Conklin (Producer), Ritchie Coster (Alfred), Kassie DePaiva (Chelsea Reardon), Mark Derwin (A.C. Mallet), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank Cooper), Aubrey Dollar (Marina Cooper), Beth Ehlers (Harley Cooper), Nicole Forester (Cassie Layne), Stephanie Gatschet (Tammy Winslow), Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus Aitoro), Melissa Hayden (Bridget Reardon), Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding), Rebecca Hollen (Trish Lewis), Mart Hulswit (Ed Bauer), Crystal Hunt (Lizzie Spaulding), Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa Chamberlin), Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera), Kurt McKinney (Matt Reardon), Fran Myers (Peggy Fletcher), Robert Newman (Josh Lewis), Sonia Satra (Lucy Cooper), Tina Sloan (Littlian Raines), Rebecca Staab (Jessie Matthews), Nancy St. Alban (Michelle Bauer Santos), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny Santos), Kimberley Simms (Mindy Lewis), Michelle Ray Smith (Ava Peralta), Krista Tesreau (Mindy Lewis), Gina Tognoni (Dinah Marler), Jordi Vilasuso (Tony Santos), Michael Woods (Dr. Jim Reardon) and Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne Lewis).

All funds donated go directly to The Autism Society of America which is a not-for-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by the law. TO DONATE: daytimestarsandstrikes.com

‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’: Lea Salonga, Sharon Leal Among Five Cast In HBO Max Reboot

(9/28/21) HBO Max has found the mothers for the latest generation of group of little liars. Lea Salonga (Yellow Rose), Sharon Leal (Dream Girls), and Elena Goode (Straight Outta Compton) are set as series regulars and Carly Pope (Demonic) and Zakiya Young (Orange is the New Black) join the Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin cast as recurring. They will appear opposite stars Chandler Kinney, Maia Reficco, Bailee Madison, Zaria, Malia Pyles, Alex Aiono, Mallory Bechtel and Eric Johnson.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is a present-day iteration of the popular 2010-17 series from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; Lindsay Calhoon Bring; Alloy Entertainment; and Warner Bros TV. Lisa Soper will direct the first two episodes.

Written by Aguirre-Sacasa and Calhoon Bring, the reboot based on the bestselling books by Sara Shepard will feature a new story and new characters. Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a group of disparate teen girls — a brand-new set of Little Liars — find themselves tormented by an unknown Assailant and made to pay for the secret sin their parents committed two decades ago…as well as their own. In the dark, coming-of-age, horror-tinged drama Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, we find ourselves miles away from Rosewood, but within the existing Pretty Little Liars universe — in a brand-new town, with a new generation of Little Liars.

Aguirre-Sacasa executive produces via his Muckle Man Productions, with Alloy’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo, as well as Michael Grassi and Caroline Baron. Calhoon Bring will co-executive produce. Muckle Man Productions and Alloy produce in association with WBTV. Lisa Soper will direct the first two episodes.

Salonga will play Elodie, Minnie’s (Pyles) mom. A bit overbearing, Elodie works overtime to keep her daughter safe following a trauma that occurred when Minnie was just a little girl.

Leal joins the cast as Sidney, Tabby’s (Kinney) mother and our main Pretty Little Liar matriarch. Sidney is a real estate agent and single mother, doing her best to provide for her daughter, as well as Imogen (Madison).

Pope will appear as Davie, Imogen’s (Madison) mother. Davie and Imogen have always been two against the world. But a chilling reminder from Davie’s dark past upends both of their lives. Goode will portray Marjorie, Noa’s (Reficco) mother, a nurse at Millwood General. Though she loves her daughter, Marjorie’s hiding a secret that threatens their relationship.

Lastly, Young will take on Corey, Faran’s (Zaria) mother. Once her marriage to Zeke dissolved, Corey sought greener pastures in Pittsburgh, PA, working as a paralegal, though she tells everyone she’s a lawyer.

Salonga is represented by Josh Pultz at Amplified Entertainment and Attorney Robert Perlstein. Leal is repped by Buchwald. Pope is repped by LINK, Gersh and Tyman Stewart of The Characters Agency. Goode is represented by Innovative Artists and Luber Roklin Entertainment. Young’s reps are Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin and Associates.

Jake Weary Interview 10/1/21

(9/25/21) (Watch here) Join Animal Kingdom's Jake Weary (Deran Cody) live in The Locher Room on Friday, October 1st at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Jake will be here to discuss Season Five and the upcoming season finale airing Sunday, October 3 on TNT.

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, to an award-winning actress mother (Kim Zimmer) and an actor/director father (A.C. Weary), Jake Weary started following in their successful footsteps in his early teens. After booking a number of guest roles, he took a break from acting to focus on school, including time at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts.

Since then, Weary’s career has been an eclectic mix of memorable characters for prestigious and interesting filmmakers. Weary starred as the lead in Oscar nominated director Juanita Wilson’s Tomato Red. His other notable film credits include Film Independent Spirit nominee David Robert Mitchell's thriller, It Follows, an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival; Jordan Rubin's horror spoof Zombeavers, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival; and Message From the King for Fabrice Du Welz, an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival; Smartass for Jena Serbu; Brett Simon's Assassination of a High School President, an official Sundance Film Festival selection; and Kaare Andrews's Altitude.

Weary can be seen in the highly anticipated sequel It: Chapter 2 as well as starring opposite Melissa Leo in the thriller Leave Not One Alive. His film Finding Steve McQueen, for Mark Steven Johnson, was released in March of 2018.

Other recent television credits include multi-episode arcs on NBC's hit drama Chicago Fire and Freeform’s smash Pretty Little Liars, as well as notable turns in the Lifetime movies Escape from Polygamy and A Deadly Adoption with Will Ferrell and Kristin Wiig, both for Rachel Goldenberg. Weary made his television debut opposite his mother on Guiding Light in before joining the cast of As the World Turns as Luke Snyder.

Weary currently lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to pursue his other passion of writing and producing his own music.

Daniel Cosgrove guests on Bull 10/14/21

(9/23/21) “Espionage” – TAC’s defense strategy for a client on trial for going public with classified governments under the Espionage Act is compromised when Bull experiences emotional turmoil following his daughter’s kidnapping. As Bull grows increasingly agitated, the team faces a difficult time in court when federal law leaves them unable to tell jurors their client’s motive for leaking the sensitive information, on the CBS Original series BULL, Thursday, Oct. 14 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

GUEST CAST includes: A.J. Shively (Jerry McConnell), Daniel Cosgrove (AUSA Carto), Stephanie Ittleson (Judge Rogers).

Kevin Bacon Boards Blumhouse John Logan LGBTQIA+ Empowerment Feature As Star & EP

(9/22/21) Kevin Bacon is joining John Logan’s untitled horror project at Blumhouse and will also serve as an executive producer alongside executive producer Scott Turner Schofield. The movie is a LGBTQIA+ empowerment tale set at a gay conversion camp and stars Theo Germaine. The role marks a return for Bacon to the horror genre, a space he appeared in early on in his career with Friday the 13th.

Three-time Oscar nominee, Logan (Skyfall, Gladiator, The Aviator) will make his feature directorial debut with the film he also wrote. Jason Blum and Michael Aguilar are producing. Bacon will serve as an EP, alongside Scott Turner Schofield.

Golden Globe winner and Primetime Emmy nominee Bacon recently starred in season 2 of Showtime’s hit series City on a Hill which was renewed for a third season. We reported over the summer that Bacon is joining his wife Kyra Sedgwick’s second feature directorial Space Oddity. He also starred in and co-produced David Koepp’s You Should Have Left and can next be seen in the upcoming movies One Way and The Toxic Avenger. The Footloose and J.F.K. star won a Golden Globe in 2010 in the Actor Miniseries/Made for TV movie category for Taking Chance which also landed him an Emmy nom in the same category in 2009.

In 1996, Bacon made his feature directorial debut with Losing Chase, starring Kyra Sedgwick, Beau Bridges and Helen Mirren which received three Golden Globe noms. Bacon directed his second film, Loverboy, which he also produced. He has also directed several episodes of Sedgwick’s hit show, The Closer.

Bacon’s stage work includes off-Broadway productions such as Album, Poor Little Lambs and Getting Out. He made his Broadway debut in 1983 with Sean Penn in Slab Boys, and starred in the 1986 production of Joe Orton’s Loot. He also starred in Theresa Rebeck’s comedy Spike Heels. In 2002, he starred in the one-man show An Almost Holy Picture, written by Heather McDonald.

With his musician brother, Michael, Bacon is the other half of The Bacon Brothers, and have recorded eight CDs and a concert DVD.

Bacon is represented by MGMT Entertainment and Gaines Solomon Law Group. Schofield is represented by Lisa Evan Blumenthal of Momentum Talent Management.

Kevin Mambo Interview 9/23/21

(9/17/21) (Watch here) Two-time Emmy Award-winning actor Kevin Mambo will be my guest live in The Locher Room on September 23rd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Mambo can currently be seen on the new Netflix drama, Hit & Run. The series tells the story of a man searching for the truth behind his wife's death who becomes caught up in a dangerous web of secrets and intrigue stretching from New York to Tel Aviv. Mambo plays an NYPD detective with a wry sense of humor who has seen it all and nothing can phase him. The series is streaming now.

He is no stranger to the small screen. Mambo had prime roles on hit series such as Luke Cage and High Maintenance. Daytime fans will remember him from his two-time Emmy winning role as Marcus Williams on Guiding Light. Other film and television credits include Cadillac Records, Nina, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blacklist, and Elementary just to name a few.

Mambo has added to his repertoire with a very impressive list of on-stage roles. He played the title character in the Tony Award nominated Fela!, and brought his talent to the role of Mafala in Book of Mormon. He was also seen in the revival of The Color Purple and The Public Theater's Fortress of Solitude.

Christopher Goutman Interview 9/24/21

(9/17/21) (Watch here) Celebrate The Locher Room's 200th episode with Emmy Award-winning producer and director Christopher Goutman who will chat live on Friday, September 24th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m PST.

Chris has spent most of his career working as a director, producer, and writer. He started his career as an actor appearing on The Doctors, Search for Tomorrow, The Edge of Night and Texas. Chris served as the Executive Producer for Another World and As the World Turns as well as directed episodes from nine different daytime dramas.

He created and produced two web series, In Turn and L.A. Diaries, which he also directed, as well as promotional campaigns for network television, commercial movie theater trailers, and an award-winning Presidential campaign ad. For his work in television, he has shot on locations all over the world. He also wrote, produced, and directed two short films, The Square Root of Three and Visions of Joanna, both of which received extensive exposure on the independent film circuit. In theatre, he has directed in New York, Philadelphia and Florida, including productions at EST, NYC Fringe, the Harold Clurman Theatre and the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. His plays have been performed at L.A. Stage and Film Company, the Barrow Group and EST. He has five Emmy Awards for his work as a producer and director and a Directors Guild of America Award.

Chris currently serves as the Artistic Director, Associate Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Linda Dano Interview 9/22/21

(9/16/21) (Watch here) The one and only Linda Dano will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 22nd at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. The actress, author, and businesswoman will reminisce about her time playing Felicia Gallant on Another World, Rae Cummings on One Life to Live and her most recent role of Vivian Alamain on Days of Our Lives. Linda's One Life to Live character Rae also had a cross-over on Port Charles, All My Children and General Hospital. She has published books, hosted her own talk show Attitudes and supports many charitable organizations. Don't miss the chance to catch-up with Linda on September 22.

Fran Bennett, Actress and Longtime CalArts Voice and Acting Teacher, Dies at 84

(9/15/21) (hollywoodreporter.com) Fran Bennett, a veteran actress who taught voice and acting at CalArts for 36 years, died over the weekend, the school announced. She was 84.

Known for her booming voice, Bennett was a member of the Linklater Voice faculty at CalArts from 1978 until her retirement in 2014. She also served as head of acting and director of performance from 1996 to 2003.

“Fran’s voice was unmistakable. She never shied away from using it. And she taught so many throughout the years to find and free their own,” Dean Travis Preston of the CalArts School of Theater said in a statement.

“Before there were diversity committees and personnel at CalArts, there was Fran. She unceasingly championed students, artists and innovators of all backgrounds and demanded that leaders do more to serve the left out and kept out.”

Born on Aug. 14, 1937, in Malvern, Arkansas, Bennett earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

She studied voice under Scottish actress Kristin Linklater at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and movement with Austrian actress Litz Pisk in London, then returned to the Guthrie to spend 12 years as its voice and movement director.

Bennett made her onscreen debut on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light in 1965 and went on to appear on Roots: The Next Generations, Lou Grant, St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey, Dynasty, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, In the Heat of the Night, Becker, Community and Scandal.

In 2019, she portrayed Mother Jefferson on The Jeffersons segment of Live in Front of a Studio Audience.

Her film résumé included Promises in the Dark (1979), Wes Craven’s Newest Nightmare (1994), Foxfire (1996), Leave It to Beaver (1997), 8MM (1999), The Next Best Thing (2000), Jessabelle (2014) and the upcoming The Manor.

For the stage, Bennett was a member of the classical theater company Antaeus, a founding member of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company and an Ovation Award and NAACP Theatre Award winner.

‘Rust’: Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon And Frances Fisher To Ride With Alec Baldwin In His Western

(9/14/21) Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon and Frances Fisher have been added to the cast of Rust, the feature Western that stars Alec Baldwin and is written and directed by Joel Souza (Crown Vic). The pic, originally set up in May 2020, now moves forward with a planned October start of principal photography in New Mexico.

CAA Media Finance handling domestic sales for the pic, with Highland Film Group repping international.

The logline: Infamous Western outlaw Harland Rust (Baldwin) has had a bounty on his head for as long as he can remember. When his estranged 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Noon) is convicted of an accidental murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to break him out of prison. Together, the fugitives must outrun the legendary U.S. Marshal Wood Helm and bounty-hunter Fenton “Preacher” Lang (Fimmel) who are hot on their tail. Deeply buried secrets rise from the ashes and an unexpected familial bond begins to form as the mismatched duo tries to survive the merciless American Frontier.

Fisher plays Lucas’ great aunt.

Baldwin is producing via his El Dorado Pictures along with Cavalry Media’s Matt DelPiano, Thomasville Pictures’ Ryan Donnell, Brittany House Pictures’ Anjul Nigam, and Short Porch Pictures’ Ryan Winterstern and Nathan Klingher. Allen Cheney, Emily Hunter Salveson, Christopher M.B. Sharp and Jennifer E. Lamb are executive producers. Hunter Salveson and Donnell Smith’s Streamline Global are financing.

Fimmel, whose credits include History/Amazon’s Vikings and Universal’s Warcraft, just wrapped Season 2 of HBO Max’s Raised by Wolves. He is repped by Paradigm, Management 360 and Sloan, Offer. Noon, who was in Universal’s Good Boys and is in Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks series, is with Gersh and Marilyn Zitner Management.

Fisher, most recently in HBO’s Watchmen and up next in Season 4 of USA Network’s The Sinner, is repped by Greene Talent and attorney Jeff Bernstein.

Dishing with Digest - 9/10/21 - Laura Wright

(9/10/21) (Listen / download) GH’s Laura Wright (Carly) chronicles her journey from soap fan to star, her runs on LOVING, GUIDING LIGHT and GH, and previews the drama that lies ahead at Carly and Jason’s wedding with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the success of BEYOND SALEM.

Louise Shaffer Interview Sept 15

(9/9/21) (Video) Author and actress Louise Shaffer will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 15th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Louise has been an actress since the age of 15 and is a graduate of the Yale Drama School. She has appeared on numerous daytime soaps including The Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow and on Ryan’s Hope playing Rae Woodard, a role that earned her a Daytime Emmy Award.

Louise returned to her first love of writing and began a successful second career when she found herself as an unemployed actress in her mid-forties. She began writing scripts for daytime soaps, but soon followed her dream and wrote her first novel, The Three Miss Margarets published by Random House. It was followed by The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, Family Acts, Serendipity and Looking For A Love Story.

Matt Bomer to Star in ‘Fellow Travelers’ Series in the Works at Showtime From ‘Philadelphia’ Writer Ron Nyswaner

(9/7/21) (variety.com) Matt Bomer is attached to star in and executive produce a series adaptation of the Thomas Mallon novel “Fellow Travelers” that is currently in development at Showtime, Variety has learned exclusively.

Ron Nyswaner is adapting the book for the screen and will also serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series. “Fellow Travelers” is described as a political thriller and epic love story that unfolds in the era of McCarthyism and resolves in the age of AIDS. It follow the intertwined lives and volatile romance of two very different men, Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller (Bomer) and Tim Kovacs, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world and in themselves.

Along with Bomer and Nyswaner, Michael Grandage will executive produce in addition to directing. Robbie Rogers will also be an executive producer on the project. Fremantle will produce.

Bomer currently stars in the HBO Max-DC series “Doom Patrol” and also recently starred in Season 3 of the USA Network series “The Sinner.” He is perhaps best known for his starring role in the USA Network series “White Collar,” which ran for six seasons. He has also appeared in both “American Horror Story” and “American Horror Stories.” He was nominated for an Emmy in 2014 for best supporting actor in a TV movie for “The Normal Heart.” On the film side, he has starred in both “Magic Mike” films as well as “In Time,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and “The Nice Guys” among others.

He is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content, Viewpoint, and Hansen Jacobson.

Nyswaner, Grandage, and Rogers are currently partnering on the upcoming film “My Policeman,” starring Harry Styles and Emma Corrin, based on the 2012 Bethan Roberts novel of the same name.

Nyswaner is a noted gay rights activist who received an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay for his work on the Tom Hanks-Denzel Washington film “Philadelphia.” He is also known for writing films like “The Prince of Pennsylvania” and for his work on the Showtime shows “Ray Donovan” and “Homeland.”

He is repped by UTA and Anonymous Content.

“Fellow Travelers” marks the latest premium drama from Fremantle. The company currently produces shows such as “The Mosquito Coast,” “My Brilliant Friend,” and “We Are Who We Are.” Past productions include “The Salisbury Poisonings,” “The Sister,” and “The Young Pope.”

‘Trigger Warning’: Netflix Rounds Out Cast With Anthony Michael Hall, Mark Webber, More

(9/2/21) Netflix’s action-thriller Trigger Warning rounds out its cast with Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club, Halloween Kills), Mark Webber (The Place of No Words), Alejandro De Hoyos (The Man from Toronto), Tone Bell (The Flash), Jake Weary (It Follows), and Gabriel Basso (Hillbilly Elegy).

The newly added actors join previously announced lead Jessica Alba in her first feature project since 2019’s Killers Anonymous.

Trigger Warning, directed by Mouly Surya, tells the story of Parker (Alba), an active-duty Special Forces officer described as a female John Wick. Parker takes ownership of her grandfather’s bar shortly after he dies, and soon finds herself at odds with the violent gang that killed him.

Filming is set to begin in New Mexico this fall.

Executive producers include Esther Hornstein for Thunder Road Pictures; Jeanette Volturno and Jason Clark for Catchlight Studios; and Alba. Trigger Warning is written by Josh Olson and John Brancato with current revisions by Halley Gross. Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are producing.

Hall is repped by Untitled Entertainment. Webber is repped by Inphenate and attorney Ira Schreck. De Hoyos is repped by The Marlene Agency and Kontakto. Weary is repped by CAA and Black Box Management. Weary is repped by Gersh and Management 360. Basso is repped by WME and Sugar 23.

‘B Positive’: Linda Lavin, David Anthony Higgins, Darryl Stephens Upped To Series Regulars; Six Set To Recur

(9/1/21) We’ll be seeing more of Norma, Jerry and Gideon on the second season of Chuck Lorre’s B Positive. Linda Lavin (Naked Singularity, Being The Ricardos), David Anthony Higgins (Mike & Molly, Malcolm in the Middle), and Darryl Stephens (Saved By The Bell, Noah’s Arc), who recurred as the characters in Season 1, have been promoted to series regulars for the upcoming season of the CBS comedy starring Annaleigh Ashford and Thomas Middleditch. Additionally, Hector Elizondo (Last Man Standing, Pretty Woman), Jane Seymour (The Kominsky Method, The War with Grandpa), Ben Vereen (The Good Fight, Sneaky Pete), Celia Weston (Dead Man Walking, Junebug), Jim Beaver (Deadwood, Supernatural), and Anna Maria Horsford (Hacks, Pose) have been added to the recurring cast.

Created by former Mom co-executive producer Marco Pennette inspired by personal experience, B Positive is about a therapist and newly divorced dad (Middleditch) who is faced with finding a kidney donor when he runs into a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past (Ashford) who volunteers her own. Together they form an unlikely bond and begin a journey that will change both of their lives. Izzy G, Sara Rue, Kether Donohue and Terrence Terrell co-star.

Lorre, who serves as executive producer, highlighted several big changes that will be happening in the new season. “Having donated a kidney and saved a man’s life, Gina (Ashford) has learned that happiness is in the giving, not the getting,” said Lorre. “She puts this principle to work by trying to improve the lives of the elderly residents of Valley Hills, the assisted living facility where she’s been working. In the meantime, Drew (Middleditch) is struggling with a strange new feeling. Post-surgery, he’s convinced he’s in love with Gina. It’s complicated.”

Lavin’s Norma is a sharp-tongued resident at Valley Hills, as well as a mother figure to Gina. She’s in a longstanding feud with her daughter and in denial about personal health issues.

Higgins’ Jerry is Drew’s friend from dialysis and a dentist. A sweet guy with a big heart, as well as heart problems.

Stephens is Gideon, Drew’s former dialysis nurse who now works with Gina as the Head of Nursing at Valley Hills. Always has an ear to lend, but not without a little attitude.

Elizondo recurs as Harry, a gruff, no-nonsense resident at Valley Hills, fighting to keep his terminally-ill wife, Meredith, comfortable.

Seymour is Bette, an aging beauty who is incapable of coming to terms with her senior status.

Vereen plays Peter, a brilliant, retired professor struggling with a failing memory.

Weston portrays Meredith, dealing with her terminal illness as best as she can while trying to help her husband, Harry, move.

Beaver is Spencer, former NYPD transit cop, was a 9/11 first responder. Politically and socially, he finds it difficult to behave appropriately.

Horsford plays Althea Ludlum, the no nonsense administrator of Valley Hills. She’s a thorn in Gina’s side, but Gina needs help running the place.

Jim Patterson serves as executive producer and co-showrunner alongside Pennette. The pair EP alongside Lorre and it is produced by Warner Bros Television in association with Chuck Lorre Productions.

Lavin is repped by Innovative Artists. Stephens is repped by Metropolitan Talent Agency & Steven Simon/Landis-Simon Productions and Talent Management. Elizondo is repped by Gersh and Mark Teitelbaum at Teitelbaum Artists Group. Seymour is repped by Innovative Artists and attorney Paul Mayersohn at Surpin, Mayersohn & Coghill, LLP. Vereen is reppd by Pamela Cooper. Weston is repped by Innovative Artists and Framework Entertainment. Beaver is repped by Artists & Representatives.

‘Ozark’s Tom Pelphrey Joins Carey Mulligan And Zoe Kazan In Weinstein Investigation Pic ‘She Said’

(8/25/21) Tom Pelphrey, coming off his breakout role in the most recent season of Ozark, is set to join the ensemble cast of Universal, Plan B and Annapurna’s She Said, the film retelling of the investigation into sexual assault and harassment perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are on board to portray New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke the bombshell sex scandal report, with Andre Braugher and Patricia Clarkson also on board. Pelphrey will play Twohey’s husband.

Based on Twohey and Kantor’s bestseller She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, the film will be directed by Unorthodox director Maria Schrader from a script by Oscar winner Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

In 2018, Annapurna Pictures and Plan B optioned rights to She Said under their co-production deal. Megan Ellison will executive produce for Annapurna with Sue Naegle. Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner will produce for Plan B. Universal’s VP Production Lexi Barta will oversee the project for the studio.

Pelphrey is coming off his acclaimed role in Season 3 of Netflix’s Emmy-winning drama Ozark, on which he portrayed Wendy’s bipolar brother Ben. He was also recently seen in David Fincher’s Mank and just finished shooting the next season of Amazon’s series Outer Range. He was also recently tapped to star in HBO Max’s Love and Death.

He is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Micki Grant Dies: Trailblazing ‘Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope’ Creator, ‘Another World’ Actress Was 80

(8/23/20) Micki Grant, who wrote and starred in Broadway’s groundbreaking 1972 Black musical revue Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, died Sunday at the age of 80.

With Don’t Bother Me, Grant became the first woman to write both the music and lyrics to a Broadway musical, and her collaborator Vinnette Carroll entered the history books as the first Black woman to direct on Broadway.

Grant, whose death was first reported by the Broadway World website and confirmed by licensing and publishing company Concord Theatricals, returned to Broadway in 1976 by contributing additional music and lyrics for Alex Bradford’s musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, a retelling of the Book of Matthew directed by Carroll.

Described by Broadway director Kenny Leon as “a brilliant, passionate writer who gave everything to our industry,” Grant had already broken new ground on television by the time she made her seminal stand on Broadway, having first appeared in 1965 in what would be her longtime role of attorney Peggy Nolan on NBC’s daytime soap opera Another World.

According to a memoir published by Black daytime actress Ellen Holly, Grant’s Another World role had originally been written as a white character but was changed when Grant was hired as daytime’s first Black contract player.

Grant’s tenure from 1965 to 1972 also is credited with being daytime’s first regular story line written specifically for a Black actress. She later had roles in The Edge of Night, Guiding Light and All My Children.

Don’t Bother Me, Grant’s musical take on such topical subjects as Black power, slumlords, feminism and student protests, made its debut at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., featuring an innovative mix of gospel, calypso, jazz, rock and funk music. Restaged by Carroll, with choreography by George Faison, Don’t Bother Me, with music, lyrics and book by Grant, opened at Broadway’s since-demolished Playhouse Theatre on April 19, 1972.

The production received four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Direction. Other accolades include an Obie Award, a Grammy Award and the NAACP Image Award.

A 1972 Los Angeles production starred actress Paula Kelly, and in 2018 Don’t Both Me was revived in New York by Encores!, directed and choreographed by Savion Glover.

Born Minnie Perkins in Chicago, Grant made her Broadway debut performing in a 1963 production of Langston Hughes’ Tambourines to Glory. She would later contribute music and lyrics to Broadway’s Working and Eubie, among others. Information on survivors and a cause of death were not immediately available.

Rest In Peace Madame Micki Grant, a brilliant , passionate writer who gave everything to our industry..#AmericanWriter#DontBotherMeICantCope#broadway
— Kenny Leon (@iamKENNYLEON) August 22, 2021

I am honored that I got to work with the legendary, ahead of her time, trailblazing, Micki Grant! May she Rest In Peace and may we continue to learn from her brilliant work! Love you always Micki! #dontbothermeicantcope #mynameisman
— JelaniAlladin (@JelaniAlladin) August 23, 2021

Rest in power to the magnificent Micki Grant. The theater is so much better because she was in it.
— Jason Robert Brown (@MrJasonRBrown) August 22, 2021

Equity was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Micki Grant. A three-time Tony Award nominee and 2009 Paul Robeson award recipient, Grant made history as the first woman to write and star in an original Broadway musical. She will be sorely missed. https://t.co/TXriaUATMU
— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) August 23, 2021

Video Interview: Writers Carolyn and Richard Culliton

(8/19/21) (Video) The Emmy Award-winning real-life husband and wife duo Carolyn and Richard Culliton were guests The Locher Room on Thursday, August 19th and looked back at their incredible careers in daytime.

Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance Producing ‘One Thousand Years of Slavery’ Docu-Series For Smithsonian Channel

(8/18/21) (Video) ViacomCBS’ Smithsonian Channel is prepping One Thousand Years of Slavery, a four-part docu-series from Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s Bassett Vance Productions.

BAFTA-winning British-Nigerian director David Olusoga explores stories of survival and devastation that span across the globe – from Africa to the Caribbean, London to Washington DC, and more. Through preserved historical documentation and insight from experts, every story unfolds to chronicle how slavery frames the present and continues to act as a distinct force on the future. The series features interviews with public figures including Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, Senator Cory Booker, and actor David Harewood. (Watch a trailer above)

“Slavery is not that long ago. It’s really recent. It’s painfully close to us, and it’s no surprise it’s still shaping our societies,” said Olusoga. “Our aim is to break away from just seeing the slave trade as a phenomena that exists after the conquest and discovery of the New World, but to look back. It’s to set what happened in the New World in context, that it came from somewhere.”

James Blue, Head of Smithsonian Channel and SVP of MTV News and Docs, and Pamela Aguilar, VP of Original Documentaries will oversee this project for MTV Entertainment Studios and Smithsonian Channel. One Thousand Years of Slavery is produced by Uplands Television for Smithsonian Channel and Channel 5. Bassett Vance Productions executive produces.

Bassett Vance Productions is repped by Darrell Miller at Fox Rothschild.

Lifetime Greenlights ‘Flowers In The Attic’ Prequel Miniseries With Jemima Rooper, Max Irons, Kelsey Grammer, Harry Hamlin, More

(8/17/21) More Flowers of the Attic is coming to Lifetime. The network has greenlighted Flowers In The Attic: The Origin, a four-part prequel miniseries event starring Jemima Rooper (Gold Digger) and Max Irons (Condor), from Jennie Snyder Urman and Joanna Klein’s Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is an A+E Studios production in association with Sutton St. and CBS Studios.

Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black), Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries), Alana Boden (I Am Elizabeth Smart), Hannah Dodd (Harlots), T’Shan Williams (The Color Purple) and Callum Kerry (Four Weddings and a Funeral) also star in the miniseries which is based on the prequel novel, Garden of Shadows by Andrew Neiderman.

Author V.C. Andrews launched a pop culture sensation with the gothic tale Flowers in the Attic. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin peels back the curtain to reveal the twisted origins and dark secrets of the Foxworth family.

The miniseries greenlight follows on the success of Lifetime’s Flowers in the Attic and subsequent V.C. Andrews movie series franchises. The movie events Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind were cable’s top two movies of 2014 with women, while Flowers in the Attic has reached over 30.1M2 total viewers and Petals on the Wind seen by 23.4M3 total viewers.

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin tells the story of the headstrong and determined Olivia Winfield (Rooper) who is working alongside her beloved father (Hamlin) when she finds herself unexpectedly wooed by one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, Malcom Foxworth (Irons). After a whirlwind romance, Olivia finds herself as the mistress of the imposing Foxworth Hall, where she soon discovers that the fairytale life she expected has quickly become a nightmare. Under Malcolm’s debonair exterior lies a dark heart, and a twisted evil lurks inside Foxworth Hall that will threaten Olivia’s happiness and that of her children. Her attempts to keep them all safe ultimately push Olivia to become to most terrifying version of herself, leading to her inevitable—and notorious—decision to lock her grandchildren in the attic.

Dodd stars as Olivia’s daughter, Corinne; while Williams portrays Foxworth’s longtime staff member and Olivia’s observant housekeeper, Nella. Mulgrew plays Mrs. Steiner, Malcom’s loyal house manager and head of the Foxworth Hall staff. Grammer portrays Malcom’s illustrious father Garland Foxworth, who is married to new wife Alicia, played by Boden. Wesley stars as John Amos, Olivia’s cousin whose revelations change her life forever and Callum Kerr stars as Christopher, a close relative of the Foxworth family whose life will be eternally intertwined with Corrine’s from the moment they set eyes on each other.

Additional talent includes Luke Fetherston, Buck Braithwaite, Jordan Peters, Evelyn Miller, Rawdat Quadri, Emmanuel Ogunjinmi, David Witts, Carla Woodcock and Peter Bramhill.

Paul Sciarrotta serves as executive producer. Urman and Klein serve as executive producers for Sutton St. Productions and CBS Studios. Zoë Rocha serves as executive producer for RubyRock Pictures, Gary Pearl executive produces for Aquarius Content and Dan Angel executive produces. Declan O’Dwyer also executive produces and directed part one and part two of the miniseries. Robin Sheppard serves as director for parts three and four. Scripts are from executive producer Sciarrotta, as well as Amy Rardin and Conner Good. The miniseries was made with support of the Romanian Government.

Karla Mosley Welcomes Her Second Child!

(8/13/21) (soapsindepth.com) Well past her due date, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL alum Karla Mosley (ex-Maya) has given birth to her second child. The actress and her partner, John Rogers, already share daughter Aurora, who will turn 3 this month, and now they are a family of four!

The soap vet — who recently filled in as THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Amanda and previously played GUIDING LIGHT’s Christina — announced around Mother’s Day that she was expecting again and that her family would welcome the new addition in early July. Well, that timeframe came and went, and Mosley was still pregnant! But on August 4, the actress revealed in a cryptic Instagram post that she had indeed finally given birth!

“Current Mood: I’d Rather Not. And yes, pictures coming soon,” Mosley wrote in her post, including a mother and baby emoji. “But for today… see caption above.)” The tired mom also included the hashtags “#4thTrimester” (referring to the post-partum period of a woman’s pregnancy) and the clever “#TheBirdHasLanded.”

While Mosley didn’t reveal any other details about her second child — like whether she welcomed a boy or another girl — she did share some more info in her replies to posters. She promised one commenter that she’d be posting pictures “in, like, a day” and that her sweet baby’s arrival “just took a little longer than was originally planned.”

Another well-wisher wrote, “I’m glad she finally made it,” indicating that Aurora has a little sister to dote on. And even though Mosley replied in the comments of the thread that she was “So. Tired,” she looked positively radiant in the photo she shared!

Soap Opera Writers Interview: Carolyn and Richard Culliton

(8/13/21) (Watch here) The Emmy Award-winning real-life husband and wife duo Carolyn and Richard Culliton will be guests live in The Locher Room on Thursday, August 19th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to look back at their incredible careers in daytime.

This talented duo met when they were both students at Northwestern University. Carolyn grew up watching soaps and Richard had never seen one. Fate intervened in 1978 when a family friend offered to make some introductions to an executive Procter & Gamble Productions. The rest is history.

Carolyn’s first job in the daytime industry was working as Paul Rauch’s assistant at Another World and Richard’s first job was as a script writer on Texas. From that moment forward this duo worked non-stop as breakdown writers, script writers and as head writers on almost every soap opera on the air. Together this duo created the General Hospital spin-off Port Charles while serving as head writers for the first few months of the show’s run.

They are the recipient of numerous Daytime Emmy Awards and Writer’s Guild Awards for their work. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Emily who is an adjunct professor of creative writing at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, and Kathleen a journalist. Emily published her first novel In 2017, "The Misfortune of Marion Palm" was published by Knopf.

Looks like the writing gene is a strong one in the Culliton family.

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart make rare outing with son in Croatia

(8/9/21) (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3) Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are flying casual in Croatia.

The couple, who have been summering in the European country, was spotted sightseeing in Dubrovnik with what appeared to be a tour guide. Their youngest son, Liam Flockhart, 20, joined the notoriously private couple for a rare public outing as a family.

One photo shows Ford, 79, receiving a shoulder massage while shirtless on the balcony of the villa where he and his family are staying. Flockhart — who at 56 is 23 years younger than Ford — and Liam were seated at a nearby table.

Ford is currently on hiatus from filming the fifth “Indiana Jones” film due to a shoulder injury. The actor was hurt while rehearsing a fight scene that left production on the film halted for at least three months, as The Post previously reported.

“The film’s bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it’s chaos,” a production source told The Sun in June. “The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.”

The fifth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise is rumored to be Ford’s last time taking on the role.

Liam is Flockhart’s only child. She adopted him one year before she and Ford began dating in 2002, and Ford later formally adopted him as his own. The couple wed in 2010.

Ford has four more adult children from two previous marriages.

Keir Gilchrist, Elizabeth Marvel & Tom Pelphrey Join ‘Love And Death’ HBO Max True-Crime Limited Series

(8/5/21) Atypical star Keir Gilchrist, Elizabeth Marvel (Homeland) and Tom Pelphrey (Ozark) are set as series regulars alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Fugit and Lily Rabe in HBO Max’s Love and Death, a limited series about the true story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery’s murder of Betty Gore in 1980.

Written by Kelley and directed by Homeland‘s Lesli Linka Glatter, Love and Death is inspired by the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs and a collection of articles from Texas Monthly (“Love & Death in Silicon Prairie,” Part I & II).

The series revolves around two churchgoing couples enjoying small-town family life in Wylie, until somebody picks up an ax. The couples are Candy (Olsen) and Pat Montgomery (Fugit) and Betty (Rabe) and Allan Gore (Plemons).

Gilchrist will play Pastor Ron Adams, Marvel will portray Pastor Jackie Ponder, and Pelphrey is Don Crowder.

Kelley executive produces via his David E. Kelley Productions, with Kidman and Per Saari via Blossom Films; Glatter; Scott Brown and Megan Creydt through Texas Monthly; Matthew Tinker; Michael Klick and Helen Verno. Lionsgate TV is the studio.

Gilchrist recently wrapped the fourth and final season of the Peabody-nominated Netflix dramedy Atypical. His film credits include Castle in the Ground, It’s Kind of a Funny Story from Captain Marvel helmers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, It Follows, and The Stanford Prison Experiment. He’s repped by ICM Partners; Thruline Entertainment; Lichter Grossman Nichols; and ART.

Marvel’s role reunites her with Glatter, with whom she worked on Homeland. Marvel has also booked a guest-starring role on Hulu limited series The Dropout. Her credits also include a starring role on Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, and she most recently was seen in a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU. She’s repped by Innovative Artists and Viking Entertainment.

Pelphrey was a series regular on Ozark, which is heading into its fourth and final season on Netflix. He’s also known for his role as Ward Meachum on both seasons of Marvel’s Iron Fist on Netflix. On the big screen, he was most recently seen in the Netflix feature Mank. He’s repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Guiding Light Reunion: Paula Garces and Saundra Santiago

(8/4/21) (Video) The Santos Women joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 4th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with Paula Garces (Pilar Santos) and Saundra Santiago (Carmen Santos). This on-screen mother and daughter duo will reminisce about their time working together on Guiding Light and fill us in on all the great projects they have been working on since those Springfield days.

New Amsterdam: Michelle Forbes Joins Season 4 in Pivotal Role

(8/2/21) New Amsterdam may be getting ready to clean house, with a little help from Michelle Forbes.

The Killing and True Blood vet is joining the NBC medical drama’s upcoming fourth season in the recurring role of Dr. Veronica Fuentes, a calm, poised and fearless fixer who is brought in to “reconstruct” the failing hospital. TVLine has learned that Dr. Fuentes’ first order of business on her way to reversing New Amsterdam’s declining numbers will be to “wipe clean the inept board.”

Forbes most recently recurred on ABC’s Big Sky. A source close to the David E. Kelley drama confirms that Forbes’ role as Margaret Kleinsasser came to an end in the Season 1 finale.

New Amsterdam kicks off Season 4 on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 10 pm.

Frances Fisher’s Application To File Suit Against SAG-AFTRA Over Health Plan Changes Rejected By Judge, But Case Could Still Go Forward

(7/30/21) A federal judge has denied actress Frances Fisher’s (Guiding Light/Edge of Night/Days of Our Lives) verified application to file a breach of fiduciary duty complaint against SAG-AFTRA over the raising of eligibility requirements for coverage under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder dismissed Fisher’s application Friday without prejudice, however, meaning that she can refile a modified version of the application.

“We expect the claim to go forward with an additional claim being added,” said her attorney, Neville Johnson. “We’re working it out with the other side. We are coming to an agreement.”

The union said in a statement that “In the breach of fiduciary suit case which Frances Fisher was seeking to file against SAG-AFTRA officers and executive staff, the Court has denied her application to file the fiduciary lawsuit at this time. Should a breach of the duty of fair representation suit against the union or a renewed application for the court’s permission to file the fiduciary breach claims be filed, SAG-AFTRA will oppose those efforts to proceed, as all claims raised are without merit.”

SAG-AFTRA declined further comment.

In her June 25 application for leave to file a proposed complaint, Fisher identified the defendants as “the members of union leadership who are SAG-AFTRA Health Plan trustees; the members of union leadership who participated in the collective bargaining agreement negotiations and approvals with knowledge of the ongoing activity by the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan trustees to change the benefit structure, and the members of union leadership who approved the benefit cuts changes or who have used their union positions and the union to support the benefit cuts.”

Fisher, who is first vice president of the union’s Los Angeles Local and a member of the its national board of directors, named SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, former national executive director David White, chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez and several other SAG-AFTRA officials as defendants.

Her case is separate but similar to a lawsuit filed last December against the trustees of the Health Plan, which claims that that the changes in its eligibility rules “illegally discriminate based on age” – a charge flatly denied by the plan’s trustees, who say the changes were necessary to keep the plan afloat. Like Fisher, two of the plaintiffs in that case – former SAG president Ed Asner and L.A. Local second vice president David Jolliffe – are aligned with MembershipFirst, the union’s opposition party.

Kyra Sedgwick Movie ‘Space Oddity’ Adds Kevin Bacon, Simon Helberg & Carrie Preston

(7/29/21) Kevin Bacon, Simon Helberg and Carrie Preston are joining Primetime Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick’s second feature directorial Space Oddity from the 2016 Black List script.

Additionally, REI Co-op Studios has come on board as producers of the film alongside Sedgwick and Valerie Stadler’s Big Swing Productions.

Penned by Rebecca Banner, Space Oddity tells the story of Alex (Kyle Allen) who, after giving up on Earth and deciding to leave it all behind for a one-way mission to Mars, develops an unexpected romance with Daisy (Alexandra Shipp), the enigmatic town newcomer, which forces him to choose between an uncertain journey to the stars and an even more uncertain journey of the heart.

Bacon will play Jeff, Alex’s Father; Preston is Jane, Alex’s mother; while Helberg plays Dimitri, the love interest to Alex’s sister, Liz (played by Madeline Brewer, who we previously announced). Production is taking place in Rhode Island.

REI Co-op Studios is the retailer’s in-house content arm. Across films, podcasts, and editorial programs, the studio develops and produces stories that entertain, enrich and explore the power of time spent outside, while complementing the co-op’s broader climate and racial equity, diversity, and inclusion commitments.

Said Paolo Mottola, REI’s Director of Content and Media, “Space Oddity’s story is set in the context of our changing climate and how the connections we have to this planet, and each other, makes it worth saving. We hope audiences see themselves in these characters and are motivated to advocate for a healthier planet.”

Added Sedgwick, “One of the things we want to do with this movie is generate hope. There is so much information out in the world today, and it’s easy for things to seem bleak, but we need to stay optimistic so we can keep fighting because our planet is worth fighting for. We are thrilled to be partnering with REI Co-op Studios to amplify this message and to work with their talent team who have a lifetime of experience loving the outdoors and the Earth.”

REI Co-op’s last production was last year’s The Dark Divide, directed by Tom Putnam and starring David Cross and Debra Messing.

Also producing Space Oddity is Jack Greenbaum and Richard Arlook for the The Arlook Group and Mickey Schiff for Unique Features. EPs are Bob Shaye, Ibrahim AlHusseini, JL Pomeroy, Brent Emery, Susan Cartonis, Suzanne Farwell, Meredith Bagby and Anne Clements.

Golden Globe winner and Primetime Emmy nominee Bacon recently starred in season 2 of Showtime’s hit series City on a Hill which was renewed for a third season. He also starred in and co-produced David Koepp’s You Should Have Left and can next be seen in the upcoming films One Way and The Toxic Avenger. The Footloose and J.F.K. star was won a Golden Globe in 2010 in the Actor Miniseries/Made for TV movie category for Taking Chance which also landed him an Emmy nom in the same category in 2009. He is repped by MGMT Entertainment and attorney Fred Gaines.

Golden Globe and multi-SAG nominee Helberg will next be seen in Amazon’s Annette which made its world premiere at Cannes and also stars Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver; penned by the Sparks brothers and directed by Leos Carax. He recently wrapped production on the film As Sick as They Made Us, an upcoming drama directed and written by Mayim Bialik and stars Candice Bergen, Dustin Hoffman, and Dianna Agron. Across 279 episodes, Helberg played Howard Wolowitz on CBS/Warner Bros. TV’s The Big Bang Theory. He is repped by UTA, MGMT Entertainment, Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Preston won a 2013 Primetime Emmy in the Guest Actress drama category for The Good Wife. She can now be seen as Polly in the hit TNT series, Claws, executive-produced by Rashida Jones. The drama continues to garner rave reviews and is currently in its fourth and final season. She also can be seen in Dr. Death with Joshua Jackson based on the true story of neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch who permanently maimed and killed his patients. Her directorial career continuous to flourish, most recently directing an episode of The Good Fight to stream on Aug. 5. She is repped by Innovative Artists, Principal Entertainment.

Matt Bomer To Star In ‘Echoes’ Netflix Limited Series

(7/29/21) Matt Bomer is set as a male lead opposite Michelle Monaghan in Echoes, Netflix’s psychological thriller limited series from 13 Reasons Why showrunner Brian Yorkey.

Created and written by Vanessa Gazy, Echoes is a mystery thriller about identical twins Leni and Gina, both portrayed by Monaghan, who share a dangerous secret. Since they were children, Leni and Gina secretly have swapped lives, culminating in a double life as adults: They share two homes, two husbands and a child, but everything in their perfectly choreographed world is thrown into disarray when one of the sisters goes missing.

Bomer will play Jack Beck, Leni’s husband. He is the boy-next-door who grew up to be the husband everybody wishes they had: soulful, a loving father and a valuable member of the community who runs a successful veterinary practice and horse farm on the land that has been in his family for generations. When his wife disappears mysteriously, it’s Jack who has the most to lose as her secret life comes to the surface.

Yorkey serves as executive producer and co-showrunner. Gazy executive produces, with Quinton Peeples serving as executive producer/co-showrunner alongside Yorkey. Also executive producing are Imogen Banks and Endemol Shine Banks Australia.

Bomer, who earned an Emmy nomination for HBO’s The Normal Heart, stars on the HBO Max series Doom Patrol and previously headlined the second season of USA’s The Sinner. The American Horror Story alum currently appears on spinoff series American Horror Stories. He is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Hansen Jacobson Teller.

Guiding Light Reunion: Paula Garces and Saundra Santiago

(7/29/21) (Watch here) The Santos Women will be guests in the Locher Room on Wednesday, August 4th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Don't miss the chance to catch up with Paula Garces (Pilar Santos) and Saundra Santiago (Carmen Santos). This on-screen mother and daughter duo will reminisce about their time working together on Guiding Light and fill us in on all the great projects they have been working on since those Springfield days.

‘Manifest’s Matt Long, Marg Helgenberger, Jasmine Mathews & E.J. Bonilla Cast In ‘Getaway’ NBC Pilot

(7/27/21) Amid talks about a new season of Manifest, one of the canceled NBC series’ core cast members, Matt Long, has booked a new pilot at the network but fans of the missing plane drama should not be too worried about it. Long, CSI alumna Marg Helgenberger, Jasmine Mathews (The Rookie) and E.J. Bonilla (The Old Man) are set as series regulars opposite Annie Ilonzeh in NBC drama pilot Getaway, from The Blacklist duo John Davis and John Fox and Universal TV, a division of Universal Studios Group.

I hear Long was approached about Getaway after the options on the Manifest cast expired last month and studio Warner Bros. Television ended its efforts to find a new home for the show after conversations with Netflix did not yield an agreement. The series regulars on Manifest are free to take new jobs while talks about a Season 4 of Manifest recently resumed, with both Netflix and NBC interested in renewing the drama, which has found a large new audience on the streamer.

I hear Long’s deal for Getaway is for one year so if the Getaway pilot goes to series, he could still return to Manifest if the series gets resurrected, subject to synching up dates.

Additionally, Bonilla is a series regular on the upcoming FX on Hulu series The Old Man, whose Season 1 production is currently on hold while star Jeff Bridges undergoes cancer treatment. I hear Bonilla will be able to fulfill his obligation to the FX series before he segues to Getaway should the pilot go to series.

Written and executive produced by JJ Bailey (Echo) and Moira Kirland (Madam Secretary), Getaway centers on a destination wedding at an isolated luxury resort that quickly descends into chaos after a group of dangerous criminals takes the island hostage. The small group of guests, led by a fearless female Army vet (Ilonzeh), will do everything they can to stay alive.

Helgenberger will play Sen. Charlotte Pierce. As a senior Democratic senator from New York, Charlotte is used to calling the shots. She’s happy to see her son, Jack (Long), settle down with his bride, Grace (Mathew, but there are darker forces at play she has yet to fully understand. Charlotte will soon have to choose between her family and the political career for which she’s worked so hard.

Long’s Jack Pierce has always gotten everything he wanted. When he fell for Grace, he was determined to make her his wife, just as he was set on creating a professional career for himself that was separate from his mother, Sen. Charlotte Pierce, and the family name.

Mathews is Grace Rowland. When Grace met Jack Pierce she was swept off her feet, and their whirlwind courtship has gone from initial meeting to walking down the aisle in just over a year. As the hotel comes under attack, Grace and Jack’s fairy tale relationship will come under more pressure, exposing a side of Grace that no one has seen before.

Bonilla will play Rafi Salinas. Rafi claims to be a fisherman on the run with his friends from a gang of cartel members, but he’s hiding a dark secret that will put everyone at the resort in danger.

Davis and Fox executive produce via Davis Entertainment. Universal TV is the studio.

Like Long, Helgenberger only recently became available after co-starring on CBS’ recently departed series All Rise for the last two seasons. She starred for 12 seasons as Catherine Willows in CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She then went on to star in two other CBS drama series, Intelligence and Under the Dome. On the film side, she was most recently seen in Universal/Amblin’s A Dog’s Journey. Helgenberger is repped by ICM Partners, Thruline Entertainment and Felker, Toczek.

Mathews can currently be seen starring in Amazon Prime Studios’ The Tomorrow War, alongside Chris Pratt and Yvonne Strahovski. Next up, she’ll be seen opposite Kevin Hart in Sony’s action-comedy The Man from Toronto. She previously was a series regular on Starz’s drama Sweetbitter, and also recurred on ABC’s The Rookie. She’s repped by Gersh and Red-Letter Entertainment.

Bonilla most recently appeared in Nat Geo’s miniseries The Long Road Home and was previously a series regular on the final season of A&E’s Unforgettable. He’s repped by Innovative Artists and MKSD Talent Management.

Long’s big break came with the starring role of Jack McCallister in the WB’s Jack & Bobby. He subsequently had recurring roles on Mad Men and on Private Practice. Long, whose series credits also include Helix, is repped by Innovative Arts and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

Video: Laura Wright Interview - Celebrating 30 Years in Daytime Television

(7/22/21) (Video) Emmy Award-winning actress Laura Wright joined The Locher Room on Thursday, July 22 to celebrate her 30 year career working in daytime television. Laura made her television debut as Ally Rescott on the ABC daytime drama Loving on June 25, 1991. Laura played that role on Loving up until the debut of The City in 1995. She played the role of Ally on The City until the show's demise in March of 1997. On August 1, 1997, Laura joined the cast of Guiding Light in the role of Cassie Layne Winslow, a role she played for eight years before moving to Port Charles and General Hospital. Laura took over the role of Carly Corinthos in November 2005 and has never left playing the role for the past 16 years. In 2011, Laura earned a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Hayden Panettiere 'Trying to Forgive and Move Forward' After Ex Is Released from Jail

(7/21/21) Hayden Panettiere hasn't completely shut ex Brian Hickerson out of her life.

The two were spotted together in West Hollywood over the weekend, according to E!, with Hickerson himself telling the outlet the duo were "not back together but are working on a friendship."

A source close to Hayden confirms they are in communication. "Brian is in intensive therapy treatment," the source tells TooFab. "She won't forget what he did but she's trying to forgive and move forward."

Our source added Hayden "is sober and doing very well."

That echoes what Hickerson told E!, telling the publication that Panettiere was "not drinking" during their hangout with friends. "We have a long history together, and the first step in my recovery as an abuser is making amends," he added. "That's exactly what Hayden has been gracious enough to allow me to do."

In April, Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent. He was also sentenced to four years probation, received a five-year restraining order and was ordered to attend 52 domestic violence classes and pay a $500 fee.

Hickerson initially pleaded not guilty to eight charges brought against him after his July 2020 arrest -- including battery, corporal injury, assault with a deadly weapon and intimidating a witness, for incidents that allegedly took place during his relationship with Panettiere. All remaining charges against him were dropped after his sentencing.

He was previously arrested over allegations of abuse against Panettiere in February 2020 and May 2019, the latter also for felony domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty and the charges were dropped later that year.

"I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve," Panettiere said in a statement to TMZ last July.

"I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I'm grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life," she added.

"For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call 1-800-799-7233," she concluded, sharing the National Domestic Violence Hotline, "or if you're unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474."

Frank Grillo To Star In Action Pic ‘Hounds Of War’ For Electric Entertainment, Malta Shoot Slated For Late 2021

(7/20/21) Captain America and The Purge star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie Hounds Of War for Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment (Independence Day: Resurgence), which will sell the movie internationally.

The movie will follow a group of mercenaries who take on jobs that are considered impossible. After a mission goes wrong due to a shocking betrayal, only one of them is left alive to avenge his fallen brothers.

Filming is due to begin later this year on location in Malta. Lowell Dean (Wolf Cop) will direct from Jean Pierre Magro’s (Blood On The Crown) script.

Pic is a co-production between Trilight Entertainment’s Shayne Putzlocher and Jaggurnaught’s Jean Pierre Magro, Pedja Miletic and Aaron Briffa. It is also produced and co-financed by Sara Shaak of Anamorphic Media. Executive producers are Frank Grillo, Nika Finch and Polina Pushkareva.

The deal was negotiated by Nolan Pielak, Senior Vice President, International Distribution of Electric Entertainment, and Shayne Putzlocher, producer of the film.

Pielak commented: “Frank Grillo has become an international superstar, and with the continuous appetite for commercial action features, a project like Hounds of War will be highly sought-after in territories worldwide.”

Putzlocher added: “I can speak for the whole team and say we are absolutely thrilled to have Frank as the star of our film. His commitment to the script and his superior experience in the action genre are going to give audiences a real treat.”

Video: Murray Bartlett Interview

(7/16/21) (Video) Catch up with actor Murray Bartlett in The Locher Room recorded on Friday, July 16th. Murray was there to discuss his new role as Armond on the limited HBO Max series, The White Lotus which premiered July 11th. Murray will also reminisce about his role as Dominic "Dom" Basaluzzo in the HBO comedy-drama series Looking and his role as Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver in the Netflix revival of Tales of the City. Daytime television fans will recognize Murray from his role as Cyrus Foley from the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light.

‘The Last Of Us’: Jeffrey Pierce, Murray Bartlett, Con O’Neill Join HBO Series Based On Video Game

(7/15/21) Jeffrey Pierce, the voice of Tommy in The Last of Us video game series, is set to recur as a different character opposite Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Gabriel Luna in HBO’s high-profile series adaptation of the Sony Playstation franchise. Murray Bartlett and Con O’Neil also have joined the cast of The Last of Us, from Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

Based on the acclaimed video game The Last of Us, the story takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Pierce will recur as Perry, a rebel in a quarantine zone. Bartlett guest stars as Frank and O’Neill is Bill, two post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town.

In addition to Pascal, Ramsey and Luna, cast also includes Merle Dandridge and Nico Parker.

Kantemir Balagov is directing the pilot episode of The Last of Us, a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce the TV series, based on the video game developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation platforms.

Druckmann and Mazin write and executive produce; Carolyn Strauss also executive produces along with Naughty Dog president Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan of PlayStation Productions as well as Rose Lam.

Pierce’s role marks his return to the franchise. He voiced the Tommy character in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II video games. Also is known for his roles Bosch and Castle Rock, he is repped by Buchwald.

Bartlett plays the role of Armond in The White Lotus from Mike White, now airing on HBO and HBO Max, and is also known for Tales of the City and HBO’s Looking. Bartlett is repped by Anonymous Content and Paradigm.

O’Neill recently was seen in HBO’s Emmy-winning limited series Chernobyl and next appears in Our Flag Means Death and The Batman. O’Neill is repped by Mosaic and Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson LLP.

Laura Wright Interview: Celebrating 30 Years in Daytime Television

(7/14/21) (Watch Here) Emmy Award-winning actress Laura Wright will join The Locher Room live on Thursday, July 22 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST to celebrate her 30 year career working in daytime television. Laura made her television debut as Ally Rescott on the ABC daytime drama Loving on June 25, 1991. Laura played that role on Loving up until the debut of The City in 1995. She played the role of Ally on The City until the show's demise in March of 1997. On August 1, 1997, Laura joined the cast of Guiding Light in the role of Cassie Layne Winslow, a role she played for eight years before moving to Port Charles and General Hospital. Laura took over the role of Carly Corinthos in November 2005 and has never left playing the role for the past 16 years. In 2011, Laura earned a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.

2021 Primetime Emmy Nominations

(7/13/21) The Primetime Emmys will air live Sunday, September 19, on CBS and stream on Paramount+. The Neighborhood star Cedric the Entertainer was just set to host the ceremony, which after a virtual 2020 ceremony will be held in-person at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, featuring a limited audience of nominees and their guests.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Bridgerton
Netflix • A Netflix Original Series in association with shondalandmedia
Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset

The Crown
Netflix • Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television for Netflix
Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles

Lovecraft Country
HBO • HBO in association with afemme, Monkeypaw, Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. Television
Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman

Perry Mason
HBO • HBO in association with Team Downey, Dwight Street Book Club, and Inflatable Moose
Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason

Pose
FX Networks • FX Productions in association with 20th Century Television
Billy Porter as Pray Tell

This Is Us
NBC • 20th Television
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Black-ish
ABC • ABC Signature
Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson

The Flight Attendant
HBO Max • HBO Max in association with Berlanti Productions, Yes, Norman Productions, and Warner Bros. Television
Kaley Cuoco as Cassie Bowden

Hacks
HBO Max • Universal Television in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment
Jean Smart as Deborah Vance

Mom
CBS • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
Allison Janney as Bonnie Plunkett

Shrill
Hulu • Hulu, Warner Bros. Television, Broadway Video, Brownstone Productions, A. Rushfield Productions
Aidy Bryant as Annie Easton

Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology/Movie

Hamilton
Disney+ • Lin-Manuel Miranda and Nevis Productions LLC, Old 320 Sycamore, and RadicalMedia
Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler

Hamilton • Disney+ • Lin-Manuel Miranda and Nevis Productions LLC, Old 320 Sycamore, and RadicalMedia
Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton

Mare Of Easttown
HBO • HBO in association with wiip Studios, The Low Dweller Productions, Juggle Productions, Mayhem and Zobot Projects
Julianne Nicholson as Lori Ross

Mare Of Easttown • HBO • HBO in association with wiip Studios, The Low Dweller Productions, Juggle Productions, Mayhem and Zobot Projects
Jean Smart as Helen

The Queen’s Gambit
Netflix • Netflix Moses Ingram as Jolene

WandaVision
Disney+ • Marvel Studios
Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness / Agnes The Nosy Neighbor

Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

The Kominsky Method • Chapter 20. The Round Toes, Of The High Shoes
Netflix • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
Morgan Freeman as Morgan Freeman

Saturday Night Live • Host: Daniel Kaluuya
NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Daniel Kaluuya as Host

Saturday Night Live • Host: Dave Chappelle
NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump

Saturday Night Live • Host: Dave Chappelle
NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Dave Chappelle as Host

Saturday Night Live • Host: Dan Levy
NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Dan Levy as Host

Guest Actress In A Drama Series

The Crown • 48:1
Netflix • Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television for Netflix
Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II

The Handmaid’s Tale • Pigs
Hulu • Hulu, MGM, Daniel Wilson Productions, The Littlefield Company, White Oak Pictures
McKenna Grace as Esther Keyes

The Handmaid’s Tale • Testimony
Hulu • Hulu, MGM, Daniel Wilson Productions, The Littlefield Company, White Oak Pictures
Alexis Bledel as Emily

Ratched • The Dance
Netflix • A Fox21 Television Studios Production for Netflix
Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte Wells

This Is Us • I’ve Got This
NBC • 20th Television
Phylicia Rashad as Carol “Mama C” Clarke

Murray Bartlett Virtual Interview

(7/8/21) (Watch here) The Locher Room will welcome Murray Bartlett (ex-Cyrus, GUIDING LIGHT) to the YouTube show live on Friday, July 16. The actor will be live at 3 P.M. ET to talk about his time on the show, as well as his other roles he has played.

Suzzanne Douglas Dies: ‘The Parent ‘Hood’, ‘When They See Us’ Actress Was 64

(7/7/21) Suzzanne Douglas (Guiding Light), who starred in Robert Townsend’s WB ’90s sitcom The Parent ‘Hood and most recently appeared in Ava DuVernay’s 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us, died yesterday at the age of 64. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

Douglas’ death was announced on Facebook by her cousin Angie Tee.

“Suzzanne Douglas a beautiful and talented actress made her transition today,” Tee wrote. “She warmed our hearts on movie screens and television sets all over the world…The world will miss your talent but your soul will live on forever.”

DuVernay remembered Douglas as “a quiet, elegant force.”

“A gentlewoman,” DuVernay wrote on Twitter early this morning. “A gem of a lady. A confident, caring actor who breathed life into the words and made them shimmer. I’m grateful that our paths in this life crossed. May she journey on in peace and love.”

A Chicago native raised by a single mother in the city’s public housing, Douglas, who graduated from Illinois State University and would later earn a Master in Music degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, launched her career in 1989 with a starring role in the Gregory Hines-Sammy Davis Jr. dance-themed drama Tap. Douglas played the daughter of Davis’ character in what would be Davis’ final film performance.

“I can remember growing up, there weren’t very many black actresses who had starring roles but there was my cousin with the lead role in ‘Tap’ starring alongside great dancers such as Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr.,” Tee remembered. For her performance in Tap, Douglas won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Also that year, Douglas began a prolific career in television that would include appearances in such series as A Man Called Hawk, The Cosby Show, Against the Law, I’ll Fly Away, The Parkers, Bones and Bull. In 1995, she was cast as Jerri Peterson opposite Townsend in his WB comedy The Parent ‘Hood. The show ran for five seasons and co-starred Reagan Gomez-Preston as the Petersons’ teenage daughter. (The younger actress remembered Douglas yesterday by retweeting recent Mother’s Day posts.)

Douglas’ film credits include The Inkwell (1994), The Last Weekend (1998), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) and School of Rock (2003). In addition to her TV series work, she appeared in TV films such as 2003’s Sounder remake and, in 2015, Lifetime’s Whitney, in which she portrayed Whitney Houston’s mother, the singer Cissy Houston.

The actress also appeared frequently on stage, including a starring role as Jenny Diver in Broadway’s 1989 3 Penny Opera and 1983’s The Tap Dance Kid. She was an understudy in the 1987 Broadway production of Into The Woods.

Information on survivors was not immediately available, but Douglas reportedly leaves behind a husband and a daughter.

‘American Horror Stories’: Matt Bomer, Billie Lourd & John Carroll Lynch Among ‘AHS’ Alums To Return For Hulu Anthology Series, Danny Trejo Confirmed

(7/7/21) American Horror Stories, Hulu’s American Horror Story spinoff anthology series, will welcome some fresh and returning faces. AHS alums Matt Bomer, Billie Lourd and John Carroll Lynch are set to return to the wicked world of Ryan Murphy’s horror franchise as they round out the cast.

On Wednesday Murphy unveiled a slate of actors set to join the series via a social media post. The video listed off the names of participating actors and their roles. Bomer, Lourde and Lynch are set to play Michael, Liv Whitely and Larry Bitterman, respectively. Naomi Grossman will also return to the American Horror Story franchise to take on Rabid Ruth.

American Horror Stories is a weekly hourlong anthology series that will feature a different horror story in each contained episode. The spinoff will premiere exclusively on Hulu July 15. Murphy’s social media post also revealed that Aaron Tveit, Paris Jackson, Madison Bailey and Virginia Garndner and many more will appear throughout the series. Murphy also confirmed that Danny Trejo will join the cast as Santa.

“And this isn’t even the half of it,” Murphy said about the packed cast.

The spin-off anthology series will premiere a little more than a month before American Horror Story returns for its tenth installment, Double Feature. American Horror Stories is set to conclude on Halloween.

American Horror Stories is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, John J. Gray and Manny Coto.

‘Batwoman’: Robin Givens Joins Season 3 Of CW Drama As Series Regular

(7/6/21) Robin Givens (Riverdale) has been tapped for a key role in the upcoming third season of the CW’s Batwoman.

Givens, a new series regular on the DC drama, will play Jada Jet. A powerful CEO for Jet Industries, Jada isn’t bossy: she’s the boss. Passionate and hard working, a woman who has worked her way through life’s ups and downs to climb her way to the top — all while being extremely protective over her impetuous son. A woman with a deep past that forced her to give up her first-born child, Jada is a woman with a good heart, but will do whatever it takes to protect her family.

In the June 27 Season 2 finale, Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) has fully taken up the mantle as Batwoman with Kate Kane leaving Gotham in a search for her long-missing cousin Bruce Wayne (aka Batman). It also was revealed that Ryan’s biological mother, who was believed to have died in childbirth, is actually alive.

In addition to Javicia Leslie as Batwoman, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, and Camrus Johnso also star; original cast member Dougray Scott recently left the series. Batwoman is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Givens is currently recurring in the upcoming HBO Max series Head of the Class, reprising her role as Darlene Merriman from the original series. In the followup series, Darlene is Terrell’s (Brandon Severs) mother.

Previously, Givens recurred as Sierra McCoy on the CW’s Riverdale, also from Berlanti Prods. and WBTV, and directed a couple of episodes of the hit series. She also directed the 2021 feature film Favorite Son. Her film credits include Head of State with Chris Rock, Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys and the upcoming Last Looks with Mel Gibson and Charlie Hunnam. Her recent television work also includes a recurring role on ABC’s The Fix and a series regular role on OWN’s Ambitions. Givens is repped by A3 Artists Agency.

Soap Writers Chat - Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest

(7/1/21) (Video) The Emmy Award-winning and real-life husband and wife duo Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest joined The Locher Room on Thursday, July 1.

Nancy Curlee is a three-time Emmy winner and the recipient of one Writers Guild of America Award for Guiding Light and has written for All My Children and One Life to Live.

Stephen is a six-time Emmy winner and the recipient of two Writers Guild of America Award as a head writer of the CBS daytime dramas As the World Turns and Guiding Light. He has also written for All My Children, General Hospital, One Life to Live, and Another World. Last year Stephen released his first sport book, Larry Miller: The Story of the Lost Legend Who Sparked the Tar Heel Dynasty.

The couple have three daughters and make their home in North Carolina. Please don’t miss the chance to catch up with this talented duo.

Soap Writers: Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest Interview

(6/24/21) (Watch Here) Join the Emmy Award-winning and real-life husband and wife duo Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest live in The Locher Room on Thursday, July 1 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Nancy Curlee is a three-time Emmy winner and the recipient of one Writers Guild of America Award for Guiding Light and has written for All My Children and One Life to Live. Stephen is a six-time Emmy winner and the recipient of two Writers Guild of America Award as a head writer of the CBS daytime dramas As the World Turns and Guiding Light. He has also written for All My Children, General Hospital, One Life to Live, and Another World. Last year Stephen released his first sport book, Larry Miller: The Story of the Lost Legend Who Sparked the Tar Heel Dynasty.

The couple have three daughters and make their home in North Carolina. Please don’t miss the chance to catch up with this talented duo.

Rosanna Arquette, Taye Diggs, Gael Garcia Bernal, Maya Hawke To Star In ‘Playboy Interview’ Podcast

(6/24/21) A slew of stars including Rosanna Arquette, Taye Diggs, Gael Garcia Bernal and Maya Hawke, are to portray famous figures across history in a new podcast series from Playboy and Audio Up.

The two companies are launching Playboy Interview, an audio series that features teleplay-style re-enactments of the most iconic Playboy interview conversations.

Other stars also include Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Kevin Corrigan and Gina Gershon.

The series, which is set to debut in September, will see Arquette voice feminist pioneer Betty Friedan, Diggs will portray Muhammad Ali, Garcia Bernal plays Salvador Dali, Shannon is Tennessee Williams, Shea Whigham is John Wayne, Maya Hawke is Helen Gurley Brown, Kevin Corrigan is Frank Sinatra and Gina Gershon is Oriana Fallaci.

The first two episodes will feature “conversations” with Friedan and Ali.

The series is based on the classic Playboy Interview, which started in 1962 with Alex Haley’s conversation with Miles Davis and has run for more than 500 interviews including the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Steve Jobs, Whoopi Goldberg and Maya Angelou.

“Working on the Playboy Interview was an incredible experience,” said Maya Hawke, who also portrays Ayn Rand in the second season, which is likely to launch in early 2022. “I got the rare opportunity to portray two of history’s most influential, controversial, and complicated women. I was allowed to inhabit the characters rather than being asked to impersonate them, which left me thinking about their respective perspectives for weeks after. And I felt inspired. Even if I don’t agree with them about everything, or anything – their strength, persistence, and insistence on being exactly who they are has reminded me to be exactly who I am.”

“Playboy is culturally iconic for many reasons, but their in-depth interviews and journalistic integrity is a large part of what has made the publication so cool,” said Gina Gershon. “I was so happy to work on a project that celebrates Playboy’s historic interviews with so many incredible individuals. I’ve always been fascinated by Oriana Fallaci, and was so excited to be able to take part in bringing her interviews to life. It was so much fun to explore this remarkable woman and share her point of view with the world.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to unveil the first season of the Playboy Interview podcast,” added Rachel Webber, Chief Brand Officer at PLBY Group and producer of the series. “Audio is the perfect format for these intimate and revealing conversations. Each brilliant performance by this incredible cast gives you chills, making you feel like you’re right there in the room as history unfolds.”

“This podcast is the culmination of a personal journey for me having spent seven years as Playboy’s editorial director,” added Audio Up’s Chief Creative Officer Jimmy Jellinek, who adapted, produced and directed all 10 episodes of season one. “Thanks to the explosion of audio as a medium, today we’re able to reintroduce these incredible conversations to a new generation. I have long thought the Playboy Interview would lend itself perfectly to formats off the page. In my wildest dreams I didn’t anticipate that something this magical would be the result.”

“We’ve paired the greatest conversations of the 20th century with the greatest actors of the 21st. Audio Up is in the business of pushing the boundaries of audio entertainment and this project exemplifies that mission in every way,” said Audio Up founder and Chief Executive Officer Jared Gutstadt.

Video: Jill Farren Phelps Interview

(6/23/21) (Video) Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 23. Jill has worked as an EP on six daytime dramas (Another World, General Hospital, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, Santa Barbara and The Young and the Restless). Phelps has been nominated for fifteen Daytime Emmy Awards and has won a total of 11 Emmys for her work on those soaps. Daytime fans are passionate about Phelps' work (the good and the bad) over the years and they discuss it all.

Douglas S. Cramer, producer of ‘Love Boat,’ ‘Wonder Woman,’ dies

(6/22/21) Douglas S. Kramer, who produced top-notch television shows such as “Wonder Woman” and “Love Boat” and spent them on contemporary art at a blazing pace, had to buy a second home. He died at his home on Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.

In an era of comfortable and family-friendly programming, Cramer was the dominant player in ABC, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount TV in the 1960s and 70s. He then teamed up with Aaron Spelling, the then undisputed golden-time television emperor. Together they dominated the rating war with shows such as “Love Boat,” “Heart to Heart,” and “Dynasty.”

Television made Kramer wealthy and gave him the ability to indulge in his almost obsessive hobby of collecting paintings, drawings and sculptures. By the 1990s, Cramer had collected more than 500 works of art worth about $ 100 million, the Architectural Digest reported. His collection was listed 17 times by ARTnews as one of America’s Top 200 Collection.

“I always enjoy seeing and owning things,” he explained.

Kramer, a longtime centerpiece of the LA art scene and former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, died of renal failure on June 4, at the age of 89, said her husband Hubert Bush.

Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Kramer began his television career with Procter & Gamble, which oversees daytime standards such as “Search for Tomorrow” and “As the World Turns.” Over the next few years, he directed the golden-time soap opera “Payton Place,” and then helped direct a series of long-running television shows, including “The Brady Bunch,” “The Brady Bunch,” and “Dynasty.” .. ..

“We walk a thin line just here on the camp,” he told New York Magazine in 1985, explaining his approach to unraveling the story of a loveless, stinging family in the “dynasty.” Did.

He told the Louisville Courier Journal that his urge to collect art was likely facilitated by his grandmother, who ran an antique store. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he started collecting salt shakers, postcards, and posters. His first big splash was a black print purchased for $ 350 and paid off in monthly installments.

In LA, he grew up and bought the artwork crazy — Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Richard Erschwager, a seemingly endless list. He was so close to Andy Warhol that he persuaded the artist to make a guest appearance on “Love Boat” instead of asking for some of Warhol’s portraits.

The art collected was meditative instead of an enthusiastic work in the studio, Kramer said.

“There is a great freeze on art,” he told The New York Times in 1993. “At work, I spend a couple of hours watching movies and videos, but when I get home, the images stop.”

When Bel Air’s house was filled with art, he bought a 66-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley to store the rest. And when it was full, he added some galleries to the property due to the overflow.

The 420-acre ranch was eventually sold to Firestone Vineyard, where much of the art was donated to MOCA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Kramer was free to roam between his residences in Los Angeles, New York City, Martha’s Vineyard, Connecticut, St. Martin, and Miami, chasing the seasons and whims.

The marriage to Hollywood gossip columnist Joyce Haver divorced in the 1970s, and her two children, Courtney and Douglas, died in 2004 and 2015, respectively. He married Bush in 2006 after a long partnership. Besides his husband, he has survived by his brother, Peyton.

Joanne Linville Dies: ‘Star Trek’ Romulan Commander & ‘Twilight Zone’ Actress With Scores Of Screen Credits Was 93

(6/21/21) Joanne Linville (Amy Sinclair, The Guiding Light), who played the Romulan commander in a memorable 1968 Star Trek episode and had scores of other screen credits, died Sunday. She was 93. CAA made the announcement but did not disclose a cause of death.

Linville began racking up TV guest roles in the mid-1950s, appearing on such series of the era as Studio One, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kraft Theatre and Playhouse 90. She continued to guest on drama series throughout the ’60s, including such classics as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., Route 66, Ben Casey, I Spy and a two-part Hawaii Five-0.

Of her work in that era, she might be most recognizable as Lavinia Gordon, the owner of a ruined Southern mansion in the Civil War-themed 1961 Twilight Zone episode titled “The Passersby,” which also starred James Gregory.

But despite her prolific active career from the mid-’50s to the late-’80s, and included a few latter-day roles, Linville is best remembered for her role in a 1968 episode of the original Star Trek. “The Enterprise Incident” is one of the few times Leonard Nimoy’s Spock character Spock romanced a woman. Linville played a powerful Romulan commander who is drawn to and ultimately seduced by the Vulcan’s charms. She discovers too late that Spock’s attentions are a ruse so that Captain Kirk can steal the fabled Romulan cloaking device, which renders ships invisible.

Linville continued to work steadily in TV throughout the 1970s and ’80s. While never a series regular, she appeared on some of those decades’ most popular shows: Columbo, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, CHiPs, Dynasty and L.A. Law.

Born Beverly Joanne Linville on January 15, 1928, in Bakersfield, CA, she grew up in Venice, CA. The actress also had some film roles during her long career including A Star Is Born (1976), Scorpio (1973) and The Seduction (1982).

During the 1980s, she and her teacher Stella Adler started an acting conservancy under the latter’s name, and Linville also authored the 2011 book Seven Steps to an Acting Craft.

Linville was married to On Golden Pond director Mark Rydell from 1962-73 and was the great-grandmother of actress Billie Lourd and Austen Rydell’s son, Kingston. Along with the four of them, she is survived by her children Christopher and Amy, and grandchildren Ruby and Ginger.

Video: Guiding Light Reunion - Carolyn Ann Clark and Kristen Vigard

(6/16/21) (Video) Carolyn Ann Clark (Lesley Ann Monroe) and Kristen Vigard (Morgan Richards) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 16th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these two talented Springfield residents as they share memories of that special time on Guiding Light.

Chat with Jill Farren Phelps

(6/15/21) (Watch here) The Locher Room will welcome Jill Farren Phelps to the YouTube show on Wednesday, June 23 at 3 p.m. ET. Phelps has been the EP at ANOTHER WORLD, GH, GUIDING LIGHT, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, SANTA BARBARA AND Y&R and has won 11 Daytime Emmys for her works on soaps.

‘13: The Musical’: Rhea Perlman, Josh Peck & Peter Hermann Round Out Cast Of Netflix Pic

(6/12/21) And the dance card is full. Rhea Perlman (Matilda, Cheers), Josh Peck (Turner & Hooch, The Wackness) and Peter Hermann (Younger, Law & Order: SVU) have joined 13: The Musical, rounding out the cast of Netflix’s feature adaptation of the Broadway show.

It follows 12-year-old Evan Goldman (Eli Golden) as he moves from New York City to small-town Indiana and must grapple with his parents’ divorce, prepare for his pending Bar Mitzvah and navigate the complicated social circles of a new school.

Production is underway on 13: The Musical, which is produced by Neil Meron with Tamra Davis directing and Tony winner Robert Horn adapting the script off the book he co-wrote with Dan Elish.

No details about Perlman, Peck or Hermann’s roles, but they join a cast that includes Gabriella Uhl, JD McCrary, Frankie McNellis, Lindsey Blackwell, Jonathan Lengel, Ramon Reed, Nolen Dubuc, Luke Islam, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Kayleigh Cerezo, Wyatt Moss, Liam Wignall, Khiyla Aynne and Debra Messing.

Three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, who served as the composer and lyricist on the original musical, is also composing new music for the feature here. EPs are Davis, Brown, Horn, Mark Nicholson and Bob Boyett. Jamal Sims is choreographer, and Harvey Mason Jr. is executive music producer.

GUIDING LIGHT Virtual Reunion Scheduled

(6/8/21) (Watch here) The Locher Room will welcome GUIDING LIGHT alums Carolyn Ann Clark (ex-Lesley Ann) and Kristen Vigard (ex-Morgan) to the YouTube show. The actresses will be interviewed live on Wednesday, June 16 at 3 p.m. ET, which can be viewed here.

Douglas S. Cramer, Exec Producer on ‘Wonder Woman,’ ‘Dynasty’ and ‘The Love Boat,’ Dies at 89

(6/7/21) (hollywoodreporter.com) Douglas S. Cramer, the onetime head of Paramount Television and producing partner of Aaron Spelling who helped launch such series as Peyton Place, The Brady Bunch, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat and Dynasty, has died. He was 89.

Cramer died Monday in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts of heart and kidney failure, his close friend and former The Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron announced.

“When I was a THR columnist, nobody knew it, but he was my secret ‘legman.’ He was a genius producer with style and taste. We had so much fun together. We were friends for over 45 years,” Cameron said.

A two-time Emmy nominee who was once married to powerful Hollywood columnist Joyce Haber, Cramer also worked for Procter & Gamble, ABC, 20th Century Fox and Screen Gems, where he executive produced Leon Uris’ QB VII, a six-hour-plus “novel for television” that amassed huge ratings for ABC in 1974.

Later, he forged a relationship with prolific author Danielle Steel, and he made more than 20 telefilms and/or miniseries out of her wildly popular novels before he quit show business to concentrate on his enviable art collection and real estate properties around the world.

In 1977, after Spelling and Leonard Goldberg went their separate ways after their producing partnership had fathered such hits as Charlie’s Angels, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart and T.J. Hooker, each exec took Cramer out to dinner and offered him a job.

Spelling had a contract with ABC that guaranteed a certain number of his pilots had to be picked up, so Cramer went with him. He did so even though Goldberg had been his assistant at ABC and then his boss at Screen Gems.

Cramer would spend 14 years as executive vp of Aaron Spelling Productions, but as part of his deal, he “was not to give any interviews or do any press; that it was all Aaron, his company,” he said in a 2009 conversation for the Television Academy Foundation website The Interviews. “He’d seen other people get the press and the credit.”

Cramer entered the relationship with Spelling with the rights to The Love Boat after reading a newspaper review of a “tacky three-dollar paperback” written by Jeraldine Saunders about “how easy it was to get laid aboard a cruise ship,” he said.

Following two failed Love Boat pilots that were burned off as telefilms, Spelling wooed Gavin MacLeod to play Captain Merrill Stubing for a third pilot, and ABC ordered the series. It ran for nine seasons, from 1977-87.

While working as an ABC exec in 1964, Cramer had helped get the primetime soap opera Peyton Place off the ground. So when “Aaron kept saying to me, ‘What have you done in the past that worked? Let’s do it again,’ I said, ‘Let’s find the grounds to do a serial,'” he recalled.

Dallas was huge for CBS at the time, and Spelling and Cramer hit on the idea of another show about a rich oil family, this one living in Denver. That would be Dynasty, which bowed on ABC in 1981 and also lasted nine seasons.

At Spelling Productions, Cramer executive produced other series, some more successful than others. They included Vega$, starring Robert Urich; Matt Houston, starring Lee Horsley; Hotel — a landlocked version of The Love Boat — starring James Brolin; Life With Lucy, Lucille Ball’s final show; Glitter, starring David Birney; Aloha Paradise, starring Debbie Reynolds; and B.A.D. Cats, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

In a 1993 interview with The New York Times, Spelling praised Cramer for his creativity and “immaculate taste in art direction and wardrobe.”

“I was very hands-on, there was nothing I wasn’t involved with. I worried about every performer, every extra, every piece of clothing that appeared on the set,” Cramer said in his TV Academy chat. “I [also] was crazed about music. There was always more music on in my shows than anybody else’s. Dynasty in its key days had 42 or 44 minutes of music in each 49 minutes. Dallas, I’ll bet, didn’t have 20.”

Born in 1931 in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Cincinnati, Douglas Schoolfield Cramer Jr. was the son of a businessman who claimed to have invented the folding bridge table. His mother, Polly, was an interior designer who wrote a syndicated newspaper column, “Polly’s Pointers,” that dispensed helpful tips to housewives.

Cramer had a Variety subscription by age 6 and a half-sister whose stepfather, David E. Rose, was an executive at Paramount, and both of those things nurtured his showbiz dreams throughout childhood. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School and, after a few months as a production assistant at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the University of Cincinnati.

He earned his master’s degree at Columbia and then, with the help of an agent, Phyllis Anderson, the wife of Tea and Sympathy playwright Robert Anderson, had a couple of plays produced in stock and off-Broadway. Cramer soon realized, however, that he was “too young to have anything to write about.”

Returning to Ohio, he ran the Cincinnati Summer Playhouse for several years, booking touring companies of Broadway shows that starred the likes of Lois Smith, Maureen Stapleton and Ava Gabor, and taught drama and theater at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh.

He got a job at Procter & Gamble as a supervisor in its daytime TV department, where he worked on the Irna Phillips CBS soap operas As the World Turns and The Guiding Light, before moving on to the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather.

In 1962, Cramer shifted to the network side of the business. At ABC in New York, he spearheaded the development of Peyton Place as a primetime soap that starred Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal and Dorothy Malone. (Based on Grace Metalious’ novel, it also had been the basis of a hit Lana Turner movie in 1957.)

He hired Phillips as the series’ “secret, uncredited adviser,” and the success of drama — which bowed in September 1964 and ran three times a week at the height of its popularity — helped ABC land a show that would air twice a week, Batman, beginning in 1966.

Cramer headed to Los Angeles to become vp television development for Batman producer 20th Century Fox, and his tenure there included work on Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea at ABC and NBC’s ground-breaking Julia, starring Diahann Carroll.

Following three years at Fox, Cramer decided “the time had come to do it on my own. I wanted to do more,” he said. With an assist from Robert Evans, who was a neighbor and good friend, and Barry Diller, whom he had worked with at Fox, Cramer was hired by Paramount Television.

Joining a studio whose output at the time included Mission: Impossible, Star Trek — both of which were money losers, he said — and little else, Cramer cut costs (dumping Barbara Bain and replacing Martin Landau with Leonard Nimoy on the former, for example) and developed Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple, among other shows. (Each episode of the anthology series Love, American Style had the three-story format that he would reuse for The Love Boat.)

Cramer relished the control he earned at Paramount. “We had autonomy and authority, which is what always impressed me about television. I wanted to be like a director with final cut,” he said. “Ultimately, I wanted my word on shows that had my name on them to be reflected in what was onscreen.”

Cramer fought for that named credit and got it: At the end of his series, he was listed as “executive vice president in charge of production.”

In three years as an independent producer based at Screen Gems, he got Bridget Loves Bernie, starring Birney and real-life wife Meredith Baxter, on CBS and produced what he called “the thing I was proudest of,” the ABC Holocaust miniseries QB VII, starring Anthony Hopkins, Ben Gazzara and Leslie Caron.

Drawing on his Batman days, Cramer executive produced another series based on a comic book character, Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter.

“Doug Cramer was a gentleman and a friend,” Carter said in a statement. “He gave me the part of Wonder Woman, which changed my entire life. His legendary contributions to television will never be forgotten. I am so grateful to him, and I’ll miss him.”

Dynasty‘s first season, Cramer recalled, was “deeply boring” and on the verge of being canceled, but Spelling convinced ABC to renew the show by promising to deliver “either Elizabeth Taylor or Sophia Loren” to the cast.

Taylor said no, and talks with Loren broke down weeks before taping started. With time running out, Joan Collins — who had recently guest-starred on Fantasy Island — agreed to come aboard as Alexis, and Dynasty would top the Nielsen charts in 1984-85.

While at Spelling Productions, Cramer had first worked with Steel on a 1986 miniseries adaptation of her cruise ship-set novel Crossings, starring Cheryl Ladd. After he left, he pitched the idea of a series of Steel telefilms to NBC’s Brandon Tartikoff, who quickly signed on (his mom, it turns out, was a big Steel fan).

Cramer also produced three Family of Cops telefilms starring Charles Bronson before he exited TV in the late ’90s. “I had my flops and I had my hits,” he said. When he decided to retire, “I just stopped. I closed my office, I gave away the deals I had. … It was wonderful to say no.”

After he and Haber completed a bitter divorce in the ’70s, Spelling acquired the rights to her best-selling novel, the Hollywood-set The Users, and asked Cramer to exec produce a 1978 telefilm version adapted by Dominick Dunne. He said a character played by George Hamilton is based on him.

Actress Lucie Arnaz, who said Cramer hired her for her first real dramatic role (in the 1975 telefilm Who Is the Black Dahlia?) called him a “conscientious and classy producer [who] gave some of most warm and elegant parties in Hollywood. He was the consummate host.”

Survivors include his husband, artist Hugh Bush. His two children from his marriage to Haber, Courtney and Douglas III, preceded him in death.

Cramer, whose collection of Roy Lichtenstein paintings inspired the pop-art graphics used on Batman, co-founded the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and was a longtime board member of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Andy Warhol painted a portrait of him as part of the deal that led to the artist guest-starring on The Love Boat in 1985.

‘City On A Hill’ Renewed For Season 3 At Showtime

(6/2/21) Showtime’s Boston crime drama City on a Hill is coming back for a third season.

The gritty drama, starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge, will return for another eight episode run with production set to resume in New York later this year for a 2022 premiere.

Tom Fontana returns as showrunner and exec producer. Chuck MacLean, who created the show, based on an original idea by Ben Affleck, will remain as an exec producer on the series but will not return as a writer for season three after becoming the subject of an internal investigation over alleged misconduct.

Season 2 of City on a Hill centered on a federal housing project in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston plagued with drug violence and a rightful distrust in local law enforcement. FBI agent Jackie Rohr, played by Bacon, works to exploit Boston’s defective criminal justice system in a desperate attempt to salvage his own career. Unfortunately for Jackie, assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward, played by Hodge, is onto his adversary’s latest misstep. In time, the personal antagonism between these two escalates to an all-out war between the offices of the U.S. Attorney and the Suffolk DA. No one is safe from the collateral damage. At the conclusion of Season 2, Decourcy pursues justice in and out of the courtroom and despite his maneuvering, Jackie discovers that he can’t escape his past and gets ousted from the FBI.

Season 2 also starred Lauren E. Banks, Mark O’Brien, Amanda Clayton, Matthew Del Negro and Jill Hennessy with guest stars Pernell Walker, Lucia Ryan, Keiko Elizabeth, Kameron Kierce, Shannon Wallace, John Doman, and Michael O’Keefe.

City on a Hill is exec produced by Fontana, Jennifer Todd, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jorge Zamacona, Barry Levinson, Chuck MacLean and Michael Cuesta. Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge and Michele Giordano serve as co-executive producers.

Hallmark Sets Christmas In July Slate With ‘Crashing Through The Snow’, ‘The Christmas Ring’ & More

(6/2/21) Christmas in July will return to Hallmark bringing Crashing Through The Snow, starring Amy Acker and Warren Christie, to the lineup.

The annual summer movie celebration will kick off Friday, July 9 and will run until Sunday, July 31. Crashing Through The Snow will make its Hallmark debut Friday, July 10 at 9 p.m. The film centers on Maggie (Acker), who joins her ex-husband Jeff (Kristian Brunn) and his girlfriend Kate (Brooke Nevin) for a Christmas getaway in Aspen, where she meets Kate’s brother, Sam (Warren Christie).

Crashing Through the Snow is from Through the Snow Pictures Inc. Stan Spry, Eric Woods and Ryan M. Murphy are executive producers. Anthony Fankhauser is co-executive producer.

This year’s lineup will also include a 2020 Movie Marathon, Soap Sunday and Countdown to Christmas Greatest Hits, which will feature holiday movies including The Christmas Ring and Crown for Christmas.

See highlights from the Christmas In July lineup below.

2020 Movie Marathon (Saturday, July 10-Sunday, July 11)

Popular Christmas movies from 2020 will air from morning till night, including the original movie premiere of “Crashing Through the Snow,” (Saturday, July 10, 9 p.m., ET/PT).

Soap Sunday (Sunday, July 18)

Holiday films featuring soap stars will air throughout the day and into the night, including Cameron Mathison, Chaley Rose, Rome Flynn, Alison Sweeney, Jesse Metcalfe, Fiona Gubelmann, Bethany Joy Lenz, Victor Webster, and more.

Countdown to Christmas Greatest Hits (Saturday, July 24-Sunday, July 25)

Celebrate some of Hallmark Channel’s Christmas hit films of the past. Highlights include:

“Crown for Christmas” (Saturday, July 24, 7 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Danica McKellar (“Matchmaker Mysteries,” “Love and Sunshine,” “The Wonder Years”), Rupert Penry-Jones (“MI-5”)

“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Saturday, July 24, 9 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Brooke Burns (“Christmas Connection,” “Melrose Place”), Henry Winkler (“Barry,” “Happy Days”), Warren Christie (“If I Only Had Christmas,” “Motive”)

“Christmas Under Wraps” (Sunday, July 25, 7 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Candace Cameron Bure (“If I only had Christmas,” “Full/Fuller House,” “Christmas Town”), David O’Donnell (“A Christmas in Vermont”) “The Nine Lives of Christmas” (Sunday, July 25, 10 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Brandon Routh (“The Rookie,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Superman Returns”), Kimberley Sustad (“Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen,” “Morning Show Mysteries”)

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Friday, June 25-Thursday, July 8):

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries presents a Christmas gift of themed nights of Yuletide favorites to enjoy:

Blake Shelton Night! (Monday, June 28)

Blake Shelton proves that he’s more than just an award-winning musician by showing his skills at executive producing the following:

“Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas” (6 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Megan Park (“My Christmas Love,” “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”), Josh Henderson (“Dallas,” “Desperate Housewives”)

“Time for You to Come Home for Christmas” (8 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Alison Sweeney (“Murder, She Baked,” “Days of Our Lives”), Lucas Bryant (“The Angel Tree,” “Love Song”)

“Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas” (10 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Lacey Chabert (“The Christmas Waltz,” “Party of Five”), Stephen Huszar (“A Homecoming for the Holidays,” “My One & Only”)

Holiday Jam Session! (Friday, July 2)

Christmas films featuring music will include:

“Our Christmas Love Song” (6 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Alicia Witt (“Cybill,” “Nashville”), Brendan Hines (“Scandal”)

“The Christmas Bow” (8 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Lucia Micarelli (“Treme”), Michael Rady (“Two Turtle Doves,” “Love to the Rescue”)

“Christmas at Graceland” (10 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Kellie Pickler (singer/songwriter), Wes Brown (“Check Inn to Christmas,” “90210”)

Salute to Christmas! (Saturday, July 3)

A Yuletide salute to those who bravely serve our country. Some of these films include:

“The Christmas Doctor” (6 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Holly Robinson Peete (“Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy,” “American Housewife”), Adrian Holmes (“Arrow”)

“USS Christmas” (8 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Jen Lilley (“Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday,” “Days of Our Lives”), Trevor Donovan (“Nostalgic Christmas,” “90210”)

“Deliver by Christmas” (10 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Alvina August (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” “Nancy Drew”), Eion Bailey (“Switched for Christmas,” “Once Upon a Time”)

Family on the 4th! (Sunday, July 4)

Family Christmas movies also part of the annual event are:

“A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas” (6 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Rachael Lee Cook (“Cross Country Christmas,” “Perception”), Benjamin Ayres (“Cranberry Christmas,” “Saving Hope”)

“Holly & Ivy” (8 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars”), Jeremy Jordan (“Supergirl”), Marisol Nichols (“Riverdale”)

“The Christmas Ring” (10 p.m., ET/PT)

Stars: Nazneen Contractor (“Star Wars Resistance”), David Alpay (“The Vampire Diaries”)

Video Chat: Soap Opera Music Makers

(5/27/21) (Video) Meet the Emmy Award-winning team behind the incredible music you heard daily on As the World Turns and Guiding Light live in The Locher Room on Thursday, May 27th.

Jill Chastain was the Supervising Music Producer for all Procter & Gamble Production shows starting with the Edge of Night and Search for Tomorrow in the late 70’s / early 80’s. Jill replaced Elliot Lawrence in the role. Jill hired Gary Deinstadt as one of her music directors for As the World Turns where he worked from 1994 through 2000. Gary then moved over to Guiding Light in the same role before being promoted to Audio Post Supervisor for the show.

This talented duo was in charge of selecting and editing the music from a staff of composers. They composed and performed original pieces of works, directed and worked alongside composers and cast members. They created, arranged and recorded tracks for featured vocalists, contracted talent and were in charge of music licensing / archiving / clearance / publishing rights with various composers and their affiliates such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.

BET Awards Nominations

(5/27/21) The BET Awards 2021 will air live on Sunday, June 27 on BET at 8 PM ET/ PT.

BEST ACTRESS
ANDRA DAY
ANGELA BASSETT (Guiding Light/Ryan's Hope/Search For Tomorrow)
ISSA RAE
JURNEE SMOLLETT
VIOLA DAVIS
ZENDAYA.

Chat with Jill Chastain & Gary Deinstadt - Soap Opera Music Episode

(5/20/21) (Watch here) Come meet the Emmy Award-winning team behind the incredible music you heard daily on As the World Turns and Guiding Light live in The Locher Room on Thursday, May 27th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Jill Chastain was the Supervising Music Producer for all Procter & Gamble Production shows starting with the Edge of Night and Search for Tomorrow in the late 70’s / early 80’s. Jill replaced Elliot Lawrence in the role. Jill hired Gary Deinstadt as one of her music directors for As the World Turns where he worked from 1994 through 2000. Gary then moved over to Guiding Light in the same role before being promoted to Audio Post Supervisor for the show.

This talented duo was in charge of selecting and editing the music from a staff of composers. They composed and performed original pieces of works, directed and worked alongside composers and cast members. They created, arranged and recorded tracks for featured vocalists, contracted talent and were in charge of music licensing / archiving / clearance / publishing rights with various composers and their affiliates such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.

Punkie Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Jo Ellen Pellman, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Joey McIntyre to Appear During Point Foundation Virtual Event on May 22nd

(5/20/21) Point Foundation, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) scholarship fund, will launch the Point Honors New York 2021 virtual event on May 22, 2021. The event is being hosted by Saturday Night Live's Punkie Johnson. Actors Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman (Netflix's The Prom) will be presented with the Horizon Award. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick will be honored with the organization's Leadership Award and there will be a special performance by Joey McIntyre.

Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman will be honored with the 2021 Point Horizon Award at this year's Point Honors New York.

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick will be honored with the 2021 Point Leadership Award at this year's Point Honors New York.

Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose will be receiving the 2021 Point Horizon Award at this year's Point Honors New York.

Saturday Night Live's Punkie Johnson will be the host of this year's Point Honors New York.

"We're thrilled to honor Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon and Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman for their leadership and activism in support of LGBTQ youth" said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and CEO of Point Foundation. "We're also honored and excited that our event will be hosted by Punkie Johnson, the first out, queer, black woman to ever join the cast of Saturday Night Live. In addition, our longtime friend and supporter, Joey McIntyre will perform a special song honoring our graduates."

To support Point Foundation's Point Honors New York, visit https://pointfoundation.org/events/point-honors-new-york-2021/

The event is made possible with support from:

Presenting Sponsor: Wells Fargo
Premier Sponsor: Cadillac

About Point Foundation: Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. Point Foundation promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training.

Joan Collins Sells Longtime NYC Pied-à-Terre For $2 Million

(5/20/21) (architecturaldigest.com) The three-bedroom apartment is located in a luxe Park Avenue building

Some lucky buyer has purchased a Manhattan apartment fit for a dame—specifically, Joan Collins. The soap opera star, best known for her turns in shows like Dynasty and Guiding Light, has been trying to find a buyer for her three-bedroom, three-bathroom Park Avenue co-op since 2011, when she first listed it for $2.89 million, according to the New York Post.

Collins put the home back on the market in January of this year, and ultimately the 87-year-old is parting ways with the place for $2.095 million. She has owned the 1,900-square-foot unit since 2002, when she and her fifth husband, film producer Percy Gibson, purchased it not long after their wedding.

The home is relatively modest by celebrity standards but features hardwood floors, plenty of windows that flood the place with natural light, and a whopping 16 closets. The all-white kitchen and heavily mirrored bathrooms (one with Tiffany-blue tiling) could all use an upgrade. Two of the bedrooms are suites, while the third could be used as a home office.

Even after the sale, Collins and Gibson are far from homeless. They used the New York City place as a pied-à-terre and reportedly maintain a dwelling in the Belgravia neighborhood of London. Judging from her Instagram, Collins also spends her fair share of time in Los Angeles, where she reportedly purchased a condominium for $2.1 million in 2017.

Animal Kingdom Season 5 Trailer: 'I'm in Charge Now,' Says [Spoiler]

(5/19/21) (Video) Let the power plays begin! In the altogether thrilling trailer that TNT dropped Wednesday for Animal Kingdom Season 5, J declares that with grandmoll Smurf dead and gone, he’s in charge. And the funny thing is, Pope says he’s calling the shots. And so does Deran. And Craig. (As if.)

In other words, it’s going to be a fantastically messy penultimate season of the addictive crime-family drama (which kicks off Sunday, July 11). Elsewhere in the pulse-pounding promo, we get our first peek at Pose vet Charlayne Woodard as Pamela, the old accomplice to whom Smurf left the bulk of her ill-gotten gains. “Power can be taken,” she notes, “or it can be earned.”

We can just imagine which one the Cody boys will choose when they finally have a chance to, as they put it, “do things our way.”

Per the show’s official logline, Season 5 will find “Pope, Craig, Deran and J… still dealing with the fallout from the events surrounding Smurf’s death, including family members out for revenge. With their kingdom without a leader, the Cody [crew struggles] to maintain their fragile alliance, and to see which of them will come out on top.

“Meanwhile, they search for more information on Pamela, whom Smurf made the beneficiary of her estate,” it goes on. (Considering that she’s in the trailer, I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that they find more than information.) “And back in 1984, an increasingly volatile 29-year-old Smurf is forging her own path raising Pope and [twin sister] Julia and leading the charge on dangerous jobs with new and old friends.”

Video: Guiding Light Chat - Mart Hulswit and Fran Myers

(5/14/21) (Video) Guiding Light cast members Mart Hulswit and Fran Myers joined The Locher Room on Thursday, May 13th. Mart joined the cast in 1969 playing the role of Dr. Ed Bauer for 12 years before leaving Springfield behind. Fran Myers joined the cast in 1965 and played the role of Peggy Scott Fletcher for an incredible 15 year run. Fran is currently a writer on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Don't miss the opportunity to catch up with this talented duo to hear their memories from their time spent in Springfield.

Video: Guiding Light - Nicole Forester Interview

(5/12/21) (Video) Actress Nicole Forester was live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 12th to reminisce about her time playing "Cassie" on Guiding Light and fill us in on what she's been up to since leaving the soap.

Nicole spent 13 years in Los Angeles, acting in television, commercials, and film before moving to the Big Apple. Within her first 3 months of arrival, she booked 3 national commercials and was offered the coveted 3-year contract to play “Cassie” when actress Laura Wright left the show and headed to the west coast.

During her 3 years on Guiding Light Nicole worked on over 300 episodes covering a variety of storylines, including the tragic death of her daughter "Tammy," for which she earned a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2008.

Shortly after her contract on Guiding Light ended, Nicole got married, moved from NYC to her (and her husband’s) home state of Michigan, and gave birth to a daughter, then, 20 months later, a son. Their family of four are thriving in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they are surrounded by family and friends, and Nicole gladly commutes to film and tv sets near and far.

Since leaving Guiding Light, Nicole has continually worked in primetime television and movies. She can be currently seen in the recurring role of "Christie" on Chicago Fire. She starred opposite Kelsey Grammer in the Starz critically acclaimed series, Boss, opposite Richard Gere in The Double, opposite Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher to name a small few.

The White Lotus Gets Premire Date

(5/10/21) The White Lotus, a six-episode limited series from Enlightened creator Mike White, will premiere Sunday, July 11 at 9 pm on HBO. The cast includes Murray Bartlett (Looking), Connie Britton (Nashville), Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls), Alexandra Daddario (Why Women Kill), Fred Hechinger (Eighth Grade), Jake Lacy (Girls), Brittany O’Grady (Little Voice), Natasha Rothwell (Insecure), Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Steve Zahn (Treme). The show “follows the vacations of various hotel guests over the span of a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise,” reads the official synopsis. “But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees and the idyllic locale itself.”

Karla Mosley Expecting

(5/10/21) Karla Mosley (Amanda, Y&R) took to Instagram to announce the news that she is pregnant with her second child. The actress posted, “With deep, humble gratitude I honor all the mothers, aunts and care-giving woman healers in my life and yours. Yes. We have another addition coming around early July! Many emotions brewing, but mostly a deep and quiet gratitude.” Mosley and John Rogers welcomed a daughter, Aurora Imani, on August 17, 2018. The actress sat down with Digest recently to talk about her pregnancy and more in the issue on sale May 31. Congratulations to the happy family!

Daniel Cosgrove guests on Blue Bloods 5/14/21

(5/6/21) “The End” – Shockwaves ripple through the Reagan family when Danny discovers that their newest family member, Joe Hill (Will Hochman), is working undercover for the ATF to bring down a gunrunning organization, in the first part of the two-hour 11th season finale of BLUE BLOODS, at a special time, Friday, May 14 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

“Justifies The Means” – The Reagans band together to prevent Joe Hill from being killed in the line of duty like his father when they fear Joe’s cover has been blown within the gunrunning outfit he’s helping the ATF bring down, in the second part of the two-hour 11th season finale of BLUE BLOODS, Friday, May 14 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes Gloria Reuben (Special Agent Rachel Weber), Annabella Sciorra (M.E. Faith Marconi), Shannon Wallace (Tyce Dickson), Daniel Cosgrove (Det. Felix Evans).

Guiding Light Chat - Mart Hulswit and Fran Myers 5/13/21

(5/6/21) (Watch here) Join Guiding Light cast members Mart Hulswit and Fran Myers live in The Locher Room on Thursday, May 13th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Mart joined the cast in 1969 playing the role of Dr. Ed Bauer for 12 years before leaving Springfield behind. Fran Myers joined the cast in 1965 and played the role of Peggy Scott Fletcher for an incredible 15 year run. Fran is currently a writer on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Don't miss the opportunity to catch up with this talented duo to hear their memories from their time spent in Springfield.

GL Alum Kimberly J. Brown Joins GH

(5/5/21) Kimberly J. Brown (ex-Marah, GUIDING LIGHT) will make her GH debut next week in a mystery role. “I am so excited,” she tells Digest. “I started acting when I was 5 or 6, and being on GUIDING LIGHT was such a highlight for me. I haven’t done a soap since GUIDING LIGHT, so I’m just thrilled to be doing something in daytime again. It feels like going back to something that holds a special place in my heart, and to get to do it as an adult. It’s a different experience as an adult, but it gives you that nostalgia and all the great memories of when I was a kid working on the soap, which was just such a huge family. I loved working with everyone there.” That includes two actresses who are themselves ensconced in Port Charles. “Cynthia Watros [Nina; ex-Annie, GL] was my stepmom for a bit, and Laura Wright [Carly; ex-Cassie, GL] played my aunt,” she notes. “It’s such a small, cool world!

Guiding Light - Nicole Forester Interview 5/12/21

(5/4/21) (Watch here) Actress Nicole Forester will be live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 12th at 3 p.m. EST to reminisce about her time playing "Cassie" on Guiding Light and fill us in on what she's been up to since leaving the soap.

TV couple Gretta Monahan and Ricky Paull Goldin flip 5 Hamptons houses

(5/3/21) (Photo) Lifetstyle expert Gretta Monahan — a Harvard Business School grad and mom of two, who regularly appears on the “Rachael Ray Show” and “The View” — and her partner Ricky Paull Goldin, an HGTV and soap opera star, have a side hustle buying and selling Hamptons fixer-uppers.

They just closed on their latest: a classic saltbox-style home at 1553 Noyac Path in woodsy Noyac, NY, about 5 miles west of Sag Harbor.

Saltbox homes were common in places like the Hamptons and throughout New England in the 17th and 18th centuries.

This one, however, was built in the woods in 1996.

It was last on the market for $995,000 — down from its $1.2 million ask in 2018. Monahan and Goldin snapped it up for $930,000 on April 14, according to property records.

(Photo) The 1,800-square-foot home features four bedrooms and two bathrooms on 1.84 acres.

This year, the couple have purchased three homes and are in contract on two more.

(Photo) They recently sold 50 Manor Lane for $1.51 million — well over its asking price of $1.29 million — and 177 Bridies Path for $2.03 million, over its $1.99 million ask.

They are working with Douglas Elliman agents Nicole and Zachary Tunick to buy and sell these properties.

The listing brokers for the Noyac home were Jake Sinacori and James Giugliano, of Nest Seekers International.

Melina Kanakaredes Among Creators Developing Projects At IMDb TV

(5/3/21) Amazon’s free streaming service IMDb TV has unveiled a sizeable development slate with projects from the likes of The Good Place creator Mike Schur, All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll and CSI: New York star Melina Kanakaredes.

The AVOD service announced five projects ahead of its inaugural appearance at NewFronts.

The five projects join existing developments at the streamer from the likes of Norman Lear, Laverner Cox, George Wallace, Jessica Simpson, Kat Candler, Shawn Ryan, Samantha Stratton, Monique Alvarez and Jessica Lee Williamson.

They follow series orders for the likes of Greg Garcia’s Sprung and a Bosch spinoff.

Schur has teamed up with The Ringer writer and Basketball (and Other Things) author Shea Serrano on Primo, a coming-of-age story about a Mexican-American teenager balancing cultural norms, college aspirations, societal expectations and the hectic home life of being raised by his single mom and five uncles. Based on Serrano’s upbringing, he will write and exec produce with Schur and David Miner. Primo is a Fremulon and 3 Arts production in association with Universal TV.

Melina Kanakaredes and her family’s 100-year-old chocolate factory in Akron, Ohio is the inspiration for Greek Candy. The single-camera comedy, from Sony Pictures Television, tells the story of mom, dad, their three teenage daughters, four very Greek immigrant grandparents, and one very non-Greek “adopted” son and what it means to live the American dream in 2021. Kanakaredes writes with The Goldbergs exec producer Marc Firek and Kanakaredes, who also stars in The Resident, will star and exec produce. Firek also exec produces alongside Josh Berman and Jennifer Robinson in association with Osprey.

All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll is writing and exec producing The Fed, which follows both the personal and career drama surrounding a group of young finance hopefuls as they begin an elite fellowship with the Federal Reserve, the nation’s most powerful financial institution. These young financial geniuses are destined for greatness — provided they don’t screw it all up with secrets, lies, sex, and politics.

It is a passion project for Okoro Carroll, who worked as an analyst for the federal reserve before she broke into television, and she will exec produce alongside Adesuwa McCalla, who has a first-look deal with Amazon Studios.

Frasier and What We Do In The Shadows exec producers Chris Marcil and Sam Johnson have written Blessed and Highly Favored, unconventional workplace following Christine Kimbrough, a prodigal daughter who returns to Dallas as a rookie pastor and is tasked with keeping her family’s church alive in the face of rival megachurches, money problems and the presence of her predecessor and toughest critic—her father, Robert.

Marcil and Johnson wil showrun and exec produce with Veep’s Chris Godsick and Broad City’s Peri Gilpin. The project comes from 3 Arts, and Industry Entertainment.

Finally, Black-ish and Schooled co-exec producer Vijal Patel is using his own life as inspiration for The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, PA. The project, from Sony Pictures Television, follows an Indian family and the tumultuous yet humorous events of the two years since they arrived in Pittsburgh. Told as a comedic mystery for the audience to unravel, viewers discover what pushed them to the brink, leading to their present immigration woes. The Big Sick helmer Michael Showalter will direct and Patel and Showalter will exec produce alongside Sara Gilbert, Tom Werner, Mandy Summers and Jordana Mollick.

Lauren Anderson, Co-Head of Content & Programming, IMDb TV, told Deadline, “It’s about being in business with the absolute best, but it’s also about asking ‘What are the stories that they’re excited to tell.”

“I’m super interested in these great prolific creators and saying what do you want to do in streaming,” added her Co-Head Ryan Pirozzi.

Video: Soap Con Live Presents: One Life to Live "The Cramer Women"

(5/1/21) (Video) Join Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer), Kristen Alderson (Starr Manning), Gina Tognoni (Kelly Cramer) & Laura Bonarrigo (Cassie Callison), aka The Cramer Women of One Life to Live in The Locher Room recorded on Saturday, May 1. Don't miss this conversation as they discuss the crazy Cramer family storylines that spanned decades on the Agnes Nixon soap opera.

Linda Dano Interview 5/6/21

(4/29/21) The one and only Linda Dano will join me live in The Locher Room on Thursday, May 6th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. The actress, author, and businesswoman will reminisce about her time playing Felicia Gallant on Another World, Rae Cummings on One Life to Live and her most recent role of Vivian Alamain on Days of Our Lives. Linda's One Life to Live character Rae also had a cross-over on Port Charles, All My Children and General Hospital. She has published books, hosted her own talk show Attitudes and supports many charitable organizations. Don't miss the chance to catch-up with Linda on May 6th. (Watch Here)

Video: The Costume Designers - Maggie Delgado and Shawn Reeves

(4/28/21) (Video) Emmy Award-winning costume designers Maggie Delgado and Shawn Reeves visited The Locher Room on Wednesday, April 28th. Maggie worked as a costume designer on Another World, All My Children and As the World Turns. Shawn worked on Another World, Guiding Light before moving to Port Charles where he is currently the Costume Designer on ABC's General Hospital. Don't miss the chance to hear from this talented duo on what it takes to dress your favorite daytime characters for over 250 episodes per year.

Michelle Forbes guests on Big Sky 5/4/21

(4/26/21) “Nice Animals” – Cassie, Jenny, Jerrie and Lindor work to get things back on track when the motel is reduced to rubble and both the Kleinsasser and Ronald cases not doing much better. At the ranch, Cheyenne seizes an opportunity to shift the family power dynamic in her favor and all it will take is the truth on “Big Sky” TUESDAY, MAY 4 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-14, LV) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

Guest starring is Omar Metwally as Mark Lindor, Ryan Dorsey as Rand Kleinsasser, Britt Robertson as Cheyenne Kleinsasser, Michelle Forbes as Margaret Kleinsasser and Kyle Schmid as John Wayne Kleinsasser.

“Nice Animals” was written by Elwood Reid and Jonathan Shapiro, and directed by Michael Goi.

Michelle Forbes guests on Big Sky 5/11/21

(4/26/21) “Bitter Roots” – When Scarlet gets an alarming call that her sister is missing, Ronald realizes just how twisted his situation has become and must decide his next move. Meanwhile, Cassie, Jenny, Gil and Rosie find themselves in a whole mess of trouble on the ranch, forced to face off against the worst of the Kleinsasser bunch. But this team is tough and even the strongest family trees can fall on “Big Sky,” TUESDAY, MAY 11 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

Guest starring is Omar Metwally as Mark Lindor, Ryan Dorsey as Rand Kleinsasser, Britt Robertson as Cheyenne Kleinsasser, Michelle Forbes as Margaret Kleinsasser and Kyle Schmid as John Wayne Kleinsasser.

“Bitter Roots” was written by Elwood Reid and Dominique Holmes, and directed by Alonso Alvarez.

The Costume Designers Chat with Maggie Delgado and Shawn Reeves

(4/21/21) (Watch Here) Join Emmy Award-winning costume designers Maggie Delgado and Shawn Reeves live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, April 28th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Maggie worked as a costume designer on Another World, All My Children and As the World Turns. Shawn worked on Another World, Guiding Light before moving to Port Charles where he is currently the Costume Designer on ABC's General Hospital. Don't miss the chance to hear from this talented duo on what it takes to dress your favorite daytime characters for over 250 episodes per year.

Video: Guiding Light Reunion - Ellen Dolan, Harley Jane Kozak and Michael Woods

(4/21/21) (Video) Join Ellen Dolan (Maureen Reardon Bauer), Harley Jane Kozak (Annabelle Sims Reardon) and Michael Woods (Jim Reardon) in The Locher Room recorded Wednesday, April 21. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these three incredible actors who left an indelible mark in Springfield in the early eighties.

Emme Rylan Reveals Her Family Still Hasn’t Found a Home

(4/20/21) (soapsindepth.com) After an epic road trip, GENERAL HOSPITAL alum Emme Rylan (ex-Lulu) is back in Los Angeles, but unfortunately still has yet to settle down with her family into a new home. The actress, partner Don Money, and their kids, Jackson, Levi, and Dakota, still have no place of their own and the frustration is starting to set in. “Update on our housing situation,” she shared on Instagram. “We. Are. Still. House. Hunting. When. Will. It. End?”

When Rylan left GH she revealed that their landlord sold the house they had been living in, and with the COVID pandemic, it was difficult to find somewhere new, so the entire clan decided to hit the road. After dying her hair pink and traveling to Ohio to visit her grandparents, Rylan announced her return to California in February. And while they still have no home of their own, they thankfully have relatives upon which they can rely. “We are back in L.A. living with my sister until we find a place of our own. (She found the perfect spot for me to keep my yarn.) So we have yet to find a place to live but luckily my sister’s house is so beautiful!”

An avid crafter, Rylan loves knitting and crocheting, so yarn storage is a must, wherever she may be living! And while the family still hasn’t settled in a new house yet, Rylan is happy that some things are getting back to normal, such as sending the kids off to school! “How is my sweet boy all grown up?” she marveled at her oldest boy. Jackson, preparing to head off to middle school this fall.

Rylan took over the role of Lulu Spencer back in 2013 and played the popular character right up until December 2020 when she was written out. Fans were stunned as Lulu was injured in an explosion and fell into a coma before being shipped off to a longterm care facility. And as much as viewers would love to see Lulu wake up and Rylan return to GH, the actress feels the same, saying “I would definitely come back” if asked.

Hopefully, Rylan can find a house soon so she and her family can get settled. And then the talented actress can start getting back to work! Keep checking back at SoapsInDepth.com as we bring you any future updates on her life and career!

Karla Mosley Steps In At Y&R

(4/15/21) Karla Mosley (ex-Maya, B&B) is temporarily stepping into the role of Amanda, replacing Mishael Morgan, who suffered an eye injury. In a joint statement, Executive Producer Tony Morina and Co-Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith said, “We’re grateful that Karla Mosley, a seasoned actor and consummate professional, was able to step in to the role of Amanda during Mishael Morgan’s temporary absence. Mishael is a valuable member of the Y&R family and will be back on air soon to continue her journey as Amanda.” Mosley tells Digest that she contacted Morgan to discuss the role. “I was able to connect with Mishael, who is such a goddess,” she praises. “We had always been friendly whenever we saw each other around CBS, but we never had a real heart-to-heart sit-down. The only hesitation that I had about doing this is that I was stepping into such big shoes because Mishael is so beloved and such a wonderful human and actor. It was great that I could talk with her and say thank you for leaving me such a wonderful path to follow. I also told her, ‘I’ll be happy when you’re healed and able to return.’ ” Mosley makes her first appearance on April 26.

Guiding Light Reunion 4/21/21 - Ellen Dolan, Harley Jane Kozak and Michael Woods

(4/13/21) (Watch here) Join Ellen Dolan (Maureen Reardon Bauer), Harley Jane Kozak (Annabelle Sims Reardon) and Michael Woods (Jim Reardon) live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, April 21 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these three incredible actors who left an indelible mark in Springfield in the early eighties.

Oscars: Academy Sets Ensemble Cast Of 15 Stars To Serve As Presenters

(4/12/21) The producers of this year’s very unusual 93rd annual Academy Awards have promised to do the entire broadcast as if it were a movie itself. In line with that, they are “casting” it that way too with an ensemble of 15 stars to handle all the presenting duties, and also in lieu of a host (for a third straight year).

Among the “cast” though, the producers appear to be sticking with at least one Oscar tradition: to have all four acting winners from the previous year return to present the four acting categories this year. Specifically how they will be employed into the show the Academy didn’t say, but you can assume that is the reason Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern are part of the proceedings.

Phoenix, Zellweger, and Dern did the honors similarly at the Golden Globes, though Pitt will be making his first appearance on the awards circuit this year at the Oscars. Also last year’s Best Director winner, Bong Joon Ho, who made four trips to the stage for Parasite, is also part of this ensemble, presumably to present Best Director. Other names announced Monday — in alphabetical order — are Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Harrison Ford, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Reese Witherspoon and Zendaya.

“In keeping with our awards-show-as-a-movie approach, we’ve assembled a truly stellar cast of stars,” said producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh. “There’s so much wattage here, sunglasses may be required.”

This idea of having a set group of presenters rotating in and out of the show is not new. When producer Gower Champion reimagined the 1969 Oscar show he created what they called “Friends of Oscar,” with 10 stars exclusively serving as presenters (and no host). The format was then repeated successfully the next year, and has been tweaked occasionally over the decades — including for the innovative 2009 show produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, which used combinations of five past winners each to present the acting awards.

Additional talent joining the April 25 live broadcast on ABC will be announced later. Word is all the nominated songs will be performed for the first time on the pre-show. We shall see.

Video: Guiding Light - The Producers Episode

(4/9/21) (Video) Get to know the producing team behind one of your favorite daytime dramas, Guiding Light! Join Christopher Cullen, David Brandon, Amanda Sallen Glattstein, Alexandra Johnson-Gamsey, Janet Morrison and Jennifer Simms The Locher Room. Come learn about the day to day of producing a one-hour soap opera over 250 days a year from this incredible Daytime Emmy Award-winning team!

Michelle Forbes guests on Big Sky 4/20/21

(4/9/21) “No Better Than Dogs” – Cassie and Jenny each face a dangerous attempt to run them out of town while Jerrie has a close encounter with a dangerous threat of her own. Back at the ranch, Blake returns home, where he receives anything but a warm welcome. This ain’t your typical family reunion on “Big Sky,” TUESDAY, APRIL 20 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-14, LV) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

“No Better Than Dogs” was written by Elwood Reid and Brian McCauley Johnson and directed by Oliver Bokelberg.

Guest starring is Omar Metwally as Mark Lindor, Michael Raymond-James as Blake Kleinsasser, Ryan Dorsey as Rand Kleinsasser, Britt Robertson as Cheyenne Kleinsasser, Michelle Forbes as Margaret Kleinsasser and Kyle Schmid as John Wayne Kleinsasser.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/9/21) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON, NBC

We 4/14: Allison Janney

Video: Guiding Light Reunion - John Bolger, Kassie DePaiva and Jamie Goodwin

(4/8/21) (Video) John Bolger (Phillip Spaulding), Kassie DePaiva (Chelsea Reardon) and Jamie Goodwin (Johnny Bauer) joined the The Locher Room live on Thursday, April 8th. These three talented actors spent time working together in Springfield during the late 80's and will share memories about that special time.

Nia Long Joins Storm Reid In Next Installment Of ‘Searching’ Franchise

(4/7/21) Nia Long is joining Storm Reid in the next installment of the box office hit film Searching, for Sony’s Stage 6 Films. Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, Megan Suri and Tim Griffin are rounding out the cast.

Searching 2 will not be a direct sequel, but rather a next installment in the Searching franchise. The plot is still under wraps, but it will feature a new set of characters where the story plays out on the screens of the characters’ devices. It is starting production in the spring.

Will Merrick & Nick Johnson will make their directing debut on the film. The pic is being produced by Natalie Qasabian, Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian of Search Party, as well as by Bazelevs’ Adam Sidman and Timur Bekmambetov. Jo Henriquez is executive producing and Congyu E is co-producing.

Merrick and Johnson wrote the screenplay, which is based on a story by Ohanian and Chaganty.

Most recently, Long produced and starred in the Netflix thriller Fatal Affair, which debuted at No. 1 on the platform. Additionally, she starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie in the Apple film The Banker. Other recent film credits include Janicza Bravo’s Sundance-nominated Lemon and Netflix’s Roxanne Roxanne with Chanté Adams and Mahershala Ali. She is next set to star in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, where she will reprise her role alongside the rest of the original cast of the films.

Leung can currently be seen in HBO’s Industry and is also known for his roles on ABC’s Lost, NBC’s The Blacklist and The Night Shift. Landecker is known for her portrayal of Sarah Pfefferman on Amazon’s Transparent. Landecker most recently appeared opposite Bryan Cranston and Michael Stuhlbarg in the Showtime limited series Your Honor and the Netflix film Project Power with Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Henney became a household name in Korea after starring in the TV drama My Lovely Sam-Soon and later went on to star in the Korean series Hello Franceska, Spring Waltz and The Fugitive: Plan B. Suri previously appeared in ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, feature film Valentine’s Day, HBO’s The Brink and Netflix’s Atypical as well as booking her first title role in The Miseducation of Bindu. Griffin recently finished filming the independent features Next Exit and The Seven Neighbours. Long is repped by Verve, Untitled and by attorneys Neil Meyer and Emily Downs at Meyer & Downs. De Almeida is repped by APA, Lasher Group and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson. Leung is repped by A3 Artists Agency and PH Entertainment Group. Landecker is repped by ICM Partners, Principal LA and Felker Toczek. Henney is repped by CAA and More/Medavoy. Suri is represented by Clear Talent Group, Apex Talent Group and Skrzyniarz & Mallean. Griffin is repped by Buchwald and Untitled. Bekmambetov is represented by WME and Chase Mellen III.

Luke Bracey And Brittany Snow To Star In Gritty Thriller, ‘Big Nickel’

(4/7/21) Luke Bracey and Brittany Snow have signed on to star in Tom Chilcoat’s debut feature, Big Nickel, with principal photography kicking off in the U.S this winter.

Co-written by Chilcoat and David Birke (Elle, Slender Man), the thriller centers on Charlie (Bracey), a charismatic Army recruiter, who is tasked with signing the “big fish” for a promotion. The only person standing in his way is Erik, a disturbed ex-vet that Charlie convinced to enlist years before. A dangerous man with a bone to pick, Erik will not be satisfied until Charlie has paid a heavy price—and as pressure mounts, Charlie is ultimately forced to re-examine his dubious methods, facing a thunderous reckoning of accountability.

A Traction and Arclight Films production, Big Nickel is produced by Traction’s Jason Tamasco (El Chapo, Opening Night) and Zak Kristofek (Book Club, Wildlife). Executive producers include Arclight Films’ Gary Hamilton (First Reformed, Hotel Mumbai), Ryan Hamilton (Possessor, Escape from Pretoria) and Ying Ye (The Furnace, Possessor).

A native of Australia, Bracey is best known for turns in Netflix original rom-com Holidate, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate’s Point Break remake, Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate’s Oscar-winning war film Hacksaw Ridge and acclaimed Hulu miniseries, Little Fires Everywhere.

Rising to fame following her appearance on NBC drama series American Dreams, Snow’s TV credits include Ryan Murphy’s Nip/Tuck, David E. Kelly’s Harry’s Law, The CW’s musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Fox’s Almost Family.

On the film side, the actress is internationally recognized for her turn as Chloe in Universal Studios’ Pitch Perfect franchise. Additional big screen credits include The Pacifier, John Tucker Must Die, Prom Night and Hairspray. Most recently, Snow produced and starred in the comedic feature, Hooking Up, also starring in Netflix feature Someone Great, produced by Paul Feig.

Bracey is represented in the U.S. by CAA, Fourward, and attorney Michael Schenkman of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. In Australia, the actor is repped by Morrissey Management. Snow is repped by The Gersh Agency and Principal Entertainment.

Video: Donna Mills & Crystal Hunt Chat

(4/7/21) (Video) Catch up with Donna Mills and Crystal Hunt in The Locher Room. This talented pair have been working together on-screen for the last few years in a variety of projects including starring in Queens of Drama 2015), Hilton Head Island (2017), and Mood Swings (2019) as well as co-hosting the Daytime Emmy Awards together. Please join us for a fun hour as we reminisce about these projects that keep bringing them back together, their friendship, Knots Landing, Guiding Light and so much more.

Peter Hermann recurs on Blue Bloods 4/16/21

(4/6/21) “Happy Endings” – Business becomes personal for Frank and his 1 Police Plaza team when Baker is assaulted on the street, as well as for Erin, when she asks her ex-husband, Jack Boyle (Peter Hermann), to represent a defendant she’s prosecuting. Also, Eddie wonders if she’s being too stubborn after she publicly undermines one of Jamie’s decisions at work, and Danny and Baez investigate the attempted murder of a couple with huge secrets, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, April 16 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Live Video Chat: Guiding Light - The Producers Episode

(4/5/21) Get to know the producing team behind one of your favorite daytime dramas, Guiding Light! Please join Christopher Cullen, David Brandon, Amanda Sallen Glattstein, Alexandra Johnson-Gamsey, Janet Morrison and Jennifer Simms live in The Locher Room on Friday, April 9th at 4 p.m. EST. Come learn about the day to day of producing a one-hour soap opera over 250 days a year from this incredible Daytime Emmy Award-winning team! (Watch here)

Guiding Light Reunion Chat - 4/8/21 John Bolger, Kassie DePaiva and Jamie Goodwin

(4/1/21) (Video) Join John Bolger (Phillip Spaulding), Kassie DePaiva (Chelsea Reardon) and Jamie Goodwin (Johnny Bauer) live in The Locher Room on Thursday, April 8th at 3 p.m. EST. These three talented actors spent time working together in Springfield during the late 80's and will share memories about that special time.

Video: Agnes Nixon Tribute

(3/31/21) (Video) Celebrate the life of the incredibly talented and visionary writer, producer and creator of the ABC Daytime soap operas ALL MY CHILDREN, LOVING and ONE LIFE TO LIVE; Agnes Nixon in The Locher Room on March 31.

Helping to honor Agnes will be her son Robert Nixon along with a list of actors who benefited from the unforgettable characters Agnes created on her shows. Joining Robert will be Daytime Emmy Award-winning actors Susan Lucci (Erica Kane), Erika Slezak (Vicky Lord), Peter Bergman (Dr. Cliff Warner), Debbi Morgan (Angie Baxter-Hubbard) and Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard). We will also hear from one of All My Children’s biggest fans, Carol Burnett.

Bob Iger, Disney chairman and CEO, said it best, "“Agnes’ impact on daytime television and pop culture is undeniable. She was the first to champion socially relevant topics, and the towns and characters Agnes brought to life leave an indelible imprint on television that will be remembered forever.”

Throughout her career Agnes Nixon won five Writers’ Guild of America Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2010 and was inducted into Soap Opera Weekly’s Soap Opera Hall of Fame.

Live Chat with Donna Mills & Crystal Hunt - Together April 7

(3/30/21) (Watch here) Catch up with Donna Mills (ex-Madeline, GH/ex-Rocket, Secret Storm) and Crystal Hunt (ex-Lizzie, GL/ex-Stacy, OLTL) live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, April 7th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. This talented pair have been working together on-screen for the last few years in a variety of projects including starring in Queens of Drama (2015), Hilton Head Island (2017), and Mood Swings (2019) as well as co-hosting the Daytime Emmy Awards together. Please join the fun as they reminisce about these projects that keep bringing them back together, their friendship, Knots Landing, Guiding Light and so much more.

Michael O’Leary guests on FBI 4/6/21

(3/29/21) “Checks and Balances” – The team must track down two assailants who wear animal masks while committing armed robberies, with the latest leaving an off-duty 26 Fed security guard dead. Also, Tiffany and Scola butt heads on whether or not to accept the local NYPD’s offer to help in the investigation, on FBI, Tuesday, April 6 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Damon Gupton (Frank Dixon), Jeremy Davidson (Roger Porter), Michael O’Leary (Howard Kirkland).

‘Ally McBeal’ Revival With Calista Flockhart Explored By 20th Television

(3/26/21) A new iteration of Ally McBeal may be headed to the small screen.

Ideas about a possible revival of the legal comedy-drama series, which became a pop culture phenomenon, are being bounced around 20th TV, which would produce, sources tell Deadline. Original series creator David E. Kelley is expected to have some involvement in the project, but likely not as a writer. We hear Calista Flockhart, who starred in the title role, has been approached about reprising her role, but there have been no formal talks.

Ally McBeal aired for five seasons on Fox from 1997 to 2002. Created by Kelley, the series starred Flockhart as Ally, a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish along with her ex-lover and his wife, and followed Ally’s trials and tribulations through life as she looked for love and fulfillment. The main focus of the series was the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot device. The series pushed sexual boundaries in the workplace, where lawyers and secretaries in the firm would routinely date, flirt with, or have a romantic history with each other, something that would be clearly forbidden in the #MeToo era. The critically praised series won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1997 and 1998, and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999.

The ensemble cast also included Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows.

20th Century Fox Television, now 20th TV, and David E. Kelley Productions produced.

'The Guiding Light' theme song added to National Recording Registry

(3/25/21) Janet Jackson’s socially conscious album “Rhythm Nation 1814,” Louis Armstrong’s jazzy “When the Saints Go Marching In” and Nas’ debut release “Illmatic” are among 25 recordings being inducted to the National Recording Registry.

The Library of Congress announced Wednesday that Labelle’s song “Lady Marmalade” and Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” are some of the titles tapped for preservation this year. The national library chose a few more memorable titles including Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection.”

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said they received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Hayden said in a statement.

The library selects titles for preservation because of their cultural and historic importance to the American soundscape. The titles have to be at least 10 years old.

The registry is adding the 1941 Christmas Eve radio broadcast by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Others that made the list include the soap opera theme song, “The Guiding Light,” Connie Smith’s single “Once a Day,” Albert King’s album “Born Under a Bad Sign.”

Phil Rizzuto’s 1961 radio play-by-play of Roger Maris’ 61st home run — which surpassed Babe Ruth’s previous record. — was added to the registry.

Agnes Nixon - Tribute March 31

(3/24/21) (Watch Here) Come help us celebrate the life of the incredibly talented and visionary writer, producer and creator of the ABC Daytime soap operas ALL MY CHILDREN, LOVING and ONE LIFE TO LIVE; Agnes Nixon in The Locher Room live on Wednesday, March 31st at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST.

Helping to honor Agnes will be her son Robert Nixon along with a list of actors who benefited from the unforgettable characters Agnes created on her shows. Joining Robert will be Daytime Emmy Award-winning actors Susan Lucci (Erica Kane), Erika Slezak (Vicky Lord), Peter Bergman (Dr. Cliff Warner), Debbi Morgan (Angie Baxter-Hubbard) and Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard). We will also hear from one of All My Children’s biggest fans, Carol Burnett.

Bob Iger, Disney chairman and CEO, said it best, "“Agnes’ impact on daytime television and pop culture is undeniable. She was the first to champion socially relevant topics, and the towns and characters Agnes brought to life leave an indelible imprint on television that will be remembered forever.”

Throughout her career Agnes Nixon won five Writers’ Guild of America Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2010 and was inducted into Soap Opera Weekly’s Soap Opera Hall of Fame.

When Women Invented Television by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

(3/23/21) When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Author)

This non-fiction book is released March 23, it’s about four female television pioneers including Irna Phillips (creator/writer GL, ATWT, AW, Days, etc.) and Betty White (Ann, B&B).

Order Your Copy Here.

Must-Read Book of March —Entertainment Weekly
Best Books of March —HelloGiggles

“Leaps at the throat of television history and takes down the patriarchy with its fervent, inspired prose. When Women Invented Television offers proof that what we watch is a reflection of who we are as a people.” —Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls

New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia Jennifer Keishin Armstrong tells the little-known story of four trailblazing women in the early days of television who laid the foundation of the industry we know today.

It was the Golden Age of Radio and powerful men were making millions in advertising dollars reaching thousands of listeners every day. When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women—each an independent visionary— saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch tv today.

Irna Phillips turned real-life tragedy into daytime serials featuring female dominated casts. Gertrude Berg turned her radio show into a Jewish family comedy that spawned a play, a musical, an advice column, a line of house dresses, and other products. Hazel Scott, already a renowned musician, was the first African American to host a national evening variety program. Betty White became a daytime talk show fan favorite and one of the first women to produce, write, and star in her own show.

Together, their stories chronicle a forgotten chapter in the history of television and popular culture.

But as the medium became more popular—and lucrative—in the wake of World War II, the House Un-American Activities Committee arose to threaten entertainers, blacklisting many as communist sympathizers. As politics, sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, and money collided, the women who invented television found themselves fighting from the margins, as men took control. But these women were true survivors who never gave up—and thus their legacies remain with us in our television-dominated era. It's time we reclaimed their forgotten histories and the work they did to pioneer the medium that now rules our lives.

This amazing and heartbreaking history, illustrated with photos, tells it all for the first time.

Order Your Copy Here.

Video: Michael Zaslow - Tribute

(3/19/21) (Video) Please tune in to The Locher Room for a very special tribute to one of the most beloved and talented actors to ever hit our daytime television screens, Michael Zaslow. Michael's daughter Marika joined the chat along with his Guiding Light co-stars Maureen Garrett (Holly Thorpe), Fiona Hutchison (Jenna Bradshaw), Liz Keifer (Blake Thorpe), Kimberley Simms (Mindy Lewis) and Sherry Stringfield (Blake Thorpe).

Video: Guiding Light - Patti D'Arbanville

(3/18/21) (Video) The incredibly talented Patti D'Arbanville joined The Locher Room live on Thursday, March 18th. Viewers couldn't take their eyes off this talented actress when she played Selena Davis on Guiding Light.

Angela Bassett To Narrate Wildlife Special ‘Malika The Lion Queen’ For Fox As Network Moves Into Natural History

(3/16/21) (Video) Fox is roaming into natural history with a two-hour special narrated by 9-1-1 star Angela Bassett. The network has ordered Malika the Lion Queen, a documentary about the lionesses of a pride in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

The special, which is produced by British production company Plimsoll Productions, the business behind Apple TV+’s Tiny World, will launch April 4 at 8 p.m. and will be available on Fox’s AVOD streamer Tubi beginning April 18.

It marks the network’s first move into the natural history genre – an area dominated by the BBC and cable networks such as Discovery and Nat Geo as well as increased moves by streamers such as Netflix and Apple. It comes as Fox is no longer a sister company to Nat Geo following the Disney deal and after NBC also dipped its toe into the genre with a 10-part series from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the producers of Planet Earth and Blue Planet, due to air in 2024.

Malika the Lion Queen is exec produced by Tom Hugh-Jones, Martha Holmes and Grant Mansfield.

“We’ve long been exploring premium wildlife specials that present an entirely new world full of emotional and aspirational stories that appeal to all viewers. In Malika the Lion Queen, we’ve found everything we were seeking,” said Rob Wade, Fox president of Alternative Entertainment & Specials, on Tuesday. “With Angela Bassett guiding viewers along with her hallmark grace and gravitas, coupled with mesmerizing footage captured by the Plimsoll team, Malika the Lion Queen is perfect evening entertainment for the whole family.”

Bassett is repped by Gersh and Lighthouse Entertainment.

Video Chat: The Bold and the Beautiful - Celebrating 34 Years 3/22/21

(3/15/21) (Watch here) Celebrate the 34th anniversary of the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful live in The Locher Room on Monday, March 22 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Joining the celebration are original cast members John McCook (Eric Forrester) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan) along with co-stars, Don Diamont (Bill Spencer), Annika Noelle (Hope Logan), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter Walton), Emmy Award-winning actor Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer), and Emmy Award-winning actress Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy Forrester).

The Bold and the Beautiful premiered on March 23, 1987 and is the most-watched U.S. produced daytime drama in the world. The series is broadcast weekdays (1:30 PM-2:00 PM, ET/12:30-1:00 PM, PT). It is a Bell-Phillip Television production. Bradley Bell is the executive producer and head writer.

Michael Zaslow Tribute Chat

(3/13/21) (Watch here) Tune in to The Locher Room on Friday, March 19th at 4 p.m. EST for a very special tribute to one of the most beloved and talented actors to ever hit our daytime television screens, Michael Zaslow. Michael's daughter Marika will join us along with his Guiding Light co-stars Maureen Garrett (Holly Thorpe), Fiona Hutchison (Jenna Bradshaw), Liz Keifer (Blake Thorpe), Kimberley Simms (Mindy Lewis) and Sherry Stringfield (Blake Thorpe).

Guiding Light Chat - Patti D'Arbanville and Tammy Blanchard 3/18/21

(3/11/21) (Watch here) Emmy Award-winning actress Tammy Blanchard and the incredibly talented Patti D'Arbanville will join The Locher Room live on Thursday, March 18th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Viewers couldn't take their eyes off this talented duo when they played Selena Davis and Drew Jacobs, mother and daughter, on Guiding Light.

Video Chat: Rebecca Gayheart, Sharon Leal and Yvonna Kopacz Wright

(3/11/20) (Video) Actresses, moms and real-life girlfriends Rebecca Gayheart, Sharon Leal and Yvonna Kopacz-Wright will come together in The Locher Room on Thursday, March 11th at 3 p.m. EST to help raise money and awareness for Los Angeles based Chrysalis: A non-profit organization Changing Lives Through Jobs. This trio of ladies have been good friends for over two decades and will come together to discuss their friendship, motherhood, their careers and help raise money for this homeless organization. www.changelives.org/

Actress Sharon Leal Signs With Buchwald

(3/11/21) Sharon Leal has inked with Buchwald.

Leal is most notably recognized for her role as Michelle Morris in Paramount/Dreamworks’ Oscar-winning movie Dreamgirls opposite Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Foxx.

She also starred in the Tyler Perry Why Did I Get Married films for Lionsgate as well as Screen Gems’ This Christmas opposite Idris Elba and Loretta Devine.

On the television side, Leal has starred in several hit series Supergirl, Legacy and Boston Public. Other TV series credits include Instinct, The Good Doctor, Grimm, Hellcats and Private Practice.

The Tucson, AZ native was previously with Paradigm.

Soap Vet Gil Rogers Dead at 87

(3/6/21) (soapsindepth.com) It is with great sadness that we share the news that daytime veteran Gil Rogers passed away on March 2. The Kentucky native, who was known to soap viewers for his roles of GUIDING LIGHT good guy Hawk Shayne and ALL MY CHILDREN villain Ray Gardner, was 87. The actor’s daughter, actress Amanda Hall Rogers, announced her father’s death in a touching post on Facebook.

“As you all know, my dad was awesome,” she wrote. “He was my best friend, confidant, mentor, and just an awesome dad. He came to pick me and Charlotte Whitaker Zdanowski up at clubs at 2 a.m. in our teens to keep us safe and drank bourbon with me every day since moving out here [to California] two years ago. He was welcoming and kind, funny and gregarious, a shameless flirt, and a fierce protector. He loved his dinners with his grandkids and endured animated movies and discussions about Pokémon.”

Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Rogers began acting as a child at the local Lexington Children’s Theatre. While attending Harvard University as a chemistry major, Rogers realized that he truly wanted to be a performer — and enrolled in the drama department of Transylvania University in his hometown. The actor’s prolific career as a performer spanned stage, television, film, and commercial work. He appeared in several Broadway productions, most notably a 2-and-a-half-year run as Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. His film roles include Eddie Macon’s Run and the cult horror flick The Children, and Rogers was a spokesman for Grape-Nuts cereal, starring in a series of commercials over the course of five years. (He even owned a racehorse named Nutty Grapes.)

But to soap fans, Rogers will forever be known as GL’s Hawk and AMC’s Ray. He began his daytime career in 1964 with a small role on ANOTHER WORLD before landing a three-year stint as Dr. Martin Brandt on THE DOCTORS. He was tapped to play Tad and Jenny’s diabolical father on AMC in 1977 and appeared on the soap on and off until 1999. As the legend goes, Rogers was so convincing at playing the villainous Ray that he needed to have extra security at his family’s Manhattan apartment.

Rogers went across the dial to CBS in 1986, where he played Reva’s rodeo cowboy and conman dad on GL. Like with AMC, Rogers appeared on and off on the soap, making his final appearance during GL’s last days in 2009.

“I miss him so terribly already,” Amanda concluded her poignant post, adding that her father did not suffer at the end of his life. “He died in his sleep, without pain or fear. I am so grateful to have had such a great father and to have spent these past two years with him every day.”

We extend our condolences to the entire Rogers family at this difficult time.

Video: Guiding Light Chat - Bryan Buffinton & Rachel Miner 3/5/21

(3/6/21) (Watch here) Bryan Buffinton (Little Bill Lewis) and Rachel Miner (Michelle Bauer) joined The Locher Room on Friday, March 5th.

Bryan joined the cast of Guiding Light in 1990 and Rachel joined two years later. Fans loved watching Little Bill and Michelle's young friendship and early romance blossom on the show. This talented duo have been friends for about two decades and will come together to share their memories about their special time in Springfield and so much more. Rachel currently serves as the Executive Director of Random Acts and will tell us about the great work she does with this organization. https://www.randomacts.org/

‘The People We Hate At The Wedding’ Sets Allison Janney, ‘Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy & Ben Platt To Star: Hot EFM Pic

(3/2/21) Oscar-winner Allison Janney, Schitt’s Creek Emmy winner Annie Murphy and Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt are set for The People We Hate At The Wedding. Emmy winner Claire Scanlon (Set It Up) is directing an adaptation of the Grant Ginder novel that is a character-driven wedding comedy that aspires to be a next generation Four Weddings and a Funeral. UTA Independent Film Group is introducing it today at the Virtual Berlin Market.

FilmNation is producing.

In the script by Bob’s Burgers’ Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin & Wendy Molyneux, the comedy focuses on a dysfunctional family that can’t seem to get along and get it together reluctantly reunites for a family wedding. As their many skeletons are wrenched from the closet, it turns out to be just what this singular family needs to reconnect.

Janney is repped by Gersh and Thruline; Murphy by Gersh and Mosaic; Platt by CAA and Immersive; Scanlon is UTA and 3 Arts; Molyneux-Logelin & Molyneux are WME and Kaplan/Perrone.

Geoffrey Scott, ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Dark Shadows’ actor, dead at 79

(3/2/21) Geoffrey Scott, a soap opera star popular for roles in TV juggernauts like “Dynasty” and “Dark Shadows,” has died. He was 79.

The actor fell to Parkinson’s disease on Feb. 23, according to the Hollywood Reporter. His wife, Cheri Catherine Scott, confirmed his passing, which was on the day after his birthday, in Broomfield, Colorado.

Scott is best known for playing tennis pro Mark Jennings on “Dynasty” in a dramatic plotline where he is revealed to be the first husband of Linda Evans’ character, Krystle Carrington — and scandalously still married to her. In the 1960s gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows,” Scott played Sky Rumson, the husband of Angelique Bouchard (Lara Parker).

The actor also played Jeffrey Jordan on CBS’s “Where the Heart Is,” David McAllister on ABC’s “General Hospital” and Billy Lewis on CBS’s “Guiding Light.” He also had a starring role in CBS series “Concrete Cowboys” alongside Jerry Reed in 1981.

Beyond TV roles, Scott was also a prolific commercial actor, having starred in about 100 ads for the likes of cigarette companies Camel and Marlboro as well as Old Spice.

His last-ever role was playing the president in Ang Lee’s 2003 film, “Hulk,” before he retired after 45 years as a working actor. Scott lived in Colorado, where he pursued his “lifelong passion” of skiing, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with his wife and two sons.

Soap Alums Come Together For Charity

(3/1/21) (Watch here) The Locher Room is hosting a trio of soap alums to benefit the nonprofit organization, Chrysalis. Real-life girlfriends and former soap stars, Rebecca Gayheart (ex-Hannah, LOVING), Sharon Leal (ex-Dahlia, GUIDING LIGHT) and Yvonna Kopacz-Wright (ex-Mel, GL) will participate in the live interview and discuss their two-plus decades as friends, motherhood and their careers to help raise money for the organization. This interview will take place on Thursday March 11, 3 p.m. ET. Chrysalis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a pathway to self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income individuals by providing the resources and support needed to find and retain employment.

Frank Grillo To Star In Action-Thriller ‘M.I.A.’, Hannibal Launches Sales

(3/1/21) Captain America and The Purge star Frank Grillo is set to star in action-thriller M.I.A., we can reveal.

Kevin Carraway (Chain Of Command) is set to direct the script penned by Scott Windhauser (Hurricane Heist). Aleksander Vayshelboym (Red Hour) will co-star with Grillo.

Grillo will play Jax, a man who wakes up in a precarious situation with no memory, no time to spare and everyone in the criminal world out to kill him. With nowhere to turn, he is forced to team up with a streetwise criminal to find out who he is and realizes he might not like the answers he uncovers.

Production is slated for second quarter of 2021.

Richard Rionda Del Castro of Hannibal Media will finance, produce and act as world sales agent, kicking off business at this week’s virtual EFM. Grillo will executive-produce with Frederico Lapenda.

Rounding out the production team will be Amanda Cook (The Brawler) of Embolden Pictures who will produce with Carraway and Rionda Del Castro.

Rionda Del Castro states: “I am excited to be on this fast-paced action ride and thrilled to be working with Frank Grillo. This keep you guessing adventure is a perfect fit for Hannibal’s slate in 2021. Grillo is spot on to take on the character of Jax and keep the audience enthralled through the end. We are now looking to cast our villain.”

Hannibal’s slate includes action-adventure #Tsunami, Bounty, Crimson Blues, Welcome to Rio and the recently announced sequel to Give Em Hell Malone starring Thomas Jane and produced by Courtney Lauren Penn.

Frank Grillo is represented by Erik Hyman and Nigel Pearson at Paul Hastings, LLP, Charlie Jennings at CAA and Chris Huvane and Bill Choi at Management 360. Hannibal Media is represented by Robert Nau and Hamrick & Evans LLP.

Video Chat: Jan Conklin & Ritchie Coster

(2/26/21) (Video) Two Guiding Light alumni joined The Locher Room on Friday February 26, 2021. Jan Conklin (Producer) and her real-life husband and actor Ritchie Coster. The duo first met in London in 1992 when she was a cocktail waitress, and he was the bartender in Piccadilly Circus. This year the couple will celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary.

Jan Conklin joined Guiding Light as an intern in 1989; became Paul Rauch's assistant in 1996 and under Ellen Wheeler became a Producer where she worked until the show went off the air in September 2009. After Guiding Light, she spent six-years working at Lululemon before joining New York Relief where she has been working for the past five years as Chief Operating Officer. She's presently serving as the interim CEO.

Ritchie Coster is an English actor best known for playing the roles of Dietrich Banning in The Tuxedo, Chechen in The Dark Knight, Elias Kassar in Blackhat, Mayor Austin Chessani on the second season of the HBO anthology television series True Detective and Francisco Scaramucci / Mr. Blue on the SyFy television series Happy!. He currently can be seen in HBO Max's hit news series, The Flight Attendant. Daytime fans know Ritchie from playing Tom Pelphrey's adoptive father Alfred Randall on Guiding Light and from As the World Turns where he played Gabriel Frank.

NEW YORK CITY RELIEF

New York City Relief has mobilized thousands of volunteers to compassionately serve those struggling with homelessness by providing hope and resources that lead towards life transformation. http://newyorkcityrelief.org/donate

Talk Show Appearance

(2/26/21) GMA3: What You Need to Know - ABC

Friday, March 5— Actor Frank Grillo (“Boss Level”)

Golden Globes Adds Presenters Angela Bassett, Laura Dern, Salma Hayek & Jamie Lee Curtis

(2/25/21) Angela Bassett, Laura Dern, Salma Hayek and Jamie Lee Curtis are the latest stars set to present trophies during the 78th annual Golden Globes on Sunday.

NBC will air the ceremony live coast-to-coast starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will stream the following day on Peacock.

Video: Conversations with Alan - Black History Month

(2/24/21) (Video) An in-depth discussion about the importance of Black History Month, the Black Lives Matter movement and what it's like for a parent raising a black child in America today.

Joining me for this conversation are Amelia Marshall and her 23-year-old son Marshall Schaffer, Karla Mosley who is raising two-year old Aurora and Lawrence Saint-Victor who is raising two-year old Christian.

Amelia Marshall played Gilly Grant, Karla Mosley played Christina Moore and Lawrence Saint-Victor played Remy Boudreau on Guiding Light. Lawrence can currently be seen weekdays playing Carter Walton on the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful.

Guiding Light Chat - Bryan Buffinton & Rachel Miner 3/5/21

(2/24/21) (Watch here) Bryan Buffinton (Little Bill Lewis) and Rachel Miner (Michelle Bauer) will join The Locher Room on Friday, March 5th at 3 p.m. EST.

Bryan joined the cast of Guiding Light in 1990 and Rachel joined two years later. Fans loved watching Little Bill and Michelle's young friendship and early romance blossom on the show. This talented duo have been friends for about two decades and will come together to share their memories about their special time in Springfield and so much more. Rachel currently serves as the Executive Director of Random Acts and will tell us about the great work she does with this organization. https://www.randomacts.org/

Conversations with Alan - Black History Month 2/24/21

(2/21/21) (Watch here) Please join The Locher Room on Wednesday, February 24th at 7 p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST for an in-depth discussion about the importance of Black History Month, the Black Lives Matter movement and what it's like for a parent raising a black child in America today.

Joining me for this conversation are Amelia Marshall and her 23-year-old son Marshall Schaffer, Karla Mosley who is raising two-year old Aurora and Lawrence Saint-Victor who is raising two-year old Christian.

Amelia Marshall played Gilly Grant, Karla Mosley played Christina Moore and Lawrence Saint-Victor played Remy Boudreau on Guiding Light. Lawrence can currently be seen weekdays playing Carter Walton on the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful.

Video: A Time to Heal: Stories of Hope & Inspiration

(2/21/21) (Video) Please join Bryan Beckley the author of the new book A Time to Heal: Stories of Hope & Inspiration live in The Locher Room live on Friday, February 19th at 5 p.m. EST / 2 p.m. PST. The book covers a wide variety of topics including: mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, bullying, the loss of a parent, representation, activism, addiction, spirituality, the healing power of the arts, the importance of having mentors and so much more. Bryan will share his personal reasons for writing this book.

Joining Bryan are Liris Crosse (actress, model), David A. Gregory (Ford, One Life to Live), Abigail Hawk (Abigail, Blue Bloods), Jeff Lima (Leon, Chicago Fire) , Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, The Young and the Restless), Robert Palmer Watkins (Dillon, General Hospital) and pop-singer Wils. Each one of these men and women are featured in Bryan's book and they will share their personal stories with all of you.

Golden Globes Adds Presenters Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick & More

(2/19/21) Kevin Bacon, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, Kyra Sedgwick, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are among the second batch of presenters announced for the upcoming 78th Annual Gold Globe Awards.

The latest round of presenters was announced today by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, dick clark productions and NBC.

Douglas (three-time Golden Globe Award winner and ten-time nominee) & Zeta-Jones (two-time Golden Globe Award nominee) will take the stage together to present from The Rainbow Room in New York, while Bacon (Golden Globe Award winner and three-time nominee) & Sedgwick (Golden Globe Award winner and nine-time nominee), as well as Brown (Golden Globe Award winner and two-time nominee) & Watson, will present from The Beverly Hilton Ballroom in Los Angeles.

The pairs will join previously announced presenters Awkwafina, Cynthia Erivo, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig, and Renee Zellweger.

NBC will air the ceremony live coast-to-coast starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will stream the following day on Peacock.

Stargirl Season 2: John Wesley Shipp to Play Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick

(2/19/21) DC’s Stargirl‘s membership in the Arrowverse will become double-secret official when John Wesley Shipp shows up to reprise his role as The Flash‘s Jay Garrick.

EW.com reports that Shipp is set to guest-star in the ninth episode of Stargirl‘s sophomore run (exclusively on The CW) as the Golden Age version of the scarlet speedster, “in a pivotal flashback episode” that establishes Garrick as a member of Earth-2’s Justice Society of America.

With Shipp’s appearance as The Flash, Stargirl will formally establish itself as a part of the new multiverse that Spectre fka Oliver Queen created at the close of the 2019-20 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event. As was revealed in that montage (embedded below), Stargirl & Co. exist on Earth-2, the Titans team is on Earth-9, Swamp Thing calls Earth-19 home, and Doom Patrol‘s dysfunctional family resides on Earth-21.

In addition to his recurring run on The CW’s The Flash, where over the years has alternately played Henry Allen and Jay Garrick, Shipp’s TV credits include Teen Wolf, One Life to Live, Dawson’s Creek, Sisters and, of course, the OG, early-1990s The Flash series.

Michael Park & Victor Slezak guest on Bull 2/22/21

(2/19/21) “The Bad Client” – Bull uses the First Amendment’s freedom of speech to defend TAC’s client, a controversial news commentator blamed for a man’s suicide after she accused him on air of murder, on BULL, Monday, Feb. 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Callie Thorne (Madeline McBride), Victor Slezak (Eric Godford), Michael Park (Keith Watkins)

Video: Edge Of Night Reunion - Terry Davis, Frances Fisher, Sharon Gabet 2/18/21

(2/19/21) (Video) Terry Davis (April Cavanaugh Scott), Frances Fisher (Deborah Saxon) and Sharon Gabet (Raven Whitney) who met on the set of the ABC daytime drama The Edge of Night joined The Locher Room on Thursday, February 18th. These three talented actresses also known as Edge's Angels reminisce about their time working together on Edge and look back at some of their other daytime, primetime and movie roles as well.

Stage and Screen Actor Christopher Pennock Dies at 76

(2/14/21) (broadwayworld.com) BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Broadway and television actor Christopher Pennock has died at age 76 following several days of hospitalized care.

Chris performed on the Broadway stage in "The Rose Tattoo," "Abelard & Heloise" and "A Patriot For Me." His other theatrical credits include "The Philadelphia Story," "Third," "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" and "Royal Hunt Of The Sun." He is a lifelong member of The Actors Studio, a professional organization for actors, directors and playwrights best known for teaching method acting.

On television, he played a variety of characters on the original "Dark Shadows" daytime series during its final two years.

In addition to his series of "Dark Shadows"-inspired comic books, Chris also participated in numerous new "Dark Shadows" audio dramas over the past two decades.

Chris was also a longtime player on soap operas, later appearing in "Somerset," "General Hospital," "The Young & The Restless," "Days Of Our Lives" and "The Guiding Light."

On primetime television, Chris made guest spots on "Melrose Place," "Simon & Simon," "The Love Boat," "Dynasty," "The A-Team," "Tucker's Witch" and "Hotel." Chris made his movie debut in "Night of Dark Shadows" in 1971 and was also seen in "Savages," "Basic Training," "The Great Texas Dynamite Chase," "California Suite," "Frances," "Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar" and, most recently, "A Journey To A Journey."

‘The Best Man’ Limited Series With Original Cast Ordered By Peacock From Malcolm D. Lee & Dayna Lynne North

(2/9/21) Universal’s hit The Best Man movie franchise is getting a new installment as a streaming series. Peacock has ordered a 10-episode limited dramedy series The Best Man: The Final Chapters from the movies’ writer and director Malcolm D. Lee and former Insecure executive producer Dayna Lynne North.

The core star-studded original cast from the movies are set to return, including Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau. I hear the actors all recently closed significant seven-figure deals to reprise their roles in the series, which is eying a September start. The only missing original Best Man cast member is Monica Calhoun whose character died in the sequel, The Best Man Holiday, which was released more than seven years ago.

“We’re excited to reunite this beloved cast for a limited series run of The Best Man for Peacock,” said Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “With a powerhouse duo like Malcolm and Dayna at the helm, fans will fall in love with our favorite group of friends all over again.”

Based on the eponymous film franchise written and directed by Lee, the series will catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.

“Here we go! The band is back together! I am very excited to bring these iconic characters back to the fans who have supported us through this franchise,” said Lee. “We are thrilled to deliver everything one would expect from this group of friends in The Best Man universe and take them through their final chapters. We can’t wait! I told you it wouldn’t be 14 more years.”

Lee followed up The Best Man franchise with two more very successful feature comedies for Universal, Girls Trip and Night School, which he produced and directed. In 2018, he expanded his relationship with the studio to television, signing a first-look deal with Universal TV.

“When Malcolm joined the UTV family, our first conversation was about our collective desire to bring his groundbreaking Universal feature franchise to television,” Universal Television President Erin Underhill said. “Three years and one pandemic later, we’re on the brink of doing just that. I’m thrilled for us all to see this goal come to fruition.”

North is a new creative team addition to The Best Man franchise, but she is a longtime fan of the movies.

“The Best Man films were a cultural touchstone during my college days — and they’ve remained influential pop culture references to this day,” she said. “I’ve grown up laughing with these characters, copying their dance moves, and grieving at their losses. I am overjoyed to be partnering with Malcolm D. Lee and this amazing cast to adapt this iconic franchise at Peacock.”

The Best Man: The Final Chapters is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is written and executive produced by Malcolm D. Lee via his Blackmaled Productions and Dayna Lynne North of Loud Sis Productions. Sean Daniel, of Hivemind, who produced The Best Man Holiday, will also serve as executive producer. Sheila Walcott will oversee for Blackmaled Productions.

In the original 1999 romantic comedy-drama movie, produced by Spike Lee, old college friends reunite for a wedding. It was followed by a Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, released in November 2013. Both films were box office hits. The original grossed $34 million domestically on a $9 million budget. The 2013 followup earned $70 million. A third film in the series, The Best Man Wedding, also written and to be directed by Lee, was announced by Universal in 2014 with a planned release in 2016, but it was never made, largely because of scheduling issues.

Last year, Diggs revealed that a third installment of The Best Man franchise may be finally happening but as a streaming series.

On Peacock, The Best Man: The Final Chapters will join a number of revivals and reboots of iconic Universal titles, including Saved By the Bell, Punky Brewster and Battlestar Galactica. Additionally, Universal TV is rebooting The Equalizer as a TV series for CBS.

Lee, who executive produced the NBC Night School comedy pilot, has another NBC pilot, At That Age, on which he is creator, executive producer and director. In features, Lee has Space Jam: A New Legacy for Warner Brothers/HBO Max. Lee’s Blackmaled Productions banner has several projects in development including I Almost Forgot About You (Universal), an adaptation of Terry McMillan’s novel with Viola Davis, The Classic (Universal), Real Talk (Universal), and Rock the Bells (Fox). Lee is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Del Shaw Moonves.

North is co-writing and executive producing Young Love, the upcoming series adaptation of the Oscar-winning short Hair Love. She recently was a writer/executive producer on Insecure, co-created by and starring Issa Rae. North is repped by CAA and Narrative.

Daniel and his company are also executive producers on The Witcher at Netflix and The Expanse at Amazon.

Chestnut is repped by Verve and LINK Entertainment. De Sousa is with A3 Artists Agency and Meyer & Downs. Diggs is repped by ICM Partners. Howard is repped by Universal Bridges. Lathan is with CAA and Morris Yorn Barnes. Long is repped by Verve, Untitled Entertainment and Meyer & Downs. Perrineau is repped by Gersh and Anonymous Content.

THE EDGE OF NIGHT Cast Reunion 2/18/21

(2/9/21) (Watch here) Terry Davis (April Cavanaugh Scott), Frances Fisher (Deborah Saxon) and Sharon Gabet (Raven Whitney) who met on the set of the ABC daytime drama The Edge of Night will join me live on Thursday, February 18th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. These three talented actresses also known as Edge's Angels will reminisce about their time working together on Edge and look back at some of their other daytime, primetime and movie roles as well.

SAG Awards Nominations

(2/4/21) After today’s noms, final voting by the guild’s eligible members begins February 16 and runs through March 30. This year’s SAG Awards will air live Sunday, April 4 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT simulcast on TNT and TBS.

Ensemble in a Drama Series

BETTER CALL SAUL
JONATHAN BANKS / Mike Ehrmantraut
TONY DALTON / Lalo Salamanca
GIANCARLO ESPOSITO / Gus Fring
PATRICK FABIAN / Howard Hamlin
MICHAEL MANDO / Nacho Varga
BOB ODENKIRK / Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman
RHEA SEEHORN / Kim Wexler

BRIDGERTON
ADJOA ANDOH / Lady Danbury
JULIE ANDREWS / Lady Whistledown
LORRAINE ASHBOURNE / Mrs. Varley
JONATHAN BAILEY / Anthony Bridgerton
RUBY BARKER / Marina Thompson
JASON BARNETT / Jeffries
SABRINA BARTLETT / Siena Rosso
JOANNA BOBIN / Lady Cowper
HARRIET CAINS / Philipa Featherington
BESSIE CARTER / Prudence Featherington
NICOLA COUGHLAN / Penelope Featherington
KATHRYN DRYSDALE / Genevieve Delacroix
PHOEBE DYNEVOR / Daphne Bridgerton
RUTH GEMMELL / Violet Bridgerton
FLORENCE HUNT / Hyacinth Bridgerton
MARTINS IMHANGBE / Will Mondrich
CLAUDIA JESSIE / Eloise Bridgerton
JESSICA MADSEN / Cressida Cowper
MOLLY McGLYNN / Maid Rose
BEN MILLER / Lord Featherington
LUKE NEWTON / Colin Bridgerton
JULIAN OVENDEN / Sir Henry Granville
REGÉ-JEAN PAGE / Simon Basset
GOLDA ROSHEUVEL / Queen Charlotte
HUGH SACHS / Brimsley
LUKE THOMPSON / Benedict Bridgerton
WILL TILSTON / Gregory Bridgerton
POLLY WALKER / Portia Featherington

THE CROWN
GILLIAN ANDERSON / Margaret Thatcher
MARION BAILEY / Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Princess Margaret
STEPHEN BOXER / Denis Thatcher
OLIVIA COLMAN / Queen Elizabeth II
EMMA CORRIN / Princess Diana
ERIN DOHERTY / Princess Anne
CHARLES EDWARDS / Martin Charteris
EMERALD FENNELL / Camilla Shand
TOBIAS MENZIES / Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
JOSH O’CONNOR / Prince Charles
SAM PHILLIPS / Equerry

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
JAMIE CHUNG / Ji-Ah
AUNJANUE ELLIS / Hippolyta Freeman
JADA HARRIS / Diana “Dee” Freeman
ABBEY LEE / Christina Braithwhite
JONATHAN MAJORS / Atticus Freeman
WUNMI MOSAKU / Ruby Baptiste
JORDAN PATRICK SMITH / William
JURNEE SMOLLETT / Letitia “Leti” Lewis
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / Montrose Freeman

OZARK
JASON BATEMAN / Marty Byrde
McKINLEY BELCHER III / Agent Trevor Evans
JESSICA FRANCES DUKES / Special Agent Maya Miller
LISA EMERY / Darlene Snell
SKYLAR GAERTNER / Jonah Byrde
JULIA GARNER / Ruth Langmore
SOFIA HUBLITZ / Charlotte Byrde
KEVIN L. JOHNSON / Sam Dermody
LAURA LINNEY / Wendy Byrde
JANET McTEER / Helen Pierce
TOM PELPHREY / Ben Davis
JOSEPH SIKORA / Frank Cosgrove Jr.
FELIX SOLIS / Omar Navarro
CHARLIE TAHAN / Wyatt Langmore
MADISON THOMPSON / Erin Pierce

Talk Show Appearance

(2/3/21) LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS - NBC

Wednesday, February 10: Guests Allison Janney (Breaking News in Yuba County)

Soap Alums 2021 NAACP Image Awards Nominations

(2/2/21) The nominees for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards are officially in.

Set to simulcast across all ViacomCBS Networks including BET, CBS and MTV on Saturday, March 27th at 8 p.m. ET, the 52nd NAACP Image Awards honors the accomplishments of BIPOC artists across TV, music, film and literature.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)
Deon Cole – Black-ish (ABC)
Jay Ellis – Insecure (HBO)
Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Laurence Fishburne – Black-ish (ABC)

Outstanding Performance in a Short Form Series
Giancarlo Esposito – The Broken and the Bad (AMC.com )
J.B. Smoove – Mapleworth Murders (Quibi)
Jasmine Cephas Jones – #FreeRayshawn (Quibi)
Laurence Fishburne – #FreeRayshawn (Quibi)
Stephan James – #FreeRayshawn (Quibi)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Anika Noni Rose – Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)
Gabourey Sidibe – Antebellum (Lionsgate)
Nia Long – The Banker (Apple)
Phylicia Rashad – Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)
Taylour Paige – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture
Ahmir-Khalib Thompson aka Questlove – Soul (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Angela Bassett – Soul (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Chris Rock – The Witches (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Jamie Foxx – Soul (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Phylicia Rashad – Soul (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Cicely Tyson’s New Memoir Hits No. 1 After Icon’s Death; ‘Just As I Am’ Out Of Stock On Amazon

(1/30/21) Mere hours after Cicely Tyson’s death, the multi-award winning actress’ just-published memoir is the bestselling book in America.

Released on January 26, Just As I Am has hit No. 1 on Amazon. However, it looks like you won’t be able to get your hands on the book anytime soon.

Published by HarperCollins, the 432-page book has proven such an obvious draw since Tyson’s death at the age of 96 on January 28 that it is “temporarily out of stock,” according to Amazon. No indication when Just As I Am will be back in stock on the Everything Store.

However, before you despair, an audio version of the memoir is still available from Amazon and others. To make that an even more alluring prospect, Tyson herself narrates in part on the audiobook, along with her How To Get Away with Murder co-star Viola Davis and Robin Miles.

“Just As I Am is my truth,” Tyson said of the memoir written with Michelle Burford. The Honorary Oscar winner, Oscar nominee, multiple Emmy winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, among other honors, was vigorously promoting in the days before she passed away Thursday.

“It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside,” the Sounder star added. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and mother, a sister, and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by His hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.”

And the book delivered, on various levels, it appears.

“Just as I Am is a 400-page chronicle of a history as American as apple pie, as Black as the dead of night, as rich, surely, as Tyson’s favorite meals, oxtails and okra, cooked up by her late ex-husband Miles Davis,” wrote Tre’vell Anderson in a review in the Washington Post on January 27.

The rise of Tyson’s book over the last 24 hours actually dethroned inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, who has held the top spot since blowing the nation’s collective and individual wigs off with her “The Hill We Climb” recitation last week.

With Gorman’s latest collection originally set to be released in September, Viking Press jumped to rush out a 32-page version of the poem delivered at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ swearing in. With a forward by fan Oprah Winfrey, the poem the former National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States is set to come out March 16.

In what was to be one of her last messages on social media, Tyson praised Gorman and her work.

‘Oprah’s Master Class: Cicely Tyson’ To Re-Air This Weekend On OWN

(1/29/21) OWN will honor the memory of actress Cicely Tyson this weekend with two re-airings of Oprah’s Master Class: Cicely Tyson, a 2014 conversation that sees her look back at her most valuable life lessons.

The programs will air Saturday, January 30 at 10:00 PM ET/PT and Sunday, January 31 at 11:00 AM ET/PT on OWN.

“Ms. Tyson was a rare talent both on and off the screen, one that we at OWN were blessed and honored to work with and be inspired by,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN. “We are so grateful for the gifts she gave us with her art, her activism, and her passionate love of life. May she rise in power.”

Following Tyson’s passing, Winfrey shared the following message on Instagram in her honor:

“Of all the times and experiences we shared together, this was one of my favorites: The weekend of the Legends Ball in 2005. The idea for the ball originated because I wanted to celebrate HER, and other remarkable Black women who carved a path and built a bridge for me and generations to follow.

“What a joy to honor her and feel her receive it! I loved her hat so much, she sent it to me afterwards. Cicely decided early on that her work as an actor would be more than a job. She used her career to illuminate the humanity in Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised. Her life so fully lived is a testimony to Greatness.”

Talk Show Appearance

(1/29/21) GMA3: What You Need to Know - ABC

Wednesday, Feb. 3— actor Taye Diggs (“All American”)

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion - Grant Aleksander and Beth Chamberlin

(1/28/21) (Video) In honor of Guiding Light's 84th anniversary please join Grant Aleksander and Beth Chamberlin in The Locher Room live on Thursday, January 28th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Grant joined the cast of Guiding Light in 1982 and played the role of Phillip Spaulding on and off for 27 years. Beth took over the role of Beth Raines in 1989 and played the role on and off for 20 years. The duo shared their memories of working together and portraying one of our favorite Springfield couples. Guiding Light's 84th anniversary was January 25th.

‘Live With Kelly And Ryan’ Will Air Cicely Tyson Interview From Wednesday On Friday

(1/28/21) On Wednesday, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest interviewed Cicely Tyson for a pre-taped show airing Friday, Jan. 29. Tyson died today, Jan. 28.

The producers have decided to go ahead with the programming. The interview will air on Friday in national syndication.

A statement from the program said The Live with Kelly and Ryan team was devastated to learn of her passing. They have decided to proceed and air the show and interview as originally scheduled.”

The statement concluded, “The hosts, staff, and crew of “Live” send their deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Miss Tyson, and hope that the interview serves as a fitting tribute to this legendary actress.

Cicely Tyson Dies: Pioneering ‘Sounder’ Oscar Nominee & ‘Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman’ Emmy Winner Was 96

(1/28/21) Cicely Tyson (ex-Martha Frazier, Guiding Light), the pioneering Honorary Oscar winner who starred in Sounder and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and earned five Emmy noms for her recurring role on How to Get Away with Murder, died today. She was 96. Click on the picture above for a photo gallery of her career.

Tyson’s manager Larry Thompson confirmed the news but did not provide details of her death.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” Thompson said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.” HarperCollins published Tyson’s memoir, Just As I Am, earlier this week.

Tyson racked up 16 career Emmy nominations and won three, including two in 1974 for her legendary turn in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, in which she played a Southern woman who was born into slavery and lives to join the civil rights movement. She was the first Black woman to win a Lead Actress Emmy.

That role came two years after Tyson’s powerhouse performance in Sounder, about a Depression-era sharecropper family that must deal a serious personal crisis. She earned an Oscar nom for the performance but lost to Liza Minnelli for Cabaret.

Her 2019 Honorary Oscar was the first presented to a Black woman.

Tyson received her third Emmy for The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) and also was nominated for her performances in Roots, King, Sweet Justice, The Marva Collins Story and A Lesson Before Dying.

During an iconic career that spanned 70 years, Tyson appeared in dozens of films, TV series and telefilms and on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for The Trip to Bountiful in 2013. She might be best known to younger audiences for her role in Shonda Rhimes’ ABC drama How to Get Away with Murder, on which she recurred as Ophelia Harkness, the dementia-addled mother of lead character Annalise Harkness (Viola Davis).

She also was a regular on Ava DuVernay’s OWN series Cherish the Day, playing Miss Luma Lee Langston — a legendary star of stage and screen in decades past — in all eight episodes of the drama’s 2020 freshman season.

Tyson also was a pioneer in Hollywood. She was committed to presenting only positive images of Black women, and that stance probably cost her some work in film and television. Still, her work was widely recognized, and she was honored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the NAACP — she was an eight-time Image Award winner and 15-time nominee — and the National Council of Negro Women. In 1977, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

In 2016, President Barack Obama presented Tyson with the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her contribution to the arts and American culture. She was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2019 and received a Career Achievement Peabody Award last year. She also was lauded with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2015 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What a career it was.

Born on December 19, 1924, the native New Yorker launched her TV career in 1951 with roles ranging from Naked City, I Spy and Mission: Impossible to Gunsmoke, The F.BI. and a co-starring gig opposite George C. Scott in the mid-’60s CBS drama East Side/West Side. Three decades later, Tyson landed another series-regular role in the NBC legal drama Sweet Justice, playing a longtime civil rights warrior alongside Melissa Gilbert and Ronny Cox. It lasted one season in 1994-95.

More recently, she appeared on the small screen on such popular drama series as Law & Order: SVU, House of Cards and Madam Secretary.

Tyson made her silver-screen debut in 1957’s Carib Gold and went on to appear in such films as The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1967), George Cukor’s The Blue Bird (1976) — which also featured Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Ava Gardner — A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich (1978), Richard Pryor comedy Bustin’ Loose (1981), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) and Madea’s Family Reunion (2006) and Best Picture Oscar nominee The Help (2011).

Tyson also appeared in a number of Broadway plays, most of which had brief runs. Most recently she starred opposite James Earl Jones in two-hander The Gin Game and with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Vanessa Williams in Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful. She won a lead actress Tony Award for the latter and would reprise her role as Mrs. Carrie Watts for the 2014 telefilm, earning an Emmy nom for that performance.

Tyson was married to jazz legend Miles Davis for several years during the 1980s.

‘Big Sky’ Adds Michelle Forbes, Britt Robertson, Michael Raymond-James, Ryan Dorsey & Omar Metwally

(1/28/21) David E. Kelley’s hit freshman ABC drama series Big Sky continues to bulk up its cast with the addition of five high profile recurring guest stars, Michelle Forbes, Britt Robertson, Michael Raymond-James, Ryan Dorsey and Omar Metwally.

They join recently cast new series regular Ted Levine, who plays powerful ranch owner Horst Kleinsasse, and Kyle Schmid, who will recur as his second-born son John Wayne Kleinsasse.

Forbes (The Killing) will play the mother, Margaret. She seems to be the picture-perfect ranch wife who knows her place, likes to bake and loves all of her children equally, but scratch the surface and there’s real steel beneath.

Robertson (For the People) will play the daughter Cheyenne Kleinsasser. Used to be Daddy’s (Levine) girl, but that ended when she grew up, ran off and made some poor life choices. Her brothers don’t weigh her opinion at all, brushing aside her ideas for the ranch as feminine nonsense. Schmid plays one of her brothers.

Raymond-James (Tell Me a Story) will play first-born son Blake Kleinsasser who turned his back on the ranch and went to the city to make his own way. He’s smart but a black-out drunk, and gets pulled back into the family dysfunction when he comes home to deal with the ranch.

Dorsey (Stumptown) will play younger son Rand Kleinsasser. Rand’s wiry, smart and quiet with a coiled intensity. He loves his mother and hates her in equal parts. Tormented by buried secrets.

Metwally (The Affair) will play Deputy US Marshal Frank Lindor. Or as he puts it; “a bounty-hunter with a pension.” Frank is brash, unbuttoned, and believes life’s too short to wear closed-toed shoes. He uses biting humor and brazenness as armor.

The crime thriller series, created by Kelley based on C.J Box’s book, follows private detective Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) who join forces to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.

After a winter break, Big Sky returned with new episodes this week. Following a strong ratings start for the freshman drama, ABC in December ordered six additional episodes, bringing the first season to a total of 16 episodes, with a Season 2 renewal also looking promising if the ratings performance remains solid.

Produced by 20th Television in association with A+E Studios, Big Sky is exec produced by Kelley, Ross Fineman, Matthew Gross, Box and Gwyneth Horder-Payton.

Forbes was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the AMC/Netflix series The Killing. She recently appeared on Epix’s Berlin Station. Her series credits also include HBO’s True Blood and In Treatment. She is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion.

Robertson was recently seen in the Lionsgate feature, I Still Believe opposite KJ Apa, on the Shondaland ABC drama, For the People and playing the title role in Netflix’s, Girlboss. She is repped by Innovative Artists.

Raymond-James can soon be seen opposite Jason Momoa in the upcoming Netflix film Sweet Girl and starred in Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story on CBS All Access. Other recent series credits include Showtimes’ Billions and Fox’s Prodigal Son. He is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA and Peikoff Mahan.

Dorsey, whose recent credits include Stumptown, Yellowstone, Bosch and Runaways, is repped by D2 Management and Defining Artists.

Metwally, known for his role on Showtime’s The Affair as Dr. Vik Ullah and as Agent Santiago on USA’s Mr. Robot, also appeared on Ramy and Treadstone. He is repped by MGMT Entertainment, Innovative, and attorney Bruce Gellman.

Morgan Englund's mother Cloris Leachman Dies: Eight-Time Emmy Winner & ‘Last Picture Show’ Oscar Winner Was 94

(1/27/21) Cloris Leachman, who won eight career Emmy Awards spanning six programs and 22 nominations, and also earned a Supporting Actress Oscar for The Last Picture Show during a sterling seven-decade career, died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, CA. She was 94.

Her manager confirmed the news.

Among her most famous roles were recurring as Phyllis Lindstrom in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its 1975-77 spin-off, Phyllis. She also famously played the cigar-chomping, violin-playing, over-accented and riotously funny Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks’ 1974 classic horror spoof, Young Frankenstein. She reunited with Brooks to play Nurse Diesel in the 1977 Alfred Hitchcock takeoff High Anxiety, and as French revolutionary Madame Defarge in the underappreciated 1981 sendup History of the World, Part I.

More recently, she earned an Emmy nom for playing the too-hip Maw Maw in Fox sitcom Raising Hope, and earned two Emmys and four other noms for her role as Grandma Ida in the network’s 2000s sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle, opposite Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek.

She also scored an Emmy among four nominations for Mary Tyler Moore, and a Lead Actress nom for Phyllis.

Born on April 30, 1926, in Des Moines, IA, Leachman launched her showbiz career after competing in the 1946 Miss America Pageant, and began guesting on such early-TV series as The Ford Theatre, Suspense, Actor’s Studio, and The Bob & Ray Show. She continued to work in television as the medium evolved and matured, with roles in such classic series as The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Untouchables, Route 66, Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 77 Sunset Strip, and a recurring part on more than two dozen episodes of Lassie.

She also began to score Broadway roles in the postwar era. After a few understudy and bit parts, she was cast as a replacement for the starring role of Ens. Nellie Forbush in the original Main Stem run of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific. Leachman went on to appear in eight other Broadway shows during the 1950s, including As You Like It, King of Hearts, and Masquerade.

By the early 1970s, Leachman was focused on features and the emerging TV-movie genre. On the big screen, she played Ruth Popper, the lonely middle-aged wife of a closeted-gay high school football coach who began an affair with one of the players (Timothy Bottoms) in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show. Her powerhouse performance earned a Supporting Actress Oscar — one of eight nominations and two wins for the 1971 film that also featured Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ellen Burstyn, and Ben Johnson, who won the Supporting Actor Academy Award.

Leachman went on to costar in John Milius’ Dillinger (1973), and reteamed with Bogdanovich and Shepherd for Daisy Miller (1974). Later that year, Leachman would nearly steal the show from an ensemble of scene-stealers in Brooks’ smash parody, Young Frankenstein.

Her character was delightfully over-the-top — as was the Transylvania-set black-and-white movie that also starred Gene Hackman, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, and Madeline Kahn. A recurring gag throughout the gag-filled pic saw often-unseen horses nervously whinnying at the mere mention of her name. The film remains among the funniest ever made.

Speaking of “funniest ever made,” Leachman in the mid-’70s continued to recur on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It scooped Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy noms for its first four seasons — losing to All in the Family twice and M*A*S*H — before winning the category back-to-back-to-back from 1975-77. In 1974, just ahead of that remarkable run, CBS spun off Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern character for the sitcom Rhoda.

Leachman appeared in the high-rated wedding episode of Rhoda in 1974, and the show finished in the year-end top 10 among primetime programs in its first two seasons — ahead of Mary Tyler Moore. Following Rhoda’s out-of-the-box success, the Eye Network spun off Leachman’s character for the 1975 sitcom, Phyllis. Airing as the lead-out for Rhoda on Monday nights, the new series also was an immediate hit, actually eking out a full-season ratings with over Rhoda during 1975-76. But both series were overshadowed by NBC’s hit drama Little House on the Prairie, which moved to Monday nights that season. Phyllis wrapped in 1977, and Rhoda was gone a year later.

Leachman earned an Emmy nom for the first season of Phyllis a year after winning back-to-back hardware for the role in Mary Tyler Moore.

She continued to rack up film and TV credits throughout the 1970s and ’80s before landing her second series-regular role as a replacement for longtime star Charlotte Rae in NBC’s hit sitcom, The Facts of Life. Leachman took over as the female lead in 1986 for the final two of its nine seasons, playing Beverly Ann Sickle, the chatterbox sister of Rae’s Edna Garrett.

Leachman followed that up with the lead in The Nutt House, a short-lived NBC sitcom created by Alan Spencer and Brooks in which she played a double role opposite fellow High Anxiety and History of the World alum Harvey Korman. The slapstick farce about a once-mighty hotel that had fallen on hard times lasted only a handful of episodes.

A few seasons later, NBC paired Leachman with another popular star, Stacy Keach, for Walter and Emily, a multigeneration comedy that ran for one season in 1991-92. That season she also had a one-off voice role in The Simpsons, and she had a brief but memorable voice role in the 1996 feature Beavis and Butt-head Do America. She played an elderly woman who ran into the boys on the road multiple times, drolly referring to them as “Travis and Bob.”

Leachman continued to work apace in the 1990s, by then well into her 60s and even her 70s. She scored another series-regular role as Ellen DeGeneres’ fussy mom in CBS’ The Ellen Show, which aired in 2001-02. Around the same time, she first appeared as Grandma Ida in Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle. The role would span about a dozen episodes across multiple seasons, earning her a pair of Guest Actress Emmys and six total nominations

In 2012, as she pushed 80, Leachman voiced a couple episodes of Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, which led to her voicing Gran in the 2003’s toon feature The Croods — a role she would reprise in last year’s hit sequel, The Croods: A New Age.

In 2014, the newly minted octogenarian got a recurring voice role in the Amazon toon Creative Galaxy, and Leachman suddenly was an in-demand voice-over actor. She would voice roles in the series Justice League Action and Elena of Avalor, the latter of which wrapped with a primetime special in 2020.

In 2019, at age 93, Leachman was cast as Mrs. Mendelbaum in Spectrum Originals’ revival of the 1990s Paul Reiser-Helen Hunt sitcom, Mad About You. She went on to appear in 10 episodes.

Leachman would steal other shows in the mid-2010s, serving as a presenter at the Annie Awards with Tom Kenny. The SpongeBob SquarePants star repeatedly played straight man as Leachman tossed off line after great — and sometime blue — line. “We don’t have very much time, so hurry up,” Leachman warned winners during ASIFA-Hollywood’s 2014 trophy show. But she also courteously reminded the winners to be careful on their way to the stage because — in her best Frau Blücher voice — “The stairs can be treacherous.”

She later added that the Annies should be called the Cecilies so it doesn’t sound so much like Emmys. Presenter Patrick Warburton later quipped, “Welcome back to the Annie Awards — or as it’s now known, the Cloris Leachman Award.”

Aside from her prolific acting career, Leachman was a tireless advocate for animal rights. “It was our honor to present her with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her efforts to help animals great and small,” PETA president Lisa Lange said in a statement. “From orcas at SeaWorld and elephants in circuses to caged birds in retirement homes, and we will always treasure her legacy of compassion.”

She was married to filmmaker George Englund for 25 years before they divorced in 1978. She is survived by four of their five children — Adam, Morgan, George Jr., and Dinah — seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Her son Bryan died in 1986, and Englund died in 2017.

New Role For GUIDING LIGHT Fave

(1/27/21) On Facebook, Michael O’Leary (ex-Rick, GUIDING LIGHT) announced that he had booked a new role. “Exciting news to share!” he enthused. “I was cast as ‘Father Hogan’ in the premier episode of Law & Order; Organized Crime starring Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay. They couldn’t have been nicer! This is Father Hogan praying to return for another episode! Stay safe everyone!” The LAW & ORDER spinoff series will air in the spring on NBC.

GUIDING LIGHT Reunion - Grant Aleskander (Phillip) and Beth Chamberlin (Beth) 1/28/21

(1/21/21) The Locher Room will feature former GUIDING LIGHT on-screen couple, Grant Aleskander (Phillip) and Beth Chamberlin (Beth), on the YouTube show. The actors will appear virtually for an interview on Thursday, January 28 at 3 p.m. (Watch here)

Soap Alums Nominated For Critics Choice Awards

(1/18/21) The 26th annual Critics Choice Awards unveiled its TV series nominees on Monday.

The winners will be announced at 7 p.m. March 7 on the CW, with Taye Diggs is set to return as host for a third time.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Olivia Colman – The Crown (Netflix)
Emma Corrin – The Crown (Netflix)
Claire Danes – Homeland (Showtime)
Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
John Lithgow – Perry Mason (HBO)
Tobias Menzies – The Crown (Netflix)
Tom Pelphrey – Ozark (Netflix)
Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

William Fichtner – Mom (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Alex Newell – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)
Mark Proksch – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Andrew Rannells – Black Monday (Showtime).

Talk Show Appearance

(1/16/21) THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW, syndicated

Fr 1/22: Taye Diggs

CBS ALL ACCESS ANNOUNCES GUEST STARS FOR SEASON FOUR OF “NO ACTIVITY”

(1/15/21) CBS All Access, ViacomCBS’ digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, today announced several new and returning guest stars, all set to appear in the fourth season of its original, half-hour comedy series NO ACTIVITY. It was previously announced that the upcoming season will feature all of the fan favorite NO ACTIVITY characters in animated form.

The exciting group of new guest stars this season includes Louie Anderson (“Baskets,” “Search Party”), Kevin Bacon (“I Love Dick, “The Following”), Jillian Bell (“Brittany Runs a Marathon,” “Workaholics”), D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place,” “Barry”), Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe,” “Deadpool 2”), Elle Fanning (“The Great,” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”), Will Forte (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Nebraska”), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (“Five Feet Apart,” “Vice Principals”), Udo Kier (“Bacurau,” “Downsizing”), Lamorne Morris (“Woke,” “New Girl”), Oscar Nuñez (“The Office,” “Baywatch”), Hannah Simone (“New Girl,” “Awokened”), June Squibb (“Nebraska, “Hubie Halloween”) and Samara Weaving (“Ready or Not,” “Hollywood”). Co-developer Patrick Brammall will reprise his starring role as Special Agent Nick Cullen and will be joined by returning guest stars Joe Keery as Officer Reinhardt, the new partner of Tim Meadows’ Judd Tolbeck; Sunita Mani as dispatch operator Fatima; Jason Mantzoukas as an undercover FBI agent; Bob Odenkirk as Greg, and Amy Sedaris as dispatch’s mother hen, Janice.

This season will find Special Agent Nick Cullen (Brammall) finally realizing his dream of joining the FBI, only to quickly discover being an FBI “special agent” isn’t what he expected it to be. When he’s assigned to a seemingly dull observation detail, he finds a potential career case in the form of an emerging cult, and when a large scale operation takes aim at the cult, it’s unclear which side will break first. Despite the promotion, Cullen’s path continues to cross with former partner Judd Tolbeck’s (Meadows), who is also adjusting to life with a new partner of his own.

NO ACTIVITY is produced by CBS Studios in association with Funny Or Die, Jungle and Gary Sanchez Productions, with animation production services provided by Flight School, and is based on the Stan original series produced by Jungle. The series is co-developed and executive produced by Brammall and Trent O’Donnell, alongside executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Joe Hardesty and Jason Burrows. Nina Pedrad, Steve Toltz and Becca Kinskey serve as co-executive producers. As in previous seasons, O’Donnell will also direct.

Season four of NO ACTIVITY joins CBS All Access’ growing slate of original series that currently includes THE GOOD FIGHT, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, TOONING OUT THE NEWS, WHY WOMEN KILL, INTERROGATION, THE THOMAS JOHN EXPERIENCE, THAT ANIMAL RESCUE SHOW, TEXAS 6, TELL ME A STORY, and the limited event series THE STAND, as well as the upcoming THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, THE HARPER HOUSE, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE and GUILTY PARTY. CBS All Access is also the exclusive domestic home to STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, the animated series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS and the U.S.S Enterprise set series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS.

Video: The Doctors Cast Reunion #3- 1/15/21

(1/15/21) (Video) The Locher Room once again teamed with Retro Television to bring you a virtual reunion with cast members from the classic daytime drama, The Doctors. The third reunion featured Jada Rowland (Carolee), Kim Zimmer (Nola Dancy Aldrich), Nicholas Walker (Brad Huntington) and Jim Storm (Dr. Michael Powers) in The Locher Room on Friday, January 15, 2021.

Retro TV airs The Doctors weekdays at 12 noon and at 7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT (see listings at MyRetroTV.com) and streams online at 4 p.m. EDT weekdays at MyRetroTV.com and on the Retro TV Roku channel. Episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series and exclusive interview content is available on-demand at WatchTheDoctors.com, Roku and App Stores.

Stars Of ABC’s ‘All My Children’, ‘One Life To Live’ & ‘General Hospital’ Reunite For Streaming Concert Benefit

(1/14/21) Stars of ABC’s classic daytime dramas All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital will reunite next month to present a streaming concert of their past musical performances benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway will gather musical performances by soap stars including Susan Lucci, Anthony Geary and Eva La Rue during the seven annual benefit concerts staged in New York from 2005-11. The daytime actors will revisit the performances in new interviews as part of the special.

The special will stream free of charge on February 11. See viewing options below. The lineup of performers includes Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Vincent Irizarry, Eva La Rue, Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Eden Riegel, Chrishell Stause and Walt Willey (from All My Children); Kristen Alderson, BethAnn Fuenmayor, Kathy Brier, Kassie DePaiva, David Gregory, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Catherine Hickland, Mark Lawson, Hillary B. Smith, Jason Tam and Brittany Underwood (One Life To Live); and Bradford Anderson, Brandon Barash and Anthony Geary (General Hospital).

“There are no fans like ABC Daytime fans,” said Lucci in a statement. “Their love and support continue to astonish us. We can’t wait to share these special performances with them and help raise money for so many in need during this difficult time.”

The concerts were staged at New York City’s Town Hall, and included production numbers, Broadway show tunes, ballads and comedy skits. The concert series began in 2005 as a one-night-only benefit to mark the 35th anniversary of All My Children, but fan support prompted ABC to stage the annual event for another six years. Over its seven-year run, ABC Daytime Salutes Broadway Cares raised $1.85 million.

Tom Viola, Broadway Cares Executive Director, said, “We are so thankful to the stars from ABC Daytime for joining us again as we relive moments from this delightful tradition, while helping to provide lifesaving medication, healthy meals and emergency support to those struggling during this ongoing pandemic.”

This free streamed event can be viewed beginning Feb. 11, 8 pm ET, here, as well as on Broadway Cares’ YouTube channel, across ABC Owned Television Stations’ 32 connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku and each of the eight station’s websites around the country, including abc7ny.com in New York; and on Good Morning America’s Facebook page.

While the stream is free, donations will be accepted for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, with all proceeds to provide people affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses with healthy meals, lifesaving medication, emergency financial assistance, housing, counseling and more. The donations also support and champion organizations focused on social justice and anti-racism.

Dekel Berenson And Paul Wesley Partner On Debut Feature From Alexander Rodnyansky and Marek Rozenbaum

(1/14/21) Award-winning director Dekel Berenson and Paul Wesley’s Three Color Films to partner with four time Academy Award nominated Alexander Rodnyansky and Israeli producer, Marek Rozenbaum for debut feature Aliya.

The film tells the story of an 18 year old Ukrainian immigrant who, after discovering her Jewish heritage, moves to Israel and joins the army as a drill instructor. During a brief leave from the base, Aliya suffers a violent assault by her date, and upon returning to the base, she is forced to reevaluate her values, beliefs and role in training young men in the military.

Rodnyansky will come on board to produce the feature, together with veteran Israeli producer Rozenbaum, and producing partner Wesley. Anna Ró?alska will serve as producer as well.

The film will be shot in Israel. It was selected to the Sam Spiegel Film Lab, where films such as Oscar-winner Son Of Saul have been developed. The feature, which is in development, has also been accepted to the Co-Production Market of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the first Israeli film to be selected to the program.

Berenson is an Israeli born award-winning writer/director. After completing a mandatory three-year service in the Israeli Defense Forces, he moved to Budapest to complete a master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies, graduating first in his class. Drawing inspiration from travelling to more than sixty countries, Dekel explores real-world social and humanitarian issues across cultural and social boundaries.

Berenson’s recent short film Anna was premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, won Best British Short at the 22nd BIFA awards, and was shortlisted for a BAFTA. The film also recently qualified to be nominated in the Academy Award Short Film category. His short film Ashmina played at over 300 festivals, winning numerous awards, including Oscar Qualifying Best Short Film at the 36th Jerusalem Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at the 59th Krakow Film Festival.

‘Animal Kingdom’ Renewed For Sixth & Final Season By TNT

(1/14/21) TNT’s popular crime drama Animal Kingdom has set an end date. Ahead of the Season 5 premiere, the network has renewed the series for a sixth and final season.

I hear the cast and crew were notified in November about the pending pickup of Season 6, which is eying a February production start. Season five of the show, which stars Shawn Hatosy, Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Leila George, Rigo Sanchez and Jon Beavers, will premiere this summer on TNT. (see key art on left)

With Animal Kingdom and Claws both heading toward the end of their runs, Snowpiercer remains the only ongoing scripted series on TNT, which has been shifting its programming focus to unscripted fare to compliment the WarnerMedia network’s sports slate.

A consistent ratings performer and strong younger viewers draw, Animal Kingdom reached 27 million viewers in Season 4 across all platforms, with the premiere retaining its audience from the previous season’s average. The series also ranked among 2019’s top 10 cable dramas (P18-49, L+7, ad-supported cable).

In Animal Kingdom season five, Pope (Hatosy), Craig (Robson), Deran (Weary) and J (Cole) are still dealing with the fallout from the events surrounding Smurf’s death, including family members out for revenge. With their kingdom without a leader, the Codys struggle to maintain their fragile alliance, and to see which of them will come out on top. Meanwhile, they search for more information on Pamela Johnson whom Smurf made the beneficiary of her estate. And back in 1984, an increasingly volatile 29-year-old Smurf is forging her own path raising Pope and Julia and leading the charge on dangerous jobs with new and old friends.

The drama, which was developed for television by Jonathan Lisco based on David Michod’s 2010 Australian feature film, is produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. Wells serves as executive producer on the series with Daniele Nathanson and Erin Jontow. Michod and Liz Watts, who produced the feature, also serve as exec producers.

The Doctors Cast Reunion #3- 1/15/21

(1/12/21) (Watch Here) The Locher Room is once again teaming with Retro Television to bring you virtual reunions with cast members from the classic daytime drama, The Doctors. Please join the third reunion featuring Kim Zimmer (Nola Dancy Aldrich), Nicholas Walker (Brad Huntington) and Jim Storm (Dr. Michael Powers) live in The Locher Room on Friday, January 15 at 3 p.m. EST. / 12 p.m. PST.

Retro TV airs The Doctors weekdays at 12 noon and at 7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT (see listings at MyRetroTV.com) and streams online at 4 p.m. EDT weekdays at MyRetroTV.com and on the Retro TV Roku channel. Episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series and exclusive interview content is available on-demand at WatchTheDoctors.com, Roku and App Stores.

‘Women Of The Movement’: Tonya Pinkins Joins ABC Limited Series As Niecy Nash Departs

(1/6/21) Tony winner Tonya Pinkins has been tapped to co-star opposite Adrienne Warren in ABC’s limited series Women of the Movement, from creator-writer Marissa Jo Cerar and a producing team that includes Jay-Z, Will Smith and Aaron Kaplan.

The six-episode limited series, set to premiere in 2021, centers on Mamie Till-Mobley (Warren), who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till. Pinkins will play Alma, Emmett Till’s grandmother. She replaces Niecy Nash, who was originally cast in the role but exited the project for personal reasons.

After Emmett’s murder in Mississippi, Alma, a young grandmother who had been like a second mother to Emmett, fought to protect her family in Chicago while her daughter Mamie travelled the country seeking justice in Emmett’s name. A force of nature, Alma was Mamie’s rock in the face of unbelievable tragedy.

Women of the Movement is inspired by the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson. Cerar serves as showrunner and executive produces with Jay-Z, Jay Brown and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith via Roc Nation; Smith and James Lassiter for Overbrook; as well as Kaplan, Dana Honor and Michael Lohmann of Kapital Entertainment. Also executive producing are Gina Prince-Bythewood, who will direct the first episode, Rosanna Grace for Serendipity Film Group; Alex Foster and John Powers Middleton of Middleton Media Group; and David Clark via Mazo Partners. Kapital is the studio.

The series today is holding its first table read. Filming is slated to begin Monday in Mississippi where the project has built a quarantine bubble with the essential production team only overseen by EP and Kapital’s head of production Lohmann, who will be on site for the duration of the shoot.

A renowned theater actress, Pinkins is a three-time Tony nominee, winning the award in 1992 for Jelly’s Last Jam. On TV, she is probably best known for her role as Livia Fry on All My Children. She has recurred on such series as 24, Gotham, Madam Secretary, Fear the Walking Dead and God Friended Me as well as limited series 11.22.63.

Pinkins is the 2020 recipient of the Franky Award and the Rachel Crothers Leadership Award. She is 2019-2022 Fulbright Specialist. She is also writer, director and producer of the upcoming feature film Red Pill, which is premiering in February. Described as a scary wake-up call about American politics, the film tackles such themes as the weaponization of whiteness and white supremacy.

A published author, Pinkins teaches privately and at The Atlantic Theater School’s NYU program. Her podcast You Can’t Say That is on the Broadway Podcast Network. She is repped by Megan Lohne & Pete Kaiser at The Talent House New York and Buchwald for directing.

Bethany Joy Lenz Christmas Music

(12/20/20) New Album ‘Snow’ including four original holiday songs, find your favorite platform here: bethanyjoyofficial.com/.

Guiding Light - A Very Special Deck the Zoom

(12/17/20) (Video) The Locher Room held a very special Deck the Zoom Guiding Light holiday reunion on December 17. Together our Springfield family celebrated their longtime relationships with each other and with you our audience while revisiting some of our favorite Guiding Light traditions. The cast has agreed to come together for this special event to help raise awareness and money for Feeding America.

School closures, job disruptions, and health risks are causing millions of Americans to turn to food banks for much-needed support right now. You can help families impacted by COVID-19 in our community by supporting our partner tonight. www.feedingamerica.org/coronavirus.

Joining The Locher Room for this very special holiday show are Grant Aleksander (Phillip), Laura Bell Bundy (Marah), Bryan Buffinton (Bill), Ellen Dolan (Maureen), Jean Carol (Nadine), Beth Chamberlin (Beth), Crystal Chappell (Olivia), Kassie DePaiva (Chelsea), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank), Beth Ehlers (Harley), Judi Evans (Beth), Jamie Goodwin (Johnny), Melissa Hayden (Bridget), Liz Keifer (Blake), Harley Jane Kozak (Annabelle), Jessica Leccia (Natalia), Joy Lenz (Michelle), Rachel Miner (Michelle), Karla Mosley (Christina), Michael O'Leary (Rick), Robert Newman (Josh), Saundra Santiago (Carmen), Peter Simon (Ed), Tina Sloan (Lillian), Nancy St. Alban (Michelle), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny), Krista Tesreau (Mindy), Jerry verDorn (Ross), Michael Woods (Jim), Yvonna Kopacz-Wright (Mel) and Kim Zimmer (Reva).

www.feedingamerica.org/coronavirus.

Terrell Tilford guests on Magnum P.I. 1/8/21

(12/17/20) “First the Beatdown, Then the Blowback” – Magnum and Higgins help an up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighter who is being pressured by a gang to throw an illegal fight. Also, Kumu is arrested for stealing an artifact from a collector that should be returned to its original resting place, on MAGNUM P.I., Friday, Jan. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Dennis Chun (Sgt. Duke Lukela), Joseph Mareko (Alema Kaluna), Terrell Tilford (Izzy Durrell)

Days Recasts Vivian

(12/12/20) Days of Our Lives has tapped Linda Dano (Another World) to take over the role of villainess Vivian Alamain, who was previously portrayed by Robin Strasser and Louise Sorel, Soaps.com reports.

Guiding Light - A Very Special Deck the Zoom 12/17/20

(12/9/20) (Watch here) Tune in to The Locher Room on Thursday, December 17th at 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST for a very special Deck the Zoom Guiding Light holiday reunion. Together our Springfield family will celebrate their longtime relationships with each other and with you our audience while revisiting some of our favorite Guiding Light traditions. The cast has agreed to come together for this special event to help raise awareness and money for Feeding America.

School closures, job disruptions, and health risks are causing millions of Americans to turn to food banks for much-needed support right now. You can help families impacted by COVID-19 in our community by supporting our partner tonight. www.feedingamerica.org/coronavirus.

Joining us for this very special holiday show are Grant Aleksander (Phillip), Laura Bell Bundy (Marah), Bryan Buffinton (Bill), Jean Carol (Nadine), Beth Chamberlin (Beth), Crystal Chappell (Olivia), Kassie DePaiva (Chelsea), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank), Beth Ehlers (Harley), Morgan Englund (Dylan), Judi Evans (Beth), Jamie Goodwin (Johnny), Melissa Hayden (Bridget), Liz Keifer (Blake), Jessica Leccia (Natalia), Joy Lenz (Michelle), Rachel Miner (Michelle), Michael O'Leary (Rick), Robert Newman (Josh), Saundra Santiago (Carmen), Peter Simon (Ed), Tina Sloan (Lillian), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny), Krista Tesreau (Mindy), Jerry verDorn (Ross), Yvonna Kopacz-Wright (Mel) and Kim Zimmer (Reva).

Guiding Light - Reunion 12/16/20 - Terrell Tilford and Victoria Platt

(12/8/20) Real life husband and wife duo Terrell Tilford (David Grant) and Victoria Platt (Vicky Spaulding) from Guiding Light will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, December 16th at 3 p.m. EST / 12 Noon PST. Join to hear about their Springfield meeting and all the great things they have been working on in recent years.(Watch here)

Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Phillippe, Jacki Weaver Join ‘American Murderer’ Movie From Traveling Picture Show Company & GiGi Films

(12/8/20) Ozark Season 3 standout Tom Pelphrey has been tapped to star as the infamous conman and fugitive Jason Derek Brown in American Murderer, opposite Tony-winner Idina Menzel, Ryan Phillippe and Jacki Weaver. Matthew Gentile wrote the script and is directing the indie, which is shooting in Salt Lake City.

The pic, which hails from the Traveling Picture Show Company and GiGi Films, is based on the true story of Brown, a charismatic crook who bankrolls his luxurious lifestyle through a series of scams. When his funds run low and his past catches up with him, he plots his most elaborate scheme yet and, in the process, becomes the FBI’s most unlikely — and elusive — top 10 fugitive. Phillippe will play the FBI agent tasked to hunt him down.

Kevin Matusow and Carissa Buffel will produce for TPSC alongside Gia Walsh and Kara Baker under the GiGi Films banner.

Pelphrey, who can be seen in David Fincher’s just-released Netflix feature Mank playing director, screenwriter and producer Joseph Mankiewicz, is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Menzel, set to star opposite Camila Cabello in Sony’s retelling of Cinderella, is repped by ICM Partners, Paradigm and One Entertainment.

Phillippe, repped by Gersh and MGMT Entertainment, can be seen on ABC’s new series Big Sky and up next stars in Justin Long’s directorial feature Lady of the Manor. Weaver was most recently seen onscreen in Penguin Bloom, which premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, and Stage Mother, which won Best of the Fest Audience Vote at the Palm Springs Film Festival. She’s repped by ICM Partners and Elevate Entertainment.

TPSC recently wrapped production on Unplugging, a comedy with Eva Longoria and Matt Walsh, while GiGi’s latest film Zola, starring Taylour Paige and Riley Keough, premiered at Sundance this year and is being released by A24.

Video: Daytime Cares: A Live Event

(12/6/20) (Video) Daytime Cares: A Live Event for the Restaurant Community is showcasing the Restaurant Strong Fund, which supports restaurant industry employees who have been impacted by COVID 19 closures. The live event will be live-streamed here in The Locher Room and on Facebook on Saturday night, December 5th at 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. StreamYard.com is sponsoring the event.

Hosted by Daytime Emmy Award Nominee Arianne Zucker (Days of Our Lives) and daytime actor Shawn Christian (formerly Dr. Daniel Jonas on Days of Our Lives) The event will feature daytime TV talent from NBC, CBS and ABC, as well as Broadway stars, a Celebrity Chef and Grammy-award winning artists Lisa Loeb and Gloria Gaynor. Ari & Shawn will be joined by The Locher Room host Alan Locher.

The following daytime talent is scheduled to appear:

Lamon Archey (Eli DOOL), Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R), Galen Gering (Rafe, DOOL), Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, GH), Martha Madison (Belle, DOOL), Sofia Mattson (Sasha, GH), Michael Mealor (Kyle, Y&R), Marci Miller (Abigail, DOOL), Wes Ramsey (Peter, GH), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B), Crishell Stause (ex-Jordan DOOL), Sal Stowers (Lani, DOOL), Jason Thompson (Billy, Y&R), Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH) and Laura Wright (Carly, GH)

Daytime Cares is a TV community spotlighting non-profit organizations offering Covid19 support and resources.

https://www.daytimecares.com/

https://www.restaurantstrong.org/.

Kimberly J. Brown: Watch me shop at BoxLunch! Your view donates to charity!

(12/3/20) Kimberly J. Brown (ex-Marah, Guiding Light): Watch me shop at BoxLunch! Your view donates to charity! (Video).

I'm honored to be a part of this year's Box Lunch "12 Days of Giving" Campaign! I truly love doing my Holiday shopping with BoxLunch because I can give back to people in need at the same time. For every view of the 12 Days of Giving videos between 12/1/20 to 12/12/20, BoxLunch will donate one meal to Feeding America, up to a max of $100,000. Max donation per video is 83,333 meals ($8,333.33). $.10 helps provide at least one meal secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks.

So please WATCH this video to the end so we can donate as many meals as possible!!

Box Lunch also gives back year round with their #GetSomeGiveBack initiative; which means for every $10 spent online or in store, 1 meal is donated to a person in need in the customer's area!

Click here to check out my 2020 Holiday Gift Guide at BoxLunch.com: https://boxlun.ch/KJB *This video is sponsored by Box Lunch*

Thank you so much for watching and Happy Holidays!!

Imogen Poots To Co-Star With Josh Brolin & Tom Pelphrey In Amazon’s ‘Outer Range’ Series

(12/3/20) Imogen Poots has been cast in the upcoming dramatic thriller series Outer Range. She joins Josh Brolin, Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski and Tom Pelphrey.

Outer Range centers on Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness. Poots will portray Autumn, an itinerant woman who charms the Abbotts enough to let her camp on their land. A seeker of cosmic truths with a checkered past, she lives without regrets and embraces the unknown with reckless abandon.

Outer Range comes from creator and executive producer Brian Watkins, with executive producers Zev Borow, Heather Rae and Plan B Entertainment for Amazon Studios. The series falls under Amazon Studios’ overall TV deal with Plan B.

Poots can currently be seen opposite Jesse Eisenberg?in Lorcan Finnegan’s Vivarium. She was also recently seen opposite Mark Ruffalo in the HBO limited series I?Know This Much Is True, based on the 1998 bestselling novel by Wally Lamb, adapted and directed by Derek Cianfrance. Poots will next be seen in Florian Zeller’s The Father alongside Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, and Azazel Jacobs’ French Exit opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges; Sony Pictures Classics is set to release both and the films are in early awards conversations.

She is repped by CAA and Management 360, Hamilton Hodell and attorney David Krintzman.

Soap Alums Star in Romantic New Holiday Films!

(12/3/20) (soapsindepth.com) Two soap grads have an extra reason to be cheerful this December! Both Coby Ryan McLaughlin (ex-Shiloh, GENERAL HOSPITAL) and Karla Mosley (ex-Maya, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL) are starring in short holiday films for streaming platform PassionFlix!

Known for creating original content based on best-selling romance novels, PassionFlix has added Quickies to their catalog of full-length features. About 20 minutes long, these short films pack all the punch of a contemporary love story but in a binge-able running time.

First up in PassionFlix’s very merry offerings this month is Mosley’s short film, A Holiday Lift. Premiering on Friday, Dec. 11, the Quickie is based on the novella by popular author Corinne Michaels. The B&B alum stars as Holly opposite Blake Cooper Griffin as Dean, rival co-workers who get trapped together in their office building’s elevator during a snowstorm. “All kinds of fun things coming up this holiday season!” the actress shared on Instagram.

Meanwhile, GH‘s McLaughlin plays Archer, the romantic hero, in The Package. Based on the short story by K. Bromberg, The Package will premiere on Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24! Another short film set in an elevator (what is it about being trapped in an elevators that sparks romance?), Heather Grace Hancock’s Jules is having the worst week of her life when she finds herself stuck with a handsome stranger… and their packages accidentally get swapped. Sharing the promo for The Package‘s premiere date on his Instagram stories, McLaughlin cheekily put a reindeer antler sticker above his head.

For a sneak peek of the Holiday Quickies PassionFlix has lined up this December, watch the video below. To subscribe to the streaming site, visit PassionFlix.com! (Video)

Daytime Cares Plans New Virtual Event On December 5

(11/24/20) A host of stars will take part in the second Daytime Cares virtual event on Saturday, December 5 at 8 p.m. benefiting the restaurant industry and its workers through Restaurant Strong (www.restaurantstrong.org). Hosts Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS) and Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel, DAYS et al) will be joined by THE LOCHER ROOM host Alan Locher. Scheduled to appear are Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R), Crishell Stause (ex-Jordan, DAYS), Laura Wright (Carly, GH), Wes Ramsey (Peter, GH), Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH), Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, GH), Sofia Mattsson (Sasha, GH), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B), Marci Miller (Abigail, DAYS), Lamon Archey (Eli, DAYS), Sal Stowers (Lani, DAYS), Martha Madison (Belle, DAYS) and Paolo Seganti (ex-Damian, AS THE WORLD TURNS). Also participating are the leading ladies of Wicked and Phantom of the Opera from Broadway, celebrity chef Katie Chin, Lisa Loeb and Gloria Gaynor. The variety show that will be live-streamed on The Locher Room YouTube Channel and on Facebook.

Bethany Joy Lenz on Home & Family 11/24/20

(11/23/20) Home & Family – Hallmark Channel

@BethanyJoyLenz: tells us all about her new #CountdownToChristmas movie #FiveStarChristmas, premiering FRIDAY at 8pm/7c! Join us TOMORROW (Nov 24) at 10am/9c on @hallmarkchannel!

Hulu Strikes U.S. Deal For Frank Grillo Action Sci-Fi Movie ‘Boss Level’

(11/23/20) Hulu has struck an eight-figure deal for U.S. distribution rights to the Joe Carnahan-directed action sci-fi movie Boss Level starring Frank Grillo, Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson, Will Sasso, Ken Jeong, Annabelle Wallis, Michelle Yeoh and Selina Lo.

The completed film will debut as a Hulu Original in 2021 after the streamer finalized a deal in the low-eight-figure range, we understand.

Captain America and The Grey star Grillo leads cast as former special forces agent Roy Pulver, who is trapped in a time loop that constantly repeats the day of his murder. Pulver manages to uncover clues about a secret government project that could unlock the mystery behind his death but must find Colonel Ventor (Gibson), the head of the government program, while outrunning assassins determined to keep him from the truth, and save his wife (Watts).

Script comes from Carnahan, Chris Borey and Eddie Borey. Producers are WarParty Films (Grillo, Carnahan); Emmett/Furla Films (Randall Emmett, George Furla); Scott Free Entertainment (Ridley Scott); and The Fyzz Facility Pictures. CAA Media Finance brokered the deal with Hulu on behalf of the filmmakers.

It has been an interesting journey so far for the $45-budgeted film, which has been completed since early this year. The movie was initially sold to Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios in early 2018 but that deal wasn’t ultimately realized. There was a special screening for the film at the Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles in February, attended by the likes of Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman, and Highland has sold the movie well overseas with those markets awaiting the U.S. release.

Hulu’s roster of original films include splashy Sundance acquisition Palm Springs, Bad Hair, Run and Happiest Season.

Video: ONE LIFE TO LIVE Reunion - Thom Christopher and Tonja Walker

(11/19/20) (Video) The Locher Room reunited former ONE LIFE TO LIVE costars Thom Christopher (ex-Carlo/Mortimer) and Tonja Walker (ex-Alex) on the YouTube show. The interview took place on Thursday, November 19.

Video: Beverlee McKinsey Tribute Chat 11/16/20

(11/16/20) (Video) Watch The Locher Room for a very special tribute to one of the greatest actresses to ever grace our daytime television screens, Beverlee McKinsey. Joining the chat were Beverlee's son, Scott McKinsey along with her co-stars Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), Jay Hammer (Fletcher Reade) and Vincent Irizarry (Brandon Lujack Luvonaczek).

Jennifer Roszell guests on Bull 11/23/20

(11/13/20) “The Great Divide” – The TAC team experiences a conflict of interest in court when Benny represents the plaintiff and Chunk represents the defendant in the same civil suit, where a mother sues a young artist she deems responsible for her daughter’s death, on BULL, Monday, Nov. 23 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Episode directed by series star Michael Weatherly.

GUEST CAST includes: Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Evelyn Waters), Jennifer Roszell (Denise Danford)

New ONE LIFE TO LIVE Reunion Scheduled 11/18/20

(11/12/20) The Locher Room will reunite former ONE LIFE TO LIVE costars Thom Christopher (ex-Carlo/Mortimer) and Tonja Walker (ex-Alex) on the YouTube show. The interview will take place on Thursday, November 19 at 2 p.m. ET (Watch Here)

Beverlee McKinsey Tribute Chat 11/16/20

(11/9/20) Tune in to The Locher Room on Monday, November 16th at 3 p.m. EST for a very special tribute to one of the greatest actresses to ever grace our daytime television screens, Beverlee McKinsey. Joining me are Beverlee's son, Scott McKinsey along with her co-stars Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), Mark Derwin (A.C. Mallet), Jay Hammer (Fletcher Reade) and Vincent Irizarry (Brandon Lujack Luvonaczek). (Watch here)

Virtual Conversation: Soaps - Hillary Smith, Crystal Chappell and Irene Kristen

(11/9/20) (Video) The Lambs held a virtual conversation to focus on daytime drama (aka "Soaps") and the careers of actresses Hillary Smith, Crystal Chappell and Irene Kristen, and director Gary Donatelli; hosted by Suzanne Bowling

Kevin Bacon Joins Action Thriller ‘One Way’ Opposite Colson Baker & Travis Fimmel

(11/2/20) Kevin Bacon has come aboard Andrew Baird’s action thriller One Way, joining already announced cast Colson Baker and Travis Fimmel.

In One Way, Freddy (Baker) goes on the run with a bag full of cash after a robbery of his former crime boss goes wrong. With a potentially fatal wound, he slips onto a bus headed into the unrelenting California desert. After a call for help, Freddy’s estranged father (Bacon) betrays him, notifying the crime boss where he is. With his life slipping through his fingers, Freddy is left with very few choices to survive.

Production is expected to commence in February in Los Angeles and Tulsa, OK. Highland Film Group is handling worldwide sales during the virtual AFM for the title, which is scripted by Ben Conway.

“Kevin Bacon is one of the most talented and internationally recognizable actors of his generation. We are thrilled that he is joining Colson Baker and Travis Fimmel to star in One Way,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “Bacon is perfect for this role! We are really looking forward to shooting with him and the rest of the terrific cast and crew next January,” continued Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.

Baird adds, “I’m really excited to work with Kevin. He was already a major star when he really caught my eye as Willie O’Keefe in Oliver Stone’s JFK. To me he showed a new, raw and very powerful side. His turn in The Woodsman should have won him an Oscar and I love his work in his new show City on a Hill. Kevin and I have had great discussions about his role and he will be bringing all of this edge and power and his darker side to Fred Sr. in One Way where he plays the father to Freddy. It’s going to be wild ride and an iconic turn!”

A star for more than three decades since his breakout roles in Diner and Footloose, Bacon won Golden Globe and SAG honors for his lead role in the television movie Taking Chance, and was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his supporting role in The River Wild and a SAG Award for Murder in the First. He has received three other SAG Award nominations with the ensembles of Frost/Nixon, Mystic River, and Apollo 13. Bacon starred in the Amazon Original series I Love Dick and The Following. He currently stars in the Showtime series City on a Hill. His feature credits include A Few Good Men, Black Mass, JFK, The Big Picture and most recently the Blumhouse thriller You Should Have Left.

Tim Palmer, Martin Brennan and Jib Polhemus are producing One Way with Bill Grantham serving as executive producer. The film was developed with funding from Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland.

Bacon’s representatives are MGMT, attorney Fred Gaines and Viewpoint. Baird is repped by source | management + production..Ó.èú

The Bold and The Beautiful Video Chat 11/5/20

(11/2/20) (Watch here) Kiara Barnes (Zoe Buckingham), Delon de Metz (Zende Forrester Dominquez) Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter Walton) and Diamond White (Paris Buckingham) of The Bold and the Beautiful will join The Locher Room on Thursday, November 5th at 4 p.m. EST.

Aubrey Dollar's ‘Filthy Rich’ Canceled At Fox

(10/30/20) Filthy Rich and NeXt are both ending after one season on Fox, Deadline has confirmed.

The network will not renew either series for a second season, although both shows will see out their current runs. Low ratings – both shows are averaging a 0.5/3 in the 18-49 demo – and uncertainty are behind the cancellation of the series, which were both originally intended for summer runs.

NeXt has aired three episodes of its ten episode order, while Filthy Rich has aired five episodes of its ten-episode run.

Created by Tate Taylor, Filthy Rich stars Sex and the City alumna Cattrall as Margaret Monreaux, the matriarch of a mega-rich Southern family famous for creating a wildly successful Christian television network. After her husband dies in a plane crash, Margaret and family are stunned to learn that he fathered three illegitimate children, all of whom are written into his will — threatening their family name and fortune. Melia Kreiling, Aubrey Dollar, Corey Cott, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Mark L. Young and Olivia Macklin co-star along with Steve Harris and Aaron Lazar.

Filthy Rich writer-director Taylor executive produces the series from 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television and Fox Entertainment alongside Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, John Norris and showrunner Abe Sylvia. Cattrall is a producer.

Meanwhile, NeXt is a John Slattery-fronted AI thriller that comes from creator and executive producer Manny Coto (24: Legacy) and executive producers and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (This Is Us).

A fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence that combines action with an examination of how technology is invading our lives and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand.

Mad Men alum Slattery stars as a Silicon Valley pioneer, who discovers that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. – might spell global catastrophe, and teams up with a cybercrime agent, played by The First’s Fernanda Andrade, to fight a villain.

The series also stars Michael Mosley (Ozark), Jason Butler Harner (Ozark), Eve Harlow (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Aaron Moten (Mozart in the Jungle), Gerardo Celasco (How to Get Away with Murder), Elizabeth Cappuccino (Jessica Jones) and Evan Whitten (The Resident).

20th Century Fox Television is the studio.

‘Creepshow’ Season 2 Rounds Out Cast; Barbara Crampton, Ali Larter & Several Others Set For Shudder Anthology Series

(10/29/20) Shudder has rounded out the Season 2 cast of its horror anthology series Creepshow. Set for the sophomore run are Marilyn Manson (Sons of Anarchy), Ali Larter (The Rookie), Iman Benson (BlackAF), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), C. Thomas Howell (Criminal Minds), Denise Crosby (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Breckin Meyer (Robot Chicken), Ted Raimi (The Evil Dead), Kevin Dillon (Entourage) and Eric Edelstein (We Bare Bears).

Production on the six new episodes is under way in Atlanta for a 2021 premiere.

Created and EP’d by showrunner Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) and based on George A. Romero’s 1982 movie, Creepshow shattered records for the AMC Networks streamer when it debuted in October 2019.

Shudder announced details last month about four of Season 2’s segments, which will be directed by Nicotero. Anna Camp and Adam Pally will star in the two-part “Shapeshifters Anonymous,” which follows an unlucky soul who finds himself in need of a werewolf support group. Keith David, Ashley Laurence and Josh McDermitt lead “Pesticide,” in which an exterminator makes an infernal bargain. And “Model Kid” is about a 12-year-old monster fan who turns to hand-built model kits to escape his unhappy reality.

The series is produced by the Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment and Striker Entertainment. Nicotero exec produces alongside Brian Witten, Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, Eric Woods, Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson, Jordan Kizwani and Russell Binder. Co-EPs are Geoff Silverman, Anthony Fankhauser, Julia Hobgood and Marc Mostman.

On Thursday, Shudder will premiere an animated Creepshow Halloween special based on two stories by Stephen King and his author son Joe Hill.

Video: NY Times Best Selling Authors - Alina Adams, Rebecca Hanover and Danielle Paige

(10/29/20) (Video) These NY Times Best Selling authors all have one thing in common - they got their start working in soaps. Join NY Times Best Selling Authors Alina Adams, Rebecca Hanover and Danielle Paige in The Locher Room for a chat. The trio discussed their early start working for As the World Turns and Guiding Light along with their journey to best selling authors.

Y&R’s Vilasuso And Soap Alums Take Part In ESSENTIAL HEROES: A MOMENTO LATINO Event

(10/26/20) Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, Y&R) will be live tweeting tonight during CBS’s ESSENTIAL HEROES: A MOMENTO LATINO event, which will feature soap alums Eva Longoria (ex-Isabelle, Y&R) and Ricky Martin (ex-Miguel, GH). The show, which airs at 9:00 p.m. ET, will celebrate America’s diversity with a focus on Latinx culture. Vilasuso tweeted, “So looking forward to this! Let’s do this twitter familia!” along with a video invitation here.

Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski & Tom Pelphrey Join ‘Outer Range’ Mystery Drama Series For Amazon

(10/24/20) Lili Taylor (Perry Mason), Tamara Podemski (Four Sheets to the Wind) and Tom Pelphrey (Ozark) are set as series regulars opposite Josh Brolin in Amazon’s mystery drama Outer Range, from playwright Brian Watkins, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Amazon Studios.

Created by Watkins, Outer Range centers on Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.

Taylor will portray Cecilia Abbott, the matriarch of the Abbott family. Cecilia is a woman of deep faith, which she finds tested as never before. Podemski will play Deputy Sheriff Joy. A life-long cop, Joy is running for county sheriff, and is the first gay Native American to ever do so in Wyoming. Pelphrey is Perry Abbott, the dutiful, eldest Abbott son, who is torn up inside by the lingering mystery of his missing wife.

Watkins and Brolin executive produce with Zev Borow, Heather Rae, and Plan B Entertainment. The series falls under Amazon Studios’ overall deal with Plan B Entertainment.

Taylor recently appeared in the HBO limited series Perry Mason, and can currently be seen in the independent feature Paper Spiders, as well as the Netflix series Chambers. She’s repped by Untitled Entertainment and APA.

Podemski received the Special Jury Prize for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival for her role in Four Sheets to the Wind. She recently played Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s romantic interest in the HBO comedy Run and starred in the family drama Unsettled. She also recently resumed her role of Alison Trent in the Canadian drama series, Coroner. Podemski is repped by TalentWorks and Edna Talent Management.

Pelphrey will star as Joseph Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s Netflix film, Mank. Most recently, he was seen in season three of the Emmy-winning series Ozark, playing Wendy Byrde’s (Laura Linney) brother Ben. Pelphrey is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

The Doctors Reunion 10/23/20

(10/24/20) (Video) The Locher Room and Retro TV bring to you a second virtual reunion with cast members from the classic daytime drama, The Doctors. Please join Elizabeth Hubbard (Dr. Althea Davis), Jada Rowland (Carolee Simpson Aldrich), Marie Thomas-Foster (Lauri James-Iverson) Frank Telfer (Luke Dancy) live in The Locher Room on Friday, October 23 at 2 p.m. EST.

Retro TV airs The Doctors weekdays at 12 noon and at 7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT (see listings at www.myretrotv.com) and online at 4 p.m. EDT weekdays and streaming at myretrotv.com and on the Retro TV Roku channel.

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion - Judi Evans and Vincent Irizarry

(10/22/20) (Video) Guiding Light's Judi Evans (Beth Raines) and Vincent Irizarry (Lujack Luvonaczek) joined The Locher Room on Thursday, October 22nd. These two Emmy Award-winning actors shared memories of their time in Springfield as one of our favorite supercouples.

Anna Maria Horsford Guests on The Connors 11/4/20

(10/21/20) “Plastics, Trash Talk & Darlene Antoinette” – Darlene isolates herself from her co-workers at Wellman Plastics, leaving them with the impression she is an elitist snob, while Louise decides to teach Harris an expensive life lesson. Jackie has invested everything she has into The Lunch Box and is determined to keep the restaurant running no matter what, leaving some family members to question her actions, on “The Conners,” airing WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4 (9:00-9:30 p.m. EST), on ABC. (TV-14, DL) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

The series stars John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy, Jayden Rey as Mary Conner and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben.

Guest starring is Katey Sagal as Louise, Anna Maria Horsford as Nicole and Evelina Fernandez as Juanita.

“Plastics, Trash Talk & Darlene Antoinette” was written by Dave Caplan and directed by Jody Margolin Hahn.

Chat with NY Times Best Selling Authors - Alina Adams, Rebecca Hanover and Danielle Paige

(10/20/20) These NY Times Best Selling authors all have one thing in common - they got their start working in soaps. Please join NY Times Best Selling Authors Alina Adams, Rebecca Hanover and Danielle Paige live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, October 28th at 3:30 p.m. This trio will discuss their early start working for As the World Turns and Guiding Light along with their journey to best selling authors. (Watch Here)

Video: All My Children - 10/20/20 - Laurence Lau and Darnell Williams

(10/20/20) (Video) All My Children's Laurence Lau (Greg Nelson) and Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard) will joined The Locher Room on Tuesday, October 20th. The duo shared memories of their time in Pine Valley and so much more.

‘Enlightened’s Mike White Sets Limited Social Satire ‘The White Lotus’ At HBO With Connie Britton, Natasha Rothwell & Sydney Sweeney Among Cast

(10/19/20) HBO is heading to Hawaii with its latest limited series, The White Lotus, from Enlightened creator Mike White.

The premium cable network has ordered six episodes of the series, which will begin production this month on location in Hawaii under COVID-19 guidelines.

Created, executive produced, written and directed by White, the series is set at an exclusive tropical resort and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.

Murray Bartlett (Looking), Connie Britton (Nashville), Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls), Alexandra Daddario (True Detective), Fred Hechinger (Eighth Grade), Jake Lacy (Girls), Brittany O’Grady (Little Voice), Natasha Rothwell (Insecure), Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Steve Zahn (Treme) star with more cast set to be revealed later.

David Bernad and Nick Hall exec produce alongside White with Mark Kamine as co-exec producer.

“Mike is an unparalleled talent whose groundbreaking work has transformed both the film and TV space,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming. “We couldn’t be happier to collaborate with him again on yet another hilarious and perceptive piece that exposes the complexities of life and humanity itself.”

“It’s beyond exciting to return to HBO with this project and such an incredible cast,” said White. “I am very grateful to everyone who has made it possible for us to bring our little bubble to Hawaii, a place I am proud to think of as a second home.”

Murray Bartlett is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency and Anonymous Content, Connie Britton is represented by Untitled Entertainment, WME & Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman, Jennifer Coolidge is represented by UTA & Mosaic, Alexandra Daddario is represented by Untitled Entertainment, United Talent Agency, Rogers & Cowan PMK and Jeff Hynick, Karl R. Austen and Marcy Morris and Fred Hechinger is represented by A3 Artists Agency, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, ID PR and his lawyer Ryan Levine.

Jake Lacy is represented by UTA and Beth Rosner Management, Brittany O’Grady is represented by ICM, Suskin Management, Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein, Natasha Rothwell is represented by CAA; Edna Cowan Management; Jackoway Austen Tyerman, and Sechel PR, Sydney Sweeney is represented by Paradigm & Hansen, Jacobson, Teller and Steve Zahn is represented by UTA and Principal Entertainment LA.

'Halloweentown' Star KJB Recreates OG Witch 'Fit on TikTok ... Cali Swag District Helps

(10/18/20) (Photo) It's that time of the year again -- Halloween, of course -- which means the Pipers are dusting off their witch hats to ring in the holiday ... with a 2020 twist, of course.

'Halloweentown' star Kimberly J. Brown -- who played Marnie Piper in the Disney franchise -- posted a cool TikTok video of herself, now at age 35, busting out a witch hat and plopping it on her head ... reminiscent of the hat and costume she wore in the first film.

She writes, "Just wanted to see if it still fits...??." As Kim finally makes the hat touch her noggin, the video cuts to her in the full "Halloweentown" witch costume, and the song changes too, of course.

The movie music turns into Cali Swag District's "Teach Me How to Dougie" ... with KJB dancing to the beat for a bit before walking off camera. That's where the video ends.

Definitely the light nostalgia fans of the films might've been looking for in these real-life dark times -- "Halloweentown" is a childhood favorite for many, and spurred three entries in total. And yes, Marnie -- the female version of Harry Potter, if you will -- is pretty badass. (Video)

Simpler days ... come back.

THE DOCTORS Cast Reunites - Oct 23

(10/16/20) The Locher Room has partnered with Retro TV to bring you a virtual reunion with former cast members from THE DOCTORS. Elizabeth Hubbard (ex-Althea), Jada Rowland (ex-Carolee), Frank Telfer (ex-Luke), Marie Thomas-Foster (ex-Lauri) and Kim Zimmer (ex-Nola) will be participating in the chat on Friday October 23 at 2 p.m. ET, which can be viewed here and here.

Dishing with Digest - 10/16/20 - Judi Evans

(10/16/20) (Listen / download) Judi Evans recounts her soap start as GUIDING LIGHT’s Beth, her DAYS runs as Adrienne and Bonnie, playing ANOTHER WORLD’s Paulina and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the latest soap news.

Guiding Light Reunion - Judi Evans and Vincent Irizarry

(10/15/20) Guiding Light's Judi Evans (Beth Raines) and Vincent Irizarry (Lujack Luvonaczek) will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, October 21st at 3 p.m. EST. These two Emmy Award-winning actors will share memories of their time in Springfield as one of our favorite supercouples. (Watch here)

Kelly Marie Tran, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels To Reprise ‘Star Wars’ Roles For Lego Holiday Special

(10/15/20) Star Wars franchise alums Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) will be reprising their iconic roles in the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special set to air November 17 on Disney+. Also set for the special are Star Wars: The Clone Wars vets Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Tom Kane (Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn), James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Dee Bradley Baker (clone troopers).

Taking inspiration from the 1978 TV movie directed by Steve Binder, the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special reunites Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie, Rose and the droids for a joyous feast on Life Day. Rey sets off on a new adventure with BB-8 to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious Jedi Temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars cinematic history, coming into contact with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan and other iconic heroes and villains from all nine Skywalker saga films. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast and learn the true meaning of holiday spirit?

The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is produced by Atomic Cartoons, the LEGO Group, and Lucasfilm. It is directed by Ken Cunningham and written by David Shayne, who is also co-executive producer. James Waugh, Josh Rimes, Jason Cosler, Jacqui Lopez, Jill Wilfert and Keith Malone are executive producers.

Bold and Beautiful's Karla Mosley Confirms Exit, Played Daytime's First Regular Transgender Character

(10/11/20) (Video) Having been off the canvas for over a year, The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Karla Mosley has confirmed that her run as Maya Avant — the first regular transgender character in the history of American daytime TV — is indeed over, “for now.”

“A bittersweet #FBF as we say so long for now to this iconic character,” Mosley shared Friday on Instagram (below), celebrating Maya’s arc as “an openly Trans supermodel, mother, formerly incarcerated and unhoused power player.

“Because of her,” the actress continued, “we saw the first wedding and series regular spot for a Trans character on US TV… and the first Black family in the history of @boldandbeautifulcbs. Thanks for your love and support over the years!” When Mosley made her B&B debut in 2013, ex-con Maya came to town looking for her daughter who was put up for adoption. In April 2015, in the midst of success as a supermodel (as well as a romance with the most eligible Rick Forrester), Maya made history when she was revealed to be transgender, first as the target of a blackmail plot by her own sister.

Maya thus made history as U.S. soaps’ first transgender regular character, whereas The City‘s Azure (played by Carlotta Chang) and All My Children‘s Zoe Luper (Jeffrey Carlson) only recurred.

Populating Maya’s landmark B&B family were sister/blackmailer Nicole (played by MacGyver‘s Reign Edwards), parents Vivienne (The Last O.G.‘s Anna Maria Horsford) and Julius (S.W.A.T.‘s Obba Babatundé), cousin Alexander (Adain Bradley) and half-sister Sasha Thompson (Swedish Dicks‘ Felisha Cooper).

Prior to joining B&B, Mosley’s TV credits included Hart of Dixie, Angel From Hell, Guiding Light (where she played Christina Moore) and the kids show Hi-5.

Kevin Bacon To Direct Mike Vukadinovich-Scripted Comedy ‘A Problem Of Providence’ For AGC Studios

(10/10/20) Kevin Bacon is set to direct A Problem Of Providence, a dark comedy scripted by Mike Vukadinovich. AGC Studios is producing and financing the film.

Script is a darkly comedic exploration of greed and violence that centers around an eclectic group of residents in a small Alaskan town as they attempt to cover up a murder for hire. Bacon most recently has directed episodes of The Closer and City On A Hill, and his last feature as director was Loverboy.

Vukadinovich has got a lot happening. Among other projects, he’s adapting the Ray Bradbury classic From The Dust Returned for Netflix, Cupid for Mythos Studios, with Justin Bieber attached to play the winged matchmaker, Beetlejuice 2 for Warner Bros, an original for James Wan to direct and produce and The Wanderling for 20th Century Studios and director Stephen Daldry, and The Phantom Tollbooth for TriStar. Vukadinovich most recently served as a Supervising Producer of Kidding, the Michel Gondry series starring Jim Carrey.

Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios has been remarkably prolific despite the pandemic. On the small screen, AGC is partnering with Studio Canal on season 2 of Epix’s War of the Worlds starring Gabriel Byrne and Daisy Edgar Jones. The company just started production on the Doug Liman-directed heist comedy Lockdown starring Anne Hathaway, Chewitel Eijofor, and Ben Stiller; the Andrea Riseboroough-starrer Geeche; AGC wrapped production in summer an an untitled Neill Blomkamp scifi thriller, and starts production in three weeks on the Kristen Bell comedy Queenpins with STX Entertainment and Red Hour. The Roland Emmerich-directed $150 million budget Moonfall starring Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson starts production in two weeks, and AGC Studios is in pre-production on a TV adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of A Kidnapping for Amazon Studios, with production to start later this year. Other upcoming projects include the Pierre Morel-directed espionage thriller The Blacksmith starring Nick Jonas and Lawrence Fishburne and the Sylvester Stallone action thriller Little America to be directed by Rowan Athale.

Bacon is repped by MGMT and attorney Fred Gaines; Vukadinovich is repped by Verve, Industry Entertainment and attorney Rob Goldman.

Karla Mosley Announces B&B Exit

(10/10/20) Karla Mosley (Maya) announced on Instagram that she was out at the soap she has called home since 2013. “Celebrating the incredible journey of #MayaAvant!” she posted. “And bidding a fond farewell to her with gratitude to all of YOU for watching. More to come from me – stay tuned to my IG!.” Mosley was last seen on-screen on May 30, 2019.

Video: Killian and the Comeback Kids - Cast

(10/9/20) (Video) Kassie De Paiva (Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live), Nathan Purdee (One Life to Live, Superfly) and his real-life son Taylor A. Purdee will joined The Locher Room on Friday, October 9th to discuss their new film, Killian and the Comeback Kids as well as discuss their time working in daytime. Taylor wrote and directs the film and plays Kassie and Nathan's son. The movie is about a millennial named Killian (who is mixed-race) coming back to his depressed rural hometown after an expensive college degree. It features an original folk/indie rock soundtrack and provides a hopeful message even more needed in 2020. (killianandthecomebackkidsmovie.com)

All My Children Chat - Laurence Lau and Darnell Williams

(10/8/20) The Locher Room will reunite former ALL MY CHILDREN alums Laurence Lau (ex-Greg) and Darnell Williams (ex-Jesse) for a virtual interview on the YouTube show. The actors will reminisce about their time in Pine Valley on October 20 at 3 p.m. ET. (Watch here)

Guiding Light - Reunion - Mark Lewis and Krista Tesreau Strauss

(10/7/20) (Video) Guiding Light's Mark Lewis (Kurt Corday) and Krista Tesreau Strauss (Melinda Sue Lewis) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, October 7th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these two.

Ian Ziering responds to Jessica Alba's no eye contact with '90210' cast claim

(10/7/20) Ian Ziering has hit out at Jessica Alba’s claim that she was instructed not to make eye contact with any of the stars on Beverly Hills, 90210.

The actress recently claimed she was instructed not to make eye contact with any of the cast members of the hit show when she starred as a pregnant teen on two episodes in 1998.

Addressing her allegations, Ian insisted the order would never have come from a member of the cast and was probably from a crew employee.

“I’m not doubting her but I doubt that it came from any cast member,” he told People. “Maybe it came from some third AD who decided to flex a little and said ‘Please don’t look at the actors.’“

Reflecting on what Jessica was told, he said: “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Ian added that he’s also sure that none of his co-stars would have asked for something like that.

“Knowing the people that I’ve worked with my whole life, nobody would ever say that. It’s impossible to even wrap my head around anyone asking someone – particularly Jessica Alba – not to look at them,” he laughed.

Ian’s remarks come after his co-stars Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling also denied any knowledge of the request.

Ian Ziering still close with ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ co-stars after 30 years

(10/4/20) Thirty years after “Beverly Hills, 90210” first aired, Ian Ziering remains close with his cast mates.

In honor of the iconic series’ big anniversary, Ziering — who played Steve Sanders — described the evolution of his relationships with co-stars including Tori Spelling, with whom he bonds over parenting, and Shannen Doherty, who is battling Stage 4 cancer.

“I’ve been close to Tori for 30 years now. She’s got, I think, five kids now and counting, who knows? She loves being a mom,” the 56-year-old said of Spelling, who is the mom of five children with husband Dean McDermott.

Ziering, who is dad to 9-year-old daughter Mia and 7-year-old daughter Penna with estranged wife Erin Ludwig, praised Spelling’s parenting prowess and how far they’ve come since the show’s premiere.

“She does a great job at it. It’s got to be the hardest job in the world, even just one kid,” he said of Spelling, who played Donna Martin. “I can’t imagine how difficult it would be with five, but she has plenty of room in her heart to make that happen."

The “Sharknado” actor also opened up about Doherty, whom he texted just last week.

“Shannen’s strong. It’s like nothing’s going on. I know she’s dealing with some adversity right now, but I also know that Shannen’s not going to sleep on it,” Ziering told us of the 49-year-old. “She’s going to have her finger on the heartbeat and the cutting edge of science.

“She’s diligent about whatever she needs to do to make sure she stays in fantastic health,” he said, highlighting her consistent social media workouts.

Ziering also echoed co-star Jason Priestley’s recent comments, saying Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh on the series, “sounded great.”

“Shannen has proved herself to be a fighter on many fronts,” Ziering said, “So I’m confident she’ll continue fighting.”

Though Oct. 4 marks the 30th anniversary of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” the entire cast reunited for a reboot that aired in 2019 but got canceled after one season.

Now, Ziering told us, he has two significant TV moments happening at once: the “Beverly Hills, 90210” anniversary and the Oct. 6 premiere of his new CW show “Swamp Thing.”

“After 30 years of first airing on October 4th, I’ve got two big things happening in one week — it’s amazing how the timeline lines up,” he said.E•.

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion - Maureen Garrett , Rick Hearst and Amelia Marshall

(10/2/20) (Video) Maureen Garrett (Holly Lindsey), Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding) and Amelia Marshall (Gilly Grant) joined The Locher Room on Friday, October 2. This trio shared memories of their time in Springfield as well as other career highlights.

‘CopShop’ Action Pic Pauses Production After Three Crew Members Test Positive For COVID-19

(10/2/20) After learning three crew members tested positive for COVID-19, production on the action movie CopShop starring Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo (ex-Hart, Guiding Light) has been brought to halt, sources tell Deadline.

The film is being directed by Joe Carnahan and had just begun shooting in Georgia prior to the halt.

“We learned this morning that three crew members have tested positive for COVID-19,” producer Warren Gotz told Deadline in a statement. “We immediately paused production proactively. The safety of our cast and crew is our greatest priority. We are contact tracing everyone in the production at this time. Those who tested positive were isolated from the vast majority of our crew, including our actors and director. An extensive set of protocols were implemented for this production from the beginning and we remain dedicated to ensuring they are followed. If test results are negative, we will resume production according to our established safety guidelines.” The film follows a small-town police station that becomes the unlikely battleground between a professional hitman (Butler), a smart rookie female cop and a double-crossing con man (Grillo) who seeks refuge behind bars with no place left to run. Casting for the female lead is in process.

Raven Capital Management, which acquired Open Road Films in 2018 and recently relaunched the theatrical distributor with former head Tom Ortenberg at the helm, developed the movie in partnership with Sculptor and Zero Gravity, and is fully financing. CAA Media Finance arranged the project’s financing and domestic distribution deal.

Live Chat: Killian and the Comeback Kids - Cast

(10/2/20) Kassie De Paiva (Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live), Nathan Purdee (One Life to Live, Superfly) and his real-life son Taylor A. Purdee will join The Locher Room live on Friday, October 9th at 2 p.m. EST to discuss their new film, Killian and the Comeback Kids as well as discuss their time working in daytime. Taylor wrote and directs the film and plays Kassie and Nathan's son. The movie is about a millennial named Killian (who is mixed-race) coming back to his depressed rural hometown after an expensive college degree. It features an original folk/indie rock soundtrack and provides a hopeful message even more needed in 2020. (Watch here)

New GUIDING LIGHT Reunion Scheduled

(10/1/20) The Locher Locher will welcome former GUIDING LIGHT co-stars Mark Lewis (ex-Kurt) and Krista Tesreau Strauss (ex-Mindy) to the show on Wednesday October 7 at 3 p.m. ET. (Watch here)

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion -Jay Hammer and Susan Pratt

(10/1/20) (Video) The Locher Room will welcome Guiding Light cast members Jay Hammer (Fletcher Reade) and Susan Pratt (Dr. Claire Ramsey) live on Wednesday, September 30th at a special time - 4:30 p.m. EST.

Video Chat: Guiding Light / Filthy Rich - Aubrey Dollar

(9/29/20) (Video) Guiding Light's Aubrey Dollar vistied The Locher Room on Tuesday, September 29th. Aubrey reminisced about her time on the soap and talked about her new role on the FOX series, Filthy Rich airing Monday evenings at 9 p.m. EST.

Mickey Rourke & Taye Diggs Board Horror Thriller ‘Mammon’

(9/28/20) Mickey Rourke, Taye Diggs and Jessica Uberuaga have join the horror thriller Mammon which Isaac Walsh will make his feature directorial debut with.

The movie, penned by Walsh and Tyler Clair Smith, follows a struggling young couple who are chasing the American dream, and soon realize that their worst nightmare is the demonic spirit in their new home. Mammon is the biblical word for the worship of wealth, and the couple discover that getting rich can come at a hefty price. The feature is in pre-production and will shoot in Southern California next month.

Mike Hatton is producing under his production company, Ton of Hats. Executive Producers are Glen D. Smith, Gary Smith, and Gary Smith Jr. of MHI Investments, along with Kimberly Hines of Framework Entertainment, Michael Walker, Garrett Zinke, Ryan McDonald, and Asko Akopyan.

Rourke was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar in 2009 for Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, a role which earned him a Golden Globe Lead Actor drama and BAFTA win. Rourke’s feature career credits which include Iron Man 2, The Expendables, Immortals, Sin City, Diner, and The Pope of Greenwich Village among several others have amassed close to $2 billion at the global box office.

Diggs feature credits include The Best Man franchise, Chicago, and Rent, as well as the TV series All American, Muppets Now, Empire and Murder in the First. He won a Screen Actors Guild ensemble award for Chicago.

Uberuaga starred in the John Travolta movie The Fanatic, the Sharon Stone movie Running Wild, and the Rourke-Michael Jai White action thriller Take Back.

In August, Ton of Hats completed photography on Take Back, which was one of the first SAG-AFTRA approved independent features to shoot successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ton of Hats is led by producer/actor Mike Hatton (Green Book actor). Most recently, the production company produced the Val Kilmer-Luke Goss crime-heist, PayDirt (2020), the comedy Live Nude Girls (2014) and Vigilante Diaries (2016) which sold to HBO.

Diggs is represented by ICM Partners. Rourke is represented by Framework Entertainment. Uberuaga and Hatton are represented by Industry Entertainment.

Guiding Light - Reunion 10/2/20

(9/25/20) Maureen Garrett (Holly Lindsey), Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding) and Amelia Marshall (Gilly Grant) will join The Locher Room live on Friday, October 2 at 3 p.m. EST. This trio will share memories of their time in Springfield as well as other career highlights. (Watch here)

Dishing with Digest - 9/25/20 - Cynthia Watros

(9/25/20) (Listen / download) Cynthia Watros recalls her Emmy-winning soap start on GUIDING LIGHT, her experience on the prime-time mega-hit LOST, joining GH as Nina and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the latest casting news and Mike’s heartbreaking death on GH.

Aubrey Dollar Virtual Interview

(9/23/20) Alan Locher will welcome Aubrey Dollar (ex-Marina, GUIDING LIGHT) to his YouTube show, The Locher Room. The actress will chat about her time on the show as well as her new show FILTHY RICH, which premiered on FOX on Monday. The interview will be taking place on Tuesday September 29 at 3 p.m. ET (Watch here)

Hallmark Unveils 2020 'Countdown to Christmas' Slate, Including Gay Adoption Movie, Hanukkah Celebration

(9/23/20) Hallmark Unveils 2020 'Countdown to Christmas' Slate, Including Gay Adoption Movie, Hanukkah Celebration

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — and, at least for one night, Hanukkah — at Hallmark Channel.

The basic cable network has unveiled its slate of 40 (!) original holiday movies airing in 2020, including The Christmas House, starring Mean Girls‘ Jonathan Bennett as one-half of a gay couple looking to adopt their first child. The lineup also includes Love, Lights, Hanukkah!, a Hanukkah-themed flick featuring Star Trek: Discovery‘s Mia Kirshner and Boy Meets World‘s Ben Savage.

The three dozen-plus films feature a plethora of network vets, including Candace Cameron Bure (in her ninth Hallmark Christmas movie), Danica McKellar (in her sixth Hallmark movie overall), Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney and Tamera Mowry-Housley, as well as Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete — both of whom appear in two original movies this year.

New to the Hallmark family in 2020 are Aaron Tveit (Grease Live), Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl), Marisol Nichols (Riverdale), Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Rochelle Aytes (S.W.A.T.), among others.

“Our holiday table is bigger and more welcoming than ever,” Hallmark Channel’s EVP of programming Michelle Vicary said in a statement. “This year’s movies reflect our most diverse representation of talent, narratives, and families, including The Christmas House, featuring a storyline about a gay couple looking to adopt their first child, and starring Jonathan Bennett in an ensemble cast. Our movies are rooted in warmth and positivity, meaningful connections, family gatherings, and seasonal traditions — a winning formula we hope will bring our millions of viewers much-needed levity and holiday cheer at the end of a tough year.”

Added Crown Media President and CEO Wonya Lucas, “For more than a decade, Hallmark holiday movies have represented the gold standard that many aspire to replicate. What we bring to the table and what truly sets us apart is an immersive holiday experience that has become a pop culture phenomenon for millions of fans… We have created a destination that evokes the spirit and feeling of the season in a way that is uniquely Hallmark.”

Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” slate begins rolling out on Friday, Oct. 23. Scroll down for a complete list of this year’s holiday movies, then hit the comments and tell us which of the following flicks pique your interest.

JINGLE BELL BRIDECAST: Julie Gonzalo (Supergirl) and Ronnie Rowe Jr. (Star Trek: Discovery)
PREMISE: Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS TREE LANE
CAST: Alicia Witt (Our Christmas Love Song), Andrew Walker (Christmas on My Mind), Drake Hogestyn (Days of Our Lives) and Briana Price (13 Reasons Why)
PREMISE: Music store owner Meg (Witt) spearheads the community effort to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition. As she finds herself falling for Nate (Walker), a recent acquaintance, she’s thrown when she learns his surprising tie to the developer.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHATEAU CHRISTMAS
CAST: Merritt Patterson (Picture a Perfect Christmas) and Luke Macfarlane (Just Add Romance)
PREMISE: Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

DELIVER BY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alvina August (Nancy Drew) and Eion Bailey (Switched for Christmas)
PREMISE: Bakery owner Molly (August) meets Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she’s never met in person and she doesn’t realize that they’re the same man.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 25 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS
CAST: Katrina Law (Arrow) and Carlo Marks (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday)
PREMISE: Just before the holidays Jessica Lew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Nikki DeLoach (Two Turtle Doves) and Benjamin Ayres (A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas)
PREMISE: A separated couple (DeLoach and Ayres) feign marital bliss on national television to help their town’s Christmas festival – and their business. But what will the future hold for them when rekindled love is complicated by new opportunities?
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Oct. 31 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ONE ROYAL HOLIDAY
CAST: Laura Osnes (In the Key of Love), Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables), Krystal Joy Brown (Sydney to the Max), Victoria Clark (Homeland) and Tom McGowan (Everybody Loves Raymond)
PREMISE: When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother (Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

HOLLY & IVY
CAST: Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jeremey Jordan (Supergirl) and Marisol Nichols (Riverdale)
PREMISE: When Melody’s (Parrish) neighbor, Nina (Nichols), learns that her illness has returned, Melody promises to keep Nina’s kids, Holly & Ivy, together. To adopt the children, she must renovate her new fixer-upper, which she does with the help of contractor, Adam (Jordan).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 1 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

NEVER KISS A MAN IN A CHRISTMAS SWEATER
CAST: Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother) and Niall Matter (Christmas at Dollywood)
PREMISE: Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected houseguest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark, 8/7c

THE CHRISTMAS RING
CAST: Nazneen Contractor (Ransom) and David Alpay (The Mistletoe Inn)
PREMISE: A reporter (Contractor) searches for the love story behind an antique engagement ring. With the help of the ring’s owner’s grandson (Alpay), they learn the legacy his grandparent’s left behind.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 7 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ON THE 12TH DATE OF CHRISTMAS
CAST: Mallory Jansen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Tyler Hynes (The Mistletoe Secret)
PREMISE: Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the “12 Days of Christmas.”
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE CHRISTMAS BOW
CAST: Lucia Micarelli (Treme) and Michael Rady (You’re Bacon Me Crazy)
PREMISE: When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist (Micarelli) reconnects with an old family friend (Rady), who helps her heal and find love during the holidays.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 8 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA
CAST: Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Brennan Elliott (Crossword Mysteries)
PREMISE: Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn’t in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

MEET ME AT CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Catherine Bell (Good Witch) and Mark Deklin (Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy)
PREMISE: When Joan’s (Bell) son’s wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride’s uncle. As they work alongside each other they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8)

A TIMELESS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Ryan Paevey (Christmas at the Plaza) and Erin Cahill (Love, Fall & Order)
PREMISE: Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st Century Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE CHRISTMAS DOCTOR
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift) and Adrian Holmes (V-Wars)
PREMISE: A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright (Peete) is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man (Holmes) from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia’s life forever.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 15 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

A NASHVILLE CHRISTMAS CAROL
CAST: Jessy Schram (Country at Heart), Wes Brown (Christmas at Graceland), Wynonna Judd (The Judds), Sara Evans (Nashville), RaeLynn (The Voice), Kix Brooks (Home by Spring), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Darrow Mysteries)
PREMISE: Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in LA, and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown), her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special’s headliner, Belinda (Evans), she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits’ time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHARM (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Brendan Penny (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Holly (Greene), a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg (Penny) in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 21 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE
CAST: Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls), Ana Ayora (In the Dark), Treat Williams (Chesapeake Shores), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) and Brad Harder (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons – TV star, Mike Mitchell (Buckley) and Brandon Mitchell (Bennett) – home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house, will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

THE ANGEL TREE
CAST: Jill Wagner (Teen Wolf) and Lucas Bryant (Country at Heart)
PREMISE: A writer (Wagner) seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend (Bryant).
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 22 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

ADDITIONAL MOVIE TBA
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: TBD
PREMIERE DATE: Monday, Nov. 23 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A CHRISTMAS TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN
CAST: Rochelle Aytes (Mistresses) and Mark Taylor (Memories of Christmas)
PREMISE: Erin (Aytes) is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.
PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 24 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A BRIGHT AND MERRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Alison Sweeney (Days of Our Lives) and Marc Blucas (The Fix)
PREMISE: Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought.
PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

FIVE STAR CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) and Victor Webster (MatchMaker Mysteries)
PREMISE: After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father’s new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Nov. 26 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS BY STARLIGHT
CAST: Kimberley Sustad (Travelers) and Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica)
PREMISE: Annie (Sustad), a lawyer, must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family’s restaurant, The Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: he’ll spare the café if Annie spends the week “appearing” as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.
PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Nov. 27 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

Lacey Chabert
CHRISTMAS WALTZ
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls), Will Kemp (Royal Matchmaker) and JT Church (Dancing With the Stars: Juniors)
PREMISE: After Avery’s (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

USS CHRISTMAS
CAST: Jen Lilley (Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday), Trevor Donovan (Nostalgic Christmas) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Maddie (Lilley), a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer (Donovan) and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship’s archive room.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Nov. 28 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

IF I ONLY HAD CHRISTMAS
CAST: Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House) and Warren Christie (The Color of Rain)
PREMISE: At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Nov. 29 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS IN EVERGREEN: BELLS ARE RINGING
CAST: Holly Robinson Peete (A Family Christmas Gift), Colin Lawrence (Riverdale), Rukiya Bernard (One Winter Weekend), Antonio Cayonne (Fashionably Yours) and Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: As Michelle’s (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

TIME FOR US TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
CAST: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) and Stephen Huszar (A Homecoming for the Holidays)
PREMISE: Five guests are mysteriously invited to an inn to celebrate Christmas. With the help of the owner Ben (Huszar), Sarah (Chabert) discovers that an event from the past may connect them and change their lives forever; from executive producer Blake Shelton.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 5 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS SHE WROTE
CAST: Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and Dylan Neal (Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day)
PREMISE: When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column cancelled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man (Neal) who cancelled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A GODWINK CHRISTMAS: FIRST LOVES, SECOND CHANCES
CAST: Brooke D’Orsay (Royal Pains) and Sam Page (The Bold Type)
PREMISE: After 15 years, Pat (Page) moves home from Hawaii with his two sons and through a series of coincidences, or Godwinks, ends up stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D’Orsay), at Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 6 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CROSS COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
CAST: Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) and Greyston Holt (Chesapeake Shores)
PREMISE: Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

A GLENBROOKE CHRISTMAS
CAST: Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) and Antonio Cupo (Hats Off to Christmas!)
PREMISE: As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan (Reeser) seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman (Cupo).
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 12 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS COMES TWICE
CAST: Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister) and Michael Xavier (Paris, Wine and Romance)
PREMISE: Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before…giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: Taylor Cole (Matching Hearts) and Steve Lund (The Art of Us)
PREMISE: When a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive on their doorsteps, Kate (Cole) and Kevin (Lund) embark on a Christmas romance adventure they’ll never forget.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 13 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

CHRISTMAS CAROUSEL
CAST: Rachel Boston (Check Inn to Christmas) and Neal Bledsoe (Shameless)
PREMISE: When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Marcadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

SWEPT UP BY CHRISTMAS (WORKING TITLE)
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: An antique seller and a cleaner clash over how to downsize a magnificent estate right before Christmas. As the two uncover the house’s treasures, they find a way to reconnect the reclusive owner with his own Christmases past.
PREMIERE DATE: Saturday, Dec. 19 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

LOVE, LIGHTS, HANUKKAH!
CAST: Mia Kirshner (Star Trek: Discovery), Ben Savage (Boy Meets World) and Marilu Henner (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries)
PREMISE: As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark, 8/7c)

PROJECT CHRISTMAS WISH
CAST: TBD
PREMISE: For years Lucy has played Santa to her small town’s community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl’s wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her Mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.
PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Dec. 20 (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 9/8c)

Video: Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith

(9/23/20) (Video) Emmy-Award winning actresses Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith were in The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 23rd. The duo discussed their incredible careers in daytime, working together producing / directing Beacon Hill & Venice as well as their friendship.

Guiding Light - Reunion 9/30/20

(9/22/20) (Video) The Locher Room will welcome Guiding Light cast members Jay Hammer (Fletcher Reade) and Susan Pratt (Dr. Claire Ramsey) live on Wednesday, September 30th at a special time - 4:30 p.m. EST.

Video: Ron Raines and Ricky Paull Goldin Interview

(9/17/20) (Video) Father and Son on Guiding Light - Ron Raines (Alan Spaulding) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus Aitorro) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 16th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these two Springfield favorites.

Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith - LIVE

(9/15/20) (Watch here) Emmy-Award winning actresses Crystal Chappell and Hillary B. Smith will be live in The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 23rd at 3 p.m. EST. The duo will discuss their incredible careers in daytime, working together producing / directing Beacon Hill & Venice as well as their friendship.

Donnie Yen, Alec Baldwin & Frank Grillo To Star In Action-Thriller ‘The Father’; AGC & CAA Launch Sales

(9/9/20) AGC International is launching international sales during the Toronto Film Festival on action thriller The Father, which will star Donnie Yen (Mulan) in the lead role alongside Alec Baldwin (Mission Impossible: Fallout) and Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War).

Described as an ode to the revered action movies of the 1980s, The Father is set against the Irish-American gangland of South Boston and charts the struggle of middle-class Hong Kong immigrant John Chung (Yen) making the best of his family’s new American life while working as a modest fish broker in the city’s infamous docklands. When his wayward teenage boys stumble upon four kilos of heroin, they’re hunted by a local crime ring and a group of corrupt cops.

Arthur Sarkissian (Rush Hour), Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee of Thunder Road (John Wick), John Schramm and Yen will produce from a script by P.G. Cuschieri to be directed by Tommy Wirkola (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters).

Principal photography is due to get underway early in 2021. CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. distribution rights.

CAA represents Yen, Baldwin, Grillo and Wirkola and negotiated the deal with AGC’s VP Legal & Business Affairs Anant Tamirisa and Thunder Road’s EVP Business Affairs Jonathan Fuhrman. Yen is managed by David Unger at Artist International Group.

Laura Bell Bundy Sends Message of Empowerment in “Get It Girl, You Go”

(9/8/20) Laura Bell Bundy Sends Message of Empowerment in “Get It Girl, You Go”: Video.

One-On-One With Melissa Ordway and Jordi Vilasuso

(9/4/20) One-On-One With Melissa Ordway and Jordi Vilasuso: Video.

Video: The Casting Episode

(9/3/20) (Video) Casting Directors Mary Clay Boland (As the World Turns) and Rob Decina (Guiding Light) joined The Locher Roome on Thursday, September 3rd at 2pm EST to talk about their time casting two of your favorite daytime soaps. These two talented casting directors have cast some of your favorite characters to hit the Oakdale and Springfield canvas. They discuss their careers, the casting process and share what they are up to today.

Video: The Simon Family

(9/2/20) (Video) Courtney Simon (Dr. Lynn Michaels, As the World Turns) and Peter Simon (Dr. Ed Bauer, Guiding Light) along with their daughter Kate Hall will joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 2. The Simon family discussed their various roles as writers and actors in the television industry (Search for Tomorrow, As the World Turns and Guiding Light to name just a few of their roles).

‘The Boys In The Band’ Trailer: First Look At Ryan Murphy’s All-Star Film Adaptation Of 1968 Gay Classic

(9/2/20) (Video) Let the games begin. Netflix has released the official trailer for its upcoming Ryan Murphy-produced The Boys in the Band, director Joe Mantello’s film adaptation of his hit Tony-winning Broadway staging. Starring the Broadway cast – including Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells – this Boys is both faithful to Mart Crowley’s 1968 play while offering a subtle and fresh perspective.

With a co-writing credit given to Ned Martel, Boys includes some brief scenes you wouldn’t have seen in the 2018 Broadway production nor William Friedkin’s 1970 film version. No spoilers here, but you can catch glimpses of the new material in the trailer, above. The logline: A group of gay men gather for a birthday party in 1968 New York City, only to find the drinks and laughs interrupted when a visitor from the host’s past turns the evening upside down.

In addition to Parsons, Quinto, Bomer and Rannells, Boys also stars Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington and Tuc Watkins.

Producing are Murphy, David Stone, Joe Mantello, Ned Martel and Alexis Martin Woodall.

The Boys in the Band launches Sept. 30 on Netflix.

Guiding Light - Reunion 9/16/20 Gus & Alan

(9/1/20) Father and Son - Ron Raines (Alan Spaulding) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus Aitorro) will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, September 16th at 3PM EST. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these two Springfield favorites. (Watch here)

Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo & Joe Carnahan Team On Action Thriller ‘Copshop’ For Open Road & STX International

(9/1/20) Here’s a hot fall package coming together. Greenland star Gerard Butler and Captain America actor Frank Grillo are set to star in Joe Carnahan-directed action thriller Copshop, which Open Road Films will release in the U.S. and STXinternational will shop to overseas buyers. STX will also release directly in the UK and Ireland.

In Copshop, a small-town police station becomes the unlikely battleground between a professional hitman (Butler), a smart rookie female cop, and a double-crossing con man (Grillo) who seeks refuge behind bars with no place left to run. Casting for the female lead is in process. Principal photography is set to commence in October with the film slated to shoot in Georgia and New Mexico. STX will present the project to buyers virtually at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.

Kurt McLeod wrote the original screenplay based on a story by McLeod and Mark Williams. Carnahan (The Grey) penned the most recent draft.

Mark Williams and Tai Duncan of Zero Gravity Management are producing alongside Warren Goz and Eric Gold of Sculptor Media, Butler and Alan Siegel’s G-BASE Productions, and Carnahan and Grillo through their WarParty Films banner. Executive producers are James Masciello, Matthew Sidari and Tom Ortenberg for Open Road.

Raven Capital Management, which acquired Open Road Films in 2018 and recently relaunched the theatrical distributor with former head Tom Ortenberg at the helm, developed the movie in partnership with Sculptor and Zero Gravity, and is fully financing. CAA Media Finance arranged the project’s financing and domestic distribution deal.

Grillo and Carnahan said: “WarParty is beyond excited to be teaming with Raven, Open Road, STX and G-BASE on Copshop. We feel that this is a movie that can play big globally but be made sensibly and we are always looking for this type of ‘elevated genre’ where the writing really drives the action and the drama. We also couldn’t be happier to have someone with the box-office power of Gerard Butler as our partner in crime on this film.”

Commented Ortenberg: “I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Joe Carnahan for the fifth time and Frank Grillo has been a good luck charm for Open Road since its inception, having been featured in Joe’s film The Grey, End of Watch and Homefront. Putting Joe and Frank together with one of the biggest action stars in the world in Gerard Butler in Joe’s exciting script for Copshop is a recipe for a big theatrical hit.” Former Spotlight distributor Open Road re-entered the market earlier this year with Liam Neeson action pic Honest Thief the first movie on its slate.

Butler is represented by CAA and Alan Siegel Entertainment. Grillo is represented by CAA and Management 360. Carnahan is represented by CAA and Paul Hastings. Raven, Open Road and Sculptor are represented by DLA Piper. Kurt McLeod is represented by Zero Gravity Management and Weintrob Tobin.@Èïì.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE Virtual Reunion Scheduled

(8/31/20) Daytime Stars and Strikes is teaming up with Alan Locher and The Locher Room, for a private pay-per-view event with former ONE LIFE TO LIVE co-stars Mark Derwin (ex-Ben), Erika Slezak (ex-Viki) and Jerry verDorn (ex-Clint) on Thursday, September 17th at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to secure your spot for the interview. The $15 ticket donation goes directly to The Autism Society of America.

Video: Liz Keifer and Jerry verDorn - BLOSS Brunch

(8/31/20) (Video) Do not miss a one-on-one exclusive interview with Guiding Light’s Elizabeth Keifer (Blake) and Jerry verDorn (Ross) on a special Saturday episode of The Locher Room.

Soap Alum Smythe Dies at 70

(8/28/20) (crescentavalleyweekly.com) Marcus Smythe, actor of film, television and theatre, died Aug. 20 at his home with family in La Crescenta, Calif. He was 70. The cause of death was the culmination of a three-year battle with brain cancer. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Goddard, two sons, Harrison and Duncan, and brother Casey of Tucson, Ariz., as well as nieces and nephews in Kansas and Arizona. He is preceded in death by parents, Patricia (Schweitzer) and Paul Smythe and brother Scott.

Smythe was a familiar romantic lead in the most popular daytime-television serials of the 1970s and ‘80s. These included his portrayal of Gordon Middleton on “The Guiding Light,” Dane Taylor on “Search for Tomorrow,” and Peter Love on NBC’s long-running and award-winning “Another World.” He also appeared with such acting luminaries as Henry Fonda, Myrna Loy and Jessica Tandy in feature films and performed extensively in off-Broadway theatrical productions and national stage tours. He was the recipient of Drama Logue and LA Weekly Drama Awards during his stage career in Los Angeles. He was a member of SAG, AFTRA and Actors Equity.

He received his B.A. in theatre from Otterbein University in 1972 and a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University in 1975. He appeared at the Cleveland Playhouse post-college before his move to New York City.

With his sons, Smythe was active in Boy Scouts of America in La Crescenta. He served as assistant scout master, Chaplain and recruiter as well as coaching, with wife Suzanne, both sons to achieve Eagle Scout.

A memorial remembrance will be deferred to either electronic access or post-pandemic in-person service. In lieu of flower tributes, the family respectfully encourages contributions to a favorite charity or Democrat in the upcoming election. The family wishes to reinforce to everyone that the pandemic is real and asks everyone to please wear a mask.

Video: NY Times Best Selling Author Sandra Brown and her son author Ryan Brown

(8/28/20) (Video) New York Times Best Selling Author Sandra Brown and her son, former Guiding Light star, Ryan Brown (Bill Lewis) an author in his own right will joined The Locher Room on Friday, August 28th. Sandra's latest novel Thick as Thieves was released August 25th. Sandra has published over 80 books and has upwards of 80 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Ryan has written a few novels and a number of short stories but is currently focusing his passion on photography.

The Casting Episode 9/3/20

(8/27/20) Casting Directors Mary Clay Boland (As the World Turns) and Rob Decina (Guiding Light) will join The Locher Room on Thursday, September 3rd at 2pm EST to talk about their time casting two of your favorite daytime soaps. These two talented casting directors have cast some of your favorite characters to hit the Oakdale and Springfield canvas. They will discuss their careers, the casting process and share what they are up to today. (Watch here)

Video: Laura Bell Bundy Chat 8/26/20

(8/26/20) (Video) Recording artist, songwriter, director, producer, actress and mother - Laura Bell Bundy joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 26th. Laura was there to discuss her career and her new single, Get It Girl You Go featuring featuring #1 Jazz recording artist, Shoshana Bean and Tony Award winner, Anika Noni Rose. The song about women “doing it all,” breaking the glass ceiling and standing up for what they believe in, is the debut single off Bundy’s upcoming highly-anticipated album, Women of Tomorrow. The album Inspired by the music of Glenn Miller, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, and classic MGM movie musicals is coming out in Spring 2021.

‘Ida Red’: Frank Grillo, Melissa Leo & Josh Hartnett Lead Cast In Action-Thriller Shot During The Pandemic

(8/26/20) Frank Grillo (Captain America), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), and William Forsythe (The Rock) lead cast in crime action-thriller Ida Red, which has been filming in Oklahoma during the pandemic.

Also starring are Sofia Hublitz (Ozark), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood), Mark Boone Junior (Sons of Anarchy), Beau Knapp (The Nice Guys), Slaine (The Town) and Nicholas Cirillo (Outer Banks).

Written and directed by John Swab (Body Brokers), the film follows career criminal Ida ‘Red’ Walker (Leo) who is battling a terminal illness while serving a 25-year prison sentence in Oklahoma. Under Ida’s tutelage, her son, Wyatt Walker (Hartnett) has sustained the family business, alongside his uncle, Dallas Walker (Grillo). When a job goes awry, local detective and Wyatt’s brother-in-law, Bodie Collier (Slaine), is joined by FBI agent Lawrence Twilley (William Forsythe), to track down the responsible party.

The movie is wrapping production in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is said to be “closely following Oklahoma and SAG-AFTRA health and safety COVID-19 protocols.”

The film is produced and cast by Jeremy M. Rosen (Charlie Says), alongside Swab and Robert Ogden Barnum (Margin Call) for Roxwell Films. Executive producers include Luke Taylor, Matthew Helderman, Viviana Zarragoitia, Ali Jazayeri, Howard Scott and Joelle Scott.

This is the third feature collaboration from Swab and Rosen, who have partnered on the project with the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture, BondIt Media Capital and Three Point Capital, as well as post house Final Frame NYC, sound designer Coll Anderson and cinematographer Matt Clegg.

The team’s most recent feature is the crime-thriller Body Brokers, which was shot in Tulsa and Los Angeles last year, and also stars Leo and Grillo, alongside Michael Kenneth Williams, Jack Kilmer, Jessica Rothe, Peter Greene and Alice Englert.

Vertical Entertainment recently released Rosen and Swab’s first feature together, the noir crime drama Run With The Hunted, starring Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman and Dree Hemingway.

“Undeterred by the pandemic, this is our third consecutive summer shoot here in Tulsa. We could not make these films the way that we want to make them anywhere else. The local production value, support, and incentives make all of the difference,” said producer Jeremy Rosen of Roxwell Films.

Frank Grillo is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Paul Hastings LLP; Melissa Leo is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Josh Hartnett is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360 and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLP; William Forsythe is repped by Innovative Artists and Roxwell Management; Slaine is repped by 9 Line Entertainment; Sofia Hublitz is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, Jordan, Gill & Dornbaum, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLP.

Deborah Ann Woll is repped by CAA; Beau Knapp is repped by CAA, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman LLP; Mark Boone Junior is repped by Jeff Goldberg Management; and Nicholas Cirillo is repped by Innovative Artists, Zero Gravity Management and Alexander White.

Live Chat with The Simon Family 9/2/20

(8/25/20) Courtney Simon (Dr. Lynn Michaels, As the World Turns) and Peter Simon (Dr. Ed Bauer, Guiding Light) along with their daughter Kate Hall will join The Locher Room on Wednesday, September 2 at 3PM EST. The Simon family will discuss their various roles as writers and actors in the television industry (Search for Tomorrow, As the World Turns and Guiding Light to name just a few of their roles). (Watch here)

‘The West Wing’: Aaron Sorkin & Cast Reunite For HBO Max Special Ahead Of U.S. Presidential Election

(8/25/20) Aaron Sorkin is getting The West Wing gang back together for the first time in 17 years with a special for HBO Max.

Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford are reuniting with Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme for A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote.

The special will feature a theatrical performance of Hartsfield’s Landing, an episode from the NBC drama’s third season that featured Sheen’s President Barlet playing chess against Sam (Rob Lowe) and Toby (Richard Schiff), while the Chinese are playing war games in the Taiwan Strait and Josh (Bradley Whitford) is nervous about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town’s election, which always predict the winner of that state’s primary.

It marks the second high-profile special of a classic NBC series produced by Warner Bros set to air on HBO Max following the much-delayed Friends reunion special.

The West Wing reunion has long been in the works with Schiff saying in June that the gang was getting back together in support of Black Lives Matter following the death of George Floyd. The crew have reunited in various forms, including at ATX in Austin, for The West Wing Weekly podcast, and for an ad for Bridget Mary McCormack, a candidate for Michigan’s Supreme Court. However, this is the first time that it will air on television.

The team behind the Warner Bros. Television-produced series have organized the reunion to raise awareness for and support When We All Vote, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization co-chaired by Michelle Obama which was founded to increase participation in every election in America. WarnerMedia will make a donation to When We All Vote.

Michelle Obama will make a guest appearance in the special, while additional cast members and special guests from the worlds of public service and the arts will be announced in the coming weeks.

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote will shoot over multiple days at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles in early October. Sorkin will write original exclusive material for the special, while Schlamme will serve as director of the production. It will be produced by Casey Patterson Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Casey Patterson are the executive producers. Rob Paine is co-executive producer.

Sorkin said, “Tommy and I are incredibly excited to be getting The West Wing cast back together for this staged reading and to support When We All Vote in their efforts to get all of us involved in this election.”

“With A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote, we are excited to revisit this legendary series and offer our passionate fans something that is substantial, meaningful and unforgettable, while also promoting an important message for our time,” added Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “Combined with WarnerMedia’s donation to When We All Vote, this special not only entertains, but also help ensure the organization can carry forth its mission to increase voter participation in every election.”

The Boys in the Band: Ryan Murphy's Film Adaptation to Hit Netflix in September

(8/21/20) (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4) Consider this your formal invitation to the year’s most dramatic birthday party: Netflix’s film adaptation of The Boys in the Band will drop on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the streamer announced Friday.

Produced by Ryan Murphy and directed by Joe Mantello (Hollywood), The Boys in the Band is based on the 1968 play by late writer Mart Crowley, who passed away in March. The film is set in New York City, where a group of gay men gather for a friend’s birthday party and are faced with uncomfortable truths throughout the course of the evening.

The play ran for a limited engagement on Broadway in 2018, and many of the actors from that revival — which was also directed by Mantello — will reprise their roles for Netflix’s adaptation. The cast includes Matt Bomer (White Collar), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Andrew Rannells (Black Monday), Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf), Brian Hutchison (Madam Secretary), Michael Benjamin Washington (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Robin de Jesús (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and Tuc Watkins (Desperate Housewives).

This will be the second time The Boys in the Band has been turned into a movie. It was previously adapted into a film in 1970, which starred the same cast from the play’s initial off-Broadway run in 1968.

Chat with NY Times Best Selling Author Sandra Brown and her son author Ryan Brown

(8/21/20) New York Times Best Selling Author Sandra Brown and her son, former Guiding Light star, Ryan Brown (Bill Lewis) an author in his own right will join The Locher Room on Friday, August 28th at 3pm EST. Sandra's latest novel Thick as Thieves is out August 25th. Sandra has published over 80 books and has upwards of 80 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Ryan has written a few novels and a number of short stories but is currently ocusing his passion on photography. (Watch here)

Hayden Panettiere’s ex threatened to release private videos: Report

(8/20/20) Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson reportedly threatened to release private and humiliating videos of the actress after he was arrested earlier this year.

The on-off couple finally called it quits four months ago after he was arrested for allegedly punching Panettiere in the face during an argument on Valentine’s Day in Jackson, Wyoming, and she was recently granted court-ordered protection in both Wyoming and California.

According to insiders, Hickerson “had direct communication with” the former Nashville actress in the wake of his legal troubles, a source told Us Weekly, during which he “threatened to release certain information if she didn’t drop the charges.”

“Specifically, he threatened to release videos of” Panettiere, the source added. The report follows a pretrial conference on Monday.

Hickerson – who was also arrested in May 2019 in connection with domestic violence in an incident with Panettiere – has been accused of witness intimidation in the ongoing case, as a warrant for his felony arrest was issued across the U.S. last week.

Last month, he was charged with eight more counts in the case, with four felony charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, including two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and a misdemeanour charge of battery on a spouse/cohabitant.

Court papers allege Hickerson had tried to contact the Heroes star in March and escalated to “much more directed and threatening manner toward the end of June”.

“Some of the ‘embarrassing’ information… appears to be for short video clips that were sent from (Hickerson) to (Panettiere) during this exchange from a previous incident at an unknown date and time,” according to the legal documents.

Hickerson “used threatening language throughout the texts and videos referencing having information that would be embarrassing to (Panettiere) if she refused to drop the charges that have been brought against him.”

He has entered a not guilty plea in the initial case and denies the allegations. Hickerson faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

‘Fatal Affair’ Star Nia Long Signs With Verve

(8/20/20) Cultural Icon, actor and producer, Nia Long has signed with Verve for representation in all areas.

Most recently, Long starred in and executive produced the hit Netflix psychological thriller Fatal Affair, which debuted number one on the platform. She is also currently starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nicholas Hoult in Apple’s The Banker.

Next up, Long will star in and produce Paper Gods for ABC alongside Sony Pictures Television and Get Lifted Film Co.’s Mike Jackson, John Legend and Ty Stiklorius. She will soon also begin production on Dreams of The Moon in which she will star and serve as executive producer.

Recent credits include Kenya Barris’ critically acclaimed Netflix series #BLACKAF, the Sundance nominated indie film Lemon, and Netflix series Dear White People.

No stranger to box office and television success, Long has been a part of three successful film franchises including Johannes Roberts’ 47 Meters Down, The Best Man for which she earned an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture,” and the 2013 follow-up The Best Man Holiday, which earned critical and commercial success. She also starred in Martin Lawrence’s Big Mama’s House 1 and 2 collectively earned over $300 million and earned Long an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture. Long first caught the attention of audiences as Will Smith’s love interest on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air the Ice Cube comedy Friday and the John Singleton drama Boyz N The Hood.

Long continues to be managed by Untitled, and by attorneys Neil Meyer and Emily Downs at Meyer & Downs.

Liz Keifer and Jerry verDorn - BLOSS Brunch

(8/19/20) (Watch Here) Back by popular demand! Do not miss a one-on-one exclusive interview with Elizabeth Keifer (Blake) and Jerry verDorn (Ross) on a special Saturday episode of The Locher Room – Saturday, August 29th at 11:00 EST. In conjunction with Liz and Jerry’s charity event Daytime Stars and Strikes for Autism – this is their official 6th Annual Bloss Brunch Virtual Style! While we cannot cozy up and dish in person over coffee and scones in New York City, we can offer 6 fans an opportunity to join the conversation live and in person! An opportunity to ask those burning questions. An opportunity to get the inside scoop from two of the most beloved actors from Guiding Light. An opportunity to help those on the Autism Spectrum. All proceeds from ticket sales goes directly to the Autism Society of America on behalf of Liz, Jerry and Daytime Stars and Strikes! 11:30 – 12:00 – 3 Tickets @ $100.00 each 12:00 – 12:30 – 3 Tickets @ $100.00 each For more information and how to purchase your tickets, please visit www.daytimesdtarsandstrikes.com.

Laura Bell Bundy - Women of Tomorrow

(8/19/20) (Watch Here) Recording artist, songwriter, director, producer, actress and mother - Laura Bell Bundy joins The Locher Room on Wednesday, August 26th at 3:00pm EST. Laura will be here to discuss her career and her new single, Get It Girl You Go featuring featuring #1 Jazz recording artist, Shoshana Bean and Tony Award winner, Anika Noni Rose. The song about women “doing it all,” breaking the glass ceiling and standing up for what they believe in, is the debut single off Bundy’s upcoming highly-anticipated album, Women of Tomorrow. The album Inspired by the music of Glenn Miller, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, and classic MGM movie musicals is coming out in Spring 2021.

To Download “Get It Girl, You Go” please visit: https://LLB.lnk.to/GetItGirlYouGo

For more information please visit: https://www.laurabellbundy.com

Heartbreak For Y&R Star

(8/19/20) On Instagram, Kaitlin Vilasuso, wife of Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, Y&R), revealed that the couple recently suffered a miscarriage. “I never anticipated that it would hurt this much,” she wrote. The Vilasusos have two daughters, Riley, who is 7, and Everly, who is 4. Our hearts go out to the family.

‘Between The World And Me’: Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance Among 9 Cast In HBO Special

(8/14/20) Angela Bassett (Guiding Light/Search For Tomorrow/Ryan’s Hope), Alicia Garza (Black Futures Lab), Joe Morton (Guiding Light/Search For Tomorrow/Another World), Phylicia Rashad (One Life To Live/Santa Barbara), Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Courtney B. Vance (The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story), Pauletta Washington (Genius: Aretha), Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us), who also executive produces, and Oprah Winfrey (Wrinkle In Time) are the first to be cast in Between The World And Me, HBO’s adaptation of the critically praised stage show based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ New York Times bestseller.

Originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater in 2018, the special will combine elements of that production, including readings from Coates’ book, and will once again be directed by award-winning director and Apollo Theater Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes. It will also incorporate documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation.

The book, which was first published in 2015 by One World, is written as a letter to Coates’ teenage son and recounts the author’s experiences growing up in Baltimore’s inner city and his growing fear of daily violence against the Black community. The narrative explores Coates’ notion that American society structurally supports white supremacy.

Forbes will executive produce with Coates, Watson and Roger Ross Williams.

The special, which is currently in production under COVID-19 guidelines, debuts this fall on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

Additional cast will be announced.

Bassett is represented by The Gersh Agency, Lighthouse Entertainment and Fox Rothschild. Garza is represented by ICM. Morton is represented by Vanguard Management Group and TalentWorks. Trotter is represented by Sweet 180, Maverick and the Law Office of Brad Rubens, Esq. Vance is represented by WME and Fox Rothschild. Washington is represented by WME. Rashad is represented by BKEntertainment, and Innovative Artists. Watson is represented by Authentic Talent and Literary Management, United Talent Agency and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein Winfrey is represented by Ziffren Brittenham.

Video: Guiding Light Reunion 8/12/20

(8/12/20) (Video) Join Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa Lewis), Rachel Miner (Michelle Bauer), Ellen Parker (Maureen Bauer) and Tina Sloan (Lillian Raines) in The Locher Room. These four reminisce about their time in Springfield and discuss the death of the beloved character, Maureen.

John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co & Sony Pictures TV Developing ‘Paper Gods’ For ABC; Nia Long To Star & EP In Political Drama

(8/10/20) John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co and Nia Long are teaming with Sony Pictures TV to bring the saga of power, race and political intrigue of Goldie Taylor’s 2018 bestseller Paper Gods to ABC.

Fatal Affair and Dear White People’s Long will star and executive produce the project, now in development with Get Lifted co-founder Mike Jackson and showrunner Tash Gray.

Paper Gods spotlights the struggles and battles professionally and personally for Atlanta Mayor Victoria Dobb, who will be portrayed by Long in the series. The third novel by ex-political strategist and now Daily Beast editor-at-large Taylor, Paper Gods peels back the layers on the assassination in a church of Dobb’s mentor, a much-venerated congressman, to reveal a greater deception. Taylor is a producer on the small-screen adaptation.

“This project has been a passion of ours for a long time and Nia’s commitment has never wavered,” Sony Pictures TV VP Drama Development Lauren Stein said. “When Tash signed on, it completed this great team. We are so happy to be moving forward with it at ABC.”

“Victoria Dobbs is a beautifully flawed and complicated character,” Long said today of the timely series in a year of election and division. “I look forward to exploring her journey as a wife, mother and politician. Paper Gods highlights the profound impact Black women have on American politics and the world. Mike, John and Tash are my dream team!”

Said dream team seemed pretty pumped by the collaboration with the Empire alum and Gray, who has worked on Starz’s recently renewed P-Valley and upcoming Power spinoff Raising Kanan as well as Season 3 of FX’s Snowfall, among others.

“We’re so thrilled to be able to bring this incredible world Goldie created to life,” said Get Lifted executives Jackson, Legend and Ty Stiklorius in a statement. “It’s going to be an incredible journey working with Nia and Tash as we endeavor to learn more about this strong Black female who’s incredibly human and nuanced.”

“Nia and I came together in remembrance of our friend, and my mentor, John Singleton,” noted Gray of the new collaboration. “From that friendship blossomed an opportunity to tell a profound story that’s near to my heart,” the Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. writer added. “Both of us, girls from the hood, stand proud as strong Black women dedicated to telling the truth about our existence in a world that rarely champions or protects us. Yet, we continuously endeavor to save the world. I’m so happy and excited to work with amazing people to tell a layered story guaranteed to captivate audiences with Ms. Nia Long as our lead.” Production on Paper Gods is expected to begin later this year.

Having inked an overall deal with ABC Studios last year, the busy Get Lifted is represented by WME and Nina Shaw of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finklestein and Lezcano. Long is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Meyer & Downs, and Gray is repped by MetaMorphic Entertainment, Kaplan Stahler Agency and Dean Bahat at Ziffren Brittenham.

GUIDING LIGHT Soap Alums Reunite

(8/6/20) The Locher Room welcomes GUIDING LIGHT alums Maeve Kinkead (ex-Vanessa), Rachel Miner (ex-Michelle), Ellen Parker (ex-Maureen) and Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian) to the show. Join the women as they reminisce about their time in Springfield on Wednesday, August 12 at 3 p.m. EST. (Watch here)

Dishing with Digest - 7/31/20 - Rick Hearst

(7/31/20) (Listen/download) Emmy-winner Rick Hearst chronicles his run on the four soaps currently on the air — B&B, DAYS, GH and Y&R — and shares his GUIDING LIGHT memories with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the latest casting changes as DAYS and GH's return with new episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawrence Saint-Victor On Contract At B&B

(7/30/20) Look for Lawrence Saint-Victor to have more to do as B&B’s Carter. The actor was officially put back on contract with the soap he first joined in January 2013. In the new issue of Digest, on sale tomorrow, Executive Producer/Head Writer Bradley Bell says, Lawrence Saint-Victor [Carter] is a great talent and a great actor. Kiara [Barnes, Zoe] came to the show and proved to be a multidimensional actress with the baby Beth story. It’s great to launch into another chapter with Zoe and to have Carter in the mix.”

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion

(7/29/20) (Video) Visit the Locher Room see Guiding Light alumni - Paulo Benedeti (Jesse Blue), Tammy Blanchard (Drew Jacobs), Joy Lenz (Michelle Bauer), Brittany Snow (Susan "Daisy" Lemay) and Paul Wesley (Max Nickerson) as they sit down to reminisce about their time in Springfield.

Emmys 2020 Nominations

(7/28/20) This year’s ceremony, in whatever socially distant form it takes, will air Sunday, Sept. 20 on ABC, hosted for a third time by late-night TV vet Jimmy Kimmel.

(former soap stars in bold)

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder
Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black
Harriet Walter, Succession
Cherry Jones, Succession
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale
Phylicia Rashad, This Is Us

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Adam Driver, Saturday Night Live
Luke Kirby, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Eddie Murphy, Saturday Night Live
Dev Patel, Modern Love
Brad Pitt, Saturday Night Live
Fred Willard, Modern Family

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
Jean Smart, Watchmen
Holland Taylor, Hollywood
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America.

The One Tree Hill Ladies Reunited on Zoom and Brooke Davis Hasn't Changed a Bit

(7/28/20) (Video) It's been eight years since One Tree Hill ended, but we just got a fresh shot of joy thanks to series stars Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz, and Sophia Bush! The three ladies of One Tree Hill reunited on Instagram, and it almost makes 2020 not completely terrible.

The girls connected on a video call, in character as Petyon, Brooke, and Haley to catch up and give us some updates on our favorite ladies! For instance, Peyton mentions a school board meeting, Brooke's working on a campaign — the mind races — and Haley is in quarantine madness with her kids coloring on the walls. We hope that's 6-year-old Lydia she's shouting at because if Jamie (who would be 17 by now) is coloring on the walls, we're officially worried.

The purpose of the video was to get people to register to vote since that's why Brooke called her friends up on #RegisterAFriendDay. Friends don't let friends note vote, after all!

Thanks for the reminder, B. Davis. We're off to start out own text chain with friends who need to register!

Emme Rylan Mourns the Death of Her Sister, Lara

(7/27/20) Please join us in sending love to GENERAL HOSPITAL star Emme Rylan, who is mourning the loss of her sister, Lara. “My beautiful sister Lara is now an angel in heaven, and I know that her precious Riley was waiting for her at the gates,” she shared on Instagram with a photo of her sister, Lara and her dog, Riley, and a childhood pic of Rylan with her siblings.

Back in January of 2019, Rylan opened up about her sister’s battle with stage four cancer and shared a link to a GoFundMe page that the family had set up to help pay for her expenses as the treatments Lara had already undergone had seriously depleted her savings.”I want to thank everyone that donated to her GoFundMe page two years ago,” the actress added. “The money raised made it possible for her to live in comfort in her home and I will be forever grateful for that.”

Rylan’s co-stars and friends flooded her Instagram comments with love and sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Em,” wrote fellow THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS alum Jessica Collins (ex-Avery). “Love to you and your family.” Wes Ramsey (Peter, GH) shared a series of prayer emojis, and Briana Nicole Henry (Jordan, GH) expressed: “I’m so sorry about your loss, Em. Sending you so much love.”

Guiding Light - Reunion 7/29/20

(7/26/20) Tune in live on Wednesday, July 29th at 3PM EST to see these Guiding Light alumni - Paulo Benedeti (Jesse Blue), Tammy Blanchard (Drew Jacobs), Joy Lenz (Michelle Bauer), Brittany Snow (Susan "Daisy" Lemay) and Paul Wesley (Max Nickerson) when they sit down to reminisce about their time in Springfield. (Watch here)

Video: Guiding Light - Josh, Reva & The Marahs 7/22/20

(7/22/20) (Video) Guiding Light super couple Robert Newman (Josh Lewis) and Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne) chat about their on-screen relationship. Joining the duo during the interview was their on-screen children Ashley Peldon, Kimberly J. Brown, Laura Bell Bundy, Lindsay McKeon.

Brian Hickerson pleads not guilty to assaulting ex Hayden Panettiere

(7/18/20) Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson has pleaded not guilty to several felony assault charges following his Thursday arrest.

People reports that Hickerson, 31, entered a plea of not guilty to multiple felony charges, including four felony charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant; a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, “to wit, garage floor;” a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, “to wit, stairs;” and a misdemeanor charge of battery on a spouse/cohabitant.

Just two days before Hickerson’s most recent arrest, the former “Nashville” star, 30, filed a request for an out-of-state restraining order that would protect her in California, where she now resides. Panettiere’s request came five months after Hickerson was arrested for domestic battery after allegedly assaulting her on Valentine’s Day in Wyoming.

Following his arrest, the actress broke her silence on the alleged abuse, telling fans via Instagram, “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Dishing with Digest - 7/17/20 - Lawrence Saint-Victor

(7/17/20) (Listen / download) B&B's Lawrence Saint-Victor weighs in on his run as B&B's Carter, his first soap job as GUIDING LIGHT's Remy, real-life fatherhood and more with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss B&B's new episodes and hires.

Hayden Panettiere breaks silence on alleged abuse by ex Brian Hickerson

(7/17/20) Hayden Panettiere has broken her silence on the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

The former “Nashville” star, 30, released a statement on social media saying she’s coming forward with the hope that she can help others who find themselves in similar situations.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

In the caption, she added, “You are not alone,” along with phone numbers to domestic abuse hotlines.

Panettiere’s statement comes after Hickerson, 31, was arrested on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. local time in Los Angeles on felony charges, Page Six confirmed. His bail has been set at $320,0000.

Earlier this week, Page Six also confirmed that Panettiere obtained an out-of-state restraining order to protect her from Hickerson. Her request was filed five months after Hickerson was arrested for domestic battery after allegedly assaulting her on Valentine’s Day in Wyoming.

“After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life,” Panettiere’s attorney, Alan Jackson, told Page Six in a statement on Friday.

“Hayden has found the strength and courage to share the truth about her abuse and her abuser, and she intends to assist the prosecution to see that justice is served. As a survivor, she recognizes that her arduous journey of healing has just begun.”

Hayden Panettiere Ex-BF Arrested and Charged ... Dom. Violence & Assault

(7/17/20) Hayden Panettiere's allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is now facing serious criminal charges in California ... this, days after Hayden got an order of protection against him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Hickerson was charged Thursday in an 8-count complaint that includes domestic violence charges, assault charges. Seven of the 8 charges are felonies.

Panettiere recently reported her ex-BF to the Teton County Sheriff in Wyoming -- along with the Santa Monica police and LAPD -- for multiple incidents involving extreme domestic violence against her during their year-and-a-half relationship.

The former "Nashville" star tells TMZ ... “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life."

Hayden's attorney, Alan Jackson, says ... "After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life. Hayden has found the strength and courage to share the truth about her abuse and her abuser, and she intends to assist the prosecution to see that justice is served. As a survivor, she recognizes that her arduous journey of healing has just begun."

As we reported ... Panettiere recently got court-ordered protection from Hickerson in Wyoming, and a California judge just granted her that same protection in the Golden State.

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.

As for Hayden, a source close to the actress says she's been undergoing successful treatment for alcohol abuse issues and is now focused on healing, sobriety and recovery.

Phyllis Somerville Dies: ‘The Big C’, Broadway’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Actress Was 76

(7/17/20) Phyllis Somerville (ex-Mrs.Beasley, Guiding Light/ex-Mrs. Swan, Loving/ex-Alice, ATWT/ex-Annabelle, ATWT), an actress whose character work spanned decades as well as television (The Big C, NYPD Blue), film (Little Children, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and the stage (Broadway’s To Kill A Mockingbird), died of natural causes at her home in New York City on July 16. She was 76.

Her death was announced by her manager Paul Hilepo.

Born in Iowa City, Iowa, and soon developing a longstanding desire to move to New York City to become a Radio City Rockette, Somerville was cast in her first Equity job after college when she scored a role at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The job was the first in a long line of stage credits, including roles in Over Here on Broadway, The Spitfire Grill at Playwrights Horizons Off Broadway, Happiness at Lincoln Center, Night Mother national tour, and various other theater productions.

Most recently, Somerville appeared on Broadway in the original cast of Aaron Sorkin’s 2018 adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. In a relatively brief but fiercely performed and scene-stealing role, Somerville played Atticus Finch’s elderly, cantankerous and racist neighbor Mrs. DuBose.

Somerville’s film credits began with 1981’s Arthur and would reach into the new century with 2006’s Little Children, 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and 2019’s Poms.

Her television roles likely gave Somerville her greatest exposure as an actress, with memorable performances in Showtime’s The Big C, Netflix’s House of Cards and, most recently, CBS’ Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods and Elementary, and on NBC’s The Blacklist and Night Shift.

Somerville returned to Netflix playing opposite Vincent D’Onofrio in the first season of Daredevil, and opposite Jane Fonda and Robert Redford on Our Souls At Night. She recurred on the WGN network playing Lady Ray on The Outsiders, and featured in Hulu’s Castle Rock.

Other credits include Lateline, NYPD Blue, Life on Mars, Lucky You, Forgetting the Girl, Stoker, The Double, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Mare of Easttown. She also did stints on soaps Guiding Light, Loving and One Life To Live.

Somerville was a member of Off Broadway’s Labyrinth Theatre Company and, according to manager Hilepo, “loved doing the kids’ plays at the 52nd Street Project,” where “she once got to play a New York Yankee.”

“So she’d been a Yankee and she’d been a New Yorker for over 45 years,” he said, “but Ms. Somerville was never a Rockette.”

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion 7/17/20

(7/17/20) (Video) Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding) and Sonia Satra (Lucy Cooper Spaulding) joined The Locher Room on Friday, July 17th.

Guiding Light - Lewis Family Reunion 7/22/20

(7/16/20) Guiding Light super couple Robert Newman (Josh Lewis) and Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne) will be in The Locher to chat about their on-screen relationship. Joining the duo during the interview will be their on-screen children Ashley Peldon, Kimberly J. Brown, Laura Bell Bundy, Lindsey McKeon, Marty West and Jeff Branson. Please join us all live on Wednesday, July 22 at 3PM EST. (Watch here)

Download the Emmys App to Watch Past, Present, and Future Shows!

(7/16/20) The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was planning to create a special app to allow fans to live-stream the award ceremonies on their computers, mobile devices, and smart TVs, but then this year’s main Daytime Emmy Awards was actually broadcast on television for the first time in years. However, NATAS has now announced the release of The Emmys app in time to watch the upcoming ceremonies this summer!

“Television programming and its underlying technology have each gone through immense change over the more than seven decades the Emmys have recognized excellence in both facets of our industry,” said Adam Sharp, NATAS President & CEO. “Our awards have adapted through each of these transitions. Working with Vimeo, we now bring our celebration of this dynamic community of creators to all of the devices the audience uses to watch the television programming they love.”

The platform will allow fans to watch behind the scenes interviews, clips of memorable moments, and past Emmy ceremonies. Plus, you’ll be able to watch the upcoming shows live as they happen, because this year’s Daytime Emmys were split up into multiple shows to separate out the categories. Here’s what’s coming up:

Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. ET: The 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards – Digital Dramas
Sunday, July 26, at 8 p.m. ET: The 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards – Children’s, Lifestyle, and Animation
Tuesday, August 11, at 8 p.m. ET: The 41st Annual Sports Emmy Awards
September 2020: The 41st Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards

The app is completely free and all you have to do is sign up. Watch The Emmys is available on the web, as well as for iOS, Android, Amazon FireTV, and Roku.

Hayden Panettiere obtains restraining order against ex Brian Hickerson

(7/15/20) Hayden Panettiere was granted a restraining order against ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson on Tuesday, Page Six confirmed.

The “Heroes” star, 30, filed a request for an out-of-state restraining order that would protect her in California, where she now resides. Panettiere’s request comes five months after Hickerson was arrested for domestic battery after allegedly assaulting her on Valentine’s Day in Wyoming.

In April, Hickerson reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charge. A trial is scheduled for September.

It was the second domestic violence arrest for Hickerson, who allegedly assaulted Panettiere in May 2019 during an altercation at their home after a night of drinking. He was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the “Remember the Titans” actress.

In early June, Panettiere seemed to allude to having moved on from the relationship when she showed off her “newish” neck tattoo depicting the Eye of Ra, which is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal authority.

Guiding Light - Reunion 7/17/20

(7/14/20) Frank Beaty (Brent Lawrence / Marian Crane), Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding) and Sonia Satra (Lucy Cooper Spaulding) will be joining The Locher Room live on Friday, July 17th at 3PM EST. (Watch here)

William DeVry & Rebecca Staab Chat 7/10/20

(7/10/20) (Video) Watch William DeVry (Julian Jerome) from General Hospital and his longtime partner Rebecca Staab (Jesse Matthews) from Guiding Light as they have a chat in The Locher Room.

Guiding Light / Misguided - Reunion 7/8/20

(7/8/20) (Video) Jean Carol (Tamara), Stephanie Gatschet (Stephanie), Justin Klosky (Doyle) and creator / star Paul Gosselin (Paul) of Misguided joined The Locher Room to discuss this short digital drama and share stories from their time on Guiding Light. www.MisguidedSeries.com

Video: Guiding Light - The Writers Episode 7/1/20

(7/1/20) (Video) Join Emmy-award winning writers Jim Brown, Dave Kreizman, Jill Lorie Hurst, Courtney Simon and Millee Taggart who will share inside stories about the characters and stories you've loved throughout the years.

Tonya Pinkins Joins Soap Stars for Online Reading of One-Act Plays Presented by The National Arts Club

(7/1/20) The National Arts Club will present an online reading of one-act plays by Scott C. Sickles, best known for his award-winning work as a writer on the daytime dramas General Hospital and One Life to Live, and performed by renowned soap opera stars. Sickles' two plays, The Greater and Lesser Edmunds of the World and Persephone, are read by Melissa Claire Egan (All My Children, The Young and the Restless), Christian Jules Le Blanc (The Young and the Restless), Beth Maitland (The Young and the Restless), Karla Mosley (Guiding Light, The Bold and the Beautiful), Tonya Pinkins (All My Children), and Darnell Williams (All My Children); directed by Fritz Brekeller. The performance takes place on Thursday, July 16 at 3:00 PM (EST) via Zoom. The performance is free to attend with registration at nationalartsclub.eventbrite.com.

As a television writer, Sickles has received five consecutive Writers Guild of America Awards for the daytime drama General Hospital, as well as seven Emmy Award nominations for that series and One Life to Live. His plays have been performed across the United States as well as internationally, and his work recognized with numerous awards including the New York Innovative Theater Award and the Beverly Hills Theater Guild/Julie Harris Playwriting Award.

Director Brekeller has worked extensively in the soap opera world on both coasts, winning multiple Daytime Emmy Awards, most recently in May 2019 as part of the directing team at CBS's The Young and the Restless. He received a 2016 New York Innovative Theater award for Outstanding Direction of Sickles' Composure at the Workshop Theater.

The Plays

The Greater and Lesser Edmunds: Gideon is meeting his half-brother Augie. They have met only once before, at their father's funeral...a father who kept two families at the same time. Gideon thinks he knows what Augie wants. Gideon is wrong.

Persephone: Helena gave up her daughter Persephone at birth. Today, they meet for the first time. It is going really well. Or at least it was...

New Podcast Soap Opera Series FOREVER AND A DAY

(6/30/20) Today, the team of Forever And A Day is proud to announce that this new podcast soap opera will debut later this year on the JLJ Media Network; bringing the 90 year old daytime drama genre back to its roots, that was created by Irna Phillips. The series revolves around the Harper, Bennett, and Marshall families, as they overcome life's complexities in the fictional town of Augustus, Illinois.

The series was created by Casey Hutchison (of The Chat Podcast), who also serves as Co-Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer, alongside two time Capital City Web Award nominee Candice Mack (of Soap Party 411 and Take2Radio). Other individuals on the writing team include multi Daytime Emmy, Producers Guild, and Writers Guild of America award winner/nominee John F. Smith (formerly of The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless), multi Daytime Emmy and Writers Guild of America award nominee Thom Racina (formerly of General Hospital, Another World, Days of Our Lives, Generations, Santa Barbara, Search For Tomorrow, The Young and the Restless, and One Life To Live), and web soap opera pioneer, multi Indie Series, Capital City Web award nominee, LA Web Fest award winner, Karolina Sivas (of Broken At Love). Capital City Web Award winner James Lott, Jr. (of JLJ Media) and multi Daytime Emmy Award nominee/one-time winner, Sally Sussman Morina, serve as consultants.

The cast of 20 characters includes many well known faces as well as on-the-come-up stars. The series has brought five time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, Beth Ehlers out of acting retirement. Ehlers is best known for her role of Harley Cooper on CBS' former soap opera Guiding Light. Quinn VanAntwerp, known to Broadway audiences as Bob Gaudio in the Tony Award winning production of Jersey Boys has also signed on to be a lead in the series. The soap opera will also star Matthew Preston (of Inside Amy Schumer and 5 Dias), one time Capital City Web Award nominee and web series trailblazer Dorell Anthony (of Pride: The Series, and General Hospital), Tony Moore (of AfterBuzz TV's Dishin' Days), Jeanne Young (of Home Free and Jolted 1&2), Brandon Larkins (of Monogamy, Chronicles of Jessica Wu, and Cougar Town), Elizabeth von Isser (of Amazed By You and That 80s Guy), Brett Lawrence (of West of The Sun), Lacreita Lyon (of Afterbuzz TV), Renee Suran (of Broken At Love and Circle of Love), Tyler David (commercial actor), Khalia Davis (of 3rd Generation Female Gangsta), Kristina Sullivan (of Shenanigans), Michael Carr (of Sometimes At Night and The Gag), Benjamin Bryant (of The Brink With Benjamin Bryant), Veronica Dang (of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Following), and Teri Limmer. Co-Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer will also star in the series along with Script Editor and Script Writer, Karolina Sivas.

Guiding Light - General Hospital Reunion 7/10/20

(6/29/20) Join William DeVry (Julian Jerome) from General Hospital and his longtime partner Rebecca Staab (Jesse Matthews) from Guiding Light when they catch-up with me live on Friday, July 10th at 3PM EST. (Watch here)

Video: Daytime Stars and Strikes - A Virtual Bauer Barbecue

(6/28/20) (Video) Check into The Locher Room and join Liz Keifer, Michael O’Leary, Jerry verDorn and many other Guiding Light cast members for a very special 16th Annual Daytime Stars and Strikes for Autism “virtual” Bauer Barbecue on Saturday, June 27th at 6:00PM EST. Together we will raise money and awareness for Autism Society of America. www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com

Soap Alum Become Parents Again

(6/28/20) Adrienne Frantz (ex-Amber, B&B/Y&R) and husband Scott Bailey (ex-Sandy, GL) welcomed their son, Lion Michael, on June 19. This is the second child for the couple, who also have a daughter Amélie, 4. Although the bundle of joy is healthy and now home, the mom remains hospitalized. Frantz posted on social media, “I had multiple complications. If I could get some prayers today I could really use them! I just want to go home and see my baby!!”

Guiding Light / Misguided - Reunion 7/8/20

(6/26/20) Jean Carol (Tamara), Stephanie Gatschet (Stephanie), Justin Klosky (Doyle) and creator / star Paul Gosselin (Paul) of Misguided will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, July 8th at 3PM EST to discuss this short digital drama and share stories from their time on Guiding Light. (Watch here)

Dishing with Digest - 6/26/20 - Kim Zimmer

(6/26/20) (Listen / download) Kim Zimmer looks back at her soap start on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, her experience on THE DOCTORS, her run as GUIDING LIGHT’s legendary Reva and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also talk about Judi Evans’s (ex-Adrienne, DAYS) recent battles and when Y&R will return to production.

Video: Guiding Light - Reunion 6/24/20

(6/24/20) (Video) Murray Bartlett (Cyrus), Rob Bogue (A.C. Mallet), Mandy Bruno (Marina Cooper) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah) had a chat in The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 24th.

Annie Lennox, Kristin Chenoweth And Kelly Clarkson Among Performers For Project Angel Food Telethon

(6/23/20) Project Angel Food has lined up a list of performers including Annie Lennox, Kristin Chenoweth and Kelly Clarkson for a telethon this Saturday, with Eric McCormack, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jessica Holmes hosting.

Lead With Love: Project Angel Food Emergency Telethon will air from 7 PM to 9 PM PT on KTLA 5 in Los Angeles and stream live on the channel’s website and on the Project Angel Food page.

The goal is to raise $500,000 to support Project Angel Food’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, set up for increased needs due to the coronavirus. In the past two months, the organization has gone from serving 1,600 people a day, to serving 2,000 people a day.

Also scheduled to perform are CeeLo Green, Deborah Cox and Billy Idol, and the event will include appearances by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Elton John, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sharon Stone and Marie Osmond and others. (See below).

Founded in 1989 during the AIDS crisis, Project Angel Food medically tailored meals to people with life-threatening illnesses, including those who are at high risk for COVID-19.

“This event will blend the best nostalgic elements from the Jerry Lewis Telethon with the modern virtual fundraisers of today,” Project Angel Food executive director Richard Ayoub said in a statement.

With a mix of in-studio and virtual appearances, the telethon also will include a live phone bank where callers can talk to celebrity guests, including Jonathan Adams, Joely Fisher, Rachel Lindsay, Peter Porte, Charlie Carver, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Lawrence Zarian, Sasha Roiz, and Lauren Tom. The event is being presented by City National Bank, and executive producer is Brad Bessey. Lisa Foxx will serve as announcer and auctioneer Gabriel Butu will be the money man.

More information on the event and how to donate is here.

Others scheduled to appear include Zachary Levi, Pauley Perrette, Marianne Williamson, John Goodman, Valerie Bertinelli, Marlee Matlin, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Olivia Newton-John, Kelly Osbourne, Margaret Cho, Charo, Danny Trejo, Matt Bomer, Cheryl Tiegs, Deborah Cox, Tyler Henry, Carson Kressley, Chrissy Metz, Sandra Lee, Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Jimmy Smits, Victoria Principal, Yvette Nicole Brown, Eileen Davidson, Loni Love, Chaz Dean, Sasha Alexander, Ron Cey and Josh Flagg.

Guiding Light - The Writers Episode 7/1/20

(6/22/20) Please join Emmy-award winning writers Jim Brown, Dave Kreizman, Jill Lorie Hurst, Courtney Simon and Millee Taggart who will share inside stories about the characters and stories you've loved throughout the years. Tune in on Wednesday, July 1st at 3PM EST. (Watch Here)

Talk Show Appearance

(6/20/20) THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW, syndicated

Tu 6/23: Frank Grillo

Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson Split: She’s on a ‘Path to Recovery’

(6/18/20) (usmagazine.com) Hayden Panettiere is stronger than ever now that she’s called it quits with Brian Hickerson, multiple sources exclusively reveal in the new issue of Us Weekly.

“She’s in a good place right now,” says one source. “She’s on the path to recovery.”

The actress, 30, finally cut ties with Hickerson, whom she began dating in August 2018, after their February dispute that led to his second arrest for domestic abuse. (Hickerson was previously arrested for domestic violence following another argument with Panettiere in May 2019.)

“She and Brian haven’t had contact,” says the source. “He’s moved back to his hometown in South Carolina, and friends are praying this is the end of her journey with him.

And the early signs are promising. Panettiere, who rejoined Instagram this month, “has done a 180-degree turn since her terrible ordeal with Brian,” reveals a second source. “She’s moving ahead with her life and getting back into working in Hollywood and being creative again. It’s all very therapeutic for her.”

Now the mom of 5-year-old Kaya, who she shares with ex Wladimir Klitschko, is not looking back. Panettiere is “calmer and more relaxed,” says the second source, while the first source adds: “She’s trying to move past the pain and focus on her future.”

Us Weekly Cover Issue 2220 Kelly Clarkson Divorce Hayden Panettiere Path Recovery After Drama With Brian Hickerson

Pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.

Guiding Light - Loving Reunion 6/17/20

(6/18/20) (Video) Paul Anthony Stewart (Casey - Loving; Danny - Guiding Light) and his co-stars Laura Wright (Ally - Loving; Cassie - Guiding Light; Carly - General Hospital) and Nancy St. Alban (Michelle - Guiding Light) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 17th.

Video: Judi Evans Explains Why Her Legs Were Nearly Amputated: ‘They Blew Up So Fast’

(6/16/20) (Video) “Extra’s” Billy Bush and Dr. Armand Dorian spoke with “Days of Our Lives” actor Judi Evans, who has been recovering at a hospital after contracting the coronavirus.

Guiding Light - Reunion 6/24/20 - Cyrus, Mallet, Marina, Dinah

(9/16/20) Please join Murray Bartlett (Cyrus), Rob Bogue (A.C. Mallet), Mandy Bruno (Marina Cooper) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah) for a live interview in The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 24th at 3:00PM EST. (Watch here)

John Hawkes & Allison Janney Join Andrea Riseborough In True Story ‘To Leslie’, Mister Smith & UTA Board Sales — Cannes

(6/12/20) John Hawkes (The Sessions) and Oscar-winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya) have come on board for roles in the real-life-inspired feature To Leslie with Andrea Riseborough (Birdman).

Mister Smith has also boarded the project for international sales ahead of the Cannes virtual market. UTA Independent Film Group is repping domestic.

Michael Morris (Better Call Saul) will direct the screenplay written by Ryan Binaco (3022). Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady of BCDF Pictures are producers along with Kelsey Law of Clair de Lune Entertainment. Binaco is executive producing.

The film tells the story of a West Texas single mother (Riseborough) who won the lottery and squandered it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak. Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption. Binaco wrote the screenplay inspired by the life of his mother.

Hawkes will play Sweeney, a lonely motel manager living a quiet life in West Texas, who takes a chance on Leslie when no one else will. Janney will portray Nancy, a Harley-loving ex-biker with a mean streak, who refuses to let Leslie live down her past.

Hawkes is repped by Innovative Artists, Thruline Entertainment, and attorney Todd Rubenstein. Janney is repped by Gersh, Thruline, and Nelson Davis. Morris is repped by UTA and Erik Hyman at Paul Hastings.

Julianne Moore, Kristen Bell, Sarah Paulson And More Encourage White People To Call Out Racism In NAACP’s #ITakeResponsibility Campaign

(6/11/20) (Video) The NAACP has teamed with Tommy Oliver and Adam Platzner of Confluential Content (OWN’s Black Love, Sony’s The Perfect Guy, Sundance Award Winner Kinyarwanda) for #ITakeResponsibilty, a new campaign launched today that encourages White people to call out racism and commit to supporting Black lives.

#ITakeResponsibilty kicked off today with a forward PSA featuring Julianne Moore, Kristen Bell, Sarah Paulson, Aaron Paul, Aly Raisman, Bethany Joy Lenz, Bryce Dallas Howard, Debra Messing, Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Kesha, Mark Duplass, Piper Perabo and Stanley Tucci as they took responsibility for the ways they’ve perpetuated racism through silence or inaction, and their commitment to support organizations that fight for the rights of oppressed communities.

“It’s critical that we understand and accept that racism is a white people problem…a problem that, collectively, we need to look to ourselves to fix,” Platzner, Partner and Vice Chairman, Confluential Content tells Deadline. “I had never seen it quite that way before. Recent events in this country have shown us that we need to take a different approach if we’re to be impactful. That’s what led me to create this effort.”

He adds, “We are in an industry with the power and capability to drive change, internally and externally. This PSA is how we can begin a conversation among ourselves to achieve results, while at the same time standing up for our black friends and family. Each of us need to start taking responsibility for this role in our daily lives. With everything going on it didn’t feel right sitting on the sidelines.”

As the hashtag suggests, the campaign is inviting others to take responsibility and stand in solidarity with the Black community and make their own videos. In addition, the PSA urges people to donate to the NAACP, Black Lives Matter and the Bail Project.

Watch the PSA above.

Mélange Cast Chat

(6/11/20) (Video) Kristen Alderson (Abigail Collins), Diana DeGarmo (Melissa Bennett), Morgan Fairchild (Vivian), Ilene Kristen (Dolly Faye) and Robert Newman (Dorian Sydney Winchester - "Syd") came together to talk about the pilot for their new soap, Mélange on Thursday, June 11th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with this talented group of actors.

Guiding Light - Loving Reunion 6/17/20

(6/10/20) Paul Anthony Stewart (Casey - Loving; Danny - Guiding Light) and his co-stars Laura Wright (Ally - Loving; Cassie - Guiding Light; Carly - General Hospital) and Nancy St. Alban (Michelle - Guiding Light) will join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, June 17th at 3PM EST. (Watch here)

Guiding Light - Reunion 6/10/20

(6/10/20) (Video) Mark Derwin (A.C. Mallett / Tony Camaletti), Morgan Englund (Dylan Lewis), Melissa Hayden (Bridget Reardon), Kimberley Simms (Mindy Lewis) and Jocelyn Seagrave Fundoukos (Julie Camaletti) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, June 10th.

DAYS’s Judi Evans Contracts Coronavirus In Hospital

(6/9/20) Judi Evans (ex-Adrienne, DAYS), who was hospitalized on May 21 following a horseback riding accident, contracted the coronavirus during her recovery. “My fever started spiking,” she shared on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, adding that she had been taken for tests without a mask on. A rep for the actress reveals that she nearly had her legs amputated because she developed blood clots, but ultimately, was spared. Sending our best wishes to Evans for a speedy recovery!

Melange Cast Chat 6/11/20

(6/7/20) Kristen Alderson (Abigail Collins), Diana DeGarmo (Melissa Bennett), Morgan Fairchild (Vivian), Ilene Kristen (Dolly Faye) and Robert Newman (Dorian Sydney Winchester - "Syd") will come together to talk about the pilot for their new soap, Mélange on Thursday, June 11th at 1PM EST. Don't miss the chance to catch up with this talented group of actors. (Watch here)

GUIDING LIGHT’s Bauer-Barbecue Goes Virtual This Year

(6/6/20) The 16th Annual Daytime Stars and Strikes event will look a little different this year. The Bauer Barbecue event, which is normally held in the tri-state area each year to raise funds for The Autism Society of America, will be held virtually due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Currently scheduled to take part are: Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip), Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris), Beth Chamberlin (ex-Beth), Crystal Chappell (ex-Olivia), Frank Dicopoulos (ex-Frank), Maureen Garrett (ex-Holly), Melissa Hayden (ex-Bridget), Morgan Englund (ex-Dylan), Amelia Marshall (ex-Gilly), Robert Newman (ex-Josh), Denise Pence (ex-Katie), Nancy St. Alban (ex-Michelle), Jennifer Roszell (ex-Eleni), Elvera Roussel (ex-Hope), Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian), Paul Anthony Stewart (ex-Danny), Krista Tesreau (ex-Mindy), Gina Tognoni (ex-Dinah), Lawrence Saint-Victor (ex-Remy; Carter, B&B), Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Tony; Rey, Y&R), Yvonna Kopacz Wright (ex-Mel), Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva). Tune in on Saturday June 27 at 6 p.m. ET, here. To donate during the live broadcast, click here.

Video: Cocktails with the Coopers (Guiding Light Reunion)

(6/4/20) (Video) Hang out with the Coopers. Justin Deas (Buzz), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank), John Driscoll (Coop), Beth Ehlers (Harley) and Fiona Hutchison (Jenna) chat in The Locher Room.

Mary Pat Gleason, Prolific Character Actress With 100+ TV Roles, Dead at 70

(6/4/20) Mary Pat Gleason (ex-Doris, Texas/ex-Jane. Guiding Light/ex-Mother Superior, General Hospital), a character actress with a huge list of credits and who most recently played Mom‘s Mary, has died. She was 70.

Per a post on Gleason’s official Facebook page, she passed away after a long illness from cancer.

Though you may not have known Gleason’s name, it’s likely that her face is familiar: Her acting resume contains more than 100 television credits, usually for one-off-but-memorable roles on popular broadcast series in the past 40 years. She was Madame Oeuf, Saved By the Bell‘s French teacher. She was Lucille, the stern yet kindly dressing-room attendant who hugged a grieving Miranda in Sex and the City. She was Mrs. Butters, the no-nonsense elementary school teacher who dealt with Lynette and Susan’s kids in Desperate Housewives. She was Sally, the homeless woman who may or may not have known the president on NBC on Will & Grace.

Her list of TV appearances also includes roles on Quantum Leap, Highway to Heaven, Night Court, Blossom, ER, NCIS, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, How to Get Away With Murder, NCIS and The Blacklist.

In 2014, she started the recurring role of Mary, an Alcoholics Anonymous member, on CBS’ Mom. Gleason appeared on the comedy a number of times over the years, and her character was killed off in Season 7 when Mary died of a brain aneurysm during an AA meeting.

Guiding Light Reunion 6/10/20

(5/31/20) (Watch here) Mark Derwin (A.C. Mallett / Tony Camaletti), Morgan Englund (Dylan Lewis), Melissa Hayden (Bridget Reardon), Kimberley Simms (Mindy Lewis) and Jocelyn Seagrave Fundoukos (Julie Camaletti) join The Locher Room live on Wednesday, June 10th at 3PM EST.

Video: Guiding Light - Shayne Family Reunion

(5/28/20) (Video) The Shayne family and some of their friends joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 27th. Tune in to see Reva (Kim Zimmer), Roxy (Kristi Ferrell), Rusty (Terrell Anthony), Mindy (Krista Tesreau) and Rick (Michael O'Leary).

Y&R / GL Alum To Welcome Baby

(5/26/20) John Driscoll (ex-Chance, Y&R/ ex-Coop, GL) shared on social media that he and his wife, Michele, who married last March, are expecting their first child. “Baby Driscoll Making His Arrival August 2020” reads a sign that the actor posted on his Facebook page.

Video: All My Children Reunion 5/22/20

(5/22/20) (Video) Vincent Irizarry (Dr. David Hayward), Aiden Turner (Aiden Devane), Jacob Young (JR Chandler) and Walt Willey (Jackson Montgomery) from All My Children joined The Locher Room on Friday, May 22.

DAYS’s Judi Evans Recuperating From Fall

(5/22/20) Judi Evans (ex-Adrienne, DAYS et al) suffered a fall from her horse last Saturday and is recuperating in the hospital. A rep for the actress tells Digest that doctors found a blood clot in her right lung, not associated with accident, and told Evans the fall from the horse pretty much saved her life. The accident happened on a trail by river beds in California, and Evans had to walk (with the help of those who found her) over a half a mile in pain, because of rough terrain. They wanted to send an ambulance but she refused because she knows the high cost of helicopter ambulances. Evans is anxiously waiting to be released after her lungs are stronger and they take care of blood clots through medication. Her other broken bones — a broken collarbone, seven broken ribs, two chipped vertebrae, and a collapsed lung from blunt force trauma — are healing properly. “I’m grateful for all the prayers and support from family, friends, colleagues and fans and for my horse, which probably ended up saving my life!” Evans tells Digest. “I miss my husband Michael, who I haven’t seen in a week because of the COVID-19 restrictions in the hospital.” Evans’s co-stars took to social media to send her well wishes. “Everyone please save some extra love and healing energy and send them to my dear friend Judi. I love you Judi! Please recovery quickly,” posted Linsey Godfrey (Sarah). “I miss you.” Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian), who played her mother on GUIDING LIGHT when Evans played Beth, posted, “Judi your mom Lillian would be your nurse right now if she could. Hope the idea makes you smile. Lots of love. Tina/Lillian.” On-screen brother Matthew Ashford (Jack) wrote, “Love you Judi- sending you healing and love!” Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe, DAYS) added, ‘Love you @TheJudiEvans! Sending you much love, light, and healing energy for a speedy recovery!Molly Burnett (ex-Melanie, DAYS) posted, “No, no, no!!! Sending you all the love I have.”

Guiding Light Cooper Family Reunion

(5/22/20) (Watch here) The Locher Room will be virtually reuniting GUIDING LIGHT’s Cooper family on Wednesday, June 3 a 5 p.m. ET. Justin Deas (ex-Buzz), Frank Dicopoulos (ex-Frank), John Driscoll (ex-Coop), Beth Ehlers (ex-Harley) and Fiona Hutchison (ex-Jenna) will be joining the virtual reunion.

Video: Mélange (Pilot) w/ Morgan Fairchild, Scott Evans, Robert Newman & More! | Logo TV

(5/22/20) (Video) As the founder of a historic gay bar suddenly and mysteriously dies, his young protégé and estranged ex-wife battle for control of the legendary bar. As the stakes rise and tensions mount, Mélange becomes infested with betrayal, corruption, and revenge.

Cast of characters:

Morgan Fairchild (Golden Globe nominee, Two-time Emmy nominee, Flamingo Road, Falcon Crest, Cybil, Friends): Vivian King - One of the world's leading hotel moguls. She feels her ex-husband Syd used and betrayed her to gain his inheritance and open Mélange. With Syd gone, Vivian is out for vengeance.

Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie, One Life to Live, Daytime Divas): Ryann Parker - As Syd's protége and manager of Mélange, he will fight to preserve Syd's legacy and keep Mélange out of the hands of Vivian.

Robert Newman (Two-time Emmy nominee, Guiding Light, House of Cards): Dorian Sydney "Syd" Winchester - A prominent figure in the LGBTQIA+ movement, Syd opened Mélange with a trust fund he inherited. In order to receive this fund, he needed to be married to a woman. In 1975, he married his close friend Vivian.

Ilene Kristen (Two-time Emmy nominee, One Life to Live, Ryan's Hope, General Hospital): Dolly Faye - The eyes and ears of Mélange, she has been there since day one.

Omar Sharif Jr. (LGBTQIA+ Activist and Model): Zayn Hadid - Ryann's loyal boyfriend and bar back at Mélange. As a Syrian immigrant, his work visa has expired and he fears deportation.

Diana DeGarmo (American Idol season 3 runner up, The Young and the Restless): Melissa Bennett - A server at Mélange, she was a runaway who met Ryann during their tumultuous teenage years. She carries an unrequited torch for Ryann and is currently sleeping with Hunter.

Anne Ramsay (Mad About You, The L Word, A League of Their Own): Carter Sendroff - Syd's attorney and Dolly's wife. She is tough, but her moral compass is immovable.

Maya Days (Rent, Aida, FX's Damages, worldwide #1 hit single "Feel It" [The Chimney Song]): Carroll Davis - The Global Head of Operations for King Enterprises. She is bound to Vivian for mysterious reasons.

Kristen Alderson (Emmy winner, One Life to Live, General Hospital): Abigail Collins - Ryann's sister who recently escaped their mother's religious cult in search of her brother.

Laith Ashley (Strut): Detective Alexander Thomas - The district's first transgender police officer, he got his start as security at Mélange.

David Gregory (One Life to Live, The Good Fight, Constantine): Hunter Black - A young documentarian making a film about Mélange's 40th anniversary. However, he may have captured more footage than he bargained for.

Perez Hilton (Celebrity blogger and television personality): Briggs Baxter - an infamous gossip columnist who founded BriggsBaxter.com and has no problem exposing other people's secrets.

Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty, Dead of Summer): JJ Marshal - JJ works several jobs, including being a bar back at Mélange, a barista at the coffee shop, and an escort to pay for medical school. He is dating Genesis, but his escorting is a secret.

Alex Newell (Glee, Zoe's Extraordinary Playlist): Genesis - Mélange's resident performer with a heart of gold and a history of substance abuse. Genesis identifies as gender-fluid.

Jessica Leccia (Guiding Light, One Life to Live): Eva Sotomayor - Vivian King's cutthroat attorney. She has her eye on Mélange and rival attorney Carter Sendroff.

Darnell Williams (Emmy winner, Golden Globe winner, NAACP winner, All My Children, The Young and the Restless): Dr. Max Bradshaw - Syd's longtime doctor. He was with Syd when he died. He is currently working on controversial new medicines.

Pamela Winslow Kashani (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Meredith Scott - A political activist and Mélange regular who is always ready to organize for a worthy cause.

Video: One Life To Live Reunion

(5/22/20) (Video) The Locher Room reunited former One Life To Live stars including: Emmy Award-winning actors Robert S. Woods and Hillary B. Smith (Bo and Nora Buchanan), real-life couple Kassie and James DePaiva (Blair Cramer and Max Holden) and Tuc Watkins (David Vickers Buchanan) on Thursday, May 21st.

Video: Guiding Light Reunion 5/20/20

(5/20/20) (Video) Murray Bartlett (Cyrus Foley), Orlagh Cassidy (Doris Wolfe), Bonnie Dennison (Susan "Daisy" Lemay), Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera) and Caitlin Van Zandt (Ashlee Wolfe) joined The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 20th. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these Springfield residents.

Joan Collins calls U.K. pandemic lockdown measures 'ageist'

(5/20/20) Joan Collins has slammed U.K. government lockdown measures designed to protect the elderly from COVID-19 as “ageist”.

Writing in British political magazine The Spectator, the 86-year-old actress claimed advice to over-70s to stay indoors and to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary is discriminatory and damaged people’s views of the old.

In her column, Joan raged: “I’ve always thought Western society was terribly ageist, and I don’t just mean showbiz folk but across the board.

“Then the UK government insisted the over-70s, horrible expression, were part of the vulnerables, an even more horrible expression, and should remain in lockdown, the most horrible expression of all, until a vaccine is found.

“That was utter discrimination against the hardy individuals who have no health issues. But more harmful was bolstering the existing belief among the general public that the old should keep out of everyone’s way.”

The Dynasty actress added that “stunningly healthy” old people like her should not be limited in what they are allowed to do.

She also expressed anger that 88-year-old actor William Roache may not be able to return to the set of U.K. soap Coronation Street straight away when filming resumes, and fumed that her showbiz pal, Christopher Biggins, 71, had been told by members of the public that he should stay inside instead of being out running.

Although COVID-19 lockdown measures are being eased for many Brits, the over-70s are included in the list of vulnerable groups advised to “minimize contact with anyone outside their household”.

One Life To Live Reunion 5/28/20

(5/20/20) (Watch here) Andrea Evans (Tina), Fiona Hutchison (Gabrielle), Ilene Kristen (Roxanne) and Tonja Walker (Alex) - These four Llaneview residents join The Locher Room on Thursday, May 28th at 2PM EST.

Guiding Light Shayne Family Reunion

(5/19/20) The Shayne family and some of their friends will join me in The Locher Room on Wednesday, May 27th at 3PMEST. Tune in to see Reva (Kim Zimmer), Roxy (Kristi Ferrell), Rusty (Terrell Anthony), Mindy (Krista Tesreau) and Rick (Michael O'Leary) (Watch here).

All My Children Reunion 5/22/20

(5/14/20) (Watch here) Vincent Irizarry (Dr. David Hayward), Jacob Young (JR Chandler) and Walt Willey (Jackson Montgomery) from All My Children will join The Locher Room on Friday, May 22 at 4PM EST.

Video: Guiding Light Chat - May 13

(5/13/20) (Video) The Boudreau Family - Kim Brockington (Felicia), Peter Francis James (Clayton), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Remy) and Yvonna Kopacz Wright (Mel) along with Karla Mosley (Christina Moore) joined The Locher Room om Wednesday, May 13th

Guiding Light - Reunion Chat 5/20/20

(5/12/20) (Watch here) Murray Bartlett (Cyrus Foley), Orlagh Cassidy (Doris Wolfe), Bonnie Dennison (Susan "Daisy" Lemay), Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera) and Caitlin Van Zandt (Ashlee Wolfe) join me on Wednesday, May 20th at 3:00PM EST. Don't miss the chance to catch up with these Springfield residents.

Video: Guiding Light Chat 5/12/20

(5/12/20) (Video) Denise Pence (Katie Parker), Elvera Roussel (Hope Bauer), Michael Tylo (Quint Chamberlin) and Jerry verDorn (Ross Marler) reminisce about their time on Guiding Light.

‘THE STORY OF SOAPS,’ A TWO-HOUR TELEVISION EVENT

(5/12/20) ABC and PEOPLE present “The Story of Soaps,” a two-hour prime-time television event highlighting the iconic impact of the soap opera. Featuring an incredible panel of experts and voices, “The Story of Soaps” airs TUESDAY, MAY 19 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC.

“The Story of Soaps” explores how no genre of television has laid deeper roots into our cultural consciousness and serialized storytelling than the soap opera. In today’s shifting television landscape, “The Story of Soaps” traces how female creators migrated from radio to television to become the dominant force in daytime for more than three decades. Today, that legacy is alive and well all over prime time and reality, and much of what propels modern television traces its roots back to those first sprawling, steamy storylines. “The Story of Soaps” takes an extensive look at this iconic, impactful genre and the cultural phenomenon its massive impact has had on the world at large.

“The Story of Soaps” brings together an impressive company of experts and familiar voices to help illustrate this remarkable story (listed alphabetically by first name):

Abigail De Kosnik, author

Agnes Nixon, creator of “All My Children”

Alec Baldwin, actor

Allan Sugarman, co-founder of Soap Opera Festivals Inc.

Andy Cohen, creator

Angela Shapiro-Mathes, executive

Brad Bell, executive producer

Bryan Cranston, actor

Carol Burnett, actor

Chandra Wilson, actor

Chris Van Etten, writer

David Jacobs, creator

Deidre Hall, actor

Denise Richards, actor

Donna Mills, actor

Drake Hogestyn, actor

Eddie Mills, actor

Eileen Davidson, actor and reality star

Erika Jayne, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

Erika Slezak, actor

Finola Hughes , actor

Genie Francis, actor

Greg Vaughan , actor

James H. Brown, writer

Jill Farren Phelps, executive producer

John Aniston, actor

John McCook, actor

John Stamos, actor

Jon Hamm, actor

Jonathan Murray, executive producer

Joyce Becker, co-founder of Soap Opera Festivals Inc.

Kate Coyne, editorial director, entertainment, PEOPLE

Ken Olin, executive producer

Krista Smith, consultant

Laura Wright, actor

Lorraine Broderick, head writer

Marc Samuel, actor

Marc Cherry, creator

Mark Teschner, casting director

Mary Crosby, actor

Maurice Benard, actor

Melody Thomas Scott, actor

Shelly Altman, head writer

Susan Lucci, actor

Susan Sullivan, actor

Vivica A. Fox, actor

Yhane Smith, creator of “Harlem Queen”

‘Tell Me A Story’: No Season 3 On CBS All Access, First Two Seasons Acquired By the CW

(5/12/20) Kevin Williamson’s horror anthology series Tell Me a Story will not return to CBS All Access for a third installment. The two existing seasons of the show, from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, have been acquired by the CW. This will mark the TV network debut of Tell Me a Story. It also will mark the return to the CW for The Vampire Diaries co-creator/executive producer Williamson and star Paul Wesley who stars in both seasons of the CBS All Access series.

Seasons 1 & 2 of Tell Me a Story will continue to be available on CBS All Access across platforms, with the CW licensing the first two seasons for a second-window run. It is not clear yet whether Tell Me a Story‘s first season would run on the CW in the summer or be kept for fall as new seasons of broadcast networks’ current series may not be ready for a fall launch because of the coronavirus-related production shutdown. The CW is expected to unveil its fall schedule on Thursday.

The second season of Tell Me a Story will remain exclusively on CBS All Access until Q4 2020. The CW will be able to run it anytime after that. Because of the limited footprint of CBS All Access, the CW airings would expose Tell Me a Story to a wider audience. This is a rare broadcast window for a CBS All Access original series. Last summer, Season 1 of The Good Fight ran on CBS.

Tell Me a Story takes beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder. Exploring an entirely new set of characters, season two of Tell Me a Story features the stories of three legendary princesses – “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” – like you’ve never seen them before.

“The brilliant Kevin Williamson, brought our favorite fairy tales to life in an anthology format that twisted and subverted the stories we all know into modern thrillers,” said CBS All Access EVP Original Content Julie McNamara. “It has been a privilege to work with such an elite and talented group of creative minds like Kevin, Aaron Kaplan and the team at Kapital Entertainment, as well as the amazing cast of Tell Me A Story, who did a phenomenal job personifying and reinventing beloved characters from these six fairy tales.”

The cast of the first season of Tell Me a Story includes James Wolk, Billy Magnussen, Dania Ramirez, Danielle Campbell, Dorian Missick, Michael Raymond-James, Davi Santos, Sam Jaeger, Zabryna Guevara, with Paul Wesley and Kim Cattrall.

Filmed on location in Nashville, season two of Tell Me a Story stars Paul Wesley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Odette Annable, Eka Darville, Matt Lauria, Natalie Alyn Lind and Ashley Madekwe.

From Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Tell Me a Story is written and executive produced by Kevin Williamson alongside Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. Additional executive producers include Liz Friedlander, who directed and executive produced the first two episodes of Season 1, and Michael Lohmann (Season 2).

Video: Daytime Cares Live Event

(5/10/20) (Video) Daytime television actors past and present came together on Saturday, May 9th for Daytime Cares: A Live Event, a live variety show honoring and uplifting fans during the COVID-19 crisis. Hosted by Daytime Emmy Award winner Laura Wright and The Locher Room host Alan Locher - and presented in partnership with Daytime Cares, a Daytime TV Community spearheaded by Arianne Zucker and Shawn Christian spotlighting non-profit organizations offering COVID-19 support and resources – the show was live-streamed on The Locher Room YouTube Channel and on Facebook. StreamYard.com is sponsoring the event.

George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster & Others Headline All-Star Fundraiser For MPTF’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund

(5/9/20) George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Jodie Foster and Pierce Brosnan headline an all-star fundraiser next week to benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. Hosted by Tom Bergeron and Yvette Nicole Brown, the one-night-only virtual event will stream at 6 p.m. PT May 15 on MPTF’s YouTube page.

The one-hour “We All Play Our Part” salute to Hollywood and its workers also will also include personal stories, music, comedy and messages of thanks from Kris Jenner, Ray Romano, Wanda Sykes, Ken Jeong, Frances Fisher, Joely Fisher, Daisy Fuentes, Taye Diggs, Valorie Kondos Field, Ming-Na Wen, Brad Garrett, Jay Roach, Jay Ellis and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Skyler Day, Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles, Richard Marx, Leslie Odom Jr., Brad Paisley and Rachel Platten are slated to perform.

“We see a need and we fill it” is the MPTF’s motto. “Mary Pickford said this about MPTF in 1921 and it remains true today,” said MPTF president and CEO Bob Beitcher. “MPTF remains fully committed to its mission of helping our entertainment community in their time of need. Today, we are all coming together to support those members of our industry workforce who are experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 related issues.”

In addition to its own Emergency Relief Fund, MPTF also helps administer the COVID-19 relief funds of SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the DGA, Netflix, ViacomCBS, the Comedy Store, Westworld, and Cast & Crew.

Dishing with Digest - 5/8/20 - Wes Ramsey

(5/8/20) (Listen / download) Wes Ramsey talks about his role as GH's Peter, his past on DAYS and GUIDING LIGHT, his real-life romance with Laura Wright (Carly, GH) and more with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also talk about the latest soap news and the pros and cons of soap stars dating.

White Collar's Matt Bomer Confirms 'Real Conversations' About Revival

(5/8/20) (Video) Neal Caffrey is very much plotting a new White Collar con.

“There’s nothing that I would want more than to be on a set with this group of people again,” star Matt Bomer shared during a virtual White Collar reunion on Thursday via the Stars in the House YouTube channel. “There are real conversations happening. There seems to be a lot of excitement about it. What form that takes and how it plays out and whether all the creatives involved can work it out and make it happen is yet to be seen. But we’re all really optimistic and hopeful.”

Buzz about a potential return of the “blue skies” series, which aired from 2009-2014 on USA Network, ignited this week when creator Jeff Eastin tweeted, “Had a great convo with Matt Bomer. We have a plan to bring #WhiteCollar back. So, as Mozzie might say, ‘To quote Steve Harvey, ‘The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.’ It’s time to hustle.” Bomer — who told TVLine in February that he believes the cast would “be there in a heartbeat” for a revival — responded with “????.”

Leading men Bomer and Tim DeKay (who played Peter Burke) were joined on hosts’ Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley’s web show (in support of The Trevor Project) by co-stars Sharif Atkins (Clinton Jones), Hilarie Burton (Sara Ellis), Willie Garson (Mozzie), Marsha Thomason (Diana Berrigan) and Tiffani Thiessen (Elizabeth Burke/Mrs. Suit).

Read on for highlights from the reunion’s reminiscing:

* While Bomer was convinced that DeKay was the guy to play Peter (“It has to be him!” Bomer exclaimed after reading with his scene partner), his own audition process was an “uphill battle” because they originally wanted someone in their forties and British for the role of Neal, Bomer revealed.

* Unlike with some shows, “We were actually all very sad when it ended,” Thiessen admitted.

* Garson confirmed that Mozzie did, indeed, know that Neal was alive at the end of the series. In fact, at his request, a scene was shot of Mozzie walking with a one-way ticket to Paris sticking out of his pocket to make it explicitly clear. Ultimately, producers felt the Queen of Hearts playing card was a big enough hint.

* In Season 1, Bomer wanted to always wear Neal’s ankle bracelet, even if viewers couldn’t see it in the shot. But over time, the device became uncomfortable and frequently fell off. “My dream was, somehow, they would figure out a way to make it my mic pack as well,” Bomer said.

* After a “horrible experience” on a certain teen drama, Burton was “very hesitant to sign on to do anything again,” the actress said. Thankfully, her agent, who also represented Bomer at the time, assured her White Collar was a “really lovely” and “special” place to work. “So I gambled on it, and they completely retaught me how television was supposed to be and what a set was supposed to be like,” Burton shared, adding that it’s her favorite job she’s ever done. “It was healthy [and] loving and really supportive. It has set the bar so high for every other job that’s come after… It took care of me in a way that a job had never taken care of me before.”

* Garson has a black-and-white photo of late co-star Diahann Carroll (aka June Ellington), who died in October 2019, in his home. Awww.

Guiding Light Reunion Chat 5/12/20

(5/7/20) (Watch here) Denise Pence (Katie Parker), Elvera Roussel (Hope Bauer), Michael Tylo (Quint Chamberlin) and Jerry verDorn (Ross Marler) will be live to reminisce about their time on Guiding Light on Tuesday, May 12th at 3:00PM

Video: Guiding Light Santos Family Reunion

(5/7/20) (Video) The Santos Family gets back together to reminisce about their time on Guiding Light. Tune in to see George Alvarez (Father Ray), Joy Lenz (Michelle Bauer Santos), Saundra Santiago (Carmen Santos), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny Santos) and Jordi Vilasuso (Tony Santos)

White Collar Boss Says He and Matt Bomer Have Plans for a Revival

(5/7/20) Calling all White Collar, fans — this is not a drill! We could might actually get a White Collar revival, and honestly, that might make 2020 worth it.

Rumors about the cast being on board for a revival series have been floating around for a while now, but showrunner Jeff Eastin tweeted Wednesday morning that there's now an official plan in place to make it happen!

"Had a great convo with @MattBomer," Eastin tweeted. "We have a plan to bring #WhiteCollar back. So, as Mozzie might say, 'To quote Steve Harvey, 'The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.''It's time to hustle."

Matt Bomer cheekily replied to the tweet with two emojis: The monocle emoji and the crossed fingers emoji. Come on, Bomer, you've got to give us more than that!

https://t.co/ZBiFeJVcyC— Matt Bomer (@MattBomer) May 6, 2020

Obviously, there are very few details about what this plan could be and whether the revival would air on USA, like the original series, or on NBC Universal's upcoming streaming service, Peacock. We're going to keep our eyes peeled for more news about this comeback though, you can be sure of that!

This news comes hot on the heels of the announcement that several members of the main cast, including Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Marsha Thomason, Willie Garson, Sharif Atkins, Tiffani Thiessen, and Hilarie Burton will virtually reunite on the Stars in the House YouTube channel Thursday, May 7 at 8/7c in support of The Trevor Project. Can you imagine if we get a reunion and a revival announcement in the same year? We would truly be blessed!

White Collar is currently streaming on Hulu.

Daytime Cares: A Live Event Scheduled

(5/5/20) Current and former soap stars will come together virtually to hold a special event this Saturday, May 9, at 8p.m. ET. Laura Wright (Carly, GH) will co-host the event, which is being described as a live variety show, with former soap publicist Alan Locher. The event will be spearheaded by Arianne Zucker and Shawn Christian¹s (Nicole and ex-Daniel, DAYS)non-profit organization, Daytime Cares.

The event can be viewed here and in addition to those mentioned above, will feature:

Lamon Archey (Eli, DAYS), Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH), Ian Buchanan (ex-Duke, GH et al), Crystal Chappell (ex-Carly, DAYS et al), James DePaiva (ex-Max, ONE LIFE TO LIVE et al), Kassie DePaiva (ex-Eve, DAYS et al), William deVry (Julian, GH), Chad Duell (Michael, GH), Andrea Evans (ex-Tina, ONE LIFE TO LIVE et al), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah, DAYS), Stacy Haiduk (Kristen, DAYS), Bill Hayes (Doug, DAYS), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie, DAYS), Finola Hughes (Anna, GH), Michael E. Knight (Martin, GH), Kyle Lowder (Rex, DAYS), Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, GH), Sofia Mattsson (Sasha, GH), Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS), Robert Newman (ex-Josh, GUIDING LIGHT), Wes Ramsey (Peter, GH), James Reynolds (Abe, DAYS), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer, DAYS), Scott Reeves (ex-Steven, GH et al), Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH), Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R), Paul Telfer (Xander, DAYS), Heather Tom (Katie, B&B), Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, Y&R), Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH), Maura West (Ava, GH), Josh Swickard (Chase, GH), Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva, GUIDING LIGHT)

Video: Another World Reunion Chat

(4/30/20) (Video) This is for all the Bay City fans. Linda Dano (Felicia Gallant), Stephen Schnetzer (Cass Winthrop), Amy Carlson (Josie Watts Sinclair) and Joe Barbara (Joseph Carlino) will be here to catch up with all of us on Thursday, April 30th at 2PM EST.

Video: Guiding Light Chat 4/29/20

(4/29/20) (Video) Wednesday, April 29th at 3PM (EST) are Crystal Chappell, Jessica Leccia, Michelle Ray Smith, Frank Dicopoulos and E.J. Bonilla

Guiding Light / The Bold & The Beautiful Chat

(4/28/20) The Boudreau Family - Kim Brockington (Felicia), Peter Francis James (Clayton), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Remy) and Yvonna Kopacz Wright (Mel) along with Karla Mosley (Christina Moore) will join us live on Wednesday, May 13th at 3:00PM. (Watch Here)

Another World Reunion 4/30/20

(4/28/20) Former soap publicist Alan Locher has planned another virtual reunion, this time with cast members from ANOTHER WORLD. Linda Dano (ex-Felicia), Stephen Schnetzer (ex-Cass), Amy Carlson (ex-Josie) and Joe Barbara (ex-Joe) are scheduled to participate. You can watch the reunion live on Thursday, April 30 at 2p.m. ET (Watch here).

Dishing with Digest - 4/24/20 - Jordi Vilasuso

(4/24/20) (Listen / download) Jordi Vilasuso talks about his family's battle with the Coronavirus, his Emmy-winning soap start as GUIDING LIGHT's Tony, his stops on ALL MY CHILDREN and DAYS, and his current role as Y&R's Rey with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. Plus, we discuss the latest casting news and May Sweeps preview for GH.

Don’t Miss a Special AS THE WORLD TURNS Reunion with Elizabeth Hubbard and Martha Byrne

(4/23/20) You’re invited to a mother/daughter reunion that you won’t want to miss! Former CBS publicist Alan Locher is putting together another AS THE WORLD TURNS live chat with fans, this time featuring the legendary Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda)! So mark your calendars for Friday, May 1, at 2 p.m. ET and bookmark this link to the live stream on YouTube!

Hubbard had brief stints as Anne on GUIDING LIGHT and Carol on THE EDGE OF NIGHT, then hit it big playing Dr. Althea Davis on THE DOCTORS, earning the very first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Following that soap’s cancelation, the actress played Estelle on ONE LIFE TO LIVE for a bit before joining ATWT in 1984 as high-powered businesswoman Lucinda Walsh. Hubbard will reminisce about her career in daytime, and will also be joined by TV daughter Martha Byrne (Lily/Rose) for a fun-filled afternoon of memories!

Promo: The Story of Soaps

(4/23/20) ABC and People have teamed up for a new special celebrating daytime called THE STORY OF SOAPS, which will air on Tuesday, May 17 at 8p.m. ET. According to the network, the special “explores how no genre of television has laid deeper roots into our cultural consciousness and serialized storytelling than the soap opera.” Featured in the two-hour program are a wide array of current and former actors, key behind-the-scenes players and celebrity fans, including Alec Baldwin (ex-Billy, THE DOCTORS), Genie Francis (Laura, GH), Deidre Hall (Marlena, DAYS), Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS), Eileen Davidson (Ashley, Y&R), B&B Executive Producer/Head Writer Brad Bell, Erika Slezak (ex-Viki, ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Finola Hughes (Anna, GH), John Stamos (ex-Blackie, GH), Laura Wright (Carly, GH), Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) and Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R). For a sneak peek at the special, click here.

Video: Guiding Light / General Hospital Chat April 22

(4/22/20) (Video) This chat features Daniel Cosgrove, Wes Ramsey, Emme Rylan, Cynthia Watros and Laura Wright

GUIDING LIGHT Santos Family Reunion Planned

(4/22/20) Former GUIDING LIGHT publicist Alan Locher will host an online reunion with the actors who comprised the Santos family on the show. Paul Anthony Stewart (ex-Danny), Bethany Joy Lenz (ex-Michelle), Jordi Vilauso (ex-Tony; Rey, Y&R), George Alvarez (ex-Ray) and Saundra Santiago (ex-Carmen), will get together virtually on Wednesday May 6, at 3p.m. ET and can be viewed here.

Video: Guiding Light Chat 4/21/20

(4/21/20) (Video) This Guiding Light chat features Vanessa & Matt (Maeve Kinkead & Kurt McKinney) along with Vanessa's daughter Dinah Marler (Gina Tognoni) and Little Bill Lewis (Bryan Buffinton).

Dishing with Digest - 4/17/20 - Ricky Paull Goldin

(4/17/20) (Listen / download) Ricky Paull Goldin looks back at his early years in show business, his soapy start as ANOTHER WORLD’s Dean, his time on GUIDING LIGHT and ALL MY CHILDREN and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also talk about the latest casting scoop.

New GUIDING LIGHT Reunion Planned

(4/16/20) Former GUIDING LIGHT publicist Alan Locher is hosting a fourth reunion on Wednesday, April 29 at 3 p.m. ET with GL castmates Crystal Chappell (ex-Olivia), Jessica Leccia (ex-Natalia), Michelle Ray Smith (ex-Ava) Frank Dicopoulos (ex-Frank) and E.J. Bonilla (ex-Rafe) scheduled to take part. The reunion can be viewed here.

Video: Guiding Light Chat #2

(4/16/20) (Video) Features GL favorites Grant Aleksander, Beth Chamberlin, Yvonna Kopacz Wright, Michael O'Leary and Tina Sloan.

Guiding Light / General Hospital Chat 4/22/20

(4/12/20) (Watch Here) Don't miss the chance to see Daniel Cosgrove, Wes Ramsey, Emme Rylan, Cynthia Watros and Laura Wright when they join me for a chat on April 22.

Guiding Light Chat 4/15/20

(4/12/20) (Watch Here) Spend the afternoon with some of your GL favorites on April 15 (Grant Aleksander, Beth Chamberlin, Yvonna Kopacz Wright, Michael O'Leary and Tina Sloan).

Vilasuso Recovering From Coronavirus

(4/10/20) (Video) Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, Y&R), his wife Kaitlin, and their daughters Riley and Everly, all tested positive for the Coronavirus. The actor posted an Instagram live story, which can be viewed below, along with the post “So it happened, friends.. Our family got covid-19. We debated sharing this, but finally decided to in the hope of possibly being a source of information or comfort to someone who might be in a similar situation. Please watch the full video. From the bottom of our hearts thank you to every single person on the frontlines risking their lives to keep us safe.. thank YOU for letting us share a part of our life and our family with you. We are beyond grateful that, even in isolation, we all have each other. Stay safe our friends and #stayhomstayhomestayhome #saferathome”

Video: GUIDING LIGHT Reunion!

(4/8/20) (Video) GUIDING LIGHT live chat with Kim Zimmer (Reva), Robert Newman (Josh), Maureen Garrett (Holly), Elizabeth Keifer (Blake), and Jerry verDorn (Ross)

Paige Turco guests on NCIS: New Orleans 4/19/20

(4/7/20) “Predators” – The team investigates the death of a Naval microbiologist whose hobby as a “myth buster” resulted in his death at the hands of a legendary bayou creature. Also, Agent Khoury conducts an investigation into previous actions of Deputy Director Van Cleef, who recently demoted her for misguided allegations that she exhibited poor judgment, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Sunday, April 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: America Olivo (Emily Landau), Jamie Jackson (Vince Boucher), Paige Turco (Linda Pride).

Don’t Miss a Very Special Live GUIDING LIGHT Reunion!

(4/7/20) Some of the stars of GUIDING LIGHT are coming together for a special reunion with fans! And you won’t have to worry if they’re coming to your area or how much the tickets are because it’s all happening online and everyone’s invited! The special live chat will be taking place on Wednesday, April 8, at 3 p.m. ET (one of GL’s original time slots in New York).

If you saw the similar AS THE WORLD TURNS reunion the previous week, you’ll know exactly what you’re in for: Longtime ATWT and GL fan Alan Locher — who also worked in publicity for both soaps — is bringing together some of the soap’s stars for a virtual reunion to reminisce and answer questions from fans. Currently, Kim Zimmer (Reva), Robert Newman (Josh), Maureen Garrett (Holly), Elizabeth Keifer (Blake), and Jerry verDorn (Ross) are all scheduled to participate so you won’t want to miss out!

Get your questions ready and bookmark this link to the live stream so you’ll be able to quickly tune in for the reunion on Wednesday.

Audiobooks Narrated By Soap Stars

(3/30/20) Walk the Wire (Memory Man) by David Baldacci - Read by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL) (Order Here)

Amos Decker the FBI consultant with a perfect memory returns to solve a gruesome murder in a booming North Dakota oil town in the newest thriller in David Baldacci?s New York Times bestselling Memory Man series.

When Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are called to London, North Dakota, they instantly sense that the thriving fracking town is ripe for trouble. The promise of a second gold rush has attracted an onslaught of newcomers all hoping for a windfall, and the community is growing faster than houses can be built. The sudden boom has also brought a slew of problems with it, including drugs, property crimes, prostitution ? and now murder.

Decker and Jamison are ordered to investigate the death of a young woman named Irene Cramer, whose body was expertly autopsied and then dumped in the open ? which is only the beginning of the oddities surrounding the case. As Decker and Jamison dig into Irene?s life, they are shocked to discover that the woman who walked the streets by night as a prostitute was a teacher for a local religious sect by day ? a sect operating on land once owned by a mysterious government facility that looms over the entire community.

London is a town replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders, all determined to keep their secrets from coming out. When other murders occur, Decker will need all of his extraordinary memory and detective skills, and the assistance of a surprising ally, to root out a killer and the forces behind Cramer?s death. . . before the boom town explodes.

'Ozark' Season 3: Tom Pelphrey Joins the Cast as Wendy's Brother, Ben

(3/29/20) Season 3 of Ozark has finally hit Netflix, and it’s bringing new characters into Marty Byrde’s (Jason Bateman) complicated life of crime. One of the new faces this season is actor Tom Pelphrey, who joins the cast as Wendy’s (Laura Linney) brother, Ben.

Who is ‘Ozark’ star Tom Pelphrey and what else has he been in?

Tom Pelphrey is an American actor who started his career in 2004 with the recurring role of Jonathan Randall on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. Around the same time, he appeared on episodes of Numb3rs, Ghost Whisperer, and CSI: Miami.

In 2009, Pelphrey played the recurring role of Mick Dante on one season of As the World Turns. In the following years, the New Jersey native was featured on shows like The Good Wife, Body of Proof, Blue Bloods, The Following, Blindspot, Chicago P.D., and Black Box. in 2015, he portrayed Banshee deputy Kurt Bunker on the Action series, Banshee.

But Pelphrey’s most notable recent role was on Netflix’s Marvel series, Iron Fist. For two seasons, the actor played Danny Rand’s (Finn Jones) childhood friend Ward Meechum.

On ‘Ozark’ Pelphrey play’s Wendy’s brother, Ben

Pelphrey’s character on Ozark, Ben Davis, is a newcomer to the series. In an interview with ET, the actor admitted that he watched the entire first two seasons in one week, and was completely blown away by how “amazing” the show is.

“I really loved the world of it, all the anxiety and the violence and the surprises,” he said. “And yet, I was laughing the entire time as well. I think that’s a very hard balance to strike.”

He also told the outlet that he didn’t know much about his character when he first joined the series. But upon learning he would be playing the role of a bipolar man, he read books about the disorder to prepare.

“It wasn’t until I got down to Georgia to start filming, and a few before my first day of work, Chris Mundy, the showrunner, called me and sort of walked me through what this season would be, what the arc of the season was,” Pelphrey revealed. “He told me that Ben has bipolar disorder, so I thankfully got all that information before we started so I could go and do research and prepare myself and understand where things were going. So, I knew how to play things out.”

What’s in store for Ben and the Byrde’s this season?

On the last season of Ozark, Wendy briefly mentioned that her son, Jonah (Skylar Gaertner), might be like her brother Ben. But other than that, nothing much about the character was revealed.

This season, Ben’s first appears as a substitute teacher who blows up at his class when they share an inappropriate picture of a female classmate. He takes the students’ phones, throws them in a wood chipper, and then attacks its operator.

He later shows up at the Byrde’s casino and announces he’s come to stay with them for a while. But Wendy doesn’t seem thrilled about the unannounced visit. The family’s illegal business isn’t exactly prime for outside eyes, and having Ben in the picture could put them at risk.

Just My Type 3/28/20

(3/28/20) Just My Type - 09:00 PM EST - Hallmark Channel (W in Canada)

TV-movie premiere: When an aspiring novelist (One Tree Hill‘s Bethany Joy Lenz) interviews a reclusive mystery author (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s Brett Dalton), she comes to reevaluate her aspirations — and, yes, her romantic life.

Colleen Zenk & Mark Pinter welcome granddaughter

(3/26/20) Carson Daly and his wife Siri (daughter of Colleen Zenk & Mark Pinter) are celebrating the birth of their baby girl Goldie — posting photos of themselves at the hospital in protective masks.

The TV host said their fourth child arrived on Thursday afternoon as he praised “incredibly brave & selfless” medical staff for working amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He wrote: “Daly Planet Exclusive! Carson & Siri Daly (Hi! That’s us) along with proud siblings Jackson James (11), Etta Jones (7) and London Rose (5) are beyond thrilled to announce the arrival of Goldie Patricia Daly!”

The little girl — whose middle name is after Carson’s beloved late mom Pattie — has already been given the nickname “Go Go,” as Daly said she and mom are “doing great.”

Daly, also the host of NBC hit “The Voice,” added: “The Daly family wants to send a special shout out to the incredibly brave & selfless medical staff at our hospital in New York and also the many courageous people on the front lines of this dreadful virus.”

It appears that Daly was allowed to be with his wife despite strict guidelines over who can be in the room during delivery amid the virus outbreak, and he added: “We thank God not only for the safe birthday of our daughter, but for their tireless work attending to so many in need. It is a bittersweet event for us as we are extremely grateful, but also mindful of this unparalleled time in our history. We appreciate your well wishes and ask that you join us in praying for the many suffering around the world. God bless you all.”

Mom Siri is a regular on “Today” giving her recipe tips.

‘How To Get Away With Murder’: Anne-Marie Johnson To Recur, Cicely Tyson Returning For Final Season

(3/26/20) In Living Color alumna Anne-Marie Johnson is set to recur in the second half of the sixth and final season of ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. In addition, Cicely Tyson will reprise her role as Ophelia Harkness, the mother of Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), when the series returns next week.

Johnson will play Kenda Strauss, Michaela Pratt’s (Aja Naomi King) chic, high-powered defense attorney. This will mark Johnson’s return to Shondaland after appearing on Grey’s Anatomy and the short-lived For the People. Other recent credits include Ava DuVernay’s new OWN series Cherish the Day and the Blumhouse-produced drama Adopt a Highway.

Tyson first appeared as Ophelia, who was diagnosed with dementia, in Season 1 of HTGAWM, a role that has earned the storied actress three Emmy nominations. She also stars on DuVernay’s Cherish the Day and can currently be seen in Tyler Perry’s Netflix film A Fall from Grace.

Johnson is repped by Imperium 7 Talent Agency and Opus Entertainment, while Tyson is with Larry Thompson Entertainment.

How to Get Away with Murder is created and executive produced by Pete Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Stephen Cragg. The show is produced by ABC Studios, a division of Disney Television Studios, which is a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century Fox Television, ABC Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios.

The final six episodes of the series will air Thursdays beginning April 2.

Laura Bell Bundy tests positive for COVID-19

(3/26/20) Actress Laura Bell Bundy has joined the growing list of stars who have contracted COVID-19.

The 38-year-old Broadway favourite and TV star opened up about her battles with the coronavirus during an Instagram video chat with fans on Wednesday, and urged her followers to “please stay home and take care of yourselves”.

“Hey guys, I have tested positive for COVID-19… Do not be alarmed. I am OK,” Laura said. “I am taking everything in stride. I am taking all the nutritional supplements that have been recommended by my doctor and I have been taking herbs for a while as well. What I wanted to do is explain to you some of the symptoms that I have… I believe they’re minor because I have been taking care of myself.”

The actress explained she has been in quarantine since March 12 after suffering a headache and sore throat and immediately turned to an acupuncturist and Chinese medicine doctor for help and advice.

“A few days after that I had what I can only explain as a tightness of my chest and a shortness of breath,” she added.

She took a test on 19 March and discovered she had contracted the potentially deadly bug on Monday after a weekend of no symptoms whatsoever.

“I actually thought that I was delusional for thinking that I had this,” she continued, putting her issues down to allergies or acid reflux.

Laura also revealed her husband has started showing symptoms but their son hasn’t.

She then chatted with followers and fans online and detailed what herbs and medications she is taking to combat the virus.

Idris Elba, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and former Game of Thrones castmates Kristofer Hivju and Indira Varma are among the other actors currently in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Soap Alum John Driscoll Weds

(3/23/20) Clad in his Army dress uniform, John Driscoll (ex-Chance, Y&R; ex-Coop, GUIDING LIGHT), tied the knot with Michele Sager on March 21 in Alexandria, VA. Given the current circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, executing the nuptials was a challenge. “Everything we planned had to be scrapped and redone due to the situation, including our wedding, locations, lists, and timing,” the groom posted. “But, yes, we were able to pull off our wedding!”

‘Cosmic Sin’: Frank Grillo, Luke Wilson & Adelaide Kane Among Cast To Have Joined Bruce Willis In Sci-Fi-Action Movie

(3/23/20) Feature Cosmic Sin, currently in post-production, added main cast before the coronavirus shutdown including Frank Grillo (Captain America), Luke Wilson (Zombieland: Double Tap) and Adelaide Kane (The Purge).

Bruce Willis was previously announced for the sci-if-action pic about a group of warriors and scientists who must fight to protect humanity from a hostile alien species with the power to infect and take over human hosts.

Supporting cast includes WWE star C.J. Perry, Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale) and Brandon Thomas Lee (Sierra Burgess Is A Loser).

Pic is written and directed by Corey Large and Edward Drake (Anti-Life) and produced by Corey Large (It Follows), with Johnny Messner and Stephen Eads serving as executive producers.

The film was launched by sales firm The Exchange at the 2020 EFM and Saban Films previously acquired North American rights.

The Exchange’s EFM line-up included Sundance and Berlinale doc Welcome To Chechnya, Kumail Nanjiani’s The Independent, Peter Dinklage pic The Thicket and Anna Faris title Summer Madness.

Grillo is represented by Management 360, CAA and Paul Hastings. Wilson is repped by CAA and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. Kane is repped by ROAR, The Gersh Agency, Artist Management Australia and Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller & Gellman.

Kevin Bacon Launches ‘6 Degrees’ Campaign To Encourage Social-Distancing

(3/18/20) (Video) Kevin Bacon is offering up a fun and thoughtful way to encourage folks to stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The actor, who has been deemed Hollywood’s most interconnected figure through the concept of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, took to his social platforms today to not only encourage his millions for followers to practice social-distancing but to also share who they are staying home for during the current health crisis.

“Hi, folks. You know me, right? I’m technically only six degrees away from you,” he said in a video posted across the different social platforms.

He continued, “Right now, like people around the world, I’m staying home, because it saves lives and it is the only way we’re going to slow down the spread of this coronavirus. Because the contact that you make with someone, who makes contact with someone else, that may be what makes somebody’s mom or grandpa or wife sick.”

“Every one of us has someone who is worth staying home for,” he said, citing his wife and fellow actor Kyra Sedgwick as his reason to self-isolate. Bacon is asking his followers to post a similar video or photo with the hashtag #IStayHomeFor and tag six other people to follow suit. “The more folks involved, the merrier – We’re all connected by various degrees (Trust me, I know!),” he wrote in the caption.

Brittany Snow marries Tyler Stanaland in outdoor Malibu ceremony

(3/16/20) (Photo) Brittany Snow is off the market.

On Saturday, the “Pitch Perfect” actress, 34, married fiancé Tyler Stanaland in an intimate outdoor ceremony in Malibu, according to The Knot. The couple announced their engagement last February.

“I knew of Britt for obvious reasons,” Stanaland, a real estate agent, previously said of his “unattainable forever crush,” whom he knew through mutual friends. He later made the first move online.

“I sent a direct message with the most embarrassing pickup line. A dad joke,” he told the outlet.

For the big day, Snow wore a Jonathan Simkhai gown with lace sleeves, while Stanaland paired his black tux with Converse, as seen in photos obtained by People. She previously spoke to the publication about wedding must-haves.

“At the end of the day, everyone’s going to remember whether or not they had a good time,” she said at the time. “They’re not going to remember the food or the photo booth … they’re going to remember having the best night of their life, hopefully!”

Roscoe Born's Family Reveals Cause of Death, Calls For More 'Conversations Around Mental Illness'

(3/9/20) The family of soap opera vet Roscoe Born, who died last week at the age of 69, is revealing that the actor’s cause of death was suicide.

“Roscoe has long struggled with bipolar disorder, a shadow that he succumbed to when he took his own life on Tuesday March 3, 2020,” read the family’s statement, which was posted on Facebook. “We are grateful for the outpouring of kind words and memories. We only wish that Roscoe could have seen how much people still carry his daytime villains in their hearts. May his death remind us of the importance of opening up conversations around mental illness. May those who need help seek it. May those who seek help receive it. And may it serve them.”

Born’s myriad daytime-TV roles included Ryan’s Hope‘s Joe Novak, Santa Barbara‘s Robert Barr and Quinn Armitage (for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nod in 1990), All My Children‘s Jim Thomasen, The City‘s Nick Rivers, Passions‘ Warden, The Young and the Restless‘ Tom Fisher and, last but not least, One Life to Life‘s super-nefarious Mitch Laurence.

If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s toll-free number: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Soap Vet Roscoe Born Dead at 69

(3/6/20) Roscoe Born, who brought to life many a memorable character across a decades-long daytime-TV career that spanned shows such as Santa Barbara and One Life to Live, has died at age 69.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Roscoe Born’s passing,” friend and business partner Deanna Lynne shared on the Born Roscoe Songs Facebook page. “He was an incredibly talented actor and songwriter. Many who knew him know how dedicated he was to social and political causes. He will be missed forever.” After starting out his acting career with guest spots on series such as Joe Forrester, The Rockford Files and The Incredible Hulk, Born played reporter Mark Bailey on the ABC primetime sudser Paper Dolls.

From there, he dove into a long run of daytime-TV roles, including Ryan’s Hope‘s Joe Novak, Santa Barbara‘s Robert Barr and Quinn Armitage (for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nod in 1990), All My Children‘s Jim Thomasen, The City‘s Nick Rivers, Passions‘ Warden, The Young and the Restless‘ Tom Fisher and, last but not least, One Life to Life‘s super-nefarious Mitch Laurence.

A cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Frank Grillo and Actress Wendy Moniz Divorce After 19 Years of Marriage

(3/6/20) (people.com) Frank Grillo and Wendy Moniz are calling it quits after nearly two decades of marriage, PEOPLE confirms.

Court documents obtained by PEOPLE list their date of separation as February 21.

Moniz is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their two minor children — Rio Joseph, 10 and Liam, 15. The two also shared Remy, 23, who is from Grillo’s previous marriage to Kathy Grillo.

The couple, who met on the set of the soap opera Guiding Light in the late 1990s, were married on October 28, 2000.

A rep for Grillo has not commented.

According to the LA Times, the pair recently bought a four-bedroom home together in California’s Pacific Palisades in 2017.

Moniz is best known for her work on The Guardian, where she appeared from 2001 to 2004, and on Guiding Light from 1995 to 1999.

She later earned acting credits on Nash Bridges and Damages.

Grillo, best known for his work in the Captain America and Purge franchises, along with the TV series Kingdom and Fight World, will next be seen in Showtime’s Billions and the films Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and Boss Level.

Talk Show Appearance

(3/6/20) The Talk – CBS

Wednesday, March 11

Actress Brittany Snow discusses her new film “Hooking Up”

Talk Show Appearance

(3/6/20) The Talk – CBS

Friday, March 13

actor Taye Diggs guest co-hosts (n)

Horror legend Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next) has wrapped filming on her latest genre feature, Jakob’s Wife, after an under-the-radar shoot in Canton, Mississippi.

(3/4/20) Travis Stevens (Girl On The Third Floor) directed. The project comes from production and sales outfit AMP International, which recently premiered its latest movie, Romola Garai’s Amulet, in Sundance’s Midnight program.

Jakob’s Wife was developed by AMP and Crampton from a script by Mark Steensland, Kathy Charles and Travis Stevens. The story, a supernatural horror, follows a woman in her late 50s who, after a chance encounter with ‘the Master’, discovers a new sense of power, a change that comes with a heavy toll.

Also starring are Larry Fessenden (Stake Land), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Robert Rusler (Weird Science), Sarah Lind (Edgemont), Mark Kelly (Fear the Walking Dead), Nyisha Bell, and Phil Brooks (Girl On The Third Floor).

Producers are Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh from AMP, alongside Barbara Crampton and Travis Stevens. The project was also fully-financed by AMP – the London and Los Angeles company is looking to ramp up production activity in 2020.

The film is a co-production with Mississippi-based Eyevox Entertainment, with Rick Moore from Eyevox serving as executive producer, alongside James Norrie and Nina Kolokouri at AMP. Co-producers are Joe Wicker, Morgan Peter Brown and Kim Barnard.

“I’m thrilled to be able to bring Jakob’s Wife to life with such highly experienced producing partners at AMP International. It’s been wonderful working closely with Bob Portal in developing this amazing project, and reuniting with two of my favorite colleagues in the business, Travis Stevens and Larry Fessenden,” commented Crampton.

“Since making We Are Still Here together, I’ve been looking forward to telling more scary stories with Barbara and Larry. Jakob’s Wife has been a chance for us to dig deep in to the lives of these fictional characters and test them in ways I think genre fans are going to love seeing,” added Stevens.

Producer Portal called the project “a wild ‘marriage’ of talent that’s created such a rollicking, smart, fun genre feast.”

Director Stevens previously acted as a producer on the 2015 Crampton-starring pic We Are Still Here.

AMP’s credits include Anna And The Apocalypse, and the Sam Rockwell-starring Blue Iguana.

Almost Family Cancelled at Fox

(3/2/20) The fertility clinic has officially closed: Fox has cancelled the drama Almost Family after just one season, TVLine has confirmed.

Almost Family starred Timothy Hutton as a famous fertility doctor who used his own sperm to fertilize dozens of patients; Brittany Snow co-starred as the doctor’s daughter, who connected with two of her newfound half-sisters, played by Emily Osment and Megalyn Echikunwoke. The cast also included Mo McRae, Mustafa Elzein and Victoria Cartagena. (The decision by Fox comes as serious allegations have arisen against Hutton, with a woman accusing Hutton and his friend of raping her in 1983.)

The series debuted in October to an underwhelming 2.7 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo, and as its ratings continued to dwindle, it was shipped off to Saturday nights (aka the TV graveyard) in January to air the remainder of its freshman run. Across 13 episodes, it averaged a 0.44 demo rating and 1.53 million total viewers, ranking last in the demo among all Fox programming this TV season while drawing a handful more eyeballs than midseason cartoon Duncanville.

James Lipton, Longtime Host of TV's Inside the Actors Studio, Dead at 93

(3/2/20) James Lipton, best known for his many years as host of the interview series Inside the Actors Studio, died Monday at the age of 93. Per TMZ, Lipton passed away at his home after a battle with bladder cancer.

“There are so many James Lipton stories, but I’m sure he would like to be remembered as someone who loved what he did and had tremendous respect for all the people he worked with,” Lipton’s wife, Kedakai Turner, told TMZ.

Lipton created Inside the Actors Studio in 1994, when it premiered on Bravo. The Q&A program — in which Lipton asked actors in-depth questions about their craft — ran for 22 seasons at that network, before moving to Ovation in 2019. After moderating more than 250 conversations with thespians, Lipton stepped down as host when the show changed networks, and the program is now led by a series of guest hosts.

“It’s very gratifying to see the legacy of Inside The Actors Studio being carried forward for a new generation to appreciate and enjoy,” Lipton said at the time. “I made a vow early on that we would not deal in gossip — only in craft, and Ovation, as a network dedicated to the arts, will continue that tradition with the next seasons of the series.”

Ovation reacted to the news of Lipton’s passing with the following statement: “We celebrate and honor the great legacy of James Lipton. James is beloved around the world for his passion, insight and dedication to the craft of acting. With Inside the Actors Studio, James has created a long-lasting impact on the acting world. Ovation mourns his loss and offers deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.”

Lipton also held guest roles on shows such as Arrested Development, Suburgatory and According to Jim, and he voiced himself on episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Behind the camera, Lipton served as a writer on several projects, including many episodes of Inside the Actors Studio. His credits also included Another World, The Best of Everything and Return to Peyton Place.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/28/20) The Talk – CBS

Thursday, March 5

Actress Nia Long

Talk Show Appearance

(2/28/20) THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW

Mo 3/2: Paul Wesley

FB Live Q&A: Wes Ramsey, Emme Rylan & Kirsten Storms

(2/28/20) FB Live Q&A: Wes Ramsey, Emme Rylan & Kirsten Storms: Video.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/25/20) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Tuesday, March 3: Guests include Kevin Bacon

Peter Hermann Recurs on Blue Bloods 3/13/20

(2/25/20) “The First 100 Days” – Frank and Garrett devise a plan to convince Mayor Chase to work better with others in order to properly run the city, and Danny and Baez try to track down a perp who vandalized several NYPD vehicles with anti-cop graffiti and made threats against officers. Also, Erin is shaken after she’s in a car accident, and Eddie and Jamie argue about whether they should keep a stray dog who leads them to a crime scene, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, March 13 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST includes: Abigail Hawk (Abigail Baker), Steven Schirripa (Anthony Abetamarco), Peter Hermann (Jack Boyle).

Nia Long To Executive Produce & Star In ‘Dreams of the Moon’ Drama

(2/22/20) Nia Long is set to star in Dreams of the Moon, a film that’s inspired by a true story from Inner City Films. Long will also serve as an executive producer on the project, which is being directed by Alfons Adetuyi (Love Jacked). In addition, Eden Duncan-Smith, from the Netflix and Spike Lee-produced film See You Yesterday, will also star.

Set in 1971 against the backdrop of the secret NASA Apollo 16 training mission, the indie tells the story of an African-American teenage girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut in her small mining town.

Denis Foon penned the screenplay. Inner City Films and Spier Films are producing the pic, which is slated to begin shooting this April in South Africa. This will mark the second collaboration between the two companies, which previously teamed on romantic comedy Love Jacked, starring Amber Stevens West, Shamier Anderson, Mike Epps, and David Keith. It’s currently available to stream on Netflix.

Adetuyi and Michael Auret are the producers while Cora Tonno, Gary Shapiro, and Lisa di Michele are executive producers alongside Long.

Long will soon be seen on the big screen in the long-awaited Apple TV+ film The Banker. She just wrapped production on Fatal Affair for Netflix, in which she is serving as both star and producer on the film.

Karla Mosley Previews Her New Musical, ‘Found’

(2/20/20) (soapsindepth.com) (Video) Although fans of THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL don’t see much of Karla Mosley as Maya on the soap lately, those who live in the Los Angeles area can catch the talented actress on stage in the new musical comedy, Found! “It’s based off these found notes and letters that people find and send into this magazine,” Mosley explained to Soaps In Depth. “The musical is based off the text of those letters but also follows the journey of the founder of the magazine. There’s a little love story thrown in there as well. I play, in a very soapy way, the third member of the love triangle.”

Mosley plays the role of Becka McNeil, a Los Angeles agent who tries to get the guys to turn their underground magazine that compiles these random notes and letters into something bigger, and in the process gets romantically involved with the founder, played by Jonah Platt. “The show is very much an ensemble show, so in addition to the ‘core four,’ there’s this amazing ensemble of people from the Groundlings and improv and all kinds of hysterical television shows. So there’s this whole other really funny and heartwarming and often heart-wrenching narrative going and they represent all of the ‘finds.’ They get to do a lot of the dancing. Unfortunately, I am sort of the ‘straight’ person and I’m sad about that because I love to dance. But I do get some really wonderful singing moments, so that’s great.”

The actress is thrilled to be back on stage again, admitting that it’s been a while since the birth of her daughter, Aurora, back in August of 2018. “The last full stage show I did was when I was pregnant with her,” Mosley recalled. “I haven’t done a musical since I can’t remember when. I did a Dreamgirls concert last spring, but that was a quick and dirty thing. The last time I did a fully staged, rehearsed musical was seven to 10 years ago. So it’s really fun!”

You can watch Mosley and the rest of the talented cast take the stage and act out the content of the weird, wonderful, funny, and heartbreaking real-life notes while telling their story at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Found officially opens on Feb. 20 with performances running on weekends until Saturday, Mar. 23. Tickets for all shows are $35 and for more information and to purchase tickets, you can call 323-380-8843 or visit www.iamatheatre.com.

Hayden Panettiere BF Arrested for Dom. Violence Again ... Allegedly Punched Her

(2/18/20) Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend's been hauled off to jail again for allegedly putting hands on her -- this time in Wyoming ... on Valentine's Day.

The ex-"Nashville" star's BF, Brian Hickerson, was arrested around 2:30 AM on Valentine's Day, after the couple had a fight and he struck her "with a closed fist on the right side of her face" ... according to cops.

The Teton County Sheriff's Office was notified of a disturbance at a private residence in Jackson. The caller said an intoxicated male was locked out of the home because he punched his girlfriend in the face.

When deputies arrived, they found Brian in the driveway, and according to docs obtained by TMZ ... he allegedly told them Hayden was in the house "saying he beat the f*** out of me." Cops say he avoided answering if he had punched Hayden, but claimed he hired a private chef to stick around so he "wouldn't be accused of bulls**t."

Cops talked to the chef on the phone, and he said he left a little after 1 AM -- but claims he witnessed the couple arguing earlier in the night.

According to the docs, Hayden told cops she and Brian were in their bedroom when he started throwing her around and punched her. Cops say her face was red and swollen, and she also had a scrape and swelling on her left hand -- which she believed came from Hickerson's watch during the altercation.

The deputies heard enough to book Hickerson for domestic battery. He was also hit with a second charge of interfering with a police officer for allegedly refusing to identify himself.

When we last spoke with Hayden in November, she told us everything was well between Brian and her -- intimating they'd moved past his felony domestic violence arrest earlier in 2019.

We broke the story ... the couple allegedly got into an altercation at their L.A. home that left red marks on Hayden's body, and police arrested Brian for it. However, the case was later dismissed for not being able to secure a "material witness" -- AKA, Hayden.

Hickerson was also involved in a domestic incident in late 2018 ... with his father. Hayden was there for that one too. She's been dating Brian for about a year and a half.

Reach High Media Group Will Celebrate Retro Day 2020 By Releasing Subscriber-Based Interactive Platform For The Doctors

(2/18/20) Reach High Media Group invites fans of the iconic soap opera The Doctors to join them in celebrating National Retro Day 2020 on Feb. 27 with the debut of WatchTheDoctors.com, the subscriber-based, video-on-demand platform which includes interactive experiences dedicated to the classic series.

With the new platform launch, WatchTheDoctors and Reach High Media Group television network Retro TV will be the exclusive homes of the beloved daytime drama.

Joel Wertman, president of Reach High Media Group says, “Streaming options give us the opportunity to engage our audience more than ever before.

Our fans have the ability to watch, share and interact with the programming that they love in new, exciting ways.”

Beginning Feb. 27, viewers can subscribe online at WatchTheDoctors.com, through OTT (over-the-top) devices like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and through their Android or iOS App Store. Subscriptions will include hosted trivia games on Wednesday and Saturday nights that will create opportunities to unlock exclusive original interview content.

Set in the fictional New England city of Madison, The Doctors was known for featuring cutting-edge storylines and received 17 Emmy Award nominations. The series ran for 20 seasons with cast alums including Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), daytime stars Kim Zimmer (Guiding Light) and Anna Stuart (Another World), Ted Danson (Cheers), Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married) and Emmy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Hubbard (As the World Turns).

Ruth Wilson & Matt Bomer To Star In AIDS Activism Drama ‘The Book Of Ruth’ From Tony-Nominated Director Michael Arden & Independent – EFM

(2/17/20) Ruth Wilson and Matt Bomer are attached to lead The Book Of Ruth, a feature based on the true story of Ruth Coker Burks, a devout Christian divorcée and single mother from Arkansas who became a champion and caregiver for AIDS sufferers in 1980s America.

Michael Arden, the two-time Tony Award nominated theater director who landed both those noms before the age of 35, will helm the pic, his feature film debut.

The screenplay comes from Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham, whose 2019 script Betty Ford appeared on the Blacklist and was optioned by Ryan Murphy with Sarah Paulson attached.

Set in 1983, Ruth Coker Burks (Wilson) lives a busy life, devoted to her work, her six-year-old daughter Jessica, and her faith. When a handsome new neighbor (Bomer) turns out to be a gay New-Yorker who has fled the City and returned home after the death of his partner to AIDS, she decides to educate herself on the epidemic sweeping the country.

Scott LaStaiti, Dominic Tighe and Thomas Daley will produce. Cora Palfrey and Sarah Lebutsch will serve as Executive Producers. Shoot is scheduled to happen this year.

London-based Independent Film Sales will introduce the project to buyers at this week’s EFM in Berlin, with North American sales handled by CAA.

Director Arden said of the project: “It’s a great honor and privilege to tell this important story about the responsibility one human has to another, especially in a time of crisis. As a gay man, I feel that Ruth’s story of empathy in the face of great prejudice and adversary is one so needed in our modern time.”

“It is vital for us to remember that we lost an entire generation to the AIDS epidemic and that so many people, including Ruth, sacrificed their own comfort, station and livelihood to help those in need during this plague,” he added.

“This female-led story tells us that out of the deepest darkness can come the brightest light and the work of Ruth Coker Burks is a constant reminder of all that is best about humanity,” commented the producers.

“The Book Of Ruth is taking a look at recent history, showing us what a person can achieve if they put their prejudices aside and do the right thing. It is a truly inspirational story that buyers and audiences undoubtedly will respond to,” aded Sarah Lebutsch, Independent’s head of sales.

Wilson is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Troika and Relevant.

Bomer is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content, Viewpoint and Steve Warren at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.

Dishing with Digest - 2/7/20 - Robert Newman

(2/7/20) (Listen / download) Robert Newman shares his GUIDING LIGHT memories, reflects on the success of Josh and Reva, how he handled the show's cancellation and more with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also take a look at the great soap couples of all time.

Vincent Irizarry to grand marshal neighborhood Easter parade

(2/6/20) (lakewood.advocatemag.com) Soap star Vincent Irizarry will be the grand marshal at this year’s Newellian Easter parade, bringing some celebrity notoriety to the neighborhood tradition.

The actor got his start in daytime television in the early 1980s with a recurring role in “Guiding Light.” Since then, he’s gone on to star in just about every soap opera you can think of: “One Life to Live,” “The Young and the Restless,” “All My Children,” “Days of Our Lives” and most recently “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Irizarry is friends with neighbor Belynda Ortiz. When she told him about the parade, he expressed interest and agreed to serve as the grand marshal.

“It was that easy,” parade organizer Liz Simmons said.

Irizarry joins only a handful of celebrity grand marshals who have participated in the parade. In the past, Texas icon Kinky Friedman—a singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, defender of stray animals and former Texas Monthly columnist—led the parade route.

“It’s a show up and do-your-thing event,” Simmons said. “I never know what we’re going to get. There’s no rules. It’s very creative and totally fun.”

The parade, in its 15th year, will start at 3 p.m. April 12.

Actress And Former Guiding Light Star Tina Sloan Releases Debut Novel

(2/3/20) (Chasing Cleopatra) Former Guiding Light actress Tina Sloan brings tales of dangerous and devilish romance off the small screen and into the pages of her debut novel, Chasing Cleopatra: A Novel of Love, Betrayal and Suspense.

Chasing Cleopatra follows Cleopatra "Cleo" Gallier, a gorgeous local TV host in her mid-40s, who is no longer afraid to go after what she wants. This leads to a fast-paced and intimate affair with the much-younger Jake Regan. Jake and his family are staying on the same Hawaiian island for the holidays where Cleo lives, and she soon finds herself entangled with the whole family in order to stay close to Jake-including Jake's controlling and adoring mother Miranda, his naïve and charming girlfriend Julia who is anxiously awaiting an engagement ring, and the mysterious Tripp, Jake's father, whose work as a CIA agent could put his whole family in jeopardy.

Little do the Regans know, Cleo is the perfect asset to help keep them safe. A secretly trained Krav Maga fighter, she gets pulled into joining Tripp's classified CIA mission that, if blown, could cause a national tragedy on Christmas Day. As tensions flare between Cleopatra and the Regans, secrets are exposed that will not only test their trust in one another but will reveal what it truly means to love with its heart-racing and heart-stopping twists and turns. Sloan's scandalous and suspenseful writing style, mimicked from her film and soap-opera past, makes Chasing Cleopatra a must-have for book clubs as the guilty-pleasure book of the season.

"Tina Sloan creates the perfect cocktail of spy thriller and romance in Chasing Cleopatra," says Danielle Paige, New York Times Bestselling author of the Dorothy Must Die series. "Equal parts sexy and intriguing, Sloan's mystery keeps you breathless and guessing until the very last page."

Get your copy here: amazon.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tina Sloan is best known for her 26-year-role on CBS's soap opera Guiding Light and as the author of Changing Shoes: Getting Older - Not Old - with Style, Humor and Grace, based on her autobiographical one-woman show. Some of Sloan's most notable on-screen appearances include roles in Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, Celebrity, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, The Brave One, Changing Lanes, The Guru, People I Know, and Black Swan. Her latest projects include being part of an all-star cast on the soap web series Beacon Hill and Venice, and she continues to be a sought-after speaker. She divides her time between Florida and Maryland with her husband of 44 years, where they enjoy time with their son, his wife and 2 grandchildren.

Former Head Of CBS Daytime Fred Silverman Dies

(1/30/20) Fred Silverman, the legendary television producer and executive behind such groundbreaking shows as All in the Family, Soap and Hill Street Blues, and the only executive to creatively run CBS, ABC and NBC, died Thursday at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was 82.

Silverman’s knack for identifying hit shows in the making and programming them into memorable primetime nights led Time magazine to crown him “The Man with the Golden Gut” in 1977.

Born on September 13, 1937, in New York City, Silverman’s master’s thesis at Ohio State University examined ABC’s television programming. He started his career at WGN-TV in Chicago and WPIX in New York City. The young Silverman so impressed the top executives at CBS that he was named head of CBS daytime programming at 25.

At CBS, Silverman was responsible for a new wave of highly popular shows, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Good Times, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Kojak, Cannon, The Jeffersons, and the animated series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Additionally, he reintroduced game shows to the network’s daytime slate, including The Price is Right, which remains on air today.

After a successful run at CBS, he was named President of ABC Entertainment. He greenlit hit series including The Love Boat, Laverne & Shirley, Family, Donny & Marie, Three’s Company, Eight is Enough, The Bionic Woman, and Good Morning America. He reinvented the television miniseries with the highly rated Peabody and Emmy-award winning Roots. Under his watch, ABC quickly moved from third to first place in the network ratings wars.

In 1978, joined NBC as President. There he greenlit Hill Street Blues, supervised the launch of the miniseries Shogun, and gave David Letterman his first series as a host. He scheduled series including The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, Gimme a Break!, and Real People, and he also was credited with revitalizing NBC’s news division.

After decades as a television executive, Silverman turned his attention to production. He moved to Los Angeles to begin his own production company, quickly producing multiple hits, including the revival of Perry Mason as a TV movie series, Matlock, Diagnosis: Murder, Jake and the Fatman, and In the Heat of the Night, which won the 1990 NAACP Image Award for Best Dramatic Series.

In 1995, Silverman received the Women in Film Lucy Award, which recognizes excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1999.

Silverman loved television—as a medium and as a profession. At the age of 21, he applied for his first job in television stating: “That an employee in the industry should treat his job, not just as a means of earning a living, but as a challenge, always looking to better that which has been done in the past; most important of all, such an individual must have a sincere interest and love for the profession.”

Silverman is survived by his wife, Cathy, their two children Melissa and Billy, and his daughter-in-law, Anna. A private service will be held for immediate family and a celebration of his life will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in his name to the Motion Picture & Television Fund (https://mptf.com/tributegift/) for emergency medical assistance.

Stars Remember Marj Dusay

(1/29/20) Stars took to social media to remember Marj Dusay (ex-Alexandra, GUIDING LIGHT et al), who passed away at the age of 83.

On-screen son, Vincent Irizarry (ex-Lujack/Nick, GL) posted, “Honestly, not enough words for me to share my love and respect for, and sadness in the passing of our now late, great Marj Dusay. She was a force of nature as an actress, courageously pulling out all stops in whatever role she was gracing us with. Not only did she play my mother on two different shows, 2 very different characters, but in one of those shows she was brought in to replace the ever brilliant, incomparable Beverlee McKinsey when she left the role of Alexandra Spaulding on GL; a feat practically no other actress could have been able to accomplish. But Marj was never just any other actress, as she proved by making the role her own; doing so while sharing her dynamic brilliance with us as well… I reached out to her a couple months back, having heard that she was having a difficult time with some physical challenges as of late. I’m grateful to have heard her voice one last time, to have heard her infectious laughter one last time…

RIP darling Marj. Your gift was our blessing.” Ron Raines (ex-Alan, GL) tweeted, “Heartbroken by the loss of my dear friend and colleague Marj Dusay. Marj was a dear friend to me and I will miss her greatly. I, with a couple of other GL colleagues, visited her last year here in New York and we all had a wonderful visit. She was, as always, in terrific spirits And made us laugh a lot. We all talked of specific memories we shared with her while on set. Marj lived with much physical pain the last decades of her life however, and this is what’s amazing, she never complained. I will miss her and glad she is pain free now.

RIP dear Marj.” Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) wrote, “HUGELY TALENTED & Stunning looking #MarjDusay When she stepped on a set everything was better because she showed up-Classy & impeccable-never stuck on herself-A wonderful human being RIP.”

Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian, GL) tweeted, “Lost the wonderful Marj Dusay aka Alexandra Spaulding. Great actress. Great woman. She will be very missed. RIP MARJ.”

Carrie Genzel (ex-Skye, ALL MY CHILDREN) tweeted, “I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of #MarjDusay. We had mutual friends in NYC and she was always so welcoming and wonderful to me. My heart goes out to her friends and family, and,her many fans who appreciated her on and off camera.”

Lisa Whelchel (Blair on The Facts Of Life): Just heard about the passing of Marj Dusay who played Blair’s mom, Monica Warner. She was absolutely perfect for the part, a seasoned actress and a delightful woman. It was a privilege to call her Facts of Life family.

Soap Opera Vet Marj Dusay Dead at 83

(1/29/20) Veteran soap opera actress Marj Dusay, whose long list of daytime-TV credits included stints on Guiding Light, Santa Barbara, All My Children and Days of Our Lives, has died. She was 83.

During Dusay’s decades-long daytime career, she established herself as one of the industry’s most reliable recasts. Dusay made her suds debut in 1983 when she replaced Carolyn Jones as Washington, D.C. matriarch Myrna Clegg on CBS’ Capitol. Following that show’s cancellation in 1987, Dusay jumped to NBC’s Santa Barbara, where she took over the role of Mason Capwell’s mentally unstable mother Pamela from actress Shirley Ann Field. In 1993, she temporarily filled in for Louise Sorel as villainess Vivian Alamain on NBC’s Days of Our Lives, after which she succeeded Beverlee McKinsey as Alexandra Spaulding CBS’ Guiding Light, a role she played on and off from 1993 to 2009 and one that earned her a 1995 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress.

It was in 1999 that Dusay finally originated her first soap role when she was cast as the evil Vanessa Bennett (mother to (Josh Duhamel’s Leo and Vincent Irizarry’s David) on ABC’s All My Children. She exited the soap in 2002.

Prior to making a name for herself in the soap world, Dusay made frequent guest appearances in primetime, most memorably on the original Star Trek (as alien Kara) and The Facts of Life (as Blair’s mother Monica).

Barbara Garrick guests on Bull 2/10/20

(1/27/20) “Quid Pro Quo” – Bull is hired by a doctor, Samir Shadid (Babak Tafti), who’s accused by the Manhattan U.S. attorney of bribing his way into college, just as Bull’s ex-wife, Isabella (Yara Martinez), is due to give birth. As Bull waits for Izzy to go into labor, he contends with the trial’s national news, due to its connection to a high-profile college admissions conspiracy case, on BULL, Monday, Feb. 10 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Babak Tafti (Dr. Samir Shadid), Rebecca Wisocky (AUSA Lambert), Barbara Garrick (Cara Sutherland).

Paul Wesley Returns to The CW to Direct an Episode of Batwoman

(1/21/20) Paul Wesley is headed back to The CW, but, unfortunately for The Vampire Diaries fans, he still isn't gonna grace the screen for Legacies. In fact, his insanely chiseled jaw will be nowhere near Mystic Falls, as the actor is instead stepping in to direct an upcoming episode of Batwoman.

Wesley will helm an upcoming of the Arrowverse newbie, but not too much is known about his episode yet. The actor-director revealed the cover of the script for his episode in an Instagram story on Monday morning, but the episode number and title were covered with a geotag for Vancouver where Batwoman is shot.

What we do know is Wesley is already an accomplished TV director. He previously directed episodes of The Vampire Diaries (starting in Season 5), as well as Legacies, Shadowhunters, and Roswell, New Mexico. So, we'd bet his episode of DC's Gotham based superhero show will be quite a delight.

Batwoman recently returned after a big mid-season twist in which it was revealed that Kate's (Ruby Rose) sister Beth (Rachel Skarsten) both is and is not the villain fans have been waiting for. Beth is actually Beth and Alice, twins who've been forging their own path in Gotham, just on opposite sides of the law. Will Kate be able to reunite her long lost family? Only time — and maybe Paul Wesley — will tell.

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

Orlagh Cassidy on Bull 1/20/20

(1/14/20) “Behind the Ivy” – Chunk’s friend, Reggie (Don Guillory), an elite boarding school’s counselor, asks Bull to help the parents of an athletic scholarship student bring a wrongful death suit against the school after the teen dies suddenly while training, on BULL, Monday, Jan. 20 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Don Guillory (Reggie Baumann), Orlagh Cassidy (Lisbeth Mosley)

Matt Bomer, Zoë Kravitz added as Golden Globes presenters

(1/3/20) The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is rolling out its list of presenters for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, announcing big names including Kit Harington, Zoë Kravitz and Christian Bale on Friday.

The HFPA also announced the addition of Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Jason Bateman, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Bomer, Helen Mirren, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Gwyneth Paltrow, Wesley Snipes, Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

These stars join the previously announced group of presenters including Charlize Theron, Octavia Spencer, Daniel Craig, Sofia Vergara, Kerry Washington, Tiffany Haddish, Glenn Close, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon and Ted Danson.

Ricky Gervais is set to host the show, which will air on NBC on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Dishing with Digest - 12/27/19 - Kassie DePaiva

(12/27/19) (Listen / download) Kassie DePaiva traces her soap roots from GUIDING LIGHT’s Chelsea to ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Blair to DAYS OF OUR LIVES’s Eve with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss the big stories for 2020.

Judi Evans Thanks Fans For Support After Tragic Loss

(12/24/19) Judi Evans (Adrienne, DAYS) tweeted to thank fans for supporting her in the wake of the untimely death of her son, Austin Michael Luciano, on December 13 at the age of 23. “I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of love and support and prayers….,” she posted. “[Husband] Michael and I have been very touched and uplifted. Much love to all…..” Our deepest condolences to Evans and her family.

Ian Ziering I'll Pay Spousal Support But She Needs to Get a J-O-B!!!

(12/19/19) Ian Ziering's willing to do a little horse-trading in his divorce ... he says he'll help out his estranged wife financially for a bit, but then she's gotta get a job.

The '90210' star just filed a response in his divorce case and, according to docs, Ian says he's down to pay Erin Ziering "reasonable spousal support for a limited period of time," but he's also requesting "an order that [Erin] become self-supporting."

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Ian's also asking for joint legal and physical custody of their 2 minor daughters. Erin has asked for sole physical custody when she filed divorce papers. Translation -- it's acrimonious.

There a discrepancy on the date of separation -- Erin listed October 31 while Ian listed October 14. As we reported ... Ian announced back in October he's splitting from Erin after 9 and a half years of marriage.

Erin had said Ian asked multiple times for a divorce. So, she's giving it to him.

‘Billions’: Frank Grillo To Recur In Season 5 Of Showtime Series

(12/17/19) Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War) is set for a recurring role on the upcoming fifth season of Billions, Showtime’s drama series starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. Season 5 is in production in New York and will premiere on the network in 2020.

Created by executive producers/showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien, along with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Season 4 of Billions saw former enemies Bobby Axelrod (Lewis) and Chuck Rhoades (Giamatti), and Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff), the chief counselor to each, come together to form an uneasy but highly effective alliance, aimed at the eradication of all their rivals. They include Grigor Andolov (guest star John Malkovich), Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), Bryan Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore) and Waylon “Jock” Jeffcoat (guest star Clancy Brown).

Grillo will recur as Nico Tanner, a modern artist.

David Costabile, Condola Rashad, Kelly AuCoin and Jeffrey DeMunn also star. Julianna Marguiles and Corey Stoll will guest star in Season 5.

Grillo is known for his roles as villain Crossbones in Captain America: Civil War, Sergeant Leo Barnes in The Purge films Anarchy and End of Watch and Brock Rumlow in Avengers: End Game. He played the lead role in Audience Network’s Kingdom and also produced and starred in the documentary series Fight World. His latest film, Hell On The Border, opened December 13 and will soon be followed by The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Grillo is repped by CAA.

Cynthia Watros Opens up About Her Return to Daytime

(12/15/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Actress Cynthia Watros may have been a bit nervous when she tapped in as GENERAL HOSPITAL's new Nina in early 2019… but mostly, she was just buzzing with excitement. “I feel like a 20-year-old back in soaps,” grinned the actress, who won the 1998 Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for taking GUIDING LIGHT’s Annie over the edge. “I remember my first days! I was with Kim Zimmer (Reva) in the rehearsal room. She’d been on the show for a long time, and I was new and I was yelling my lines. She was like, ‘Excuse me, can someone tell this actress not to act so early in the morning!’”

When Watros talked to Soaps In Depth a few days before taping her first scenes as Nina, she knew she’d have to keep herself in check at GH, for fear of regressing to that green, soap opera novice. “I feel like I’m going to be that again,” she chuckled at the time, “so I’ve got to tone it down!”

SAG Awards Nominations

(12/12/19) The Screen Actors Guild Award Winners will be revealed in a ceremony January 19 live on TNT and TBS.

MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BOMBSHELL
CONNIE BRITTON / Beth Ailes
ALLISON JANNEY / Susan Estrich
NICOLE KIDMAN / Gretchen Carlson
JOHN LITHGOW / Roger Ailes
MALCOLM McDOWELL / Rupert Murdoch
KATE McKINNON / Jess Carr
MARGOT ROBBIE / Kayla Pospisil
CHARLIZE THERON / Megyn Kelly

THE IRISHMAN
BOBBY CANNAVALE / Skinny Razor
ROBERT DE NIRO / Frank Sheeran
STEPHEN GRAHAM / Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano
HARVEY KEITEL / Angelo Bruno
AL PACINO / Jimmy Hoffa
ANNA PAQUIN / Older Peggy Sheeran
JOE PESCI / Russell Bufalino
RAY ROMANO / Bill Bufalino

JOJO RABBIT
ALFIE ALLEN / Finkel
ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS / Jojo
SCARLETT JOHANSSON / Rosie
THOMASIN McKENZIE / Elsa
STEPHEN MERCHANT / Deertz
SAM ROCKWELL / Capt. Klenzendorf
TAIKA WAITITI / Adolf
REBEL WILSON / Fraulein Rahm

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
AUSTIN BUTLER / Tex
JULIA BUTTERS / Trudi
BRUCE DERN / George Spahn
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Rick Dalton
DAKOTA FANNING / Squeaky Fromme
EMILE HIRSCH / Jay Sebring
DAMIAN LEWIS / Steve McQueen
MIKE MOH / Bruce Lee
TIMOTHY OLYPHANT / James Stacy
AL PACINO / Marvin Schwarz
LUKE PERRY / Wayne Maunder
BRAD PITT / Cliff Booth
MARGARET QUALLEY / Pussycat
MARGOT ROBBIE / Sharon Tate

PARASITE
HYAE JIN CHANG / Chung Sook
YEO JEONG CHO / Yeon Kyo
WOO SHIK CHOI / Ki Woo
HYEON JUN JUNG / Da Song
ZISO JUNG / Da Hye
JUNG EUN LEE / Moon Gwang
SUN KYUN LEE / Dong Ik
MYUNG HOON PARK / Geun Se
SO DAM PARK / Ki Jung
KANG HO SONG / Ki Taek

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

CHRISTIAN BALE / Ken Miles – “FORD v FERRARI”
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Rick Dalton — “ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD”
ADAM DRIVER / Charlie Barber – “MARRIAGE STORY”
TARON EGERTON / Elton John – “ROCKETMAN”
JOAQUIN PHOENIX / Arthur Fleck – “JOKER”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

JAMIE FOXX / Walter McMillian – “JUST MERCY”
TOM HANKS / Fred Rogers – “A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”
AL PACINO / Jimmy Hoffa – “THE IRISHMAN”
JOE PESCI / Russell Bufalino – “THE IRISHMAN”
BRAD PITT / Cliff Booth – “ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD

ABC's Live All in the Family Stars Return for Holiday Encore — Justina Machado, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Eisenberg Join Cast

(12/12/19) ABC on Wednesday announced that Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz will reprise their respective roles as Archie, Edith, Gloria and “Meathead” in its holiday-themed Live in Front of a Studio Audience special (airing Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8/7c). They will be joined by new cast members Kevin Bacon, Jesse Eisenberg and Justina Machado in as-yet-specified roles.

As reported in November, the second edition of Studio Audience will feature episodes of Norman Lear’s All in the Family and Good Times. Casting for Good Times will be revealed at a later date (though soon, let’s hope!).

Eisenberg previously appeared opposite Harrelson in two film franchises (Zombieland and Now You See Me), while Machado — who was supposed to play The Jeffersons’ maid Florence in the first Studio Audience special, but was replaced by surprise guest star/original portrayer Marla Gibbs — currently stars in Lear’s One Day at a Time reboot.

ABC has not yet confirmed which episodes of All in the Family and Good Times will be recreated as part of the broadcast. The former sitcom did multiple Christmas installments — including, but limited to: Season 2’s “Christmas Day at the Bunkers'” (which featured Louise, Lionel and Henry Jefferson), Season 4’s “Edith’s Christmas Story” (in which Edith had a breast cancer scare) and Season 7’s “The Draft Dodger” (in which Mike’s draft-dodging friend David attended Christmas dinner). Good Times, meanwhile, celebrated Christmas on three occasions — though only one of those outings occurred before the exit of original series star John Amos (Season 2’s “Sometimes There’s No Bottom in the Bottle”).

Airing on May 22, the first Live in Front of a Studio Audience special averaged 10.4 million total viewers and a 1.8 demo rating, dominating the night in both measures while giving ABC its most watched season-ending Wednesday in 12 years. It was nominated for three Emmy awards and took home the statue for Outstanding Variety Special.

Bonnie Dennison Welcomes Twin Sons

(12/11/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) (Photo1, Photo2) Congratulations to daytime alum Bonnie Dennison (Daisy, GUIDING LIGHT) and husband Michael Badger Denehy on the birth of their twin sons, Artie and Louie! "This is Artie and Louie, one week old today," the proud mom gushed on Instagram with an adorable shot of the boys before joking: "Best Cyber Monday BOGO deal ever."

Dad shared another shot of the twins sleeping cozily with their initials printed on caps for easy identification. "Welcome to the world, Artie and Louie!" he exclaimed. "Born 12/2, 5 lb. 11 oz., and 5 lb. 9 oz. Mom is happy and healthy — Dad is a functional mess. Still not sure if they are identical yet but looking very alike!"

Soap fans remember Dennison from her run as GL's Susan "Daisy" Lemay, a character she took over in 2007 and played until the end of the long-running CBS sudser in 2009. Since then, she has appeared in primetime series like UGLY BETTY, NCIS, and TRAINING DAY as well as on the big screen in films like Bombshell, but with twin boys to raise, Mom will likely become her full-time job for a while!

Talk Show Appearance

(12/8/19) GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke - ABC

AIRING Dec 9, 2019

Actress Brittany Snow

‘The Bay’s Kristos Andrews, Vivica A. Fox & Michael Copon Set For ‘yA’ Spinoff In The Works By Lany Entertainment

(12/6/19) yA (working title), a spinoff of Amazon’s multiple Emmy-winning digital daytime drama series The Bay, which is in development from original series creator Gregori J. Martin, former General Hospital showrunner Wendy Riche and producer LANY Entertainment, is rounding out its cast.

Co-written by Martin and Riche, the coming of age young adult series will follow teens Frankie Sanders and Regan Sanders (played by twins, Bianca D’Ambrosio and Chiara D’Ambrosio) as they relocate to sunny California and a sometimes cruel new social environment of Bay City High. Crossing over from The Bay season 1 are series star Kristos Andrews as Pete Garrett, Vivica A. Fox (Empire, Independence Day) as Dr. Angela Foster, and Michael Copon (One Tree Hill, Power Rangers) as Officer Colton Kurosaki.

The series regular cast of the spinoff also will include Dante Aleksander, who plays Xander Castro, with newcomers Damoni Burkhardt, Logan Garretson, Brady Gentry, Tyler C. Lofton, and Bella Martinez. Several social media influencers will recur throughout the season, including Tessa Brooks as resident mean girl Evelyn, and Indiana Massara as troubled teen Lindsay.

Cast also includes Melrose Place alum Jamie Luner, Ian Buchanan (Twin Peaks), Galadriel Stineman (Until Dawn), Mark Famiglietti (Terminator 3), Eltony Williams (Tyler Perry’s If Loving You is Wrong), Jacob Young (Bold & the Beautiful), Fiona Hutchison (One Life to Live) and Alla Korot (Grimm), and as previously reported, Wanda De Jesus (Sons of Anarchy) and Devious Maids’ Gilles Marini.

Other season 1 recurring/guest stars include Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th) as the school security guard Pooch, Emmy winner Brad Maule (General Hospital) as Mr. Ford, Eileen Fogerty (Better Call Saul) as Principal Wu, as previously reported Mike C. Manning (Teen Wolf) as Mr. McKinnon, and Lane Davies (Santa Barbara) as Police Captain Johnson. Twins Chloe Frizzi and Sophia Frizzi (Young Judith, The Walking Dead) will appear in a flashback sequence as young Frankie and Regan. Additional cast members for this season to be announced.

Andrews also directs yA with creator and showrunner Martin. The Bay’s Wendy Riche, who co-wrote the 10-episode first season of yA with creator Martin, serves as executive producer along with Martin and Andrews. Riche also executive produced General Hospital and MTV’s Laguna Beach.

The series, which is currently being shopped, is in production with a release date scheduled for winter 2020.

Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kasi Lemmons To Be Honored At Critics Choice Celebration Of Black Cinema

(11/19/19) Eddie Murphy will receive the Career Achievement Award, and Nia Long, Chiwetel Ejiofor and director Kasi Lemmons will also be honored December 2 at the Celebration of Black Cinema presented by the Critics Choice Association (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association).

The event at the new Landmark Annex, part of the Landmark Theatre complex in Los Angeles, is designed to toast more than 100 years of black cinema and will be feting four individuals for their outstanding achievements in film in 2019, which is also the 100-year anniversary of The Homesteader from director Oscar Micheaux, credited by many as the first African American to make a feature-length film. He would go on to produce and/or direct another 44 films between 1919-1948.

Former Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs will host the evening, which benefits the UCLA Film & Television Archive and its commitment to the preservation of cinema.

Murphy will receive the Career Achievement Award as a tribute to his extraordinary roles over the years. Recognized most recently for his brilliant portrayal of Rudy Ray Moore in Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name, Murphy’s performance helps shed light on an era when black artists were pioneering newfound ways to reach black audiences and tell their own stories. Long will be honored for her performance as Eunice Garrett in Apple’s The Banker, a story about African Americans forging their own path to the American dream. Lemmons will be honored for her achievement in directing Focus Features’ Harriet, the first-ever feature film about runaway slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman, starring Cynthia Erivo as the iconic freedom fighter. And Ejiofor will be honored for his feature film directorial and screenwriting debut and his performance in Netflix’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, a film based on a memoir by the Malawian engineer William Kamkwamba.

“The Critics Choice Association is thrilled to help celebrate a century of black cinema,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin. “It is a privilege to honor Eddie Murphy, Kasi Lemmons, Nia Long, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for their remarkable work this year and throughout their careers. Each in their own way – through comedy and drama, in front of and behind the camera – exemplify the range and power of African American themed movies and their importance in popular culture.”

Hayden Panettiere defends relationship with Brian Hickerson

(11/14/19) Hayden Panettiere is defending her reunion with boyfriend Brian Hickerson, after a domestic violence case against him was dropped, insisting the pair’s much-publicized confrontations were never physical.

The real estate agent was arrested by Los Angeles police officers on May 2 after an argument between the two at Panettiere’s home allegedly turned physical. He pleaded not guilty to an abuse charge, and in September, the count was dropped due to a lack of witnesses, while a restraining order forcing him to stay away from Panettiere was also lifted.

Now the 30-year-old is maintaining all is well in her relationship, and that her spats with Hickerson never turned violent.

“Everything was totally OK,” she told TMZ.

It was initially reported that the pair’s relationship, which began in August 2018, came to an end following the dispute, but earlier this month, the couple was photographed together at a U.S. airport.

When asked how her family feels about the reconciliation, Panettiere revealed she has their support.

“My family knows that I’m smart enough to make my own decisions,” she added. “There was never a problem.”

Her folks previously urged the judge overseeing Hickerson’s assault case to hand him the maximum sentence for his alleged actions.

The former Nashville star was previously engaged to former boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko, the father of her four-year-old daughter, Kaya.

BH90210 Cancelled After 1 Season

(11/8/19) The Peach Pit is closing up shop: Fox’s meta revival BH90210 will not return for a second season, TVLine has learned.

The summer event series starred the original core Beverly Hills, 90210 cast as heightened versions of themselves as they attempted to get a 90210 revival off the ground.

“We are so proud to have reunited in a very special summer event one of the network’s legacy series and casts with 90210 fans across the country,” the network said in a statement. “Profound thanks to and respect for Brian [Austin Green], Gabrielle [Carteris], Ian [Ziering], Jason [Priestley], Jennie [Garth], Shannen [Doherty] and Tori [Spelling], who, along with the entire crew and everyone at FOX and CBS Television Studios, poured their hearts and souls into this truly inventive and nostalgic revival.” The show ended its six-episode run in mid-September, garnering just 1.9 million total viewers and a 0.7 rating for its finale.

CELEBRITY PERFORMERS AND PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2019 "E! PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS" THIS SUNDAY

(11/7/19) E! announced today the performers and presenters set to take the stage at the only awards show voted on by the people at the 2019 “E! People’s Choice Awards” this Sunday, November 10. The “E! People’s Choice Awards” will broadcast live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA and across the cable networks of NBCUniversal, including Bravo, E!, SYFY and USA Network from 9:00-11:00pm ET/PT. Additionally, Grammy Award winner Alessia Cara and Grammy Award nominee Kelsea Ballerini are set to perform live at the ceremony.

The presenters include:

Alex Morgan (Co-Captain of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team)
Asante Blackk (“When They See Us,” “This Is Us”)
Bellamy Young (“Prodigal Son”)
Brittany Snow (“Almost Family”)
Coco Gauff (Professional U.S. Tennis Player)
D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”)
David Spade (“Lights Out with David Spade”)
Jacob Tremblay (“Good Boys”)
Jenna Dewan (“Soundtrack,” “Flirty Dancing”)
Jeremy Scott (fashion designer)
Joey King (“The Act”)
Kelly Rowland (Grammy Award-winning artist)
Karamo Brown (“Queer Eye”)
Karen Gillan (“Jumanji: The Next Level”)
Kat Dennings (“Dollface”)
KJ Apa (“Riverdale”)
Lucy Hale (“Fantasy Island”)
Maggie Q (“Fantasy Island”)
Rob Riggle (“Rob Riggle: Global Investigator (wt)”)
Sarah Hyland (“Modern Family”)
Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”)
Storm Reid (“Euphoria”)
Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”)

As previously announced, Jennifer Aniston will receive the People’s Icon Award, Gwen Stefani is set to be feted with the Fashion Icon Award, and P!NK will be honored with the People’s Champion Award.

The “E! Live From The Red Carpet: The E! People’s Choice Awards 2019” co-hosted by Giuliana Rancic and Jason Kennedy kicks off at 7p ET/PT only on E!.

“Live From The Red Carpet: The E! People’s Choice Awards 2019” and the “E! People’s Choice Awards” are both produced by Den of Thieves with Executive Producers Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski.

Hayden Panettiere back with Brian Hickerson month after his domestic abuse case dismissed

(11/5/19) Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson have reunited nearly a month after a domestic abuse case against him was dismissed.

The 30-year-old actress and the real estate agent were photographed dragging luggage through an airport together on Tuesday.

The pair were both dressed casually in sneakers and they each lugged backpacks and wore a similar-looking necklace.

Their travels together come shortly after Hickerson’s domestic violence case was dismissed at the end of September.

“The case against Brian Hickerson was dismissed without prejudice [Thursday,]” Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Risling told Page Six in a statement at the time. “Our office was unable to proceed because we could not secure a material witness. The protective order also was dismissed.”

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence by the LAPD in May after he and Panettiere got into a physical altercation at their home after a night of drinking. Cops saw that Panettiere had redness and marks on her body, TMZ reported.

Hickerson was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the “Heroes” star after their scuffle. He was arraigned in LA in July and pleaded not guilty.

Page Six previously reported that Panettiere had not seen Hickerson since from the time the squabble occurred until at least July and that they had split.

However, the “I Love You, Beth Cooper” actress was spotted holding hands with Hickerson’s brother, Zach, in September.

Panettiere’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Mel Gibson & Frank Grillo Board Joe Carnahan’s Thriller ‘Leo From Toledo’; MadRiver On Sales – AFM

(11/4/19) Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo are leading the cast of Joe Carnahan’s thriller Leo From Toledo, which MadRiver International is launching on its AFM slate.

Pic follows a former killer for the Kansas City mob, now hiding in witness protection, who has trouble with his memory. When his past catches up with him and he becomes a hunted man, he has little time to save the one thing he has left – his estranged daughter and granddaughter.

The project sees the re-teaming of Gibson, Grillo and Carnahan following the trio working together on sci-fi thriller Boss Level, which is now in post.

Leo From Toledo is based on an original script from Dan Casey. Lawrence Grey is producing through his Grey Matter Productions banner, alongside Carnahan and Grillo under their WarParty Films banner. Noah Rosen will executive produce alongside Ben Everard of Grey Matter Productions.

MadRiver International is handling international sales, CAA Media Finance arranged financing for the film and is repping domestic rights.

As we revealed today, MadRiver’s AFM slate also features the Zac Efron comedy King Of The Jungle, as well as the Gerard Butler action pic The Plane.

“I’ve seldom had more fun than sitting in a writer’s room with producer Lawrence Grey and writer-director Joe Carnahan, while we spit balled on this story. It’s a tight, fast thriller, but its quirky observations had me in stitches,” said Gibson on the project.

“Leo is the kind of movie I love to make, it’s funny and heartfelt with a ton of great action. Being able to work with Mel, and Frank again is a real gift. It rarely happens that you get to make films with the people you love and respect, so I consider myself blessed. I feel like Leo is a ‘return to form’ of sorts for Mel. The script allows him to be both funny and dramatic at different turns and I can’t wait to see what he does with that character,” said director Carnahan.

MadRiver International’s Kimberly Fox added: “This is one we can’t wait to bring to market; it is the perfect mix of comedy and action that is needed in the marketplace today and something we know will excite audiences worldwide.”

Carnahan’s previous credits include The Grey and Smokin’ Aces. He also wrote the script for Columbia Pictures’ Bad Boys For Life starring Will Smith, which is out in January.

Carnahan and Gibson are represented by CAA and Grillo is represented by CAA and Management 360.

Pearson Cancelled: Suits Spinoff Not Returning for Season 2

(11/2/19) Pearson is saying goodbye to the Windy City: USA Network has cancelled the Suits spinoff after just one season, TVLine has learned.

The offshoot followed Gina Torres’ disbarred lawyer Jessica Pearson as she became involved in the dirty world of Chicago politics, taking on the role of right-hand fixer for the city’s mayor (Homeland‘s Morgan Spector). The cast also included Simon Kassianides (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as a cop/the mayor’s driver, Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) as ambitious city attorney Keri Allen, Chantel Riley (Wynonna Earp) as Jessica’s cousin Angela, Isabel Arraiza (The Oath) as Jessica’s “intense” assistant Yoli and Eli Goree (Ballers) as the mayor’s press secretary Derrick. Suits EP Daniel Arkin serves as showrunner on the spinoff.

The first season concluded in mid-September with Jessica declaring to the mayor that she will fix his McGann problem, but after that, she’s done being his errand girl.

Pearson‘s 10-episode freshman run averaged 513,000 total viewers and a 0.1 demo rating (in Live+Same Day numbers) — or, exactly half of what sire/lead-in Suits did during its farewell season. Among all current or ending USA Network dramas, it ranked last in the demo and only drew a larger audience that Mr. Robot (which in its final season is averaging 360,000 weekly viewers).

Ian Ziering Splitting From Wife ... She Says HE Wants Out

(11/1/19) Ian Ziering is calling it quits on his marriage ... he says he's splitting from his wife, Erin Ludwig, and she says he's already asked her for a divorce.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star made the announcement Thursday on social media, saying "It is with a heavy heart I tell you Erin and I are splitting up" after more than 9 years of marriage."

Ian doesn't make it sound like it's a nasty split, though ... he added, "With our hectic work schedules we could not be busier, and over the last few years have grown apart. She is one of the most incredible women I have ever met and the best mom to our kids.”

Erin and Ian have 2 daughters and he says they will continue raising them together and be "examples of successful co-parents.”

However, Erin makes it sound like there's been trouble in paradise for sometime now. As she puts it, "After 9 1/2 years of marriage Ian asked for a divorce. After having asked multiple times I knew it was time to give up."

It's unclear if either of them has filed divorce docs yet.

Erin says, "Knowing that I am not the person to make him happy makes the situation feel more peaceful. The girls and I are doing great and finding gratitude and love in our new life together and rebuilding."

Ian and Erin tied the knot back in May 2010. This will be his second divorce.

Soap Fave Welcomes First Grandchild

(10/31/19) (Photo) Vincent Irizarry (Jordan, B&B et al) is showing off the new addition to his family, granddaughter Areli Jay, who was born on January 11. The actor, who shared photos on social media of his four children (daughters Siena and Aria and sons Ash and Alias), along with daughter-in-law Janine, gushed, “Without question, the highlight of my summer’s end, beginning of autumn, was finally having the opportunity to spend an extended time with each of my 4 beloved children, Ash, Siena, Aria, & Elias, and my wonderful daughter-in-law, Janine, while finally meeting my precious granddaughter, Areli. It’s been [way] too long, all of us living in different parts of the country, conflicting schedules and work commitments. I honestly couldn’t be more proud of each of them, of the young men and women of character and substance they’ve become, nor more grateful for how much they’ve enhanced my life in truly immeasurable, unimaginable ways. Additionally, my blessings have been multiplied even greater by the newest addition to my life, our family, in the form of my first grandchild, Areli Jay, who entered our world and grateful lives on Jan 11th off this year… Yes, my cup runneth over indeed. #proudfather.#proudgrandpa.#4evrgr8ful.”

‘Halloweentown’ star Kimberly J. Brown is keeping Debbie Reynolds’ legacy alive

(10/29/19) In the summer of 1998, fans gathered in the small town of St. Helens, Ore., hoping to see legendary actress Debbie Reynolds filming the Disney Channel Original Movie “Halloweentown.”

During her short breaks, Reynolds would stroll over to the crowd and say, “Hello, I’m Princess Leia’s mom,” we’re told. She was known to chat with the fans and always thank them for coming by to watch.

“She made it a point to tell us as kids, ‘Always make time for fans and say hello.’ That has stuck with me over the years,” Kimberly J. Brown, who starred in the movie as Marnie Piper, the granddaughter of Reynolds’ character, told Page Six in an interview earlier this month. “She appreciated the ability to entertain and make people happy, so she taught me what a gift that was to be able to do that for people.”

Brown, now 34, was 13 years old when she landed the role of Marnie, a teenager who learns she descends from a long line of witches. Hardly a stranger to the acting world, Brown performed in her first Broadway show at age 7 (“Four Baboons Adoring the Sun”), and was coming off the soap opera “Guiding Light” when she stepped into Marnie’s shoes.

At the time, Brown says she knew who Reynolds was, but had only seen “Singin’ in the Rain.” Ahead of filming, her father bought her “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” — for which Reynolds was nominated for an Oscar — to watch.

“When you hear you’re going to work with a legend of that magnitude, you never know how this person’s going to be,” Brown says. “But she was the opposite of any kind of stigma. She was warm and gracious and it was such a good example to work with somebody like that and have her impact me so much not only professionally, but personally over the years.”

The first “Halloweentown” was filmed in Oregon for around five weeks in the summer of 1998. Brown recounts stories including one about Robin Thomas, who plays the movie’s villain Kalabar, being taken to a local doctor after blowing out his vocal cord during the confrontation scene at the end of the film. She also tells us how Reynolds (Aggie Cromwell) used to write all her lines for each day on yellow legal pads because the print was too small on the script copies.

The flick was the fourth to be branded as a “Disney Channel Original Movie” and was successful enough to be granted a sequel in 2001, which was filmed in Vancouver during the winter that year.

It was the day she flew up to Canada that Brown, who was by then 16, first met Daniel Kountz. Kountz played the sequel’s new villain, Kal, and would, years later, become Brown’s boyfriend in real life.

“It didn’t even cross my mind,” Brown tells us when we asked if she’d had a crush on him back then. “He was in a serious relationship … We got along great, had a lot of fun and he was sweet and everything, but it just, we never went there.”

In 2016, Kountz and Brown reunited to make a YouTube video about where his “Halloweentown” character would be today.

“Things kind of slowly turned romantic, which was completely unexpected for both of us because neither of us were looking,” Brown says, adding that she when she posted a photo of them kissing in July 2018, she had no idea the internet would flip out the way it did.

“All of a sudden it was just everywhere … and I was like, ‘What!?’ … It was amazing to us that it became prominent in the news for a minute,” she says.

Now, two years after they started dating, Brown says marriage is a “delightful possibility,” but “they’re very happy and sort of enjoying that right now.”

The “Halloweentown” series had four films in total. Brown returned for “Halloweentown High,” the third installment, but was replaced by actress Sara Paxton in the fourth, “Return to Halloweentown.”

“Ultimately … it’s a decision that came down to Disney and I don’t know specifically,” she says of why she wasn’t asked to be part of it.

Over the years, the rumor was that Brown’s schedule prohibited her from being in the movie, but she has stated multiple times that was not the case.

When reached by Page Six on Monday, “Return to Halloweentown” director David Jackson told us, “The character she played was younger than the actress actually was by enough years that we felt like as a collective group that it was better to recast someone who was younger. It kind of came down to that.”

He adds that Disney also felt the fans who watched the earlier movies had also aged out of watching them and that the fourth movie, which followed Marnie and her brother Dylan in college, wasn’t reliant on the first three installments.

Jackson has no regrets about the decision to recast the role with Paxton, who was 18 at the time, three years younger than Brown.

“[Paxton] was great and wonderful to work with and I felt like she had a young spirit that the story needed,” he says.

However, Brown tells us that even Reynolds once said in an interview that she was confused about the change.

“I don’t want to put words in her mouth, but I don’t think she necessarily agreed with it,” she says, adding, “She was always a champion of mine while we were shooting and always supported me and lifted me up.”

The role of Dylan, played by Joey Zimmerman, was not recast for the final film.

Reynolds passed away on Dec. 28, 2016 at age 84, one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died.

“The last time I saw her I brought some people with me to see her show in Hollywood,” Brown recalls.

The last story Brown shares about Reynolds is that on Halloween for many years, the famed actress would wear her Aggie costume and surprise young trick-or-treaters who happened to be lucky enough to knock on her door.

“So many people ask me about her and I share as much as I can,” Brown explains. “I think it’s a good reminder that somebody of that stature made such an impact in trying to be as kind and supportive as they could. I think thats such an important thing to impart on people.”

Peter Hermann Recurs on Blue Bloods 11/8/19

(10/26/19) “Higher Standards” – Jamie and Frank oppose each other’s viewpoints over the public’s treatment of cops after rowdy teens pour water on two rookies. Also, Danny and Baez investigate a man who preys on the elderly, and Erin is forced to admit her wrongdoings when Jack (Peter Hermann) brings her an old case and claims a man she put away was falsely convicted, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, Nov. 8 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

‘Almost Family’ Faces Uncertain Future After New Drama Is Left Off Fox’s Midseason Schedule

(10/26/19) Fox has not made an official decision about a back order to new drama series Almost Family. But the midseason schedule unveiled by the network today does not bode well for the IVF-gone-wrong series.

Almost Family is on the schedule in its Wednesday 9 PM slot through January, which roughly corresponds to a 13-episode run, matching the series’ initial order.

Starting Feb. 5, Almost Family is replaced by new reality series Lego Masters, which will follow the next cycle of The Masked Singer. With fellow new fall Fox drama Prodigal Son given a full-season 22-episode order and four new dramas set to launch in midseason, 9-1-1: Lone Star and Deputy in January and Filthy Rich and NeXt in the spring, we may have seen the last of Almost Family, at least for this season. Starring Brittany Snow and Timothy Hutton, based on the Australia series Sisters, Almost Family has been a soft ratings performer in the high-profile Wednesday 9 PM slot, holding onto only about a third of its big Masked Singer lead-in.

Almost Family hails from The Path duo of executive producer Annie Weisman and executive producer Jason Katims, original series’ co-creator Imogen Banks, Universal TV, Fox Entertainment and Endemol Shine North America.

Written by Weisman, it centers on only child Julia Bechley (Snow), who finds her life turned upside down when her father, Leon Bechley (Hutton), is forced to reveal that over the course of his pioneering career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children. As she dutifully begins to track down her emerging group of siblings, among a sea of brothers, Julia discovers only two sisters – her former best friend Edie Palmer (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and ex-Olympic athlete Roxy Doyle (Emily Osment) – both of whom quickly become a part of her now-redefined family.

Soap Stars On THE REAL

(10/22/19) THE REAL hosts “The Hunks of Daytime” — Galen Gering (Rafe, DAYS), Michael Mealor (Kyle, Y&R), Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B) and Donnell Turner (Curtis, GH) — who dish about their soap roles, loyal fans and their favorite dishes. Check out clips here: Video1, Video2.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/20/19) THE REAL, syndicated

Monday 10/21: Galen Gering, Michael Mealor, Lawrence Saint-Victor, Donnell Turner, guest co-host Amanda Seales

Jordi Vilasuso Reflects Back on Lean Times

(10/20/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) While they’re pounding the pavement for their next acting role, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS' Jordi Vilasuso (Rey) applauds performers who work outside of showbiz — such as Geoffrey Owens, a one-time COSBY SHOW star who was discovered to be working at a Trader Joe’s last year. “You do whatever you have to do to take care of your family,” Vilasuso reflected to Soaps In Depth. “I do not want to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs as an actor. This is the kind of job that has hills and valleys. There are times when it gets very slow between gigs, and I have picked up the odd job just for my own peace of mind. I might not have had to work, but I wanted to feel productive.” As for Owens, Vilasuso was thrilled to learn that the photo, originally intended to shame the actor, turned into something positive. “This guy got a gig from Tyler Perry! How great is that?”

The Sinner Season 3 Trailer: Matt Bomer and Chris Messina Have a Secret

(10/18/19) (Video) Chris Messina flashes a smile — and gives off some serious sociopathic vibes — in the first full-length trailer for Season 3 of The Sinner.

As previously reported, the third installment of the USA Network anthology (which is set to bow in 2020) follows Detective Harry Ambrose as he investigates a tragic car accident in upstate New York. As the case unfolds, Ambrose “uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career,” according to the official logline. Matt Bomer’s Jamie is the upstanding local resident at the center of it all, while Messina plays Nick, a college friend who pays Jamie a most unwelcome visit.

The sneak peek seems to implicate Jamie and Nick as the two men who were speeding toward a Dorchester home in the middle of the night. And there’s reason to believe that the victim whose hand we see in the wreckage is Nick, since it’s Jamie who’s brought in for questioning.

Regardless of the outcome, one thing is abundantly clear: Nick has dirt on Jamie, and Jamie doesn’t want it getting out.

Rounding out the Season 3 cast are Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas) as Leela Burns, Jamie’s wife; Jessica Hecht (The Affair) as Sonya, a painter who gets involved in the investigation after the accident occurs on her property; and Eddie Martinez (Orange Is the New Black) as Vic Soto, a former Marine-turned-detective who works alongside Ambrose to solve the case.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/18/19) The Talk – CBS

Tuesday, Oct. 22

Actor Taye Diggs

‘Mank’: Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, ‘Downton Abbey’s Tuppence Middleton & More Join David Fincher Pic

(10/16/19) David Fincher is rounding out the cast for his upcoming Netflix feature, Mank, about the tumultuous development of Orson Welles’ classics Citizen Kane.

Joining previously announced Oscar winner Gary Oldman is Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tuppence Middleton, Arliss Howard (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Charles Dance (Game Of Thrones), Ferdinand Kingsley (Dracula Untold), Jamie McShane (Gone Girl), Joseph Cross (Milk), Sam Troughton (Chernobyl), Toby Leonard Moore (Billions), Tom Burke (The Souvenir) and Tom Pelphrey (Iron Fist).

The project is a longtime-in-the-making for the two-time Oscar-nominated director, who will shoot the film in black and white with production starting next month. Based on a screenplay by the Gone Girl filmmaker’s late father, Howard “Jack” Fincher, Mank follows famed Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played by Oldman), who co-wrote Citizen Kane with Welles and shared the Oscar win for best original screenplay.

Douglas Urbanski, Eric Roth, and Cean Chaffin are producing the project.

Mank reps Fincher’s first feature directorial since 2014’s Gone Girl. Fincher was nominated for directing 2010’s The Social Network and 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Watch soap vets Donna Mills and Crystal Hunt in trailer for new sitcom Mood Swings

(10/12/19) (Video) What do you do if you’re a recently divorced woman dealing with an enormous mortgage on a Malibu mansion and in need of income? Rent out rooms, of course!

If you couldn’t tell, we’re dealing with sitcom logic here. That’s the setup of Mood Swings, a new series created by and starring soap opera vet Crystal Hunt (One Life to Live), premiering Oct. 24 on Christian studio Pure Flix‘s streaming platform. (They’re the company behind the God’s Not Dead films, among others.) The show also stars Hunt’s fellow soap stars Donna Mills (General Hospital) and Robin Riker (The Bold and the Beautiful), along with veteran, Oscar-nominated actress Dyan Cannon.

Mood Swings follows Farrah (Hunt) who takes on roommates to earn money to support herself and her eight-year-old son Ryder. Enter Coco (Riker), a disgruntled working woman, Dani (Bad Moms‘ Christina DeRosa), a Canadian-Italian “culinary wizard” and aspiring actress, and Emilia (Ballers‘ Sophia Gasca), a Dominican entrepreneur trying to secure U.S. citizenship. Comedic high jinks ensue.

Mills and Cannon play Farrah’s mom and aunt, respectively, with Jason Earles (Disney’s Hannah Montana) as her live-in, slacker handyman.

“We felt there was a need for a great female ensemble comedy,” Hunt said in a statement. “Right now, you can only watch reruns of shows like Golden Girls and Designing Women to enjoy a female-driven show. Our thinking was to embrace the legacy of these programs while adding a modern twist.”

Check out the Mood Swings trailer above for a taste of the show’s comedic stylings.

GENERAL HOSPITAL's Wes Ramsey Announces His New Book, 'Into the Black'

(10/9/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Fans will be able to get a deeper look into the mind of GENERAL HOSPITAL actor Wes Ramsey (Peter) when he releases his second book of poetry, Into the Black. "All my life I've written," he shared on Instagram. "I never knew where it came from or why I started, I just knew I had to do it. All these years later, so much about it is still a mystery to me but I've long since embraced it as a calling in y life, but only more recently as a deeply personal gift to share with the world.

"With that said," he continued, "I'm proud to announce that four weeks from today, on Halloween, I will release Into the Black as the second volume of my work. It will be available at wesramsey.com. I hope it finds its way to those it belongs with."

Back in 2014, Ramsey released his first volume, Salt & Sand, which is unfortunately no longer available. According to his website, Into the Black is a larger, full volume of poetry that was written between 2002 and 2017. "This volume is a raw look inside the journey between life's struggles and the beauty of the gift within those struggles that make us who we are," reads the description. "It is an intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of an artist who has endured."

So beginning on Thursday, Oct. 31, Into the Black will be available for purchase directly from Ramsey's website.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/4/19) Rachael Ray - Syndicated

AIRING Oct 09, 2019

Brittany Snow

Wayne Fitzgerald, Master of Films’ Opening Moments, Dies at 89

(10/4/19) (nytimes.com) Wayne Fitzgerald put a thrown-pillow ballet at the beginning of “Pillow Talk.” He opened “Bonnie and Clyde” with an evocative montage of vintage photographs. He started “Footloose” off with two dozen pairs of dancing feet.

Mr. Fitzgerald, a prolific designer of title sequences for film and television whose work included some of the most memorable opening moments those mediums have seen, died on Monday on Whidbey Island in Washington State. He was 89.

The death was confirmed by his wife, MaryEllen Courtney, who said his health had deteriorated since he contracted the flu last spring.

Mr. Fitzgerald, who lived on the island in the city of Langley, began designing opening titles in the 1950s, when not much thought was given to them. But during his career, and to a significant extent because of his career, those segments came to be regarded as something of an art form, a chance to impart information, set a tone, capture the attention of an audience still settling into seats.

“Title makers are moviemakers,” he told Variety in 1997, an indication of the seriousness with which he took his work. The sequences he imagined often took substantial effort to execute.

“He never worried about how he was going to pull off a piece,” Ms. Courtney, who worked with Mr. Fitzgerald for many years, said by email, “which led to some real innovation because he worked before computer graphics.”

She cited two examples: the 1990 movie “Total Recall,” with its arresting black lettering against a moving red background, and the soap opera “Guiding Light,” for which Mr. Fitzgerald won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1992, when that long-running show used an opening montage that suggested a lighthouse.

“‘Total Recall’ looks simple, but it was tricky to get that on film,” she said. “The turning light for ‘The Guiding Light’ took a garage full of early computers and three days to render. You could probably do that on an iPhone now.”

Wayne Richard Fitzgerald was born on March 19, 1930, in Los Angeles. His father, Raymond, was a milkman who for years distributed his wares from a horse-drawn carriage, and his mother, Mabel Wilma (Rundle) Fitzgerald, worked for a dairy farm and later ran a Comptometer, an early calculator, for an industrial company.

Mr. Fitzgerald graduated from the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., in 1951 and went to work for Pacific Title and Art Studio, which made title sequences for movies — often, at the time, hand lettering them on glass plates.

“We used to wash the glass off and use it again for the next movie,” Mr. Fitzgerald told the Copley News Service in 2003. “So much for history.”

Hollywood was still dominated by studio titans, and title sequences were something of an afterthought, the film’s director having moved on to the next project by the time they were created. Title artists like Mr. Fitzgerald dealt mostly with studio executives like Jack Warner, the president of Warner Bros., who, Mr. Fitzgerald recalled in the Copley interview, liked the lettering to be very, very large.

“He said, ‘If I’m paying the stars all that money, I want their names up there big,’” he said.

In 1955 Saul Bass broke the mold with his title sequence for Otto Preminger’s heroin-addiction film, “The Man With the Golden Arm,” using a grotesquely deconstructed arm in the opening credits. Mr. Fitzgerald was among a group of title designers who followed Mr. Bass’s lead, although some of his early work went uncredited.

For “Pillow Talk,” a 1959 Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedy, he put the credits between two supine figures tossing pillows about. In 2000, when the Film Society of Lincoln Center presented a weekend-long program on film titles, it included “Pillow Talk” among the classics of the art form.

When the Film Society of Lincoln Center presented a weekend-long program on film titles, it included Mr. Fitzgerald’s title sequence for “Pillow Talk” (1959) among the classics of the art form.CreditUniversal Studios

It also cited Mr. Fitzgerald’s work on “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), which opens with vintage Depression-era photographs to set the mood and time period for the story of the famous outlaws. It was one of a number of times Mr. Fitzgerald worked with the pioneering film editor Dede Allen.

“He believed the title should serve the overall story, not itself,” Ms. Courtney noted. “And, as Dede Allen said, he knew story.”

It was Warren Beatty, who played Clyde Barrow in that film, who suggested to Mr. Fitzgerald that he form his own company. He left Pacific Title in 1967 and did so. That move coincided with the fading of the last remnants of the old studio system and the emergence of cinema dominated by auteur directors.

Ms. Courtney said that Mr. Fitzgerald, who worked on hundreds of films and TV shows, would often be called in after a movie had been shown to test audiences, to set or reset the emotional tone.

“‘Crimes of the Heart’ is a great example,” she said, referring to the 1986 film version of Beth Henley’s play, a comic drama. “It starts with a murder and the audience was M.I.A. in the beginning because they were focused on that. Wayne did an animated falling heart. It was simple, but it told the audience not to take it so hard.”

He showed a whimsical touch on “Footloose” (1984), which opens with lots of feet: Two dozen pairs, one after the other, are shown dancing as the Kenny Loggins title song plays.

“He got a kick out of ‘Footloose,’” Ms. Courtney said, “He used footage from professional dancers, plus the grip in ratty tennis shoes, and Kenny Loggins, who was on set.”

Mr. Fitzgerald won two other Emmys: a Daytime Emmy in 1988 for “The Bold and the Beautiful” and a Primetime Emmy in 1987 for “The Bronx Zoo.” Both were shared with David Oliver Pfeil.

Mr. Fitzgerald’s first marriage, to Mary Dunbar, ended in divorce. In addition to his wife, whom he married in 1995 after 12 years together, he is survived by two sons from his first marriage, Eric and Mark; a stepdaughter, Courtney Nelson; a grandson; and two step-grandsons. A daughter from his first marriage, Ann Crenshaw, died in 2009.

Today the importance of title sequences has been well established. In the 1993 interview, Mr. Fitzgerald recalled his early days, when that was decidedly not the case.

“Even people in the industry would say, ‘What do you do for a living?’” he recalled. “I’d say, ‘I design titles,’ and they’d say, ‘You mean someone does that for a living?’”

Audiobooks Narrated Soap Stars

(10/2/19) Delayed Rays Of A Star by Amanda Lee Koe, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL) (Order here)

A dazzling debut novel following the lives of three groundbreaking women - Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl - cinema legends who lit up the 20th century.

At a chance encounter at a Berlin soirée in 1928, the photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captures three very different women together in one frame: up-and-coming German actress Marlene Dietrich, who would wend her way into Hollywood as one of its lasting icons; Anna May Wong, the world's first Chinese American star, playing for bit parts while dreaming of breaking away from her father's modest laundry; and Leni Riefenstahl, whose work as a director of propaganda art films would first make her famous - then, infamous.

From this curious point of intersection, Delayed Rays of a Star lets loose the trajectories of these women's lives. From Weimar Berlin to LA's Chinatown, from a bucolic village in the Bavarian Alps to a luxury apartment on the Champs-Élysées, the different settings they inhabit are as richly textured as the roles they play: siren, victim, predator, or lover, each one a carefully calibrated performance. And in the orbit of each star live secondary players - a Chinese immigrant housemaid, a German soldier on leave from North Africa, a pompous Hollywood director - whose voices and viewpoints reveal the legacy each woman left in her own time, as well as in ours.

Amanda Lee Koe's playful, wry prose guides the listener dexterously around murky questions of identity, complicity, desire, and difference. Intimate and clear-eyed, Delayed Rays of a Star is a visceral depiction of womanhood - its particular hungers, its oblique calculations, and its eventual betrayals - and announces a bold new literary voice.

A Walk In The Woods by Lee Blessing, narrated by Alfred Molina and Steven Weber (ex-Kevin, ATWT) (Order here)

An idealistic American diplomat locks horns with a mercurial Soviet negotiator during a series of conversations in the woods outside Geneva. As their mutual friendship and understanding deepens, an awareness that their work may ultimately be pointless casts a shadow over their hopes to achieve a lasting peace.

Includes a post-play discussion with playwright Lee Blessing and UCLA Political Science professor Richard Anderson.

Lead funding for A Walk in the Woods is generously provided by The John Logan Foundation.

Recorded before an audience at UCLA's James Bridges Theater in January 2019.

Directed by Cameron Watson

Producing Director Susan Albert Loewenberg

Alfred Molina as Andrey Botvinnik

Steven Weber as John Honeyman

Associate Artistic Director, Anna Lyse Erikson. Recording Engineer, Sound Designer and Mixer, Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Senior Radio Producer, Ronn Lipkin. Production Manager, Rick V. Moreno. Editor, Julian Nicholson.

Nia Long To Produce & Star Alongside Omar Epps And Stephen Bishop In Netflix Film ‘Fatal Affair’

(10/2/19) Nia Long, known for her roles in movies including Boyz n the Hood, Love Jones, Soul Food and The Best Man, has set her first producing project with Netflix. Long will produce and star in Fatal Affair, with Omar Epps (House, Shooter) and Stephen Bishop (Moneyball) co-starring.

Peter Sullivan is directing the feature from a script he co-wrote with Rasheeda Garner. The plot follows a woman who tries to mend her marriage after a brief encounter with an old friend, only to find that he is more dangerous and unstable than she’d realized.

Barry Barnholtz, Brian Nolan and Jeffrey Schenck will produce alongside Long. Filming is slated to begin this month in Los Angeles.

Long most recently appeared on the big screen in 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and next co-stars in The Banker, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nicholas Hoult, as well as Life in a Year, the Sony drama starring Cara Delevingne and Jaden Smith.

Epps, who co-starred alongside Long in the 1999 crime thriller In Too Deep, currently recurs on This Is Us, while Bishop starred in the short-lived Bravo series Imposters.

Long is repped by Untitled Entertainment; Epps by Anonymous Content and CAA; and Bishop by Greene & Associates Talent Agency and Margie Weiner Management.

Hayden Panettiere’s ex Brian Hickerson’s domestic violence case dismissed

(9/27/19) The domestic violence case against Hayden Panettiere‘s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been dismissed, nearly five months after his arrest.

“The case against Brian Hickerson was dismissed without prejudice [Thursday,]” Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Risling told Page Six in a statement Friday. “Our office was unable to proceed because we could not secure a material witness. The protective order also was dismissed.”

According to a Los Angeles court filing, Hickerson also no longer has to pay his $50,000 bail.

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence by the LAPD in May after he and Panettiere, 30, got into a physical altercation at their home after a night of drinking in Hollywood.

At the time, cops saw redness and marks on Panettiere’s body, TMZ reported.

Following the scuffle, Hickerson was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the “Heroes” star. He was arraigned in Los Angeles in July and pleaded not guilty.

As Page Six previously reported, Panettiere has not seen Hickerson since the alleged incident in May.

The duo began dating over the summer following her split from boxer Wladimir Klitschko, the father of her 4-year-old daughter, Kaya.

Meanwhile, the actress was spotted holding hands with Hickerson’s brother, Zach Hickerson, earlier this month.

A rep for Panettiere did not respond to our request for comment.

ABC Buys ‘Possessed’ Supernatural Drama From ‘The Conjuring’ Writers, Paul Wesley & Kapital Entertainment

(9/27/19) ABC has put into development Possessed, a supernatural crime drama based on a Korean format. The project hails from The Conjuring writers Carey and Chad Hayes, The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, The Masked Singer executive producer Craig Plestis and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, where Wesley and his company Citizen Media is under a producing deal.

Written by the Hayes brothers, Possessed centers around a young woman, who after a near death experience, becomes a vessel for the dead to avenge their wrongful deaths.

Carey and Chad Hayes executive produce with Kapital Entertainment’s Kaplan and Dana Honor, Wesley, Plestis and MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation), the South Korean network which aired the original series and also originated the format for the hit Fox series The Masked Singer.

The original Possessed aired a 10-episode first season on MBC in 2009. Starring Lim Ju-eun and Lee Seo-jin, the series centered on a high school girl possessed by spirits and the criminal profiler who exploits her powers in his quest for justice. You can watch a trailer below.

The Hayes brothers are best known for writing New Line Cinema’s global box office horror hits The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2. They also co-produced the horror film Annabelle.

Possessed was one of the first projects Wesley’s Citizen Media and Kapital put in development under the production partnership forged in February. Wesley, who stars in Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story, is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris.

Paradigm and attorney Paul Miloknay repped MBC Broadcast in the packaging of the format. Plestis is also repped by Paradigm.

The Vampire Diaries' Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley Are Making Their Own Bourbon

(9/26/19) To say we've missed The Vampire Diaries these past two years since it's been off the air is the understament of the century, but luckily for us, the Salvatore brothers have decided to reunite IRL. Ian Somerhalder announced Thursday that he and Paul Wesley are partnering up again to create their own bourbon, and yes, we'd like to order 164 bottles, please.

It's fitting that these boys would go all-in on bourbon seeing as it was the Salvatores drink of choice on the show, a fact that Somerhalder was all too aware of when he announced the news on Instagram.

"Can you imagine if the Salvatore brothers had their OWN bourbon? Well, it's coming! @paulwesley and I have been working our asses off with our incredible team to make this happen," Somerhalder wrote. "WITH passion, hard work and an uncompromising quest/thirst for quality, we have arrived! We want to share with you something very special and dear to us. You've given us so many wonderful years as these characters and we want to bring you something to enjoy that brings back some great memories and some good times to come! It's going to be fun. We're going to be traveling the WOLRD meeting so many of you and launching this with some very fun parties I must say!"

The Vampire Diaries Stars Look Back at Filming the Pilot for the Show's 10th Anniversary

We'll obviously be eagerly awaiting news of where and how to buy this special brew as well as how we can score a ticket to these parties they'll be throwing — no one throws a rager like a Salvatore, after all. All eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries are currently streaming on Netflix.

Talk Show Appearance

(9/26/19) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN - Bravo

Wednesday, October 2 – TAYE DIGGS

FB Live Q&A: Michael Easton & Rebecca Budig

(9/26/19) FB Live Q&A: Michael Easton & Rebecca Budig: Video.

Sharon Leal on The Good Doctor 10/7/19

(9/24/19) “Claire” – Dr. Claire Brown faces complications at home and at work as she prepares to lead her first surgery. Meanwhile, a sports fishing accident challenges the rest of the staff as they look to treat the fisherman’s (Robert Sean Leonard) injuries without damaging his prize catch on an all-new episode of “The Good Doctor,” MONDAY, OCT. 7 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. Episodes can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.

The series stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne, Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez, Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo and Jasika Nicole as Dr. Carly Lever.

Guest starring is Sharon Leal as Breeze Browne, Michelle Reynolds as Kyla-Drew and Robert Sean Leonard as Shamus O’Malley.

“Claire” was written by Liz Friedman and Tracy Taylor, and directed by Allison Lidi-Brown.

The Sinner: Matt Bomer Makes Debut in First Promo for Delayed Season 3

(9/19/19) (Video) Matt Bomer’s USA Network homecoming has been pushed to 2020.

The cable network has released a new promo for The Sinner Season 3, which reveals that the Bill Pullman-led crime anthology will not be back in 2019. Instead, the show will return next year at an as-yet-specified date. (The two previous seasons debuted a year apart, in August 2017 and 2018.)

The third installment of the Jessica Biel-EP’ed series will follow Detective Harry Ambrose (Pullman) as he investigates a tragic car accident in upstate New York. As the case unfolds, Ambrose “uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career,” according to the official logline.

Bomer, who previously headlined USA’s White Collar, stars here as Jamie, an upstanding local resident and expectant father who looks to Ambrose for support in the wake of the accident. In the teaser, which was first shared by E! Online, we get a glimpse of the wreckage, which includes a blood-soaked headlight and the hand of a potential victim. Jamie’s exact involvement in the accident remains unclear, but he does have a visible scar.

Rounding out the Season 3 cast are Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) as Nick Haas, a college friend who pays Jamie a surprise visit; Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas) as Leela Burns, Jamie’s wife; Jessica Hecht (Special) as Sonya, a painter who gets involved in the investigation after the accident occurs on her property; and Eddie Martinez (Orange Is the New Black) as Vic Soto, a former Marine-turned-detective who works alongside Ambrose to solve the case.

Sharon Leal on The Good Doctor 9/30/19

(9/16/19) “Debts” – As Dr. Marcus Andrews vows to help a good Samaritan who was injured while stopping a sexual assault, Dr. Audrey Lim faces a difficult decision when a young patient’s parents suspect that Dr. Neil Melendez made a mistake. Meanwhile, Dr. Shaun Murphy fields advice following his disastrous date with Dr. Carly Lever; and Dr. Claire Browne gets a surprise visit from her mother on an all-new episode of “The Good Doctor,” MONDAY, SEPT. 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-14) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.

The series stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne, Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez, Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo and Jasika Nicole as Dr. Carly Lever.

Guest starring is Sharon Leal as Breeze Browne and Shelia Kelley as Debbie Wexler.

“Debt” was written by Peter Noah and directed by Mike Listo.

Lawrence Saint-Victor's Loves B&B's Baby Boom

(9/16/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) There have been quite a lot of birth announcements coming from THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL castmembers over the past few years, a fact new dad Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter) can appreciate. “There must be something in the water,” he explained of so many co-workers becoming first-time parents lately.

Saint-Victor’s son, Christian, was born last August, mere days after Karla Mosley (Maya) welcomed her little girl, Aurora. This spring, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy) delivered son Rise, while Darin Brooks (Wyatt) is getting ready for the September birth of his daughter. “We’re all kind of growing up and encountering the same things in life,” said Saint-Victor. “We’re going through all these stages together, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s really cool to share the parenting experience.”

Dishing with Digest - 9/13/19 - Michael O’Leary

(9/13/19) (Listen / download) Michael O’Leary Recalls His His Years As GUIDING LIGHT’s Rick.

As the 10th anniversary of the end of GUIDING LIGHT approaches, Michael O’Leary looks back fondly on his days as Rick Bauer, his amazing casting story, his special relationship with Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip) and more with Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky.

Photos of Hayden Panettiere holding hands with alleged abuser ex’s brother shocks family

(9/11/19) Friends and family are “disturbed” after Hayden Panettiere with her alleged abuser boyfriend’s brother, sources reveal exclusively to RadarOnline.com.

“It’s a very strange set of circumstances,” the insider said of the Nashville star’s rumoured new fling with Brian Hickerson’s brother Zach.

Panettiere, 30 — who as Radar first reported exclusively, is now living in New York City — showed PDA with the South Carolina-based pastor downtown in the Big Apple on Sept. 4, in exclusive photos revealed by In Touch.

“I don’t know if it’s better than the alternative,” said the concerned pal. “How strange it may be, the one positive thing about this is Zach is certainly not the violent temper that Brian is.”

Despite her family’s concerns, Panettiere appeared carefree as she strolled with Brian’s brother. “They were walking hand-in-hand, talking and laughing together,” an eyewitness told In Touch.

“She was jumping up and down making funny faces, and he was flexing his muscles and laughing. They looked happy together.”

Sources reveal to Radar the unlikely couple have “been involved for two months now.”

As Radar readers know, the actress’ bad new beau Brian faces a felony domestic violence charge for allegedly beating his famous girlfriend in a May 2 incident.

A responding officer testified Hayden suffered bruises on her arms and eyelids, and swelling on her face.

On May 23, a Los Angeles County judge issued a protective order against Brian, preventing him from coming within 100 yards of the actress.

The new pairing isn’t sitting well with her loved ones. “Those close to Hayden are not going to pretend to understand it or condone it,” but “there’s nothing anyone can do,” said the informant.

“She has been reluctant to talk about it because she knows how people feel — it’s definitely something she would not want to discuss. And she doesn’t want to share too much especially because of what’s going on with Brian and his legal issues.”

With high-powered attorney Shawn Holley by Brian’s side, a jury trial begins in Los Angeles court on Sept. 24.

Dishing With Digest - 9/6/19 - Vincent Irizarry

(9/6/19) (Listen / download) B&B’s Vincent Irizarry Chronicles Soap Journey.

Vincent Irizarry takes a deep dive into his daytime journey, from GUIDING LIGHT’s Lujack to B&B’s Jordan, recalls a memorable encounter with Marisa Tomei, his prime-time successes and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky.

A sidewalk star for Kathryn Hays

(8/31/19) (bcrnews.com) Princeton’s Walk of Fame outside the Apollo Theater is getting its second sidewalk star.

And the honor goes to longtime soap opera actress, Kathryn Hays, who was born in Princeton in 1933.

From 1972 to 2010, she played Kim Hughes on the CBS daytime soap opera, “As the World Turns.”

“Star Trek” fans will also remember when she played Gem on the episode “The Empath.” Her character was a mute alien who could heal wounds of the injured through her touch. Hays’ compelling performance earned her an Emmy nomination.

Hays, now 86, has moved back to Princeton from Connecticut. She settled into town this past April to be closer to family. While she is still getting reacquainted with the area, she said she was “pleasantly surprised” to see how much it had developed since the last time she had been back.

She was especially impressed with all the downtown shops and restaurants.

“I can’t get over how many restaurants there are. I have yet to have a bad meal,” she said.

She attended Festival 56’s production of “Little Women” last month and said she was blown away with the performance.

“I was dumbfounded at how fascinating it was. They were all so professional and great,” she said.

Hays said Princeton has been nothing but welcoming to her.

“It’s like someone left the door open and said, ‘Come on in,’” she said.

“Princeton has turned into a place that has it all. It’s a wonderful place to call home.”

Hays is especially touched with the honor of having a star on the Walk of Fame.

“They’re very kind to include me. I’m very touched by this,” she said.

Her star will be placed next to Richard Widmark’s. Hays said she remembers crossing paths with Widmark at one point in Hollywood.

“I remember him because I told him I was from Princeton, Illinois,” she said.

A dedication ceremony to honor Hays and her career will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 4 p.m. outside the Apollo Theater. Hays will be in attendance with her family and close friends.

Hays will also ride in the Homestead Festival parade next Saturday. Fun fact, the parade’s grand marshal, Ted Johnson, is a cousin of Hays.

The festival’s theme, “Journey Home,” fits perfectly with Hays’ story of returning back to the place she has always considered home.

Hays’ father was a farmer

According to a BCR story from 2008, Hays’ father farmed land in Princeton. His family was actually part of the Hampshire Colony that settled the area. Hays’ mother was a bookkeeper at Citizens First National Bank.

Her parents divorced. When Hays was 5 years old, her mother remarried and they moved to Joliet.

That’s where Hays discovered her love for acting. In high school, she became a teacher’s student assistant at a local children’s theater. Later, she attended a summer arts program at Northwestern University and was offered a full scholarship at a junior college.

Hays left college early when she landed a gig as a fashion model and worked on live TV commercials for WGN in Chicago in the 1950s.

Her big break came in 1962, after moving to New York, when she was cast as the lead in an episode of the popular police drama, “The Naked City.”

Hays studied with famed theater director and acting coach, Wynn Handman, who coached big names such as Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington, Mira Sorvino and James Caan.

Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, Hays appeared on numerous TV shows, including “Route 66,” “Dr. Kildare,” “Bonanza,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “The High Chaparral.”

In 1966, Hays married one of Hollywood’s most endearing actors, Glenn Ford. They divorced three years later.

Hays has played guest roles on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Law & Order,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and “Branded.” Hays also guest-starred with Clint Walker in the 1971 TV film, “Yuma.”

Hays is also respected for her work on stage. She appeared on Broadway several times.

Morgan Freeman, Frank Grillo Lead ‘Panama’ Action Film From Daniel Adams – Toronto

(8/30/19) Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman and Frank Grillo are set as leads in the action film, Panama, directed by Daniel Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay with William R. Barber. The pic, which is inspired by true events, is being produced Michelle Chydzik Sowa and Michelle Reihel.

Set in wild 1989 Panama, the plot follows James Becker (Grillo), a rugged, decorated ex-marine, who is sent undercover by his former commander Stark (Freeman) to execute a high-value deal with untrustworthy adversaries. While navigating through the chaos of the local civil war, Becker must fight assassins, court femmes fatales and negotiate with the enemy in order to complete his mission. With Stark always by his side, Becker perseveres against all odds in hopes of making it home alive.

Filming is slated to commence in November. Highland Film Group will handle worldwide sales, which will launch at the Toronto International Film Festival. Barber serves as executive producer.

Grillo’s upcoming project slate includes Screen Gems’ Black and Blue with Naomie Harris, the Lionsgate sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, and Boss Level with Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts.

Freeman, who won an Oscar for his performance in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby, can be seen starring in Angel Has Fallen, the third film in the Olympus Has Fallen trilogy, which is currently sitting at number 1 on the domestic box office chart. Next, he’ll also appear in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard as well as George Gallo’s The Comeback Trail with Robert De Niro.

Adams’ directorial credits include The Lightkeepers starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bruce Dern, Mamie Gummer and Blythe Danner, The Golden Boys starring Dern and David Carradine, and most recently An L.A. Minute with Gabriel Byrne and Kiersey Clemons.

Freeman is repped by CAA; Grillo by CAA and Management 360; Adams by Claire Best & Associates.

Laura Bell Bundy To Disrupt ‘Perfect Harmony’ As NBC Comedy’s Recurring Mean Girl

(8/22/19) Laura Bell Bundy, who was Tony-nominated for originating the role of Elle Woods in Broadway’s 2007 Legally Blonde: The Musical, has been cast in a recurring role on NBC comedy Perfect Harmony.

Bundy will play Kimmy, a high school mean girl who hides her cruelty behind a smile and becomes a rival against Ginny (Anna Camp). Bundy will be a recurring guest star.

Also known for her country music recordings, Bundy has recurred in CBS’ How I Met Your Mother and on The CW’s Hart of Dixie. Other TV credits include FX’s Anger Management and Lifetime’s Becoming Santa.

Perfect Harmony, as NBC puts it, is what happens when former Princeton music professor Arthur Cochran (Bradley Whitford) unexpectedly stumbles into choir practice at a small-town church, finds an oddball group of singers that is out of tune in more ways than one. Despite the ultimate clash of sensibilities, Arthur and his newfound cohorts, including temporary choirmaster Ginny (Camp), help each other reinvent and rediscover a little happiness just when they all need it most.

Lesley Wake Webster and Bradley Whitford executive produce alongside Jason Winer and Jon Radler of Small Dog Picture Company. 20th Century TV, where Small Dog is based, is the studio.

Bundy is repped by Haven Entertainment and WME.

Vincent Irizarry Opens up About Joining THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL

(8/21/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) As the fallout surrounding the baby-switch storyline continues, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL has tapped veteran daytime actor Vincent Irizarry to lend a bit more intrigue in the recurring role of Dr. Jordan Armstrong. He will first air on Monday, August 26, and for the sake of the Forrester and Logan families, let’s hope his character is more ethical than Reese, the physician who originally set this storyline in motion! Then again, considering the last doctor Irizarry played (ALL MY CHILDREN’s David Hayward) was pretty treacherous, it’s anyone’s guess what we should expect from his new role! “I’m open to whatever they throw my way. We’ll leave it at that,” teased Irizarry, who also played SANTA BARBARA doctor Scott Clark.

Though the Emmy winner is a well-established face in daytime, he starts every new character he plays with a blank slate. “Even though I’ve played a doctor before, it’s not like Jordan is going to be exactly like David, because the backstory always informs who the character is,” he said. “I never worry about having to bring something different [to my portrayal] — it all stems from who the guy is and where he comes from.”

Meanwhile, Irizarry is thrilled to be back working with former AMC colleague Thorsten Kaye (Ridge) and regularly bumping into old castmates from THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, as the soaps tape across the hall from each other. “It’s like one huge repertory company with all of these shows at this point,” he mused. “I’ve been in this medium for nearly 40 years, so I’ve worked with so many people, not only the actors on the show but also people on the crew and production throughout all these years. It’s great!”

Stay tuned to see how Jordan impacts the canvas.

Soap Opera Audiobook News

(8/16/19) Dark Shadows by Marilyn Ross, narrated by Kathryn Leigh Scott (ex-Maggie Evans, Dark Shadows). These are from the original 1960’s paperbacks, there will be 32 titles released on audio.

(Order Here) Despite warnings from the townspeople, Victoria Winters accepts the offer to come to the strange Collinwood as Governess. For some curious reason, she feels the secret of her past may be uncovered in the bleak manor high on Widow's Hill.

From the Moment she arrives, Victoria becomes the target of someone in the house determined to destroy her. As the wind moans and the rain lashes around the isolated Collinwood, Victoria, without friends in the manor, feels death close in on her - a choking, frightening death.

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman, narrated by Judith Light (ex-Karen, OLTL). Releases September 15.

(Order Here) From the New York Times best-selling author of The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites comes Alice Hoffman's darkly magical story of in a heartbreaking time of war when men became monsters, children navigated a world without parents, and women were willing to sacrifice everything for those they loved.

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL).

(Order Here)

"Orlagh Cassidy narrates Blake's beautifully written multigenerational story of love and lies with consummate skill. Elegant and clear, distant yet passionate, she helps listeners discover the quirks in characters' personalities and explore their motives, both evident and hidden." -AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

How To Forget: A Daughter’s Memoir by Kate Mulgrew, narrated by Kate Mulgrew(ex-Mary, Ryan’s Hope).

(Order Here)

In this profoundly honest and examined memoir about returning to Iowa to care for her ailing parents, the star of Orange Is the New Black and best-selling author of Born with Teeth takes us on an unexpected journey of loss, betrayal, and the transcendent nature of a daughter's love for her parents.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mr. Rogers by Fred Rogers, Luke Flowers, narrated by John Lithgow and Kate Mulgrew (ex-Mary, Ryan’s Hope).

(Order Here) For the first time ever, 75 beloved songs from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and The Children's Corner are collected in this charming treasury, sure to be cherished by generations of children as well as the millions of adults who grew up with Mister Rogers. The audiobook includes the iconic song "Won't You Be My Neighbor", music and lyrics by Fred Rogers.

‘After We Collided’ Rounds Out Cast With Charlie Weber, Louise Lombard, Candice King & More

(8/16/19) After We Collided, the upcoming sequel to Voltage Pictures’ indie YA hit After, has locked down its final cast as it begins production with Charlie Weber, Louise Lombard, Candice King, Karimah Westbrook and Rob Estes joining.

After, which was released in April making close to $70M WW, is based on the bestselling Anna Todd book series. Todd co-wrote the screenplay for the sequel with Mario Celaya and is producing as well. The pic recently won Best Choice Drama, Choice Drama Movie Actor and Choice Drama Movie Actress at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards. Cruel Intentions’ Roger Kumble is directing After We Collided which stars returning leads Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and new castmember Dylan Sprouse.

Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder and Dylan Arnold will also reprise their roles in the sequel that follows Hardin and Tessa as they struggle to come back together, facing obstacles that will test their relationship more than ever.

Jennifer Gibgot, CalMaple’s Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon are also producing.

After opened to No. 1 in 17 countries with close to $10M in France, $9.3M in Germany and $7.1M in Italy. Other notable territories include Russia, which took of $3.2M, Benelux which took over $3.5M and Scandinavia which took over $3M.

Weber starred as ‘Frank’ on ABC/Shondaland’s How to Get Away With Murder opposite Viola Davis for the past five years. The sixth and final season of the hit drama will begin on ABC in September. He is repped by UTA, BMK-ENT, and Ziffren Brittenham.

Lombard is known for her roles on CBS’ CSI and as the female lead in the Disney feature film Hidalgo opposite Viggo Mortensen. Other credits include SyFy’s cult hit SGU: Stargate Universe, Fox’s Lethal Weapon and ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder. She is repped by Paradigm and Affirmative Entertainment.

King is best known for her regular role as Caroline Forbes on The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries and her recurring role as the same character on the spin-off series The Originals. She is repped by The Kohner Agency.

Westbrook is known for her roles in Save the Last Dance opposite Julia Stiles, Suburbicon opposite Matt Damon and The Rum Diary opposite Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart. She can currently be seen in CW’s All American. Westbrook is repped by AEFH

Estes plays Harry Wilson on the teen drama series 90210, Sgt. Chris Lorenzo on the crime drama series Silk Stalkings, and Kyle McBride on the primetime soap opera Melrose Place. Estes is represented by Global Artists Agency.

‘Coming 2 America’ Sequel: Shari Headley Officially Returning

(8/13/19) Shari Headley rounds out core cast of the original Coming to America film set to return for Paramount’s sequel. She’ll reprise her role as Lisa McDowell, the love interest and eventual wife to Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem. Returning from the original in addition to Murphy and Headley are Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Paul Bates, and John Amos.

Wesley Snipes, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Rick Ross, and KiKi Layne also co-star in the Craig Brewer-directed pic.

Slated to hit theaters December 18 of next year, the plot follows former Prince Akeem who is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his father’s dying wish to groom this son as the crowned prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America. Murphy is producing with Kevin Misher and Kenya Barris.

Headley credits include OWN’s The Haves and the Have Nots, Fox’s Star, and Sony’s Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. She next appears in Showtime’s new dark comedy series, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, with Kirsten Dunst.

BH90210's Ian Ziering Throws Shade at The CW's 'Soapy' Follow-Up: 'No One's Going to Do a Remake of That Show'

(8/6/19) Beverly Hills 90210‘s Ian Ziering is not keeping his opinion of The CW’s AnnaLynne McCord-fronted version zipped up. While promoting tonight’s launch of Fox’s BH90210 reboot (read our review), the franchise vet threw shade at 90210, which ran on The CW from 2008 to 2013.

“That show that you saw however many years ago wasn’t really an iteration,” Ziering told reporters Wednesday at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour when asked why he chose not to appear in The CW follow-up. “They were using [the] Beverly Hills, 90210 [brand] to lure people in, [but] once I saw that pilot episode, I realized it had nothing to do with what we created.”

Dismissing 90210 as “more of a soap opera” vs. the “more substantive, much more issue-oriented” original, Ziering said, “I think that people related to our show much more than that [the The CW follow-up] because of that [reason] — and not just here in the United States, but all around the world.”

Ziering was also quick to note that 90210 did not enjoy the longevity that Beverly Hills, 90210 did. “We were on for 10 years, they were on for five,” he cracked. After acknowledging that a five-year run is by most measures “a success,” he maintained that, “No one’s going to [do] a remake of that show. With all due respect. Often imitated, but never [replicated].”

BH90210 premieres tonight at 8/7c on Fox.

GH Alums Team Up For New Project

(8/6/19) Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily) and RIck Hearst (ex-Ric) co-star in the upcoming faith-based sports drama Full Count, which is slated for a U.S. theatrical and VOD release on October 25, 2019. Livingston plays Katherine Young, a homemaker dealing with a family tragedy; Hearst plays Deputy Jones, a recent transfer from a “big city” precinct.

Ian Ziering Explains 'New Take' on Reboot with 'BH90210'

(8/6/19) The highly anticipated reboot of "Beverly Hills, 90210" isn't just another cookie-cutter play for nostalgia -- it's taking the idea in a bold new direction ... and Ian Ziering thinks you're gonna love it.

The guy who played Steve Sanders on the wildly popular '90s TV show joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday and broke it down so viewers know what to expect ... as much as possible anyway.

From the sound of it, it's not quite "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and not quite "Desperate Housewives" ... but somewhere in between for the stars of '90210' who've reunited for the project.

As you know ... all the major players -- Jennie Garth, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling -- are back along with Ziering. The exception is Luke Perry, who sadly passed earlier this year.

Ian says the new show -- with the slightly tweaked title, "BH90210" -- will highlight the differences between the actors' real lives and the characters they play on screen ... but with a twist.

He also touches on how surreal it was to gather with his costars back at the ol' Peach Pit after all these years -- especially when Ian's moved on quite a bit from his Sanders character, now starring in and producing a new movie called "Zombie Tidal Wave."

Seems like the group had a ton of fun filming the 6-part miniseries together, and don't worry ... the classic theme song is back too. Check it out Wednesday night on FOX.

BH90210 Cast Recreates Opening Credits for Fox Reboot — Watch

(8/6/19) (Trailer) Why can’t all high school reunions look this good? As part of Fox’s new limited series BH90210 (premiering Wednesday at 8/7c), the show’s cast has recreated Beverly Hills, 90210‘s iconic opening credits — appearing in alphabetical order, naturally.

Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea), Shannen Doherty (Brenda), Jennie Garth (Kelly), Brian Austin Green (David), Jason Priestley (Brandon), Tori Spelling (Donna) and Ian Ziering (Steve) still look eerily like you remember them, striking their best yearbook-ready poses over the show’s classic guitar licks and saxophone wails.

BH90210 finds the aforementioned actors playing heightened versions of their off-camera selves, complete with fictionalized personal lives. Additional cast members include Ivan Sergei as Spelling’s husband, La La Anthony as Green’s wife, Vanessa Lachey as Priestley’s wife and Denise Richards as herself. Fans of the original series will also be thrilled to see Christine Elise (best known for playing Emily Valentine) pop up on the show playing a heightened version of herself.

Wednesday’s BH90210 premiere also includes a special moment honoring the memory of original series star Luke Perry, who died in March.

Wes Ramsey Opens up About His Sexy New Movie, 'Perception'

(8/2/19) (Trailer) Congratulations to GENERAL HOSPITAL actor Wes Ramsey (Peter), whose new film, Perception, is being released on iTunes and all VOD platforms on Tuesday, August 6! "It's the performance I've waited my whole life to give," he confided to Soaps In Depth. "A character I always believed was in me. And once it was out… I'm really proud of it." Shot in Ramsey's hometown of Louisville, KY, the thriller was filmed shortly before the actor joined the cast of GH.

Directed by Ilana Rein and co-written by Rein and Brian Smith, Perception centers around Ramsey’s character of Daniel, a struggling real estate developer who must evict Nina (Meera Rohit Kumbhani), a small-time psychic struggling to provide for her young son. But when she offers him a free reading and senses the spirit of his dead wife, Daniel becomes obsessed with reconnecting with his lost love. Both he and Nina must decide how far they’ll go to get what they want, and the spirit might also have plans of her own in this supernatural thriller!

In addition to playing Peter August on GH, Ramsey has also been moonlighting in some independent feature films like Two Pictures and Last Seen in Idaho. While Perception premiered back at the DTLA Film Festival back in October of 2018, the actor is excited everyone will finally get to see the movie. "I'm happy it found distribution and that it's going to be able to be seen," he enthused. "When you make a movie, you don't know if it's going to take one year to come out or six months or two years. You just hope that it doesn't get blown off or put on a shelf and that it finds a home.

"The fact that right after I completed the movie was when I began the process of auditioning and screen-testing and ending up on contract at GH," Ramsey added, "it's nice to now, two years later, be able to use my Port Charles family and community to help me support the release of this film that I'm really proud of. And everyone's excited about it." Check out this steamy trailer!

City on a Hill Renewed for Season 2

(8/2/19) City on the Hill is standing its ground at Showtime.

Despite unspectacular ratings, the Kevin Bacon-Aldis Hodge drama has been renewed for a second season, the cabler announced Friday at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour.

City on a Hill averages nearly a half-million total weekly viewers (in Live+Same Day ratings), although that audience swells to 3.5 million across all platforms.

“City on a Hill is that addictive kind of meaty and messy show we love at Showtime,” said the cabler’s president, Gary Levine, in a statement. “With the inspired pairing of Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge and the inspired writing of Tom Fontana and Chuck MacLean, we believe there is a rich future for this compelling series.”

Melissa Leo, Michael K. Williams, Frank Grillo, Alice Englert And Jack Kilmer Set For Crime Thriller ‘Body Brokers’

(7/31/19) John Swab’s forthcoming crime thriller Body Brokers has set an impressive roster for its cast including Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo (ex-Linda, All My Children), Emmy nominated actor Michael K. Williams (When They See Us, The Wire), Frank Grillo (ex-Hart, The Guiding Light) Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures, Them That Follow) and Jack Kilmer (The Nice Guys, The Stanford Prison Experiment).

Written and directed by Swab, Body Brokers is the true and untold story of the multibillion-dollar drug and alcohol treatment scheme where former drug addicts and dealers become millionaires as fly-by-night “body brokers”, recruiting other addicts to seek treatment and selling these patients off to facilities paying the highest price. Utah (Kilmer) and his girlfriend Opal (Englert) are drug addicts living on the streets in rural Ohio. After getting recruited by a body broker, Wood (Williams), and offered treatment in Los Angeles, Wood takes Utah under his wing and introduces him to treatment center mogul Vin (Grillo). Wood and Vin bring Utah in on their lucrative and illegal dealings, where saving lives comes second to the bottom line. Leo plays the treatment center’s resident shrink, Dr. White.

The film is being produced by Jeremy M. Rosen (Dog Eat Dog, Charlie Says), Robert Ogden Barnum (Margin Call, All Is Lost) as well as Swab for Roxwell Films.

Swab’s credits include Let Me Make You a Martyr starring Marilyn Manson which was released by FilmRise in 2017. His latest feature, Run with the Hunted starring Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman and Dree Hemingway is set for a fall festival run with domestic sales being handled by CAA Media Finance.

Leo is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Grillo is repped by CAA and Paul Hastings; Williams is repped by WME and Silver Lining Entertainment; Englert is repped by CAA and Kilmer is repped by CAA and Authentic Talent & Literary Management.

Body Brokers is set to commence principal photography in August 2019. CAA Media Finance will handle domestic sales on the film.

Laura Wright Says She Always Knew Kelly Ripa Would Be a Star

(7/28/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Since taking over as co-host of what’s now LIVE WITH KELLY AND RYAN in 2001, Kelly Ripa (Hayley, ALL MY CHILDREN) has gone from daytime starlet to morning talk show icon — and the transition was no surprise to GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Laura Wright (Carly). “Kelly’s a friend of mine from when I was [Ally] on LOVING and she was on AMC” in New York during the 1990s. “We were inseparable for the longest time.”

When Kathie Lee Gifford announced that she was leaving what was then LIVE! WITH REGIS & KATHIE LEE, Wright thought her pal would be perfect as Regis Philbin’s new co-host. “I just knew this was Kelly’s job. I had no idea she was even in the running. I was talking with a friend and said Kelly should have the part. There was no one else that quick and funny on the spot.” So when Ripa called to share the big news, Wright could have easily told mutual friends that she’d predicted the casting news. “It’s just so her!”

Dishing with Digest - 7/19/19 - Rebecca Budig

(7/19/19) GH's Rebecca Budig (Hayden) Traces Her Career Path (Listen / download).

Rebecca Budig talks about coming back to GH as Hayden, her previous soap roles on GUIDING LIGHT and ALL MY CHILDREN, answers burning Qs from soap pals and more with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also talk about how favorite characters coming back to a show affects the canvas as a whole.

Hayden Panettiere’s daughter living with ex Wladimir Klitschko in Ukraine

(7/17/19) Hayden Panettiere has reportedly been apart from her 4-year-old daughter since splitting from the child’s father, Wladimir Klitschko, last August.

“[Hayden’s] life is in flux with her daughter living away, and she has other issues weighing on her mind,” a source told People.

The 29-year-old actress’s child, Kaya, has apparently been living in Ukraine with Klitschko, 43, since last summer.

Meanwhile, Panettiere’s current boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is facing a felony domestic violence charge. Panettiere’s family is “begging” her to dump Hickerson, with a source telling People, “It is totally out of control and she has to get over this guy.”

The LAPD arrested Hickerson in May. Page Six reported that cops were called after the couple got into a physical altercation in their home after a night of drinking in Hollywood.

At the time, TMZ reported that police saw redness and marks on Panettiere’s body.

Hickerson was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the “Heroes” star. He pleaded not guilty.

The duo began dating last summer.

Irizarry Joins B&B

(7/17/19) Daytime Emmy winner Vincent Irizarry is joining the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful as Dr. Jordan Armstrong, TVInsider.com reports.

Irizarry makes his debut on the CBS soap on Monday, Aug. 26, and will play a pivotal role in the baby Beth/baby Phoebe storyline.

Irizarry’s many daytime credits include Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, One Life to Live, All My Children (for which he won a Daytime Emmy in 2009), Santa Barbara and Guiding Light.

Hayden Panettiere’s family ‘begging’ her to dump allegedly abusive boyfriend

(7/17/19) Hayden Panettiere‘s family is worried about her safety.

The “Nashville” star’s friends and family are “begging” her to dump allegedly abusive boyfriend Brian Hickerson, according to a new report from People.

Hickerson currently faces a felony domestic violence charge. A source told the outlet that as a result, those closest to Panettiere, 29, “are begging her to straighten up and move ahead.”

“It is totally out of control and she has to get over this guy,” the source said.

“Her friends and family have been worried about her for quite a while, and things seem to have gotten worse,” the source added. “She needs to do some soul-searching. For whatever reason, she continues this relationship, but it has done nothing but take her down lower. It’s a sad situation.”

Panettiere’s family broke their silence on the ongoing trauma that not only the “Heroes” star faces but also other victims of domestic violence as well.

“We are hopeful that the judge makes the right decision,” the family said. “It’s an important message in terms of domestic violence for all women.”

Page Six previously reported that LAPD arrested Hickerson after a night of drinking with Panettiere. They returned to their home — where the alleged attack occurred — in the early morning hours. Police saw redness and marks on Panettiere’s body when they arrived and took Hickerson into custody.

Hickerson was later ordered to stay 100 yards away from the actress after he pleaded not guilty to one count of felony domestic violence.

Orlagh Cassidy on Instinct 7/28/19

(7/16/19) “Ancient History” – Dylan and Lizzie investigate the case of a prominent divorce lawyer who is found murdered in a bizarre ritual. Also, Dylan and Andy hit a bump in their adoption process; Lizzie and Julian reach a tough point in their relationship; and Ryan Stock’s serial killer case escalates, on INSTINCT, Sunday, July 28 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Andrew Polk (Doug the Medical Examiner), Orlagh Cassidy (Margot)

Hayden Panettiere's family speaks out about boyfriend's alleged assault

(7/12/19) Hayden Panettiere’s family members are speaking out about the felony domestic violence case where the actress was allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend.

Brian Hickerson was arrested by police on May 2 after an argument with the former Nashville star at her home reportedly turned physical.

His lawyers tried to fight the charges against him in court on Wednesday, arguing Panettiere was also to blame for the bust-up, but the judge ruled prosecutors had enough evidence to move forward with the case, and denied the defendant’s motion for dismissal.

Hickerson, who had previously pleaded not guilty, was also slapped with a restraining order, demanding he stay at least 100 yards (91 metres) away from Panettiere.

If convicted of the felony, he faces up to four years in prison and now Hayden’s family has released a statement, encouraging the judge to take a tough line.

“We are hopeful that the judge makes the right decision,” it reads. “It’s an important message in terms of domestic violence for all women.”

Panettiere and Hickerson were first linked in August, 2018, shortly after the actress split from her fiance, former boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko — the father of her four-year-old daughter, Kaya.

BH90210: Watch First Footage From Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210 'Revival'

(7/12/19) (Video) It may be skimpier than a Beach Club bikini, but the newest teaser for Beverly Hills, 90210‘s quasi-revival gives us a glimpse of what the series actually will be like.

“Remember when we used to make out to this song?” Tori Spelling seems to ask former on-screen love interest Brian Austin Green at the top of the BH90210 clip (please don’t let them mean the original series’ theme song, which is playing in the background). From there, we’re plunged into quick looks at the rest of the Peach Pit gang. They toast and tease each other (Jennie Garth tells Spelling she’s “outta control, girl” while the latter takes a selfie on an airplane)! They make references to old episodes (are we mistaken, or in one shot, does Gabrielle Carteris appear to be exchanging an egg?)! And they gaze smolderingly, both at the camera (hi, Shannen Doherty!) and each other (hi, Jason Priestley and Garth!).

The series debuts Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9/8c, and features the original cast members mentioned above, as well as Ian Ziering, playing exaggerated versions of themselves. Though in the mini-trailer Carteris proclaims “I love when we’re all together,” not every 90210 alum will be part of the series; original cast member Luke Perry died after experiencing a stroke earlier this year.

Taye Diggs Says ‘Empire’ Should Bring Jussie Smollett Back

(7/2/19) Empire co-creator Lee Daniels already said it’s not happening, but Taye Diggs thinks Jussie Smollett should be given a chance to return to the Fox series.

Diggs recently sat down with Black Hollywood Live’s “Inside The Black Actor’s Studio” on Afterbuzz TV, and said he thinks Smollet should be allowed to return to the hip-hop drama.

“I have no idea what people are going through. And to be honest, it’s kinda none of my business,” Diggs began. He [Smollett] is a good friend of mine. I love him. He’s, he’s only done right by me. So you know people go through things. It doesn’t change who he was and who he is to me. It doesn’t change, you know, the attention that we still need to pay to, you know, homophobic. Like, the people, people trip out, just because; whatever happened doesn’t mean that, that the issue that he stands for don’t still exist.” Diggs then said he thought the decision to write Smollett out of the series last season, following his alleged attack, was made too quickly.

“If I am being honest, the smart thing would be to bring him back and, and let it interweave it into the, into the show, you know?” Diggs said. “I feel like, people, I may get in trouble for saying this, but they’re so quick to just, uh, to leave, to leave these people. You know what I mean? So quick to, to fire them, so quick to kind of, you know, throw them away as opposed to, you know, taking their time and, maybe letting it, let it, let it work toward, you know, the program or the job, or, you’d probably get to the bottom of it if he, if he stuck around.”

Diggs had a recurring role as Angelo DuBois on Empire between 2016 to 2017. But his comments may be a moot point, since Daniels said on June 4, Smollett’s character Jamal Lyon would not appear on the sixth and final season of the series.

“Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire,” Daniels tweeted, following reports that the embattled actor’s character was being re-worked into scripts for the series.

On January 29, Smollett claimed he was beaten up in Chicago by two masked men wearing “MAGA” hats. Police later said Smollett hired two friends to stage the attack.

Cook County prosecutors charged the actor with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report. Smollett maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty. On March 26, the state’s attorney’s office suddenly dropped the charges after Smollett agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bail and perform community service.

The case is now being given a second look by a special prosecutor in Chicago.

Jordi Vilasuso Reveals Why He Doesn't Like Reality TV

(6/30/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) While unscripted television programs like THE BACHELOR still attract huge ratings, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS' Jordi Vilasuso (Rey) admitted that he hasn’t really watched much of it. “I like documentaries, but I don’t watch any reality TV. I think I’ve had an animosity towards that type of programming because they’ve taken so many jobs away from actors,” he shared candidly to Soaps In Depth. “And I grew up loving storytelling, so I haven’t been able to get behind unscripted shows.” That is not to say Vilasuso doesn’t enjoy competition-based shows such as THE VOICE or MASTER CHEF. “I thought Gordon Ramsay’s show was great, because there was a lot of creativity involved,” he grinned. “And we cook in my house, so that one was cool!”

Ian Ziering’s ‘Zombie Tidal Wave’ Movie To Premiere As Part Of Syfy’s “Off The Deep End Weekend”

(6/27/19) Zombie Tidal Wave, a new Syfy original movie starring and produced by Ian Ziering (Sharknado), is set to premiere as part of Syfy’s shark-themed Off The Deep End weekend, Saturday, August 17 at 9 PM.

The movie is the first project under the production pact between Ian Ziering’s I.Man Productions and Darby Parker’s Stronghold Entertainment. The feature stars Ziering and was directed by Ziering’s frequent collaborator Anthony C. Ferrante who helmed all six of Ziering’s Sharknado‘s film installments.

Ziering and Parker see this as the first of many installments where we follow lead Hunter Shaw (Ziering) as he contends with the ocean-borne outbreak which threatens his seaside island community, the rogue, veteran sailor leading a disparate group of locals to uncover the origins of the undead pandemic while battling the growing horde of infected before it can reach the mainland.

Shot on location in Krabi, Thailand in collaboration with Benetone Films, the film was financed by Piguant Pictures and The Wonderfilm Media Corporation, Wonderfilm’s Kirk Shaw and Imprint Entertainment’s Michael Becker also serving as producers on the film.

Ziering and Parker produce from an original story by Ziering and Thunder Levin, and a script by Parker, Ferrante and Josh LeBlanc.

Zombie Tidal Wave will air as part of Syfy’s Off the Deep End weekend August 17 and August 18, featuring all of your favorite shark movies including Sharknado, Sharknado 2, 3, 4 and 5, The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time, Zombie Shark, Sharktopus, Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda, Atomic Shark, Dam Sharks, 5-Headed Shark, 6-Headed Shark, Frenzy and Megalodon.

‘Ozark’: Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Frances Dukes Among Four Cast; Two Promoted For Season 3 Of Netflix Series

(6/15/19) Former Iron Fist star Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Frances Dukes (Marvel’s Jessica Jones) are set as new series regulars and Power‘s Joseph Sikora and and Felix Solis (Ten Days in the Valley) will recur on the upcoming third season of Netflix’s Ozark, the drama series starring, directed and executive produced by Jason Bateman. Additionally, Lisa Emery and Janet McTeer who recurred last season as Darlene Shell and Janet McTeer, respectively, have been promoted to series regulars for Season 3.

Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, Season 2, headlined by Bateman and Laura Linney, continues to follow Marty Byrde (Bateman) and his family as they navigate the murky waters of life within a dangerous drug cartel. With Del out, the crime syndicate sends their ruthless attorney Helen Pierce to town to shake things up just as the Byrdes are finally settling in. Marty and Wendy (Linney) struggle to balance their family interests amid the escalating dangers presented by their partnerships with the power-hungry Snells, the cartel and their new deputy, Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner), whose father Cade has been released from prison. The stakes are even higher than before and the Byrdes soon realize they have to go all in before they can get out.

Pelphrey plays Ben Davis, Wendy’s capricious younger brother, Ben, arrives for an unannounced and inopportune visit. He quickly reminds Wendy who she used to be and who she was running from.

Dukes will portray FBI agent and forensic accountant Maya Miller, who comes to the casino with one goal, to take Marty (Bateman) down and do it by the book.

Sikora portrays Frank Cosgrove Jr. The hotheaded son of Kansas City mob boss Frank Cosgrove, Frank Jr. immediately clashes with Ruth when forced to work together in the new casino laundering business.

Solis is Omar Navarro. As the ruthless leader of Mexico’s second largest drug cartel, Navarro attacks his enemies with both brutal violence and psychological warfare — as the Byrdes will personally discover this season.

Bateman directed multiple episodes from the first and second season and serves as an executive producer along with Mundy, Dubuque and Williams. Ozark is produced by Bateman’s Aggregate Films in association with Media Rights Capital.

Pelphrey is known for his role Ward Meachum on both seasons of Marvel’s Iron Fist on Netflix. His other TV credits include Cinemax’s Banshee and he recently appeared in a guest role on Blindspot.

Dukes, most recently seen in the title role of By The Way, Meet Vera Stark at New York’s Signature Theatre, recurs as Grace in multiple episodes of the upcoming third and final season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Netflix. Her previous credits include guest-starring roles on New Amsterdam, NCIS: New Orleans and The Good Wife.

Sikora most recently played Tommy Egan on Starz’s Power and recurred on Netflix’s Maniac and WGN America’s Underground. On the big screen, he recently appeared in The Intruder opposite Michael Ealy and Dennis Quaid and next will be seen in Jacob’s Ladder opposite Ealy.

Solis was a series regular on ABC’s Ten Days in the Valley and in CBS pilot History of Them. He was most recently seen on SEAL Team and in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Cost of Living. He’s repped by D2 Management.

Kristolyn Lloyd & Emily Swallow on Elementary 7/4/19

(6/14/19) “From Russia with Drugs” – Holmes and Watson investigate the murder of a criminal who made his living by stealing from other criminals. Also, when Captain Gregson resumes leadership of the precinct, he suspects his interim replacement, Captain Dwyer, is responsible for one of his best detective’s suspicious departure, on ELEMENTARY, Thursday, July 4 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Rob Bartlett (Captain Dwyer), Emily Swallow (Bree Novacek), Kristolyn Lloyd (Janice)

Tell Me a Story Season 2: Paul Wesley Returning In a New Role

(6/12/19) Tell Me a Story will spin a new crop of fairytales in Season 2, but it will do so with a familiar face. TVLine has learned that Vampire Diaries vet Paul Wesley — who starred in the first season of CBS All Access’ anthology thriller — will be back for the series’ sophomore run.

Story‘s inaugural season put a creepy, modern-day spin on Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel.

Season 2 will reimagine the princess-themed tales Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, with Wesley starring as Tucker, a struggling novelist who spends his sleepless nights toiling away in a secluded cabin in the woods and his days trying to prove he’s good enough for his beautiful fiancée. But it’s all about to come crashing down as a dark secret threatens to destroy his world.

Fellow Vampire Diaries vet Kevin Williamson, who created Tell Me a Story, will be back as showunner in Season 2.

Talk Show Appearance

(6/12/19) LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS – NBC

Monday, June 17: Kevin Bacon

Cynthia Watros' First Air Date as GH's New Nina Revealed!

(6/10/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Big casting news! Cynthia Watros is the new Nina on GENERAL HOSPITAL! With Michelle Stafford exiting the soap, fans wondered if the character would be written out or recast, and the soap finally announced that daytime alum Watros will be taking over the role. “It’s a bittersweet day,” tweeted GH executive producer Frank Valentini when the news broke online. “I love Michelle Stafford and wish her all the best. I’m also really excited about Cynthia Watros joining the GH family and continuing Nina’s legacy.” Entertainment Tonight later revealed that Watros would make her debut in the episode airing on Monday, June 17.

Soap fans will remember Watros as Annie Dutton on CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT, a role she played from 1997-98, earning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in the process. She also briefly took over the role of Vicky on ANOTHER WORLD in 1998. Then Watros moved on to primetime, starring in the sitcoms TITUS and THE DREW CAREY SHOW as well as dramas LOST and HOUSE. In 2013, she returned to daytime to play Kelly Andrews on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS.

Nina first appeared on GH in May of 2014 with Stafford making a surprise appearance as Silas’ ex. And while she started out as an obsessed psycho, she eventually matured into a strong, independent businesswoman who loved adopted daughter Charlotte as her own. Watros took her GL character of Annie in the opposite direction, growing more psycho as time went on, so we know she can handle both sides of Nina’s personality.

Stay tuned to see how Nina’s storyline will continue with Watros in the role.

‘BH90210’: The Gang Returns To The Peach Pit – Watch Promo

(6/7/19) (Video) Looks like the Peach Pit may be making a return to BH90210, Fox’s upcoming summer drama series. The iconic diner was a favorite hangout for the gang in the original Beverly Hills, 90210, and it is now featured in a new promo for the series.

The 45-second clip features authentic Barbie dolls from the period that the original show aired, all sitting around in the retro-styled restaurant chatting about the latest drama at the beach club. At the end of the clip we see it is the real-life actors who are playing with the dolls.

We may be seeing some actual footage soon. Production is currently underway and the show’s first episode is about to wrap.

BH90210 is described as a serialized drama with a dose of irreverence inspired by the real lives and relationships of Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling. Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, the septet — who will play heightened versions of themselves — reunite when one of them suggests it’s time to get a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot up and running.

BH90210 is produced by CBS TV Studios and Fox Entertainment. Chris Alberghini, Mike Chessler and Paul Sciarrotta are co-showrunners and executive produce alongside Carteris, Doherty, Garth, Green, Priestley, Spelling and Ziering. The series was conceived by Alberghini, Chessler, Spelling and Garth.

BH90210 premieres Wednesday, August 7 at 9/8c on Fox.

‘Jiu Jitsu’: Frank Grillo, Rick Yune, Tony Jaa & Others Joins Nicolas Cage Martial Arts Pic

(6/7/19) The Jiu Jitsu battle just got bigger. Tony Jaa, Frank Grillo, Rick Yune, Marie Avgeropoulos and JuJu Chan have joined the martial arts actioner starring Nicolas Cage and Alain Moussi from writer-director-producer Dimitri Logothetis.

Here’s how it plays out: Every six years, an ancient order of expert Jiu Jitsu fighters faces a vicious alien in a battle to protect Earth. For thousands of years, the fighters that protect Earth have played by the rules…until now. When celebrated war hero Jake Barnes (Moussi) is defeated by Brax, the Alien invader, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Injured and suffering from amnesia, Jake is rescued by Wylie (Cage), Keung (Jaa), Harrigan (Grillo) and his team of fellow Jiu Jitsu fighters. They must help Jake to regain his strength in order to band together and defeat Brax in an epic battle that will once again determine the fate of mankind.

Logothetis and Jim McGrath wrote the pic based on the comic book, Martin Barab is producing alongside Logothetis. other character and role details weren’t available.

Jaa starred in the Ong-Bak films, and his credits also include Furious 7 and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Grillo has appeared as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in multiple Marvel pics including Avengers: Endgame and in last year’s Toronto opener Donnybrook. Yune’s recent credits include Alita: Battle Angel, Olympus Has Fallen, and TV’s Prison Break and Marco Polo. Avgeropoulos is a regular on CW drama The 100, and starred in films including Tracers and A Remarkable Life. Chan appeared in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, has a key role in the upcoming Netflix series Wu Assassins and next appears in Chinese action pic The Invincible Dragon.

Jaa is repped by the Gersh Agency, Zero Gravity and attorney Dave Feldman. Grillo is with CAA and Management 360. Yune is repped by Paradigm, Avgeropoulos by UTA and Chan by Gersh Agency and Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen.

Highland Film Group kicked off worldwide sales for Jiu Jitsu at Hong Kong Filmart in March. Production begin on June 24.

Talk Show Appearance

(6/7/19) THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS

Th 6/13: Kevin Bacon

Talk Show Appearance

(6/7/19) THE VIEW, ABC

Fr 6/14: Kevin Bacon

Actor Jake Weary: ‘I’m a Jersey Boy at Heart’

(5/29/19) (njmonthly.com) Weary plays Deran Cody on the hit TNT drama Animal Kingdom, whose fourth season premieres May 28 at 9 pm.

Actor Jake Weary doesn’t shy away from dark material.

Weary and the highly dysfunctional Cody family are back May 28 for a fourth season of bloodshed and betrayal in the hit TNT drama Animal Kingdom. In September, look for the Glen Ridge-born/Montclair-raised actor in a small role in It: Chapter Two, the sequel to the 2017 creepy-clown movie.

“Working on It was super fun,” says Weary, 29. But he adds with a laugh: “I’m only in the opening segment. I may end up not making the final cut.”

Weary was raised in a show-biz family. His mother, Kim Zimmer, won four daytime Emmys on the long-running soap opera Guiding Light. His dad, A.C. Weary, is a director. Weary’s previous credits include the TV soap As the World Turns (as Luke Snyder) and the NBC drama Chicago Fire.

“Jersey gave me that ability to tell it like it is,” says Weary. “Jersey natives know who they are and are not afraid to show it.”

On Animal Kingdom, Weary plays one of the four Cody boys, who operate a criminal enterprise presided over by Ellen Barkin.

“Fans should definitely expect things to change a bit,” says Weary of the new season.

Weary’s character has gotten lots of attention because of his complex sexuality. “The stereotypical gay character on TV, it’s been done so much. I just hope I’m doing this character justice.”

When he’s back in Jersey visiting family, Weary always makes his way to Valley Road in Montclair for slices at Enzo’s, or Taylor ham sandwiches at Hot Bagels Abroad next door.

“I’m still a Jersey boy at heart.”

Audiobooks Narrated By Soap Stars

(5/28/19) Mother Country by Irina Reyn, narrated by Kathleen Gati (Obrecht, GH) (Get it here)

Nadia's daily life in south Brooklyn is filled with small indignities: as a senior home attendant, she is always in danger of being fired; as a part-time nanny, she is forced to navigate the demands of her spoiled charge and the preschooler's insecure mother; and as a ethnic Russian, she finds herself feuding with western Ukrainian immigrants who think she is a traitor.

The war back home is always at the forefront of her reality. On television, Vladimir Putin speaks of the "reunification" of Crimea and Russia, the Ukrainian president makes unconvincing promises about a united Ukraine, while American politicians are divided over the fear of immigration. Nadia internalizes notions of "union" all around her, but the one reunion she has been waiting six years for - with her beloved daughter - is being eternally delayed by the Department of Homeland Security. When Nadia finds out that her daughter has lost access to the medicine she needs to survive, she takes matters into her own hands.

Mother Country is Irina Reyn's most emotionally complex, urgent novel yet. It is a story of mothers and daughters and, above all else, resilience.

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum, narrated by Ariana Delawari, Dahlia Salem (ex-Sofia, AW, ex-Claire, GH), Susan Nezami (Get it here)

Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naive and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married and is soon living in Brooklyn. There, Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law, Fareeda, and strange new husband, Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children - four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.

Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra's oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda's insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can't help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: The only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.

But fate has a will of its own, and soon, Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family - knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.

Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is a story of culture and honor, secrets and betrayals, love and violence. It is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and closed cultural world and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect.

The American Agent: Maisie Dobbs, Book 15 by Jacqueline Winspear, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL) (Get it here)

Beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs, "one of the great fictional heroines" (Parade), investigates the mysterious murder of an American war correspondent in London during the Blitz in a pause-resisting tale of love and war, terror and survival.

When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. He is accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice - Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie get out of Hitler's Munich in 1938. MacFarlane asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon's death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the British Isles, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect Anna, the young evacuee she has grown to love and wants to adopt. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend - and the possibility she might be falling in love again.

Run Away by Harlan Coben, narrated by Steven Weber (ex-Kevin, ATWT) (Get it here)

A perfect family is shattered in Run Away, the thriller from the master of domestic suspense, Harlan Coben.

You've lost your daughter.

She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found.

Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park. But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble.

You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.

She runs.

And you do the only thing a parent can do: you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line. And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head on.

Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben, narrated by Steven Weber (ex-Kevin, ATWT) (Get it here)

Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon "Nap" Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo's girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks - and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.

When Maura's fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only leads to more questions - about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana - whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared imagine.

Home by Harlan Coben, narrated by Steven Weber (ex-Kevin, ATWT) (Get it here)

A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For 10 years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for 10 years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken? And most critically: What can he tell Myron and Win about the fate of his missing friend? Drawing on his singular talent, Harlan Coben delivers an explosive and deeply moving thriller about friendship, family, and the meaning of home.

Long Lost by Harlan Coben, narrated by Steven Weber (ex-Kevin, ATWT) (Get it here)

Myron hasn't heard from Terese Collins in years. Not since their affair ended with no explanation. There had been no contact since, so her call catches him off guard. She's in Paris, she says, in trouble, and only Myron can help. She tells him a sad story she's never before revealed: a good marriage, her struggles to get pregnant, the happiest moment of her life when her only child was born, the day everything she'd ever loved was taken from her. In the years since, Terese has had no contact with her ex-husband, until the phone call that brought her to Paris.

When she gets there he's been murdered, and she's a suspect. But then comes a startling piece of evidence that turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets in a most shocking way and leaving Myron nowhere to turn for help. Caught in a foreign landscape where nothing is as it seems, he must tear apart the city - and eventually the globe - fighting for answers to unfathomable questions that will take Myron, and millions of Harlan Coben readers, where they have never gone before.

Hayden Panettiere's BF Charged with Felony Domestic Violence

(5/23/19) Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend is in serious trouble following his arrest for domestic violence ... 'cause TMZ's learned he's now facing a charge that could land him in prison.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office has charged Hayden's BF, Brian Hickerson, with 1 count of felony domestic violence. If he's convicted, Brian faces up to 4 years in prison.

TMZ broke the story ... Brian was arrested earlier this month after an argument with Hayden allegedly turned physical. As we told you ... the couple had been out drinking before an argument ensued at their pad. Law enforcement sources initially said the injuries were marks and redness, but we're now told the injuries were far more serious.

Hickerson appeared in court this morning and pled not guilty to the charge. His bail was set at $50k. The judge also issued a protective order that prohibits Hickerson from being 100 yards near Panettiere or contacting her. He'll be back in court next month.

Cops arrested Brian almost immediately after the altercation after determining he started the fight. Hayden and Brian have been dating since last summer.

Rebecca Budig On GH Return

(5/23/19) Rebecca Budig, who played the role of Hayden on GH from 2015-17, tells Digest exclusively that when the show reached out to her about a possible comeback, “It was a very nice feeling and very flattering to know that they could see the potential story for Hayden and Finn. I think there is a lot left untold there.” Budig will be back on-screen this summer and says, “I am curious about how they are going to bring Hayden back and who I’ll be working with. It should be fun!” For more with the actress, check out the new issue of Soap Opera Digest, on sale Friday.

Cynthia Watros Joins Web Series MISGUIDED

(5/23/19) Cynthia Watros, who is slated to start taping as GH’s Nina next month, will appear in the upcoming third season of the digital daytime drama MISGUIDED, the first episode of which drops on www.MisguidedTheSeries.com on Monday, May 27. She will portray Anne, a waitress at The Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge. According to the press release, “Fans of GUIDING LIGHT [where Watros played Annie] will enjoy the homage to the character she once portrayed in Springfield while fans of MISGUIDED will see a waitress who is unlike anyone they have ever come upon before.” Here is a sneak peek at the actress as Anne opposite MISGUIDED’s creator/writer/director Paul Gosselin, who plays Paul.

Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Samira Wiley Among Cast Joining Allison Janney In Tate Taylor’s All-Star ‘Breaking News In Yuba County’ — Cannes

(5/20/19) Tate Taylor (The Help) has gathered an all-star cast for his upcoming comedy-drama Breaking News In Yuba County, including Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Mila Kunis (Bad Moms), Regina Hall (Girls Trip), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) and Samira Wiley (Orange Is The New Black).

Bridget Everett (Patti Cake$), Jimmi Simpson (Date Night) and Keong Sim (Dead To Me) will also star while Oscar-nominee Juliette Lewis (August: Osage County), Golden Globe nominee Ellen Barkin (Animal Kingdom) and Emmy-winner Wanda Sykes (Bad Moms) are in advanced negotiations to join. Like Taylor’s Oscar-nominated box office hit The Help, this is a cast packed with girl power. Additional names are also expected to join the impressive ensemble.

Shoot is due to get underway in Mississippi next month. Laura Dern was previously aboard but had to drop off for scheduling reasons. Script comes from Amanda Idoko.

Recent Oscar-winner Janney will portray a pencil pusher who catches her husband in bed with another woman, which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. However, she soon finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying hide the the truth, especially from her half- sister (Kunis), a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story, and a determined local police detective (Hall).

AGC Studios is fully financing and handles international sales. The movie largely sold out at AFM last year. Producing are Taylor’s Wyolah Films, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker’s Nine Stories, John Norris, and Franklin Leonard’s The Black List. CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content rep domestic.

Taylor, coming off solid performer The Girl On The Train, has Jessica Chastain pic Eve and Octavia Spencer horror Ma in post-production.

‘BH90210' First-Look Trailer Passes 18M Views To Lead All Nets’ New Series

(5/17/19) (Video) The cast of the Beverly Hills, 90210 revival, BH90210, was evidently missed. Since the release of its official trailer for the new show on Monday at the Fox Upfront presentation, the video has received more than 18 million views combined on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

Fox, using data from ListenFirst, claims that total makes it the most-viewed trailer among all new series for the 2019-20 season, and that it has the strongest share rate among all new series trailers, posting 140,818 shares in 69 hours, vs the. No. new 2 program, ABC’s Mixed-ish, with 27,767 shares. The Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot arrives on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9-10 ET/PT on Fox. Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling, the original stars, return to Fox in the new series that comes with a big twist: The seven former teen idols will be playing heightened versions of themselves in the serialized drama that is inspired by their real lives and relationships with one another.

Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago,the gang reunites when one of them suggests it’s time to get a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot up and running. The show then examines what will happen when first loves, old romances, friends and frenemies come back together and attempt to continue where they left off.

The original show premiered on Fox on October 4, 1990. Centered on the tony Los Angeles community identified in its title, the show aired for 10 seasons, documenting a group of friends from high school to college and into early adulthood.

BH90210 will be produced by CBS Television Studios and Fox Entertainment. Chris Alberghini, Mike Chessler and Patrick Sean Smith are executive producers alongside Carteris, Doherty, Garth, Green, Priestley, Spelling and Ziering.

The series was conceived by Alberghini, Chessler, Spelling and Garth. Alberghini, Chessler and Smith are its writers.

BH90210 Teaser: The Gang Is Back Together (and Hearing a Familiar Tune)

(5/14/19) (Video) Fair warning: You’re about to have a classic TV theme song stuck in your head all day long. (Clap-clap.)

Fox has released a new teaser for its Beverly Hills, 90210 revival BH90210 — debuting Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9/8c — with the primetime soap’s original cast reuniting two decades later. In it, we see returning stars Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling and Gabrielle Carteris all going through their morning routines… but whether it’s in coffee machine drips or meditation chimes, each of them hears the familiar rhythm of the 90210 theme song.

It’s like a message from the universe that it’s time for the old 90210 band to get back together, and Ziering can’t wait: He already has the theme song cued up on his car stereo as he tears out of his driveway, with his luxury sports car’s license plate reading: “BH90210.” They all get together and stand in front of the camera for one final glamour shot — though honestly, it’s hard not to notice the glaring absence of their castmate Luke Perry, who passed away earlier this year.

Prodigal Son, Deputy, Two More Dramas Earn Series Orders at Fox

(5/10/19) Fox is restocking its drama slate for next season. The network has handed series orders to four new dramas, TVLine has learned: Prodigal Son, Deputy, neXt and an untitled drama from Annie Weisman and Jason Katims.

Prodigal Son stars Walking Dead alum Tom Payne as criminal psychologist Malcolm Bright, who solves crimes for the NYPD by knowing how killers think — because his father is one. Michael Sheen (The Good Fight) plays Malcolm’s dad Dr. Martin Whitly, an infamous serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” Bellamy Young (Scandal), Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) and Halston Sage (The Orville) lead the supporting cast. Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver (Deception) are the creators, with the ubiquitous Greg Berlanti onboard as an executive producer.

Deputy — billed as “a modern cop drama that blends the spirit of a classic Western with a modern-day attitude and gritty authenticity” — stars True Detective‘s Stephen Dorff as fifth-generation lawman Bill Hollister, who becomes the sheriff of Los Angeles County. The supporting cast includes Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin), Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town), Siena Goines (Grey’s Anatomy) and Bex Taylor-Klaus (Arrow). Castle scribe Will Beall penned the pilot.

neXt stars Mad Men vet John Slattery as a tech pioneer who learns that one of his artificial-intelligence creations might lead to global disaster and “teams up with a cybercrime agent to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen — one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves,” per the official synopsis. Fernanda Andrade (Sons of Anarchy), Michael Mosley (Ozark) and Eve Harlow (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) co-star. Manny Coto (24, Dexter) is the creator.

The untitled drama from Annie Weisman (The Path) and Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) centers on three women who discover they’re sisters when one of them learns the truth about her renowned fertility-doc father. Brittany Snow (the Pitch Perfect movies), Megalyn Echikunwoke (The Following) and Emily Osment (Young & Hungry) star as the sisters, with Weisman serving as creator. Katims will serve as an EP.

General Hospital is bringing back Rebecca Budig

(5/9/19) (ew.com) It’s finally happening: Hayden Barnes is coming back to Port Charles.

EW has learned exclusively that Rebecca Budig — a.k.a. Hayden, that conniving little heartbreaker who ran out on Finn (Michael Easton) — will return to General Hospital this summer. The brass is staying mum about Hayden’s much-anticipated return, though it seems kind of obvious that she’s ready to introduce her baby to its father!

Let’s recap: The last time fans saw Hayden was in September 2017, when she was writing an apology letter to Finn for leaving him at the altar. She was also clearly pregnant, even though she let Finn believe the baby had been lost.

Since then, fans have wondered whether Budig would ever return and put Finn out of his misery. (Though he hasn’t suffered too much; he’s now in a relationship with Anna, played by Finola Hughes.) ABC executive Nathan Varni certainly teased the possibility earlier this year on Blog Talk Radio’s Daytime After Dark.

“I think it’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “As you know, we left Hayden telling Finn she lost the baby, but the reality of the situation was that she did not lose the baby. So I think with that cliffhanger, there’s definitely room to perhaps one day play that again. Obviously no guarantees, but I think the writers did a good job of kind of tying that story up and leaving a lot to be desired, and that could be a potential obstacle down the road for Finn and kind of a big surprise. So we’ll have to see. But I think it’ll be a while, as we’re not quite yet to that point where we’re ready to return Hayden to the canvas.”

Budig first joined GH in 2015. Before that, she starred as Greenlee Smythe on All My Children.

She’s also set to appear in Charter Communications’ upcoming Bad Boys spin-off, LA.’s Finest. It drops on Spectrum’s On Demand platform May 13 and stars Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.

Beverly Hills, 90210 'Revival' Gets August Premiere at Fox — See the Original Cast Reunite in First Promo

(5/9/19) (Video) What better time to visit Beverly Hills than in the dog days of summer?

Fox seems to agree, having set a premiere date of Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9/8c for its upcoming Beverly Hills, 90210 pseudo-revival.

As previously reported, the six-episode “event series” — officially titled BH90210 — will star original cast members Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling and Shannen Doherty as heightened versions of themselves, with stories “inspired by their real lives and relationships.”

Here’s the project’s official logline:

Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, Jason, Shannen, Jennie, Ian, Gabrielle, Brian and Tori reunite when one of them suggests it’s time to get a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot up and running. But getting it going may make for an even more delicious soap than the reboot itself. What will happen when first loves, old romances, friends and frenemies come back together, as this iconic cast – whom the whole world watched grow up together – attempts to continue from where they left off?

Of course, the timing of 90210‘s return is bittersweet, given the recent passing of co-star Luke Perry, who died in March after suffering a stroke. Though Perry hadn’t officially signed on to Fox’s event series, Spelling had expressed hope that he would make at least one appearance on the show. Fox has also released a 30-second, nostalgia-drenched promo for the series, in which the 90210 gang reunites — though not at the Peach Pit, sadly — to read the project’s first script.

Michelle Stafford Wishes Cynthia Watros Well as GENERAL HOSPITAL's New Nina

(5/8/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Fans may be sorry to see Michelle Stafford leaving GENERAL HOSPITAL, but the actress wants to make sure they know that the role of Nina is in very good hands! She and her replacement, Cynthia Watros, hung out on May 6 and got along famously! “I had the best afternoon with this beautiful soul,” Watros declared.

Stafford shared a couple of the selfies they took together and wished the new Nina well as Watros steps into the role she created on GH back in 2014. “I have loved this girl and her talent from afar for so many years,” she enthused. “I can say that I ‘Shared a character’ with her. You are spectacular in every way, Cynthia. Go get ‘em, gorgeous beauty!”

The two Emmy winners just missed each other over on CBS sudser THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS as Stafford left her role of Phyllis just before Watros joined the soap as Kelly in 2013. Watros is also beloved by CBS Daytime fans for her memorable stint as Annie Dutton on GUIDING LIGHT in 1997-98 that earned her the Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy Award.

“I can’t wait to join the talented cast and crew of GH,” Watros said after the news broke of her taking over the role of Nina. And as viewers look forward to her making her debut in Port Charles, it sounds like Stafford will be watching as well to see how the recast makes the role her own! Stay tuned to see for yourself, and for more GH news, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.

Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend arrested for domestic violence: Report

(5/4/19) Actress Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend was reportedly taken into custody on Thursday amid allegations of domestic violence.

Sources tell TMZ the former Nashville star had enjoyed a date night in Hollywood with Brian Hickerson on Wednesday, before heading back to their home, but they soon became engaged in a heated argument, which appeared to turn physical.

Police were called to the property in the early hours of Thursday, when they questioned both Panettiere and Hickerson.

Insiders claim officers noticed redness and marks on the actress’ body, and placed Hickerson in handcuffs.

The realtor and aspiring actor was taken to a local police station, where he was booked for felony domestic violence.

Hickerson was released hours later after posting $50,000 bond.

The news emerges seven months after Panettiere’s man was involved in a domestic dispute with his father, David, during the couple’s visit to his native South Carolina in late October.

Reports at the time suggested cops had been called to investigate a claim of assault and battery at the family’s Greenville property, where his dad was noted to have severe bruising and bleeding on his face.

However, David played down the clash by insisting he had just fallen.

Representatives for Panettiere have yet to comment on Thursday’s arrest.

She has been linked to Hickerson since last August, shortly after her split from her fiance Wladimir Klitschko was made public.

Hayden and the now-retired Ukrainian boxer had been dating since 2009, and became engaged in 2013, a year before welcoming their daughter Kaya.

City on a Hill Trailer

(5/4/19) Showtime has released a new trailer for Boston-set crime drama City on a Hill, starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge. The series premieres Sunday, June 16 at 9/8c; watch the trailer here: Video.

GUIDING LIGHT Faves Headline New Play

(5/3/19) GUIDING LIGHT alums Robert Newman (ex-Josh) Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip) have joined the cast of Perfect Crime, the longest running play in New York City history, at the Anne L. Bernstein Theater in New York City. Newman will perform in the role now through May 8 and May 24-June 16 and Aleksander will perform in the role May 10- May 22 and June 17-June 30. For tickets go to https://www.ticketmaster.com/Perfect-Crime-tickets/artist/935439. or can call The Theater Center box office at 212-921-7862.

Brian Geraghty, Bethany Joy Lenz, Sharon Leal To Star In Racially Charged Drama ‘Blindfire’

(4/26/19) Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker, TNT’s The Alienist), Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill), Sharon Leal (Supergirl, Instinct) are set to star in Blindfire, a crime drama written and directed by Mike Nell. Howard Barish, who produced the Oscar-nominated Ava DuVernay-directed prison system documentary, the 13th, is producing Blindfire via his Kandoo Films shingle. Filming is slated to begin this month in Los Angeles.

The pic, which will mark Nell’s directorial debut, centers around a police officer (Geraghty) who, while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point. Leal will play his partner, while Lenz has been cast as his wife.

Jim Beaver, Edwina Findley, Chiké Okonkwo, and Wayne Brady round out the supporting cast.

“Blindfire is an important story to me,” said Barish. “It’s a film that touches on racial tension, identity, and redemption. My hope is that like some of my other projects, it will become a conversation starter for so many issues prevalent in our society today.”

“Through film, I believe we can set an example of change for the future, and my goal is to hold a mirror up, allowing the audience to examine a timely tragedy – through multiple perspectives – with nuance and empathy,” said Nell.

Geraghty, who will next be seen opposite Zac Efron in the Ted Bundy biopic, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, is repped by Gersh and Management 360. APA and Atlas Artists rep Lenz, who was tapped to star in USA Network’s Suits spinoff Pearson. Leal, whose credits include Dreamgirls and the Why Did I Get Married? films, is a client of Paradigm and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

Taye Diggs' All American Renewed at the CW

(4/24/19) The CW’s entire freshman class is officially graduating to the 2019-20 TV season: Rookie series All American and In the Dark have both been renewed for Season 2, TVLine has learned.

They’re joined by Roswell, New Mexico and The 100, which were also picked up on Wednesday for Season 2 and Season 7, respectively. With those four renewals, The CW is officially bringing back its entire scripted lineup, including all of its newbie series. Ten other shows — including The Flash, Riverdale, Charmed and, well, everything else — received additional seasons back in January.

That said, The CW will still have some scheduling space to fill in the year ahead. The network will soon lose Jane the Virgin and iZombie after their final seasons (in addition to the recently ended Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), while veteran dramas Supernatural and Arrow will both be heading into farewell runs of their own this fall.

“As we begin to plan for the 2019-2020 season, we’re thrilled to have this roster of 14 exceptionally creative and distinctive series, including all five first-year shows, as the foundation on which to continue to build the multiplatform future of The CW,” network president Mark Pedowitz said. “One of our key long-term goals has been to continually add more original programming all year round, especially in midseason and summer, and with these returning shows and the new series we’ll order as we get closer to the May upfront, next season on The CW is shaping up to be our most robust year round schedule yet.”

All American averaged a 0.22 demo rating and 670,000 total viewers across its 16-episode run, respectively ranking 12th and 13th out of The CW’s 15 dramas this season. A very recent premiere, In the Dark thus far is pulling a 0.2 along with 760,000 viewers, ranking 13th and 11th among the network’s dramas.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/19/19) Today – NBC

Monday, April 22

(10-11 a.m.) Taye Diggs on Today.

The Boys in the Band Coming to Netflix From Ryan Murphy; Entire Broadway Cast of All-Gay Actors Set to Return

(4/17/19) Following a successful limited engagement on Broadway last year, The Boys in the Band will bring the party to Netflix in 2020, Ryan Murphy announced Wednesday on Instagram.

“Last summer, THE BOYS IN THE BAND were on Broadway, breaking house records at The Booth,” Murphy wrote. “THIS summer, The Boys In the Band will be filming a Netflix movie event. The incomparable Joe Mantello, who directed the Broadway revival, will direct the film adaptation. The Broadway cast of BOYS was so important to me, and as equally groundbreaking as Mart Crowley’s seminal work. Everyone in the cast was out and proud…and feeling so blessed to mark the 50th anniversary of Mart’s landmark play. … I will be producing the film with David Stone and Ned Martel. Look for THE BOYS on Netflix in 2020.”

Reprising their roles from the 2018 Broadway production are Matt Bomer (White Collar), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Andrew Rannells (Girls), Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf), Brian Hutchison (Madam Secretary), Michael Benjamin Washington (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Robin de Jesús (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), and Tuc Watkins (Desperate Housewives).

Set in New York City’s Upper East Side, The Boys in the Band takes place over a single evening, as a group of gay men face uncomfortable truths at a friend’s birthday party.

This marks the second Broadway production Murphy intends to bring to Netflix. Last week, he announced that new musical The Prom will be turned into a “movie event” for the streaming giant. Other upcoming Netflix titles from Murphy include Ratched, a prequel series about the iconic nurse (played by Sarah Paulson) from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Hollywood, a “love letter” to Los Angeles; and The Politician, a new series starring Ben Platt.

Joan Collins escapes ‘terrifying’ fire in her London apartment

(4/15/19) Actress Joan Collins escaped a “terrifying” fire in her London apartment over the weekend.

The Golden Globe-winning actress was treated for smoke inhalation but otherwise escaped unscathed — thanks to her keen nose and quick-thinking husband, Percy Gibson, the rep said.

“They were both in the apartment. Joan smelt some smoke, and Percy went out to investigate. They discovered that the guest suite was on fire,” her rep told People magazine. “Percy had two of those fire extinguishers in the apartment, so he rushed in to start putting the fire out, and Joan called for the fire brigade to come. Percy really saved the day. He was the one who put the fire out and took control until the fire brigade arrived.”

Saturday’s incident left the “Dynasty” actress and her hubby “shaken up and distressed,” but they were doing better Sunday, the rep said.

The blaze erupted around 4:30 p.m. local time, according to the BBC. It consumed much of the room, leaving behind charred and peeling walls, according to a video of the aftermath Collins, 85, posted to Instagram.

“The remains of the day,” she captioned the video.

It took about 10 firefighters around an hour to bring the conflagration under control, the BBC reported.

Collins took to Twitter to heap praise on first responders.

“THANK U from the bottom of my ?? to the marvelous @LondonFire who attended to the terrifying fire yesterday in our flat. #threealarmfire My hero Percy had already doused the flames consuming the entire wall with handheld extinguisher (#donttakethisrisk). #gratitude #firefighters,” she wrote.

“And thanks also to the @NHSEnglandLDN #nhs #emt #Ambulance crew who took care of our smoke inhalation and comforted me. And the wonderful @metpoliceuk who kept the street closed and everyone safe. #gratitude.”

General Hospital Recasts Nina With Guiding Light Vet Cynthia Watros

(4/12/19) General Hospital has replaced one Daytime Emmy winner with another, by recasting the role of Nina with Guiding Light vet Cynthia Watros.

As previously reported, Michelle Stafford is parting ways with ABC’s one and only daytime drama (after an alleged contract standoff) and returning to the role of The Young and the Restless‘ Phyllis, where she will replace her own recast, One Life to Live/GL vet Gina Tognoni.

“It’s a bittersweet day,” GH boss Frank Valentini said on Twitter, shortly after People.com broke the news. “I love @TheRealStafford and wish her all the best. I’m also really excited about @watroswatros joining the #GH family and continuing Nina’s legacy.”

Since wrapping her Daytime Emmy-winning run as GL‘s Annie Dutton, Watros’ TV credits have included Titus, The Drew Carey Show, Lost, House, Finding Carter and Y&R (as Kelly Andrews).

Watros beings taping at GH sometime in June.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/7/19) BUSY TONIGHT, E!

We 4/17: Brittany Snow

Taye Diggs reveals the kinds of pictures women DM him

(3/28/19) Ladies, if you want Taye Diggs’ attention, you may not want to send him nudes or naughty pictures.

Talking candidly about his dating life – or lack thereof – with “Just the Sip” host Justin Sylvester, the actor joked about what goes down in his DMs.

“Some of these women will put pictures of themselves, and there’s a side of me that is like, ‘Honey, put on some clothes. Oh my Lord,’” he quipped.

Despite his reaction, Diggs, 49, says he does give it a good peek.

“You don’t know me, but you’re going to send me that? Where are we supposed to go from there?” he wondered.

“If stuff isn’t presented to me in a certain way, I don’t really know,” Diggs added. “I feel like I can’t let things happen naturally ’cause that’s not where we are.”

He was married to Broadway actress Idina Menzel for over 10 years. The pair got divorced in 2014 and share a 9-year-old son. He hasn’t done much dating since breaking up with Menzel.

“I am not dating,” he said. “I am not technically savvy. I don’t have time. I’m praying on it. I am using my friends. I want to find friends of friends.”

Shunori Ramanthan, Victor Slezak Join Michael Keaton In ‘What Is Life Worth’

(3/27/19) Shunori Ramanthan and Victor Slezak have joined the cast of the Michael Keaton-starrer What Is Life Worth. The true-life biographical drama is directed by The Kindergarten Teacher‘s Sara Colangelo and also stars Stanley Tucci. Principal photography is set to begin next month in New York.

The Black List script from Max Borenstein is based on Kenneth Feinberg’s memoir. It’s described as being in the vein of Erin Brockovich and the Oscar-winning Keaton- and Tucci-starrer Spotlight. The story centers on Feinberg, a powerful DC insider lawyer put in charge of the 9/11 Fund. In almost three years of pro bono work on the case, Feinberg fought off the cynicism, bureaucracy and politics associated with administering government funds to victims’ families — and in doing so, discovered what life is worth.

Ramanathan will play Anisha Dass, a young Ivy League-educated lawyer who had been preparing to work for a company with offices on the 98th floor of One World Trade Center. She joins the Feinberg firm and the team working on the fund. Ramanathan’s feature credits include The Big Sick and Jonathan. On television, she has recurred on Netflix’s Gypsy and TBS’ Search Party with guest roles on Crashing, Blindspot and Master of None. She is repped by Buchwald and Authentic Talent & Literary Management.

Slezak is playing Attorney General John Ashcroft, who gets the job of Special Master of the compensation fund. The veteran actor recently completed shooting Julie Taymor’s The Glorias: A Life on the Road. Other recent credits include Scott Z Burns’ The Report and Nicole Holofcener’s The Land of Steady Habits. Among many TV credits, he is an alum of The Americans and Blue Bloods. Slezak is repped by Artists & Representatives and Authentic Talent & Literary Management.

Spotlight‘s Michael Sugar is producing What Is Life Worth alongside MadRiver Pictures’ Marc Butan, Sean Sorensen, Borenstein, Bard Dorros and Keaton. Kim Fox will exec produce along with Riverstone’s Nik Bower and Deepak Nayar. Riverstone and Ingenious are financing, with Peter Touche and Andrea Scarso executive producing. IMR International is handling worldwide sales; UTA and ICM Partners are on domestic.

Talk Show Appearance

(3/17/19) BUSY TONIGHT, E!

Tu 3/19: Taye Diggs

Brittany Snow & ‘Veep’s Sam Richardson To Topline Indie Film ‘Bailey And Darla’

(3/9/19) Pitch Perfect alum Brittany Snow and Veep actor Sam Richardson have been tapped to lead the cast of Bailey and Darla, an indie film which is being directed by first-time helmer Nico Raineau. Raineau co-wrote the screenplay with Lauren Schacher. Snow will also produce the project alongside Yale Productions’ Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman, and Highland Myst’s Jon Keeyes.

The film, which is currently in production, follows Darla (Snow), a cynical reporter whose sex addiction is getting in the way of her sex column, and her evolving relationship with Bailey, a well-meaning sweetheart who’s been dumped by his fiancé and learns he has testicular cancer (again). Together they embark on an impromptu cross country road trip, recreating Darla’s myriad trysts from state to state. She’s looking for a story and he’s looking for a last hurrah; what they find is something neither expected.

“I’m incredibly fortunate to work with such talented actors as Brittany and Sam on my debut feature,” said Raineau. “Their genius comedic gifts are well documented, but it’s their ability to bring heartfelt emotion and pathos to these characters that make them the ideal creative partners for this film.”

Highland Myst’s Matthew Tompkins and Yale Productions’ Russ Posternak will serve as co-producers. Film Mode Entertainment is handling sales.

Snow, who played Chloe in the Pitch Perfect movies, stars in the forthcoming Netflix romantic comedy, Someone Great, written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. She’s repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment LA.

In addition to Veep, Richardson starred in the Comedy Central’s Detroiters, which he also co-created. Repped by UTA and Artists First, he has also appeared in films like Dave Need Wedding Dates, The House, and Game Over, Man!.

Murray Bartlett on Madam Secretary 3/24/19

(3/8/19) “The Common Defense” – While Elizabeth is away on a retreat thinking about her presidential campaign, her staff tries to secure an international agreement to protect citizens who have been displaced due to global warming. Also, the staff works to contain a measles outbreak that threatens the life of Daisy’s daughter, Joanna, on MADAM SECRETARY, Sunday, March 24 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Murray Bartlett (Australian Prime Minister Chris Lawson), Paton Ashbrook (Tara Davis), John Behlmann (Aaron Davis).

The Sinner: Matt Bomer Set as Season 3 Headliner, Clearing Way for Official Renewal at USA Network

(3/7/19) White Collar vet Matt Bomer is headed back to USA Network via a starring role in The Sinner‘s just-ordered third season, TVLine has learned. Bomer follows in the footsteps of Jessica Biel and Carrie Coon, who headlined Seasons 1 and 2 of the anthology-esque crime drama, respectively.

Season 3 of The Sinner follows Detective Harry Ambrose (returning series regular Bill Pullman) as he begins what appears to be a routine investigation of a tragic car accident in upstate New York. However, Ambrose eventually “uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career,” per the official logline.

Bomer, who can currently be heard and (sometimes) seen in DC Universe’s Doom Patrol, will play Jamie, an upstanding (i.e. white collar?!) local resident and expectant father who looks to Ambrose for support in the wake of the aforementioned accident.

Derek Simonds is back as Sinner‘s showrunner and will serve as an EP alongside Biel, Michelle Purple, Charlie Gogolak, Willie Reale and Adam Bernstein.

‘Carol’s Second Act’: Bonnie Dennison & Ito Aghayere Cast In CBS’ Patricia Heaton Comedy Pilot

(3/5/19) Bonnie Dennison (Third Watch) and Ito Aghayere (Logan Lucky) are set as series regulars opposite Patricia Heaton in CBS comedy pilot Carol’s Second Act, starring and executive produced by Heaton, from Trophy Wife creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Heaton and David Hunt’s FourBoys Entertainment and CBS TV Studios.

Written by Halpern and Haskins, Carol’s Second Act centers around Carol Chambers (Heaton), who after raising her two children and retiring from teaching, embarks on a unique second act: she’s going to become a doctor.

Dennison will play Jenny, Carol’s big-hearted daughter who became a pharmaceutical rep because, as a pretty and charming young woman, it’s an easy job. Jenny loves and is supportive of Carol, and her practical and outgoing demeanor is a buoyant counterpoint to Carol’s neurotic medical colleagues.

Aghayere portrays Dr. Maya, the Chief Resident in charge of Carol and the other three interns. A type-A, high-achieving disciplinarian, Dr. Maya is all business. She’s instantly annoyed because Carol is a chatty maverick who hates authority — and Dr. Maya and her authority are not up for debate.

Halpern and Haskins executive produce with Heaton, Hunt and Rebecca Stay for FourBoys, Heaton’s manager, Adam Griffin, and Kaplan and Dana Honor for Kapital Entertainment. CBS TV Studios is the studio.

Dennison will next be seen in Jay Roach’s Untitled Roger Ailes Project with Margot Robbie and Charlize Theron. She’s repped by Buchwald, Rob Gomez Management and attorney Derek Kroeger.

Aghayere’s credits include Bernhardt/Hamlet on Broadway and in YouTube/ITV Studios America dramedy pilot It’s a Man’s World. She’s repped by Avalon Artists Group, Robyn Bluestone Management and attorney Matt Rosen.

E.J. Bonilla To Star In ABC Drama Pilot ‘Until The Wedding’

(3/1/19) Unforgettable alum E.J. Bonilla is set as the male lead opposite Olivia Thirlby in ABC’s Until the Wedding, a romantic drama pilot from writer Becky Mode (Smash), producers Sarah Timberman & Carl Beverly (Elementary, SEAL Team), Alon Aranya (Betrayal, Hostages), Israel’s Reshet Media and ABC Studios.

Based on the Israeli series of the same name (Ad Hatuna in Hebrew), Until the Wedding is the story of how one couple’s decision to get married can affect everyone in their lives. The show will explore the intimate relationships of a group of friends/family as Adrienne (Thirlby) and Danny (Bonilla) are forced to reckon with their own romantic lives and come to terms with the realities of love and marriage.

Bonilla’s Danny Garcia is a serious mensch, warm, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s not afraid to say what he thinks or express emotion. He’s the kind of guy who was born 40, and then had to shoulder a lot of responsibility growing up. Super-smart and tech savvy, Danny came from nothing. He built an online fraud detection company that’s about to go public, but he’s a family guy first. He’s a romantic, and madly in love with his girlfriend Adrienne. Things get complicated when Adrienne’s ex-boyfriend shows up on the weekend Danny plans to propose.

The original series, created by Avner Bernheimer and Anat Weizman and produced by Ami Amir’s Matar Productions, aired on Israel’s Reshet 13.

Mode is executive producing the adaptation with Susannah Grant who also directs, Timberman and Beverly via Timberman-Beverly Prods.; Aranya via his new production company, Paper Plane Productions; and Bernheimer & Weizman as well as Avi Zvi of Reshet Media, which holds the format rights.

Bonilla most recently starred as Lt. Shane Aguero in Nat Geo’s critically praised miniseries The Long Road Home. On the film side, he just wrapped production on The Kitchen New Line‘s adaptation of the DC/Vertigo female-fronted crime comic book series, which stars Melissa McCarthy, Common, Elizabeth Moss, Tiffany Haddish and is set for release August 9. He previously played the series regular role of wisecracking Detective Denny Padilla on the final season of A&E’s Unforgettable, among other credits. Bonilla is repped by Innovative Artists and MKS&D Talent Management.

Jennifer Roszell on Blue Bloods 3/15/19

(3/1/19) “Two-Faced” – Frank’s longtime friend Lenny (Treat Williams) reveals to him that an upcoming exposé will air some of the NYPD’s dirty laundry. Also, Erin must decide how to charge a doctor whose experimental treatments led to the death of his terminally ill daughter; Danny and Baez investigate the mysterious overdose of a promising artist; and Jamie follows a lead about a corrupt officer in his precinct, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, March 15 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Treat Williams (Lenny Ross), James Riordan (Chris Johnson), Jennifer Roszell (Elaine Peterson).

Frank Dicopoulos Previews His New Show, 'Calling All Divas'

(2/27/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) Fans of GUIDING LIGHT remember Frank Dicopoulos as Springfield top cop Frank Cooper, but the actor is portraying a much different character in the new jukebox musical, Calling All Divas. As the owner of a struggling nightclub, Dicopoulos auditions four female singers in the hopes of turning things around. “We have one who’s a country western singer,” he previewed to Soaps In Depth, “one’s kinda rock, and one is a subway singer.”

Unable to pick just one of them, Mr. D merges the four of them into a group called the “Un4gettables.” “The show empowers women,” Dicopoulos explained. “Because initially, they’re kind of competitive, but then throughout the musical, they start helping each other. They’re a team and they’re gonna work together.” And as a group, the divas sing hit songs from artists as varied as Etta James, Carole King, Kelly Clarkson, Whitney Houston, and Tina Turner.

“I loved being on stage,” Dicopoulos confided of his turn as the beleaguered club owner. “The whole live element of immediate response from an audience and just the excitement of being on stage." But in addition to starring in the show, the GL alum is also a producer, helping to bring to the stage the vision of its creator, Franke Previte. “He’s very humble,” he alum said of the songwriter. “He wrote the song “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” for the movie, Dirty Dancing. Won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for it. He’s just a great guy.”

Calling All Divas will have its world premiere performance on Saturday, March 2, at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA, at 8 p.m. ET. For more information and to purchase tickets to this one-of-a-kind musical experience, visit www.keswicktheatre.com.

“We did [a performance] for friends and family and one of industry and got rave reviews,” Dicopoulos revealed. “The investors were there and they loved it. They gave us the green light to develop it and take it further and that’s what we’ve done.” And if everything goes according to plan, Calling All Divas will be taking the show on the road so it may be coming to your neck of the woods! Keep an eye on www.callingalldivas.com for updates.

For more from Dicopoulos on the show and what else he’s been up to lately, don’t miss his interview in an upcoming CBS issue of Soaps In Depth magazine!

‘90210’ Event Series With Original Cast Members Lands At Fox For Summer

(2/27/19) (Video) It’s official — Fox has closed a deal for the new series reuniting original Beverly Hills, 90210 cast members Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling. Titled 90210, the show, from CBS TV Studios, has received a six-episode order to air this summer (watch a teaser above.)

Fox, which aired the original Beverly Hills, 90210 series, had emerged as the frontrunner for the new 90210, which was taken out in December. The broadcast network was described as being “the most passionate” about the project, a serialized drama – with a dose of irreverence — inspired by the sextet’s real lives and relationships, in which Priestley, Garth, Ziering, Carteris, Green and Spelling will play heightened versions of themselves.

“Beverly Hills, 90210 left an indelible impact on pop culture and an entire generation,” said Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn. “Its powerful legacy is an important part of our network’s DNA – bold stories not told anywhere else and bigger-than-life-characters – and we’re honored to bring back the beloved original cast members for 90210.”

Last month, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier told Deadline that 90210 and Melrose Place are among his favorite Fox series of all time and pieces of IP he would like to explore at the network.

In the new series, having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, Jason, Jennie, Ian, Gabrielle, Brian and Tori reunite when one of them suggests it’s time to get a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot up and running. But getting it going may make for an even more delicious soap than the reboot itself. What will happen when first loves, old romances, friends and frenemies come back together, as this iconic cast – whom the whole world watched grow up together – attempts to continue from where they left off?

The series was conceived by Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, who worked on the CW’s 90210 reboot and on Spelling’s series So Notorious, along with with Spelling and Garth.

Alberghini and Chessler will write the series. They executive produce with Carteris, Garth, Green, Priestley, Spelling and Ziering. CBS TV Studios-based Ghen Maynard, who has a relationship with Spelling and Garth, developed the project.

Beverly Hills, 90210 premiered on Fox on October 4, 1990, when it became an instant pop culture sensation and one of the most popular programs in the network’s history. Centered on the tony Los Angeles community identified in its title, the show aired for 10 seasons, during which it documented the trials and tribulations of a group of friends from high school to college and into early adulthood, as they navigate a myriad of coming-of-age dramas and complex rivalries.

Coincidentally, 90210 alumna Spelling is one of the celebrities on Fox’s breakout reality competition The Masked Singer.

“It’s not technically a reboot, because I feel like everyone has seen the reboot. We don’t want to be the last ones like doing the reboot thing, and no one wants to see like old versions of ourselves, but they do want to see us playing our characters, so what we’re doing is the entire cast is playing heightened versions of themselves,” Spelling said of 90210 in one of the interviews after her exit from The Masked Singer. “Think Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes, in an hourlong show, and we’re all playing heightened versions, so it could be fictional, it could be non-fictional, people will have to guess. And then we will have pop-ins, because we’re behind the scenes trying to do the reboot.”

‘Filthy Rich’: Aubrey Dollar, Benjamin Aguilar, Corey Cott & Mark L. Young Cast In Fox Drama Pilot

(2/26/19) Aubrey Dollar, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Corey Cott & Mark L. Young are set to co-star opposite Kim Cattrall in Filthy Rich, Fox’s soapy drama pilot from The Help writer-director Tate Taylor, Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox TV.

Written and to be directed by Taylor based on the New Zealand series, Filthy Rich is described as a larger-than-life Southern gothic dramedy that revolves around two strong, sharp women, Margaret Monroe (Cattrall) and and Ginger Sweet, who will go to any length to protect their loved ones and get their due. When the wealthy CEO of the world’s largest Christian network dies in a plane crash, his wife and adult children are stunned to discover he has grown, illegitimate kids who are also in his will. When the steel azalea matriarch of the family tries to pay them to go away, these newly legitimized heirs have very different ideas and insist on not only staying in town but becoming part of the family empire.

Dollar plays Margaret’s daughter Rose Monroe, a sarcastic but kind-hearted clothing designer who yearns to be real and find her own voice apart from her family.

Cott plays her brother Eric Monroe. Married with two kids, he’s the Senior VP of Operations at the conservative Christian Sunshine Network, which was created by his powerhouse parents.

Aguilar plays Antonio Rivera, a tattooed, up-and-coming boxer and single dad who finds himself wondering if a life with his new family in New Orleans might be the best thing for his toddler.

Young plays Jason Conley, an attractive, loyal young man who runs a weed business at a ranch in Colorado.

Taylor is executive producing with his producing partner John Norris via Wyolah Films alongside Imagine’s Grazer and Francie Calfo. Overseeing for Imagine TV are Anna Culp and Jillian Kugler.

Dollar was last seen on Vince Gilligan’s CBS drama series Battle Creek. She is repped by Gersh and Industry Entertainment.

Born and raised in Guatemala, Aguilar was poised to move to Israel and honor his Jewish ancestry but instead moved to Los Angeles to follow his Hollywood dreams. This was his first pilot test. He is repped by Main Title Entertainment, HRI and Bloom Hergott Diemer.

Young’s credits include The Comeback and 10 Days in the Valley. He is repped by Haven Entertainment and Buchwald.

Brittany Snow To Star In Fox’s Drama Pilot From Annie Weisman & Jason Katims

(2/26/19) Brittany Snow is set to lead the cast of Fox’s drama pilot based on the Endemol Shine Australia series Sisters. The untitled project (fka Sisters) hails from The Path duo of co-executive producer Annie Weisman and executive producer Jason Katims, as well as the original series’ co-creator Imogen Banks, Universal TV and Endemol Shine North America.

Written by Weisman based on the Australian series created by Jonathan Gavin and Banks, with Leslye Headland set to direct the pilot, the drama centers on Julia Bechley (Snow), an only child who finds her life turned upside down when her father is forced to reveal that over the course of his pioneering career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children. As she dutifully begins to track down her emerging group of siblings, among a sea of brothers, Julia discovers only two sisters – both of whom quickly become a part of her now redefined family.

Weisman executive produces with Headland, True Jack’s Katims and Jeni Mulein, Banks and Endemol Shine North America president Sharon Levy. Universal produces in association with Endemol Shine North America.

Australian series Sisters, which starred Maria Angelico as Julia Bechly (the character’s last name was slightly tweaked for the U.S. version), premiered its seven-episode first season on Network Ten in October 2017 and launched as a Netflix Original Series on September 1, 2018.

Former American Dreams star Snow recently recurred on the CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She also starred as Chloe in all three Pitch Perfect movies. Snow is repped by Gersh and Principal Entertainment LA.

Brittany Snow Is Engaged to Tyler Stanaland

(2/25/19) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) Congratulations are in order for daytime alum Brittany Snow (Susan, GUIDING LIGHT), who has just announced her engagement to boyfriend Tyler Stanaland! “A couple weeks ago, I said ‘yes’ about a million times to the man of my wildest and most beautiful dreams,” the actress shared on Instagram. “After celebrating with friends and family, we wanted to let a few more friends — you guys — know… this happened.”

Snow shared a lovely black-and-white snapshot of herself and Stanaland canoodling in a restaurant but revealed that wasn’t a photo of the magical moment itself. “I’m still pinching myself and thanking my lucky stars for the truest feeling I’ve ever felt. Thank you, Tyler, for the happiest day of my life and for not proposing in this creepy empty restaurant.”

Stanland shared his own photo of them in the same restaurant where they’re both admiring her ring, and shared his own perspective on the momentous day. “A few weeks ago, I asked Brittany one of the most important questions I may ever ask: Forever?” he related. “Luckily she said yes, and we’ve spent the last little while celebrating the old-fashioned way, together and with close friends and family. I don’t know how I got so lucky and I don’t know that I really understood what love is until you. Everything changed when we met. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, caring, incredible human and I couldn’t be more excited to do life with you. Here’s to forever and making our wildest dreams come true. Love you to the moon and back.”

Snow got her big break playing Susan “Daisy” Lemay on GL back in 1998, and after she left daytime in 2002, found continued success in primetime starring as Meg Pryor on NBC’s AMERICAN DREAMS. She’s also appeared on the big screen in films like Hairspray, Prom Night, and the Pitch Perfect series. Stanaland is a real estate agent who sells homes in California. He also shared a better shot of the gorgeous engagement ring he put on her finger!

Dishing with Digest - 2/22/19 - Emme Rylan

(2/22/19) Emme Rylan On Why She Loves Playing GH’s Lulu (Listen / download).

GH’s Emme Rylan dishes Lulu’s current tale, Dominic Zamprogna’s return as Dante, working with Genie Francis (Laura) and Anthony Geary (ex-Luke) and more with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. Plus, we discuss the latest casting news, and whether AMC and ONE LIFE will return to TV.

Oscars Update: Gary Oldman, Allison Janney To Present Best Actor; Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell Best Actress

(2/20/19) After Deadline reported that the Academy planned to go against tradition and wasn’t planning to invite last year’s winners to present the Best Actor and Best Actress and Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress awards, it has changed its course and gone back to tradition, sort of. Deadline revealed that the Academy wanted higher wattage presenters for its host-less Oscars, as part of a report that the Academy rescinded its plan to feature only two of the five nominated song, after Lady Gaga told them she and Bradley Cooper wouldn’t perform their hit tune “Shallows” from A Star Is Born, if others were excluded.

I can report that last year’s Best Actor winner Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour and I, Tonya‘s Best Supporting Actress winner Allison Janney have now been set to present the Best Actor prize, together. The Best Actress prize will be presented by Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, who won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

This still veers from the usual practice of having last year’s winners present all the acting prizes, and I have no information on who will give out the supporting trophies.

Joan Collins on Hawaii Five-0 3/8/19

(2/20/19) “Ai no i ka 'ape he mane'o no ko ka nuku” – Tani and Junior go undercover at a gym to track down a deadly batch of steroids that’s killing users, before the drugs claim any more victims. Also, Danny and MacGarrett sub as bodyguards for Danny’s high maintenance ex-mother-in-law, Amanda Savage (Joan Collins), a wildly famous romance novelist with whom he has never gotten along, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, March 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. (“Ai no i ka 'ape he mane'o no ko ka nuku” is Hawaiian for “He who eats ‘ape is bound to have his mouth itch”)

Joan Collins in talks for movie about her life

(2/18/19) Joan Collins is in the discussion stages of bringing a movie about her gilded Hollywood life to the silver screen.

The American Horror Story actress has enjoyed a successful career spanning seven decades, landing her first major role as Norma Hart in the 1952 feature I Believe in You.

She went on to become a Hollywood staple, starring alongside Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen (1955) before becoming a household name as iconic ’80s character Alexis Carrington Colby in U.S. drama Dynasty starting, playing the role for eight years.

While Collins has revealed that discussions are ongoing for the film, she was reluctant to reveal further details.

“It is in deep discussion,” she revealed during her current Joan Collins: Unscripted tour. “But I can’t say more than that.”

The Benidorm star went on to discuss plans for the film to star two actresses in the leading role.

“There has to be two,” the 85-year-old said. “One to play me until I am 25, then another one.”

Collins, who began her stage career at the age of nine, also insisted that she wants “somebody from the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art (RADA)” to play her, having trained at the prestigious school in her early years.

She was also open to the suggestion that Emily Blunt could take the role.

When husband Percy Gibson, 54, proposed Catherine Zeta-Jones, however, Collins seemed less keen.

“I am not saying nothing,” she laughed. “Next question.”

Paul Wesley Inks Producing Deal With Kapital Entertainment, Sets 2 Drama Series Projects, Including Starring Vehicle

(2/13/19) Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment has forged a production partnership with The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley and his company Citizen Media.

The first two series projects Kapital and Citizen are rolling out together are a drama based on Jason Smith’s non-fiction article Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher, with Wesley attached to star and David Slade (Black Mirror) to direct, and supernatural crime drama Possessed, based on a Korean format.

Under the pact, Kapital will work with Wesley to build his company and its footprint in the market. The Kapital team and Wesley will jointly develop content for Wesley to produce. It will be aimed at broadcast, cable and streaming. Some — but not all — of the projects will be intended as starring vehicles for Wesley who recently co-starred on Kapital’s CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story.

“Paul and I found ourselves aligned in the kinds of stories we wanted to tell and in synch in how we wanted to share them,” Kaplan said. “I am so excited that Paul trusted Kapital to work with Citizen Media to develop and produce great content.”

Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher was one of the first projects Wesley put in development when he launched Citizen Media in 2016 with a deal at Warner Bros. TV. Smith’s article chronicles his two-year stint teaching public high school in northern California. Despite teaching while anesthetized by a heavy dose of prescription narcotics, Jason finds that his brokenness from addiction begins attracting broken students, and in a town obsessed with high school football, he’s not alone in his obsession to escape from himself.

Kapital is executive producing with Wesley, who will star, his former producing partner Bob Levy. as well as Slade, who will direct.

Based on the 2009 Korean series from MBC, Possessed centers on high school girl Ha-na who is always the first to come out and protect her introverted twin sister Doo-na. After Doo-na passes away in a fire, Ha-na finds that her body no longer completely belongs to herself. Doo-na’s angry spirit now lives in Ha-na, giving her special powers and monstrous strength. Genius criminal psychologist Shin Ryu is an expert profiler who is determined to see justice served. When he learns about Ha-na’s abilities, he uses her powers to eliminate criminals that are above the law, and to plan his revenge on the man who helped his family’s killer go free. (You can watch a trailer for the original series below.)

Craig Plestic (The Masked Singer) is executive producing Possessed alongside Kapital and Citizen Media.

This is the latest producing partnership for Kapital, which also has deals with directors Victor Gonzalez and David Semel.

“I’ve admired the work that Aaron and Kapital have been doing, and I’m very excited to team up with them to create content we can be proud of,” Wesley said.

Over the last few years, Wesley’s production company, Citizen Media, has set up multiple series projects for development at various networks and studios including ABC, Fox 21 TV TV Studios, Warner Bros TV/Warner Horizon and Freeform.

Wesley starred on The Vampire Diaries for eight seasons, directed multiple episodes throughout the series’ run, and served as a producer for the 8th and final season.

He recently appeared in Netflix’s docu-drama Medal Of Honor produced by Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. He also did two off Broadway theater productions in 2018. Behind the camera, last year he directed episodes of Roswell, New Mexico and Legacies.

Wesley is repped by ICM, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris. Slade is with UTA. MBC is repped by Paradigm.

Kaplan currently has 11 series on the air, 10 of them through Kapital.

Beth Chamberlin on FBI 2/26/19

(2/12/19) “Scorched Earth” – A serial bomber appears to be targeting Wall Street’s elite. Maggie and OA search for a suspect who seems dead-set on revenge, while Dana deals with Spencer Briggs (Paulo Costanzo), a cocky profiler brought in to consult on the case, on FBI, Tuesday, Feb. 26 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Rodney Richardson (Ray Stapleton), Marlene Ginader (Anna), Beth Chamberlin (Martina).

Surprise! The Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Is Married

(2/9/19) Paul Wesley is officially off the market!

E! News has exclusively learned that The Vampire Diaries star and Ines de Ramon are married.

Speculation about the couple's relationship status was sparked earlier this week when photos surfaced of the pair wearing matching rings on that all-important finger.

As it turns out, the duo was able to take a big step in their relationship without anyone knowing—until now!

The pair has yet to walk a red carpet together. And if you think you're going to see the pair all over Instagram, you may be out of luck. Ines' profile is private.

That hasn't stopped Paul, however, from sharing a few special pictures of his leading lady.

"Throwback Thursday," he wrote this past September while sharing a snapshot of Ines. "Feast of San Gennaro, NYC."

As pop culture fans know, Paul appeared on The Vampire Diaries before starring in Tell Me a Story. He previously dated Phoebe Tonkin before calling things off in 2017.

And although fans may love seeing Paul on the big and small screen, the 36-year-old has remained humble about the praise he receives.

"To be honest, I think its endearing and sweet, but I don't really think about it too much," he told Parade when asked about his heartthrob status.

Congratulations to the happy couple on their big news.

‘Mom’ Renewed For Seasons 7 & 8 As Stars Anna Faris & Allison Janney Close New Deals

(2/6/19) Chuck Lorre’s praised CBS comedy Mom has received a two-season pickup by CBS. The renewal follows the studio Warner Bros. TV securing new deals with stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney. After lengthy negotiations., the two actresses have inked new two-year contracts with major salary increases to continue on Mom, now in its sixth season.

The move mirrors the two-season (11 & 12) renewal for Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory when the series’ cast reached new two-year agreements with WBTV in 2017.

“We’re exceptionally proud to have Mom on our air; a high-quality, signature comedy with characters viewers love, that also brings strength and stability to our lineup,” said Kelly Kahl, President, CBS Entertainment. “Under Chuck Lorre’s extraordinary leadership and with his outstanding writing and production team, we look forward to having Mom on CBS for many years to come.”

Added SEVP Thom Sherman, “We’re fortunate to have the gifted talents of Anna and Allison, with their wit, intelligence and incomparable comic skill, heading up such a brilliant cast on this noteworthy series.”

No one would comment on the terms but I hear Faris and Janney have parity and their new salaries are north of $350,000 an episode, doubling their current pay, believed to be under $200,000 an episode each. I hear the duo, whose initial contracts were up at the end of Season 6, also increased their backend participation.

Mom has been a strong performer for CBS and WBTV. The show is currently broadcast TV’s #3 comedy series among total viewers behind Lorre’s Big Bang and Young Sheldon.

In addition to its solid ratings on the network, Mom, which crossed the 100 episode mark last season, has been sold to TV Land and CMT in off-network syndication and to the Tribune stations in broadcast syndication.

Mom also is a rare sitcom that tackles important issues. Created by Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker, the comedy stars Faris and Janney as daughter/mother duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett, who, after having been estranged for years while both were struggling with addiction, attempt to pull their lives and their relationship together by trying to stay sober.

Additionally, Mom is a rare comedy with female leads, and both of them are accomplished actresses. Mom was the first TV series for Faris who had built a formidable feature career before she was approached for it. Meanwhile, Janney, one of the most heralded TV actresses working today who has won seven Emmys, including two for Mom, is coming off an Oscar win for I, Tonya last year.

Mimi Kennedy, Jaime Pressly, Beth Hall and William Fichtner also star on Mom, which is executive produced by Lorre, Nick Bakay, Baker and Warren Bell for Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. TV.

On CBS’ 2019-20 schedule, Mom joins the recently renewed freshman series FBI, God Friended Me, Magnum P.I. and The Neighborhood, as well as veteran Criminal Minds, picked up for a final season. A renewal for Lorre’s other CBS comedy series, Young Sheldon, is fully expected.

Kevin Bacon Drama Gets Premiere Date at Showtime

(2/1/19) (Video) Showtime has set a premiere date for Kevin Bacon’s City on a Hill. Launching Sunday, June 16 at 9pm, the ’90s-set crime drama stars Bacon as corrupt FBI veteran Jackie Rohr, who teams up with ADA Decoucy Ward (Underground‘s Aldis Hodge) to catch a family of armored car robbers. The case eventually exposes a massive scandal within Boston’s criminal justice system. Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom), Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest), Lauren E. Banks (Maniac), Amanda Clayton (If Loving You Is Wrong), Kevin Chapman (Person of Interest) and Jere Shea (Passion) co-star.

Grey's Anatomy: Michelle Forbes to Guest Star — Is She Jo's Mother?!

(1/31/19) Michelle Forbes is fleeing Berlin Station for Emerald City. The TV vet has booked a guest appearance on Grey’s Anatomy, TVLine has learned exclusively.

An ABC rep confirmed Forbes’ casting but declined to provide details on her character, so naturally we are going to speculate that perhaps she could maybe-possibly be playing Jo’s estranged mother, whose imminent arrival was previously confirmed by Camilla Luddington herself. (If it’s not Forbes playing Jo’s mum then it’s gotta be Jennifer Grey, right?)

ABC recently announced that it ordered three additional Grey’s episodes, bringing the Seattle-set series’ current Season 15 tally to 25. As a result, Season 15 will mark the second-longest season in Grey’s Anatomy history, tying Season 3’s 25-episode haul but falling shy of Season 2’s record-setting run of 27 (which was boosted by a four-episode spillover from Season 1). As TVLine reported earlier this month, one of the three bonus episodes will be Amelia-centric.

Forbes’ lengthy TV resume includes stints on Guiding Light, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, The District, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Prison Break, In Treatment, True Blood, The Killing, Chicago Fire, Orphan Black, The Returned, Powers and the aforementioned Berlin Station (which just concluded its third season on Epix).

Spinoff ‘Pearson’ Is “Raw” & “Grittier” While Sharing ‘Suits’ DNA – TCA

(1/30/19) USA Network at TCA unveiled a trailer for its upcoming series Pearson, a spinoff from the popular legal drama Suits, which stars Gina Torres and centers on her character, powerhouse lawyer Jessica Pearson, as she enters the dirty world of Chicago politics.

During a panel discussion for the show, the project’s creators, Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh and executive producer Daniel Arkin, talked about how the offshoot will stand on its own in comparison to the mothership series.

“Jessica is the link between Suits and Pearson,” Arkin said. “It has Suits DNA but we wanted the show’s concept to be grittier, raw, more real, showing more facets of her personality and life.”

While Jessica was always calling the shots on Suits, “we are seeing her behind the ball, not knowing everything (on Pearson,)” Korsh said. “People reject her for a change.”

While Jessica’s position in the food chain changes, her status as a fashion icon does not.

“I think it will be tragedy if they didn’t see that part of the DNA carry over,” Torres said of her character keeping her sense of style and penchant for designer outfits though the producers noted that, since Pearson will chronicle both Jessica’s professional and personal life, she will be seen wearing more casual clothes than in Suits.

Torres, who came up with the initial idea for Pearson, said that she first thought about revisiting her Jessica Pearson character in a political setting following her exit from Suits after she “became obsessed with the 2016 elections.”

“I realized that that’s what she did in the world of Suits, not just walking the line but blurring the line and rewriting it,” Torres said, adding that she started asking herself “what would she do in that world (of Chicago politics).

Korsh and Torres talked about their “magical experience” attending the Royal wedding though Korsh laughed off questions about former Suits star Meghan Markle possibly visiting the spinoff or the mothership series’ final season. As I reported last week, there are no Suits characters crossing over on the first season of Pearson.

Pearson Trailer: Jessica Takes on Chicago Politics in Suits Spinoff

(1/30/19) (Trailer) Jessica Pearson may be new to the Windy City, but her “killer” reputation is already the stuff of legend in the first trailer for the Suits spinoff Pearson.

“Some of you are well aware of my past,” Gina Torres’ disbarred lawyer greets the press, “but I am anxious to give something back.” However, her new job as right-hand fixer to Chicago’s mayor (Homeland vet Morgan Spector) gets her tangled up “in a crooked and dangerous new world where every action has far-reaching consequences,” per the official description. “With her compulsion to win, Jessica is forced to reconcile her unstoppable drive with her desire to do the right thing — two things very much at odds.”

Elsewhere in the trailer, city attorney Keri (One Tree Hill‘s Bethany Joy Lenz) isn’t very welcoming of the new hire. “You have a lot to learn about the way things are done around here,” Keri tells Jessica, who snaps back with, “And you still have a lot to learn about being a lawyer.”

Back at home, things aren’t much easier as beau Jeff Malone (Lucifer‘s D.B. Woodside) makes his feelings known about Jessica’s shady new colleagues.

The series — which does not yet have a premiere date — also stars Simon Kassianides (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as the mayor’s driver Nick, Chantel Riley (Wynnona Earp) as Jessica’s cousin Angela, Isabel Arraiza (The Oath) as Jessica’s assistant Yoli and Eli Goree (Ballers) as the mayor’s press secretary Derrick.

Nat Faxon And Jim Rash’s Next Pic: ‘The Heart’ Starring Sam Rockwell, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney

(1/30/19) Oscar winners Sam Rockwell, Octavia Spencer and Allison Janney have been set to star in The Heart, which will be the next film from writer-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. The duo, who won the Adapted Screenplay Oscar with Alexander Payne for The Descendants, will also helm this one next and start shooting at year’s end after they wrap their current project, Fox Searchlight’s Downhill, now underway with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus starring.

The Heart centers on Joe (Rockwell) and Lucy (Spencer) who, while desperate for cash, take the job of delivering a human heart from New York to Florida in 24 hours. When they realize their delivery is destined for a black-market buyer who illegally skipped the donor list, they attempt to reroute it to its rightful recipient, but they are soon hunted down by multiple insane criminals — including the greedy millionaire buyer, his scorned brother, and Lucy’s own drug-dealing ex-boss (Janney).

Manchester By the Sea producers Kevin Walsh and Ryan Stowell are producing via their The Walsh Company, and Sierra/Affinity is launching international sales next month at Berlin’s European Film Market. Sierra/Affinity also sold Faxon and Rash’s 2013 directing debut The Way Way Back, which also starred Rockwell, as well as 2016’s Manchester By the Sea, which won two Oscars and was nominated for Best Picture.

Rockwell is repped by Gersh and Untitled Entertainment, Spencer by WME and Jackoway Austen, and Janney by Gersh, Thruline Entertainment and Nelson Davis.

Faxon is repped by CAA, Artists First and Stone, Genow, and Rash by CAA, Atlas Artists and Stone, Genow.

Audiobooks Featuring Soap Actors

(1/29/19) The American Agent by Jacquelyn Winspear (Order here)
(narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, ex-Doris, GL)
release date: March 26

Beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs, ""one of the great fictional heroines"" (Parade), investigates the mysterious murder of an American war correspondent in London during the Blitz in a page-turning tale of love and war, terror and survival.

When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. He is accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice--Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie get out of Hitler's Munich in 1938. MacFarlane asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon's death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the British Isles, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect Anna, the young evacuee she has grown to love and wants to adopt. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend--and the possibility that she might be falling in love again. (Order here)

SAG Awards Reveals Presenters For Sunday’s 25th Anniversary Show

(1/25/19) The 25th annual SAG Awards has revealed a second group of presenters for Sunday’s ceremony at the Beverly Hilton: Awkafina, Alex Baldwin, Matt Bomer, Laverne Cox, Richard Madden, Ricky Martin, Tracy Morgan, Chris Pine and Keri Russell.

Hawaii Five-0 Casts Joan Collins as [Spoiler]'s Mother

(1/22/19) Grande dame Joan Collins is set to pop up on CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, where she will echo her disapproval of one lawman while expressing her fondness for another.

TVLine has confirmed that the Dynasty icon will guest-star as Amanda Savage, the mother of Claire van der Boom’s Rachel and thus Danny’s ex-mother-in-law who has never liked him.

Appearing in the 18th episode of Season 9, Amanda will come to town on a book tour, where she will require Danny and Steve’s assistance as her last-minute security team. She, as many do, will take an immediate liking to her son-in-law’s better half — meaning, McGarrett.

The English actress tweeted about the guest spot over the long weekend. (Photo)

Collins’ more recent TV credits include American Horror Story: Apocalypse and The Royals.

Hawaii Five-0 continues Season 9 on Friday, Feb. 1, with Episode 14.

Peter Hermann Recurs On Blue Bloods 2/1/19

(1/15/19) “Ripple Effect” – A medium approaches Danny and Baez claiming to know what happened to a woman who was found dead of an apparent suicide. Also, Jamie and Eddie help a woman who bought cheap insulin online that nearly killed her son; Frank goes against the wishes of the archbishop to take down a man he believes is laundering money from a charity; and Erin’s ex-husband asks her for help with an assault and robbery case, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, Feb. 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Recurring Cast includes: Peter Hermann (Jack Boyle), Stacy Keach (Archbishop Kevin Kearns)

‘Black And Blue’: Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp To Co-Star In Screen Gems Cop Drama

(1/12/19) Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp and Tyrese Gibson are set to join Naomie Harris in the Deon Taylor-directed cop thriller Black and Blue, which is set up under Sony’s Screen Gems label.

Written by Peter A. Dowling, the pic follows a rookie New Orleans cop (Harris) who rounds the corner just as corrupt narc officers are murdering a drug dealer, an event captured by her body cam. When they then fail to execute her and she escapes, the narcs pin the murder on her, and she is hunted both by the narcs who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage and the drug dealers out for revenge.

Sean Sorensen of Royal Viking Entertainment is producing with Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group production shingle. Hidden Empire partner Roxanne Avent will serve as exec producer, while Eric Paquette is overseeing the project for Screen Gems.

Grillo, whose credits include Captain America, The Purge franchise and Kingdom, is repped by WME, Management 360 and attorney Erik Hyman. Up next, Gillo stars in the brawl-thriller Donnybrook, opposite Jamie Bell, and Boss Level, an action sci-fi thriller also starring Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts.

Veep star Scott, who is set to reprise his role in the seventh and final season of the HBO comedy, appears opposite Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling in the film Late Night, which will premiere at this month’s Sundance Film Festival. He’s repped by Impression Entertainment, Gersh and Stone, Genow, Smelkinson, Binder & Christopher.

Knapp appeared in three films last year: Eli Roth’s Death Wish remake, in which he played the main villain opposite Bruce Willis; Annapurna’s Nicole Kidman starrer Destroyer; and Measure of a Man. Knapp, who also starred in the Netflix series Seven Seconds, is repped by CAA and Luber Roklin Entertainment.

Gibson reunites with Sony Pictures after making his screen debut in John Singleton’s Baby Boy. The Fast & Furious star is repped by APA and Joanne Horowitz Management.

Dishing with Digest - 1/11/19 - Gina Tognoni

(1/11/19) Y&R’s Gina Tognoni (Phyllis) Reflects On Her Soap Career (Listen / download)

Y&R’s Gina Tognoni chats about her Genoa City leading men, her memories of GL and OLTL and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. Plus, we talk about the importance of shows’ opening credits.

A First Look at Rebecca Budig's New Role on L.A.'S FINEST!

(1/8/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Fans who miss seeing Rebecca Budig as Hayden Barnes on GENERAL HOSPITAL can take heart that they will soon be able to see her in a brand new series: L.A.’S FINEST! The drama series is slated to premiere this spring on Spectrum cable, and Budig is slated to appear as Carlene Hart. “I’m trying hard to stay off social media as an example to my daughter but checking in from time to time,” the actress tweeted back in November of 2018. “Loving L.A.’S FINEST. I’ll be in a few episodes. Can’t wait for you to see it next year!”

(Photo) The series stars Gabrielle Union as Sydney “Syd” Burnett, the character she played in the 2003 movie Bad Boys II, and Jessica Alba as Nancy McKenna, both LAPD detectives who don’t agree on much but find common ground when taking down dangerous criminals. The cast also includes actor Ryan McPartlin, who may be best known for playing Devon “Captain Awesome” Woodcomb on the NBC series CHUCK, but who soap fans will remember as Hank Bennett on the NBC soap PASSIONS. And Budig has shared some images from the L.A.’S FINEST set alongside her co-star.

(Video) Although Budig hasn’t said yet exactly what her role on the series is, she’s obviously sharing her scenes with McPartlin, and possibly playing his office co-worker, based on the Boomerang animation she shared (and taken by McPartlin) of her on set pretending to answer a call. “Answering phones,” she joked. “I do it all.”

(Video) Over on his own Instagram, McPartlin shared a cute little animation from the set where the two of them looked at each other and then at the viewer as they waited for their turn in front of the cameras. But he also hasn’t revealed any details about their roles, so we’ll just have to stay tuned.

Budig was already well known to soap fans for her roles as Michelle on GUIDING LIGHT and Greenlee on ALL MY CHILDREN when she made her GH debut as the mysterious Hayden in 2015. The character became a hit with fans, but was written out in September of 2017 leaving them waiting for her return, preferably with Finn’s baby in tow! Although Budig has told Soaps In Depth she would love to come back, and ABC executive Nathan Varni admitted Hayden’s return is “definitely a possibility,” there are currently no plans in the works. So fans will just have to keep an eye out for L.A.’S FINEST this spring. We will keep you up to date on a premiere date as well as any other projects Budig has in the works, so stay tuned!

Sharon Leal on The Good Doctor 1/21/18

(1/8/19) “Aftermath” – In the aftermath of the quarantine, the staff of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital tries to return to their normal routines as the Department of Public Health office decides they need to review what transpired to restore public confidence. Meanwhile, as Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) recovers from the virus, she and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) navigate their new personal and working relationship, while Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) try to relax and visit Lea (Paige Spara) at work, on “The Good Doctor,” MONDAY, JAN. 21 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

The series stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne, Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez, Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, Tamlyn Tomita as Allegra Aoki, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park and Paige Spara as Lea.

Guest starring is Sharon Leal as Breeze Brown, Jennifer Birmingham Lee as Mia Wuellner, Ricky He as Kellan Park, Cheryl White as Carmen Dunn and Garfield Wilson as Carnell Hunter.

“Aftermath” was written by Thomas L. Moran and directed by Dawn Wilkinson.

Emme Rylan Requests Help for Her Sister's Battle With Cancer

(1/7/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) It may appear that GENERAL HOSPITAL star Emme Rylan (Lulu) shares basically everything with her fans on social media, but as with any person, there is still so much going on that you don’t see on Twitter or Instagram. “Although I share so much of my life with you, there has still been a very private side,” Rylan confided in a recent Instagram post. “My sister, Lara, is battling stage four cancer. My family would be so grateful if you could take a look at her page. Even a dollar helps.”

Lara Behrens’ family has set up a GoFundMe Page that details how she learned in October of 2018 that the back pain she had been suffering from was due to a cancerous mass on her sacrum, the bone at the base of the spine just above the tailbone. While exploring alternative options, the current treatments to bring the cancer under control and offer some relief have already depleted Lara’s savings, and she reluctantly allowed her family to set up the page to ask for donations to contribute towards her medical needs and living expenses. After just 20 days, the page was $25,815 towards its goal of $30,000.

Some of Rylan’s GH castmates also helped to get the word out. “Hey, beautiful ones,” posted Tamara Braun (Kim). “This is our dear Emme Rylan’s sister, Lara. She is battling stage four cancer. Please visit Emme’s page and click the link in her bio to learn more. I don’t know Lara personally, but she sure does sound like a kind and giving person who could use some help. Any contribution would help. Sending love and gratitude.” Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) also tweeted: “Please read Emme Rylan’s post and if you can spare a bit of healing love wrapped in a donation for her sister, Lara, we who love our Emme would be so grateful.”

Our thoughts are with Rylan’s entire family during this difficult time, and we wish them all the best as Lara continues her treatments and hopefully beats this thing.

(GoFundMe Page)

Laura Wright Thanks Fans for Their Love as She Mourns Her Parents

(1/7/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) The end of 2018 was challenging for GENERAL HOSPITAL star Laura Wright (Carly), but she’s determined to start 2019 on a positive note and also thank her loyal fans for their unwavering support as she mourned the loss of her parents. “I wanna thank you all for your condolences,” she posted to Instagram. “It’s been an interesting couple months (I refuse to use a negative label). Honestly, I’m just grateful. Taking deep breaths and being present. And I’m excited for what 2019 has to bring!” She also included the hashtags: “#lifeisbeautiful, #grateful, #itsuptoyou, #itsreallyuptoyou, and #2019Baby.”

GH fans have been flooding Wright’s social media accounts with heartfelt messages of love and support both when she lost her mother back in October of 2018 and again when her father passed away in December. The actress traveled home to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with boyfriend Wes Ramsey (Peter) to join her family and friends in memorializing both Betty and Rector Sisk.

Our thoughts continue to go out to Wright and her entire family during this difficult time.

Talk Show Appearance

(1/5/19) THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, syndicated

We 1/16: Allison Janney

Dishing with Digest - Linda Dano - 1/4/19

(1/4/19) (Listen/download) Linda Dano Reflects On Daytime Career

Beloved soap vet Linda Dano looks back on her ANOTHER WORLD years as Felicia Gallant, her friendship with Stephen Schnetzer (ex-Cass), her jump to ABC and more with Digest’s Stephanie Sloane and Mara Levinsky. We also discuss Ingo Rademacher’s upcoming departure from B&B and what it means for the canvas.

Taye Diggs Set As Critics’ Choice Awards Host

(1/4/19) While the Academy Awards try to dig themselves out of a hole when it comes to finding a host, the Critics’ Choice Awards aren’t having a problem at all. The Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association announced today that TV, film and Broadway star Taye Diggs will host the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which will air live January 13 on the CW from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

“I am truly honored and ridiculously excited to be hosting the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards, especially since, as an actor, I recognize what a vital role the critics play in the entertainment industry today,” said Diggs. “We are all looking forward to a big night celebrating the best of the best in TV and film!”

Diggs can be seen in the CW drama All American opposite Daniel Ezra. Diggs also starred in the Netflix rom-com Set It Up opposite Zoey Deutch and Lucy Liu. He can be seen in the forthcoming River Runs Red with John Cusack and George Lopez.

This year’s Critics’ Choice Awards will honor Best Supporting Actress nominee Claire Foy with the #SeeHer Award, while Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre will receive the Critics’ Choice Creative Achievement Award.

Wes Ramsey Expresses His Deep Love for Laura Wright

(1/3/19) (abc.soapsindepth.com) As 2019 began, GENERAL HOSPITAL star Wes Ramsey (Peter) shared a beautifully heartfelt message to his love, Laura Wright (Carly). “As I close out this powerful calendar year,” he posted to Instagram, “I’m reflecting continually on — and humbly moved by — the grace with which this strong woman moves through the world. We’ve been blessed with so much this year, yet she has lost so much more.”

Ramsey is referring to Wright having lost her beloved mother back in October, followed by the death of her father at the end of December. But throughout any hardships, the actress has remained grateful for the good things in her life, and it’s an attitude he is hoping to emulate himself. “Her unplanned, unprepared stoicism in spite of such loss is revering to my heart and inspiring to my spirit,” Ramsey declared. “She’s a tour de force — paving the road in spite of the path or its forced directions. I know this because I, too, am on that path. Her path. I am here to vouch that the road is smooth and placed with both intention and foundation, no matter the obstacle.

“So as I close out this year — one of the best of my life,” Ramsey concluded, “I’ve never thought less about my worried self and been more honored by this magical angel as her laughter (my distraction) keeps my dreams not just afloat, but out in front. I’m proud of you. I admire you. I thank you for letting me walk with you.”

For her part, Wright is also grateful to have Ramsey by her side. “I’ve had a beautiful January 1,” she shared on her own Instagram. “Reflection, tears, and gratitude for this view. I wrapped myself in love and memories and took deep breaths (and a quick dip in the hot tub), staying quiet with my thoughts on this new day. Thank you, Wes, for being by my side.”

The love these two share is an inspiration to everyone. All the best for a happy 2019 for the both of them!

Laura Wright Mourns the Death of Her Father

(12/31/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Please join us in sending love to GENERAL HOSPITAL star Laura Wright (Carly), who is mourning the death of her father, Rector Sisk. She shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram with a series of photos of her dad with her mother, Betty, who passed away just two months earlier in October. “Together is a beautiful place to be,” Wright said of her parents’ passing. “RIP, Dad. I love you.” Her father was 75.

Wright, who began her daytime career as Aly on LOVING and THE CITY before playing Cassie on GUIDING LIGHT and then joining the cast of GH, has always enjoyed a warm, loving family. She has two children, Lauren, and John, and a brother, Jeffrey Sisk. Now her parents, Rector and Betty, are reunited in heaven to watch over all of them. Our thoughts are with Wright and her entire family during this difficult time.

'Beverly Hills, 90210’ Series Reboot With Original Cast Shopped To Networks

(12/23/18) Hit 1990s teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 is staging a comeback. A reboot featuring a number of original cast members including Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris is being pitched to broadcast and streaming networks with multiple buyers interested, sources said.

I hear the scripted project from CBS TV Studios features most of the original cast but is not a traditional reboot. I hear the new Beverly Hills, 90210 comes from writers/executive producers Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, who worked on the CW’s 90210 reboot and on Spelling’s series So Notorious, as well as CBS TV Studios-based Ghen Maynard, who has a relationship with Spelling and Garth and executive produces the new series.

It was Spelling who first let slip in March that a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot was in very early stages of development at CBS TV Studios. She teased the news with an Instagram post, in which she unveiled that she had partnered with Garth on a 90210-related project, with a #donnaandkellyforever, a reference to the actresses’ Beverly Hills, 90210 characters.

At the time, it was reported that Spelling and Garth would be playing “exaggerated versions of themselves.”

Nine months later, the project has been taken to the marketplace, with word getting out when a TMZ photographer caught a glimpse of the actors and writers in-between meetings.

The original 1990-2000 series on Fox, created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling, featured Spelling, Garth, Priestly, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Ziering, Green, Carteris and others as students living, loving and spending at West Beverly Hills High School. It spawned multiple spinoffs including Fox’s fellow pop culture hit Melrose Place and the less successful Models, Inc.

More recently, the CW did a rebooted 90210 series, from CBS Studios, in which Spelling, Garth and Doherty reprised their roles during the first season. It aired for five seasons and ended in 2013.

Spelling and Garth also co-starred on 2014’s then-ABC Family comedy series Mystery Girls, which lasted one season.

‘Mom’: Season 7 Hinges On New Deals With Stars Anna Faris & Allison Janney As Duo Seeks Salary Increases

(12/19/18) The Big Bang Theory is already set to end its run with its current 12th season. But could CBS lose both of Chuck Lorre’s long-running comedy series?

The Lorre-executive produced Mom is in the midst of its sixth season, the last under stars Anna Faris and Allison Jamey’s original contracts.

I hear CBS would like to get another season of the praised sitcom, which is currently the network’s #3 comedy series among total viewers and adults 18-49 behind Lorre’s Big Bang and Young Sheldon, and could move to #2 after the end of Big Bang. It finished last season as the third most watched comedy in broadcast TV and as a Top 5 comedy in 18-49 and 25-54.

In preparation for a possible renewal, I hear producing studio Warner Bros. TV over the past month or so reached out to Faris and Janney about new deals. I hear the two actresses went in together and there has been some initial back and forth but the two sides are still very far apart on the money as Faris and Janney are seeking significant salary increases. All parties involved declined comment.

Faris and Janney are believed to be currently making under $200,000 an episode each. That is well below the $1 million an episode the five main stars of Big Bang were getting by Season 8. Big Bang is one of those singular giant hits that are in a league of their own. But Mom has been a strong performer for CBS and WBTV. In addition to its solid ratings on the network, Mom, which crossed the 100 episode mark last season, has been sold to TV Land and CMT in off-network syndication and to the Tribune stations in broadcast syndication.

Mom also is a rare sitcom that tackles important issues. Created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker, Mom stars Faris and Janney as daughter/mother duo Christy and Bonnie Plunkett, who, after having been estranged for years while both were struggling with addiction, attempt to pull their lives and their relationship together by trying to stay sober.

“Mom has been a lynchpin comedy for us over the last several years,” CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl said at the time of Mom’s Season 6 renewal earlier this year. “It’s a fearless series that tackles provocative social issues with laughter and grace, and a large, loyal audience has followed. With gifted talents like Anna and Allison leading a great ensemble cast, and a production team headed by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, Nick Bakay and Gemma Baker, this series just keeps getting better.”

The Mom negotiation may get extra scrutiny in light of the ongoing drive for gender equality as it is a rare comedy with female leads. Both Faris and Janney are accomplished. Mom was the first TV series for Farris who had built a formidable feature career before she was approached to do the comedy, bought by CBS with her on board. Meanwhile, Janney, one of the most heralded TV actress working today who has won seven Emmys, including two for Mom, is coming off an Oscar win for I, Tonya earlier this year.

Ziering Bedevils Swamp Thing

(12/13/18) Having braved sharknados big and, well, bigger, Ian Ziering will next brave the bayous of Louisiana.

TVLine has learned that the Beverly Hills, 90210 vet has boarded DC Universe’s live-action Swamp Thing series in the recurring guest star role of Daniel Cassidy.

Swamp Thing follows Abby Arcane (Teen Wolf‘s Crystal Reed) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana. She soon discovers, however, that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. And when unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Ziering’s Cassidy is a stuntman-turned-movie star who became semi-famous after playing the demonic Blue Devil. Now, eight years later, Cassidy finds himself living out his days in frustration, pining for his former fame… while on a collision course with destiny. (In comic book lore, he supernaturally bonds with his movie costume to become Blue Devil.)

Previously announced castings include Andy Bean (Power) as the Alec Holland to Derek Mears’ Swamp Thing; Will Patton (Falling Skies) and Virginia Madsen (Hell on Wheels) as businessman Avery Sunderland and his well-heeled wife Maria; Kevin Durand (The Strain) as scientist Jason Woodrue aka Floronic Man; and Jeryl Prescott (Ray Donovan) as the centuries-old sorceress Madame Xanadu.

Critics’ Choice Awards Nominations

(12/12/18) The winners will be revealed at the star-studded Critics’ Choice Awards gala, broadcast live January 13 on the CW at 7 PM ET/PT.MOVIES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Michael B. Jordan – Black Panther

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Black Panther
Crazy Rich Asians
The Favourite
Vice
Widows

TELEVISION

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Richard Cabral – Mayans M.C. (FX)
Asia Kate Dillon – Billions (Showtime)
Noah Emmerich – The Americans (FX)
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession (HBO)
Richard Schiff – The Good Doctor (ABC)
Shea Whigham – Homecoming (Amazon)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW)
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Allison Janney – Mom (CBS)
Justina Machado – One Day at a Time (Netflix)
Debra Messing – Will & Grace (NBC)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Brandon Victor Dixon – Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC)
Eric Lange – Escape at Dannemora (Showtime)
Alex Rich – Genius: Picasso (National Geographic)
Peter Sarsgaard – The Looming Tower (Hulu)
Finn Wittrock – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Ben Whishaw – A Very English Scandal (Amazon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ellen Burstyn – The Tale (HBO)
Patricia Clarkson – Sharp Objects (HBO)
Penelope Cruz – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Julia Garner – Dirty John (Bravo)
Judith Light – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Elizabeth Perkins – Sharp Objects (HBO)

’47 Meters Down’ Sequel Adds Nia Long

(12/12/18) Cast and release date have been set for 47 Meters Down – Uncaged, the sequel to box office breakout 47 Meters Down. Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief), John Corbett (Sex And The City), Nia Long (Empire), Corinne Foxx, Sistine Stallone, Brianne Tju (Scream TV series), Davi Santos (Polaroid) and Khylin Rhambo (Teen Wolf) will star.

Principal photography is underway this week in the Dominican Republic with Byron Allen’s ESMP U.S. release in 3,500+ screens set for June 28, 2019. Johannes Roberts returns to direct the sequel from a script he co-wrote with his 47 Meters Down co-writer, Ernest Riera. Foxx and Stallone, the daughters of Jamie Foxx and Sylvester Stallone, respectively, will be making their film debuts.

The film will tell the story of four teens diving in a ruined underwater city, who quickly find themselves in a watery hell as their adventure turns to horror when they learn they are not alone in the submerged caves. As they swim deeper into the claustrophobic labyrinth of caves they enter the territory of the deadliest shark species in the ocean.

James Harris, Mark Lane and Robert Jones of The Fyzz are producing with Byron Allen, Carolyn Folks, and Jennifer Lucas executive producing. The breakout original took almost $60M global off a $5.5M budget.

“The sequel 47 Meters Down – Uncaged is well-positioned to be a big summer event movie,” said Byron Allen, CEO of Entertainment Studios. “The shark-filled psychological horror/thriller will once again have moviegoers overwhelmed and on the edge of their seats being terrorized by the world’s greatest predators!”

Stallone is repped by Brookside Artist Management.

GH’s Laura Wright In Lifetime Movie

(12/7/18) Laura Wright (Carly, GH) will be starring in the Lifetime film STALKED BY MY PATIENT, which airs December 14 at 8 p.m. ET. Two of her co-stars in the film are familiar faces to Port Charles fans, Bree Williamson (ex-Claudette, GH) and Eddie Matos (ex-Ricky, PORT CHARLES). Wright posted the news on Instagram.

Philip Bosco, Tony-Winning Actor and ‘Working Girl’ Star, Dies at 88

(12/7/18) Philip Bosco, a Tony and Emmy-winning character actor who also starred in such movies as “Working Girl,” died Monday at age 88, according to his grandson Luke Bosco.

Bosco received the first of his six Tony nominations for his Broadway debut, the 1960 drama “Rape of the Belt,” and his last for a 2004 revival of “Twelve Angry Men.” He won in 1989 for playing an outrageous opera company head in the comedy “Lend Me a Tenor.”

He also appeared in more than 50 Broadway productions over his storied career.

Though he told the New York Times in 1986 that he had turned down a seven-year contract with a Hollywood studio early in his career because he did not want to live in California, he did appear in many movies starting in the 1980s.

Bosco had small but crucial roles in films like Mike Nichols’ 1988 comedy “Working Girl,” where he played the corporate honcho who fires Sigourney Weaver’s scheming executive and hires Melanie Griffith’s ambitious secretary instead.

His other big-screen credits included Woody Allen’s 1997 film “Deconstructing Harry,” 1983’s “Trading Places,” the 1986 drama “Children of a Lesser God” and the 1997 rom-com “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

He also made frequent appearances on TV, from soap operas like “Ryan’s Hope” and “As the World Turns” to “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in which he had a recurring role as a judge. In 1987, he won a Daytime Emmy for an “ABC Afterschool Special” called “Read Between the Lines.”

This $8M Chelsea townhouse has a soap opera past, a new renovation, and a flexible future

(12/5/18) (Photos) Back in 2015, 6sqft featured this charm-filled brick townhouse for sale at 426 West 22nd Street; the 19-foot-wide beauty, built in 1843, was listed for $9.5 million by Emmy-winning soap opera actress Ellen Parker, best known for a long run as Maureen Reardon Bauer on “Guiding Light.” The West Chelsea home on a tree-lined block near Clement Clarke Moore Park was divided into three residences for lots of options. The home has been renovated since then, still-charming but updated and restored, with modern finishes and fixtures. It’s back on the market for $7.995 million–possibilities intact.

This 4,090 square foot, 3-family townhouse offers a great opportunity for townhouse living with rental income or as a grand single-family home. There’s also the possibility of creating boutique condominium units. The renovated ground floor duplex would make a perfect owner’s unit, with 2,404 square feet of living space.

The three-bedroom, two-bath space boasts four wood-burning fireplaces, a washer/dryer, and a gorgeous, modern-rustic kitchen with high-end appliances. A landscaped private garden lies just out back for a tranquil escape or an entertaining spot.

The remaining two units boast exposed brick, high ceilings and two working fireplaces each. Each of the two also features private outdoor space. There are also 2,260 square feet of unused air rights.

[Listing: 426 West 22nd Street by Candice Milano and Malessa Rambarran for Halstead]

Joan Collins says #MeToo victims should have kicked men 'in the groin'

(12/4/18) Dame Joan Collins has risked incurring the wrath of #MeToo activists by insisting actresses complaining about sexual harassment should have done more to prevent it.

The veteran actress insists many of the women who have made allegations against the likes of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein could have avoided their ordeals with a swift “knee in the groin”.

The former Dynasty star, who tells The Observer she was drugged and raped by her first husband on their first date when she was 18, says, “When people ask why I wasn’t speaking out about this, I’ve been speaking out about it for 40 years.

“It seems to me actresses who are saying, you know, ‘I went up to this producer and he took his d— out and I froze’. I mean, I’m sorry, you don’t freeze; you go, ‘Stop that, I’m leaving’. I just gave them (harassers) a knee in the groin. It’s hardly suffering. You just didn’t put up with it.”

And Collins insists actresses should be doing more to help refugee women, who really are suffering: “My daughter Tara is a pioneer for women’s rights and these women in the refuges are having to hide their identities. They’ve got children and babies and then the husbands try to find them.

“I remember Tara was crying to me about a year and a half ago because one of the women had gone back and been murdered – that’s what happens. Women are abused all over the world. Everybody’s very adamant and strong and #MeToo here in Hollywood, but I don’t see them opening refuges for women who have been abused.”

Collins tells the British publication she only agreed to marry her rapist, Maxwell Reed, because she was so ashamed about losing her virginity to him.

“He took me to a place called the Country Club in Hanover Square,” she recalls. “We walked up lots of stairs to a small, candle-lit apartment, where he asked me what I wanted to drink and gave me a rum and Coke. It was a Mickey Finn. I was drugged. He said, ‘I am going to have a bath’, which I thought was very strange.

“He then said, ‘Take a look at this book, I think you will find it interesting’. Of course, it was full of disgusting, pornographic photographs. Any smart girl today would have got out of there and run down those stairs faster than a speeding bullet, but not little innocent, stupid Joan Collins, who stayed there and looked at the book. The next thing I knew, I was on the sofa and that was it. Then I was throwing up into a bucket.”

Wes Ramsey Previews His Thrilling New Movie

(12/2/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) (Trailer) When Wes Ramsey first appeared on GENERAL HOSPITAL, viewers weren't sure if they can trus his character of Peter August, and they’re going to feel the same way about his character in his thrilling new movie, Last Seen in Idaho. And coincidentally, he’s playing a shady guy named Franco! “I’m excited for my character,” Ramesy told Soaps In Depth, “because before this movie I’ve never had a chance to play a character like Franco.”

The story surrounds a young woman named Summer (played by the film’s writer and producer, Hallie Shepherd) who awakens from a coma after a car accident and begins having visions of her own future murder. But without knowing exactly who she can trust, can Summer prevent her visions from coming true? “It has an incredible story about someone who witnesses something they shouldn’t have seen and how their life is forever changed because of it,” Ramsey previewed. “From that one moment, a chain of events unfolds and it’s interesting, because it deals with time and memory in a very unique way. I don’t want to give away too much, because it’s really well done the way she created the story.”

Ramsey’s character of Franco is Summer’s love interest, but also a seasoned criminal who will leave you wondering which side he’s really on. Last Seen in Idaho also stars a couple of other faces that will be familiar to soap fans. “We shot all over the state of Washington,” the actor reported. “And some other awesome guys who spent time in daytime were with me — Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel) from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and Casper Van Dien (Ty) was once on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.”

Last Seen in Idaho was released on DVD and on demand back in April, and premiered on Showtime Dec. 1. Ramsey is thrilled his GH fans will finally be able to see his work. “It’s been a long time coming,” he admitted. “When you make a movie, you never know if it’s going to see the light of day in six months or a year or two years. This is certainly the longest I’ve ever waited for one of my movies to come out, so I’m excited for it!”

E.J. Bonilla Recurs on Bull 12/3/18

(11/30/18) “Separation” – Danny enlists her colleagues to help when her boyfriend, Gabriel (E.J. Bonilla), is arrested for being in the country illegally and threatened with deportation. Also, Bull represents a German national who is being sued by a museum over possession of a valuable painting, on BULL, Monday, Dec. 3 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Talk Show Appearance

(11/22/18) The Talk – CBS

Monday, Nov. 26

Actor Taye Diggs discusses his new CW show, ALL AMERICAN

Mena Suvari & Frances Fisher To Star In ‘Grace and Grit’ Indie

(11/16/18) Mena Suvari and Frances Fisher have signed on to star in Grace and Grit, the indie feature adaptation of Ken Wilber’s book of the same title. Stuart Townsend, Mariel Hemingway, Lydia Hearst, Nick Stahl, Rebekah Graf, and Tara Subkoff also co-star in the Sebastian Siegel-directed film, which is currently in production.

Siegel penned the screenplay. It’s based on a true story of the five-year courageous journey of Treya Wilber (Suvari) and Ken Wilber (Townsend), through their falling in love, marriage, and challenge to overcome illness and meaning to find love beyond life. The story takes place in the mid-1980’s between Muir Beach, Tahoe, and Boulder, Colorado.

Siegel is also producing the pic with Lucas Jarach and Eric Brenner. Jim Jacobsen will serve as exec producer via Skyline Entertainment, which is financing.

Suvari, who broke onto the scene with her roles in American Pie and American Beauty, was a series regular in the short-lived Paramount Network series, American Woman, and reprised her role as Elizabeth Short (a.k.a Black Dahlia) in FX’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse.

Fisher’s notable credits include Titanic, Laws of Attraction, Unforgiven, and True Crime. Up next, she can be seen in Damon Lindelof’s forthcoming HBO series Watchmen.

Suvari is repped by APA and Management Production Entertainment and Fisher is repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency.

E.J. Bonilla Recurs on Bull 11/12/18

(11/3/18) “But for the Grace” –Bull takes on a pro bono client who was poorly advised by his public defender to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and is now facing felony manslaughter after the victim dies, on BULL, Monday, Nov. 12 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST: E.J. Bonilla (Gabriel)

‘Guiding Light’ star Robert Newman sings and dances his way through ‘Kiss Me Kate’ at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman

(11/2/18) (philly.com) For all his success in TV, Robert Newman has always had what he calls "a love affair" with regional theater. Good for us, because the longtime Joshua Lewis of Guiding Light (appearing in about 3,000 episodes from 1981-2009) will be singing and playing the roles of egotistic leading guy Fred Graham – and therefore also Petrucchio – in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, through Nov. 18 at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman in Pitman, N.J.

"That's where I first got offered a job and a paycheck, doing what I love to do," said Newman, whom I caught on the links, about to play a round of golf.

He went out to New York in 1981 for what he thought would be "a few days," to audition for Guiding Light, and it turned into almost three decades. "I'd never been in front of a camera in my life," he said. "When I started, I thought, 'Great. I'll be working daytimes, and I can do all this New York theater, too.' It doesn't work that way, of course: In soap operas, there's no time."

For summers, he'd do eight weeks of summer theater, if the producers agreed to let him go, "and it usually revitalized me." Here or there he took longer breaks from the soap opera but wound up returning. And once Guiding Light faded away in 2009, he went out "looking for characters I hadn't had the chance to play." Characters like George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or Henry in The Lion in Winter or Edna in Hairspray.

Wait … Edna in Hairspray? "Oh, yeah," Newman says. "I could play that role for the rest of my life."

Video: https://youtu.be/2gT4ogSg1Kg

Who knew Newman sang? "I did some singing in college, stopped for a long time during the soap, and then I was raising our kids, not doing a lot of musical work. We had newborns, toddlers, then teenagers. But I went back over a decade ago. I was at a Broadway show, watching Tom Wopat play Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, and decided I really missed it. So I started studying with a voice teacher in Manhattan, to get to a place where I actually could sustain a musical for seven to eight shows a week. "

In 2016, he played Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha at Bristol Riverside Theatre. John Smitherman, producing artistic director at Broadway Theatre, saw him, and the two hit on the idea of Kiss Me, Kate.

"I love telling a story through lyrics and song," Newman says.

Soap Alums’ New Series Debuts

(10/31/18) TELL ME A STORY, the new series starring Billy Magnussen (ex-Casey, AS THE WORLD TURNS) and Paul Wesley (ex-Max, GUIDING LIGHT) debuts today on CBS All Access. The show “takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder,” according to press notes. Magnussen plays Nick, while Wesley plays Eddie. The 10-episode series will drop a new installment each week.

Allison Janney & Laura Dern To Star In Tate Taylor’s ‘Breaking News In Yuba County’, AGC To Finance & Sell — AFM

(10/28/18) Allison Janney and Laura Dern are set to star in black comedy Breaking News In Yuba County from The Help and Girl On The Train director Tate Taylor. Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios will finance and launch sales at next week’s AFM.

The 2017 Black List script comes from Amanda Idoko. Producing with Taylor will be Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker via their Nine Stories banner, Franklin Leonard’s The Black List, and John Norris (The Help). Executive producers are Ford and AGC’s Head of Film Greg Shapiro, Nine Stories’ Annie Marter and Idoko. The film is due to go into production in mid 2019.

Idoko’s script follows overlooked pencil pusher Sue Bottoms (Janney) who catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. She buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But Sue quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister Nancy (Dern), a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.

The deal was brokered by CAA and Endeavor Content and negotiated by VP, Legal & Business Affairs Anant Tamirisa on behalf of AGC, WME and Bloom Hergott on behalf of Nine Stories, CAA on behalf of the producers and Taylor, the Gersh Agency and Thruline Entertainment on behalf of Janney, and CAA and Untitled Entertainment on behalf of Laura Dern.

Said Taylor, “The moment I read Amanda’s dark and brilliant script I knew it was the one for Allison. She and I have been searching since The Help for something big to do. So have Laura and I. It’s a perfect story of debauchery and chaos, and I’m delighted to have Stuart and his AGC team onboard as our backers.”

Taye Diggs Sued By His Fired Managers Over Unpaid Commissions

(10/27/18) The firm that managed Taye Diggs for three years until he fired them in July is suing the actor for unpaid commissions. Authentic Talent and Literary Management claims he owes for TV shows including All American and Beauty and the Beast and a slew of endorsement deals.

The actor’s Deep Down Productions also is a defendant in the suit (read it here) filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court. Authentic says it is owed “substantial sums of money” and that “these sums continue to accrue.” “Plaintiff has made repeated efforts to obtain payment from Diggs in order to avoid litigation,” the suit says. “Regrettably, however, Diggs has failed and refused to abide by his obligations hereunder and to tender commissions and post-termination commissions and other payments due and owing Plaintiff.”

The filing says Diggs hired Authentic to manage his career in June 2015 and that Authentic performed “exemplary” services until he fired the firm in late July. “Diggs has wrongfully failed and refused to abide by his legal obligations to pay Plaintiff commissions in connection with the numerous deals and employment obtained during the parties’ management relationship, including but not limited to the following: the All American, Beauty and the Beast, Crossovers, 25 Words or Less and [multiple] endorsement deals.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages and declaratory relief. Attorneys Mathew Rosengart and Michael Neighbors of Greenberg Traurig LLP in Los Angeles are representing Authentic in the suit.

Tammy Blanchard Joins Mister Roger Film

(10/26/18) The yet-to-be-titled Tom Hanks-starring Mister Rogers project has set its supporting cast as filming of the TriStar Pictures feature is currently underway. Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars), Maryann Plunkett (Blue Valentine), Tammy Blanchard (Into The Woods), Wendy Makkena (Sister Act films), Sakina Jaffrey (Timeless), Carmen Cusack (Facebook’s Sorry for Your Loss), Noah Harpster (Transparent), and Maddie Corman (Younger) have all been welcomed into the neighborhood. They join Hanks as well as previously announced Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi, and Chris Cooper.

Marielle Heller is at the helm, directing from Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster’s screenplay. The film, formally titled You Are My Friend, is inspired by the article Can You Say. . . Hero? by Tom Junod. It’s based on the real-life friendship between Fred Rogers (Hanks) and Junod. In the heart-warming story, a cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.

Rhys will play Lloyd, a fictionalized version of Junod.

More character breakdowns: Colantoni will play Bill Isler, longtime president & CEO of The Fred Rogers Company. Plunkett is Joanne Rogers, Fred’s wife. Blanchard portrays Lorraine, Lloyd’s sister. Noah Harpster is Lloyd’s brother-in-law, Todd. Makkena plays Dorothy, Lloyd’s father’s girlfriend. Jaffrey’s character is Ellen, Lloyd’s editor. Cusack plays longtime Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood producer, Margy. Corman is Lady Aberlin, a character on the show.

TriStar nabbed worldwide rights from Big Beach. Producers are Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf of Big Beach, and Youree Henley, while Leah Holzer (Big Beach), Fitzerman-Blue, and Harpster are executive producers.

The pic hits theaters October 18, 2019.

Colantoni is repped by Vanguard Management Group, Innovative Artists, and Characters Talent Agency; Plunkett by Davis Spylios Management; Blanchard by Gersh and Soffer, Namoff; Makkena by Mark Schumacher Management and Nicolossi & Co; Jaffrey by Greene Talent; Cusack by Schachter Entertainment and Stone Manners Salners Agency; Harpster by Mosaic, UTA, Haven, and Kaplan/Perrone; Corman by Abrams Artists Agency.

E.J. Bonilla on Bull 11/5/18

(10/26/18) “A Girl Without Feelings” – Bull confronts his guilt over closing his psychiatric practice to start TAC when his former patient, a young woman who is a clinical sociopath, goes on trial for killing her brother. When Bull and Benny’s client has no memory of the crime due to her mental condition, they enter a “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” plea and aim to seat jurors that are sympathetic to mental illness, on BULL, Monday, Nov. 5 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Quinn Shephard (Tally North), Chinasa Ogbuagu (ADA Kelly Scrivener), E.J. Bonilla (Gabriel).

Paul Anthony Stewart on FBI 10/30/18

(10/23/18) “Family Man” – After a senator’s daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom, the FBI is called in to assist with finding the little girl before their time limit expires. However, in order to do so, they must dig into the senator’s past for clues to who did this to his family, on FBI, Tuesday, Oct. 30 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Ashley Williams guest stars as Alexis Moran, the senator’s wife and child’s mother.

GUEST CAST includes: James Chen (Ian Lim), Ashley Williams (Alexis Moran), Paul Anthony Stewart (Chris Jensen).

Johnny Messner on Criminal Minds 11/7/18

(10/23/18) “Luke” – The BAU heads to Bethesda, Md., to investigate four murders in the span of three days along the eastern seaboard. The crimes become personal for Alvez, when the team discovers there are ties to his time spent five years ago working alongside the DEA and the Mexican police force in pursuit of the most notorious hitman in Mexico. Also, Alvez and his girlfriend, Lisa (guest star Daniella Alonso), decide to move in together, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Nov. 7 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Series star Joe Mantegna directed the episode.

Guest cast includes Johnny Messner (Jeremy Grant), Corey Reynolds (Phil Brooks), Daniella Alonso (Lisa Douglas).

Wes Ramsey Stars in the Sexy Supernatural Thriller, 'Perception'

(10/19/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Congratulations to GENERAL HOSPITAL actor Wes Ramsey (Peter), whose new film, Percecption, has its world premiere at the DTLA Film Festival on Oct. 18. “Super happy for you, Wes,” girlfriend Laura Wright (Carly) shared on Instagram, “and so proud to stand next to you tonight at the premiere of your new movie. You are amazing, baby! I love watching you shine!”

Directed by Ilana Rein and co-written by Rein and Brian Smith, Perception centers around Ramsey’s character of Daniel, a struggling real estate developer who must evict Nina (Meera Rohit Kumbhani), a small-time psychic struggling to provide for her young son. But when she offers him a free reading and senses the spirit of his dead wife, Daniel becomes obsessed with reconnecting with his lost love. Both he and Nina must decide how far they’ll go to get what they want, and the spirit might also have plans of her own in this supernatural thriller!

In addition to playing Peter August on GH, Ramsey has also been moonlighting in some independent feature films like Two Pictures and Last Seen in Idaho. While Perception is only currently scheduled for this one premiere screening during the Downtown LA Film Festival — tickets are still available if you’re in the area and wish to attend — we’ll keep you up to date on any future releases whether in theaters or on DVD or streaming services.

Mariska Hargitay & Peter Hermann Selling Manhattan Townhouse

(10/18/18) You don't have to put on your detective hat and investigate too deeply to live like Mariska Hargitay ?... you just need several million bucks to buy her incredible Manhattan townhouse!

The 'Law & Order: SVU' star and her actor husband, Peter Hermann, are listing their lavish home in the Upper West Side for $10.75 million, and it's got everything you'd expect from one of TV's highest-paid women.

This home is so unbelievable, you need an elevator to get around -- we're talking 6 floors, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and 7,000 square feet of modern luxury at its finest. The brownstone sits on a tree-lined street, with skyline views from the rooftop penthouse.

Master suite occupying the entire 3rd floor? Check. Powder rooms? How 'bout 3?! Gas fireplace for those chilly nights? Of course. Marble bath with separate tub and steam shower? How relaxing!

Corcoran's Robby Browne, Chris Kann, Jennifer Ireland and Stribling's Alexa Lambert have the listing.

Soaps Stars Michael Park & Murray Bartlett Joins Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City

(10/17/18) Netflix has rounded out cast for Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, its 10-episode limited series revival. Paul Gross (Due South, Alias Grace) returns to reprise his role as Brian Hawkins from the original miniseries, ex-husband of Mary Ann Singleton and father of Shawna Hawkins, played by previously announced Laura Linney and Ellen Page, respectively. The series is currently in production for a 2019 premiere.

Murray Bartlett (Looking) has been cast as the lovable Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver, longtime resident at Barbary Lane and Mary Ann’s best friend; Charlie Barnett (Chicago Fire) plays Mouse’s boyfriend Ben Marshall; newcomers Josiah Victoria Garcia plays Jake Rodriguez, a newer resident on Barbary Lane who is a transgender man and a caregiver for Anna Madrigal (previously announced Olympia Dukakis) and May Hong (High Maintenance) as Jake’s long-term girlfriend Margot Park. Previously announced Barbara Garrick also returns as DeDe Halycon Day.

Recurring cast members include Jen Richards (Her Story, Mrs. Fletcher) playing a young Anna Madrigal, Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) as Ysela, a trans woman who plays a pivotal role in Anna’s life; Michelle Buteau (First Wives Club) as Wren, Brian’s no-nonsense best friend; Ashley Park (Broadway’s Mean Girls) and Christopher Larkin (The 100) as twins Ani and Raven who are newer residents of Barbary Lane; Caldwell Tidicue aka “Bob the Drag Queen” (RuPaul’s Drag Race) as Ida Best the manager of a burlesque club where Shawna and Margot work; Matthew Risch (Modern Family, Looking) as Mouse’s ex-boyfriend Harrison; Michael Park (Dear Evan Hansen) as Mary Ann’s husband Robert; Dickie Hearts (Grace & Frankie) as Mateo, DeDe’s housekeeper; Benjamin Thys (The Meyerowitz Stories) and Samantha Soule (Godless) as a queer polyamorous married couple Eli and Inka; and Juan Castano (The OA, What/If) as Ben’s co-worker Flaco Ramirez.

The series spotlights LGBTQ people both in front of and behind the camera. Showrunner / Executive Producer and writer Lauren Morelli (Co-Executive Producer and writer Orange Is the New Black) and Producing Director and Executive Producer Alan Poul (Tales of the City, Six Feet Under, The Newsroom), who are both part of the LGBTQ community, assembled an entirely queer writing team comprised of Andy Parker, Patricia Resnick, Marcus Gardley, Jen Silverman, Hansol Jung and Thomas Page McBee to create the authentic and multigenerational LGBTQ characters and stories. Talented directors who are also part of the LGBTQ community include Silas Howard, Sydney Freeland, Stacie Passon and Kyle Alvarez. Transgender people involved in the production include: Garcia (“Jake”) a non-binary trans actor who uses they/them pronouns; Richards (young Anna Madrigal) a trans woman who starred in and was a writer and producer on the Emmy-nominated web series Her Story, about dating as a trans woman; Vega (Ysela) a trans woman and the lead of the Oscar-winning film A Fantastic Woman; writer Thomas Page McBee; and directors Silas Howard and Sydney Freeland.

Based on the books by Armistead Maupin, this next chapter – Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City – follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter Shawna (Page) and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and the residents of 28 Barbary Lane.

Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City is a Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International studios production for Netflix. Working Title’s Andrew Stearn, Liza Chasin, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner also executive produce. Michael Cunningham will serve as a consulting producer.

Maupin is the author of eleven novels, including the nine-volume Tales of the City, which led to three Tales of the City limited series starring Linney and Dukakis. Alan Poul served as producer of the first three adaptations (Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City) which earned a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy Award nominations. The first aired in 1993 on PBS in the U.S., and the last two on Showtime in 1998 and 2001.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/13/18) Rachael Ray - syndicated

Airing Oct 17, 2018

Actor Taye Diggs

E.J. Bonilla on Bull 10/15/18

(10/11/18) “Justice for Cable” – Business becomes personal for Bull when TAC assists with a civil suit against the bank that funded the terrorists responsible for Cable’s death. Also, Marissa enlists her former homeland security co-worker and international banking cyber-investigator, Taylor Rentzel, to help with the suit, on BULL, Monday, Oct. 15 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Mackenzie Meehan joins the cast as Taylor Rentzel, Bull’s new cyber-investigator. Jill Hennessy guest stars as Ellen McCrory, Cable’s mother.

GUEST CAST includes: Jill Hennessy (Ellen McCrory), E.J. Bonilla (Gabriel).

Why Taye Diggs is unsure if he’ll ever get married again

(10/11/18) Taye Diggs feels ready to remarry — sometimes.

The actor — who split from Idina Menzel in 2014, and stars as a married man on CW’s “All American” — told us, “I have moments of wanting to be married again even without the show. Just watching couples; I liked being coupled up. I want to be boo’d up at some point.”

But, he added, “I don’t know if it will happen.”

Menzel remarried last year, to “Rent” co-star Aaron Lohr.

But Diggs told us that his 9-year-old son, Walker, has other ideas.

“Walker told me he wants me to chill out for a minute,” the actor said. “I am right out of a relationship. So when I got out of it, he said that this was good to have me back.”

Meanwhile, he told us that it’s sometimes a struggle bringing up Walker because Diggs didn’t grow up with parents who had a Hollywood-size bank account.

“I am first-generation wealthy, 100 percent, so I have no experience when raising my son,” he said. “All I have to fall back on is the way I was raised. My son is in a completely different setting. I can’t raise him based on my childhood.”

Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Nicholas Hoult & Nia Long Star In George Nolfi-Helmed ‘The Banker’

(10/11/18) Director George Nolfi has set Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Nicholas Hoult and Nia Long to star in The Banker, a fact based drama that Nolfi wrote with Niceole Levy. Romulus Entertainment is financing the film, with Brad Feinstein of Romulus (Fences, Beatriz at Dinner) producing.

The drama is based on the true story of two African American entrepreneurs, Bernard Garrett (Mackie) and Joe Morris (Jackson), who during the 1950’s tried to circumvent the racial limitations of the era and take on the establishment by recruiting a working class white man, Matt Steiner (Hoult) and training him to pose as the head of their business empire while they posed as a janitor and a chauffeur. Bernard’s wife Eunice (Nia Long), plays a key role in setting up the enterprise. Garrett and Morris become two of the wealthiest and most successful real estate owners in the country with Steiner as their front man, but their success brings about unforeseen risk of exposure that threatens everything.

Nolfi last directed the Bruce Lee pic Birth of The Dragon and before that The Adjustment Bureau after scripting such dramas as The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean’s Twelve. The film is just underway in Atlanta. Also producing are Joel Viertel, Nolfi, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jonathan Baker and Mackie. As financier, Romulus just wrapped the Max Winkler-directed Jungleland, with Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell, and Jessica Barden starring.

Endeavor Content and ICM Partners will handle domestic sales and Mister Smith will be selling the film internationally.

Jackson is repped by ICM, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Tyerman; Mackie is UTA and Inspire Entertainment; Hoult is UTA and 42; Long is represented by CAA, Untitled and Meyer & Downs; and Nolfi is WME. Romulus is repped by Endeavor Content and Tricarico Chavez.

Morning Show Appearance

(10/7/18) Today – NBC

Wednesday, October 10

(10-11 a.m.) Taye Diggs on CW's All American and I Love You More Than... Who Knew.

Ian Ziering Protests School Bully That's Threatened to Kill Other Students

(10/4/18) Ian Ziering says there's a student with a history of violence at his daughters' school, and it's gotten so bad, he's scared it could escalate to a massacre if the school district keeps protecting the boy.

Ziering was joined by several parents outside West Hollywood Elementary Wednesday in protest of a second grade bully. Ian tells us, since kindergarten, the student has gotten physical, threatened to kill and even attempted to suffocate a classmate with a bean bag.

According to Ian, this school year has already had two classroom evacuations and 10 students who have been attacked by the bully.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star says he and other parents have repeatedly asked the school board to step up and get the kid help -- but the requests have fallen on deaf ears -- and they're afraid it could end in tragedy, like Parkland or Columbine.

Ian says he hopes the school board will do what's right to protect the student victims and to get the bully into another program to help address his blatant needs.

We reached out to West Hollywood Elementary ... so far, no word back.

Matt Bomer Joins DC's Doom Patrol, Kaley Cuoco to Voice Harley Quinn

(10/4/18) The upstart DC Universe streaming service kicked off New York Comic-Con on Wednesday night by announcing that Matt Bomer has boarded its live-action Doom Patrol series.

Bomer (White Collar, The Last Tycoon) will provide the voiceover performance for Negative Man, and also appear as the superhero’s alter ego, Larry Trainor, in flashback scenes. (Matthew Zuk will provide Negative Man’s physical performance, on set in costume.)

Brendan Fraser leads Doom Patrol as the voice of Robotoman/playing Cliff Steele in flashbacks, while Joivan Wade will play Victor Stone/Cyborg, Timothy Dalton is Niles Caulder/The Chief, April Bowlby is Elasti-Woman, Diane Guerrero is Crazy Jane and Alan Tudyk will play Mr. Nobody.

DC Universe also used the occasion of Titans‘ world premiere screening to announce that The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco will voice Harley Quinn in its upcoming “adult animated comedy” of the same name.

Cuoco, who will also serve as an EP on Harley Quinn, leads a voice cast that also includes Tudyk, Lake Bell (Childrens Hospital), Ron Funches (Undateable), JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Wanda Sykes (black-ish), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Natalie Morales (Parks and Rec), Jim Rash (Community), Diedrich Bader (Veep), Tony Hale (Veep) and Chris Meloni (Happy!).

Laura Wright Promises Fans: "I'm Not Pregnant"

(10/2/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) When GENERAL HOSPITAL fans believed that Laura Wright (Carly) is pregnant, the actress very quickly set them straight! On Set. 27, the actress randomly tweeted: “On a different note, why am I craving french toast? I never eat french toast!” This led to fans on social media immediately assuming this was some kind of pregnancy craving and the actress was expecting a baby with her boyfriend, Wes Ramsey (Peter)!

But by the following day, Wright had gotten wind of the rumors, and quickly shut them down. “Hey guys, I’m not pregnant,” she announced. “I was just craving french toast. That’s all.” And she added a hashtag to say “#stillam.”

Wright married her husband, John, back in October of 1995, and the couple had two children together, Lauren, 19, and John, 17. But in April of 2016, she publicly announced that she and John had been separated for over a year and were officially divorcing. Just over a year later, Wright then went public with her new romance with Ramsey, whom she had originally met many years ago when they were both castmembers on the CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT.

While Ramsey is now a part of Wright’s family, spending New Year’s with the extended clan and going along with Wright and her kids on vacation to Turks and Caicos, the pair are NOT starting a family of their own together. She just really wants french toast.

And unfortunately, by the end of the weekend, Wright still reported: “Still no french toast.” What does it take to get this woman some french toast?!

David Lee Russek on FBI 10/16/18

(10/2/18) “Crossfire” – Special Agents Maggie Bell and OA Zidan rush to track down an active sniper with an elusive motive as the body count continues to rise, on FBI, Tuesday, Oct. 16 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Adam Gantry), Michael C. Williams (Cole Cooper), David Lee Russek (Lt. Danny Watts)

Talk Show Appearance

(9/29/18) JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, ABC

Th 10/4: Frank Grillo

Lifetime Decks Its Halls With 23 Holiday-Themed Movies & More Cheer

(9/25/18) We’re just one day past the autumnal equinox, but Lifetime already is in the holiday spirit. The cable channel has unwrapped its slate of Christmas movies, and there are 14 new originals under the tree this year along with nine acquired pics and a couple of specials.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the A+E Networks-owned net unveils its telepic slate billed as It’s a Wonderful Lifetime. After kicking off November 21 with a week featuring five nights of premieres, each ensuing week of the holiday season will feature new movies every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Check out the full lineup with descriptions and premiere dates below.

“It’s a Wonderful Lifetime is back in a major way with more hours of holiday programming than we have ever had before,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP Movies, Limited Series and Original Movie Acquisitions at Lifetime and LMN. “By stacking our originals with beloved stars from some of the most iconic television shows we grew up with, we are tapping into the nostalgic feelings of familiarity and comfort that everyone wants for the holidays.”

Some of this seasons movies feature reunions of cast members from such popular bygone TV series as The Cosby Show, A Different World, 7th Heaven and Sister, Sister. Also on tap is the previously announced hourlong special ‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion, in which cast members Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner and Stephen Colletti from the 2003-12 WB/CW series regather for an evening that also will include a few surprise special guests.

Among the stars set for Lifetime’s 2018 holiday movies are Toni Braxton, Melissa Joan Hart, Megan Hilty, Tia Mowry-Hardict, Sarah Drew, Marissa Winokur, Loretta Devine, Cheryl Ladd, June Squibb, Sharon Lawrence, John Schneider, Jason London, Tiya Sicar, Diane Ladd, Towanda Braxton, Conchata Ferrell, Gloria Reuben, Rachel Boston, Patricia Richardson, Caroline Rhea, Michael Gross and Melissa Gilbert.

Here is the full slate of original holiday fare from Lifetime, including premiere dates, followed by its acquired films:

It’s A Wonderful Lifetime Preview Special
November 17th at 10 p.m.
Hosted by Melissa Joan Hart

What if Lifetime never made Christmas movies? In this special, hosted by Melissa Joan Hart, we will be taken on a journey that explores how terrible life would be without Lifetime Christmas movies to bring us holiday cheer. Melissa will be visited by the “host” of Lifetime Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and along the way, she will preview the 14 exciting movies that are coming to Lifetime this holiday season. Once this special is over, you won’t be able to imagine a world without the magic of Lifetime Christmas. It’s A Wonderful Lifetime Preview Special is produced by A+E OriginalsTM. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Allie Breslin serve as executive producers. Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.
My Christmas Inn
November 21st at 8 p.m.
Starring Tia Mowry-Hardict, Rob Mayes, Jackée Harry, Tim Reid & Erin Gray

With the holiday season in full swing, Jen Taylor (Tia Mowry-Hardict) is about to score a big promotion at the San Francisco ad agency where she works. But her life is unexpectedly turned upside down when she inherits a cozy inn in Alaska from her aunt. When she goes to inspect the property and meets handsome town attorney Steve Anderson (Rob Mayes), she’s surprised to find that nothing is what she expected. The small town community is full of fun and festive Christmas traditions and soon, Jen starts wondering if the inn might just be the place she belongs, and if Steve could be the Mr. Right she has been waiting for. My Christmas Inn is produced by HYBRID, LLC.

The Christmas Contract
November 22nd at 8 p.m.
Starring One Tree Hill Alums Hilarie Burton, Robert Buckley, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner
And Jordan Ladd, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Jason London, Hunter Burke, Teri Wyble & Ritchie Montgomery With Special Musical Appearance from Tyler Hilton

It’s Jolie’s (Hilarie Burton) first time going back home to Louisiana since her devastating break up with Foster (Hunter Burke). Seeing him is inevitable as their parents run the town’s annual Christmas Market together, but when she discovers Foster is bringing home a new girlfriend, Jolie cannot bear the thought of going home alone and seeing them together. Her best friend Naomi (Danneel Ackles) suggests that Jolie bring her flaky brother, Jack (Robert Buckley), home for Christmas as he has no plans this year. Jolie, a professional web designer, is hesitant; so, Naomi, a lawyer, creates a Christmas contract to give them both something they want—a buffer for those awkward moments around Jolie’s ex and a website to help sell Jack’s upcoming novel. Unbeknownst to them, the Christmas contract proves to be so much more than what they signed up for. The Christmas Contract is produced by Active Entertainment. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis serve as executive producers. Monika Mitchell serves as director with a script by Cassie Doyle.

‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion
November 22nd at 10 p.m.
Featuring Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner & Stephen Colletti

The Tree Hill Ravens are back together to celebrate the Christmas season on Lifetime. In this special one-hour reunion, Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Danneel Ackles, Antwon Tanner of The Christmas Contract and Stephen Colletti of Hometown Christmas, reunite for a special evening that will include a few surprise special guests. ‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion is produced by A+E OriginalsTM. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Allie Breslin serve as executive producers. Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.

Poinsettias for Christmas
November 23rd at 8 p.m.
Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Marcus Rosner, Lauren London,
Sharon Lawrence & John Schneider

It’s just weeks before Christmas when Ellie (Bethany Joy Lenz) gets a call to return home to help her father (John Schneider) on the family’s poinsettia farm. The family business is on the line to deliver tens of thousands of plants for the town’s annual parade. The problem is – the poinsettias have yet to turn red! As Ellie searches for the solution, she is reminded of where her heart truly lies as she falls in love with both her roots and a local botanist (Marcus Rosner). Poinsettias for Christmas is produced by Annuit Coeptis Entertainment, Inc. Christie Will Wolf directed from a script written by Barbara Kymlicka.

Every Day is Christmas
November 24th at 8 p.m.
Starring Toni Braxton, Gloria Reuben, Towanda Braxton & Michael Jai White

Inspired by the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” shrewd money manager Alexis Taylor (Toni Braxton) gets the holiday visit of a lifetime. A self-proclaimed workaholic who “humbugs” love, Alexis ends up embracing the spirit of Christmas when her past, present, and future collide, forcing her to risk the one thing money can’t buy: her heart. Every Day is Christmas is produced by Brightlight Pictures. Kevin Leslie is producer. Toni Braxton, Craig Baumgarten, Kenneth Crear, Shawn Williamson, Jamie Goehring, and Jonathan Shore executive produce. David Weaver directs from a script by Karen Schaler.

Jingle Belle
November 25th at 8 p.m.
Starring Tatyana Ali, Cornelius Smith Jr., Loretta Devine, Valarie Pettiford, Obba Babatunde, Keshia Knight Pulliam & Tempestt Bledsoe

Every year, Isabelle (Tatyana Ali) and her high school sweetheart Mike (Cornelius Smith Jr.), rocked their small town’s annual Christmas Eve Pageant with a sweet Christmas duet. But after graduation, Isabelle left to study at Juillard in New York – leaving Mike behind. Years later, when Isabelle returns to her hometown to write music for the annual Christmas Eve Pageant, she is shocked to learn that Mike is the one directing the show. Can Isabelle and Mike put the past behind them and reunite on stage for another show-stopping duet? Jingle Belle is produced by Hybrid, LLC.

A Very Nutty Christmas
November 30th at 8 p.m.
Starring Melissa Joan Hart, Barry Watson, Marissa Winokur, Conchata Ferrell & Rizwan Manji

Hard-working bakery owner Kate Holiday (Melissa Joan Hart), has more cookie orders than she has time to fill this holiday season, and when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, any shred of Christmas joy she was hanging onto, immediately disappears. After Kate hangs the last ornament on the tree and goes to bed, she awakens the next morning to a little bit of Christmas magic. She gets the surprise of her life when Chip (Barry Watson), a handsome soldier who may or may not be the Nutcracker Prince from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, appears in her living room. A Very Nutty Christmas is produced by Hartbreak Films. Paula Hart and Melissa Joan Hart executive produce. Colin Theys serves as director with a script written by Juliet and Keith Giglio.

A Twist of Christmas
December 1st at 8 p.m.
Starring Vanessa Lachey & Brendon Zub

In the frenzy before Christmas, two single parents— busy working mom Abby (Vanessa Lachey) and her son, and overwhelmed lawyer Ryan (Brendon Zub) and his daughter, accidentally mix up their toys at a crowded department store. As a result, both of their Christmases appear to be ruined. Although the two can’t stand each other, the only way to get things back on track is to help each other salvage their holiday plans – not realizing they’re falling for each other in the process. A Twist of Christmas is produced by Lighthouse Pictures. Jamie Goehring, Shawn Williamson and Nancy Bennett executive produce. David Winning serves as director with a script written by Brian Sawyer and Gregg Rossen.

The Christmas Pact
December 2nd at 8 p.m.
Starring Kyla Pratt, Jarod Joseph, Kadeem Hardison & Jasmine Guy

Can best friends fall in love? That’s the question next door neighbors Sadie (Kyla Pratt) and Ben (Jarod Joseph) will answer as they keep the spirit of Christmas and the magic of their childhood pact alive! When they were eight years old, they planted a scrawny 3-foot tall Christmas tree behind their church and the Christmas Pact began. But as life gets in the way the pact is threatened to be broken. Ben and Sadie need some Christmas Magic to recommit to each other and promise to keep their special holiday traditions. With each Christmas that passes by, Ben and Sadie’s Christmas tree grows taller and stronger; and so does their love. The pact bearing fruit to the magic of Christmas and the undeniable answer. Yes, friends can fall in love! The Christmas Pact is produced by Annuit Coeptis Entertainment. Executive Producer Timothy O.Johnson, Marita Grabniak directs from a script written by Damon Hill and Blaine Chiappetta.

Christmas Lost and Found
December 7th at 8 p.m.
Starring Tiya Sircar, Ed Ruttle & Diane Ladd

After years of missing family gatherings, New York City event planner Whitney Kennison (Tiya Sircar) is off to Chicago to spend Christmas with Grandma Frances (Diane Ladd). Excited that her granddaughter is finally home for the holidays, Frances decides to bestow Whitney with the precious Kennison family Christmas ornaments. But when Whitney mistakenly throws out the box of ornaments, Grandma Frances must stealthily devise a fun Christmas scavenger hunt to remind Whitney what the holiday is all about. It’s a race against time as Whitney reclaims the family ornaments, finds romance and learns the lesson Grandma Frances imparts. Christmas Lost and Found is produced by Stephanie Germain Productions and Front Street Productions, with Stephanie Germain and Harvey Kahn as executive producers. Michael Scott directs from a script by Jennifer Notas Shapiro.

Santa’s Boots
December 8th at 8 p.m.
Starring Megan Hilty, Noah Mills & June Squibb

When Holly (Megan Hilty) returns home for Christmas expecting the same as any other year, she’s blindsided to learn her family’s department store is on the brink of foreclosure. To keep the business going, Holly fills in as Santa’s Helper and meets the surprisingly young and handsome Nick (Noah Mills), who has been hired to play Santa at the store this year. Their undeniable chemistry and charisma draw in big crowds, until suddenly, Nick disappears. As Christmas day inches closer, Holly scrambles to find Nick with only one clue – his misplaced black boot. Santa’s Boots is produced by Front Street Pictures, with Barbara Lieberman and Charles Cooper as executive producers. Shawn Tolleson directs with a script written by Shannon Phipps and Shawn Tolleson.

A Christmas in Tennessee
December 9th at 8 p.m.
Starring Rachel Boston, Andrew Walker, Patricia Richardson, Caroline Rhea

Allison Bennet (Rachel Boston), along with her daughter Olivia and mother Martha (Patricia Richardson), run a bakery in the small mountain town of White Pines, Tennessee. When Matthew (Andrew Walker), a charming real estate developer, tries to buy the town for a corporate ski resort, Allison and the townspeople must work together to prevent that from happening. And just when the Bennet ladies seem out of luck, an unexpected visitor—with a well-known sweet tooth for cookies and milk—comes to the bakery and may in fact be the key to solving everything. A Christmas in Tennessee is produced by Smokey Mountain Films Inc. and Juliette Hagopian. Howard Braunstein serves as executive producer. Gary Yates directs with a script written by Cassie Doyle.

Christmas Around the Corner
December 14th at 8 p.m.
Starring Alexandra Breckenridge, Jamie Spilchuk & Jane Alexander

Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge), a savvy venture capitalist from New York City, escapes to a quaint town in Vermont for the holidays and becomes a guest of the Fortenbury Bookstore. Upon arrival, Claire finds Christmas celebrations have been canceled by the town after a flood and the bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair. She immediately takes on the challenge to revitalize the store, but clashes with the owner, Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk), who initially rejects all her proposed improvements. Eventually, sparks fly as the two begin a budding romance, and Claire’s infectious optimism inspires Andrew to join her in reviving the yuletide spirit. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Claire discovers that Andrew is planning to sell the bookstore in the New Year. Will the spirit of Christmas be enough to change Andrew’s mind and encourage him to follow his heart? Christmas Around the Corner is produced by Neshama Entertainment in association with MarVista Entertainment. Danielle Von Zerneck serves as executive producer. Megan Follows directs with a script by Michael Murray.

Christmas Pen Pals
December 15th at 8 p.m.
Starring Sarah Drew, Niall Matter & Michael Gross

Following an unexpected breakup weeks before Christmas, Hannah (Sarah Drew), tech wiz and creator of the dating app, Perfect One, heads home for the holidays, challenged to save her failing business by re-conceiving a new romantic dating model. Upon her return she runs into her high school boyfriend, Sam (Niall Matter) who she has carefully avoided for years and reluctantly makes a deal with her dad, Ted (Michael Gross) to sign up for the town’s Christmas Cupid, an anonymous holiday pen pal service. As the season progresses, Hannah is smitten by each beautifully written letter she receives and starts to believe that her Christmas pen pal could be her soul mate. It’s not until Christmas Eve that everyone must reveal their true identities to their pen pals, even if it means coming face to face with the last person they ever expected. Christmas Pen Pals is produced by Pen Pals Films, Inc. and Christian Bruyere. Linda Kent, Jack Grossbart and Howard Braunstein serve as executive producers. Siobhan Devine serves as director with a script written by Carley Smale.

Hometown Christmas
December 16th at 8 p.m.
Starring Beverley Mitchell, Stephen Colletti, Melissa Gilbert & Danny Boaz

Back in Louisiana for Christmas, Noelle Collins (Beverley Mitchell) has big plans to resurrect the town’s live nativity, a beloved tradition that her late mother used to put on. Things become complicated, however, when Noelle runs into her high school sweetheart, Nick Russell (Stephen Colletti), a rising baseball star also back home due to a recent injury. Still feeling the burn from their senior year break-up, their lives are pushed together even further when they learn their parents share an attraction and want to be more than just friends. When things begin to fall apart with the live nativity Nick and Noelle reluctantly team up to pull off the show and find themselves growing close, uncovering a hometown love for each other and the joy of Christmas that both never really faded away. Hometown Christmas is produced by Active Entertainment. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis serve as executive producers. Emily Moss Wilson and Marcy Holland serve as writers and Emily Moss Wilson directs.

A Christmas Arrangement
November 21st at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Flower shop owner Poppy (Nicky Whelan), enters the annual holiday floral show for a chance to win the grand prize but standing in her way of victory is Garrett (Miles Fisher), the underappreciated protégé of florist extraordinaire, Blair (Daphne Zuniga). While Poppy and Garrett’s rivalry heats up on the flower show floor, an undeniable romance begins amidst a whimsical holiday backdrop. A Christmas Arrangement is produced by The Ninth House.

Every Other Holiday
November 23rd at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Recently separated parents Tracie (Schuyler Fisk) and Rick (David Clayton Rogers), spend every other holiday with their young daughters Harper and Ava. But this Christmas, the girls have only one thing on their wish lists—to spend Christmas with both Mom and Dad at Tracie’s family farmhouse. The temporary reunion will be no walk in the park for Tracie and Rick, but perhaps this Christmas gathering can help rekindle the lost romance between the two and make their daughters’ greatest wish come true. Every Other Holiday also stars Dee Wallace, Glenn Morshower, Abby James Witherspoon and is produced by MarVista Entertainment.

Christmas Harmony
November 24th at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

Soft-spoken Harmony (Kelley Jakle), is used to living in the shadow of her pop star boyfriend, but when he breaks up with her right before the holiday season, she returns to her quaint hometown to discover the heart and music that her big city life has been missing. A Christmas Harmony also stars Chandra Wilson, Adam Mayfield, Sally Struthers and is produced by June Street Studios.

Christmas Perfection
November 25th at 10 p.m.
(Acquired Original – Worldwide Premiere)

As a kid, Darcy (Caitlin Thompson) had no control over her family’s holidays and thus, has grown up to be a Christmas control freak – so much so that she loses sight of what the holidays actually mean. Suddenly, she finds herself magically transported into her idea of the perfect Christmas Village and learns that “perfection” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Christmas Perfection also stars James Henri-Thomas, Robbie Silverman and is produced by MarVista Entertainment.

Love for Christmas
December 1st at 10 p.m.

When Heather, a local theater director, and Bobby run into each other upon his return home after leaving for the Navy years prior, they quickly realize that their mutual childhood crush might lead to an unexpected romance. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, Love for Christmas stars Shantel Vansanten, Rob Mayes, Nikki Deloach, Mark Famiglietti, Alex Peters, Peter Holden, Matt Corboy, Maxim Knight and Orson Bean.

A Star for Christmas
December 2nd at 10 p.m.

Cupcakery owner Cassie can’t help falling for her hunky new customer, but when he turns out to be action superstar Alex Gray, will their relationship survive Hollywood and the holidays? Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Star for Christmas stars Corey Sevier, Briana Evigan, Karissa Vacker, Travis Van Winkle, Jeremy Howard, Sean Stone and Brooke Burns.

A Christmas Kiss
December 21st at 8 p.m.

High-end interior designer Priscilla and her assistant Wendy, vie for the attention of Priscilla’s socialite boyfriend while decorating his home for the holidays. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Christmas Kiss stars Elisabeth Röhm, Laura Breckenridge and Brendan Fehr.

A Golden Christmas
December 22nd at 8 p.m.

Several years ago, a very special dog brought together a little girl and boy. Now, through an incredible coincidence, these two long-lost friends will reconnect during Christmas. Produced by MarVista Entertainment, A Golden Christmas stars Andrea Roth, Nicholas Brendon, Bruce Davison, Elisa Donovan, Jason London and Alley Mills.

3 Holiday Tails
December 23rd at 8 p.m.

David and Lisa are meant to be together, but they haven’t quite figured that out yet. With help from family, friends, and four lovable dogs, this couple will truly have a Christmas to remember. Produced by MarVista Entertainment,3 Holiday Tails stars Julie Gonzalo, Kelly Stables, KC Clyde, Alley Mills and Bruce Davison.

E.J. Bonilla on Bull 10/1/18

(9/25/18) “Jury Duty” – Bull finds himself on the opposite side of voir dire, when he serves jury duty while simultaneously mounting a defense for a woman on trial for killing her daughter’s murderer, on BULL, Monday, Oct. 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST: David Furr (Greg Valerian), Cara Seymour (Heather), E.J. Bonilla (Rodrigo).

Victoria Platt on NCIS: New Orleans 10/16/18

(9/25/18) “Legacy” – After a petty officer is found murdered under a shrimping boat, the NCIS investigation uncovers a conspiracy in the tight-knit local fishing community. Also, Lasalle awaits the final results of the tax fraud investigation into his family’s company, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Tuesday, Oct. 16 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The episode is directed by LeVar Burton.

GUEST CAST: Anthony Nguyen (Eddie Dao), Emily Shaffer (Leila Addison), Victoria Platt (IRS Agent Michelle Silvera).

One Tree Hill Reunion Special to Accompany Cast's Christmas TV-Movie

(9/25/18) Lifetime is spending the holidays with the residents of Tree Hill: The network will air ‘Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion following the premiere of its original TV movie The Christmas Contract, starring OTH vets Hilarie Burton, Robert Buckley, Danneel Ackles and Antwon Tanner.

Participating in the one-hour special — airing Thursday, Nov. 22 at 10/9c — are series stars Burton, Ackles, Tanner, Tyler Hilton and Stephen Colletti (who has his own Lifetime flick, Hometown Christmas, on Sunday, Dec. 16). The cable net also touts “a few surprise special guests.”

The Christmas Contract — featuring a musical appearance from Hilton — premieres Nov. 22 at 8 pm. (Click here for plot details.) The following night, Friday, Nov. 23 at 8 pm, OTH alumna Bethany Joy Lenz headlines the movie Poinsettias for Christmas, about a woman who returns home to help her dad (Smallville‘s John Schneider) figure out why the family business’ plants have yet to turn red, all while falling in love with a local botanist (UnREAL‘s Marcus Rosner), of course.

Lifetime’s holiday slate also includes actress Sarah Drew’s first post-Grey’s Anatomy TV role in Christmas Pen Pals, debuting Saturday, Dec. 15 at 8 pm. Read on for the official description:

Following an unexpected breakup weeks before Christmas, Hannah (Drew), tech wiz and creator of the dating app, Perfect One, heads home for the holidays, challenged to save her failing business by re-conceiving a new romantic dating model. Upon her return she runs into her high school boyfriend, Sam (When Calls the Heart‘s Niall Matter) who she has carefully avoided for years and reluctantly makes a deal with her dad, Ted (Family Ties‘ Michael Gross) to sign up for the town’s Christmas Cupid, an anonymous holiday pen pal service. As the season progresses, Hannah is smitten by each beautifully written letter she receives and starts to believe that her Christmas pen pal could be her soul mate. It’s not until Christmas Eve that everyone must reveal their true identities to their pen pals, even if it means coming face to face with the last person they ever expected.

Suits Spinoff Adds Bethany Joy Lenz in Recast, 3 Others Join as Series Regulars

(9/21/18) One of Jessica Pearson’s adversaries is going to look a little different the next time you see her. Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) has joined USA Network’s upcoming Suits spinoff in the series-regular role of Keri Allen, played in the backdoor pilot by Rebecca Rittenhouse. Keri is described as a “driven, ambitious city attorney serving as unofficial right hand to the mayor.”

Lenz is joined by three other series-regular additions to the spinoff’s roster: Chantel Riley (Wynnona Earp) will reprise the role of Jessica’s cousin Angela, a nursing assistant focused on caring for her two sons and keeping close ties to her community; Isabel Arraiza (The Oath) will play Yoli, Jessica’s “intense” assistant; and Eli Goree (Ballers) will play Derrick, a journalist-turned-press secretary working for Mayor Bobby Golec (played by Morgan Spector).

The spinoff follows Suits‘ Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) as the lawyer extraordinaire leaves New York City behind to enter the dirty world of Chicago politics. The series, which does not yet have a premiere date, also stars Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum Simon Kassianides, to who we were introduced in the backdoor pilot.

Allison Janney To Play Attorney Susan Estrich In Annapurna’s Movie About The Roger Ailes Fox News Harassment Scandal

(9/21/18) Oscar-winner Allison Janney will play trailblazing feminist lawyer Susan Estrich in Annapurna’s untitled Charles Randolph project about the women who took on Fox News kingpin Roger Ailes and the toxic male culture at the network.

Author and liberal commentator Estrich, who was the first female President of the Harvard Law Review and the first woman to manage a presidential campaign, surprised many by representing Ailes even after a slew of sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him.

I, Tonya and Mom star Janney bolsters an A-List cast which already includes Charlize Theron (as Megyn Kelly), Nicole Kidman (as Gretchen Carlson), Margot Robbie (as a Fox News associate producer) and John Lithgow (as Ailes). Oscar-winner Randolph’s (The Big Short) script has been known as Fair And Balanced but the producers have yet to settle on a title. Jay Roach (Trumbo) directs. Additional characters expected to be portrayed in the ensemble piece include Bill Shine, Judy Roginsky, Jeanine Pirro, Juliette Huddy, Greta Van Sustenen and James and Lachlan Murdoch.

Annapurna is producing with Theron, Beth Kono, and AJ Dix of Denver and Delilah. Roach, Randolph and Lighthouse Management and Media’s Margaret Riley are also producing. Roach’s producing partner Michelle Graham will executive produce.

Janney is currently lending her voice to MGM’s animated reboot of the Addams Family as Margaux Needler, the family’s arch nemesis. Next up she will star with Hugh Jackman in Bad Education and she recently wrapped on Amazon’s Troupe Zero with Viola Davis. She is repped by Gersh and Thruline Entertainment.

Greg Berlanti Assembles Star Cast For Charity ‘Terms of Endearment’ Reading

(9/20/18) He is the busiest producer in television with record 14 series on the air, including Supergirl, and a married father of a toddler. Yet Greg Berlanti has taken on a side project, a one-night-only reading of Paramount Pictures’ Terms of Endearment at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles on Monday, October 1, to benefit Stand Up To Cancer.

Presented by Berlanti Productions and Supergirl co-showrunner Jessica Queller, the reading will feature Supergirl’s Melissa Benoist Calista Flockhart and Chris Wood as well as Alfred Molina (The Front Runner, Spider-Man 2), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off The Boat), Willie Garson (White Collar), Kate Burton (Scandal) and Italia Ricci (Designated Survivor).

Berlanti and Queller are doing the event to honor the memory of their mothers who both died of cancer.

Berlanti’s mom passed away just over a year ago. “Throughout the time that she was sick she was always commenting, marveling at all the individuals who had to go through the sickness alone,” Berlanti said. He knew quickly after her death that he wanted to do something to help others battling cancer “to stay close to her and her memory.”

The idea for a reading came during a dinner Berlanti had with Supergirl stars Benoist and Wood who told him that they sometimes read plays together in their spare time. Berlanti asked them whether they would do it for a cause, and both were in right away. Benoist then texted Supergirl co-star Flockhart who also immediately came on board.

Berlanti knew Queller’s story and approached her about teaming up on the project.

Tomorrow will mark 15 years since Queller lost her mom to ovarian cancer after she had beaten breast cancer.

“My life has been completely colored by my loss,” said Queller who herself has the Breast Cancer gene mutation and has dedicated herself to helping educate young women about the disease and prevention.

Berlanti and Queller were looking at possible plays to do a reading of when the director they’d brought in, Gordon Greenberg, suggested doing a screenplay instead.

The Oscar-winning Terms of Endearment was an obvious choice.

“It’s a timeless story about a parent-child relationship, and it’s dealing with cancer — we felt it was a great way to honor those who lost and those who are still fighting,” said Berlanti, noting that the film’s writer-director-producer, James L. Brooks and studio, Paramount Pictures, have both been gracious, giving their blessing for the reading. The original cast featured Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and John Lithgow.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Stand Up To Cancer and Geffen Playhouse’s New Play Development Program. You can find more information on the event and get tickets here.

Soap Alum Sonia Satra Hosts Special Event In NY

(9/13/18) Join Sonia Satra (ex-Lucy, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Barbara, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) on Saturday, September 29 for the NY Fit Fest Oceanfront Retreat. Satra, a mindset and fitness thought leader and founder/CEO of the wellness company Moticise, is a brand ambassador for this one-day retreat happening in Long Island, where she will be teaching a Moticise class at 3pm. In addition to trying out Moticise, other activities range From sunrise yoga to mindful media lectures, CrossFit, teen tent, and much more! NY Fit Fest brings together the best of the best for this one-of-a-kind fitness, wellness and beauty experience, all against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean. Tickets are $75 for 1 all-day pass. For more, check out http://nyfitfest.com/sonia-satra/.

B&B Star Welcomes Son

(9/3/18) BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’s Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter) and wife Shay welcomed their first child, a son, into the world. Posting on social media on September 1, Saint-Victor stated, “Today I celebrate 11 years of marriage with the love of my life, and this year on 8/21/18 I received the most precious gift I could ever ask for. My son Christian Lavelle Saint-Victor. #blessed” Congratulations to the happy family. To see Saint-Victor’s Instagram post, click here.

The 33rd Annual Imagen Award Winners

(8/26/18) The Imagen Awards are presented by the Imagen Foundation, an organization which encourages and champions the positive portrayal of Latinos in entertainment.

Best Actress – Feature Film: Eva Longoria, Overboard (3Pas Studios and Pantelion, Lionsgate MGM)

Best Actor – Television: E.J. Bonilla, The Long Road Home (National Geographic; Phoenix Pictures, Finngate Television, and Fuzzy Door for National Geographic)

The Bold and the Beautiful recruits former Dr. Quinn hottie to play a judge

(8/24/18) (ew.com) The Bold and the Beautiful has found the actor who will mediate the acrimonious custody battle between Dollar Bill Spencer and Katie Logan.

Veteran actor Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman) will recur as judge Craig McMullen, who presides over the court battle between the characters played by Don Diamont and Heather Tom. Complicating matters how Katie (Tom) has begun a new relationship with Thorne Forrester (Ingo Rademacher) who convinced her to sue Bill for custody. Since Thorne’s own wife and daughter died on the show, he’s looking for a new family.

Lando is best known for playing mountain man Byron Sully, Jane Seymour’s husband, on Dr. Quinn from 1993-1998. He’s also a soap vet, having played Jake on One Life to Live and Macauley West on Guiding Light.

His first episode will air Sept. 20.

The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS.

E.J. Bonilla on Bull 9/24/18

(8/24/18) “The Ground Beneath Their Feet” – Bull returns to work following his heart attack with a new rich client for the firm to represent: an insurance company being sued by a dying mother for denying coverage of her liver transplant, on the third season premiere of BULL, Monday, Sept. 24 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: David Furr (Greg Valerian), Caitlin Mehner (Julia Summerfield), E.J. Bonilla (Super)

Will & Grace: Matt Bomer to Guest-Star as Will's Smug Suitor in Season 10

(8/24/18) Will Truman is making a date with TV’s erstwhile Neal Caffrey.

White Collar vet Matt Bomer will guest-star on a Season 10 episode of Will & Grace, NBC announced Thursday.

He’ll appear on the sitcom as a smooth-talking, self-satisfied TV news anchor who dates Eric McCormack’s character.

Speechless star Minnie Driver also will be back in that episode as Lorraine Finster, Karen’s stepdaughter and nemesis, whom Karen seeks out at the strip club where Lorraine works to try and get more money in her divorce settlement.

Rounding out the installment’s guest roster is Olympic figure skater (and soon-to-be Dancing With the Stars: Juniors judge!) Adam Rippon, who will make a cameo appearance.

As previously announced, Friends alum David Schwimmer will recur in Season 10 as a love interest for Debra Messing’s Grace, while Alec Baldwin, Chelsea Handler, Jon Cryer and Mary McCormack are also slated for guest appearances.

Will & Grace returns on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 9/8c on NBC.

Terms of Endearment starring @MelissaBenoist, #CalistaFlockhart & @ChristophrWood

(8/22/18) (Poster) Berlanti Productions & Jessica Queller present a reading of @ParamountPics Terms of Endearment starring @MelissaBenoist, #CalistaFlockhart & @ChristophrWood - Monday October 1, 2018 at 8pm. 100% of all proceeds benefit @SU2C & @GeffenPlayhouse. Tixs: http://geffenplayhouse.org/terms-of-endearment

Celeb Family Feud: Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea (9/6)

(8/21/18) “Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea” – The celebrity teams competing to win cash for their charities feature comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and actress Ming-Na Wen (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Mulan”). In a separate game, family members of actor Taye Diggs and actress Caroline Rhea (“Caroline and Friends”) will compete on “Celebrity Family Feud,” THURSDAY, SEPT. 6 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Steve Harvey, the highly popular stand-up comedian, actor, author and Emmy® Award-winning game show host, will pit celebrities and their families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people.

The celebrity teams who will try to guess what the “survey said” are the following:

Jeff Dunham – comedian and ventriloquist; playing for Baby2Baby

Kenna Dunham – daughter
Ashlyn Dunham – daughter
Bree Dunham Hemphill – daughter
Audrey Dunham – wife

VERSUS

Ming-Na Wen – actress known for “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Mulan”; playing for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Eric Zee – husband
Michaela Zee – daughter
Lang Yee – brother
Juliet Silva – sister-in-law

In another game of “Celebrity Family Feud,” the two contesting teams are the following:

Taye Diggs – actor; playing for FosterMore

Marcia Berry – mother
Christian Diggs – sister
Gabriel Diggs – brother
Shalom Israel Diggs – sister

VERSUS

Caroline Rhea – actress known for “Caroline and Friends”; playing for Hopeland

Cynthia Rhea – sister
Celia Rhea – sister
William Woods – nephew
Robert Woods – nephew

B&B’s Mosley Welcomes Daughter

(8/21/18) BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’s Karla Mosley (Maya) and beau John Rogers joyfully welcomed the birth of their daughter, Aurora Imani Mosley Rogers, who entered the world on August 17 at 12:29 a.m. She weighed in at 8.1 pounds and was 22 inches long. Congrats to the new parents and their families!

Hayden Panettiere and New Boyfriend Brian Hickerson Enjoy a Date Night at Movie Premiere

(8/17/18) Hayden Panettiere has found happiness after her breakup.

The Nashville star and her new boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, enjoyed a night out on the town when they went to the Los Angeles premiere for the film Breaking and Exiting. Hayden could hardly contain her joy on their date night, with a source telling E! News, "Hayden was non-stop glowing with excitement. She looked really happy in general, and her and Brian were very cute while sitting together."

Just two weeks ago, news broke of the actress' split from former boxer Wladimir Klitschko, after which she promptly started dating the aspiring actor. But an insider says, "She definitely was not trying to hide the fact that she has a new boyfriend, and it seemed like everyone in her group of friends got along with him as well."

That being said, the source added, "They were not over-the-top affectionate, but everyone could tell they were a couple."

During the screening of the movie, "Her and Brian were sitting with a group of friends in the back of the theatre and she was laughing, smiling together."

Afterwards, the duo and their friends headed over to HYDE Sunset for the film's after party. With Hickerson by her side, Panettiere chatted and posed for pictures with the movie's director, Peter Facinelli, before introducing her beau to other party attendees. The source said, "Hayden was very social and was in a great mood."

Her positive attitude following her breakup from her boyfriend of nine years is no surprise considering the fact that the 28-year-old and her ex split amicably. "Hayden and Wladimir are on great terms and friendly. They are a big part of each other's lives and will continue to be. Hayden is back in Los Angeles and figuring out what's next," a source previously told E! News.

Meanwhile, the insider says her 3-year-old daughter, Kaya, is staying "with her dad and his family in Europe and Florida. They also spend time together as a family with Hayden."

Ian Ziering to Produce & Host Unscripted Festival Travel Adventure Series

(8/13/18) Sharknado star Ian Ziering has teamed with Hyperdrive Entertainment, Happy Trails Productions and Synergy Management to develop Festival Crusader with Ian Ziering, an unscripted travel adventure series about the world’s most outrageous festivals.

Festival Crusader would follow Ziering as he travels across America and around the globe to uncover which festivals are all the rage, and discover how the human interaction at these gatherings is so desirable in today’s isolating and increasingly digital environment. The series will track Ziering’s adventures and interactions as he throws himself into festivals of all descriptions – a Viking battle in Norway; a UFO celebration in Roswell; a drenching of rainbow colored dye in India; a pyro festival in Mexico; the annual redneck games in rural Pennsylvania; and more.

The project is currently being shopped, with the team targeting and meeting with a number of SVOD cable nets as well as OTT platforms.

Festival Crusader is executive produced by Hyperdrive Entertainment’s Adam Opitz, Jean-Pierre LaClette, and Rob Hampton; Happy Trails Productions’ Michael Branton; Glen Clarkson with Synergy Management; along with Ziering and iMan Productions.

“Our team couldn’t imagine a more perfect on-camera talent for this project,” said Opitz. “Ian’s been a true festival fan and globe-trekking adventurer for his entire life – he’s got the energy and curiosity to be the ideal host for this series.”

“Our modern world can keep us suspended in digital solitude,” added Ziering. “Too often we’re locked into our phones and screens. But here are these massive gatherings of humanity that celebrate our shared interests, and remind us why human interaction is so meaningful. I’m excited to dive into these immersive festivals, meet the participants, and find out what makes them tick.”

The project is packaged by Rebel Entertainment Partners, who rep both Hyperdrive Entertainment and iMan Productions.

Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon urge voters to show up for midterms

(8/10/18) (Video) WASHINGTON D.C. — The waning months before the 2016 presidential election saw a flood of videos featuring celebrities urging people to vote and volunteer.

That is now happening again for the upcoming midterm elections this November.

On Thursday, Swing Left debuted a new video featuring Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, urging viewers to sign up for one of the progressive group’s projects, the Last Weekend. Swing Left has organized a coalition of 30 progressive groups aiming to line up volunteers for a final push before the Nov. 6 elections.

In the video, Sedgwick called the election “the most important midterms of our lives,” and tells viewers that “even if you live in a progressive stronghold, there are races all over the country near you.”

Swing Left also produced a video last month that featured Jane Fonda, Rashida Jones and Lily Tomlin.

“I am just terrified of where our country is headed,” Sedgwick said in an interview. She worked on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama but said that she and other progressives were probably “lulled into a false sense of security” that much of his agenda could not be rolled back.

“I just feel we have gotten far off the path of what our forefathers — and women — meant for us,” she said.

She cited a host of issues, including the environment and abortion rights, as well as the rollback of business regulations, that have been of major concern for her, but also that “there has been no check on the power” that President Donald Trump now has in the White House. She also cited the Trump administration’s effort to roll back California auto emission standards, despite the support that the standards have from car companies.

Republicans have already been hammering Democrats for their links to Hollywood, trying to characterize the industry as the very cultural elite that Trump ran against in 2016. A recent Republican National Committee video, called “Unhinged,” featured a number of celebrities, including Kathy Griffin and Madonna, railing against Trump.

Sedgwick said that she understands why some entertainment figures are reluctant to get into the political fray. She does get some backlash comments when she tweets something political, but “I don’t care.”

“My business is to do what is right for this country,” she said.

The goal of the Last Weekend is to get commitments for 1 million volunteer hours in the last four days before the election.

“I feel like you sit around and feel really terrible and hopeless, or you can be part of the solution,” Sedgwick said.

Hayden Panettiere selling home amid Wladimir split rumors

(8/9/18) Now that her show “Nashville” has sung its final note, actress Hayden Panettiere is ready to move on. She’s listed her luxury home in Nashville, Tenn., for $1.6 million.

Located in the fancy Green Hills neighborhood, the house was built in 2012 and is relatively modest by celeb standards. Just under 5,000 square feet, it has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. What it lacks in grand spaces it makes up for with a show-stopping interior. Each room is uniquely styled — and could appear right at home on a Hollywood set or a Pinterest board.

According to a recent tour of the house provided by Panettiere, the dining room was designed with the motif of being underwater, topped with a light fixture that looks like a sea urchin. Another highlight is daughter Kaya’s paisley and pink room.

The house has the latest smart features, including iPad-controlled functions and Lutron lighting and audio. There’s also plenty of luxe amenities such as a heated pool and spa, sauna and fitness rooms.

Panettiere appears to be in a period of flux. Her show “Nashville” just aired its finale last month. She’s also rumored to be splitting with her fiance, Ukranian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, who’s Kaya’s father. E! recently reported a sighting of Panettiere with aspiring actor Brian Hickerson around Los Angeles.

“Think there are a lot of changes going on in her life. But I think they’re positive changes. And I think that she’s taking some time,” her mom, Lesley Vogel, told Radar, confirming Panettiere’s split from Klitschko.

Soap Alumni Unite For New Project

(8/8/18) A sudsy new half-hour drama that wraps its three-day shoot today in Manhattan features a bevy of soap alumni: Morgan Fairchild (ex-Anjelica, DAYS, et al), Robert Newman (ex-Josh, GUIDING LIGHT), Darnell Williams (ex-Jesse, ALL MY CHILDREN), Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr, ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Ilene Kristen (ex-Roxy, OLTL, et al), Scott Evans (ex-Fish, OLTL), Diana DeGarmo (ex-Angelina, Y&R) and David A. Gregory (ex-Ford, OLTL) star alongside entertainment blogger Perez Hilton in the ensemble drama MÉLANGE, which Variety reports “will center on the fight over the ownership of an historic New York City gay bar, Mélange, after its proprietor has suddenly and mysteriously died.” Newman plays the late bar owner, Syd, and Fairchild plays his widow, Vivian.

Tell Me a Story Gets Premiere Date, Trailer With Twisted Red Riding Hood

(8/6/18) (Video) Paul Wesley’s Vampire Diaries follow-up finally has a premiere date — and it’s fittingly frightful.

CBS All Access has announced that Tell Me a Story, its psychological thriller which reunites Wesley with Vampire Diaries EP Kevin Williamson, will launch on Wednesday, Oct. 31 aka Halloween. Season 1’s 10 episodes will be released weekly.

A trailer for the series gives a taste of its sick spins on Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel.

Tell Me a Story is a serialized drama that takes classic fairy tales — such as The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel — and spins them into a subversive story of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder in modern-day New York City.

The series boasts an ensemble that includes James Wolk (Zoo), Billy Magnussen (People v. O.J.), Dania Ramirez (Once Upon a Time), Danielle Campbell (The Originals), Dorian Missick (Marvel’s Luke Cage), Michael Raymond-James (Once Upon a Time), Davi Santos (Law & Order True Crime), Sam Jaeger (Parenthood), Zabryna Guevara (Gotham) and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City).

Tell Me a Story joins CBS All Access’ ever-growing slate of originals, which includes Star Trek: Discovery, The Good Fight, Strange Angel and No Activity. Upcoming series include One Dollar (premiering Thursday, Aug. 30), Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot and another, as-yet-untitled Star Trek series series centered on Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard.

Hayden Panettiere splits from boxer fiance

(8/3/18) Hayden Panettiere has split from her fiance and baby daddy Wladimir Klitschko, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.

The Nashville actress’ mother Lesley Vogel confirmed the news in an exclusive interview with Radar.

“Think there are a lot of changes going on in her life. But I think they’re positive changes. And I think that she’s taking some time,” Vogel told Radar.

Vogel also said her daughter, 28, has been taking a “break” from working after her hit show Nashville recently ended after six years.

Amid the split and her show ending, Panettiere has relocated from Nashville to her native Los Angeles, Vogel confirmed.

Panettiere and boxer Klitschko, 42, are still on good terms, and recently took a trip together with their daughter Kaya, 3.

“She just was in Greece with Wlad and her daughter,” Vogel said.

Radar can confirm that fans spotted the former couple together in Greece on July 30.

The co-parents also vacationed together in Barbados earlier this year.

The exes started dating in 2009, and announced their engagement in 2013 — but never tied the knot.

He stood by her through two bouts of rehab for her battle with postpartum depression.

Fortunately, “I think she is in a very good place,” Vogel assured.

Video: Gina Tognoni and Jason Thompson Facebook Live

(8/3/18) Gina Tognoni and Jason Thompson Facebook Live: Video.

Soap Alum Michael Dietz Got Games

(7/29/18) Michael Dietz (ex-Mark, B&B; ex-Joe, PORT CHARLES et al) is now the host and CCO (Chief Creative Officer) of a series of games shows on the new app from www.ripkord.tv Opens a New Window. , which can be played several times a day via cell phone. “It’s appointment viewing on your phone,” explains Dietz. “Ripkord is a mobile live-gaming television network. We have several games going on now, with more to come — and not only do I get to come up with creative content and produce the shows, I get to host, too! And, the best part? There’s a cash prize for each and every game. It’s free money! The app is free, and the soap fans, especially, have been very supportive. We’ve got a great gaming community out there, and it just keeps growing and growing! Download the app and see for yourself!”

Jordi Vilasuso Joins Y&R

(7/20/18) Daytime Emmy winner Jordi Vilasuso (ex-Dario, DAYS; ex-Griffin, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Tony, GUIDING LIGHT) has been cast on Y&R in a new role. The actor will play a mysterious stranger named Rey who quickly finds himself immersed in the drama of Genoa City. Vilasuso will make his Y&R debut on Friday, August 17.

Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Goes Very Dark in CBS All Access' Fairytale Drama Tell Me a Story: 'It's So Not Stefan'

(7/20/18) (Video) CBS All Access’ upcoming fairytale-inspired drama Tell Me a Story reteams Kevin Williamson and Paul Wesley for the first time since their Vampire Diaries days. But one thing is not like the other.

“Thus far, there’s nothing supernatural about [this] series,” Wesley told me in TVLine’s Comic-Con interview suite on Thursday. “It’s grounded. It’s in New York City. It’s the real world. It’s modern day. So I’m working with Kevin in a different capacity.”

Another big difference between Vampire Diaries and Story: Wesley is not playing a hero. “He’s a complete derelict,” the actor explained. “He abuses substances, he obviously has a lot of trauma in his life… And his life takes a turn for the worse.”

And as Williamson tells it, Wesley has more than risen to the challenge. “It’s so not Stefan,” the EP shared. “It’s so different from anything he’s done. I’m very excited for everyone to see what an amazing actor he is beyond the Vampire Diaries.”

Williamson is also enthused for viewers to see co-star James Wolk (Zoo, The Crazy Ones) eschew his white knight persona in the series. “He looks like this nice guy,” Williamson noted with a chuckle. “But he’s going to go to a very dark place.”

Laura Wright Proves Age Is Nothing But a Number With Inspirational Message to Fans

(7/16/18) Daytime star Laura Wright was in the middle of enjoying her summer vacation from playing Carly on GENERAL HOSPITAL but she took time out to celebrate getting older and issue a challenge to her fans! “To all my female friends of ‘age,'” she posted to Instagram. “Most of us are going through the next stage of our lives. We are at that age where we see the wrinkles, grey hair, extra pounds. Menopause has already shown up or just waiting around the corner. We see the pretty 25-year-olds and sigh. But we were 25, too, just like they will one day be our age.

“What they bring to the table with their youth and zest for life, we bring with our wisdom, experience, and good hearts,” she continued. “For all we’ve been through earning each grey hair… raising kids, bills and ills, and whatever else life throws at us, we are survivors. We are warriors. We are women. Like a classic car or fine wine. While our exterior may not be what it once was, it is traded for our spirit, our courage, and our strength to enter this chapter of our lives with grace and pride for all we’ve been through and accomplished. Never feel bad about getting older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

She then challenged her female fans to copy and paste her status with their own picture and age, proudly adding that she herself is turning 48 in September. And proving that age is nothing but a number, Wright has found a new lease on life happily finding love with GH castmate Wes Ramsey (Peter) after her divorce and continuing to raise her two beautiful children, Lauren and John. And don’t forget starring as Carly Corinthos on GH where she continues to earn critical acclaim and Daytime Emmy nominations (taking home the gold in 2011)! Wright is not only aging gracefully, but gorgeously. Such an inspiriation!

2018 Primetime Emmy Nominations

(7/12/18) (Former soap stars in bold)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY (2017 winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Allison Janney, Mom
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY (2017 winner: Donald Glover)
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
William H. Macy, Shameless

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY (2017 winner: Alec Baldwin)
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
Henry Winkler, Barry

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY (2017 winner: SNL host Dave Chappelle)
Katt Williams, Atlanta
Sterling K. Brown, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Bryan Cranston, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Donald Glover, Saturday Night Live
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE (2017 winner: Laura Dern)
Adina Porter, American Horror Story: Cult
Letitia Wright, Black Mirror, “Black Museum”
Merrit Wever, Godless
Sara Bareilles, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
Penelope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Judith Light, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE (2017 winner: Alexander Skarsgård)
Jeff Daniels, Godless
Brandon Victor Dixon, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
Ricky Martin, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story<

‘Halloweentown II’ actors Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz are dating

(7/12/18) Seventeen years after “Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge,” Marnie Piper and Kal have gotten together in real life.

Kimberly J. Brown has been posting photos of herself with former co-star Daniel Kountz since last July, but finally sealed the deal with a kiss this week.

“#internationalkissingday you say? I’ll just leave this right here then,” Brown, 33, wrote alongside an adorable photo of the pair kissing.

In “Halloweentown II,” Brown’s character Marnie is trying to save the world from Kountz’s character Kal’s evil spell affecting both Halloweentown and the real world.

In October, Brown posted a photo with Kountz, writing, “It’s this handsome guy’s birthday today! You fill my life w/so much happiness and laughter. Happy Birthday Daniel.” They even dressed up as Superman and Wonder Woman for Halloween last year.

Now all we need is a new “Halloweentown” movie that follows these two as a couple and our DCOM dreams will be made.

Paul Anthony Stewart on Elementary 7/30/18

(7/10/18) “Breathe” – Holmes and Watson investigate the poisoning of a relocation expert and discover the man led a decades-long secret career as a contract killer before his death. Also, Watson’s path to adopting a child suffers a setback as she prepares for a home visit from her agency case worker, on ELEMENTARY, Monday, July 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Joaquim de Almeida (Cal Medina), Lesli Margherita (Sherry Lennox), Paul Anthony Stewart (Gary).

Billy Dee Williams Set To Return To ‘Star Wars’ As Lando Calrissian – Report

(7/10/18) It looks like the smooth space-age swag of Lando Calrissian is returning to help the Rebellion (or maybe the First Order?) in Star Wars: Episode IX. Billy Dee Williams, who originated the role in Empire Strikes Back, is set to don the cape as Lando in the forthcoming installment of the Disney/Lucasfilm franchise.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Williams will be returning to Star Wars as Lando who was recently portrayed by Donald Glover in the Star Wars standalone prequel Solo. With many actors from the original Star Wars franchise reprising their role in the new movies, there have been rumors and speculations on fan sites about Williams’ return. No details have been given about how Lando will be involved in the ninth installment of the intergalactic saga.

Williams is the latest actor to join the J.J. Abrams-directed Episode IX. Last week, Keri Russell, a frequent Abrams collaborator also joined the cast in an undisclosed role. They will join Star Wars regulars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver. The movie is set to open Dec. 20, 2019.

Taye Diggs on The 100,000 Pyramid

(7/10/18) The Pyramid is back! As part of ABC’s “Sunday Fun & Games,” the Emmy Award®-winning pop-culture phenomenon is reimagined and better than ever with a cast of all-star celebrities who take center stage and partner with contestants from across the country with hopes of making it to the winner’s circle and the ultimate prize of $100,000. “The $100,000 Pyramid” airs SUNDAY, JULY 29 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

This week’s hour-long episode features two separate celebrity couples. First up, Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”) competes against actor Taye Diggs. Next, the stars of “Barely Famous,” Sara and Erin Foster, compete with hopes of making it to the winner’s circle and the ultimate prize of $100,000.

“The $100,000 Pyramid” is the timeless word association game in which two celebrities and their partners face off in a race against the clock to make it to the winner’s circle and take home $100,000. “Good Morning America”’s Michel Strahan hosts “The $100,000 Pyramid.”

Imagen Awards Nominations

(7/10/18) The nominations are out for the 33rd annual Imagen Awards, which celebrate positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures in TV and film.

Best Actress – Feature Film
Eva Longoria, Overboard (3Pas Studios and Pantelion, Lionsgate MGM)
Yvette Monreal, Monsoon (Create Entertainment/Desert Monsoon Media)
Natalie Morales, Battle of the Sexes (Decibel Films, Cloud Eight Films and Fox Searchlight Pictures).

Best Actor – Television
Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso (National Geographic; National Geographic presents an Imagine Television & Fox 21 Television Studio Production)
E.J. Bonilla, The Long Road Home (National Geographic; Phoenix Pictures, Finngate Television, and Fuzzy Door for National Geographic)
Joaquim de Almeida, Queen of the South (USA Network; Fox Television and Universal Cable Productions)
Alfonso Herrera, The Exorcist (FOX; 20th Century Fox Television/Morgan Creek Productions)
Christian Navarro, 13 Reasons Why (Netflix; Paramount Television/Netflix)
Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Snowfall (FX Networks; FX Productions)
Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX Networks; Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions)
Miles Gaston Villanueva, Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (NBC; NBCUniversal and Wolf Entertainment).

Legendary Soap Scribe Dead At 96

(7/6/18) Harding “Pete” Lemay, passed away on May 26 at the age of 96. One of the genre’s most highly regarded writers, Lemay won Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on ANOTHER WORLD and GUIDING LIGHT. He head-wrote AW during what is hailed as its creative heyday, from 1971-79, head-wrote GL from 1980-81, and head-wrote THE DOCTORS from 1981-81. He also served as a story consultant on AS THE WORLD TURNS, ONE LIFE TO LIVE and AW, and was the co-creator and head writer of LOVERS AND FRIENDS in 1977.

Karla Mosley Announces She's Taking a Break From THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL... to Have Her Baby!

(7/5/18) (cbs.soapsindepth.com) (Video) The cast and crew of THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL have left on their summer vacation, but while most of them will be returning to work in a month, Karla Mosley (Maya) will be taking a little bit more time off from work because she’s getting ready for her maternity leave! Back in April, the pregnant actress revealed that she and boyfriend John Rogers are expecting a baby this summer. “Last day before baby break!” she posted on Instagram.

In the video, Mosley brings fans up to date before giving them an inside peek at some of the cast photos on the walls of the studio. “Well, it’s super-quiet here at the B&B offices,” she smiled before laughing and adding, “And I am about the last person here! I think it’s probably because I’m so sad to leave. But I’ll be back! Everyone’s going on hiatus and then I’ll have a SUPER-long hiatus.” She then pans the camera around the room to show the images the soap uses in its opening credits. At the end, she turns the camera back on herself and says: “Thanks for an amazing year, and I’ll see you soon, B&B” before blowing a kiss.

Despite the fact that she and Rick are happily married, Maya has been seen more in recent episodes without her husband. That’s due to the fact that Rick Forrester’s portrayer, Jacob Young, has dropped to recurring status with the soap to pursue other opportunities on the side. But with Mosley about to take her maternity leave to welcome her new baby, what will happen to Maya while she’s gone?

Canadian actor Daniel Pilon dies at 77 after lengthy illness, talent agency says

(6/28/18) Canadian actor Daniel Pilon, whose film and television career spanned nearly 50 years, has died following a lengthy illness. He was 77.

The actor known internationally for his role as Renaldo Marchetta in the American TV soap “Dallas,” died Tuesday in hospital surrounded by family, his talent agency said in a statement.

“Happiness is every moment; it’s living every moment,” Pilon said in a 2009 interview for Elephant, a project to restore and digitize Quebec’s cinematic history.

The Montreal-born actor had many opportunities to put those words into practice during a prolific film and television career in which he found success both in Canada and internationally.

Pilon began his film career in 1968 when he was cast as Capt. Allwood in the British war film, “Play Dirty.”

He would go on to appear in dozens of films and television shows, including the highly popular TV series, “Dallas,” in which he played a wealthy villain.

Pilon’s soap career included appearances in “Ryan’s Hope,” “Guiding Light,” and “Days of Our Lives.”

In Canada, he often worked with renowned Quebec filmmaker Gilles Carle, most notably in the films, “Red,” “The Death of a Lumberjack,” and “Le viol d’une jeune fille douce,” where he appeared alongside his brother, Donald.

Pilon also worked with a number of Canadian film directors including Jean Beaudin, Yves Simoneau, Jean-Claude Labrecque, Christian Duguay and Claude Fournier.

His more recent appearances were for the TV series, “La Galere,” and “March a l’ombre,” as well as the 2011 short film, “L’invite.”

Pilon’s funeral will be private, his agency said.

Ian Ziering on Celebrity Family Feud

(6/27/18) “Sherri Shepherd vs. Ian Ziering and Tommy Chong vs. Derek Fisher & Gloria Govan” – The celebrity teams competing to win cash for their charities feature former co-host of “The View”

Sherri Shepherd and actor Ian Ziering, best known for his roles in “Sharknado” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” In a separate game, family members of actor/comedian Tommy Chong (“Cheech & Chong”) and five-time NBA Champion Derek Fisher (Los Angeles Lakers) along with his fiancée, television host and actress Gloria Govan, will compete on an all-new episode, SUNDAY, JULY 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Steve Harvey, the highly popular stand-up comedian, actor, author and Emmy® Award-winning game show host, will pit celebrities and their families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people.

The celebrity teams who will try to guess what the “survey said” are:

Sherri Shepherd – former co-host of “The View”; playing for Summit View School

Lauren Mary Marshall – sister
DeAndre Williams – nephew
Christopher Keishawn Wilson-Smith – cousin-in-law
Marcus Deshaun Wilson-Smith – cousin

VERSUS

Ian Ziering – actor known for “Sharknado” and “Beverly Hills, 90210”; playing for EB Medical Research Foundation

Erin Ziering – wife
Nina Ludwig – mother-in-law
Barry Ziering – brother
Jeffrey Ziering – brother

In another game of “Celebrity Family Feud,” the two contesting teams are:

Tommy Chong – comedian and actor known for “Cheech & Chong”; playing for A Place Called Home

Paris Chong – son
Precious Chong – daughter
Robbi Chong – daughter
Rae Dawn Chong – daughter

VERSUS

Derek Fisher & Gloria Govan – playing for LA84 Foundation

Derek Fisher – five-time NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers
Gloria Govan – TV host/actress
Gloria Mendoza Govan – Gloria’s mother
Wynn Michael Govan – Gloria’s father
Lonnie Govan – Gloria’s brother

Allison Janney In Talks To Join Hugh Jackman In Automatik and Sight Unseen’s ‘Bad Education’

(6/16/18) Allison Janney is in talks to join Hugh Jackman in Automatik’s Bad Education, a feature based on a true story from I Think We’re Alone Now screenwriter Mike Makowsky and director Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds). The story, which is said to be based on Makowsky’s own high school experience, follows a superintendent of the school district who works for the betterment of the student’s education while embezzling public funds to live the life he wants.

Jackman is attached to play the superintendent while Janney portrays the school district business manager who is in on the scheme and enjoying the same living large lifestyle while helping him (and her) to cover their tracks.

Fred Berger (La La Land) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Midnight Special) of Automatik are set to produce with Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev and Oren Moverman. Janney, who won an Oscar for her work as the controlling and abusive mother in I, Tonya, will first star in the Bert & Bertie-directed Troupe Zero with Jim Gaffigan. The seven-time Emmy winner can currently be seen on the CBS series, Mom, which was just picked up for a sixth season. Those dates would have to be worked out in order for Janney to join the project.

Janney is repped by The Gersh Agency, Thruline Management and law firm Nelson Davis.

Family Feud: Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea (7/8)

(6/15/18) “Jeff Dunham vs. Ming-Na Wen and Taye Diggs vs. Caroline Rhea” – The celebrity teams competing to win cash for their charities feature comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and actress Ming-Na Wen (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Mulan”). In a separate game, family members of actor Taye Diggs and actress Caroline Rhea (“Caroline and Friends”) will compete on an all-new episode, SUNDAY, JULY 8 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Steve Harvey, the highly popular stand-up comedian, actor, author and Emmy® Award-winning game show host, will pit celebrities and their families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people.

The celebrity teams who will try to guess what the “survey said” are:

Jeff Dunham – comedian and ventriloquist; playing for Baby2Baby

Makenna Paige Dunham – daughter
Ashlyn Evelyn Dunham – daughter
Bree Dunham Hemphill – daughter
Audrey Elena Dunham – wife

VERSUS

Ming-Na Wen – actress known for “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Mulan”; playing for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Eric Zee – husband
Michaela Zee – daughter
Lang Yee – brother
Juliet Silva – sister-in-law

In another game of “Celebrity Family Feud,” the two contesting teams are:

Taye Diggs – actor; playing for FosterMore

Marcia Berry – mother
Christian Diggs – sister
Gabriel Diggs – brother
Shalom Israel Diggs – sister

VERSUS

Caroline Rhea – actress known for “Caroline and Friends”; playing for Hopeland

Cynthia Rhea – sister
Celia Rhea – sister
William Woods – nephew
Robert Woods – nephew.

Taye Diggs: I was wrongly fired for stealing from an ice cream parlor

(6/14/18) Taye Diggs was once fired after he was wrongly accused of stealing — and he’s still mad about it.

Diggs, who stars in the comedy “Set It Up,” told Page Six: “I got fired from this ice cream place in Rochester, [NY].”

He added at the Netflix premiere, “[The owners] said I stole money from them. They knew I didn’t, but they fired me anyway. I wish I could remember their names. I was on the register and they blamed it on me.”

He fumed, “Damn, you made me mad just now!”

New Project For DAYS’s Judi Evans

(6/13/18) Judi Evans (Adrienne, DAYS) has begun work on a new film, I’m not for Sale: The fight to end Human Trafficking. Evans tweeted, “Started work yesterday on a new film called ‘I’m not for sale’. It’s a gritty film about the horrors of human trafficking. Directed by Romane Simon….Thank you Simon for daring to tell this story and allowing me the opportunity to go WAY outside my comfort zone to play A virtually unredeemable character…..huge bonus! My son Austin Michael Luciano was cast as Brent in the film…..can’t wait to see him work his magic!!!! Thank you you Simon for making all of this happen….” The film currently has no release date.

Taye Diggs’ son doesn’t want him to have a girlfriend

(6/13/18) There might be no bond stronger than the one shared by father and son.

But Taye Diggs says his relationship with his and ex-wife Idina Menzel‘s 8-year-old son, Walker, is really unique.

“He is now getting kind of more candid and honest,” Diggs, 47, told People. “He said the other day that he doesn’t want me to have a girlfriend. He said, ‘I want you to myself.’”

“Then he said, ‘Is that okay to say dad?’” the actor recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah man! I want you to be able to tell me anything. Okay I get that.’”

Diggs and Menzel, 47, split in 2014 after 11 years of marriage. In 2017, Menzel remarried to Aaron Lohr.

B&B Star Expecting

(6/12/18) Congratulations are in order for Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B). The star took to Instagram to announce that he and wife Shay are expecting! “@shaysaintvictor and I have been working on the biggest project of our lives!!!” Saint-Victor wrote, also announcing that “#itsaboy.”

Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley Joins Cast of CBS All Access' Tell Me a Story, Reuniting With Kevin Williamson

(6/12/18) The Vampire Diaries co-creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson has recruited one of the stars of the long-running CW drama, Paul Wesley, for his new series, psychological thriller Tell Me a Story on CBS All Access.

Wesley has been tapped for a lead role opposite The Originals alumna Danielle Campbell, Billy Magnussen and Kim Catrall in the straight-to-series drama, from Williamson and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment.

Written by Williamson, Tell Me a Story takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder.

Wesley plays Eddie, a derelict and troubled individual whose petulance is fueled even more by his problems with drugs and alcohol. Although he works as a bartender, he also splits his time as a low-level drug dealer and part-time thief with his older brother Mitch, who never fails to treat Eddie as the lowly delinquent that he is.

Campbell plays Kayla. Catrall plays her grandmother.

Williamson executive produces with Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. Liz Friedlander directs and executive produces the first two episodes.

Wesley played vampire Stefan on The Vampire Diaries for the series’ eight-season run. Since TVD ended in March 2017, he starred in two off-Broadway plays, Cal in Camo opposite David Harbour at The Rattlestick Theatre and Zurich at New York Theatre Workshop. He also has a featured role in Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming Netflix miniseries Medal Of Honor.

Wesley, whose production company Citizen Media has multiple TV series projects in development at various networks and studios, is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360, and attorney Marcy Morris.

Talk Show Appearance

(6/7/18) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN - Bravo

Thursday, June 14 – MATT BOMER and ANDREW RANNELLS Show 15098

‘Addams Family’ Movie Scares Up Charlize Theron, Bette Midler, Allison Janney & More For Voice Cast

(6/6/18) MGM has set the voice cast for its Oct. 11, 2019 animated take on The Addams Family including Oscar winners Charlize Theron (Morticia), Allison Janney (arch nemesis Margaux Needler), two-time Oscar nominee Bette Midler (Grandmama), Chloë Grace Moretz (Wednesday), Finn Wolfhard (Pugsley), and Nick Kroll (Uncle Fester).

As previously announced, Oscar Isaac will play Gomez. Sausage Party director Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan are co-helming this brand new take on Charles Addams’ classic New Yorker cartoon series which has been adapted into various formats since its debut in 1938 including a black and white ABC TV series during the early 1960s, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon during the ’70s, two Paramount features which made over $240M WW during the early 1990s and a recent Broadway show.

Matt Lieberman wrote the script, which follows the kooky Addams family as they face-off against a crafty reality-TV host voiced by Janney while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration, Addams-style.

Vernon is producing with Gail Berman, via her shingle The Jackal Group, and Alex Schwartz. Andrew Mittman, Kevin Miserocchi and Joe Earley are EPs. Tabitha Shick, MGM’s Executive Director, Worldwide Motion Pictures is overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. CG Animation and digital visual effects production is underway in Vancouver at Cinesite Studios.

Vernon said in a statement, “Greg and I have always been a fan of the Addams Family in past versions, so when we set out to make this movie, we were excited to do something new. With that in mind, I drew from the brilliantly original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons for the look of the film and decided to tell the story of how Gomez and Morticia meet, find their house and start their family. This unique approach is what drew me in to direct the film. The reimagining also extends to the stellar cast we’ve put together who will each bring their own spin to our film that will appeal to longtime fans of the Addams and introduce them to a new generation.”

“Conrad and Greg are masters of animation with the keen ability to create something both kids and their parents will enjoy for different reasons. Adding to that a world class caliber of talent with Oscar, Charlize, Chloë, Finn, Nick, Bette and Allison – we can’t wait to bring their fresh and modern take on The Addams Family to the worldwide audience,” said Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM Motion Pictures Group.

FIRST ROUND OF PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR “THE 72nd ANNUAL TONY AWARDS®,” SUNDAY, JUNE 10 ON CBS

(5/30/18) Some of the biggest stars from stage, television, film and music will present at THE 72nd ANNUAL TONY AWARDS®, live from the historic Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Sunday, June 10 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. Set to appear are Uzo Aduba, Matt Bomer, Claire Danes, Armie Hammer, Tatiana Maslany, Leslie Odom Jr., Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto and Andrew Rannells.

As previously announced, Tony Award nominees Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban will host the show for the first time.

This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the Tony Awards, which were first held on April 6, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom. The ceremony is presented by Tony Award Productions, which is a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, which founded the Tonys.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment will return as executive producers. Weiss will also serve as director for the 19th consecutive year.

Dishing With Digest Episode 9

(5/25/18) Memorable summer stories and the importance of using veteran characters in today's storytelling plus we chat with DAYS stars Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Kassie DePaiva (Eve): Download / listen.

Talk Show Appearance

(5/18/18) The Talk - CBS

Friday, May 25

Actor Taye Diggs discusses performing in “Beauty and the Beast in Concert” at The Hollywood Bowl and his upcoming film

‘City On A Hill’: Showtime Picks Up Drama From Ben Affleck & Matt Damon To Series

(5/18/18) Showtime has handed a 12-episode series order to City On A Hill, its drama pilot starring Kevin Bacon (The Following) and Aldis Hodge (Underground). The series, executive produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Jennifer Todd, will premiere in 2019.

Written by Chuck MacLean (Boston Strangler) and based on an original idea by Affleck, City on a Hill is set in early 1990s Boston when the city was rife with violent criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption and racism was the norm, until it suddenly all changed. The drama is a fictional account of what was called the “Boston Miracle.” Driving that change is assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge), who comes from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rhodes (Bacon). Together, they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to involve, and ultimately subvert, the entire criminal justice system of Boston.

“City On A Hill has the veneer of a classic Boston cops-and-robbers drama, but actually dives head first into challenging the very institutions it depicts,” said David Nevins, President & CEO of Showtime Networks. “In reality, the series is a penetrating look at the larger criminal justice system and those who operate within it, with mesmerizing performances by Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge anchoring the suspense.”

City On A Hill also stars Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom), Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Lauren E. Banks (Instinct), Amanda Clayton (Tyler Perry’s If Loving You Is Wrong), Kevin Chapman (Brotherhood) and Jere Shea (Passion), with Kevin Dunn (Veep) recurring.

The series is executive produced by Affleck, Damon and Todd for Pearl Street Films as well as James Mangold. MacLean wrote the pilot and executive produces; Michael Cuesta directed the pilot and executive produces. Bacon will serve as co-executive producer.

City on a Hill joins another upcoming Showtime series, comedy Kidding starring Jim Carrey.

Veteran Character Actor Joseph Campanella Dies at 93

(5/17/18) (Video) Joseph Campanella, a character actor who appeared in more than 200 TV and film roles over his 50-year career, died at his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home on Wednesday, his daughter-in-law told Variety. He was 93.

Campanella appeared across five seasons of late ’60s and early ’70s crime drama “Mannix,” for which he earned a supporting actor Emmy nomination in 1968, and six seasons of ’70s sitcom “One Day at a Time.” He had a number of other co-starring roles on the small screen, including ’60s hospital drama “The Doctors and the Nurses,” the ’70s medical series “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” and ’80s primetime soap story “The Colbys.” In more recent years, the actor held a recurring role on daytime soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 1996 to 2005 and worked on “The Practice” and “That’s Life.”

Along with his on-screen roles, Campanella also built a career as a voice actor, voicing characters in ’90s animated shows “Spider-Man” and “Road Rovers,” along with narrating the “Discover” science series on Disney Channel. He appeared in three Broadway plays, with “The Captains and the Kings” in 1962, “A Gift of Time” in 1962, and “Hot Spot” in 1963. He was nominated for a Tony for his performance in “A Gift of Time.”

Campanella is the younger brother of fellow actor Frank Campanella, who died in 2007. He was born in New York City and attended Columbia University before moving to Hollywood. He is survived by Jill Campanella, his wife of 53 years, as well as his seven sons and eight grandchildren.

Naomi Watts, Frank Grillo To Star In ‘Once Upon A Time In Staten Island’ For Blumhouse

(5/16/18) Naomi Watts and Frank Grillo have been tapped to star in Once Upon a Time in Staten Island, a coming of age family drama from Blumhouse Productions and Man in a Tree Productions. Bobby Cannavale will also co-star in the film, which Purge helmer James DeMonaco wrote and will direct with production slated to begin later this month.

Lucius Hoyos (Heroes Reborn), Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, Howards End), River Alexander (The Way Way Back), and Chase Vacnin (The Little Rascals Save the Day) will also co-star in the film, set in the summer of 1982 on Staten Island, New York.

Jason Blum is producing with Sebastien K. Lemercier for Man in a Tree Productions will produce. Watts and Kate Driver will executive produce.

Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu To Star In Drag Queen Comedy ‘Stage Mother’

(5/1/18) Jacki Weaver (Silver Lining’s Playbook), Taye Diggs (Chicago) and Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) are to lead cast in comedy Stage Mother, set in the drag queen world of San Francisco. Currently in pre-produciton, Film Mode, which handles world sales, will be shopping the movie in Cannes with shoot is due to get underway in Canada later this year.

Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst) is helming the movie penned by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes). The cute story follows a conservative Texas church-choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy. In this raucous, racy new environment, she begins to open up and find new meaning for her life, even becoming a mother figure to the club’s flamboyant performers, until a surprise visit threatens to upend her new life.

J. Todd Harris is producing for Branded Pictures Entertainment alongside Idiot Savant’s Anne Clements, 4K Productions’ Laurie Lacob and Emotion Pictures’ Doug Pettigrew. Executive Producers are Clay Epstein, Brad Hennig and Thom Fitzgerald.

“Stage Mother has the sharp balance of humor and drama that characterize a number of films that focus on mature protagonists in unexpected new surroundings, like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or Shirley Valentine, and especially those that focus on conservative straight characters coming to embrace the LGBTQcommunity, as in Pride and Kinky Boots,” Fitzgerald said.

Weaver is repped by ICM Partners and Elevate Management, Diggs by ICM Partners and Authentic Management and Liu by ICM Partners, Framework and Untitled.

Allison Janney & Jim Gaffigan To Co-Star In Amazon’s ‘Troupe Zero’

(4/25/18) Allison Janney has set her next film project after winning the Oscar for I, Tonya. The West Wing alum has signed on to the Bert & Bertie-directed Troupe Zero. Jim Gaffigan also has been set to star. The two join previously announced stars Viola Davis and Janney’s I, Tonya co-star Mckenna Grace.

Lucy Alibar wrote the screenplay though plot details remain unknown. Amazon Studios is financing the film, with Fences producer Todd Black producing.

Janney cleaned house during the film award season for her portrayal of Tonya Harding’s mother LaVona Golden, winning the Spirit Award, the Golden Globe, the BAFTA, and the SAG Award in addition to the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The seven-time Emmy winner can currently be seen on the CBS series, Mom, which was just picked up for a sixth season.

Gaffigan currently has two films out in theaters; the just-released Super Troopers 2 from Fox Searchlight and Ted Kennedy drama, Chappaquiddick. His upcoming pics include Brittany Poulton and Daniel Savage’s Them That Follow and the thriller American Dreamer directed by Derrick Borte.

Janney is repped by Gersh and Thruline Entertainment. Gaffigan is repped by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Wes Ramsey Previews His Thrilling New Movie

(4/21/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Viewers of GENERAL HOSPITAL aren’t yet sure if they can trust Wes Ramsey’s character of Peter August, and they’re going to feel the same way about his character in his thrilling new movie, Last Seen in Idaho. And coincidentally, he’s playing a shady guy named Franco! “I’m excited for my character,” Ramesy told Soaps In Depth, “because before this movie I’ve never had a chance to play a character like Franco.”

The story surrounds a young woman named Summer (played by the film’s writer and producer, Hallie Shepherd) who awakens from a coma after a car accident and begins having visions of her own future murder. But without knowing exactly who she can trust, can Summer prevent her visions from coming true? “It has an incredible story about someone who witnesses something they shouldn’t have seen and how their life is forever changed because of it,” Ramsey previewed. “From that one moment, a chain of events unfolds and it’s interesting, because it deals with time and memory in a very unique way. I don’t want to give away too much, because it’s really well done the way she created the story.”

Ramsey’s character of Franco is Summer’s love interest, but also a seasoned criminal who will leave you wondering which side he’s really on. Last Seen in Idaho also stars a couple of other faces that will be familiar to soap fans. “We shot all over the state of Washington,” the actor reported. “And some other awesome guys who spent time in daytime were me — Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel) from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and Casper Van Dien (Ty) was once on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.”

Last Seen in Idaho is being released on DVD and on demand on Tuesday, April 24, and Ramsey is thrilled his GH fans will finally be able to see his work. “It’s been a long time coming,” he admitted. “When you make a movie, you never know if it’s going to see the light of day in six months or a year or two years. This is certainly the longest I’ve ever waited for one of my movies to come out, so I’m excited for it!”

Trailer: Video

For more from Ramsey, don’t miss his feature interview in the new ABC issue of Soaps In Depth magazine, on sale now!

Peter Hermann Guests on Instinct

(4/20/18) “Owned” – Dylan and Lizzie are under pressure to deliver results when they investigate the death of Jasmine’s friend, the owner of a professional basketball team who died when her car went off a bridge, on INSTINCT, Sunday, May 6 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Stephen Sable (David Wu), Kate Arrington (Abby Wright), Peter Hermann (Russell Wright).

B&B’s Karla Mosley Pregnant!

(4/17/18) Congratulations to B&B’s Karla Mosley (Maya), who is expecting her first child with boyfriend John Rogers. The actress, who is due in August, showed off her baby bump on the red carpet of the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday, April 12. Since Maya is transgender, expect the actress to carry big purses and hide behind potted plants on-screen through the summer.

Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Bags Joe Carnahan’s ‘Boss Level’ For U.S. Bow

(4/17/18) Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios has acquired distribution rights to the $45M action-thriller Boss Level from writer-director Joe Carnahan. The film starrng Frank Grillo, Ken Jeong, Mel Gibson, and Naomi Watts will get a U.S. theatrical release next year from the studio. Entertainment Studios released the controversial Chappaquiddick on April 6.

The company acquired Boss Level from The Fyzz Facility and Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films. The film is about a retired U.S. Army Special Forces veteran (Grillo) trapped in a never-ending loop that results in his death every day. In order to stop his endless suffering, he must figure out who is responsible and stop them.

The film was financed by Emmett/Furla/Oasis and is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian with Randall Emmett and George Furla; therefore, it is a co-production among Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Carnahan and Grillo’s War Party, and Scott Free. Jules Daly is the exec producer.

In making the announcement, Allen said all the action and thriller elements come together with a great cast. “We are thrilled to have director Joe Carnahan at the helm to deliver what we believe will be a blockbuster.”

Allen’s ESMP has a multi-year output deal with Netflix and recently released 2017’s highest-grossing independent movie, the Mandy Moore-Claire Holt shark thriller 47 Meters Down, which has taken in more than $44M to date. It also released the critically acclaimed Christian Bale western Hostiles. Upcoming releases include the Keanu Reeves sci-fi thriller Replicas and the John Krasinski-Emily Blunt animated feature Animal Crackers.

The deal was negotiated by Chris Charalambous who is ESMP’s head of acquisitions and Wayne Marc Godfrey of The Fyzz Facility on behalf of Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films.

WME Signs ‘The Purge’, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Star Frank Grillo

(4/17/18) Frank Grillo, who has appeared in super-successful film franchises such as Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War as well as The Purge pics, has signed with WME for representation in all areas.

In addition to starring in the aforementioned comic book blockbuster and the popular Blumhouse horror movies, Grillo recently appeared in Wolf Warrior II which earned $874 million, making it the second highest-grossing film of all-time at the Chinese box office. On the TV side, Grillo appeared in MMA drama Kingdom on the Audience Network.

Grillo worked with filmmaker Joe Carnahan to launched WarParty Films. Their debut film Wheelman was produced by and starred Grillo and was released on Netflix last year. They will partner with XYZ Films on reimagining of the hit Indonesian action film, The Raid which Grillo will star and produce. Other titles on their slate include sci-fi thriller Boss Level starring Grillo, Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts as well as El Chicano, which Grillo will executive produce alongside Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Grillo will also produce and star in Into the Ashes with Robert Taylor and James Badge Dale. And if he wasn’t busy enough, Grillo will produce and star in the forthcoming Netflix docuseries Fight World which will focus on fight culture all over the world.

He can also be seen in the upcoming movie Reprisal opposite Bruce Willis as well as Tim Sutton-directed Donnybrook starring Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley.

Grillo is also repped by Management 360 and Paul Hastings.

GENERAL HOSPITAL's Laura Wright and Wes Ramsey Have a Blast in THE KITCHEN

(4/12/18) Fans of GENERAL HOSPITAL already know that Laura Wright and Wes Ramsey are great actors from their work as Carly Corinthos and Peter August on the daytime soap, but now they’ll find out if they’re actually any good in the kitchen! The real-life couple are scheduled to appear on THE KITCHEN on the Food Network on Saturday, April 14 at 11 a.m. ET! “So fun!” Wright declared on Instagram, urging fans to tune in to see them.

Ramsey added: “Our first cooking show! LOL! So fun!” In the episode, titled “Let’s Do Lunch,” hosts Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Jeff Mauro, and Geoffrey Zakarian will be sharing some delicious new ideas for lunch. Wright and Ramsey will be acting as special sous chefs as Anderson makes a Lemon Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Bowl. (And if you miss that airing, it will be rebroadcast on Sunday, April 15, at 1 p.m. ET and Monday, April 16 at 12 p.m. ET!)

A sous chef is someone who is second in command in the kitchen, ranking just below the executive chef. Which is basically just a fancy way of saying that Wright and Ramsey will be acting as assistants to Anderson as she cooks up her dish. So make sure you tune in to see how they do!

Horror Story Adds Joan Collins, Monica Lewinsky's Crime Story Scrapped

(4/5/18) Is the next American Horror Story about 1980s shoulder pads…?

Dynasty scene stealer Joan Collins has joined the Season 8 cast of the FX anthology series in an as-yet specified role, franchise creator Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter.

Collins, who currently recurs on The Royals, is of course best known for her role as (the original) Dynasty‘s Alexis Carrington. She joins a Horror Story cast that already includes returning faves Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters.

Murphy has revealed little else about the eighth installment, save for the fact that it takes place in the future (where shoulder pads make a comeback?!).

Meanwhile in American Crime Story news, Murphy has announced that an installment that was to be focused on President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky is no longer in development. Murphy in January 2017 optioned Jeffrey Toobin’s A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President, which was expected to provide the framework for Season 4.

“I told [Monica], ‘Nobody should tell your story but you,'” Murphy related to THR. “‘If you want to produce it with me, I would love that…. [Y]ou should make all the goddamn money.'”

From Broadway With Love Benefit Concert Planned For Parkland Victims Fund

(4/3/18) Matthew Morrison, Rachel Bloom, Wayne Brady and cast members of Hamilton, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Band’s Visit will be among the Broadway and TV performers in a one-night-only Florida benefit concert for victims and survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Some of the songs have been written by MSD students in collaboration with pro composers.

From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Parkland, USA, announced today, is set for Monday, April 16 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The benefit follows similar From Broadway With Love concerts held after the Pulse nightclub and Sandy Hook shootings.

This time, though, the concert will include some songs that were written by Stoneman Douglas students in collaboration with such pro composers as Joe Iconis, Bobby Cronin, Zoe Sarnak and Drew Gasparini. Additional songs were written solely by the students.

Also planned is a special performance by the dance troupe that once included Jaime Guttenberg, one of the victims of the February 14 shooting. The performance will be in her memory. Several Stoneman Douglas students will speak at the event. A CD and DVD of the concert is planned.

Approximately 10,000 tickets have been donated to the families of MSD students and staff. With royalties and artist fees waived, net proceeds raised will go to Marjory Stoneman Douglas Vicitims’ Fund and Shine MSD (to benefit arts advocacy in the Parkland community).

The list of performers – which is expected to grow in coming weeks – includes: Matthew Morrison (Glee), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Deborah Cox (The Bodyguard), Wayne Brady (Chicago cast of Hamilton), Kirsten Maldonado (Pentatonix), Noah Galvin (Dear Evan Hansen), Justin Guarini (In Transit), Vincent Rodriquez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Ephraim Sykes (Hamilton), Erich Bergen (Madam Secretary), Christy Altomare (Anastasia), Laura Bell Bundy (Anger Management), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Jordan Donica (My Fair Lady, Hamilton), Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Gabrielle Ruiz (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Etai Benson (The Band’s Visit), Carrie Manolakos (Mamma Mia), George Salazar (Godspell), Bryan Fenkhart (Waitress National Tour), Charity Angel Dawson (Waitress), Jessica Vosk (Wicked National Tour), Brandon Shapiro and Jake Wildhorn.

The performers will be accompanied by the South Florida Symphony.

Tickets for the event go on sale today. A crowdrise fundraising page has been set up, and ticket information will be available at http://www.FromBroadwayWithLove.org.

The benefit is being produced by Van Dean and Yael Silver (co-producer Once On This Island), both of Broadway Records, along with Joyce Arbucias, Kenny Howard, Andrea Canny and Chris Yakubchik. The performance will be co-directed by Michael Unger (Producing Artistic Director, NewArts in Newtown, CT) and Kenny Howard. Michael J. Moritz Jr. will music direct, and serves as co-music supervisor with Jeff Saver (Moritz and Saver will conduct with lead orchestrations by Kim Scharnberg).

From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Parkland, USA is presented in partnership with the BB&T Center and is also made possible by the generosity of JetBlue, Broward Center for the Performing Arts and It’s Sugar.

Orlagh Cassidy on Madam Secretary 4/22/18

(4/3/18) “The Friendship Game” – Elizabeth’s negotiations for a security agreement combatting gang violence in South America becomes complicated when she attempts to free an American recently kidnapped there, on MADAM SECRETARY, Sunday, April 22 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Justine Lupe (Captain Ronnie Baker), Matt Meinsen (DS Agent Matt), Orlagh Cassidy (Regina Boroumand).

Kevin Bacon, David Koepp Making ‘You Should Have Left’ For Blumhouse

(3/26/18) David Koepp is writing and directing the feature adaptation of Daniel Kehlmann’s You Should Have Left for Blumhouse with Kevin Bacon set to star.

Book, akin to Stephen King’s The Shining, follows a screenwriter who is writing a sequel to his big hit film in a remote house in the Alps with his wife and daughter contending with his writer’s dilemma.

Bacon brought the source material to Koepp who directed the actor in 1999’s Stir of Echoes. Blumhouse acquired the project, following Koepp and Bacon’s pick up of the book’s film rights.

Matt Bomer buys out hometown theater for ‘Love, Simon’ screening

(3/24/18) Matt Bomer and his husband, Simon Halls, bought out a movie theater in Bomer’s Texas hometown so that anyone who wants to see “Love, Simon” can watch it for free.

“This is an important movie, and a really good one,” Bomer wrote on Instagram Thursday of the coming-out story. “I know you’ll love it so come watch for free this Sunday! #loveislove.”

The 40-year-old actor bought out the AMC Spring 10 theater, located in the town of Spring, for the 4 p.m. screening on Sunday.

“Love, Simon” stars Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel as parents to high school student Simon, played by Nick Robinson, who struggles to come out as gay.

Bomer told Out magazine last year that coming out to his parents was incredibly difficult given their conservative Christian values.

“There was radio silence for a long, long time, at least six months,” he said. “And then I came home and we had the blowup that I’d always feared. But we got that out of the way, and we got down to the business of figuring out how to love each other. I would say within a matter of years we started to figure it out. It was a struggle.”

Talk Show Appearance

(3/23/18) The Chew - ABC

Monday, March 26 – Nia Long (“Roxanne Roxanne”) is cooking with Clinton

Melina Kanakaredes To Co-Write & Produce Film Based On Life Of ‘On Death & Dying’ Author Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

(3/22/18) Melina Kanakaredes (The Resident) has teamed with Das Films for an indie feature on the life of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, inspired by Kübler-Ross’ book The Wheel of Life: A Memoir Of Living and Dying.

Kanakaredes will co-write the project, with Immortals scribes Vlas and Charley Parlapanides, and will produce via her Melpa Productions shingle. Kanakaredes acquired the rights to the 1997 book The Wheel of Life, as well as Kübler-Ross’ life rights. The project has the support of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Family Partnership, who continue to oversee the publishing of Kübler-Ross’ 23 books that have been translated into more than forty languages and sold over 10 million copies around the globe.

Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-born psychiatrist, a pioneer in near-death studies and the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying (1969), where she introduced the world to the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Together with her partner, former Black Panther-turned-reverend, Renford Gaines, Kübler-Ross went up against all forms of discrimination, sexism and racism during the height of the civil rights movement. The indie movie will tell the true story of a woman’s fight to change the medical establishment’s treatment and care of dying patients. Her strength and courage as a women in the face of a male dominated profession led to the creation of Hospice here in America and across the globe.

Kanakaredes will produce alongside Siram Das producing and JJ Meyers executive producing for Das Films.

This is the second collaboration for Kanakaredes and writers Vlas and Charley Parlapanides. They previously teamed to co-write Stolen For Good, a TV drama series, which they were developing for indie production company Dynamic Television, with Kanakarides also attached to star.

Kanakaredes, who starred on CBS’ CSI:NY from 2004-2010, has also been writing consistently, having sold her first pilot script to CBS in 2005. She also wrote for CSI:NY and has developed several projects in partnership with Saving Grace creator Nancy Miller, with whom she worked on Stolen For Good. The two met on the 1997 series Leaving LA, which Miller created and in which Kanakaredes starred.

As an actress, Kanakaredes recently recurred on Extant and Notorious and can currently be seen recurring as Lane Hunter on Fox medical drama series The Resident.

Charley and Vlas Parlapanides most recently penned the Immortals sequel and the screenplay for Adam Wingard-directed Death Note. They also co-wrote spec Zero Footprint, about the Benghazi attack, which was acquired by Alcon. They previously wrote, directed and produced indie comedy Everything For A Reason, which was acquired by The Shooting Gallery.

‘Main Justice’: Aubrey Dollar To Co-Star In CBS Legal Drama Pilot

(3/20/18) Aubrey Dollar has been tapped for a co-starring role opposite Bokeem Woodbine and Timothy Hutton in CBS’ legal drama pilot Main Justice.

Written by Sascha Penn and inspired by the life and work of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Main Justice centers on Miles Blair (Woodbine), the recently sworn-in Attorney General. The show takes us into the tumultuous world of the 5th floor of the Department of Justice, where he takes on the biggest legal and investigative cases in the country all while being the youngest person to ever hold such an esteemed position.

Dollar will play Ellis, the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General. Recently divorced from her wife, with whom she has a young son, Ellis is smart, shrewd, loyal, extremely organized and efficient, always honest. She was recommended to the job by President Whitbeck (Peter Gallagher), who all but insisted Miles hire her.

Main Justice hails from CBS Television Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Penn and Sunil Nayar executive produce alongside Holder, David Semel, who is directing the pilot, as well as Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed.

This marks Dollar’s return to CBS, where she co-starred on the 2015 cop series Battle Creek. She is repped by Gersh and Industry Entertainment.

Terrell Tilford on Criminal Minds 4/4/18

(3/20/18) “Ex Parte” – The BAU takes charge of a hostage situation at a law firm in D.C., where Matt Simmons’ wife, Kristy (Kelly Frye), works, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, April 4 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST: Kelly Frye (Kristy Simmons), Justin Eaton (Stunt Double Simmons), Terrell Tilford (Commander David Nash).

Peter Hermann Recurs on Blue Blood 4/6/18

(3/16/18) “Friendship, Love, and Loyalty” – After a woman voices her outrage regarding the NYPD’s inability to find her son’s murderer, Danny reexamines the case, upsetting the original detective, Erin, and Anthony, who didn’t pursue the case due to lack of evidence. Also, Eddie is shot while on duty; Erin and her ex-husband, Jack (Peter Hermann), face off in court; and Frank contends with an angry police force when Mayor Dutton (Lorraine Bracco) fails to defend them at a press conference, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, April 6 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Nia Long on The Talk 3/22/18

(3/16/18) The Talk - CBS

Thursday, March 22

Actress Nia Long (ex-Kat, GL)

Orlagh Cassidy on Madam Secretary 4/1/18

(3/16/18) “My Funny Valentine” – As the 20th anniversary of the American embassy bombing in Mali approaches, emotions run high among the State Department staff, who had personal connections to lives lost that day, including Elizabeth, who must decide if the U.S. should lift sanctions against the country deemed responsible. Also, Henry tries to help Jason break up with Piper, on MADAM SECRETARY, Sunday, April 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Salena Qureshi (Piper), Skipp Sudduth (Petr Harriman), Orlagh Cassidy (Regina).

Laura Wright: "I Never Imagined I'd Be Living With My Boyfriend," Wes Ramsey

(3/15/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) A year ago, GENERAL HOSPITAL star Laura Wright (Carly) wasn’t even thinking about romance, but everything changed when she was reintroduced to fellow actor Wes Ramsey (Peter) at a Daytime Emmy party in April of 2017! “This time last year, I certainly never imagined I’d be living with my boyfriend,” she confided to Soaps In Depth. “I couldn’t even imagine what having a boyfriend would look like!”

After going through a divorce a few years ago, Wright admitted she was “in a dark place” and fought to find happiness, and now she’s discovered new love with Ramsey, who she used to work with on GUIDING LIGHT where she played Cassie and he was Sam. In fact, the two lovebirds are now sharing a place together in West Hollywood!

“I’m not 25,” Wright laughed. “I didn’t need to sleep on it. And we know how lucky we are to have this, so there’s a lot of gratitude. There’s a lot of respect… and a lot of self-love. I don’t need him to complete me. So our time together is just about enjoying the moment and not trying to fix each other.”

The GH star also shares a house with her kids, John (17) and Lauren (19), in Santa Ynez, but loves spending quality time with her new beau. “We love to hike and we love the ocean, sunsets, and going to the movies,” she revealed. “And right now, we’re reading The Fountainhead — he reads to me every morning. Yeah, he’s that guy!”

With all the stress and drama of real life, including work, bills, and everything else, it’s important to find and appreciate those special moments together. “We still have hurdles, walls, and things life throws at us,” Wright declared. “When I have 10 other things I think I need to do, I make the decision — ‘I’m going to sit here and listen to you read me this story.’ To slow down, be in the moment, and be together is a choice Wes and I make every day.”

Matt Bomer on Making His Directorial Debut in American Crime Story: Versace: 'Can We Sympathize With a Monster?'

(3/14/18) Wednesday’s episode of American Crime Story: Versace marks the directorial debut of actor Matt Bomer, who — at the risk of sounding “so 2018” — says he was “truly blessed” to get to work on the FX drama.

“When Ryan Murphy called and asked me to do this — after I passed out, regained consciousness and said yes — I knew that it was a serious responsibility,” the actor tells TVLine. “I’d been offered directing jobs before, but they were jobs I was also acting in, and I wanted my first directing experience to be the full-meal deal. I wanted to really do it, to be on the location scouts and design meetings and castings and really have the full experience.”

Before stepping behind the camera for his episode’s three-week shoot, Bomer says he read “more than 3,000 pages of material on directing,” met with film and TV directors for guidance, did an intensive at the Director’s Guild of America and shadowed two different directors on three episodes of Versace. To say that he did his homework would be an understatement.

“I wanted the producers to know I was taking this seriously, that they weren’t just putting the camera in the hands of somebody who was just hoping to cruise by,” he says. “I called my representatives who were talking about acting jobs, and I told them, ‘Put everything on hold. This is what I’m doing, this is it.'”

Bomer’s episode — which airs tonight at 10/9c — chronicles Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan’s radically different upbringings, showing how “success brought out the worst in Andrew and the best in Gianni.”

“We want to see [Andrew] as a three-dimensional human being,” Bomer says, “but the real challenge of this episode is: Can we sympathize with a monster and see that he was also a victim? We’re all ultimately responsible for the decisions we make and the actions we take, but this is someone who was near to violence at a very young age, who was treated like a spouse by both his mother and his father. The central question of this episode is: What makes one person a creator and one person a killer?”

Location proved to be another challenge, as the characters’ parallel stories take place in “three different countries and five different cities,” all of which had to be recreated in the Los Angeles area. “And I had two child protagonists for the first half of the episode,” Bomer notes. “I was thrown a lot of the challenges you could have as a director, which I’m actually grateful for, because now I can check those off. When someone says I have to work with a kid, I can say, ‘Been there, done that.'”

Bomer adds, “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be present for everything. It was very clear in the room when I was casting that Edouard Holdener was the right person to play young Andrew.”

He also praises the work of Jon Jon Briones, the actor playing Andrew’s father, who was first brought to his attention by star Darren Criss and EP/writer Tom Rob Smith. “They’d seen him on Broadway in Miss Saigon,” he recalls. This was a guy who had been doing that show for over 20 years, but he was ready for this experience, and his audition was phenomenal. It’s a testament to Ryan Murphy that he’s willing to take a chance on new people who are ready for the experience and ready to serve the story in the best way possible.”

Speaking of exceptional performances, Bomer says he feels “spoiled” that he had a front-row seat to Criss’ take on Andrew almost from the very beginning. “I knew Darren was a brilliant actor and a great artist, but there were times where I would watch him on camera and it was like he just suddenly was this person,” Bomer recalls. “It was bone-chilling to watch.”

Still, it takes a village to put even a single episode of television together, and Bomer has a laundry list of people to thank: “The director of photography, Simon Dennis, was incredible; Jamie Walker McCall designed that incredible plantation set; Alexis Martin Woodall, what she does in the post department is phenomenal; and Shelly Westerman, who edited the episode, is one of my all-time editing heroes.”

“I was really so lucky to work with Ryan’s people,” Bomer adds. “I’d worked with him for so long [on projects like Glee, American Horror Story and The Normal Heart] that I knew most of the camera crew from other jobs. But the level of professionals you work with in his world are top notch.”

Purchase Emme Rylan’s Handmade Goods In Person

(3/6/18) Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH), who will be selling her hand-crafted wares at a pop-up version of her Etsy shop at GH’s official fan convention on March 10 and 11 in Burbank. “I’ve been working 24 hours a day prepping for this!” reports the actress. “I am so excited about it. I am trying to make it like a boutique experience and I am going to have basically a little bit of everything that I make there — bracelets and necklaces and earrings, handbags, banners and wall hangings. I’m going to have some baby headbands and Dakota [her daughter] will be there modeling one. There aren’t going to be a lot of headbands or handbags, so if there’s something that people want, they should come to the booth the first day.” In addition, she’ll be raffling off a special piece. “Some of the stuff that I make is so time-consuming, like a knitted item or a more intricate piece where honestly, if I were going to sell it, I would have to sell it for a lot of money. So I have something special that’s not for sale, and every time someone makes a purchase, they’ll get a raffle ticket and then I’ll draw from that at the end of the weekend. If they’re already gone, I will call them and mail it to them.” With every purchase, fans will also get an autographed 8×10 picture of Rylan. “I also have the cutest little gift bags and jewelry boxes,” Rylan coos. “I’m so into them, Don [Money, her partner] is like, ‘You’ve lost your mind!’ “For convention tickets, click here https://www.creationent.com/cal/gh_burbank.html.

Allison Janney Wins Best Supporting Actress Oscar For ‘I, Tonya’: “I Did It All By Myself”

(3/5/18) (Video) She’s won seven Emmys and a Golden Globe and tonight Allison Janney finally took home her first Oscar for playing Tonya Harding’s abusive and hysterically outspoken mom LaVona in I, Tonya.

Taking the stage tonight at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Janney quipped, “I did it all by myself” and after pausing, “That’s nothing farther from the truth.” (See the full speech above.)

Ever since the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was quickly acquired by NEON/30 WEST, Janney has been considered a near-lock for the Best Supporting Actress. And while we’ve seen Janney play a mother before on CBS’ comedy series Mom, she takes flawed to a whole other level in I, Tonya: Not only was LaVona the tough love that propelled Harding to an Olympic figure skating career, she was a chain-smoking loudmouth who sewed minks out of squirrel fur for her young champion and had no qualms of getting her point across with a quick slap to the face.

“I love one of the first things that (screenwriter) Steven (Rogers) told me about this part when he said he wrote it for me was that I get to play this woman who lives in a trailer basically, wears a fur coat, and has a bird on her shoulder, I was like ‘I’m in! I’m in!’ I want to play this woman,” Janney told Deadline.

Janney said to Rogers tonight from the stage, “Thank you for the gift of LaVona…you saw this coming.”

It’s been quite a road for Janney: During her college days at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, she was directed by one of its noted alumni on stage: Paul Newman, who along with wife Joanne Woodward encouraged Janney to continue on with her pursuit of acting.

Prior to tonight Janney took home best supporting actress trophies from the Spirit Awards, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and Broadcast Film Critics for playing LaVona.

Here’s the backstage session after her win: Video.

Independant Spirit Awards Winners

(3/4/18) BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Allison Janney

I, Tonya

Soap producer Jill Farren Phelps lists her scenic spot on Mulholland Drive

(3/3/18) (sun-sentinel.com) Decorated television producer Jill Farren Phelps, whose work on the daytime soaps “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” has won her scores of Emmys, has put her home on Mulholland Drive on the market for $2.5 million.

The ranch-style house, built in 1962 and full of colorful details, is secluded on more than half an acre above the Hollywood Hills and adjacent to protected land.

The 2,606-square-foot house features vibrant hues and wallpaper, crown molding and hardwood floors. A brick-surround fireplace anchors the living and dining rooms, which center on panoramic views through a row of French doors.

The brickwork continues in the family room, which has a wall filled with built-ins and doors opening to the patio. A skylight-topped breakfast nook sits off the updated kitchen. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms complete the floor plan.

Outside, a blue-tiled swimming pool and spa take in the city lights and mountains. Lush landscaping and lawn complete the grounds.

Emmanuel Xuereb and Salvator Xuereb of 360 Realty are the listing agents.

Farren Phelps, 67, got her start in television in 1974 as a production assistant on the show “Guiding Light” and won the first of 11 Daytime Emmys in the early ’80s as the music director for “General Hospital." Her other credits include such soap operas as “Santa Barbara,” “Another World” and “One Life to Live.”

Ava DuVernay, Billy Dee Williams, Jordan Peele, & ‘Insecure’ Among ABFF Honors Award Recipients

(2/28/18) The American Black Film Festival Honors were handed out at the Beverly Hilton Sunday night. Honorees included director Ava DuVernay (Industry Visionary Award), legendary actor Billy Dee Williams (Hollywood Legacy Award), comedian and Girl’s Trip breakout Tiffany Haddish (Rising Star Award), Power star Omari Hardwick (Distinguished ABFF Alumni Award).

“I can tell you that my journey hasn’t always been smooth but ultimately a positive one,” said an emotional Willians while accepting his award. “If on that journey I have helped pave just a little bit of a way for Black talent… that will have more opportunities today than yesterday, then I can say that has been the greatest role of my lifetime.”

DuVernay, who got her start at ABFF, thanked founder Jeff Friday “for putting in good work for Black filmmakers in the independent space.” The director who is gearing up for the wide release of her Disney epic adventure film, Wrinkle In Time also gave props to Williams for his work in the sci-fi space with films like Return of the Jedi and Alien Intruder. “He broke boundaries that no one ever thought could be broken so I thank you”

Hosted by Cedric The Entertainer, the event also reunited the cast of Fox’s 90s sitcom Martin to accept the Classic Television Award. Titular star Martin Lawrence was accompanied by co-stars Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell, Carl Payne II, and showrunner Bentley Kyle Evans, all of whom remained mum on a possible reboot. “I know yall want to know about the #reboot but for us, the most important thing is the #reconnection,” said Arnold.

Other winners included ABC’s Black-ish and HBO’s Insecure in a tie for the award for comedy Television Show of the Year, while Queen Sugar (OWN) picked up the drama Television Show of the Year award for the second year in a row.

The marquee Movie of the Year trophy went to Jordan Peele’s blockbuster hit Get Out, which Peele was on hand to accept, joined by cast members Lil Rel Howery, Betty Gabriel, and Marcus Henderson.

“People ask me if I was surprised at the timing [of the film]. Referring to the fact that we are living in a country of heightened racism. This is the exact same country we have always been living in,” said Peele. “All these sentiments, hatred, and bigotry has been there, though sometimes it’s just a little bit under the surface. I feel honored to be a part of this renaissance.”

GH Stars On WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

(2/23/18) GH’s Donnell Turner (Curtis) and Laura Wright (Carly) will appear on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE on Wednesday, February 28. Both are playing for worthy causes, Turner for Autism Speaks and Wright for One Simple Wish, an organization with the mission of spreading love, hope and joy to children affected by foster care, abuse and neglect. Check local listings!

Allison Janney was barefoot when she met Prince William and Kate

(2/23/18) (Video) Allison Janney felt like a wimp following Sunday’s BAFTA Awards in London, having ditched her heels early in the evening.

After winning the prize for best supporting actress for “I, Tonya,” Janney, 58, recalled meeting Prince William and his pregnant wife, Kate Middleton, at the Royal Albert Hall.

“I did meet Kate and William and she was in her heels and pregnant, so I felt like a bit of a wimp that I was there in my bare feet,” Janney said on Wednesday’s “Late Late Show with James Corden.” “She was in full-on heels and she was my height, when I was in my bare feet. It was kind of extraordinary that she was that tall.”

Though Janney, who stands at six feet tall, said Middleton, 36, is “lovely,” she also shared another cringe-worthy moment of the exchange.

“I just told her that I was in bare feet and I felt — I told her she should take her shoes off cause she’s pregnant,” she said. “It was an awkward moment. As I did, I called her ‘honey’ and that might not have been royal etiquette.”

Regardless, the royal duo endorsed “I, Tonya” before parting ways.

“They loved ‘I, Tonya’ and it was a pretty cool thing to meet them,” the actress said.

Both Janney and “I, Tonya” are nominated for Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Picture, respectively.

New Project For GUIDING LIGHT Fave

(2/19/18) Robert Newman (ex-Josh, GUIDING LIGHT) is joining the cast of Off-Broadway’s longest running play, Perfect Crime, replacing Richard Shoberg (ex-Tom, ALL MY CHILDREN) as Inspector James Ascher. The actor will make his debut on Tuesday, February 20 at the Anne L. Bernstein Theater. Newman has recently guest starred on several shows including HOUSE OF CARDS, CHICAGO FIRE, HOMELAND, CRIMINAL MINDS, NCIS and LAW & ORDER SVU. Tickets for Perfect Crime are available by calling the box office at (212) 921-7862 or online at www.Ticketmaster.com. Student rush tickets ($26) are also available by calling or visiting the box office. The Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street at Broadway.

BAFTA Award Winners

(2/19/18) SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ALLISON JANNEY - I, Tonya

Highland Boards Mel Gibson & Frank Grillo’s Action Drama ‘Boss Level’

(2/17/18) Highland Film Group has come on board to handle international rights to Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo action drama Boss Level.

The company, which is led by Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, is launching the Joe Carnahan-directed picture at Berlin and joins its EFM slate, which also includes Tye Sheridan’s The Night Clerk, Morgan Freeman’s The Manuscript and Margot Robbie’s Terminal.

The film follows a retired special forces veteran, played by Grillo, who is trapped in a never-ending loop resulting in his death. In order to stop his endless suffering, he must figure out who is responsible and stop them. Gibson plays Colonel Clive Ventor, the powerful head of a shadowy program. Carnahan wrote the script.

Gibson is coming off the back of S. Craig Zahler’s Dragged Across Concrete, which he starred in alongside Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Carpenter as well as Paramount’s Daddy’s Home 2 with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Grillo, who starred in Captain America and the Purge franchise, recently starred in Netflix’s Wheelman and Wolf Warrior 2. He is set to star in brawl thriller Donnybrook and Netflix doc Fight World.

The film is financed by Emmett/Furla/Oasis, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, and Randall Emmett and George Furla. It is a co-production between EFO, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Carnahan and Grillo’s War Party, and Scott Free, whose Jules Daly will be exec producer.

Gibson is repped by CAA, Grillo by CAA and Management 360, and Carnahan by CAA.

Soap Vets Star In New Film

(2/16/18) Kassie DePaiva (Eve, DAYS; ex-Blair, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) and Nathan Purdee (ex-Hank, OLTL et al) are starring in a new film, Killian and the Comeback Kids. DePaiva and Purdee play husband and wife and parents of the title character, a struggling musician and college grad who returns to his hometown to find a job while putting his band together. Killian is played by Purdee’s son, Taylor. Killian and the Comeback Kids recently finished principal photography and the Karmic Release Ltd. is running an Indiegogo campaign to help finish and support the film. Donor perks include autographed CDs by DePaiva, a call from DePaiva, a walk-on role in the movie, instruments and other items. For more information and to donate, click here.

Thomas Gibson's Divorce is Finally Final

(2/14/18) Thomas Gibson can officially kick it with the singles crowd -- the judge in his divorce case has signed off on it, making it a done deal.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Thomas and his ex-wife Cristina Parker reached a deal in their divorce a while back, but for whatever reason it was collecting dust at the courthouse. The judge finally signed off last week.

According to docs, Thomas is shelling out $3k a month in support for their 3 kids, and he has to cover their private school and extracurricular activities. He gets to stay in the family's San Antonio home every other weekend when he has the kids. When he doesn't have 'em, it's the guest house for Tommy boy. Pretty sweet deal.

Thomas filed for divorce back in 2014, and also had a tumultuous 2016 when he got fired from "Criminal Minds." It's all behind him now.

Talk Show Appearance

(2/8/18) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN - Bravo

Wednesday, February 14 – TAYE DIGGS

Audiobooks Narrated By Soap Stars

(1/30/18) Faithful by Alice Hoffmann
Read by Amber Tamblyn (ex-Emily, GH)

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Marriage of Opposites and The Dovekeepers comes a soul-searching story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family, and fate.

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend's future is destroyed in an accident while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor filled with emotion, from dark suffering to true happiness - a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls - including an angel who's been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who's ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a road map.

Alice Hoffman's "trademark alchemy" (USA Today) and her ability to write about the "delicate balance between the everyday world and the extraordinary" (WBUR) make this an unforgettable story. With beautifully crafted prose, Alice Hoffman spins hope from heartbreak in this profoundly moving novel.

Olivia Cole Dies: The Emmy Award-Winning ‘Roots’ Actress Was 75

(1/24/18) Known for her role in Roots and the miniseries Backstairs at the White House, Olivia Cole died at her home in San Miguel Allende, Mexico on January 19, Deadline has confirmed. She was 75.

Susie Schwarz from SBD Partners, where Cole had been for over 35 years, told Deadline that, as far as they knew, she had not been ill. The New York Times said she died from a heart attack.

Cole was born in Memphis Tennessee on November 26, 1942. She attended Hunter College High School, Bard College in New York and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

She starred opposite Ben Vereen’s Chicken George as his wife Mathilda groundbreaking ABC 1977 miniseries Roots based on Alex Haley’s novel. The miniseries won her an Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series. She also received an Emmy nomination for her role in the aforementioned Backstairs at the White House, where she appeared as Maggie Rogers, the mother of Leslie Uggams’ Lillian Rogers Parks. The characters were real-life women who worked as maids in the White House for decades.

Cole also starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in the 1989 ABC miniseries The Women of Brewster Place and on the short-lived series that followed. Her other TV and film credits include Coming Home, Some Kind of Hero with Richard Pryor, Go Tell It on the Mountain, First Sunday, Guiding Light, L.A. Law, Szysznyk, and Murder, She Wrote.

On the stage, she appeared in Romeo and Juliet at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut in 1964. Two years later she made her Broadway debut The School for Scandal. In 2016, she starred in the play Having Our Say at the Long Wharf Theatre and at Hartford Stage.

Cole was married to actor Richard Venture who died in December. The two met while starring in a play at the Arena Stage in Washington. They divorced after 1982 and she lived in Mexico for nearly 30 years.

2018 Oscar Nominations

(1/23/18) ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

MARY J. BLIGE
MudboundALLISON JANNEY
I, Tonya

LESLEY MANVILLE
Phantom Thread

LAURIE METCALF
Lady Bird

OCTAVIA SPENCER
The Shape of Water

John Conboy, Producer of ‘The Young and the Restless,’ ‘Guiding Light,’ Dies at 83

(1/23/18) John Conboy, an executive producer known for his work on soap operas “The Young and the Restless,” “Santa Barbara,” “Guiding Light” and “Capitol,” died Friday in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 83.

Conboy won four Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the soap operas: his first for “The ABC Afternoon Playbreak,” two for ABC’s “The Young and the Restless” and one for “Santa Barbara.”

After beginning his television career as an actor, he made the switch to producing in 1973 on “The Young and the Restless,” then one of TV’s top-rated daytime programs, for which he won Emmys in 1975 and 1983 for outstanding daytime drama. In 1982, he left the show to create and executive produce soap opera “Capitol” for CBS, which ran for five years.

Conboy went on to executive produce NBC’s “Santa Barbara,” winning his fourth Emmy in 1990 for daytime drama. He returned to CBS to produce “Guiding Light,” then the longest-running daytime drama in TV history. He also worked on a number of TV movies, including “Kiss of a Killer,” “The Solitary Man,” “After Hours: Singin’, Swingin’ and All That Jazz” and “After Hours: From Janice, John, Mary and Michael, with Love.”

Growing up in Binghamton, New York, Conboy graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts.

“The Young and the Restless” star Judith Chapman tweeted on Friday, “It is with heavy hart and a grateful smile that I called him my friend.”

A private memorial service is being planned.

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2018 Winners

(1/22/18) TV Comedy Actor
William H. Macy, Shameless

TV Drama Ensemble
This is Us (including Justin Hartley)

Film Supporting Actress
Allison Janney, I, Tonya.

Former Executive Producer John Conboy Dead

(1/21/18) Daytime icon John Conboy, who served as executive producer for several soaps during the genre’s most popular years, has died. “It is with a heavy heart and a grateful smile that I called him my friend,” tweeted Judith Chapman (Gloria, Y&R et al). Conboy started as a producer on LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING (1970-73), then became EP for the then-newly launched Y&R in 1973 and served in that capacity until 1982. That same year, he moved to another debuting sudser, CAPITOL, where he stayed until its cancellation in 1987. Cowboy was then top exec for SANTA BARBARA (1991) and GUIDING LIGHT (2002-04), but also produced several TV movies along the way. Conboy had even created his own soap called CASINO, which was set in Las Vegas, but it was never picked up. During his career, Conboy picked up four Daytime Emmys, three for for Outstanding Drama Series (Y&R, 1975 and 1983; SB, 1990) as well as a statuette for Outstanding Drama Special for THE ABC AFTERNOON PLAYBREAK’S THE OTHER WOMAN (1974).

‘I, Tonya’ Stars Margot Robbie & Allison Janney Set For Santa Barbara Film Fest Honors

(1/20/18) A pair of I, Tonya stars will be skating into California’s Central Coast to accept some hardware next month. Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, who play Tonya Harding and her mother LaVona Golden in Neon’s awards contender, will receive the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s 2018 Outstanding Performers of the Year Award.

The Critics’ Choice Award winners will be honored February 8 during a tribute at the Arlington Theatre. The 33rd SBIFF runs January 31-February 10.

“Allison and Margot bring biting humor and an emotional resonance to their real-life characters in I, Tonya,” said Roger Durling, the festival’s executive director. “We are proud to celebrate them and their incredible contributions to cinema.”

Robbie and Janney are regulars on this season’s awards circuit. Both were nominated for Golden Globes — Janney won — and are up for Spirit, SAG and BAFTA awards. Their darkly comedic film is based on the true tale of Harding, who rises through the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Heading into the 1994 Winter Olympics, she was to face her American rival Nancy Kerrigan — until Harding’s husband tried to eliminate that threat.

This year’s festival will also honor Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) with the American Riviera Award, Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) with its Santa Barbara Award, Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) with its Maltin Modern Master Award, Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) with its Cinema Vanguard Award, and Daniel Kaluuya, Gal Gadot, Hong Chau, John Boyega, Kumail Nanjiani, Mary J. Blige, and Timothée Chalamet with its Virtuosos Award.

Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Allison Janney join LA Women’s March

(1/19/18) Viola Davis, Natalie Portman, and Allison Janney will be among the thousands of men and women participating in the Los Angeles Women’s March in downtown L.A. on Saturday.

Elizabeth Banks, Connie Britton, Sarah Hyland, Mila Kunis, Eva Longoria, Ellen Barkin, Rob Reiner, Kamala Harris, and Mary Steenburgen will also take the stage, Women’s March L.A. announced Wednesday. The actors and actresses will join performers Andy Grammer and Keala Settle to support the activist movement.

The group had previously announced that speakers will also include Scarlett Johansson, Sophia Bush, Laverne Cox, Lea DeLaria, Tony Goldwyn, Paris Jackson, Megan Mullally, Olivia Munn, Nicole Richie, Catt Sadler, Adam Scott, Olivia Wilde, Larry Wilmore, and Alfre Woodard, along with performances from Idina Menzel, Andra Day, Rachel Platten, Maxwell, and The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles with Melissa Etheridge.

Women’s March L.A. is part of a larger national movement for women’s rights, human rights, and social justice, with marches taking place all over the country on Jan. 20. The date marks one year that Donald Trump has been president. With midterm elections looming in November, the march will center on turning out the vote, offering on-site voter registration. The organization says speakers will focus on issues like voter turnout, access, restrictions, and intimidation and will discuss a plan of action leading up to November 2018 and beyond.

Last year’s inaugural march brought 750,000 people to the streets of downtown L.A. This year’s event, which includes music, art and community focused on the movement’s message, will kick off in Pershing Square at 8:30 a.m., with the speakers. The march itself will begin at 10 a.m., ending in Grand Park, with festivities lasting until 3 p.m. Women’s March LA is using Facebook Live on its social media page starting at 11 a.m. PT, streaming the presenters, speakers and performers on the main stage.

‘Tallulah’s Tammy Blanchard Joins Denzel Washington In ‘Iceman’ On Broadway

(1/19/18) Tammy Blanchard (Tallulah, Into the Woods, Moneyball) has been cast in the upcoming Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, starring Denzel Washington and staged by George C. Wolfe. Blanchard will play Cora, one of three prostitutes who frequent Harry Hope’s grim Greenwich Village saloon and flophouse where a roomful of “pipe-dreamers” await the arrival of Washington’s reliably affable salesman Theodore Hickman, known to all as Hickey.

The Scott Rudin production begins previews March 22 at the Jacobs Theatre and is slated to open April 26. In 2001, Blanchard won an Emmy as outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie for Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. Her New York stage credits include Broadway revivals of Gypsy (2003) and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2011), and Dada Woof Papa Hot (2015) at Lincoln Center Theater. She’s repped by The Gersh Agency and Soffer/Namoff Entertainment.

Frank Grillo, Luke Grimes & Robert Taylor Set For Crime Thriller ‘Into The Ashes’

(1/19/18) Frank Grillo, Luke Grimes and Longmire star Robert Taylor will star in Into the Ashes, a crime thriller written and to be directed by Aaron Harvey. They join James Badge Dale and David Cade in the pic, which is now set to begin shooting next week in Alabama.

Jamin O’Brien and Daniel Blanc for The Film Community and Robert Ogden Barnum and Eric Binns will produce, as will Grillo via his and Joe Carnahan’s WarParty.

The pic centers on Nick (Grimes), an ex-con adjusting to a normal life in rural Alabama. When a past he thought he left behind comes back to haunt him, it forces him to come to terms with his current situation and rectify a relationship he has with his father-in-law (Taylor) — all the while dealing with the one person (Grillo) who threatens to pull his world apart.

Grillo, best known for the Captain America and Purge franchise, recently played Big Daddy in the China action hit Wolf Warrior 2. He’s next up in the film Donnybrook and the Netflix docuseries Fight World.

Grimes (American Sniper, Fifty Shades of Grey) is next up in Paramount Network’s Yellowstone. Taylor is next up in Jon Turteltaub’s shark thriller MEG.

AARP 17th Annual Movies for Grownups Award Nominations

(1/17/18) Best Supporting Actress: Holly Hunter (The Big Sick), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Melissa Leo (Novitiate), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

‘One Mississippi’, ‘I Love Dick’ & ‘Jean-Claude Van Johnson’ Canceled By Amazon

(1/17/18) Amazon is doing more clearing the decks with the cancelation of three comedy series, Tig Notaro’s One Mississippi, Jill Soloway’s I Love Dick, and Jean Claude Van Damme’s Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

One Mississippi was canceled after two seasons, while I Love Dick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson were axed after one.

“This is part of a move towards bigger, wider-audience series,” an Amazon insider told Deadline.

Grey's Anatomy: Bethany Joy Lenz Is Playing [Spoiler]'s Fiancée

(1/16/18) Since it was revealed in October that One Tree Hill alumna Bethany Joy Lenz had been tapped for an arc on Grey’s Anatomy, viewers have been dying to know more about her character than just her name (Jenny). Now, TVLine can tell you that the mystery woman is, according to a source, the fiancée of Jo’s abusive husband, Paul (returning guest star Matthew Morrison).

As you’ll see in these new photos from the ABC drama’s midseason premiere (Thursday, 8/7c), “1-800-799-7233” picks up right where “Out of Nowhere” left off, with Jo face to face with her worst nightmare. But you’ll also see that, apparently in that same scene, Paul charms Arizona and ultimately is joined by Jo’s unfortunate successor, Lenz’s Jenny.

Laura Wright Is "Obsessed" With a New Fitness Challenge!

(1/16/18) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Viewers of GENERAL HOSPITAL are used to seeing Laura Wright looking amazing when she’s on screen as Carly Corinthos, and the actress has not been shy about sharing her fitness journey, and has now embarked upon the 80 Day Obsession challenge, urging her fans to join her! “Hell yeah!” she posted to her Instagram. “January 15, #TeamLaura is getting Obsessed!” She also added hashtags to remind that “you can have everything you want in life” and “it’s up to you.” Fans can reach out to the actress for coaching and advice by E-mailing her at laurawrightfitness@gmail.com.

At the start of the 80-day challenge, Wright celebrated by sharing a very cheerful selfie. “Day one of 80 down!” she posted. “Clearly, I’m really happy about it! Food on point — meal prepping and answering your E-mails!”

The day before beginning the challenge, Wright opened up on Instagram about how you can’t let age get in the way of achieving your goals. “I have so many people asking me can they make huge changes,” Wright shared. “They say, ‘But I’m 42-44,’ ‘I’m over 50.’ Well, I’m 47, and Team Laura starts an 80-day nutrition and workout challenge tomorrow, so you know what I say. Hell yeah! You can have whatever you want.”

While the 80 days have already begun, we’re sure Wright wouldn’t mind adding a few more people to Team Laura. She’s been happily advocating the Beachbody programs for a while now, and just by looking at her, it’s clear that amazing results are achievable!

2018 BAFTA Nominations

(1/10/18) SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALLISON JANNEY I, Tonya
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Darkest Hour
LAURIE METCALF Lady Bird
LESLEY MANVILLE Phantom Thread
OCTAVIA SPENCER The Shape of Water.

Nia Long on The Goldbergs: 1990-Something (1/24)

(1/9/18) This Goldbergs-inspired special event picks up where the Goldberg family leaves off at William Penn Academy in the 1990s as former teacher and now Head of School John Glascott leads a faculty of teachers with wildly different views on how to mentor students and recruits his tough-as-nails-sister Lucy to join his staff and enroll her teenage daughters Felicia and Gigi as new students. Lucy is desperate to ensure they avoid the social pitfalls of high school and finds herself torn between Glascott’s nurturing and communicative approach to parenting and Coach Mellor’s tough-guy belief that physical competition brings out the best in students. Even Beverly Goldberg comes to visit the school’s staff despite all her kids having already graduated and can’t help but meddle one last time, on “The Goldbergs: 1990-Something,” WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24 (8:00–8:30 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

The episode stars Tim Meadows as John Glascott, Bryan Callen as Coach Rick Mellor, Nia Long as Lucy Somers, Rachel Crow as Felicia and Summer Parker as Gigi.

Guest starring is Wendi McLendon-Covey as Beverly Goldberg, Ana Gasteyer as Miss Cinoman, Missi Pyle as Madame Charbenaux, Kevin Heffernan as Doc, Justin Tinucci as Meathead, William McMullen as Scrawny Kid, Stephen Tobolowsky as Principal Ball, Irene Roseen as Mrs. Cheevers, Michael Bunin as Cranky Customer, Miles Thomas Platt as Frosh Geek, Sean Marquette as Johnny Atkins and Octavia Spencer as voice-over of Felicia.

“The Goldbergs: 1990-Something” was written by Marc Firek, story by Adam F. Goldberg and Marc Firek, and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.

Bethany Joy Lenz & Matthew Morrison on Grey's Anatomy 1/25/18

(1/9/18) “Personal Jesus” – A young boy is admitted to Grey Sloan Memorial and his case has a profound impact on the doctors. Meanwhile, April is faced with a surprising patient, and Jo continues to deal with her estranged husband, on “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, JAN. 25 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Guest starring are Matthew Morrison as Paul Stadler, Bethany Joy Lenz as Jenny and Stefania Spampinato as Carina DeLuca.

“Personal Jesus” was written by Zoanne Clack and directed by Kevin Sullivan.

Bethany Joy Lenz & Matthew Morrison on Grey's Anatomy 1/18/18

(1/9/18) “Four Seasons in One Day” – Jo finally faces her estranged, abusive husband Paul Stadler, while Grey Sloan continues to work with the FBI after a hacker has compromised the hospital’s computer system, on the midseason return of “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, JAN. 18 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Guest starring is Matthew Morrison as Paul Stadler, Bethany Joy Lenz as Jenny and Stefania Spampinato as Carina DeLuca.

“Four Seasons in One Day” was written by Andy Reaser and directed by Bill D’Elia.

Golden Globes 2018 Winners

(1/8/18) Best Actor — Comedy
James Franco, The Disaster Artist

Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Australia’s International Awards Winner

(1/6/18) AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Y&R Star, Soap Alums In New Film

(1/4/18) LANY Entertainment recently released a new film by THE BAY creator Gregori J. Martin. The Intruders, written and directed by Martin, follows a man named Michael Foster as he invites a number of strange characters into his home following the death of his mother. His actions lead to the destruction of his marriage and everything he loves. The project stars Steven Bauer (Avi, RAY DONOVAN), Lisa Wilcox and daytime faves Bryton James (Devon, Y&R), Alla Korot (ex-Jenna, AW et al) and Brody Hutzler (ex-Patrick, DAYS et al). The film is available to view via Amazon Prime here.

Nashville Premiere: Watch Juliette Implode on Stage — 2018 FIRST LOOK

(12/21/17) (Video) Nashville‘s Juliette Barnes has yelled, screamed, cussed people out and frozen up on stage. But none of that was as disturbing as when she announces, “I think I just need to stop” after grinding her comeback concert to a halt in the Season 6 premiere.

As you’ll see in this exclusive clip from the episode — which airs Thursday, Jan. 4, at 9/8c — Juliette is back to performing after her very public admission of stealing Maddie’s single. And though Deacon seems to have forgiven her, based on his appearance on the sidelines, some fans in the audience chant “thief!” and hold signs that make it very clear that they haven’t forgotten what she’s done.

Perhaps that’s the reason she stops singing and launches into some rather depressing truth-telling?

“I want people to love me, but that’s just a trap,” Juliette says dejectedly as she stares out into the audience. “Because they don’t know me. I don’t even want them to know me, because if they knew me, they wouldn’t love me. That’s the story of my whole life right there.”

Then, as Glenn, Deacon and Avery look on in varying degrees of horror, she announces, “I think I just need to stop.”

As previously reported, the sixth season of the country-music drama will introduce several new characters, including Darius, a self-help guru with a track record of transforming lives who crosses paths with Juliette. (We’re hoping that interaction happens after, and not before, the events of the sneak peek.)

Los Angeles Online Film Critics Award Winners

(12/20/17) Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney – I, Tonya

London Critics’ Circle Film Award Nominations

(12/20/17) ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird.

Snowed-Inn Christmas: "How About You" Official Music Video | Premieres Saturday at 8/7c | Lifetime

(12/16/17) (Video) Watch the official music video for "How About You" featuring Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker of "Snowed-Inn Christmas," premiering Saturday, December 16 at 8/7c on Lifetime. (December 17 on W in Canada)

Brittany Snow Drops By To Talk About "Pitch Perfect 3"

(12/15/17) (Video) Brittany Snow, star of "Pitch Perfect 3," stopped by the BUILD stage to chat about the highly-anticipated movie. Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in "Pitch Perfect 3." After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds comes together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

SAG Awards Nominations

(12/14/17) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET / Elio – “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME” (Sony Pictures Classics)
JAMES FRANCO / Tommy Wiseau – “THE DISASTER ARTIST” (A24)
DANIEL KALUUYA / Chris Washington – “GET OUT” (Universal Pictures)
GARY OLDMAN / Winston Churchill – “DARKEST HOUR” (Focus Features)
DENZEL WASHINGTON / Roman J. Israel, Esq. – “ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.” (Columbia Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
MARY J. BLIGE / Florence Jackson – “MUDBOUND” (Netflix)
HONG CHAU / Ngoc Lan Tran – “DOWNSIZING” (Paramount Pictures)
HOLLY HUNTER / Beth – “THE BIG SICK” (Amazon Studios/Lionsgate)
ALLISON JANNEY / LaVona Golden – “I, TONYA” (Neon/30West)
LAURIE METCALF / Marion McPherson – “LADY BIRD” (A24)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
LAURA DERN / Renata Klein – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)
NICOLE KIDMAN / Celeste Wright – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)
JESSICA LANGE / Joan Crawford – “FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN” (FX Networks)
SUSAN SARANDON / Bette Davis – “FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN” (FX Networks)
REESE WITHERSPOON / Madeline MacKenzie – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven – “STRANGER THINGS” (Netflix)
CLAIRE FOY / Queen Elizabeth II – “THE CROWN” (Netflix)
LAURA LINNEY / Wendy Byrde – “OZARK” (Netflix)
ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June – “THE HANDMAID’S TALE” (Hulu)
ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ANTHONY ANDERSON / Andre “Dre” Johnson – “BLACK-ISH” (ABC)
AZIZ ANSARI / Dev – “MASTER OF NONE” (Netflix)
LARRY DAVID / Himself – “CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM” (HBO)
SEAN HAYES / Jack McFarland – “WILL & GRACE” (NBC)
WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank Gallagher – “SHAMELESS” (Showtime)
MARC MARON / Sam Sylvia – “GLOW” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE CROWN (Netflix)
CLAIRE FOY / Queen Elizabeth II
VICTORIA HAMILTON / Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
VANESSA KIRBY / Princess Margaret
ANTON LESSER / Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
MATT SMITH / Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy
JACOB ANDERSON / Grey Worm
PILOU ASBÆK / Euron Greyjoy
HAFÞÓR JÚLÍUS BJÖRNSSON / The Mountain
JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly
JIM BROADBENT / Archmaester Ebrose
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne
EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen
NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister
LIAM CUNNINGHAM / Davos Seaworth
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister
RICHARD DORMER / Beric Dondarrion
NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei
JAMES FAULKNER / Randyll Tarly
JEROME FLYNN / Bronn
AIDAN GILLEN / Petyr Baelish
IAIN GLEN / Jorah Mormont
KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow
LENA HEADEY / Cersei Lannister
ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT / Bran Stark
CONLETH HILL / Varys
KRISTOFER HIVJU / Tormund Giantsbane
TOM HOPPER / Dickon Tarly
ANTON LESSER / Qyburn
RORY McCANN / The Hound
STAZ NAIR / Qhono
RICHARD RYCROFT / Maester Wolkan
SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark
RUPERT VANSITTART / Yohn Royce
MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu)
MADELINE BREWER / Janine/Ofwarren/Ofdaniel
AMANDA BRUGEL / Rita
ANN DOWD / Aunt Lydia
O-T FAGBENLE / Luke
JOSEPH FIENNES / Commander Waterford
TATTIAWNA JONES / Ofglen #2
MAX MINGHELLA / Nick Blaine
ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI / Serena Joy
SAMIRA WILEY / Moira

STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)
SEAN ASTIN / Bob Newby
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven
CARA BUONO / Karen Wheeler
JOE CHREST / Ted Wheeler
CATHERINE CURTIN / Claudia Henderson (Dustin’s Mom)
NATALIA DYER / Nancy Wheeler
DAVID HARBOUR / Jim Hopper
CHARLIE HEATON / Jonathan Byers
JOE KEERY / Steve Harrington
GATEN MATARAZZO / Dustin Henderson
CALEB McLAUGHLIN / Lucas Sinclair
DACRE MONTGOMERY / Billy
PAUL REISER / Dr. Owens
WINONA RYDER / Joyce Byers
NOAH SCHNAPP / Will Byers
SADIE SINK / Max
FINN WOLFHARD / Mike Wheeler

THIS IS US (NBC)
ERIS BAKER / Tess Pearson
ALEXANDRA BRECKENRIDGE / Sophie
STERLING K. BROWN / Randall Pearson
LONNIE CHAVIS / Young Randall
JUSTIN HARTLEY / Kevin Pearson
FAITHE HERMAN / Annie Pearson
RON CEPHAS JONES / William Hill
CHRISSY METZ / Kate Pearson
MANDY MOORE / Rebecca Pearson
CHRIS SULLIVAN / Toby Damon
MILO VENTIMIGLIA / Jack Pearson
SUSAN KELECHI WATSON / Beth Pearson
HANNAH ZEILE / Teenage Kate

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
BLACK-ISH (ABC)
ANTHONY ANDERSON / Andre “Dre” Johnson
MILES BROWN / Jack Johnson
DEON COLE / Charlie Telphy
LAURENCE FISHBURNE / Pops
JENIFER LEWIS / Ruby
PETER MACKENZIE / Mr. Stevens
MARSAI MARTIN / Diane Johnson
JEFF MEACHAM / Josh
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS / Dr. Rainbow Johnson
MARCUS SCRIBNER / Andre Johnson, Jr.
YARA SHAHIDI / Zoey Johnson

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
TED DANSON / Himself
LARRY DAVID / Himself
SUSIE ESSMAN / Susie Greene
JEFF GARLIN / Jeff Greene
CHERYL HINES / Cheryl David
JB SMOOVE / Leon Black

GLOW (Netflix)
BRITT BARON / Justine Biagi
ALISON BRIE / Ruth Wilder
KIMMY GATEWOOD / Stacey Beswick
BETTY GILPIN / Debbie Eagan
REBEKKA JOHNSON / Dawn Rivecca
CHRIS LOWELL / Bash
SUNITA MANI / Arthie Premkumar
MARC MARON / Sam Sylvia
KATE NASH / Rhonda Richardson
SYDELLE NOEL / Cherry Bang
MARIANNA PALKA / Reggie Walsh
GAYLE RANKIN / Sheila the She-Wolf
BASHIR SALAHUDDIN / Keith
RICH SOMMER / Mark
KIA STEVENS / Tammé Dawson
JACKIE TOHN / Melanie Rosen
ELLEN WONG / Jenny Chey
BRITNEY YOUNG / Carmen Wade

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren
EMILY ALTHAUS / Maureen Kukudio
DANIELLE BROOKS / Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson
ROSAL COLÓN / Ouija
JACKIE CRUZ / Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales
FRANCESCA CURRAN / Helen Van Maele
DANIELLA DE JESÚS / Zirconia
LEA DeLARIA / Big Boo
NICK DILLENBURG / CO Blake
ASIA KATE DILLON / Brandy Epps
BETH DOVER / Linda Ferguson
KIMIKO GLENN / Brook Soso
ANNIE GOLDEN / Norma Romano
LAURA GÓMEZ / Blanca Flores
DIANE GUERRERO / Maritza Ramos
EVAN ARTHUR HALL / CO Stratman
MICHAEL J. HARNEY / Sam Healy
BRAD WILLIAM HENKE / Desi Piscatella
MIKE HOUSTON / CO Lee Dixon
VICKY JEUDY / Janae Watson
KELLY KARBACZ / Kasey Sankey
JULIE LAKE / Angie Rice
SELENIS LEYVA / Gloria Mendoza
NATASHA LYONNE / Nicky Nichols
TARYN MANNING / Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett
ADRIENNE C. MOORE / Cindy Hayes
MIRIAM MORALES / Pidge
KATE MULGREW / Galina “Red” Reznikov
EMMA MYLES / Leanne Taylor
JOHN PALLADINO / Josh
MATT PETERS / Joel Luschek
JESSICA PIMENTEL / Maria Ruiz
DASCHA POLANCO / Dayanara Diaz
LAURA PREPON / Alex Vause
JOLENE PURDY / Stephanie Hapakuka
ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ / Aleida Diaz
NICK SANDOW / Joe Caputo
ABIGAIL SAVAGE / Gina Murphy
TAYLOR SCHILLING / Piper Chapman
CONSTANCE SHULMAN / Yoga Jones
DALE SOULES / Frieda Berlin
YAEL STONE / Lorna Morello
EMILY TARVER / CO Artesian McCullough
MICHAEL TORPEY / CO Thomas Humphrey
LIN TUCCI / Anita DeMarco

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Morgan Freeman

‘I, Tonya’ Stars Margot Robbie And Allison Janney On Their Knock-Down Mother/Daughter Fights During The Film – The Contenders Video

(12/13/17) (Video) With nominations now from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, and the SAG awards, I, Tonya’s Oscar chances are looking good, but it all started for the film early last month when stars Margot Robbie, Allison Janney and Sebastian Stan, along with director Craig Gillespie and writer Steven Rogers appeared in front of a packed house of AMPAS and key guild voters during Deadline’s 7th Annual The Contenders awards season event at the DGA Theatre.

Robbie, who also was a producer, said she had never heard of scandal-ridden Tonya Harding or the incident in which she caused injury to skating competitor Nancy Kerrigan, and she thought that gave her a pair of fresh eyes in which to view the story. She waited to meet Harding until she had the way she was going to approach the role firmly in mind. Janney, who plays her domineering mother says the role was written for her by Rogers, and talks in detail about doing intense fight scenes with Robbie. Rogers wasn’t planning on doing this movie until he saw a documentary about Harding and husband Jeff Gillooly and noticed they didn’t agree on anything during their separate interviews. That not only convinced Rogers about the structure of the screenplay in which we see the tale told from Roshomon -like different perspectives, but it also gave Gillespie the key to making this very dark comedy.

Check out our conversation above.

ANOTHER WORLD Alum Heading To Sundance Film Festival

(12/13/17) Mark Pinter (ex-Grant, ANOTHER WORLD et al), narrated the documentary short, The Driver Is Red, which is making its way through the festival circuit and has been selected for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. “I’m proud to have narrated The Driver is Red as the voice of the real-life character of Zvi Aharoni, an Israeli Mossad agent instrumental in the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960,” says Pinter. “The Driver Is Red, a powerful animated documentary short by filmmaker Randall Christopher, is an official Sundance Film Festival Selection and will have four screenings January 19-25 as part of the festival’s Animation Spotlight.” Check out the trailer and the webpage.

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Nominations

(12/13/17) Winners will be announced in Los Angeles on Jan. 5 at The Avalon Hollywood.

Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige – MUDBOUND
Abbie Cornish – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Allison Janney – I, TONYA
Nicole Kidman – THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER
Laurie Metcalf – LADY BIRD.

Brittany Snow Sued Over 2016 Car Crash

(12/12/17) Brittany Snow's allegedly heavy foot just got her sued.

Jose Erazo Gomez ?is suing the 'Pitch Perfect' star after he says he was rear-ended at a high rate of speed back in July 2016. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Gomez says the other driver's failure to stop caused him catastrophic injuries.

We're told Brittany was the one behind the wheel, but Jose is also suing her mom, Cindy. In docs, Gomez says he suffered shock and injury to his nervous system. We're told that includes a disc tear in his neck.

He's suing for unspecified damages. We've reached out to Brittany, so far no word back.

Former Soap Stars In The 75th Golden Globes Nominations

(12/12/17) BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
STEVE CARELL, BATTLE OF THE SEXES
ANSEL ELGORT, BABY DRIVER
JAMES FRANCO, THE DISASTER ARTIST
HUGH JACKMAN, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
DANIEL KALUUYA, GET OUT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
MARY J. BLIGE, MUDBOUND
HONG CHAU, DOWNSIZING
ALLISON JANNEY, I, TONYA
LAURIE METCALF, LADY BIRD
OCTAVIA SPENCER, THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ANTHONY ANDERSON, BLACK-ISH
AZIZ ANSARI, MASTER OF NONE
KEVIN BACON, I LOVE DICK
WILLIAM H. MACY, SHAMELESS
ERIC MCCORMACK, WILL & GRACE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
JESSICA BIEL, THE SINNER
NICOLE KIDMAN, BIG LITTLE LIES
JESSICA LANGE, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
SUSAN SARANDON, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
REESE WITHERSPOON, BIG LITTLE LIES

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
DAVID HARBOUR, STRANGER THINGS
ALFRED MOLINA, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
CHRISTIAN SLATER, MR. ROBOT
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD, BIG LITTLE LIES
DAVID THEWLIS, FARGO

Tom Wiggin & Saundra Santiago on Madam Secretary

(12/8/17) “Women Transform the World” – Secretary of State McCord struggles with the realization that she may need to advise the Afghan government that a compromise with the Taliban may be better than a war with them. Also, Henry uses Dmitri as bait to convince a Russian spy to help the U.S., and Daisy returns from maternity leave and decides to finally tell Joe’s mother about the baby, on MADAM SECRETARY, Sunday, Dec. 17 (10:30-11:30 PM ET/10:00-11:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Ephraim Ware (Clifton Davis), Saundra Santiago (Margarita Garcia), Tom Wiggin (Ash Mackey).

Talk Show Appearance

(12/8/17) The Chew - ABC

Friday, Dec. 15 – The very talented Allison Janney joins “The Chew” crew to cook a festive dish

Nashville Final Season Trailer: Wait, Is Juliette Barnes Joining a Cult?

(12/8/17) (Video) Maybe we’ve watched a few too many episodes of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, but doesn’t this new trailer for Nashville‘s sixth and final season make it seem like Juliette’s heading down a very dangerous path?

In the new video, released Thursday, Ms. Barnes makes the acquaintance of Darius, a charming founder of a self-actualization movement. “Why isn’t all of this fame and success enough?” he asks her, which isn’t an outrageous question. But then Avery says, “You’re putting all of your trust in this guy. You’re living your whole life by his words,” and that’s a fair observation — made by someone we know truly wants the best for our often impulsive heroine.

In short, it seems like Ju is headed for cult membership or something equally troubling. And we’re officially worried.

Other intel gleaned from the trailer:

* Deacon has apparently given Juliette another chance after she stole Maddie’s song last season, and Ju seems appropriately grateful.

* Gunnar seems to be having a far harder time dealing with the breakup than Scarlett is.

* As teased in a previous promo, Will is the one shooting what appear to be steroids in the bathroom,

* Deacon and Jessie definitely kiss and hold hands, and it’s definitely not making Daphne happy.

* Maddie gets real cozy with pop star Jonah Ford.

* Gunnar, Will and Avery play together. Dare we hope they’re forming a new band?!

* Hey, look! It’s Hallie playing the Bluebird with Deacon! She lives!

Nashville returns on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 9/8c.

Critics' Choice Awards 2018 Nominations

(12/7/17) The live ceremony airs Thursday, Jan. 11 at 8/7c on The CW


Best Actress in a Drama Series
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Claire Foy – The Crown (Netflix)
Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black (BBC America)
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Robin Wright – House of Cards (Netflix)

Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Judy Davis – FEUD: Bette and Joan (FX)
Laura Dern – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jackie Hoffman – FEUD: Bette and Joan (FX)
Regina King – American Crime (ABC)
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Fargo (FX)

Best Supporting Actress - Film
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
Hong Chau – Downsizing
Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water

Best Young Actor/Actress - Film
Mckenna Grace – Gifted
Dafne Keen – Logan
Brooklynn Prince – The Florida Project
Millicent Simmonds – Wonderstruck
Jacob Tremblay – Wonder

Best Actor In A Comedy - Film
Steve Carell – Battle of the Sexes
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Chris Hemsworth – Thor: Ragnarok
Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick
Adam Sandler – The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected).

Laura Wright Reveals How She Met Boyfriend Wes Ramsey!

(12/6/17) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Carly’s relationship with Sonny on GENERAL HOSPITAL may be a little volatile, but her portrayer, actress Laura Wright, has found a fabulous new love with boyfriend Wes Ramsey! The two were co-stars back on GUIDING LIGHT in the early 2000’s, but hadn’t seen each other for years until the 2017 Daytime Emmys brought them back together!

“We knew each other back in the day,” Wright confided to Soaps In Depth, but we hadn’t seen each other or talked until we ran into each other at an Emmy party on April 26. I was joking around with Donnell Turner (Curtis) about the line at the bar and Wesley turned around. I was like, ‘Oh my God! What’s up?’ And that was it.”

Wright has been single for a few years after separating from her husband, John, with whom she has two children, Lauren and John. But the time was right and fate stepped in to bring her a brand new love! The actress loves sharing photos of her life on her Instagram, and made her new relationship with Ramsey public with a beautiful post just a month later, in May.

“There were times I was out with him and people would ask for a picture of me, and then they’d see him and react,” Wright explained. “One person was like, ‘That’s not your husband!’ I’m not married. So I thought, ‘I’m just going to end this.’ Plus, I’m big on social media. I’m an open book, so it was just a matter of time.”

Since that first introductory post, Wright has shared plenty of romantic photos of herself with her new beau on Instagram, and you can see some highlights in this super sweet video!

Wright and Ramsey were co-stars back in the day on GL, and now they’re castmates once again on GH with his recent addition to the soap’s cast as Peter August. Whether the two will share many scenes together in Port Charles remains to be seen, but stay tuned to find out!

TAINTED DREAMS Season 2 Premieres December 21

(12/5/17) TAINTED DREAMS, the Emmy-nominated digital series created and executive-produced by Sonia Blangiardo, returns to Amazon and Amazon Prime for a second season on December 21 (the first season is currently streaming on Amazon). The show follows the behind-the-scenes drama on a fictional soap called PAINTED DREAMS and boasts a bevy of soap talent in its cast, including Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall, ALL MY CHILDREN), Austin Peck (ex-Austin, DAYS et al), Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip, GUIDING LIGHT et al), Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily, GH), Bobbie Eakes (ex-Macy, B&B et al), Colleen Zenk (ex-Barbara, AS THE WORLD TURNS) and more. Blangiardo says that she is “excited to take everyone along these characters’ journeys in Season 2, as they evolve and deal with ever increasing professional and personal turmoil.” For more information, check out www.TaintedDreams.com.

Tiffany Haddish, Billy Dee Williams & ‘Power’s Omari Hardwick Named 2018 ABFF Honors Recipients

(12/1/17) Coming off of a banner year, comedian and Girl’s Trip breakout Tiffany Haddish has been tapped to receive the Rising Star Award at the 2018 American Black Film Festival Honors ceremony. In addition, Billy Dee Williams, known for the iconic role of Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, will be bestowed with the Hollywood Legacy Award and Power star Omari Hardwick will recieve the Distinguished ABFF Alumni Award at the February 25 gala, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Hosted by actor and comedian Cedric The Entertainer, the show celebrates individuals of African descent who have made distinguished contributions to American culture through their work, and salutes the year’s best movies and television shows. The group joins previoulsy announced filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who will be honored with the Industry Visionary Award. The event is executive produced by ABFF Ventures founder Jeff Friday and Suzanne de Passe for de Passe Entertainment.

Christina Pickles & Fred Willard on 9JKL

(12/1/17) “It Happened One Night” – Josh and Nick coach their friend Luke (Tone Bell) on how to amicably break up with his girlfriend, Sydney (Ginger Gonzaga), so that it won’t jeopardize Josh’s spot in her coveted spin class. Also, Judy and Harry invite their rivals, Dick (Fred Willard) and Lenore (Christina Pickles) Stevenson, over to play bridge, and Andrew and Eve celebrate their anniversary with their own gift-giving tradition, on 9JKL, Monday, Dec. 18 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Nashville Final Season Video Teases Will's New Man (?), Deacon-Jessie Kiss

(12/1/17) (Video) Only a few words are spoken in this new Nashville Season 6 video, and yet it says so much.

The teaser promo, released Thursday by CMT, tees up the country-music drama’s final season with new footage — and a series of sounds — that give a glimpse into what’ll happen in upcoming episodes.

Most important things first: the kissing. Will and a new guy, Juliette and Avery, and Jessie and Deacon (almost) smooch during the 30-second spot. Then there’s the first look at new characters in action, including Jonah Ford, a charming and super successful pop star played by newcomer Nic Luken.

Elsewhere, Maddie thwarts an admirer’s attempt to get closer, Scarlett signs an Exes poster, Daphne sobs, Jessie’s stupid ex twirls his stupid fidget spinner, and Deacon restrings a guitar.

Nashville returns Thursday, Jan. 4, for its final season.

Morgan Englund To Perform In AZ

(12/1/17) Morgan Englund (ex-Dylan, GUIDING LIGHT) will be a musical guest at the Christmas in Carefree Celebration on Fri., Dec. 8. His performance will run from 2:30-3 p.m. Englund recently recorded “Homeward Bound, A Firefighter’s Song” to honor first responders. For more information on the lineup, which includes standup comedy with Jill Kimmel, visit christmasincarefree.com/schedule.

Kassie DePaiva Shares "Continued Good News" About Her Health!

(11/29/17) It may have been a rough year for Kassie DePaiva, after her diagnosis and treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia. But the daytime star, who can currently be seen as Eve on DAYS OF OUR LIVES but is still remembered as ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Blair and GUIDING LIGHT’S Chelsea, is happy to report some wonderful news!

“So much has happened in my world that it is crazy to pinpoint all the good stuff,” DePaiva wrote in a recent blog post. “I’ll start with continued good news on the health front. My bone marrow biopsies continue to come back clear and blood work normal. Every four months I have to have a bone marrow biopsy, and every six weeks, blood work done as a precaution to make sure I’m still in remission.

“Needless to say, I get anxious prior to lab work,” she continued, “but God continues to keep me in His healing hands. Thank you all for your constant thoughts and prayers of support. I’m forever grateful.”

DePaiva was also thrilled to return to work at DAYS following her treatment and dive back into Eve’s storyline as the character returned to Salem to drop the bombshell that she’d married Deimos shortly before his untimely demise! “She will definitely give Victor and Brady a run for their money and more,” the actress enthused. “Please start watching every day! All eyes are needed to keep these soaps afloat! I love what I do and the fans have all the power. Spread the word, because DAYS is hot and getting hotter!”

In addition, DePaiva also shared another way that fans could help out with a special purchase from jewelry designer Elise Ryan. “My girlfriend has designed a beautiful bracelet that we named ‘BRAVErocks’ to raise awareness and money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,” she revealed. “They will make a perfect gift of love for the holidays. We can all make a difference and help find a cure for these deadly blood cancers. Also, if you can, please donate blood. You will save lives!” You can check out the beautiful BRAVErocks for Kassie at this link.

Joan Collins Slams Her Son's Claim That Her Late Husband Anthony Newley Was a Pedophile

(11/28/17) Joan Collins is refuting claims made by her son Sacha Newley that her ex-husband (and Sacha’s father) Anthony Newley was allegedly a pedophile.

“Never in a million years would I have been married to somebody like that,” Collins, 84, told Good Morning Britain of the late actor and singer-songwriter, whom she was was married to from 1963 to 1970 and had two children (Sacha and daughter Tara Newley).

“Categorically, I can say that it is not true, that I never saw any of that kind of behavior from Anthony,” she added, explaining that the claims have been “very” stressful for her.

Sacha, 52, made the shocking allegations about Anthony in an interview with The Sunday Times published Nov. 26. “He was a paedophile,” Sasha said. “My father was drawn to youthfulness; he thought innocence was an aphrodisiac. That was his sexual proclivity and it’s a very dangerous, destructive thing.”

Now a painter preparing to release a memoir focused on growing up in Hollywood titled Unaccompanied Minor, Sasha went on to claim that he regularly witnessed sex as a child. “It was Hollywood and all the people were beautiful and gorgeous, wafting in and out of parties. My father put sex front and center. He exposed me to all of that — it was absolutely inappropriate,” Sasha claimed.

One example Sasha gave to back up his claims was his Anthony’s 1969 X-rated musical film Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, which starred Anthony as Heironymus Merkin — an internationally known singer who recounts his promiscuous relationships with adolescent Mercy Humppe (Playboy playmate Connie Kreski) in front of his wife and two toddlers (played by Collins, Sacha and Tara).

“[That film was] a confession of pedophilia,” Sacha told The Times, comparing his father to director Roman Polanski and his alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. “Mercy Humppe is the ‘perfect childlover’ — an underage girl. [My dad] didn’t peg her age exactly, but it falls within the Polanski thing.”

The film was so damaging, Sacha claimed it lead to his parent’s messy divorce the following year. “My mother was destroyed by that film: it was the end of their marriage,” Sacha said. “My father was a great, flawed talent. He was a classic sex addict.”

On Good Morning Britain, Collins said that Sacha was off in his interpretation of his father, who died in 1999 at age 67 following a battle with cancer.

“I think that Sacha’s being extremely naive and not really knowing the meaning of that word because what Tony admittedly was, is he loved young women and young women of 17, 18, 19 years old,” she said, The Independent reported. “Not children by any means.”

“As far as I’m concerned this is absolutely untrue,” she added in a statement on Sunday, The Independent reported.

Collins’ daughter Tara, 54, also spoke out against Sacha’s claims. “I was shocked by my brother’s comments,” she said in a statement, The Independent reported. “From my end, I don’t recognize the man he is describing. I had an incredibly close relationship with my father and am deeply upset by these false allegations.”

Talk Show Appearance

(11/22/17) The Talk – CBS

Friday, Dec. 1

Taye Diggs discusses his television drama.

Spirit Award Nominations

(11/22/17) The ceremony will air live on IFC from the Santa Monica beach on March 3 hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney for a second year in a row.

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Holly Hunter, The Big Sick

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime

Taliah Lennice Webster, Good Time.

Nashville to End After Season 6

(11/17/17) (Video) A season-and-a-half after Rayna Jaymes went to her final resting place, Nashville will, too: CMT announced Friday that the upcoming sixth season will be the country-music drama’s last.

“All of us on Nashville are so incredibly grateful to the show’s fans, who convinced CMT to give us a chance to keep telling the story of these remarkable characters,” executive producer Marshall Herskovitz said via statement. “And we want to return the favor with a final season that celebrates all the joys and passions, twists and turns — and amazing music! — that made Nashville such an exciting journey for the last six years.”

The cancellation is actually the series’ second; longtime fans will recall that ABC gave the drama the ax in 2016, but CMT saved the show by offering a pickup almost a month later.

“After more than 120 episodes of unforgettable television, we believe that creatively it is time for the series to come to its triumphant close at the end of the upcoming season” Kevin Beggs, chairman of Lionsgate Television Group, said in a statement. “We’re very proud of our incredibly talented cast and crew, the creative brilliance of our showrunners, and the loyal support of our great partners at CMT, Hulu and ABC Studios. Most importantly, we owe a special debt of thanks to the Nashville fans who propelled the series to an incredible run. We owe it to them to make the sixth season the most exciting and memorable of all.”

Season 6 of Nashville will premiere on Thursday, Jan. 4. As reported earlier in November, Rachel Bilson has exited the series and will not appear in upcoming episodes.

Mel Gibson, Frank Grillo In Talks For Joe Carnahan-Directed ‘Boss Level’

(11/15/17) Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo are in talks to star in Boss Level, an action thriller that Joe Carnahan will direct next year. The premise: Every day, a retired special forces veteran (Grillo) is trapped in a never-ending loop resulting in his death. In order to stop his endless suffering, he must figure out who is responsible and stop them. Carnahan wrote the script.

The film will be financed by Emmett/Furla/Oasis, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, and Randall Emmett and George Furla. It is a co-production between EFO, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Carnahan and Grillo’s War Party, and Scott Free, whose Jules Daly will be exec producer.

Gibson comes to this after the successful opening of Daddy’s Home 2 at Paramount Pictures. He is getting close to securing indie financing for the film he will direct on the ruthless Italian banking family The Medicis to follow his Best Picture nominee Hacksaw Ridge. Other films he is plotting as an actor includes a re-team with Danny Glover and director Dick Donner for another Lethal Weapon film at Warner Bros.

Grillo just worked with EFO on the action film Reprisal, and starred in the Netflix film Wheelman.

Gibson is repped by CAA, Grillo by CAA and Management 360, and Carnahan by CAA.

Nashville Sets Season 6 Premiere Date

(11/14/17) CMT will put a little hot, country-music drama into your cold, post-holiday lives: Season 6 of Nashville will premiere on Thursday, Jan. 4.

The network tweeted the announcement Tuesday via a video featuring stars Jonathan Jackson and Hayden Panettiere.

(Video) We have a special announcement from @haydenpanettier and @JonathanJackson…
The new season of #NashvilleCMT premieres Thursday, January 4 on @CMT. ?? pic.twitter.com/t7zGl0VPP3
— Nashville on CMT (@NashvilleCMT) November 14, 2017

After the Season 5 finale, co-showrunner Marshall Herskovitz told TVLine that Rayna’s legacy record label Highway 65 — which suffered greatly after her demise — is down but certainly not out. “There is a chance that Highway 65 will survive, but they’re still facing the same kind of real difficulties record labels face these days.”

Earlier in November, CMT announced that several new characters played by recurring guest stars will grace the screen this season. These include Darius (played by The Affair‘s Josh Stamberg), Sean (Nashville musical contributor Jake Etheridge) and Twig (When We Rise‘s Dylan Arnold).

Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge to Star in Showtime Drama Pilot City on a Hill

(11/14/17) Aldis Hodge is moving several degrees closer to Kevin Bacon: The Underground breakout is set to star opposite Bacon in Showtime’s Boston-based drama pilot City on a Hill, TVLine has learned.

From exec producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and writer Chuck MacLean, the prospective series is a fictional account of what was referred to as the “Boston Miracle.” In the early ’90s, corruption and racism was the norm in Boston, until an African-American district attorney (Hodge) from Brooklyn arrives in the city, advocating change. He forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran (Bacon) who is invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers in a case that eventually upends the city’s criminal justice system.

“Kevin Bacon radiates intelligence and mystery with every role he plays,” Showtime president David Nevins said in a statement. “He is a gifted, mesmerizing actor who will be the perfect partner and foil to Aldis Hodge, one of Hollywood’s rising talents and someone primed to stand at the center of this powerful drama.”

Bacon recently signed on to reprise his role as Valentine McKee in Syfy’s in-the-works revival of Tremors. Should Tremors and City on a Hill earn series orders, sources confirm that The Following alum would be able to juggle both. It’s unclear what all of this means for Bacon’s in-limbo Amazon comedy I Love Dick, which reportedly remains in consideration for a second season.

Rick Hearst Joins DYNASTY Reboot

(11/11/17) Rick Hearst (ex-Ric, GH et al) announced on social media that he will be appearing on the 12th episode of the premiere season of the DYNASTY reboot. “Booked a nice role of the CW reboot of #dynasty,” he posted. #makinithappen #atlantaactor #gratefulactor #liveyourbestlife #workingactor #cbstv.”

Obit: Harry R. Eggart, 79

(11/9/17) (westportnow.com) Harry R. Eggart of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, a former longtime resident of Westport, died Oct. 23 after a long illness. He was 79.

He spent his life in the theater, starting out as an actor and advancing to directing and producing. He was director of CBS’s “Guiding Light” for 18 years as well as many other soap operas.

Born in Florida, he attended Auburn University and Tulane University. A veteran, he served in the U.S. Army in Ethiopia.

He was a member of theatrical unions AEA, SAG, AFTRA and DGA. He directed more than 2,000 hours of network television that also included episodes of “Search for Tomorrow,” “Another World,” and “Santa Barbara.” He also directed touring legit shows, dinner theater performances, industrials, and specials.

He was director of the daytime Emmy Awards for 12 years for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

In 2003, he appeared as a panelist at the Westport Historical Society discussing soap operas with fellow Westporters (see WestportNow Oct. 19, 2003). In 2004, he and wife Roberta sold their home on Spicer Road.

He loved to paint, never met a book he didn’t like and wrote in his spare time. He loved hot weather, his family, a good joke, his dogs and cornbread. He had a great smile.

Married to Roberta B. Eggart for 50 years, he was father of Jesse, Casey, and Kat Eggart and proud Papi to Kai McCready. Survivors also include nieces Linda Dunn and Suzzie Akins of Florida, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Judy and Steve Penn, and niece, Joanna Shober of California, and son-in-law Michael McCready of Stratford.

There will be a military graveside service on Wednesday Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Connery Avenue, Bourne, Massachusetts.

PureFlix.com Debuts New Faith-Based Original Series 'Hilton Head Island'

(11/9/17) Pure Flix.com, the leader in faith and family streaming video, is debuting this Friday "Hilton Head Island", a 22-episode "hope opera" which chronicles the lives of a family in the high-powered world of network television.

The original, half-hour drama -- created in the tradition of "All My Children", "General Hospital" and "Falcon Crest"-- is available exclusively on PureFlix.com and represents the company's seventh original series since mid-2015.

Unlike most modern-day daytime dramas or soap operas, "Hilton Head Island" avoids language, sex and violence surprises. Instead, it focuses on the power of prayer and faith as the fictional Trisk family deals with a crisis that threatens to destroy their personal and professional lives.

The show's stars include Donna Mills ("General Hospital", "Knots Landing"), Antonio Sabato Jr. ("General Hospital", "The Bold and the Beautiful"), Crystal Hunt ("One Life to Live", "Guiding Light"), Michael Swan ("The Bold and the Beautiful", "As The World Turns") and others.

"We have very high hopes for 'Hilton Head Island' as it represents the next step for us in terms of our original series lineup," said Greg Gudorf, CEO of PureFlix.com. "This 'hope opera' is designed to show that there's a place for strong values and wholesomeness even when dealing with modern-day issues and drama."

"Hilton Head Island" is set in the iconic resort city in South Carolina and follows the Trisk family, which owns the fictional ISLE Television Network. When the family patriarch Daniel Trisk--played by Swan--falls seriously ill, his family begins battling over control of the media empire, while employing the power of prayer and faith to avoid ruining the family's legacy.

The show will be released in three-episode blocks. The first seven episodes will be available November 10, followed by two other episode blocks in subsequent weeks.

About PureFlix.com: PureFlix.com (or Pure Flix Digital) is a subsidiary of Pure Flix Entertainment, LLC, the worldwide leader in faith-based entertainment and a Christian movie studio based in Scottsdale, Ariz. that produces, distributes and acquires Christ-based movies. The company's vision is to positively influence the global culture for Christ through media. Whether it's on your television, laptop, phone, or tablet, PureFlix.com is your trusted destination for the highest quality family-friendly, wholesome entertainment that's now available anytime, anywhere. For more information, please visit PureFlix.com.

FB Live Q&A: Laura Wright & Steve Burton

(11/9/17) FB Live Q&A: Laura Wright & Steve Burton: Video.

Taye Diggs, Diane Guerrero to appear at BookCon

(11/4/17) Taye Diggs and Shane Evans will be among those on hand for next year’s BookCon.

Diggs and Evans will be promoting their picture book “I Love You More” during the June 2-3 gathering at the Javits Center in Manhattan.

Other guests include “Orange is the New Black” actress Diane Guerrero, whose book “My Family Divided” will tell of growing up as the child of undocumented immigrants, and popular young adult authors Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds.

The guest lineup was announced Thursday by BookCon producer ReedPOP.

BookCon is a fan-based event that began as an offshoot of the publishing industry’s annual convention and trade show, BookExpo.

Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto lead cast of Broadway’s ‘Boys in the Band’

(11/3/17) Matt Bomer will make his Broadway debut (following his one-night-only appearance in “8“) in “The Boys in the Band,” a new revival of the landmark 1968 drama to be directed by Joe Mantello with a cast that includes Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto and Andrew Rannells.

Ryan Murphy, the TV megaproducer (“Glee,” “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson”) who first got into the Broadway game with “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” starring Jessica Lange, will co-produce with David Stone, the Broadway regular behind “Wicked” and, most recently, “War Paint,” the musical starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole that closes this week.

Robin de Jesus (“In the Heights”), Brian Hutchison (“Man and Boy”), Michael Benjamin Washington (“Mamma Mia!”) and Tuc Watkins (“Desperate Housewives”) round out the cast of Mart Crowley’s play, which is considered a theatrical turning point for its unflinching depiction of gay men in pre-Stonewall New York. The title’s 1968 Off Broadway premiere was a sensation, running for more than 1,000 performances.

Bomer (“White Collar,” “The Last Tycoon”), who appeared in Murphy’s movie version of “The Normal Heart” as well as “American Horror Story,” will play Donald, one of the characters who attends the play’s volatile birthday-party gathering. Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”) returns to Broadway following runs in “An Act of God,” “Harvey” and “The Normal Heart,” while Quinto (who plays Harold, the birthday boy) is back after “The Glass Menagerie.” Rannells, who starred in Murphy’s “The New Normal” after his Broadway breakout in “The Book of Mormon,” appeared in last season’s revival of “Falsettos.” One more role, the hustler Cowboy, remains to be cast.

The new production of “Boys in the Band,” timed to the play’s 50th anniversary, will be the second landmark of gay drama to hit Broadway in 2018. The National’s Theater’s revival of “Angels in America,” starring Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield, starts an 18-week run at the Neil Simon Theater in February. (Mantello, the actor-turned-director who staged “Wicked” and will direct this season’s “Three Tall Women,” starred in the original Broadway production of “Angels.”)

“The Boys in the Band” is lined up for a limited 15-week run at the Booth Theater, where the show begins previews April 30 and runs through Aug. 12. The exact opening night — which will be late enough to make “Boys in the Band” one of the first openings of the 2018-19 Broadway season — is yet to be set. The limited run of Steve Martin play “Meteor Shower,” starring Amy Schumer, finishes up at the Booth Jan. 21.

Grey's Anatomy: Bethany Joy Lenz Joins Season 14 Cast for Arc

(10/27/17) Grey’s Anatomy taketh away and now Grey’s Anatomy giveth.

On the heels of Martin Henderson’s out-of-nowhere departure as Nathan, the ABC drama has recruited One Tree Hill grad Bethany Joy Lenz to join the Season 14 cast in a recurring role, TVLine has confirmed. All that is known about the actress’ character is her name: Jenny.

THR.com first broke the news of Lenz’ casting.

Lenz and Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes’ paths (very briefly) crossed three years ago when Lenz was tapped to star in the original pilot for The Catch. The series underwent a major change in direction post-pilot and Lenz’ role was recast. Lenz’ TV credits also include stints on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dexter and, most recently, Colony.

General Hospital Adds Wes Ramsey in November Sweeps Mystery Role

(10/27/17) (tvline.com) August will arrive in November when Wes Ramsey joins General Hospital in a mystery role.

TVLine has learned exclusively that the Guiding Light and CSI: Miami alum is joining ABC’s daytime drama in the role of Peter August. No further details on the character are available, other than his first airdate: Tuesday, Nov. 14 — smack dab in the middle of November sweeps.

The casting comes on the heels of GH vet/favorite Tamara Braun being confirmed to return (though not as Carly).

In addition to his run as GL‘s Sam (where he first met GH‘s own Laura Wright) and CSI: Miami tech Dave Benton), Ramsey’s TV credits include Days of Our Lives, The Event and Charmed. More recently, he recurred as Van on the Crystal Chappell-produced web soap Venice the Series.

This 80s soap star is headlining a new play in N.J.

(10/23/17) (nj.com) For actress Kim Zimmer, 2017 was the summer of dynamic women - and a lot of travel. She's played Kate in "Broadway Bound" in Pennsylvania; Eleanor of Aquitaine in "Lion in Winter" in Michigan; and Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in Massachusetts. Now she'll wrap up the season in New Jersey, starring in the Bickford Theatre's presentation of "Bakersfield Mist."

"Each one has a little bit of Kim in her," said Zimmer, who won four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as Reva between 1985 - 2006 on the now- cancelled soap opera, "Guiding Light." "They're strong, opinionated women. Reva was, too."

"Bakersfield Mist" -- which opens Oct. 26 and runs through Nov. 5 -- is based on the true story of a woman who for years has fought to have the $5 painting she purchased at a thrift store in 1991 authenticated as a work by Jackson Pollock. The story even inspired the 2006 documentary, "Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?" which is the expletive deleted question the painting's owner asked when someone first suggested she was in possession of a masterpiece.

In this fictional version, Zimmer plays Maude, an out-of-work bartender with a drinking problem who buys the artwork in question. Carl Wallnau, Artistic Director of the Centenary Stage Company, plays the art expert who visits Maude's trailer home to examine the painting.

"It's funny and touching. It's insightful. It makes you think," Zimmer said. "I know there are going to be a lot of conversations because the play ends with a big question mark. It asks a lot of question about art in general and about these two people."

While she started her career on the stage and continues to perform in theaters around the country, Zimmer may be best known for her soap opera work. She played Reva Shayne for more than 25 years on "Guiding Light," the country's longest running soap which had its beginnings in radio. Zimmer's Reva had many incarnations, among them a seer, a clone, a time traveler, a Civil War belle and an Amish woman.

"She was a good acting class," Zimmer said of the character. "There were those awkward situations with my kids in school and someone saying, 'My mom said your mom is a slut,' meaning my character is a slut on television. They'd come home and say, 'What's a slut?'"

Zimmer was so important to the show that she was given its last line when its final episode aired in 2009. Josh -- who along with his father and brother had been married to Reva -- asked the character if she was ready to go home. "Always," Zimmer/Reva replied.

"It was lovely," Zimmer said. "I felt very honored."

Bakersfield Mist

Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum

6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown

Tickets: $20-45, available online at http://morrismuseum.org/. Oct. 26-Nov.5, times vary.

Obit: Warren Burton

(10/22/17) (legacy.com) October 23, 1944 - October 2, 2017 Born in Chicago, Illinois, Warren Burton was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Lorraine (nee Stryska) Burton and his sister Gayle Affinito (nee Burton). He is survived by his niece, Victoria Affinito of Chicago, and many loving friends and fans. Warren won a Grammy in 1971 for his work as a writer on Lily Tomlin's "THIS IS A RECORDING" in the category of Best Comedy Recording. He started his TV/Film career in the early 1970's on the made-for-TV movie, "The Girl Most Likely to¿" He went on to star in several daytime soap operas that included the role of Eddie Dorrance on "All My Children" in which he won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor at the 1980 awards broadcast. His other daytime roles have included "Another World," "Guiding Light," and Phillip Hamilton on "Santa Barbara." Burton portrayed Confederate general Henry Heth in the 1993 film Gettysburg. Since the mid 1990s, Burton has been a voice actor for numerous video games including the highly successful "Jak and Daxter" franchise, "Battlezone II: Combat Commander," and "Nox" among several others. Warren was not only a talented actor but one of the kindest souls and will be missed on this earth by all those lucky enough to have known him. A celebration of Warren's life will be held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on November 15, 2017 at 11a.m.

Nashville Video: Juliette's On-Stage Tirade Tees Up Season 6 Premiere

(10/20/17) (Video) When we checked in with Nashville‘s Juliette Barnes at the end of Season 5, she was in a very low place but seemed to be regrouping, reflecting and rebuilding herself as a better person.

Then again, that was a few months ago.

And when the CMT series returns for Season 6 in January, it appears that Ju’s regained her signature spunk… as well as the inability to pass up an opportunity to speak her mind.

“I don’t want your money, I don’t want your attention,” Juliette angrily tells a crowd of concertgoers in the just-released promo above, “and I sure as hell don’t want your love.” (She appears contrite and teary later in the spot, so maybe we’ve got another public apology situation on our hands? How many is that now?)

Ms. Barnes’ outburst isn’t the only noteworthy aspect of the 30-second video. We also get Deacon and Jessie having a possibly flirty phone call (probably with each other), Will giving a stirring speech about art and risk, and Gunnar as a bottle blonde (!).

Frank Grillo, Jamie Bell To Topline ‘Donnybrook’

(10/18/17) Kingdom star Frank Grillo has been tapped to star in brawl film Donnybrook, along with Fantastic Four‘s Jamie Bell, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), and James Badge Dale (Only The Brave). From writer and director Tim Sutton, the film is an adaptation Frank Bill’s 2013 noir novel of the same name. Described as a backwoods version of Fight Club meets No Country For Old Men, the story follows a man, in order to support his family, competes in the Donnybrook, a legendary, bare-knuckle brawl where a $100,000 prize goes to the last man standing. David Lancaster (Whiplash) and Stephanie Wilcox of Rumble Films are producing with Paris-based Backup Media (Submergence), who is fully financing the project. UTA Independent Film Group is reps North American rights. Production commences next week. Grillo is repped by CAA and Management 360; Bell by UTA and Artists Independent Management; Qualley by UTA and Management 360; Dale by CAA and MJ Management.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/14/17) Today – NBC

Wednesday, October 25

(10-11 a.m.) Frank Grillo on Wheelman.

Freeform Developing ‘Tapped’ Drama From ‘PLL’s Marlene King & ‘TVD’s Paul Wesley

(10/13/17) Former The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley has teamed with Pretty Little Liars developer/showrunner I. Marlene King for Tapped, a drama series project, which has been set up at Freeform.

Written by Thomas Brandon based on the novel in progress by Andrew Shaffer (How To Survive A Sharknado), Tapped is described as The Social Network meets Pretty Little Liars. It centers around three grad students who create a hookup app called Tapped that goes viral and turns the students into overnight millionaires, but also unleashes unwitting dangers into the world that the creators must try to understand and control.

King executive produces through her Long Lake Media alongside Wesley and Bob Levy via Citizen Media. Brandon is co-executive producer. Warner Horizon Scripted Television, where both King and Wesley are under overall deals, is the studio.

King developed, executive produced and ran Freeform’s signature drama Pretty Little Liars which wrapped its seven-season run last spring. She’s currently shepherding the Pretty Little Liars’ spinoff The Perfectionists, which received a pilot order at the cable network, along with the Freeform series Famous In Love.

Brandon is an LA-based screenwriter and director who has done several short films, a produced playwright and former Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist. He developed Transience at the CW last season.

Humorist and author Shaffer penned How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters and the Fifty Shades of Grey parody, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey under the pen name Fanny Merkin.

Levy was an executive producer on The Vampire Diaries before teaming with Wesley at Citizen Media. Tapped reunites Levy with King as he also previously served as an executive producer on PLL.

Wesley starred as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. He began directing The Vampire Diaries in its fifth season and began produced the series at the start of season 8. He also directed an episode of Shadowhunters for Freeform.

This is Citizen Media’s second project at Freeform, along with a Shanghai drama written by Oanh Ly. The company is repped by ICM Partners, Management 360 and Jackoway Tyerman. Long Lake Media is repped by WME. Brandon is repped by Paradigm and Lee Stobby Entertainment.

Our history: P&G put the ‘soap’ in 'soap opera'

(10/5/17) (cincinnati.com) Count soap operas among Procter & Gamble’s many successes. P&G was one of the first companies to sponsor daytime serial dramas on the radio in the 1930s to advertise their products to housewives. The shows were associated with sponsors such as P&G’s Oxydol, Duz and Ivory soaps and were dubbed “soap operas.”

P&G was prolific, producing several long-running soap operas for radio and television.

The company first dipped into radio in 1927, underwriting NBC’s “Radio Beauty School” to advertise Camay perfumed soap.

Then, in 1930, Chicago radio station WGN hired Irna Phillips of Dayton to write “Painted Dreams,” a domestic serial drama. The format was appealing to P&G, as research suggested women would prefer to be entertained while they did housework.

P&G had a top-notch radio studio in its own backyard with WLW, broadcasting from the Crosley Building in Camp Washington.

After trying out “The Puddle Family Radio Show” in 1932, P&G sponsored “Ma Perkins” at WLW, starting Aug. 14, 1933. The 15-minute serial was picked up for a nationwide rollout on NBC on Dec. 4, 1933, and production moved to Chicago.

“Ma Perkins,” sponsored by Oxydol laundry soap, starred Virginia Payne of Price Hill as the venerable widow who ran a lumberyard in the small Southern town Rushville Center and raised her three children. “The mother of all soap operas” was produced by Anne and Frank Hummert, the leading soap opera creators in the 1930s and ’40s.

The connection to Oxydol was so strong that the show was often called “Oxydol’s Own Ma Perkins.”

Although Oxydol dropped its sponsorship in 1956, “Ma Perkins” continued until Nov. 25, 1960, when all the remaining radio serials were canceled. The date became known as “the day radio drama died.”

Payne played Ma Perkins in all 7,065 episodes over 27 years. She later performed on Broadway, then moved back to Cincinnati and often appeared in productions for Playhouse in the Park. Payne died in her Clifton home in 1977, at age 67.

P&G sponsored numerous radio shows, including “Perry Mason,” “The Red Skelton Show,” “Truth or Consequences,” “The Road of Life,” “Dreft Star Playhouse” and “Against the Storm,” the only radio drama to win a Peabody Award.

Their most successful production was “The Guiding Light,” a soap opera created by Irna Phillips in 1937, and sponsored by P&G White Naphtha Soap. The series transitioned to television in 1952, but continued to also be broadcast on radio until 1956.

Procter & Gamble Productions produced several soap operas for television:

» “Guiding Light” (1952 to 2009) is listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the longest-running TV drama, running 57 years. Including radio, it ran 72 years, a total of 18,262 episodes.

» “Search for Tomorrow” (1951-86) advertised P&G’s Joy dishwashing liquid and Spic and Span household cleaner.

» “The Brighter Day” (1954-62) was created by Phillips for radio in 1948, and was the only soap with an overt religious theme.

» “The Edge of Night” (1956-84) was conceived as a daytime version of “Perry Mason,” but Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner had a fight with CBS and backed out. Instead, “Edge” was a thinly veiled copy with John Larkin, who portrayed Mason on radio. The show was set in the fictional Midwestern town Monticello, but the opening credits showed the Cincinnati skyline.

» “As the World Turns” (1956 to 2010), Phillips’ sister show for “Guiding Light,” debuted the same day as “The Edge of Night” and became the second-longest running show, lasting 54 years.

» “Another World” (1964-99) was supposed to be a spinoff of “As the World Turns,” thus the name, but it was picked up by a different network.

“As the World Turns” ended its run on Sept. 17, 2010, the last P&G-owned soap opera.

Matt Bomer Joins American Crime Story: Versace — But There's a Twist

(10/2/17) Ryan Murphy has lured frequent muse Matt Bomer to the American Crime Story franchise — but, in a twist, the White Collar alum will not be flexing his acting muscle.

TVLine has learned that Bomer, who has worked with Ryan on Glee, American Horror Story (Freak Show and Hotel), The New Normal and The Normal Heart, will head behind the camera to direct an episode of American Crime Story: Versace. According to sources, Bomer will helm Episode 8. This will mark Bomer’s directorial debut.

The second installment of FX’s Emmy-winning anthology — slated to debut in January — centers on the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) by serial killer Andrew Cunanan (Glee‘s Darren Criss). Murphy recently told reporters that Versace is a much different series then O.J., stylistically. “O.J. was a much more interior show,” he explained. “We spent so much time in that courthouse. Here, we really go across the country. It’s a manhunt season… it has a great breadth and a great scope.”

Bomer most recently starred in the Amazon drama The Last Tycoon, which was cancelled last month after one season.

Daniel Cosgrove Joins ‘You’

(9/20/17) Daniel Cosgrove (Billions) is set for a recurring role in Lifetime’s straight-to-series psychological thriller drama You, from Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble. Written by Berlanti and Gamble based on Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel, You is described as a 21st century love story that asks, “What would you do for love?” When a brilliant bookstore manager Joe (Badgley) crosses paths with an aspiring writer, Beck (Lail), his answer becomes clear: anything. Cosgrove plays Ron, a parole officer who is the neighbor of Joe, and the abusive stepfather with a drinking problem to Paco (Luca Padovan). Cosgrove most recently recurred as Dan Margolis on Showtime’s Billions and also appeared in the 400th episode of Law & Order: SVU directed by Mariska Hargitay. He’s repped by Randy James Management and Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates.

Ricky Paull Goldin Reveals Wife Gretta Monahan Is Pregnant!

(9/20/17) Congratulations are in order for daytime star Ricky Paull Goldin and his wife, Gretta Monahan, because they have welcomed another baby boy into their family! On June 12, Monahan gave birth to their son, Rio just months after they went public with the wonderful news that she was pregnant with their second child.

“Breaking news!” Goldin tweeted back in March. “We are having another Monster… Oops, I mean baby!”

Goldin got his start in daytime as Dean Frame on ANOTHER WORLD, and is best known for his roles as Gus Aitoro on GUIDING LIGHT and Jake Martin on ALL MY CHILDREN. He also had roles on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS as Gary Dawson and THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL as Jesse Torres. More recently, the actor has turned to producing, creating the reality series PROJECT DAD for Discovery Life.

Monahan and Goldlin began dating in 2009, and they have one son, Kai Rei, who is 6 years old and more than ready to become a big brother!

Goldin’s AMC castmate Alicia Minshew (Kendall) clearly already knew the happy news before it was publicly announced, because she tweeted, “Yahoo! Finally the word is out! Can’t wait to meet this child! Congrats, my loves!”

Crystal Chappell, who worked with Goldin on GL when she played Olivia on the CBS sudser posted, “Sweet! Congrats, dear people!” And Rebecca Budig (Greenlee, AMC, later Hayden, GENERAL HOSPITAL) was both surprised and thrilled for her friend. “Whaaat?!” she tweeted. “So happy for you guys! Congratulations!”

ADDITIONAL PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE “69TH PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS,” SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 ON CBS

(9/14/17) Top television talent have been added to the list of presenters for the 69TH PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS, to be broadcast LIVE from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Sunday, Sept. 17 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/5:00-8:00 PM live PT) on the CBS Television Network. The added presenters include Iain Armitage, Alexis Bledel, Rachel Bloom, Matt Bomer, Carol Burnett, Dave Chappelle, Priyanka Chopra, James Corden, Viola Davis, Laura Dern, Mark Feuerstein, Jane Fonda, Jermaine Fowler, Chris Hardwick, Zoë Kravitz, Norman Lear, LL COOL J, Sonequa Martin-Green, Tatiana Maslany, Melissa McCarthy, Seth MacFarlane, Gerald McRaney, Seth Meyers, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kaitlin Olson, Dolly Parton, Sarah Paulson, Jeremy Piven, Issa Rae, Craig Robinson, Gina Rodriguez, Anika Noni Rose, Emmy Rossum, Adam Scott, Lily Tomlin, Cicely Tyson, Gabrielle Union, BD Wong and Shailene Woodley. Also, Christopher Jackson will perform a touching In Memoriam tribute during the show.

As previously announced, Riz Ahmed, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Jason Bateman, Jessica Biel, Edie Falco, Anna Faris, Allison Janney, Rashida Jones, Nicole Kidman, Debra Messing, Lea Michele, Shemar Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Jim Parsons, Tracee Ellis Ross, Adam Scott, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon will also appear as presenters on the show.

Emmy Award winner Stephen Colbert, the multi-talented host of THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, is set to host, marking his first time as master of ceremonies for the event.

The Last Tycoon Cancelled at Amazon

(9/10/17) It’s the end of the road for The Last Tycoon: Amazon has cancelled the Matt Bomer drama after just one season, THR.com reports.

The Last Tycoon was released on July 28 to mixed reviews. Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, the hour-long drama took viewers back to the glory days of Hollywood, as golden boy Monroe Stahr (Bomer) battled his father figure (Frasier‘s Kelsey Grammer) for the soul of their studio; Lily Collins (The Blind Side) and Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) co-starred.

Amazon’s decision to axe The Last Tycoon comes just days after cancelling Z: The Beginning of Everything, which, coincidentally, told the story of Fitzgerald’s wife, fellow novelist Zelda Fitzgerald.

Andy Garcia, Frank Grillo, Tyler Posey to Star in Action Thriller 'Decoy'

(9/8/17) (hollywoodreporter.com) Andy Garcia, Frank Grillo and Teen Wolf star Tyler Posey are teaming up to star in Decoy, an action thriller to be directed by Allan Ungar.

13 Films is handling international sales and will introduce the film to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival. Andrew Gunn (Sky High) and Michael Bien (Billionaire Boys Club) are on board to produce.

Written by David Benullo, the script centers on a young identity thief (Posey) who finds himself being hunted by the NSA after he unwittingly steals the identity of a wanted man. Grillo will play the head of a task force hunting Posey while Garcia will play the CEO of a private defense contractor who is the architect of all of Posey's troubles.

Decoy was featured on the 2014 Hit List, which tracks well-liked spec scripts.

Gunn will produce under his Gunn Films banner while Bien produces via his Cedarvale Pictures shingle. Angela Donald is also producing.

HLP+ Partners Henry Less and Sissy Federer, Tom North, along Tannaz Anisi and Greg Schenz of 13 Films will serve as executive producers. Ben Shahrabani is also exec producing.

Ungar wrote and directed Gridlocked, an action movie throwback that starred Dominic Purcell and Stephen Lang. It was acquired by Netflix last year.

Garcia will next be seen in Dean Devlin's environmental disaster movie Geostorm with Gerard Butler and Ed Harris. He is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Grillo is having a unique moment this summer, co-starring in Wolf Warrior II, the surprise Chinese hit that has made headlines as the second-biggest grossing movie in China ever with $810 million (and counting!). The actor was a key villain in the Captain America movies and will be seen in Joe Carnahan’s Netflix movie, Wheelman. He is repped by CAA and Management 360.

Posey, best known for toplining Teen Wolf for six seasons, recently wrapped the Blumhouse horror movie Truth or Dare, directed by Jeff Wadlow. He is repped by Gersh and 3 Arts.

Ungar is repped by APA, Zero Gravity, and The Characters Talent Agency. Benullo is repped by APA and Quattro Media.

GUIDING LIGHT Faves On Stage

(9/7/17) GL alums Robert Newman (ex-Josh) and Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva) have debuted in the theatre workshop of Nantucket production of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? The play runs through September 30. For more information, visit http://theatreworkshop.com/events/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf or call 508-288-4305.

Peter Hermann Recurs on Blue Bloods - 9/29

(8/31/17) “Cutting Losses” – Danny contemplates retiring until Erin enlists him to help her with a case involving her ex-husband, Jack (Peter Hermann). Also, Jamie and Eddie go undercover as a couple, and Frank butts heads with the new mayor of New York City, Margaret Dutton (Lorraine Bracco), on the eighth season premiere of BLUE BLOODS, Friday, Sept. 29 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

‘The Resident’: Melina Kanakaredes Joins New Fox Medical Drama As Series Regular

(8/25/17) Former CSI: NY star Melina Kanakaredes has been tapped as a new series regular on Fox‘s upcoming medical drama series The Resident.

Written by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, directed by Phillip Noyce and executive produced by Antoine Fuqua, The Resident centers on a tough, brilliant senior resident who guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine.

Kanakaredes will play a new character, Dr. Lane Hunter. As the top oncologist in the state of Georgia, Lane is brilliant, warm and a strong leader who spends every waking moment tending to her patients. However, as the season unfolds, we discover an unexpected complexity in Lane as surprising twists and turns end up driving a harrowing thriller arc.

Kanakaredes joins The Resident cast members Matt Czuchry, Manish Dayal, Bruce Greenwood, Emily VanCamp, Shaunette Wilson and fellow new addition Moran Atias.

Jones and Fuqua executive produce alongside Todd Harthan, Oly Obst and David Boorstein, while Schore and Sethi serve as co-executive producers for 20th Century Fox TV, 3 Arts Entertainment & Fuqua Films.

This marks a return to the medical drama genre for Kanakaredes who toplined on the successful NBC drama Providence and did an arc on ABC’s Private Practice. She also starred opposite Gary Sinise on CBS’ CSI: NY for six seasons and had recurring roles on ABC’s Notorious and NYPD Blue. Kenakaredes is repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment.

Laura Wright Is Crazy About New Boyfriend Wes Ramsey and We Love Them Together

(8/25/17) (abc.soapsindepth.com) (Pic) Back at the end of May, GENERAL HOSPITAL star Laura Wright (Carly) went public with her new romance to actor Wes Ramsey and her fans fell in love. Fans of the actress from her GUIDING LIGHT days might recognize her new beau, because he played Sam Spencer on the beloved CBS sudser during that time.

Wright has been sharing photos of their developing romance on her Instagram, documenting date nights, Fourth of July holidays, and more. And although she didn’t share it at the time, Wright eventually used #FlashbackFriday to share with her fans a look at their very first date, which she called the best ever!

During her family vacation to Italy this summer, the actress shared an older photo of her and Ramsey declaring “Loving Florence, missin’ this rock star” and at the end of the trip another captioned: “So ready to play with this handsome fella.” They’re clearly wildly happy together.

Talk Show Appearance

(8/19/17) CONAN, TBS

Mo 8/21: Brittany Snow

More Stars Joining Y&R’s Melissa Claire Egan’s Event

(8/17/17) Three more daytime stars have been added to Melissa Claire Egan’s (Chelsea, Y&R) event on August 18 that benefits Dharma Rescue for disabled animals. Aside from appearances by Melissa Ordway (Abby, Y&R), Rebecca Budig (ex-Hayden, GH et al) and Tamara Braun (ex-Ava, DAYS et al), fans will also have the chance to meet Y&R’s Joshua Morrow (Nick) and Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael), as well as Chrishell Stause (ex-Bethany, Y&R et al). For tickets and more information, go to daytimefordogs@gmail.com.

Laura Wright Shares the Surprisingly Affordable Secret to Her Gorgeous Curly Hair!

(8/16/17) Daytime star Laura Wright (Carly) has gorgeous blonde, curly hair, but on GENERAL HOSPITAL, you’ll nearly always see her with a sleek, stylish ‘do. And the reason why is because of something the actress learned all the way back when she was playing Cassie on CBS sudser GUIDING LIGHT. “Back then, I had it in my contract that no one could tell me how to do my hair,” she confided to Soaps In Depth. “I know it’s a stupid thing, but they kept blowing out my hair, so I had to put it in my contract.”

However, when John Conboy came aboard as the new executive producer, he was shocked to learn that she’d been given that kind of power and pointed out to Wright that while her luxurious mane certainly looked amazing, it was distracting from her performance! “He said, ‘I love your hair like that,’” she recalled, “‘But it’s all I’m looking at. It’s so big and so beautiful it’s like a hair commercial — I’m not paying attention to anything you’re saying. No one is.’ And he was so right!”

So while the GH hair stylists will blow out her hair, in her day-to-day life, Wright embraces her natural curls and leaves her hair wild and free. Of course, that’s not to say she doesn’t need to use product, and the actress shared her secret on Instagram for her fans who also have curly hair. Surprisingly, it’s not a high-end expensive salon product, either — It’s Garnier Fructis Curl Sculpt Conditioning Cream Gel!

“So many of you have asked me what product I use when my hair is curly,” she posted to Instagram. “Well, here it is. You can find this in any drugstore. How much you use depends on your hair and how you want it to look. I apply and then twist the curls the way I want them to go. I let it dry then I mess it up and make it big and fun! We can own our curls!”

And fans were delighted by the recommendation, reporting back that they’d given the conditioning gel a try and the results were fantastic! “I’ve tried everything,” commented one, “but this definitely has my curls looking good! Thank you for sharing!”

No matter how Wright does her hair, she looks gorgeous. Whether it’s curly, straight, long, short, up or down, she never looks bad.

Crystal Hunt Previews Her Scary New Movie, 'Lycan'

(8/6/17) (abc.soapsindepth.com) Daytime fans remember Crystal Hunt as GUIDING LIGHT’s Lizzie Spaulding or as ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Stacy Morasco, but the actress has taken on an entirely new role behind the cameras now. She is the executive producer of the new horror thriller, Lycan, which will premiere in theaters on Tuesday, Aug. 15!

The film is based on the legend of Emily Isabella Burn, who suffers from a mental illness that leads her to believe that she can shapeshift into a werewolf. “There’s a lot of stories of people who believe that they are slowly in transition to a wolf,” Hunt told Soaps In Depth, “and they’ll start growing out their fingernails and their hair. This was actually a common thing in the United States until they figured out what it was and how to treat it. Bu tit still exists in parts of Central and South America today.”

The film stars Dania Ramirez (DEVIOUS MAIDS) as Emily, one of a group of teenagers sent deep into the woods on a school project where things naturally go horribly wrong! “You never really know what’s going to come to light,” Hunt teased, “especially if a person who has a mental illness doesn’t have their meds in the woods.”

Hunt admitted to being a huge fan of horror movies herself, and confided that filming on location in the woods of Georgia was actually quite scary itself! “We were in the middle of 5,000 acres in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night,” she recalled. “I mean, granted, there’s a lot of people there so it was definitely a lot easier, but I can tell you there is definitely something creepy about being in the middle of nowhere in the pitch dark.”

And producing her very first film has opened the actress’ eyes to the other side of the business. “I have a whole new respect for every producer and all the crap that they have to deal with,” Hunt declared, “like last-minute things that happened right before the cast hits the set for the first time and all of the challenges that come up that you don’t expect and all the things you have to deal with right there and then.”

The film will be in limited release, so click here to find a theater near you.

But you can get a taste of the horror by watching a preview of it right here!

‘Yellowstone’: Dave Annable, Gil Birmingham Set As Leads, Wendy Moniz To Recur In Paramount Network Series

(8/4/17) Brothers & Sisters alum Dave Annable, Gil Birmingham (Hell or High Water) are set as leads, and Wendy Moniz (House of Cards) will recur in Yellowstone, the first original scripted series greenlighted by the new Paramount Network. The straight-to-series period drama starring Kevin Costner is from Oscar-nominated writer/executive producer Taylor Sheridan (Hell Or High Water, Sicario).

Yellowstone, from the Weinstein Company, follows the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, under constant attack by those it borders — land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny — where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations. Cast also includes previously announced Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly.

Annable will play John Dutton’s oldest son Lee, a cowboy, who serves as his father’s right-hand man in running the ranch. Birmingham will portray Thomas Rainwater, a steely and proud Chief of an Indian Nation challenging the Dutton family. Moniz will play Montana Governor Lynelle Perry, who’s convinced John Dutton’s (Costner) son, Jamie Dutton (Bentley) is a natural for the political life.

Annable, known for his lead role as Justin Walker on all five seasons of Brothers & Sisters, will next be seen in two lead roles, in action film Armed Response opposite Wesley Snipes and in Discovery’s Final Vision opposite Scott Foley. He’s repped by UTA and manager Sue Leibman/Barking Dog Entertainment.

Birmingham co-starred in Sheridan’s critically praised film Hell or High Water and recently reunited for the upcoming release, Wind River. On TV, he currently recurs on Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Birmingham is repped by Amsel, Eisenstadt, Frazier & Hinojosa.

Moniz can currently be seen on House of Cards in her second season playing widow Laura Moretti. Her other recent credits include recurring roles on Kingdom for DirecTV and Pure Genius for CBS, as well as the upcoming movie Wheelman for Netflix. She’s repped by Sanders Armstrong Caserta Management and Don Buchwald & Associates.

Yellowstone begins production this month in Utah for premiere on Paramount Network in 2018.

NIA LONG JOINS THE CAST OF “NCIS: LOS ANGELES”

(8/1/17) CBS announced today that Nia Long has joined the cast of NCIS: LOS ANGELES as a series regular. She will be introduced in the ninth season premiere on Sunday, Oct. 1 (9:30-10:30 PM, ET/PT).

Long will play the team’s new executive assistant director, Shay Mosely. As a former Secret Service agent now working for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Mosely is an experienced Washington insider who brings an east coast style and demeanor to the west coast team.

“The character was created specifically for Nia to capitalize on her strengths and personality, and we are excited about the new opportunities and dynamics she brings to the show,” said NCIS: LOS ANGELES executive producer R. Scott Gemmill. “We couldn’t be happier to have her join our family.”

Since making her feature film debut in “Boyz N the Hood,” actress Nia Long has gone on to star in more than 50 movies and television shows. Some of her notable film credits include “Friday,” “Soul Food,” “Love Jones,” “The Best Man,” “Boiler Room,” “Big Momma’s House,” “Alfie,” “Are We There Yet?,” “Big Momma’s House 2,” “The Best Man Holiday” and “Keanu.” Long can next be seen in the indie film “Lemon,” from director Janicza Bravo, which premiered at Sundance and will be released nationwide on August 18. Also, she starred in the Sundance indie “Roxanne Roxanne” and recently wrapped the Sony feature “Life in a Year.”

Long is the ambassador for the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets program, a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. This month, she is traveling to Tanzania for the campaign, to visit the world’s largest refugee camp where she will meet with refugee families and distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets that help keep families safe from the disease.

NCIS: LOS ANGELES stars Chris O’Donnell, LL COOL J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa and Renée Felice Smith. It is produced by CBS Television Studios.

Talk Show Appearance

(7/28/17) Today – NBC

Thursday, August 3

(10-11 a.m.) Ian Ziering & Tara Reid on Sharknado 5. Lori Loughlin on Garage Sale Mystery.

Audiobook Narrated by Soap Star

(7/28/17) The Fix: Amos Decker Book 3 by David Baldacci narrated by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris GL)

The Fix: Amos Decker witnesses a murder just outside FBI headquarters. A man shoots a woman execution style on a crowded sidewalk, then turns the gun on himself.

Even with Decker's extraordinary powers of observation and deduction, the killing is baffling. Decker and his team can find absolutely no connection between the shooter - a family man with a successful consulting business - and his victim, a schoolteacher. Nor is there a hint of any possible motive for the attack.

Enter Harper Brown. An agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency, she orders Decker to back off the case. The murder is part of an open DIA investigation, one so classified that Decker and his team aren't cleared for it.

But they learn that the DIA believes solving the murder is now a matter of urgent national security. Critical information may have been leaked to a hostile government - or, worse, an international terrorist group - and an attack may be imminent.

Decker's never been one to follow the rules, especially with the stakes so high. Forced into an uneasy alliance with Agent Brown, Decker remains laser focused on only one goal: solving the case before it's too late.

Kenneth Jay Lane Dies in New York at 85

(7/21/17) (wwd.com) Costume jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane, 85, died in his New York apartment.

It had not been determined whether he died Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, according to Chris Sheppard, executive vice president of Kenneth Jay Lane Inc.

After attending school at the University of Michigan and Rhode Island School of Design, the Detroit native made his way to New York where he worked on Vogue’s art team in 1954 before venturing into design at Delman Shoes. He later worked for Roger Vivier at Christian Dior before striking out on his own in 1961. As a resourceful young designer, Lane repurposed some of the scrap leather that were not used for Vivier-approved heels and wrapped them around bangles that he had bought from Lamstons, a five-and-dime-type store. Accenting footwear with jewels piqued an interest in costume jewelry design.

Lane changed the landscape of costume jewelry, adding souped-up color, drama, luxury and a wide variety of ethnic motifs, and making it exclusive. Many of his customers combined his pieces with their “real” jewels…and it was often impossible to tell the difference. As he once put it, “Our jewelry is designed for people who want to be noticed.”

The designer would give earrings and pins to his most photographed client Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis that he thought she would like. And former First Lady Barbara Bush wore his three-strand necklace so often she said that, if she took it off, her head would fall off.

Carolina Herrera said Thursday, “Kenny Lane is much more than just the greatest costume jewelry designer in the world. He was a great American personality. He lived his dream because he believed it. He will be missed by all his friends around the world. I love him very much.”

During his many years in fashion, the designer’s pieces were worn by such style setters as Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, Lena Horne, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan. In an interview with WWD last month regarding his loan of 25 paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the designer recalled his days advising his friend Vreeland years ago, by creating an endless number of tiaras and handling the jewelry for The Costume Institute’s exhibitions. “She got these mannequins from Austria, I think, from a company called Schleppe. They were very streamlined, and she would say, ‘I need more Schleppies.’ She was a hoot,” Lane said.

Diane von Furstenberg called Lane “a true friend and a mentor. When I came to New York, he totally took me under his wing…introducing me to buyers and fashion editors. We traveled to Egypt together, he introduced me to orientalist art. He was an amazing talent and a visit to his studio was a most glamorous event.”

“I am truly saddened to lose one of my dear friends,” Tory Burch said. “He was an icon, a true eccentric with a meticulous eye and brilliant sense of humor. Kenny was a loyal friend and truly one-of-a-kind. I loved his honesty, irreverence and his take on just about everything. We often spoke about manners; how handwritten notes should not be obsolete and glasses should never touch during a toast. Kenny had an opinion on many things but I always found him to be modern and on point.”

Lane’s fan base also included Brooke Astor, Princess Margaret, Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, Jacqueline de Ribes, Pamela Harriman and Lee Radziwill. He married a BP, too, Nicola Samuel Waymouth, a red-haired socialite who was a great model for his designs. The marriage was short-lived, due to Lane wanting children, and Waymouth wanting to party. They parted after two years. His jewelry often appeared on such soap operas as “Another World,” “Guiding Light” and “Days of Our Lives.”

“I want to make real jewelry with not-real materials,” Lane once said. “I work in less commercial ways than most manufacturers of costume jewelry. My designs are all original — original from someone. There are original ideas, but a lot of good designing is editorial, choosing what is available idea-wise and applying these ideas practically. I think it’s called ‘having the eye.’ It isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel.”

While an assistant designer at Delman, he started creating jewelry at night. When his night job became more prosperous than his day one, he started his own accessories business in 1961. Creating shoes embellished with sequined balls for Arnold Scaasi, Lane made some earrings to match. They sold, and he began making other accessories. “A whole new group of Beautiful People began to exist,” he said. “They started dressing up, and costume jewelry was rather dull. I believed that it didn’t have to be.”

So he took to dressing the Beautiful People, and with his sharp clothes and quick-witted charm, became one of them. In the Sixties, he sported such sartorial whimsies as white or velvet suits, attending all of the glittery parties of the time, among them Truman Capote’s celebrated Black and White Ball. Lane even landed on Vanity Fair’s International Best-Dressed List in 1974.

An inveterate traveler, he inevitably found inspiration globetrotting and returned to New York with an abundance of keepsakes – glittering dog collars, paisley-patterned jewelry from India with multicolored stones, Balinese earrings with bells on chains, Italian bracelets and rings with classical motifs, pre-Columbian necklaces from Central America, Topkapi-inspired pieces from Istanbul, hieroglyphic-inscribed pendants from Egypt, and dragon-inspired bangles from China.

Art Deco designs were also of particular interest. Lane had the stones he used made in Germany, because he was not impressed with the quality of fake jewels he found elsewhere. He collected Russian cigarette boxes, Asian antiques, bronzes and crystal balls. Just as his interests were plentiful, so was his portfolio, adding licenses for home décor and other products, as well as a robust jewelry line for QVC.

Earlier this summer Lane loaned pieces from the vast art collection that adorned the 26-foot walls of his Upper East Side apartment including works by Horace Vernet, Benjamin-Constant, Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ and Jean-Léon Gérôme to the Met. He became a member of the Costume Institute’s Visiting Committee in 2002 and was also a member of the Venetian Heritage International. A believer that glamour is year-round, Lane said last month, “I don’t exactly do collections — spring, fall, summer, etc. I do whatever comes into my mind whenever it comes in to my mind. That seems to have been working for the last 50 years, so…”

Judy Price, founder and president of the National Jewelry Institute, said Thursday, “When I started the National Jewelry Institute, he said, ‘It wouldn’t work.’ And then who did we get out first gift from — something by Jean Schlumberger from Diana Vreeland.”

Price, who spoke with Lane on the phone every other day, said, “He was an incredible snob but a great pal. He could be difficult but you had to be on your toes. You had to read a lot. You couldn’t go out and just gossip. He was not that kind of guy.”

Much of his career is detailed in the 1996 book “Kenneth Jay Lane: Faking It.” In it, he recalled a glamorous party at Le Pavillion, which happened to take place on the night of the New York blackout of 1965 and continued by candlelight. Nevertheless, the women looked exquisite, many of them in his long earrings, with elaborate hairstyles reminiscent of Marie Antoinette, and the food was, somehow, still wonderful, Lane once said. More recently British filmmaker Gisèle Roman has been shooting a documentary about the gravelly voiced designer titled “Fabulously Fake: The Real Life of Kenneth Jay Lane.” The yet-to-be-released, behind-the-scenes film features von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Joan Collins, Barbara Bush, Anne and Kirk Douglas, Ali MacGraw and Anna Sui, among others.

Lane counted Diana Vreeland as his greatest design influence. He told WWD their first conversation was about “boning” shoes, because he had just bought waxed calf shoes from Lobb, and she pointed out that a rhinoceros horn could not be found in the whole of New York. One of her most important pieces of advice to him, Lane always said, was, “You must always give ideas away. Under every idea is a new one waiting to be born.” For the prolific jewelry designer, that was certainly true.

Talk Show Appearance

(7/19/17) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN - Bravo

Thursday, July 27, 2017 – MATT BOMER

Talk Show Appearance

(7/19/17) THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN - CBS

Thursday, July 27 - Actor Matt Bomer

Talk Show Appearance

(7/18/17) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON - NBC

Tuesday, July 25: Matt Bomer

2017 Emmy Awards Nominations

(7/14/17) LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Viola Davis - How To Get Away With Murder, ABC
Claire Foy - The Crown, Netflix
Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Keri Russell -The Americans, FX Networks
Evan Rachel Wood - Westworld, HBO
Robin Wright - House Of Cards, Netflix

LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Carrie Coon - Fargo, FX Networks
Felicity Huffman - American Crime, ABC
Nicole Kidman - Big Little Lies, HBO
Jessica Lange - Feud: Bette And Joan, FX Networks
Susan Sarandon - Feud: Bette And Joan, FX Networks
Reese Witherspoon - Big Little Lies, HBO

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Pamela Adlon - Better Things, FX Networks
Jane Fonda - Grace And Frankie, Netflix
Allison Janney - Mom, CBS
Ellie Kemper - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep, HBO
Tracee Ellis Ross - Black-ish, ABC
Lily Tomlin - Grace And Frankie, Netflix

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson - Black-ish, ABC
Aziz Ansari - Master Of None, Netflix
Zach Galifianakis - Baskets, FX Networks
Donald Glover - Atlanta, FX Networks
William H. Macy -Shameless, Showtime
Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent, Amazon

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Bayer - Saturday Night Live, NBC
Anna Chlumsky - Veep, HBO
Kathryn Hahn - Transparent, Amazon
Leslie Jones - Saturday Night Live, NBC
Judith Light - Transparent, Amazon
Kate McKinnon - Saturday Night Live, NBC

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louie Anderson - Baskets, FX Networks
Alec Baldwin - Saturday Night Live, NBC
Tituss Burgess - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix
Ty Burrell - Modern Family, ABC
Tony Hale - Veep, HBO
Matt Walsh - Veep, HBO

HOST FOR A REALITY/REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
Alec Baldwin - Match Game, ABC
W. Kamau Bell - United Shades Of America With W. Kamau Bell, CNN
RuPaul Charles - RuPaul’s Drag Race, VH1
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn - Project Runway, Lifetime
Gordon Ramsay - MasterChef Junior, Fox
Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg - Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, VH1.

Daytime Star Kassie DePaiva Marks the Anniversary of Her Cancer Treatment With a Triumphant Photo!

(7/13/17 () A year after announcing that she had been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, daytime star Kassie DePaiva celebrated her remission by sharing a triumphant photo with some of the staff at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. “One year anniversary of treatment,” she posted. “These are the true angels that saved my life. #greatlove”

On World Cancer Day in February, DePaiva announced that she was cancer-free, and in June, revealed that she was back at work as Eve on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. She is also beloved to ABC fans for her role of Blair on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, and also played Chelsea on GUIDING LIGHT at the beginning of her daytime career.

Back in August of 2016, DePaiva opened up about her cancer diagnosis and how it had derailed her return to daytime. “I was asked back to play Eve on DAYS and had begun my exciting return,” she posted on her blog. “During the three-week July hiatus I was diagnosed and have spent six of the last nine weeks in the hospital.

“I will continue treatment over the next three months,” the actress continued. “My prognosis is good. I will not likely need a stem cell/bone marrow transplant, and we expect a complete cure. I consider this just a bump in the road.”

And thankfully, it went just as DePaiva predicted, with her cancer in remission and her stepping out with hubby James DePaiva (Dr. Bensch, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Max, OLTL) at the Emmys in April looking healthy and gorgeous.

At the time of her diagnosis, DePaiva admitted that her illness had been a private matter, but with Eve’s return to DAYS coming up at the time, she had to break her silence. “I felt it was time to let my loving fans know what’s been going on,” she confided. “The DAYS and OLTL family love runs deep. Although I’m unable to be ‘camera ready' now, my goal is to get back to stirring up trouble in Salem soon. Keep me in your thoughts in prayers.”

DePaiva also noted the importance of raising money for research and urged fans to visit CornellLeukemia.com to help contribute, or even go to BeTheMatch.org and learn more about becoming a stem cell/bone marrow donor.

We are delighted that DePaiva is not only in remission, but coming back to DAYS again because we've missed seeing her talent on our screens! And we ask everyone to join us in wishing her all the best for continued good health in the future.

Emme Rylan Chose the Most Beautiful Baby Name for Her New Daughter!

(7/7/17) (Pic1, Pic2) Congratulations to GENERAL HOSPITAL star Emme Rylan (Lulu) who finally gave birth to her baby girl on June 26! Rylan and partner Don Money weren’t the only ones eagerly anticipating the arrival of this little angel — Jackson and Levi were excited to become big brothers! “Our daughter is here and we are so utterly in love with her!” she declared happily. “I should be sleeping while she is sleeping but I am still so excited!” While the actress shared a photo of the precious newborn, it took them almost a week before they revealed their daughter's name!

On July 2, Rylan shared another beautiful photo of her baby girl and finally revealed the name that they had chosen for her: Dakota Rose! “We are wildly in love,” she posted, adding the hashtag “#ourfamilyiscomplete.”

Leading up to the birth, Rylan had been sharing tons of photos of her growing baby bump on her Instagram, and that little girl was growing out of control! “The doctor is guessing that she will weigh nine-and-a-half pounds,” the expectant mom posted at the time. “Might be why the last three strangers I’ve passed have congratulated me on the twins.”

Rylan also admitted that at the end of her pregnancy, she had been spending quite a lot of time in their backyard pool. “It’s the only way to hold this belly up!” she joked. “Monday the eviction notice will officially be served.”

The actress’ third pregnancy got off to a rough start when morning sickness segued into stomach flu, and then turned into strep throat! But despite the difficult beginning and uncomfortable ending, Rylan admitted that her third child was much easier because now she knew what to expect. “I’m not scared or overthinking things,” she admitted to Soaps In Depth.

Surprisingly, Rylan will not be taking maternity leave from GH, instead lumping her two week vacation in with the soap’s scheduled three week hiatus in July so that she will have a full month to get her little girl settled in her new home before returning to work. “I’m going to bring her,” the actress confided. “I usually work a couple of days a week.”

Best wishes to the entire family, and we can’t wait to see all the adorable baby pictures as the proud mama shows her off on Instagram!

Battle of the Network Stars: Primetime Soaps vs. ABC Stars (7/20)

(7/4/17) “Primetime Soaps vs. ABC Stars” – The revival of “Battle of the Network Stars,” based on the ‘70s and ‘80s television pop-culture classic, will continue on THURSDAY, JULY 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. The original series from ABC Sports began in 1976 and continued for 13 years. The new “Battle of the Network Stars” will be a nostalgic throwback to the original series where TV celebrities blended athleticism with hilarious antics.

Here are the teams for this new episode (* = returning to “Battle of the Network Stars”):

Primetime Soaps (Ian Ziering, Josh Henderson, Gabrielle Carteris, *Donna Mills, Mischa Barton)

vs.

ABC Stars (*Olivia d’Abo, *Shari Belafonte, Michael Fishman, Jason Hervey, Anson Williams)

Emme Rylan Reveals Baby's Name

(7/2/17) Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH) welcomed a daughter on June 26, and she revealed her name on Instagram: Dakota Rose Money (Dad is Rylan’s longtime love, Don Money). She joins big brothers Jackson, 7, and Levi, 5. “We are wildly in love!! #ourfamilyiscomplete,” wrote Rylan.

‘My Little Pony’ Trailer: There’s Trouble In Ponyville, But The Mane 6 Are On The Case

(6/29/17) (Video) Hasbro already has been to the movies with its Ouija, G.I. Joe and, of course, Transformers properties, and now it’s moving from action and horror to, well, My Little Pony. Here’s the first trailer for the animated pic inspired by the popular 1980s toy line.

Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Liev Schreiber, Michael Peña, Sia, Taye Diggs, Uzo Aduba and Zoe Saldana headline the voice cast for the movie from director Jayson Thiessen, who has worked on a number of Pony projects in recent years. Logline? Glad you asked: A dark force threatens Ponyville, and the Mane 6 – Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity – embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria, where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.

And if you think the target demo is young girls, consider the “Bronies” — men ages 13 to 30 who are obsessed with the franchise. There was even a documentary about them that played Tribeca a few years back. You can check out that trailer here.

Meanwhile, My Little Pony features songs by original music and songs performed by Sia, Diggs, Saldana, Aduba, Chenoweth and Blunt, if you’re scoring along at home. Lionsgate opens the film from Allspark Pictures and DHX Media in barns, er, theaters on October 6. Check out the trailer above, and tell us what you think.

‘Tremors’ Reboot Starring Kevin Bacon From Blumhouse Gets Syfy Pilot Order

(6/26/17) The long-gestating Tremors reboot, headlined by original star Kevin Bacon, is a go, Syfy has given a pilot order to the project, from Universal Cable Productions and Blumhouse Television, with Kevin Bacon reprising his role from the 1990 cult classic film of the same name.

In the new Tremors written by Andrew Miller (The Secret Circle), the killer Graboid worms that nearly destroyed Perfection, Nevada 25 years ago are back, and the town’s only hope for survival is Valentine McKee (Bacon) who beat them once. But to do it again he’ll have to overcome age, alcohol and a delusional hero complex.

Miller, who serves as showrunner, executive produces along with Bacon and David Schiff (Southpaw).

“This is the only character I’ve played that I’ve ever thought about revisiting. I just got to thinking, where would this guy end up after 25 years?” said Bacon. “Andrew Miller has a fantastic take on it and we hope to create a show that will be fun and scary for fans of the movie and folks that have yet to discover it. Let’s kick some Graboid ass!”

Bacon signaled his interest in revisiting Tremors in a May 2015 interview. He teamed with Miller, Blumhouse and UCP for a reboot series later that year, with Syfy as a possible home.

“We are so pleased to continue our partnership with Syfy and UCP in reviving this cult classic with none other than Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee; we look forward to thrilling original fans and new audiences alike,” said Jason Blum, who also has the high-profile Purge series at UCP, which will be shared by Syfy and USA Network.

The 1990 film from Universal Pictures, directed by Ron Underwood and also starring Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire, grossed a modest $16.6 million domestically but developed a cult following. It spawned a previous TV spinoff, Tremors: The Series, which aired for one season in 2003, on then-Sci-Fi Channel.

SHARON LEAL JOINS THE CAST OF NEW DRAMA SERIES “INSTINCT”

(6/23/17) CBS announced today that Sharon Leal has joined the cast of the new drama series INSTINCT, set to premiere during the 2017-2018 season. INSTINCT follows Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming), a former CIA operative who is lured back to his old life by tenacious NYPD detective Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) when she needs his help to stop a serial killer. Leal will portray a friend of Lizzie’s who has recently been promoted to be their boss in the NYPD. The drama is based on the soon-to-be-published James Patterson book.

Leal starred in the CBS drama pilot “The Untitled Jenny Lumet Project” and is known to audiences for her roles in films such as “Dreamgirls,” “Why Did I Get Married?” and “Addicted.” Next, she will be seen in the Netflix feature “Amateur.” Her additional television credits include “Supergirl,” “Boston Public” and “Hellcats.”

Soap stars Adrienne Frantz and Scott Bailey are ready to part with Studio City home

(6/23/17) (latimes.com) Soap opera stars Adrienne Frantz and Scott Bailey have put their home in Studio City on the market for $2.695 million.

Recently remodeled, the Spanish-vibe house with a clay-tile roof sits on what was once part of the Hollywood Country Club.

The multilevel home has more than 5,600 square feet of interior space that includes an updated kitchen, a living room with a wet bar and a gym with a rock-climbing wall. In the dining room, a bookcase conceals a secret recording studio and wine vault.

The updated master suite, among a total of four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, boasts a rain shower and a jetted soaking tub. A 1,300-square-foot guest apartment is situated on the lower level.

Outdoors, there’s plenty of deck space and steps leading through the tiered grounds. Also on the property is a detached office/bonus space.

The property last changed hands in 1999 for $654,500, public records show.

Morgan Gonzalez of Keller Williams Realty holds the listing.

Frantz, 39, is known for her appearances in “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless.” Her other television credits include “Justified” and “That ‘70s Show.”

Bailey, 38, gained fame for his television roles in “Guiding Light” and “Saints & Sinners.” More recently he starred as Nathan Perkins in the Web series “The Bay.”

Laura Wright Opens up About Her Divorce and New Romance!

(6/22/17) (abc.soapsindepth.com) There’s no getting around it — GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Laura Wright went through the ringer when she and her husband, John, decided to separate after 20 years of marriage.

Two years after their separation, the friendly exes made the split official in the spring of 2016 and Wright was ready to face whatever life throws at her. “It's been such a journey of the marriage ending and having to walk as a single woman again,” marveled the actress, opening up about her experience to Soaps In Depth. “I'm so excited to share and talk about things, because my biggest thing is I want to be a resource to other people.

“We're all going to have painful things happen in life,” Wright continued. “It’s about whether or not you sit in the suffering. There are so many ways to work through that. Even a conversation can help — because the ones I had with people helped me! Every little bit helps.”

Wright and her husband were married on October 7, 1995, and had two beautiful children together: Lauren (18) and John (16). The proud mom recently celebrated Lauren’s graduation from Santa Ynez Valley High School.

Immediately following the divorce, Wright insisted that she was enjoying having some “me time” as a single lady. “I have a big picture of what I want from life now,” she declared, “and I’m still discovering things I like. I don’t want to be distracted by instant gratification or an old pattern of needing attention.”

But nearly a year later, on May 29, Wright posted a photo on her Instagram introducing her fans to the new man in her life, former GUIDING LIGHT castmate Wes Ramsey (Sam) using hashtags like “#lifeisbeautiful” and “#newbeginnings.”

Wright confided that her divorce was amicable, and she and John still co-parent their teenage children. “He’s still my best friend,” she revealed. “He’s an amazing father. We’re great parents and we do it together.”

The actress seems to have found a way to have it all — love, family, and a career — and she couldn’t be happier. “All of this came from me climbing back up from my marriage ending,” Wright concluded. “It was sad and difficult to go, ‘Now What, Laura?’ But it turns out “Now what’ is freaking awesome! I’m learning so much about who I am!”

Soap Fave Welcomes Baby No. 2

(6/19/17) Congratulations to Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus, GUIDING LIGHT et al) and Gretta Monahan, who welcomed a second son, Rio, on June 12. On Instagram, Monahan posted a Father’s Day message to the actor, with a photo of the newborn and his big brother, Kai, 6. “#1 Daddy X2 this year! @rickygoldin our hero we love you so very much! #HappyFathersDay #Kai&Rio #GoldinBoys #6years6daysold #brothers #besties,” she wrote. Check out the pics here: Pic1, Pic2.

Daytime Emmys Agnes Nixon Tribute (Extended Version)

(6/16/17) (Video) The iconic creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, Agnes Nixon, is honored in this tribute to her career, her legacy, and the soap operas she made famous by many of the actors who played beloved characters within them including: Erika Slezak, Thorsten Kaye, Michael E. Knight, Peter Bergman, Kim Delaney, Eden Riegel, Robert S. Woods, Darnell Williams, Cameron Mathison, Brynn Thayer and Andrea Evans.

Produced by Michael Fairman, with deep respect, appreciation, and love for Agnes, the cast of AMC and OLTL, and the fans, The Michael Channel brings you this one-of-a-kind special retrospective.

The shorter version of this retrospective appeared on the 44th Annual Daytime Emmys Ceremonies this past April.

Talk Show Appearance

(6/16/17) The Chew – ABC

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28 – “SUMMER PICNIC POTLUCK” – Frank Grillo (“Kingdom”) learns how to make Mexican Street Corn Salad with Mario Batali

‘Anything’ First Look: Matt Bomer Stars As Transgender Woman In L.A Film Festival Movie

(6/14/17) (Video) Matt Bomer and John Carroll Lynch topline Anything, a drama from first-time feature director Timothy McNeil that stars Bomer as a transgender woman who falls in love with a straight man. This is the first look at the Mark Ruffalo-exec produced pic, which has its world premiere this weekend in the LA Muse section of the Los Angeles Film Festival.

The movie saw some criticism when it was first unveiled last summer, with some in the trans community questioning casting a non-trans actor for the part. Ruffalo has defended Bomer, saying he eyed him for the part after the “profound experience” he had working with him onscreen in HBO’s The Normal Heart.

The story centers on Early Landry (Lynch), who after losing his wife is forced to move to Los Angeles so he can be cared for by his over-protective sister (Maura Tierney), but escapes her clutches to start a new life in Hollywood. He quickly becomes enamored by his neighbor, Freda (Matt Bomer). His loneliness and need for companionship opens his heart to a remarkable new relationship, but their growing affection must be reconciled with the complexity of their disparate backgrounds. Melora Hardin, Micah Hauptman and Margot Bingham also star.

The clip features an interaction between Freda and Early in the pic shot by Moonlight‘s Oscar-nominated cinematographer James Laxton. Louise Runge, Ofrit Peres, Kylene Steele and Hauptman are producers, and Ruffalo, Scott Wexler and Great Point Media’s Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve are exec producers. UTA is repping worldwide sales at the fest.

Anything has its world premiere Saturday at 3 PM at the Arclight Cinema in Santa Monica.

Battle of the Network Stars Full Cast Announced

(6/12/17) This is either going to be really good or so bad, it’s great. But either way, ABC’s relaunch of Battle of the Network Stars (premiering Thursday, June 29 at 9/8c) is looking like the summer’s must-see — especially since on Tuesday the full list of competitors was released.

Here’s the full list of stars competing on the 20 teams that will, in different episodes, do their damnedest to avoid “the agony of defeat”:

TV Sitcoms (Bronson Pinchot, Tom Arnold, Dave Coulier, AJ Michalka, Tracey Gold) vs. TV Kids (Joey Lawrence, Corbin Bleu, Nolan Gould, Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields)

Primetime Soaps (Ian Ziering, Josh Henderson, Gabrielle Carteris, Donna Mills, Mischa Barton) vs. ABC Stars (Olivia d’Abo, Shari Belafonte, Michael Fishman, Jason Hervey, Anson Williams)

Variety (Joanna Krupa, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Gilles Marini, Jack Osbourne) vs. TV Sex Symbols (Keegan Allen, Traci Bingham, Rosa Blasi, Brant Daugherty, Galen Gering)

Cops (Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Kelly Hu, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Lorenzo Lamas) vs. TV Sitcoms (Todd Bridges, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Dave Foley, Willie Garson, Jenna von Oy)

White House (Cornelius Smith Jr., Marlee Matlin, Joshua Malina, LaMonica Garrett, Mary McCormack) vs. Lawyers (Elisabeth Rohm, Corbin Bernsen, Matt McGorry, Romi Dias, Catherine Bell)

TV Moms & Dads (Chad Lowe, Greg Evigan, Ted McGinley, Lesley Fera, Jackee Harry) vs. TV Kids (Jimmie Walker, Mackenzie Phillips, Jonathan Lipnicki, Krista Marie Yu, Jeremy Miller)

Famous TV Families (Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, Beverley Mitchell, Willie Aames, Charlene Tilton) vs. Doctors (Thomas Calabro, Taye Diggs, Rachelle Lefevre, Deidre Hall, Benjamin Hollingsworth)

Troublemakers (Vivica A. Fox, Paul Johansson, John Barrowman, Julie Benz, Catherine Bach) vs. TV Lifeguards (David Chokachi, Brande Roderick, Parker Stevenson, Nicole Eggert, Gena Lee Nolin)

ABC Stars (Ted Lange, Troy Gentile, Jill Whelan, Denise Richards, Joely Fisher) vs. Variety (Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Adrienne Houghton, Cameron Mathison, Kelly Osbourne)

Cops (Marisol Nichols, Roma Maffia, Adrian Zmed, Fred Dryer, Ryan Paevey) vs. Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Lou Ferrigno, Vinnie Jones, Charisma Carpenter, Kevin Sorbo, Jill Wagner)

Talk Show Appearance

(6/9/17) Steve Harvey (Syndicated)

Wed 6/14

Frank Grillo (``Kingdom'')

Joan Collins lists Hollywood condo for $4.5M

(6/9/17) There’s nothing like Dame Joan Collins’ cool condo in West Hollywood, CA, which the “Dynasty” star has listed for $4.5 million.

“It’s definitely the height of Hollywood glamour,” says listing agent Josh Greer, of Hilton & Hyland.

The 2,300-square-foot condo is on the 25th floor of Sierra Towers, a high-rise apartment complex that rests on the line between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

The apartment, which Collins bought in 2007 for $2.7 million, boasts views of the Hollywood Hills and, on a clear day, the Pacific Ocean. The corner unit currently has two bedrooms, three baths and a closed-in kitchen. However, a buyer will likely gut the place and reimagine it to their liking — a common occurrence in the complex, which was built in 1965.

“With this level of buyer, they come in and blow it out, do their own thing,” says Greer, who also lives in the complex and is the go-to agent for any activity in this luxe high-rise. Greer notes that maneuvers to get the right layout are common. “People will buy one in hopes they can get the one next door. It’s a chess game.”

Collins, who at 84 shows little signs of aging, has had a show business career that spans seven decades. She is best known for portraying Alexis Carrington Colby on the 1980s prime-time TV soap “Dynasty.”

Allison Janney delivers $250K check to Planned Parenthood

(6/7/17) Allison Janney, star of “Mom,” and Gemma Baker, a creator and executive producer of the hit CBS sitcom, paid a visit on Tuesday to Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards.

They came to deliver a check for $250,000, a tidy sum they said would otherwise have been spent on a promotional campaign for “Mom” to woo Emmy judges before the nominations are announced on July 13.

“We don’t NOT want to be considered for Emmys,” Janney hastened to explain. “But we decided to use the money instead to support Planned Parenthood.”

Gathered in Richards’ office in lower Manhattan, the three women found they had a lot to talk about, such as why a TV comedy might have shared interests with a health care organization.

“It just made sense,” Baker said. “We have an all-female cast, and it’s what our show does: We deal with serious issues. Our characters have dealt with teen pregnancy and breast cancer and sexual assault. This just seemed like a way of standing with an organization that is providing health care to millions of women.”

“It’s not just about our donation,” Janney added, “but also to raise awareness of what’s happening, and encourage other people to donate as well.”

Richards said, “There’s a lot of anxiety among women right now, particularly in the heartland of America where they are desperately concerned about losing access to affordable health care. I think it’s really great when they see an iconic star like Allison on a program like this dealing with the same issues that we deal with in our clinics every day.”

Janney said her great-grandmother worked with Margaret Sanger, the pioneering birth-control activist who established what became Planned Parenthood. Janney’s grandmother also worked with Planned Parenthood. So did her mother.

“This organization has been close to me and my family for a long time,” she said.

Even so, most TV series don’t choose to associate themselves with an organization that, especially these days, is taking political heat.

“But our show deals with many issues that are polarizing to a lot of people,” Janney pointed out. Starting its fifth season this fall, “Mom” stars Janney as a recovering drug and alcohol addict who has reunited with her long-estranged daughter (co-star Anna Faris), herself a single mother, too, who has battled substance abuse.

“I think for most of the viewers who are hard-core fans of ‘Mom,’ our support of Planned Parenthood will give them all the more reason to watch,” said Janney, who has won two Emmys for her performance.

“It’s not incidental that Gemma and Allison are women at the top of their procession,” Richards said. “That speaks to a lot of women who maybe come to Planned Parenthood because they’re just trying to figure out how to take that next step.”

The support-from-“Mom” initiative arose with Chuck Lorre, the sitcom mogul who co-created and co-exec-produces “Mom” with Baker.

“I’m proud to work for a man who came up with that idea and made it happen,” said Baker before citing her own past link with Planned Parenthood: “Twenty years ago, I worked in the national office in fundraising.” To be back in its headquarters, she said, felt like homecoming.

Richards said the number of sustaining donors who contribute monthly had quintupled since the election.

“We’ve been in the cross-hairs of this Congress and this White House for the last several months,” she said. “But women all across this country can’t believe that an organization that is providing health care to one in five women in America is now at risk of not being able to serve patients anymore. We’re fighting very hard to keep that from happening.”

Laura Bell Bundy Is Married! Get All the Details on Her Custom Sherri Hill Wedding Dress

(6/4/17) (Photo) It’s official!

Laura Bell Bundy, the actress, singer and Broadway star (she played Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde musical!) married Thom Hinkle, an executive at TBS. The two tied the knot during a country-themed ceremony in the infield at the Santa Anita Park, a horse racetrack in Arcadia, California, on Saturday in front of family and friends.

And like any true horse racing fan, she abided by a very festive dress code. Bundy chose a custom Sherri Hill gown that featured all-over lace, beading along the bodice, a strapless sweetheart neckline and a long, elegant mermaid-style train.

“I knew I wanted a dress that was more sexy and slinky than ‘Cinderella goofy’ or big,” Bundy tells PeopleStyle exclusively. “The dress is elegant with some beading detail and also has a simplicity to it which I wanted.”

Bundy visited Hill in her Atlanta showroom to design the gown in April and with just one fitting, received the dress by mid-May. “That was my only fitting before I got the dress — naturally, I was quite anxious,” Bundy says. “I received the dress on May 12th, and had it altered by the seamstress on the set of Good Behavior.”

As for her bridal accessories, she chose a floral wreath by the Crown Collective with a white veil flowing in the back. “I wanted to add more white to my look once I saw the neutral underlay on the dress,” the star explains.

Bundy wore Hey Lady pumps featuring floral details on the heels and earrings and bracelet by Brooke Worthington Jewelry.

Bundy announced her engagement on December 31, 2015 by showing off her blinding ring in a heartfelt Instagram post writing that she knew Hinkle was the one when he “switched from Scotch to KY Bourbon.”

She wrote: “He is my rock. My Partner. My Best Friend. My roomie. My champion. My greatest most fun challenge. My make-out Partner. He’s the reason to my rhyme & he’s attempting to make me an honest woman.”

Matt Bomer's Last Tycoon Gets First Trailer, Premiere Date at Amazon

(6/3/17) (Video) Amazon will return to the early days of Hollywood this summer with a former White Collar criminal.

The streaming service on Friday announced that new period drama The Last Tycoon, starring Matt Bomer and Frasier‘s Kelsey Grammer, will premiere all nine Season 1 episodes on Friday, July 28.

Based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Last Tycoon is inspired by the life of film mogul Irving Thalberg, and follows Hollywood golden boy Monroe Stahr (Bomer) “as he battles father figure and boss, Pat Brady (Grammer) for the soul of their studio,” per the official synopsis. “In a world darkened by the Great Depression and the growing international influence of Hitler’s Germany, The Last Tycoon illuminates the passions, violence, and towering ambition of 1930s Hollywood.”

Lily Collins (The Blind Side), Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara), Dominique McElligott (House of Cards) and Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire) round out the cast, which also features guest stars Jennifer Beals (Taken) and Eion Bailey (Once Upon a Time). Billy Ray (Captain Phillips) and Christopher Keyser (Tyrant) serve as executive producers.

Days of Our Lives' Kassie DePaiva to Return Following Leukemia Battle

(6/3/17) Kassie DePaiva is now cancer-free, and that means it’s time for Days of Our Lives‘ Eve to start mixing it up in Salem again.

The actress, who last appeared onscreen in February 2016, had planned a return to the NBC soap later that year but had to take a leave of absence last summer following a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

“I consider this just a bump in the road,” she wrote on her blog at the time. “I have amazing prayer warriors, family, and friends that have been extremely supportive and life-affirming throughout this.”

In February, the One Life to Live alum announced some good news via social media: “Today is #WorldCancerDay, and I am grateful to say I am cancer-free.”

Per Soap Opera Digest, DePaiva is now filming episodes of the long-running daytime drama. Those episodes are slated to air in late September.

Talk Show Appearance

(6/2/17) The Talk - CBS

Friday, June 9

“Summertime Santa Giveaways” with travel must-haves presented by actor Lawrence Saint-Victor (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

Sharknado 5: Official Title, Cast List (Clay Aiken?!) Revealed

(6/2/17) The annual comedy-horror show known as Sharknado is about to wash ashore.

Syfy on Thursday announced the official title, tagline and cast list for the fifth installment of its seafaring camptastrophe, which will make landfall on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 8/7c.

Underscoring its international theme, the latest sequel will be titled Sharknado 5: Global Swarming. Curiously, the Trump-inspired tagline — “Make America Bait Again!” —is decidedly U.S.-centric.

In chapter 5, “the mission gets personal for Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) and his bionic wife, April (Tara Reid) when their young son gets trapped in a traveling ‘nado and transported all over the world. From London to Rio, Tokyo, Rome, Amsterdam and beyond, our globetrotting heroes will seek assistance from a highly-skilled squad of royals, scholars and Olympians, enlisting famous faces from news, entertainment, and sports in their most epic battle yet.”

The list of cameos is as eclectic as ever. Global Swarming will feature appearances by Fabio (as the Pope), Tony Hawk (as a masterful weapons operative strategist), Clay Aiken (as a cutting edge technology genius), Margaret Cho (as a fussy bride whose honeymoon is interrupted by sharks), Charo (as the Queen of England), and the list goes on.

Novels Read By Soap Stars

(5/31/17) The Chalk Artist by Allegra Goodman audiobook read by Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL)

Collin James is young, creative, and unhappy. A college dropout, he waits tables and spends his free time beautifying the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his medium of choice: chalk. Collin’s art captivates passersby with its vibrant colors and intricate lines—until the moment he wipes it all away. Nothing in Collin’s life is meant to last. Then he meets Nina. . . .

The daughter of a tech mogul who is revolutionizing virtual reality, Nina Lazare is trying to give back as a high school teacher—but her students won’t listen to her. When Collin enters her world, he inspires her to think bigger. Nina wants to return the favor—even if it means losing him.

Against this poignant backdrop, Allegra Goodman paints a tableau of students, neighbors, and colleagues: Diana, a teenage girl trying to make herself invisible; her twin brother, Aidan, who’s addicted to the games produced by Nina’s father; and Daphne, a viral-marketing trickster who unites them all, for better or worse.

Wise, warm, and enchanting, The Chalk Artist is both a finely rendered portrait of modern love and a celebration of all the realms we inhabit: real and imagined, visual and virtual, seemingly independent yet hopelessly tangled.

Michael Ogiens Dies: Producer & Longtime CBS Programming Exec Was 69

(5/31/17) Michael Ogiens, a longtime CBS programming executive who also produced telefilms, served as MTM Productions president and created TV’s The Lazarus Man starring Robert Urich, died May 25. He was 69.

A Los Angeles native, Ogiens began his executive career at CBS, spending 14 years between its New York and Los Angeles offices. As VP Daytime Programs, he supervised production on such soap operas and game shows as The Young and The Restless and The Price Is Right. After a stint as VP Daytime and Children’s Programming, he pivoted to primetime as VP Programs, where he was tasked with boosting East Coast production. Shows launched under his watch included 1984 comedies Kate and Allie and Charles in Charge and the 1985 drama Foley Square.

He then relocated back to Los Angeles to serve as CBS’ VP Comedy Development, working on such series as the movie spinoff Fast Times and pilots for My Sister Sam and Designing Women. The latter sitcom launched in fall 1986 but didn’t gain real traction until the 1989-90 season, when it broke into the year-end primetime top 25. The series starring Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Jean Smart and Annie Potts as Southern women who launch an interior-decorating business in Atlanta went on to finish the 1990-91 season as the No. 11 series in primetime and rose to No. 6 the following season.

Ogiens went on to found the Ogiens/Kane Company with his former CBS colleague Josh Kane. Together they developed and produced series and movies for network, cable and syndication including ABC’s The Young Riders, CBS’ Trenchcoat in Paradise, AMC’s The Lot and USA’s Into the Badlands. During that time, Ogiens also created TNT’s The Lazarus Man, a short-lived 1996 Western starring Urich as a man with amnesia who crawls out of a Southern grave after the Civil War wearing a Confederate uniform but carrying a Union revolver and sets out to finds out why he was buried alive.

Ogiens then was named as president of MTM Productions, where during his tenure it produced such series as The Pretender, Orleans and Good News along with multiple telefilms and game shows. His most recent credits include exec producing the 2015 TV movies All of My Heart and A Country Wedding and last year’s Love You Like Christmas.

New Beau For GH Star

(5/31/17) Laura Wright (Carly, GH) revealed on Instagram that there is a new man in her life: Wes Ramsey, who appeared on GL as Sam and DAYS as Owen. “Hey Hey so this is @wes_ramsey,” she wrote alongside a photo of the pair, adding, “#lifeisbeautiful #newbeginnings #crazy[love] #grateful #happyMe”.

Soap Alum To Make Music Video With Your Help

(5/26/17) Morgan Englund (ex-Dylan, GUIDING LIGHT) left the entertainment business behind to become an EMT/fireman, but is now pursuing a career in music full-time. Englund has written, “Homeward Bound” (“A Firefighter’s Song”), an homage to those first responders who put their lives on the line every day, and now he wants to make a music video of his anthem by raising the $10,000 needed for production costs. “I plan to debut the song and video in concert with the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, a charity that benefited me when I was with the department, to raise money and awareness for their amazing cause,” explains Englund. To contribute to the making of this video, click here.

Talk Show Appearance

(5/25/17) The Talk - CBS

Friday, June 2

THE TALK debuts “Summertime Santa Giveaways” with actor Lawrence Saint-Victor (CBS’ THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) unveiling travel must-haves

Talk Show Appearance

(5/25/17) The Talk - CBS

Thursday, June 1

Actor Kevin Bacon discusses his new television series

Laura Bell Bundy Joins ‘Good Behavior’

(5/25/17) Anger Management alumna Laura Bell Bundy is set for a recurring role on the upcoming second season of TNT drama series Good Behavior, from writer-showrunner Chad Hodge and Tomorrow Studios. Based on a series of books by Blake Crouch, Good Behavior tells the story of Letty Raines (Michelle Dockery), a thief and con artist whose life is always one wrong turn or one bad decision from implosion. Bundy will play Carin, an upscale suburban mother who’s heavily involved in her daughter’s school. When she meets her new neighbors, Letty and Javier (Juan Diego Botto), she’s quickly drawn into their web, and it’s not long before Letty exploits Carin’s deep-seated desire to rebel. Bundy played the series regular role of Dr. Jordan Denby on Anger Management and recurred on Scream Queens and Hart of Dixie. She’s repped by WME and Haven Entertainment.

Hayden Panettiere Childhood NY Home Hits The Market

(5/16/17) (Pics) The home Hayden Panettiere was living in when she was breaking into showbiz as a child star is now on the market for $1.75 million.

The crib's in Palisades, New York ... a ritzy suburban enclave where Angelina Jolie grew up, and stars like Bill Murray, Diane Sawyer and Al Pacino have also lived.

Hayden's folks bought the 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home in 1995. It sits on a quaint suburban lot, surrounded by trees and it's just a short walk away from the Hudson River.

Interesting timing on the sale ... Hayden's parents went through a nasty 8-year divorce that finally ended last April. It's unclear whether mom or dad gets the dough from the house. It's still registered in both their names.

Fun fact: When her folks bought this place, Hayden was playing Sarah Roberts on "One Life to Live" ... at the age of 6!

Kevin Bacon still struggles with handling money

(5/11/17) After bringing home the bacon, Kevin Bacon has trouble handling his earnings.

“My parents weren’t wealthy, and they didn’t really teach us much about money,” the “I Love Dick” actor told Wealthsimple, the automated investment company.

In an interview on the firm’s website, Bacon tells how he moved to New York City with no money and had various jobs — busboy, waiter and working in a warehouse — before making it big.

“It took me a long time to come around to the idea that you have to have a kind of responsibility with money, to keep an eye on it. To a certain extent, I still kind of struggle with it.”

He doesn’t lie. Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, were victims of Bernie Madoff.

Sedgwick didn’t lose her sense of humor and joked at the time, “I always thought, ‘We’re so boring. We should be in the tabloids more. C’mon honey, let’s have a scandal.’?”

Talk Show Appearance

(5/5/17) The Chew - ABC

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 – “WEEKNIGHT WOWS” – The incredible Kevin Bacon (“I Love D*ck”) teams up with Mario Batali to make a dish that dazzle

Matt Bomer Shares His Coming Out Story: ''It Was Time to Live My Life Truthfully''

(5/3/17) Matt Bomer recently sat down with Andrew Rannells and OUT Magazine to give his take on the coming out process.

Before telling his family, Matt first came out to himself while performing in Romeo and Juliet and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

"I remember someone there who was a hair and makeup artist who I found really inspiring," said Matt. "I thought, ‘If this person can live their truth, what am I doing?'"

Although Matt was dating a girl in his company at the time, he knew it was time to his true self.

"I thought she was really cool and talented, frankly. I just wanted to hang out with her. And then I just thought it was time to live my life truthfully," the White Collar actor said.

The Golden Globe winner grew up in Webster Groves, Mo—the heart of the Bible Belt—so it was no surprise that Matt received over six months of silence from his family after sending them a letter sharing he is gay.

"I wrote a letter to my parents. I would have lost my sense of direction if I tried to do it in person," said Matt. "There was radio silence for a long, long time, at least six months."

"Oh, Jesus. That is a long time," Andrew responded.

Matt—who wasn't even allowed to watch secular TV growing up—finally made a trip home. The visit resulted in a huge fight, but surprisingly took a turn for the better.

"We got that out of the way, and we got down to the business of figuring out how to love each other."

While it didn't happen over night, Matt and his family learned to appreciate and love each other.

"I would say within a matter of years we started to figure it out. It was a struggle," said the American Horror Story: Hotel actor. "It's a struggle for anybody to take their paradigms and set of beliefs and understandings and completely flip the script. So I'm empathetic toward everyone."

Although the years of struggle couldn't have been easy, they have surely paid off. Matt's mother recently asked him, his husband Simon Halls, and his kids to speak to her women's group in Houston.

"I'm here to tell people it can get better. Because I had so many people in my life saying, ‘You need to get rid of all expectations — you need to cut them out.' But I was like, ‘They're my family.'"

Talk Show Appearance

(5/3/17) Talk Show Appearance

THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN - CBS

Thursday, May 11 - actor Kevin Bacon

Morning Show Appearances

(4/29/17) Today – NBC

Monday, May 8

(7-9 a.m.) Kevin Bacon on I Love Dick

Today – NBC

Tuesday, May 9

(10-11 a.m.) Kevin Bacon on I Love Dick

James Earl Jones Will Be Honored With Lifetime Achievement Tony Award

(4/28/17) The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today that two-time Tony Award winner and icon of stage and screen James Earl Jones will be this year’s recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958’s Sunrise At Campobello and would win two Tony Awards, for The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987). A larger-than-life figure in theater, television and film for over half a century Jones also was Tony nominated for On Golden Pond (2005) and Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (2012). Recent Broadway appearances include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy and You Can’t Take It With You.

“When I came to New York to study acting, my father – the actor Robert Earl Jones – took me on a ‘Grand Tour,’ ” Jones said in announcing the award. “The first night was to the opera Tosca starring Leontyne Price. I loved the singing, but I didn’t understand the format of opera. The second night was Swan Lake starring Margot Fontaine. The movement of the bodies just seemed like magic. The third night was Pal Joey. I was captivated by the warmth of the light on stage. I was not inspired to sing and dance, but I knew I wanted to be in the warmth of the stage light. The fourth night was Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. By contrast, it created a cold world, coldness between human beings, but the ideas that Arthur Miller was able to evoke onstage were blazing hot. I knew I wanted to be a part of this and to explore the stage,” Jones said.

“James Earl Jones has given us a lifetime of unforgettable performances on the stage, and his voice resonates through generations,” Heather Hitchens, President of the American Theatre Wing, and Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League, which jointly present the awards, said in the announcement. Referring to his renown for both his acting skills and the penetrating bass-baritone rumble he deployed as Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, they added that his “legacy is unmatched and his work has had an impact not only on Broadway but across the entire galaxy!”

The 71st Tony Awards, hosted by Kevin Spacey, will air live from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS Television Network on June 11 beginning at 8 P.M.

Talk Show Appearance

(4/21/17) THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS

Mo 4/24: Allison Janney

Talk Show Appearance

(4/21/17) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE, Bravo

Th 4/27: Allison Janney

Talk Show Appearance

(4/21/17) The View - ABC

Monday, April 24 – Allison Janney (“Mom”; Broadways’ “Six Degrees of Separation”)

Soap Vet On Fatherhood

(4/15/17) In the new issue of Digest, on sale now, soap vet Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Dean, ANOTHER WORLD et al), who is expecting a second son in June with Gretta Monahan, opens up about his greatest role yet: fatherhood. “It’s taught me so much,” he reflects. “I think it’s the best thing that can happen to a performer. I think it’s the best thing that can happen to any human being because it teaches you not to be so self-involved, narcissistic and self-centered. Even if you want to be those things or you are those things, you just can’t be all the time because they take your time and your attention. They need your love and your guidance, and they need you. It’s so clichéd to say you don’t know love until you have a child to love. I mean, it’s true.” For more from the actor, get your copy of Digest now!

Supergirl: Calista Flockhart Returning for Final Episodes of Season 2

(4/13/17) Looks like Superman isn’t the only fan-favorite character booking a return trip to National City.

TVLine has confirmed that Calista Flockhart will reprise the role of Cat Grant in the final two episodes of Supergirl‘s second season. Unfortunately, any further details — including the reason for Cat’s return — remain tightly under wraps.

A series regular during Supergirl‘s first season, Flockhart appeared in just two episodes of Season 2 before bidding Kara & Co. adieu. As expressed repeatedly by the show’s producers, a return has been in the cards for quite a while — it was always an issue of timing.

“We’re still trying to work out her schedule,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told reporters back in October. At the time, he said the team hoped to have Flockhart back for “as many [episodes] as we can get.”

I Love Dick Trailer

(4/11/17) Amazon has released a trailer for Transparent creator Jill Soloway and Sarah Gubbins’ new series I Love Dick, debuting Friday, May 12 on the streaming service. The drama, based on Chris Kraus’ 1997 novel, stars Kathryn Hahn (Transparent) as a New York filmmaker who follows her academic husband (House of Lies‘ Griffin Dunne) to Texas for a writing residency, where she meets a legendary artist named Dick (The Following‘s Kevin Bacon). (Video)

Nashville Renewed for Season 6 at CMT

(4/10/17) Rayna Jaymes must be smiling down on her former CMT series, because Nashville will be back for a sixth season, CMT announced Tuesday.

Season 6 of the country-music drama will consist of 16 episodes, premiering in early 2018.

Nashville made its official CMT debut in January to a total audience of 1.2 million, before floating down toward the 800,000-viewer range. But since Rayna’s death, the same-day audience has ticked up, settling back in around a million weekly viewers.

CMT also revealed that the drama’s midseason premiere, which will pick up a few months after Rayna’s death, will air on Thursday, June 1 at 9/8c.

Charles Esten (Deacon) and Hayden Panettiere (Juliette) happily shared the news with the cast and crew in a Facebook video that you can watch here.

Nia Long Joins Terrence Howard In ‘Life In A Year’ In ‘Empire’ Mini-Reunion

(4/7/17) On Empire this season, Nia Long may play the best female foe Taraji P. Henson’s Cookie Lyon has ever had but she’s now going to be Terrence Howard’s wife in Life In A Year. The Oscar nominated Hustle & Flow actor, of course, portrays Cookie’s ex-husband and music mogul Lucious Lyon on the Fox hit.

The Best Man alum is taking on the role of “Catherine” in the YA romantic drama, I’ve learned. The character is the spouse of Howard’s no-nonsense patriarch and the supportive mother of Jaden Smith’s Daryn. The filming in Toronto movie centers on 17-year old Daryn’s love for his cancer diagnosed girlfriend Isabelle, played by Cara Delavigne, and his desire to make the little time they have left together as rich and fulfilling as possible.

Besides the Empire reunion of sorts, Long will be also working with her on-screen Fresh Prince of Bel Air boyfriend of a couple of decades ago. Will Smith is producing the Mitja Okorn directed pic for Sony and Overbrook Entertainment along with his business partner James Lassiter and Marc Bienstock.

As well as playing the scheming club owner Giuliana on Fox’s hip hop family blockbuster and in the Lifetime Beaches remake that aired in January, Long appears on the big screen this year in the Sundance premiering Lemon and Roxanne Roxanne, which Deadline exclusively revealed in January that Neon picked up out of the Robert Redford founded fest. The actor is also set to topline The Goldbergs spinoff pilot in the works at ABC.

Long is repped by CAA, Primary Wave Entertainment and attorneys at Meyer & Downs.

Kingdom Cancelled After 3 Seasons

(4/2/17) Kingdom is punching out after Season 3.

The mixed martial arts drama — which stars Frank Grillo, Matt Lauria and Nick Jonas, among others — has been cancelled.

The announcement was made on Saturday by AT&T Audience Network and Endemol Shine Studios. The joint statement, released exclusively to EW.com, reads as follows:

“We are looking forward to the upcoming third and final season of Kingdom… We expect Season 3 to be a great one and appreciate the hard work and dedication from creator and showrunner Byron Balasco, as well as the entire cast and crew. We could not be more proud to have worked with all of them on such an amazing series.”

Kingdom‘s 10-episode final season is set to premiere on Wednesday, May 31 at 8/7c.

Matt Cohen & Sherry Stringfield on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders - April 19

(3/31/17) “Pankration” – When an American visiting Greece to get more involved in his family’s business is found beaten in a rough part of Athens, the International Response Team is called to investigate. Also, Jack struggles with having to tell his wife, Karen (Sherry Stringfield), where their son is, on CRIMINAL MINDS: BEYOND BORDERS, Wednesday, April 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Matt Cohen (Ryan Garrett), Sherry Stringfield (Karen Garrett), Sofia Milos (Sergeant Alexandria Balaban).

Audiobook Read By A Soap Star

(3/30/17) (Order Here) No Man’s Land by David Baldacci – one of two narrators is Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL)

Special Agent John Puller, combat veteran and the army's most tenacious investigator, is back in this action-packed thriller from worldwide #1 bestselling author David Baldacci.

NO MAN'S LAND

Two men. Thirty years.

John Puller's mother, Jackie, vanished thirty years ago from Fort Monroe, Virginia, when Puller was just a boy. Paul Rogers has been in prison for ten years. But twenty years before that, he was at Fort Monroe. One night three decades ago, Puller's and Rogers' worlds collided with devastating results, and the truth has been buried ever since.

Until now.

Military investigators, armed with a letter from a friend of Jackie's, arrive in the hospital room of Puller's father--a legendary three-star now sinking into dementia--and reveal that Puller Sr. has been accused of murdering Jackie.

Aided by his brother Robert Puller, an Air Force major, and Veronica Knox, who works for a shadowy U.S. intelligence organization, Puller begins a journey that will take him into his own past, to find the truth about his mother.

Paul Rogers' time is running out. With the clock ticking, he begins his own journey, one that will take him across the country to the place where all his troubles began: a mysterious building on the grounds of Fort Monroe. There, thirty years ago, the man Rogers had once been vanished too, and was replaced with a monster. And now the monster wants revenge. And the only person standing in his way is John Puller.

Thomas Gibson’s Claim Against Manager Rejected By State Labor Commission

(3/24/17) In another setback for former Criminal Minds star Thomas Gibson, who was fired from the show last year for allegedly kicking a writer, the California Labor Commission has rejected his claim that he should not have to pay his former manager $437,950 in commissions because the former manager allegedly acted illegally as his agent in procuring his employment on the show.

Gibson fired Craig Dorfman as his manager in June 2014 after Dorfman allegedly refused to cut his commission from 10% to 7.5%. Two months later, Dorfman filed suit against the actor in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming Gibson hadn’t paid him the commission he was owed on the $4.8 million the actor earned from the 10th season of the hit CBS procedural. Two days later, Gibson filed a complaint with the labor commissioner claiming their deal should be nullified because Dorfman had acted illegally as an unlicensed agent in procuring the job for him in the first place.

Dorfman had indeed once been Gibson’s agent, pitching him for the co-starring role on the series Dharma & Greg back in 1997 and negotiating his agreement and closing the deal. But when that show ended in 2002, Dorfman relinquished his talent agent’s license and became his manager. Pursuant to an oral agreement, he would be paid a 10% commission on future earnings.

During a testy hearing before California Labor Commission attorney Barton Jacka, Gibson had claimed Dorfman “took credit” for landing him the role on Criminal Minds, but in his ruling Thursday, Jacka wrote that there was little else to support Gibson’s claim that he’d acted as his agent in procuring the role.

“Accordingly,” Jacka wrote, “we find no basis to nullify the agreement either in its totality or with respect to commissions, if any, owed to (Dorfman) by Mr. Gibson from his work on Criminal Minds. This determination does not contain within its scope any finding about whether Mr. Gibson has other defenses to (Dorfman’s) claims in the Los Angeles lawsuit about the terms of the agreement.”

Taraji P. Henson & Nia Long's Beef Started with Bloody Joke

(3/24/17) Taraji P. Henson jokingly asked Nia Long if she was on her period after she went nuts on a fellow cast member ... and that's what set off their raging feud on the set of "Empire."

Production sources tell TMZ ... Nia showed up late shortly after beginning her stint on the show, prompting one of the male actors to joke, "Damn, why are you on black people time?"

We're told that sent Nia into a rage ... chewing the guy out. The actor told her it was just a joke but she continued berating him ... and that's when Taraji fired back -- "What are you, on your period? Is it that time, girlfriend?"

Things got super heated ... and it set the tone for a relationship that was barely civil. Taraji has always been super protective of the cast and crew and everyone was in her corner.

TMZ broke the story ... the hair and makeup crew filed a complaint against Nia for mistreating them. She maintains the allegations are bogus.

Timothy D. Stickney & Tammy Blanchard on Blue Bloods 4/14/17

(3/24/17) “No Retreat, No Surrender” – After Reggie Wilson (Cyrus Farmer), a witness in a former case of Erin’s, asks her for help shutting down a drug operation in his apartment building, she makes it her mission to make the building safe for his family. Also, while investigating a teen’s suicide, Danny and Baez uncover information that suggests the death was a homicide, and Frank looks into potential misconduct in the Mayor’s office, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, April 14 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Timothy D. Stickney (ADA Edward Smith), Tammy Blanchard (Valerie Madigan).

Nia Long -- 'Empire' Hair and Makeup Lodged Complaint, Nia Threatened Suit

(3/24/17) Nia Long was such a nightmare on the set of "Empire" ... the hair and makeup folks lodged an official complaint against her, and Nia also threatened to sue the show over an improper goodbye ... this according to well-placed production sources.

Multiple people -- cast, crew and production people -- tell TMZ Nia was disrespectful and unprofessional throughout her run on the show.

We broke the story ... Nia and Taraji P. Henson were at war with each other because Taraji was irate over the way Nia treated the staff, and it got so bad producers were trying to figure out how to shoot scenes with the two of them where each actress did their part separately. It was so tense neither would speak to the other.

The various sources are scoffing at Nia's reps, who claim the stories about the actress are made up. Our sources say there were numerous incidents, but 3 are still vivid.

-- Our sources say in the history of the show the hair and makeup people have only filed one formal complaint for mistreatment ... and that was against Nia. The hair and makeup people say she was extremely disrespectful ... at times deciding she didn't like her look at the last minute and then chewing them out. The sources say there have been numerous guest appearances on the show -- "from rappers to Demi Moore, and no complaints were lodged against anyone but Nia."

-- Our sources say Nia was "habitually late." They say Taraji and Terrence Howard would sometimes be waiting on set for 30 minutes and Nia was a no-show. Producers would finally use a stand-in for Nia so Taraji and Terrence could rehearse a scene.

-- It is custom on the set when guest stars finish their last scene for the Assistant Director to call it out ... "This is (name of actor) last scene," followed by a "thank you" and applause. When Nia did her last scene, Terrence was having some sort of allergic reaction and his lip began swelling. The A.D. was looking for Benadryl when Nia left. It's unclear if the A.D. was distracted or just didn't want to thank Nia, but we're told as Nia walked out she told someone in production she was going to sue the show because the "goodbye" was in her contract. Production sources say it was not in her contract.

We spoke with one actor on the show who said the experience was so unpleasant they would never work with her again.

We reached out to Nia's rep, who said, "We stand by our comments this morning that Nia has always, and continues to be, a consummate professional on set. In respect to her working relationships with the cast, she came onto this project, in the first place, because of her long-standing friendship and professional relationship with Terrence Howard."

The rep went on to say, "We are not aware of any complaint, suit or case against her from anyone involved in the show, and we find the timing of all of these stories to be very suspicious, given that the series returns tonight."

Sarah Wayne Callies, Kate Bosworth, Jason Ritter to Star in NatGeo Military Miniseries The Long Road Home

(3/24/17) NatGeo is filling the ranks of its new miniseries with some well-known names.

Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break, The Walking Dead), Jason Ritter (Parenthood) and Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order) are among the actors who’ve signed on to The Long Road Home, an upcoming eight-episode event at the basic cabler, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on Martha Raddatz’s book, the mini will concern itself with April 4, 2004, aka “Black Sunday,” on which a Texas platoon form the 1st Calvary Division came under attack in Sadr City, Baghdad. Noel Fisher (Shameless), Michael Kelly (House of Cards) also will star. The cast also includes E.J. Bonilla (Guiding Light), Jon Beavers (The Fresh Beat Band) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Scream Queens).

Kelly will play Lt. Col. Gary Volesky, the heroic battalion commander; Callies will play his wife, LeAnn, who is active in the homefront community. Ritter’s character, Capt. Troy Denomy, is married to Bosworth’s Gina; the pair have a newborn son. Sisto will play career soldier Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger, who is approaching retirement but has been stop-lossed (read: forced to stay in the military) for the deployment.

Mikko Alanne (The 33) will adapt the book and will serve as showrunner and one of the project’s executive producers. The Long Road Home is expected to air sometime in 2017.

Soap Vet Ricky Paull Goldin Will Be A Dad Again!

(3/23/17) Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Jake, AMC; ex-Dean, AW, et al) announced on Twitter that he and longtime love Gretta Monahan, already parents to son Kai, 6, are expanding their family. “BREAKING NEWS! We are having another Monster …OOPS, I mean BABY!!” he posted, along with a photo of the glowing mom-to-be. Former AMC co-star Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall) tweeted, “Yahooooooooo! Finally the word is out! Can’t wait to meet this child! Congrats my loves!!”

Inside the life of 'All My Children' creator Agnes Nixon

(3/22/17) (abcnews.go.com) For over four decades, murder, deceit, kidnappings and all kinds of hysteria ensued. It was small-town America portrayed in a sensational way against the backdrop of a more innocent time.

It was pre-social media, before skyrocketing divorce rates, and before bad behavior was celebrated or rewarded.

All across America, people were glued to their television sets, living vicariously through someone else’s naughty or scandalous lives on the soap operas "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." The muscle and brains behind these shows? A devout Catholic, wife and mother of four: creator Agnes Nixon.

Nixon completed her memoir, "My Life to Live," in September 2016 but it is just being released today. In her heartfelt book, she opened up about her Irish roots and the lessons she learned about working outside the home from the women in her family. Those lessons would help Nixon forge ahead during a time in television when men ruled the airwaves.

Nixon also revealed where many of her characters and plots came from; one in particular came out of the heartbreak of losing her first love in World War II.

Two days after writing the final words in her book, Nixon died peacefully in her sleep. She was 93.

“Agnes lived beyond the boundaries of the norm,” Judith Light, who won two Daytime Emmys for her role on "One Life to Live," told ABC News. “She was one of the relatively few of that era who was leading the way and changing the dynamic in the world for women. When I was in her presence she exuded self-confidence and was the personification of grace and gentility with an unmistakable power surging beneath.”

Before Nixon created "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," she worked as a writer at the soap opera "Guiding Light." According to her memoir, Nixon wrote a storyline in the early-1960s surrounding early detection of uterine cancer with a Pap test after she lost a friend to cancer.

"Guiding Light" executives were outraged, but Nixon stood her ground. She was eventually granted permission to write the storyline, but was forbidden from using the words cancer, uterus or hysterectomy in her scripts. Nixon’s story, one the first involving cancer on television, resonated with millions of women, who, after watching the show, scheduled Pap tests.

“Agnes changed the world for woman although I don’t think she set out to do that,” Light said. “She simply owned herself and knew she was good? She just happened to be a woman in a time when woman were generally not expected to create big things. I will always be grateful to Agnes Nixon for creating this place that changed not only my career, but also my life.”

In 1968, Nixon created her own soap opera, "One Life to Live," and after a year, ABC executives asked Nixon to develop another soap opera. Little did they know, sitting in the bottom drawer of Nixon’s desk was an outline for a show she had already written, she wrote in her memoir.

ABC quickly gave the show the green light, and "All My Children," which became one of the most popular soaps of all time, was born.

As the January 1970 "All My Children" premiere date approached, panic set in for Nixon, she wrote in her memoir. She still did not have an actress to play the determined, teenage bad girl, Erica Kane.

Casting directors went across the country looking for an actress, but were having no success until they met Susan Lucci, then 23. Immediately, a videotape of Lucci’s audition was sent to Nixon’s home. Nixon admitted in her memoir she had failed at conjuring up an image of who Erica Kane was, until she saw Lucci.

“She made such an impression on me because that was the first time I saw a woman with designer clothes on,” Lucci, now 70, told ABC News. “She embodied a successful woman in business in New York. You could clearly see she was the woman in charge, and an artist at the same time.”

After Lucci stepped into the role of Erica Kane, Nixon told a number of important stories through the character. One of those came in 1973, shortly after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, affirming a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, when Erica had television's first legal abortion. Audiences were divided, but Nixon didn't mind the criticism.

"There was no preaching," Lucci said of Nixon's stories. "She was too busy to preach. She told stories and told everybody's point of view. She was inclusive."

In addition to abortion, Erica also helped tell stories about rape and addiction. And, when Nixon wanted to tell the story of a lesbian "coming out," she wrote that she knew it had to be Erica's daughter, Bianca.

Nixon was praised for the honest portrayal of how a parent deals with their child's sexuality. The storyline eventually resulted in America’s first lesbian kiss on daytime TV.

Nixon said her storytelling philosophy was "make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait," something she credited to the days of vaudeville. While telling socially relevant stories on "All My Children," Nixon also infused glamour, adventure and a lot of romance.

One of the most popular love stories in the history of “All My Children” was the one of Angie Baxter and Jesse Hubbard, played by Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams.

Angie and Jesse were African-American teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks who fell in love. The audience rooted for them and could not get enough of their love story. It was another benchmark for Nixon. Angie and Jesse were daytime's first African-American “supercouple.”

The love between Angie and Jesse remained part of the "All My Children” fabric for decades. Through their story, the actor who played Jesse, Darnell Williams, formed a close bond with Nixon. From the time they met, Williams says he remembers Nixon’s being very helpful, supportive and warm.

"She was a perfect blend of corporate, arts and humanity," Williams said. "What I'll miss the most about Agnes is that warm, beautifully embracing Irish smile of hers. It was always like family."

In 1995, after thousands of episodes and countless cliffhangers, new characters captured the attention of daytime viewers: those associated with the O.J. Simpson trial. From January through October, the twists and turns of a real-life murder mystery, involving one of the most celebrated athletes of all time, kept viewers on the edge of their seats and eclipsed the popularity of the scripted soap opera.

In the first three months of 1995, at least a million fewer households tuned in to the soap operas from the previous year. Additionally, new talk shows were debuting at warp speed and an increasingly number of cable channels gave people more options for programming. Soap operas never recovered in the ratings.

Finally, after more than four decades, on April 14, 2011, ABC canceled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."

Nixon wrote in her memoir that to distract herself from the painful news, she looked at the Lifetime Achievement Emmy statuette given to her in 1992. The base was inscribed: “Agnes Nixon introduced social relevance to Daytime, and at the same time changed traditional storytelling.”

Nixon suffered a stroke a year after the cancellations. While her body failed, Nixon’s son, Bob, a documentary film maker, says her mind was as sharp as ever.

“The shows may have been canceled, but all of those lives and characters were running through her head constantly,” he told ABC News. “Ag was determined to make the most of her time on Earth. She thought she had God-given gifts and worked tirelessly to benefit others. She always said life was like a brief candle.”

Lucci added: “She was an original. What I’m going to miss the most is being able to talk to her.”

It’s hard to believe so much scandal, impropriety and mischief came from a woman who attended mass regularly, lived a conservative life and was married only once for 45 years until her husband’s death in 1996. If Nixon thought life was simply a brief candle, her flame was one of the most illuminating of all.

Agnes Nixon’s memoir, "My Life to Live," is available now.

Peter Hermann on Blue Bloods

(3/17/17) “Love Lost” – Erin faces off in court against her ex-husband, Jack (Peter Hermann), who is representing the person she is attempting to convict of murder. Also, Danny and Baez investigate to see if the husband is behind the murder of his own wife; Frank is confronted by a mother who accuses the NYPD of being negligent in solving her son's murder; and Jamie rides with a new partner, Officer Brenda Patimkin (Sarah Mezzanotte), on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, April 7 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The Goldbergs Spinoff: Nia Long to Star

(3/17/17) We hope Nia Long likes slap bracelets.

The Third Watch actress is set to star in ABC’s 90s-set spinoff of its ’80s-set hit The Goldbergs, TVLine has learned.

As previously reported, the offshoot — which is currently in the pilot stage — will center on high school gym teacher Rick Mellor, a recurring character on The Goldbergs; Bryan Callen, who plays Mellor, is attached to star. The premise: Mellor and another high school teacher team up to act as father figures to the kids at their Philadelphia school.

Long, most recently seen in Lifetime’s Beaches remake, will play Lucy Winston, a single mother of three who’s worked at the same dead end job for the last seven years and needs a better life for her children, who are getting older and inching towards trouble. After begging her brother for a job at the Academy he runs (free tuition for three included), Lucy and her kids all have to adjust to a new life in a new school — but schools are somewhat the same all over the country, and many of the same problems (cliques, status, sports, substance abuse) haunt the hallowed halls of the William Penn Academy as in any other school in America (though it’s blessedly free of metal detectors).

Goldbergs EPs Adam F. Goldberg and Marc Firek penned the pilot script.

Sharon Leal To Topline CBS’ Jenny Lumet Drama Pilot; Sheaun McKinney Co-Stars

(3/16/17) Sharon Leal (Supergirl) will lead the cast of CBS’ untitled Jenny Lumet drama pilot, a character-based procedural from writer Lumet and exec producers Katie Couric, David Marshall Grant, Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin and Richard Shepard, who also directs. Also cast as a male lead in the project is Vice Principals‘ Sheaun McKinney.

Penned by Lumet with Grant supervising, the untitled drama centers on an elite team of investigators for the Northeast Regional U.S. Hate Crimes Unit who solve myriad crimes against humanity as they confront their own biases. Leal will play Lt. Naomi Barr, the passionate, relentless leader of the hate crimes task force in NYC. McKinney will portray Michael, the liaison between the mayor’s office and the hate crimes task force. They join previously cast Grace Rex, Brad William Henke, Zach Appelman and Kevin Daniels.

Leal most recently recurred as M’gann M’orzz on Supergirl and also recurred on Grimm. Her feature credits include Dreamgirls and Why Did I Get Married? She’s repped by Paradigm and Authentic.

McKinney has been pretty busy. He co-stars as Dayshawn on the HBO limited comedy series Vice Principals, which returns for its second and final installment this summer. Additionally, he has a season-long arc on the new NBC comedy series Great News and has an arc on FX’s upcoming drama series Snowfall. He’s repped by UTA and Tash Moseley Management.

Guiding Light Veteran Robert Newman Joins Perfect Crime

(3/15/17) (theatermania.com) Emmy nominee Robert Newman (ex-Prescott, GH/ex-Kirk, SB), best known for his 28-year run as Joshua Lewis on television's longest-running soap opera, Guiding Light, returns to the cast of Perfect Crime tonight at The Theater Center. Through April 9 he reprises the role of Inspector Asher, a role he took on in another limited engagement in July of 2014.

Newman's role on Guiding Light garnered him two Daytime Emmy nomina­tions for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His other television credits include guest appearances on Chicago Fire, Homeland, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and Law and Order: SVU, along with film roles in Amazing Spider-Man 2, Dracano, and the short film Deadline, which earned him the Best Actor award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 2015. His off-Broadway credits also include She's of a Certain Age, Sessions: the Musical, and Quiet on the Set.

Written by the late Warren Manzi and directed by Jeffrey Hyatt, Perfect Crime tells the story of attractive psychiatrist and suspected cold-blooded killer Margaret Brent, her wealthy husband, a deranged patient, and the handsome detective who's falling in love with her. Approaching a record-breaking 30th anniversary, the show features Catherine Russell, who has starred in the show since its first performance and has never taken a sick day or a vacation day in the past 30 years. The cast also includes David Butler, Hugh Hysell, and Patrick Robustelli.

For tickets and more information, click here.

B&B’S Karla Mosley Hits The Boards In L.A

(3/11/17) Karla Mosley (Maya, B&B) is starring in the Ammunition Theatre’s presentation of How to Raise a Freeman, which runs weekends now through Sunday, March 26, at The New Collective LA in Los Angeles, CA. The play is a complex story of a family dealing with the fears and concerns of what it means to raise a black child in a climate of police brutality, gentrification, disconnect and hope. Mosley is also a producer on the project and co-founder of the theater group. For ticket information for How To Raise A Freeman, click here: http://www.eventbee.com/v/ammo/boxoffice.

Agnes Nixon’s upcoming memoir describes creation of Erica Kane

(3/4/17) My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves: Hardcover, Kindle.

Agnes Nixon, the late creator of classic soaps “One Life To Live” and “All My Children,” describes creating the character Erica Kane and says Susan Lucci was born to play the role in an upcoming posthumous book.

She wrote in “My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves” that “Susan Lucci was Erica Kane. It wasn’t just her beauty; it was her ability to transmit to the screen the essence of the character.”

Carol Burnett writes in the foreword, “I became an ‘All My Children’ fan when Erica Kane was on her first marriage ... I was as sad and mad as everyone else when ‘AMC’ was canceled. It could’ve gone on for 42 more years!” The book, published by Crown Archetype, is out March 21.

My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves: Hardcover, Kindle.

From the Emmy-winning creator and writer of All My Children and One Life to Live, a memoir of her trailblazing rise to the top of the television industry, including behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most beloved soaps of all time

Before there was Erica Kane, Adam Chandler, or Victoria Lord, there was Agnes Nixon, a young girl who dreamed up stories for paper dolls. Those tales she imagined--ones filled with ambitions, rivalries, and romances--would soon parallel her own path to success. In a memoir filled with as much drama as the soaps she penned, Nixon shares her journey from Nashville to New York City, as she overcomes the loss of her fiancé in World War II, a father intent on crushing her writing dreams, and the jealousy of her male colleagues on her way to becoming one of the most successful names in television.

While fans will delight in Nixon’s own incredible life, they will also love her behind-the-scenes insight into her most popular shows. Inside, she shares the inspiration for Erica Kane and how she cast Susan Lucci in the role; an excerpt from the never-before-seen All My Children story bible; entertaining anecdotes about her shows’ beloved casts and special guests, including Carol Burnett, Kelly Ripa, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett; and more.

But My Life to Live is also a portrait of a pioneer. Driven to use her ratings power for good, Nixon fought and broke network taboos by wrestling with controversial social issues ranging from women’s health, interracial relationships, and the Vietnam War to drug addiction, LGBT rights, and AIDS. By infusing her characters with sensitivity, humor, and humanity, she enabled millions to examine an opposite point of view. And long before Shonda Rhimes launched a golden age of female showrunners, Agnes Nixon positioned ABC to become the media giant it is today. She is a true television legend, and her candid and inspiring glimpse behind the curtain of the television industry will charm soap fans and story lovers alike.

“I owe my career to Agnes Nixon, who was not only a brilliant creator and writer, but also my friend. My Life to Live is full of wonderful, evocative stories from her life and career that even I hadn’t heard. And in typical Agnes fashion, her storytelling is full of humanity, social relevance and delicious humor! I know that her legions of fans will treasure it as much as I do.” —Susan Lucci

"Aggie Nixon is the only person I've ever known whom I didn't say awful things about. And much to my dismay, her memoir did nothing to change that. Unforgivable." —Larry David

“[Agnes’s] career wasn’t easy to come by…. We know she won, but the story of her ups and downs make this book a true page-turner.” —Carol Burnett, from the foreword

My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves: Hardcover, Kindle.

Miriam Colón Dies: Al Pacino’s Mom In ‘Scarface’, Latino Theater Founder Was 80

(3/4/17) Miriam Colón (Maria Santos, GL/Maria 'Abuelita' Delgado, OLTL/Lydia Flores, AMC/Dr. Santos, EON), the Puerto Rican-born actress who whose roles over a seven-decade career included playing Al Pacino’s mother in Brian De Palma’s Scarface and who launched the influential Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York, died Friday at age 90. Her husband told the Associated Press that Colon died owing to complications from a pulmonary infection.

Colón came to Los Angeles in the early 1950s and attended the Actors Studio. Her early TV credits included everything from Playhouse 90 to Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Dick Van Dyke Show. She had bigger roles in series like Gunsmoke and The Edge Of Night before being cast as Mama Montana in Scarface.

Her later film credits include All The Pretty Horses and the Goal! movies, and she starred in Carl Franklin’s 2013 film Bless Me, Ultima playing Ultima in the adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya’s novel. She also recurred on HBO’s How To Make It In America and later on AMC’s Better Call Saul.

Colón helped found the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in 1967, after she starred alongside Raul Julia in the English-language adaptation of René Marqués’ The Ox Cart (La Carreta), about the Puerto Rican migration. It helped spur the bilingual theater movement in the U.S., launching acting careers and introducing new playwrights to the American scene.

In 2015, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony for her contributions.

Sherry Stringfield & Matt Cohen on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders

(2/28/17) “Lost Souls” – Unit Chief Jack Garrett and his international response team are called to Tanzania when a 23-member church group disappears on the second season premiere of CRIMINAL MINDS: BEYOND BORDERS, Wednesday, March 8 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. CRIMINAL MINDS star Kirsten Vangsness guest stars as Penelope Garcia.

GUEST CAST includes: Sherry Stringfield (Karen Garrett), Matt Cohen (Ryan Garrett).

Tonja Walker Reports Her Husband's Cancer Is in Remission!

(2/26/17) Daytime vet Tonja Walker is on cloud nine over her return to GENERAL HOSPITAL, but that’s not all Olivia’s portrayer is celebrating.

“My husband, [Edward Davidson], has pancreatic cancer, and he’s getting better,” she shares. “We got a diagnosis of 3-to-6 months to live three years ago, January. Now, he's in remission and we're hoping and praying it stays that way. My husband's a really good guy, so he's keeping very busy trying to help people access the kind of help he needed to beat cancer. In many ways, I had a lot of years with a lot of challenges. But this is just a wonderful time.”

The actress — who reveals how prayer played into her return to daytime in the current ABC issue of Soaps In Depth — had to leave Connecticut to shoot her big return. Though she misses her hubby greatly, there is an upside.

“It was wonderful this morning to hear how much he misses me,” she giggles. “He even misses my snoring! The longer I'm away, the more he misses me, so this could do great things for my marriage. I'm thankful and just feel so incredibly blessed, on so many levels.”

Talk Show Appearance

(2/26/17) The Talk – CBS

Friday, March 3

Actress Hayden Panettiere

Talk Show Appearance

(2/19/17) LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, CBS

We 3/1: Hayden Panettiere

‘The Raid’ Redux: Joe Carnahan & Frank Grillo To Reimagine Martial Arts Pic

(2/15/17) Joe Carnahan has come aboard to write and direct and Frank Grillo has been set to star in The Raid, a new take on the martial arts film franchise launched by Gareth Evans in 2012. It got a sequel in 2014. The pic will be produced by Carnahan and Grillo’s nascent production outfit WarParty and XYZ Films, the latter of which co-produced the originals with PT Merantau Films. Evans will executive produce the new take.

The Indonesian martial arts movie, which hit U.S. theaters in March 2012 via Sony Classics as The Raid: Redemption, starred Iko Uwais — who was in Star Wars: The Force Awakens along with fellow Raid 2 performers Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman — and Joe Taslim (Fast & Furious 6). It centered on an isolated SWAT team trapped by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs inside a tenement block, and they have to fight through to the top.

The pic won the Midnight Madness audience award at Toronto in 2011, then made $4 million at the global box office after SPC scooped it up. The Raid 2, also written and directed by Evans, came out two years later and grossed $2.6 million worldwide.

“I am extremely excited about Frank and I boarding this property and hopefully doing something fresh and inventive with it,” Carnahan said. “The original is masterful, so we’ve given ourselves a pretty big mountain to summit. But I have great faith in the story and approach to the material that we’ve taken.”

Said XYZ: “Joe and Frank are ideal creative partners for this film. They want to pay homage to The Raid, not do a paint-by-numbers remake.”

Carnahan is in production on the Bad Boys for Life sequel reteaming Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. He also just completed the script for Sony’s video game adaptation Uncharted.

Grillo, on the big screen recently in The Purge: Election Year and starring in Audience Network’s MMA series Kingdom, is next up in the Akiva Goldman-directed Stephanie and Netflix’s Wheelman. The latter, a high-concept action thriller, is the first project for WarParty and is in postproduction.

E.J. Bonilla on Madam Secretary

(2/13/17) “Labor of Love” – When the upcoming marriage of two star-crossed lovers from Colombia is in jeopardy, Elizabeth works to reunite the son of the Colombian president and the daughter of the rebel leader, whose union is at the heart of an important peace deal after years of civil war. Also, Henry prepares to send his operative undercover, Jay deals with his tenuous marital situation, and Daisy makes a shocking discovery regarding Kevin, on MADAM SECRETARY, Sunday, March 5 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Stephanie J. Block (Abby Whitman), Justin Baldoni (Kevin Park), E.J. Bonilla (Juan-Luis Moreno).

CBS Is Seeing Stars

(2/8/17) (Photo) CBS gathered over 100 stars for a special photo to mark 30 years as the No. 1 daytime network. Find your faves from Y&R and B&B, not to mention AS THE WORLD TURNS’s Martha Byrne (ex-Lily) and Colleen Zenk (ex-Barbara) and GUIDING LIGHT’s Robert Newman (ex-Josh), Michael O’Leary (ex-Rick) and more!

Kassie DePaiva Is Cancer-Free

(2/5/17) Kassie DePaiva (ex-Eve, DAYS/ex-Blair, OLTL/ex-Chelsea, GL), who in 2016 was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, shared fantastic health news with her fans on Twitter. “Today is #WorldCancerDay,” she wrote, “and I’m grateful I can say I am cancer free. To all of you who battle cancer…fight on! Trust the journey!”

Bonnie Dennison on Training Day

(1/27/17) “Trigger Time” – The rift between Kyle and Frank grows when Kyle refuses to adhere to one of Frank’s morally ambiguous rules, but the pair must put aside their differences when they learn the notorious hitman known as “El Cucuy” is targeting members of the Russian mob in Los Angeles, on TRAINING DAY, Thursday, Feb. 16 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Cucuy” is targeting members of the Russian mob in Los Angeles, on TRAINING DAY, Thursday, Feb. 16 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Bonnie Dennison (Lara), Vladimir Kulich (Alexi Koslov)

Y&R Recast

(1/27/17) () The Young and the Restless has recast Lauren’s oldest son, Scott Grainger, with Daniel Hall (Quarry, Guiding Light), Soap Opera Digest reports. The character last appeared on the show in 2006, when he was played by Blair Redford.

Susan Lucci to Guest Co-Host Hallmark's Home & Family — and Reunite with All My Children Cast!

(1/24/17) (people.com) Susan Lucci is saying hello to Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family!

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that the All My Children star will join the network as a guest co-host for one full week.

Beginning Jan. 30, Lucci, 70, will participate in every aspect of the daily morning program, including cooking, playing games and sharing personal stories with viewers. Lucci — who played Erica Kane on the ABC soap from 1970-2011 — will also be joined by her husband, Helmut Huber, and two children: her son, Andreas, and daughter, Liza.

“I’m looking forward to learning new things about interior design and color. I’ve been traveling so much in the last number of years between All My Children and Dancing with the Stars in L.A. and Devious Maids in Atlanta,” the soap opera legend said in a release about her upcoming stint as guest co-host, which runs Jan. 30 through Feb. 3. “Now I’m looking around my house thinking I want to redo some rooms, so I’ll be happy to hear from the experts.”

Additionally, All My Children fans and audiences who have hoped for a cast reunion needn’t wait any longer! On Feb. 2, Peter Bergman, Kim Delaney, Lawrence Lau, Eden Riegel, Kathleen Noone, Eva LaRue, John Callahan, Rebecca Budig and Cameron Mathison will join Lucci for a special reunion show on Home & Family. “It’s going to be so exciting to see so many of the people I worked with, love and admire. We all haven’t been together since All My Children went off ABC (in 2011),” said Lucci about the reunion.

The reunion show will also include segments honoring Erica Kane’s dysfunctional TV family and All My Children‘s “super couples,” and will feature a tribute to late AMC cast members and the series’ creator, Agnes Nixon, who died in September.

“Agnes meant so much to me my whole adult life. I was beyond lucky to be in her hands,” said Lucci of Nixon. “She was a mentor to me and I admired her tremendously. She was a modern woman and the youngest voice in the room.”

Added H&F executive producer and creator, Woody Fraser: “Susan is a tremendous talent and we’re very excited to have her join us for a full week of shows.”

Home & Family airs daily (10 a.m. ET) on Hallmark Channel.

Soap Opera Writer Courtney Simon to Be Honored by Writers Guild East

(1/18/17) (variety.com) The Writers Guild of America East has selected soap opera writer Courtney Simon as the recipient for its Richard B. Jablow Award for service to the guild.

Simon will be honored at the 69th annual Writers Guild Awards at New York’s Edison Ballroom on Feb. 19. The Jablow award was established in 1978 to recognize service and created in honor of Jablow, who helped found the WGA East, authored its constitution, and served as its first counsel.

Simon has been a WGA East member since 1980. She has written for 12 different daytime dramas, including “As the World Turns,” “Santa Barbara,” “Guiding Light,” and “All My Children.” She has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards and seven Writers Guild Awards.

Simon has served on the WGA East Council since 2007 and has been active in lobbying efforts to promote a diversity-based tax credit in the state of New York. She co-chairs the WGAE Diversity Coalition, is a member of the Awards Committee, and has been chair of the Daytime Committee.

“Not only is Courtney Simon a gifted writer who has mastered the intricacies of daytime drama, she has been a dedicated member of the Writers Guild of America East council and a hardworking contributor to a number of union committees, most recently as co-chair of our Diversity Coalition,” said WGA East president Michael Winship. “No one is more deserving of our Jablow Award, presented to someone who has so thoroughly devoted herself to the Writers Guild of America East.”

The 2017 Writers Guild Awards ceremony in New York will be hosted by Lewis Black.

Jane the Virgin has cast Johnny Messner

(1/18/17)Johnny Messner (Rob Layne, Guiding Light) has signed on for a recurring role opposite Yael Grobglas on the third season of the CW’s Jane The Virgin. He’ll play Chuck, confident and smarmy, aka “Chuck the Marauder,” he is the new owner of the adults-only hotel next door. Likes: Gators, if you count hunting them, wearing them, and eating their jerky. Dislikes: Kids and hotels that serve them. It seems he and Petra (Groblas) have zoning issues to sort out…among other things. It seems they also have a kind of love/hate relationship. Messner recently wrapped the feature film, The Girl Who Invented Kissing, opposite Luke Wilson, Abby Cornish, and Dash Mihok. He’s repped by Singular Talent and Hg5 Entertainment.

The Lifetime movie starring Viola Davis and Hayden Panettiere

(1/14/17) The Lifetime movie Custody, starring Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) and Hayden Panettiere (Nashville), will air Saturday, March 4 at 8/7c. The film centers around three women brought together when a single mother has her children taken from her. Additionally, the new drama series Mary Kills People, featuring Hannibal‘s Caroline Dhavernas as a doctor who helps others end their lives with dignity, will debut Sunday, April 23 at 10 pm.

Lindsey McKeon on Training Day

(1/13/17) “Apocalypse Now” – Bill Paxton and Justin Cornwell star as a jaded, rogue detective and the idealistic officer tasked with going undercover on his team to bring him down, on the series premiere of the new drama TRAINING DAY, Thursday, Feb. 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Katrina Law, Drew Van Acker, Lex Scott Davis, Julie Benz, Christina Vidal and Marianne Jean-Baptiste also star.

TRAINING DAY is a crime thriller that begins 15 years after the events of the feature film, about a young, idealistic police officer who is tapped to go undercover in an elite squad of the LAPD where he partners with a morally ambiguous veteran detective. Detective Frank Rourke is the maverick head of the Special Investigation Section (S.I.S.) that hunts the city’s most dangerous criminals, and one of the finest investigators the department has ever produced. However, when the LAPD brass notices Rourke’s penchant for operating in a gray area to fight the war on crime, they assign Kyle Craig, a heroic, untarnished cop, to pose as Frank’s trainee to spy on him and report on his off-book methods. The members of Frank’s loyal team include Rebecca Lee, a formidable officer with killer aim and a dark past, and Tommy Campbell, a former pro surfer who follows Frank’s orders without hesitation. The team’s cases find Frank and Kyle often crossing paths with Detective Valeria Chavez, one of the LAPD’s top investigators. Providing Frank with intel is his girlfriend, Holly Butler, a well-connected, unapologetic Hollywood madam. While LAPD Deputy Chief Joy Lockhart coolly puts Kyle in danger in her mission to take down Frank, Kyle’s schoolteacher wife, Alyse, worries her husband’s resolve to avenge the murder of his father, a cop, may be his undoing. As Frank starts teaching his principled trainee the way of the streets where the ends often justify the means, they form an uneasy alliance that will change the course of both their lives irrevocably.

GUEST CAST includes: Gonzalo Menendez (Theroux), Devan Long (Blake), Lindsey J. McKeon (Jen Mitchell).

Wendy Moniz Recurs on Pure Genius

(1/10/17) “Lift Me Up” – Angie tries to target her mother’s illness using radical nanobot technology, but she looks to Scott for help when her mother prefers using traditional methods. Also, when a graffiti artist with a clotting disorder falls from a bridge, Walter, Malik and Zoe attempt to use suspended animation to stop his internal bleeding. And Walter is put in an awkward position when Julianna discovers James used the unapproved GSS drug on Louis Keating, on the season finale of PURE GENIUS, Thursday, Jan. 26 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (Julianna Wallace)

Kingdom Premiere Date

(1/6/17) Kingdom (with Guiding Light's Frank Grillo) Season 3 will premiere Wednesday, May 31 at 8/7c on AT&T/DirecTV’s Audience Network, it was announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

Charles Esten And Hayden Panettiere Discuss "Nashville"

(1/5/17) AOL Build Video: Charles Esten And Hayden Panettiere Discuss "Nashville".

Talk Show Appearance

(1/5/17) THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT

CBS

Friday, Jan. 6 - Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere Opens Up About Postpartum Depression and Rehab: "I'm All the Stronger for It"

(1/5/17) Hayden Panettiere is starting 2017 off strong.

The Nashville star appeared on Good Morning America Thursday and opened up about her struggles with postpartum depression after welcoming daughter Kaya, 2. "It takes you a while and you feel off," Panettiere explained of how she realized something was wrong. "You don't feel like yourself."

With the love and support of her fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, Panettiere checked into rehab to receive treatment—a decision she said made her a "better mom."

"Women are so resilient, and that's the incredible thing about them," she said. "I think I'm all the stronger for it. I think I'm a better mom because of it because you never take that connection for granted."

Even though Panettiere is away from her daughter these days—little Kaya is skiing in Austria (no big deal!)—the Heroes alum is "feeling fabulous."

"I'm feeling great," she gushed, adding that filming Nashville has helped her get back on track. "I'm so glad to be back playing Juliette. Everything she's been through has been like a hazard sign in the road. She made me stronger. I feel like she's a phoenix. She crashes and burns and then she rises from the ashes and she always takes the lesson and becomes stronger for it.

"So we have that in common I think," Panettiere added.

Panettiere's onscreen character also struggled with postpartum depression. "It absolutely helped me," she said of playing her country star character. "I think it helped me identify what was going on. And to let women know that it's OK to ask for help and it's OK to have a moment of weakness. It doesn't make you a bad person, doesn't make you a bad mother. It makes you a very strong, resilient woman. You've just got to let it make you stronger."

Talk Show Appearance

(1/5/17) Harry (Syndicated)

Mon 1/9

Hayden Panettiere (``Nashville'')

Halloweentown's Kimberly J. Brown on Debbie Reynolds: She Proved That "Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated"

(12/30/16) (Pic) Agatha Cromwell changed her granddaughter's life in the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown—and off-camera, Debbie Reynolds had a similar impact on Kimberly J. Brown (Marah, Guiding Light).

As news of Reynolds' death trickled through Hollywood Wednesday night, many of her former co-stars and famous fans took to social media to share their memories of the screen legend. In a lengthy Facebook post, Brown reflected on the magical time she had filming Halloweentown (and its subsequent sequels) with Reynolds. "What do you say about a woman who had such an impact on your life both professionally and personally?" the 32-year-old actress began. "Debbie lived her life like all of us should, to the fullest. She was bold, funny, and had the biggest heart."

"Her sparkly smile warmed every room she was in," Brown said of Reynolds, "and her jokes about her amazing career and life would make your stomach hurt with laughter."

Halloweentown became a cult classic over the years, though 84-year-old Reynolds will likely be remembered for her roles in movies like Bundle of Joy, The Catered Affair, Divorce American Style, How the West Was Won, Singin' in the Rain, The Singing Nun, Susan Slept Here, Tammy and the Bachelor, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, What's the Matter With Helen? and more.

But, according to Brown, Reynolds' legacy extends far beyond her film career. "Making people happy through her performing was her favorite thing to do, and she showed me at a young age what a gift it is to be able to do that for people," the actress remembered. "She was so talented and wise, which easily could have gone to her head, but instead she went out of her way to help others shine as brightly as they could. She'd try to move huge ladders on set just to help the crew, and looked out for every actor no matter the size their role. Her humility, grace, and care for others inspired me so much as a teen and is something that will always stay with me."

"'Being normal is vastly overrated,'" is a quote from Halloweentown, and how fitting it is that her character spoke it," said Brown, who played Marnie in the films. "Her generosity, talent, and loving spirit made her anything but normal. Thanks for the magic, Debbie. Rest in peace."

Judith Hoag, who played Agatha's daughter Gwen, took to Twitter to share her condolences. "Profoundly saddened by the loss of the beautiful, talented, wise & funny @DebbieReynolds1 - a true gem of a human being," the 48-year-old actress tweeted Wednesday. "Rest In Peace."

In a statement to E! News Thursday, Gary Marsh, President and Chief Creative Officer of Disney Channels Worldwide, grieved Reynolds' death. "Through her role as the magical Grandmother Agatha Cromwell in four Halloweentown movies, Debbie Reynolds became as beloved by Disney Channel viewers as she was by their parents and grandparents," he said. "We join the film, theatre, recording and TV community in extending our condolences to her family."

Talk Show Appearance

(12/24/16) LIVE WITH KELLY, syndicated

Th 1/5: Hayden Panettiere

Talk Show Appeance (Repeat)

(12/21/16) The Talk – CBS

Thursday, Dec. 29

In honor of CBS Daytime being #1 for 30 years, THE TALK welcomes stars from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, including Christel Khalil, Christian LeBlanc, Melody Thomas Scott and Jason Thompson, and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL with Scott Clifton, Don Diamont, Katherine Kelly Lang and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, and also reunites actors from legacy series, “Guiding Light” with Grant Aleksander, Beth Chamberlin, Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer, and from “As the World Turns,” Martha Byrne, Ellen Dolan, Elizabeth Hubbard and Collen Zenk (OAD: 10/12/16)

GH Star Emme Rylan Expecting!

(12/17/16) Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH) and partner Don Money, already the proud parents of sons Jackson, 7, and Levi, 5, are expanding their brood! The actress revealed the happy news of her pregnancy on Instagram. Check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGbQGyjr1t/. Best wishes to the whole family!

NAACP Image Awards

(12/14/16) 48th Image Awards ill be announced February 11 at ceremony airing live on TV One.

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Angela Bassett – “London Has Fallen” (Focus Features/Millennium Films/G-Base Production)
Madina Nalwanga – “Queen of Katwe” (Walt Disney Studios)
Ruth Negga – “Loving” (Focus Features/Big Beach)
Taraji P. Henson – “Hidden Figures” (20th Century Fox)
Tika Sumpter – “Southside With You” (Roadside Attractions)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Amirah Vann – “Underground” (WGN America)
CCH Pounder – “NCIS: New Orleans” (CBS)
Cicely Tyson – “How To Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Lynn Whitfield – “Greenleaf” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Naturi Naughton – “Power” (Starz)

Audio Book Read by

(12/1/16) Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear (Read by Orlagh Cassidy (ex-Doris, GL))

(Named one of the best mystery/suspense audiobooks of 2016 by Audiofile magazine)

(Order Here) Working with the British Secret Service on an undercover mission, Maisie Dobbs is sent to Hitler’s Germany in this thrilling tale of danger and intrigue—the twelfth novel in Jacqueline Winspear’s New York Times bestselling “series that seems to get better with each entry” (Wall Street Journal).

It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.

The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.

Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .

Nashville Sneak Peek Set for Dec. 15 on CMT

(12/1/16) (nashville.altervista.org) The holidays are coming early for the Nashies!

As a gift for the fans, CMT will sneak the first hour of the two-hour season premiere of Nashville on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. (Video)

Additionally, CMT just dropped the first trailer for the new season. Check it out!

The season begins with Rayna and Deacon facing a new normal with Maddie now back home and Highway 65 struggling financially. The shocking news about Juliette creates a wave of emotions throughout Nashville and sets Rayna off on a journey of discovery.

The two-hour season premiere of Nashville will debut on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

What breakup? Hayden and Wladimir party at Art Basel

(11/30/16) After shooting down breakup rumors, Hayden Panettiere and boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko stepped out together at an Art Basel Miami Beach party.

The “Nashville” star and Klitschko appeared together at the Daily Front Row bash at the Faena Art Dome on the beach on Tuesday night.

The couple happily posed for photos and mingled with other guests including supermodel Natasha Poly, the covergirl for the Daily Front Row’s Art Basel edition, plus editor-in-chief Brandusa Niro and publisher Mark Tevis.

Panettiere, who said she recently sought treatment for postpartum depression following the birth of their daughter Kaya, who is nearly 2, shot down rumors that she and the Ukrainian boxing champ had split after she was spotted in New York without her engagement ring.

“Missing rings don’t mean the end of relationships,” she captioned a photo of herself cuddling with Klitschko and their daughter, “Blessed to be with my beautiful family.”

Beaches: Idina Menzel and Nia Long Will Make You Cry in First Lifetime Trailer

(11/29/16) (Video) Newsflash: Idina Menzel singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” is no less affecting than when Bette Midler does it.

So as you watch this first trailer for Lifetime’s upcoming remake of the 1988 movie Beaches, which opens with Menzel crooning the famous tune, you’re already prepped for major welling.

Menzel (Glee) stars as CC opposite Nia Long (Third Watch)’s Hillary in the weepy drama, which follows two best friends who stay close throughout their entire lives. (The roles were played by Midler and Barbara Hershey, respectively, in the original. And in case you were wondering, Midler has given the project her blessing.)

The video, released Monday, previews the movie’s major emotional beats. We see Hillary and CC hanging out as children, CC achieving fame, Hillary resenting her friend’s success, both women celebrating the birth of Hillary’s daughter, and then the really sad stuff: Hillary falling ill and… well, if you aren’t familiar with how the story ends, we’re not going to spoil you.

Beaches will air Saturday, Jan. 21, at 8/7c.

‘Empire’: Nia Long Set To Recur In Season 3

(11/23/16) Uncle Buck alumna Nia Long has booked a recurring role on the current third season of Fox’s hit hip-hop drama series Empire, co-created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong.

Long will play Giuliana (Giusi), a queenpin who runs a club in Las Vegas and makes brash moves in the gangster underworld of New York to secure a deal with Empire. Sleek, sexy, and cold-blooded, she rubs elbows with Lucious (Terrence Howard) and goes toe-to-toe with Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) even as she reckons with her own mysterious past.

Long, who starred as Alexis on ABC’s Uncle Buck, most recently appeared in feature Keanu and was cast in a recurring role in Netflix’s Dear White People. She’s repped by CAA, Primary Wave and Meyer & Downs.

She joins other notable guest stars/recurring players on the current Season 3 of Empire including recently announced Rumer Willis, Mariah Carey, Taye Diggs, Birdman and French Montana.

The Stars of AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT Reveal Their Favorite Moments!

(11/22/16) ATWT Video, GL Video.

Wendy Moniz Recurs on Pure Genius 12/8

(11/21/16) “A Bunker Hill Christmas” – When a young leukemia patient comes to Bunker Hill in need of a miracle, James hopes a new t-cell cancer treatment will save her life, as her optimism inspires him to become a better person. Also, Malik and Zoe agree to go on a date just as James confesses his feelings to her, and Julianna’s Christmas visit with Walter uncovers the strain in their long-distance marriage, on PURE GENIUS, Thursday, Dec. 8 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Musician Phillip Phillips guest stars as himself.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (Julianna Wallace).

Aca-what? Brittany Snow’s character on ‘Crazy Ex’ finally revealed

(11/19/16) Ever since it was announced “Pitch Perfect” star Brittany Snow would be heading to “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” fans have been dying to know how the a capella triple threat would fit into the CW’s musical TV series. On Friday (Nov. 18), her role was finally revealed, during the last few minutes of the episode, “Why is Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend Eating Carbs?”

While she only teased a few notes, we’re guessing Snow’s upcoming featured music video will be a song reminiscent of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” — for she is playing the role of Anna, Josh’s new love interest.

Aca-what? Yeah. After Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III) sang an entire song about how he could live on his own, and went on and on about how he should really be single for awhile, a hot hippie blonde from LA waltzes into his life. This type of situation couldn’t be more on-brand for Josh. Of course he would fall into a relationship with a gorgeous girl that’s way out of his league without even trying. Worst of all? He won’t even recognize his dumb luck. Josh just thinks this is how the world works.

But who’s to say Anna will be as doting and caring as Josh’s ex-girlfriends? Anna might give Josh a run for his money — or, to Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Valencia’s (Gabrielle Ruiz) chagrin — Anna could be awesome. That perfect combination of confidence and compassion, with a great sense of humor. Maybe she’ll become friends with everyone. It will be hard to hate her if she’s really great. If Rebecca and Valencia can find common ground and become friends, it’s not out of this world to think this Anna couldn’t join their current squad.

But Snow has only signed on for three episodes, and we’re talking about Rebecca and Valencia. The same two girls who revenge-peed on Josh’s music equipment. Rebecca will most likely want to sabotage Anna in some big dramatic way, while Valencia will probably try to pretend she doesn’t care at first, and date a random guy just to make Josh jealous, but then collapse in a mess of her own lies. Whatever nonsense they get into, it’s nice to know they’ll have each other, and Heather (Vella Lovell), to lean on.

What about Paula, you ask? Saving the worst bit of news for last, Paula and Rebecca’s current breakup is more heartbreaking than the fact that Greg (Santino Fontana) is gone forever — which showrunner Alina Brosh McKenna confirmed to ET.

“The show’s about the pursuit of happiness, and ultimately [Greg’s] happiness would be elsewhere from [Rebecca]. So we’d always talked about doing that, and we knew it was going to happen this season,” Brosh McKenna says. “Luckily, Santino was on board with him, so we worked with him… on the right timing of it. He was fine with it and he embraced it, and he got a lot of great songs going out the door.”

It’s beautiful that the one person who seemed like he’d never get free of West Covina escaped to greener pastures, but it’s ugly to see Rebecca and Paula’s (Donna Lynn Champlin) friendship breaking apart. Watching their forlorn, yet hopeful glances towards each other at the donut shop, it’s so clear they want to be together!

It’s just such a classic example of how hard it can be to stay close when we’re in vastly different stages of life. Paula has always been the more nurturing of the two — but as a mother and wife, with a full-time job and now going to law school, she doesn’t have the time or energy to feed Rebecca’s narcissism.

However, Rebecca has asked Paula numerous times what’s up with her, and she never gets a real answer. How can Rebecca be there for her if she has no idea what’s going on? It’s far past time for Rebecca to become a more observant and better caring friend to Paula — but we need Paula to open that possibility to Rebecca just once more before permanently shutting the door on their friendship. Because let’s be honest, screw Josh and Greg: It’s the love between Rebecca and Paula we ship the most.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” airs on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.

American Music Awards Presenter

(11/16/16) Matt Bomer- (ex-Guiding Light/ex-All My Children)

The 2016 American Music Awards will go live Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Lifetime's Beaches Remake Gets Premiere Date

(11/16/16) Mark this day on your calendar for a good cry: Lifetime’s Beaches remake has a premiere date.

The TV-movie remake starring Idina Menzel and Nia Long will air Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8/7c, the network announced Wednesday. It’s a new take on the 1988 Bette Midler-Barbara Hershey weeper about two lifelong friends who stick together across several decades, with Menzel as CC (Midler’s role) and Long as Hillary (Hershey’s role).

Claire Labine, Creator of Ryan's Hope and Iconic GH Stories, Dead at 82

(11/12/16) Veteran soap scribe Claire Labine, the creator of ABC’s Ryan’s Hope and a winner of nine Daytime Emmy Awards, died this week at age 82. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

Labine’s venerable daytime-TV career began in 1970, writing for CBS’ Where the Heart Is and Love of Life. She was then courted to create a companion series for ABC’s General Hospital, the result of which was Ryan’s Hope, which revolved around an Irish family and would go on to earn eight Emmys, including two for Outstanding Drama.

In 1993, Labine was brought on to GH itself as headwriter, where she created the character of Sonny Corinthos and in turn gave unto soap opera history the supercouple of Sonny and Brenda. Her other GH hallmarks include the introduction of the Ward family, the Robin/Stone love story and — hold on, I need a Kleenex — the B.J. heart transplant storyline.

During her time at GH — where she would collect another Emmy — Labine came up with the spinoff idea Heart and Soul, which was to center on the characters of Ned and Lois and be set in Brooklyn; ABC went with the Port Charles offshoot instead. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, she had headwriter stints at One Life to Live and Guiding Light.

GH vets Maurice Benard and Vanessa Marcil and OLTL alum Kassie DePaive have been among the actors who have remembered Labine via Twitter:

@MauriceBenard : Claire LaBine you will be missed you gave me a chance to play a character that had so many levels when no one else would so grateful to you

@VanessaMarcilM : Claire LaBine healed my soul & millions of others hearts through her art. She always stepped away if things became inauthentic #BadassChicks https://twitter.com/mauricebenard/status/797242042610913280 …

@KassieDePaiva : Soap Headwriter Claire Labine was one of the best! Rest In Peace dear gifted lady. #oltl #amc #ryanshope

Frank Grillo Takes On Made Man In ‘Last Don Standing’: Philly Mob Boss Biopic

(11/12/16) The Last Don Standing, the book that recounts the life of Philadelphia Mob Boss Ralph Natale, known as one of the only La Costra Nostra bosses to flip and become a federal witness, is being developed as a feature film and a starring vehicle for Frank Grillo (Kingdom, Purge franchise).

The book from New York Daily News reporter Larry McShane and producer Dan Pearson, compiles Natale’s frank accounts of the murder of Bugsy Siegel, Jimmy Hoffa’s final days, the mob’s takeover of Atlantic City and the boxing matches between Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali (and in detail) of how the fights were fixed for Liston to purposely take a dive.

Natale came up through the ranks of the mob as the son of a numbers runner in Philly, but in time became part of the upper echelon of the crime syndicate as one of the main men of notorious mob boss Angelo “The Gentle Don” Bruno. His story delves into how they attempted to take over the Atlantic City casino unions. Natale was convicted in the late 1970s of drug smuggling and spent 16 years in prison. Although pressed by law enforcement to give up others, he refused to testify against his crew.

Upon his release, he retook the crime family as his own and what followed was a bloody mob war that left many men murdered in South Philly streets. In short order, he became known as the Don of Philly. He was convicted and sentenced again in 2005 for racketeering, bribery and drug dealing.

At some point, having been loyal to those who did not remain loyal to him, he made the decision to cooperate with federal authorities.

Natale gave unfettered access to McShane and Dan Pearson (whose personal story is worth a movie unto itself). The Last Don Standing: The Secret Life of Mob Boss Ralph Natale drops from Thomas Dunne Books on March 21. McShane is a 35-year newspaperman with the New York Daily News who also authored Cops Under Fire and Chin: the Life and Times of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante.

Pearson — whose I Married a Mobster had a two-season run at Investigative Discovery Channel and who also recently set up the Leonardo DiCaprio untitled mob film at Showtime — is repping the book via his D4 Entertainment with FolioLit literary agent Frank Weimann.

Grillo, who had great roles in Captain America: Civil War, The Purge and the MMA series The Kingdom, has a starring turn in Netflix’s Wheelman, playing a getaway driver fighting for his life in a car full of cash after a bank robbery goes all wrong. Grillo’s production company War Party, which he has with director Joe Carnahan, is producing Wheelman. He is repped by CAA, Management 360 and attorney Erik Hyman at Loeb & Loeb.

Paul Wesley Inks Overall Deal With Warner Bros. TV, Sets 4 Projects As Producer

(11/12/16) The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley has signed a pod deal at Warner Bros. TV for his production company, Citizen Media, with partner/former The Vampire Diaries executive producer Bob Levy.

Under the pact, Wesley and Levy will develop new television projects for the studio, starting with a darkly comedic single-camera half-hour based on a non-fiction article by Jason Smith called Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher.

Citizen Media has three other series projects in the works that preceded the WBTV deal, including a limited series at ABC produced by Robert Redford.

Titled Pecos, the ABC limited series, produced by ABC Signature Studios, is inspired by the true story of a 29-year-old rookie journalist who takes down one of the richest, most powerful men in Texas, proving his gigantic business empire is a complete fraud, in 1962 Pecos, Texas. Shawn Christensen, Oscar winner for his short film Curfew, is writing. Citizen Media’s Wesley and Levy executive produce alongside Robert Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn of Sundance Productions.

At Fox 21 TV Studios, Citizen Media has Finding Natalie, a drama about a young Mexican woman searching for her 17-year-old sister Natalie who was recently kidnapped by a sex trafficking cartel. NY playwright and The Americans writer Hilary Bettis will write.

At Freeform, Wesley and Levy is developing one-hour series Shanghai Summer, about 20-something Americans pursuing their dreams in Shanghai, China. Oanh Ly (The Catch) is on board to write the script.

Wesley, as well as fellow Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder, landed overall deals with the series’ producer WBTV as part of their most recent talent pacts for the long-running CW drama.

Wesley is hitting the ground running, having already started building a development slate with veteran producer/executive Levy, who also has served as an executive producer on such series as Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl.

Wesley is repped by ICM Partners and Management 360. Christensen, who has the upcoming feature Sidney Hall, is repped by Verve. Bettis is repped by CAA.

Talk Show Appearance

(11/12/16) HARRY, syndicated

We 11/16: Taye Diggs

Victoria Rowell and Other Daytime Stars to Appear in Holiday Movies — Get the Details!

(11/9/16) With Thanksgiving approaching, it’s time to get into the holiday spirit! And both UP TV and ION Television have a slate of seasonal movies featuring some of your favorite soap stars from THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, GENERAL HOSPITAL, GUIDING LIGHT, and ALL MY CHILDREN!

Y&R alum Victoria Rowell (ex-Dru) stars in Merry Christmas, Baby, airing Sunday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. ET on UP. The Chandler family is back in a new installment in the Marry Me for Christmas franchise, and their perfect Christmas could become a perfect disaster!

In Girlfriends of Christmas Past, Tammin Sursok (ex-Colleen, Y&R) and Lindsey McKeon (Marah, GL) star as two of three women looking for revenge on their cheating ex at his holiday retreat. OLTL’s John Brotherton (Jared) also stars, and it airs Sunday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. ET on UP.

Laura Bell Bundy (Marah, GL) stars in Season’s Greetings on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. ET, as a greeting card writer out of touch with her fellow generation… until a handsome gentleman enters her life! AMC’s Carrie Genzel (Skye) co-stars.

Ion Overman (ex-Gabriela, GH) stars in Christmas With the Andersons, airing Saturday, Dec. 10, at 9 p.m. ET on ION. When a family known for their epic holiday parties falls on hard times, they throw a different type of bash and learn what’s really important.

Y&R alums Vivica A. Fox (ex-Stephanie) and Eric Roberts (ex-Vance) star in A Husband For Christmas, where a woman agrees to a loveless marriage of convenience with a co-worker to upstage her sister’s engagement, but could find a genuine spark. It airs Sunday, Dec. 11, at 9 p.m. ET on ION.

Melina Kanakaredes & Doug Savant on Notorious 11/17

(11/1/16) “Choice” – Jake furiously works different angles of the murder case against Maya Hartman (Haley Ramm), daughter of disgraced news anchor Dana Hartman (Melina Kanakaredes). He thinks Dana could help by pleading her daughter’s case on LHL, even though Louise hijacked a previous interview by showing a sex tape of Dana with Maya’s boyfriend. Max (Adam Rayner) is against Louise and Julia’s dangerous and clandestine trip to Mexico to get the LHL exclusive with drug kingpin Carlos Mora aka “El Toro,” on “Notorious,” airing THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network.

“Notorious” stars Piper Perabo as Julia George, Daniel Sunjata as Jake Gregorian, Kate Jennings Grant as Louise Herrick, Aimee Teegarden as Ella Benjamin, J. August Richards as Bradley Gregorian, Sepideh Moafi as Megan Byrd, Ryan Guzman as Ryan Mills, Kevin Zegers as Oscar Keaton.

Guest starring are Melina Kanakaredes as Dana Hartman, Adam Rayner as Max Gilford, Haley Ramm as Maya Hartman, Adalgiza Chermont as jail guard, Theresa June-Tao as inmate #1, Leslie Miller as inmate #2, Maiara Walsh as Willow Ferrera, Doug Savant as Paul Weston, Carlos Sanz as Eduardo Nogales, Matt Walton as Darin Mills, Chris Brochu as Preston Mann, Rogelio Ramos as Officer Martinez, Matt Kaminsky as reporter #2.

“Choice” was written by Tyler Bensinger and directed by Miller Tobin.

Laura Wright Has a Thrilling Adventure With Her Kids!

(10/30/16) (Pic) Laura Wright (Carly, GENERAL HOSPITAL) visited Vault 1381 with daughter Lauren, son John, and his girlfriend, Gracie, but their attempt to escape the room didn’t quite work out exactly as they’d planned!

“The Vault in Santa Ynez!” Wright posted on Instagram. “So fun! Loved it!”

The immersive puzzle-solving game lets a small group of players enter a room where they will have 20 minutes to solve the puzzles and earn their escape! The limited-time experience was raising money for the Trunk Full of Miracles charity, which supports the homeless. Unfortunately, Wright and her group weren’t able to get out on their own, but we’re sure they came close!

Patricia Barry Tribute

(10/30/16) In this week’s Soap Opera Digest, daytimers and friends honor Patricia Barry (ex-Addie, DAYS, et al) who passed away at her home in Los Angeles on October 11. “I loved Patricia Barry,” says Bill Hayes (Doug, DAYS). “She was a lovely, classy person.” Other daytime stars who share their memories of Barry include Julia Barr (Brooke, AMC), Jeffrey Bryon ( ex-Mark, PORT CHARLES et al), Jessica Collins (ex-Dinah Lee, LOVING, ex-Avery, Y&R) and Susan Seaforth-Hayes (Julie, DAYS). Pick up the new issue to read their heartfelt words.

Soaps Alums Boost THE BAY Cast

(10/27/16) The digital drama series, THE BAY, has been busy casting for season 3, which will premiere in spring 2017. Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla, Y&R) will guest star as Iris Hopkins, a hard-nose judge presiding in Sara’s (Mary Beth Evans) murder trial. Amelia Marshall ( ex-Gilly, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Liz, PASSIONS et al) will play Yolanda, who has past ties to Sara and Pete. Ilene Kristen (ex-Roxy, ONE LIFE TO LIVE et al) will return as Sara’s aunt. THE LYING GAME alum Randy Wayne will portray Matthew Johnson, a nurse. Brian Gaskill (ex-Bobby, ALL MY CHILDREN et al) is out as Bay City’s terrorizing rapist’s Chase. Season 2 of the series will be release on Amazon Prime at the end of November.

Melina Kanakaredes on Notorious 11/10/16

(10/26/16) “The Burn Book” – Disgraced and former TV news host Dana Hartman (guest star Melina Kanakaredes) turns to Julia and Jake for help when her rebellious daughter becomes a suspect in the murder of her aspiring filmmaker boyfriend. Singer and reality-star Ray J (playing himself) gets caught up in the case when he announces the murder weapon belonged to him, on “Notorious,” airing THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network.

“Notorious” stars Piper Perabo as Julia George, Daniel Sunjata as Jake Gregorian, Kate Jennings Grant as Louise Herrick, Aimee Teegarden as Ella Benjamin, J. August Richards as Bradley Gregorian, Sepideh Moafi as Megan Byrd, Ryan Guzman as Ryan Mills, Kevin Zegers as Oscar Keaton.

Guest starring are Melina Kanakaredes as Dana Hartman, Ray J as himself, Adam Rayner as Max Gilford, Haley Ramm as Maya Hartman, Maiara Walsh as Will Ferrera, Chris Brochu as Preston Mann, Matt Walton as Darin Mills, Paul Schackman as Anthony Zahn, Josh Plasse as Johnny Weston, Doug Savant as Paul Weston, Steven Good as Trevor, Gonzalo Menendez as Detective Ruiz, William Charlton as bank manager.

“The Burn Book” was written by Zachary Reiter and directed by Kevin Sullivan.

New Series For Soap Stars

(10/22/16) Daniel Cosgrove (Aiden, DAYS) will appear in the new TV series PROJECT DAD, A CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ORIGINAL, which features celebrity dads who play “mom” while left alone with their kids for 48 hours. The show, which premieres on Discovery Life on November 1 at 7:00 p.m., also includes comedian Donnell Rawlings and DJ Skribble. Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus, GL, et al) is an executive producer. Besides Discovery Life, PROJECT DAD will also air next year on TLC on January 5 (Goldin’s birthday!) at 5 p.m.

Anthony Addabbo, ‘Guiding Light’ Alum, Dies at 56

(10/20/16) Anthony Addabbo, a soap opera veteran whose credits included “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “Guiding Light,” died Tuesday, according to his colleague Winsor Harmon. Addabbo was 56.

“Today we lost a damn good man a father and great actor .. We shared many glasses of Vino Rosso together brother,” Harmon, who co-starred on “The Bold and the Beautiful” with Addabbo, wrote on Facebook. “I’ll never forget how excited you were to land B&B. By the way you still owe me that lobster dinner. I’ll collect next time I see ya.”

Addabbo played Jim Lemay on “Guiding Light” from 1999 to 2000, and Tony “Rush” Carrera on “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 1997 to 1998.

His other credits included “Silk Stalkings,” “All My Children,” “Generations,” “Dallas” and “Diagnosis Murder.”

More recently, Addabbo appeared on the Showtime drama “Homeland.”

According to Addabbo’s bio on IMDb, the actor was born in Coral Gables, Florida, on Sept. 14, 1960.

He initially planned to become a tree surgeon, then he took up modeling in New York when he was 21, and landing his first onscreen role in the 1987 Western “The Gunfighters.”

In his Facebook tribute to his colleague, Harmon added, “We will will miss you my dear friend. RIP. I know you’re walking the streets of Gold bringing joy to the Angels as you did here on earth. God Bless you man. Love and miss you brother.”

Winsor Dewey Harmon III: Today we lost a damn good man a father and and great actor. Here's to you TA. We shared many glasses of Vino Rosso together brother. I'll never forget how excited you were to land B&B. By the way you still owe me that lobster dinner. I'll collect next time I see ya. We will will miss you my dear friend. RIP. I know you're walking the streets of Gold bringing joy to the Angels as you did here on earth. God Bless you man. Love and miss you brother.

Rick Hearst Books New TV Role

(10/19/16) Rick Hearst (Ric, GH), who relocated to Atlanta earlier this year, has been staying busy with a plethora of new gigs. Next up? A multiepisode stint on the VHI series DAYTIME DIVAS, set behind the scenes of a fictional talk show. “Well Atlanta you definitely are showing me that relocation was wise,” Hearst posted on Instagram. “Just booked an arc to play opposite the multi talented, and stunning #vanessawilliams on the #vh1 series #daytimedivas.”

Wendy Moniz & Doug Savant on Pure Genius

(10/19/16) “It’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider Silk Surgery” – When a young boy’s legs are crushed after being pinned by a car, Malik is determined to use a revolutionary procedure using spider silk to save his limbs, while Zoe lobbies in favor of the safer route of amputation. Also, James, Walter and Talaikha care for Amelia (Laura Seay), a young woman in dire need of a liver transplant, but they’re puzzled by her resistance when they tell her the donor is her estranged father, Simon (Doug Savant), on PURE GENIUS, Thursday, Nov. 3 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (Julianna Wallace).

GUEST CAST inlcudes: Michael Johnston (Luke Wallace), Doug Savant (Simon Monroe).

Daniel Cosgrove & Richard Thomas on Elementary

(10/19/16) “Henny Penny the Sky is Falling” – Captain Gregson lobbies to include Holmes and Watson when his unit is selected to receive a city commendation for its exemplary work. Also, as Holmes and Watson consult on the investigation into a financial analyst’s murder, they are drawn into the world of asteroid research, on the 100th episode of ELEMENTARY, Sunday, Oct. 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

GUEST CAST includes: Owain Yeoman (Julius Kent), Richard Thomas (Mitch Barrett), Daniel Cosgrove (Len).

Kanakaredes on Notorious 11/3

(10/18/16) “Chase” – After Jake’s dramatic arrest on LHL for Sarah’s murder, he seeks refuge from the paparazzi at Julia’s home while Bradley and Ella work frantically to clear his name. Later, Jake discovers a terrible truth and goes to great lengths to find the person he now suspects is the real killer, on “Notorious,” airing THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network.

“Notorious” stars Piper Perabo as Julia George, Daniel Sunjata as Jake Gregorian, Kate Jennings Grant as Louise Herrick, Aimee Teegarden as Ella Benjamin, J. August Richards as Bradley Gregorian, Sepideh Moafi as Megan Byrd, Ryan Guzman as Ryan Mills, Kevin Zegers as Oscar Keaton.

Guest starring are Melina Kanakaredes as Dana Hartman, Adam Rayner as Max Gilford, Patti Yasutake as Judge Bernice Wong, Bryan Adrian as Axel Know, Dilshad Vadsaria as Sarah Keaton, Kyle Secor as Dr. Govner, Sabrina Perez as Joy Brant, Grant Albrecht as Donnie, Josh Latzer as guard, Karan Oberoi as Alan Wells, Erin Matthews as Reesa Farringdon, Paula Salas as Zoey Farringdon, Adam Harrington as Brian Farringdon.

“Chase” was written by Sharon Lee Watson and directed by Chad Lowe.

Patricia Barry, Stalwart of Daytime Soap Operas, Dies at 93

(10/12/16) (hollywoodreporter.com) Patricia Barry, the veteran actress of stage and screen who was a standout on such soap operas as Days of Our Lives, All My Children and Guiding Light, has died. She was 93.

Barry, one of the earliest members of Women in Film and a former president of the nonprofit advocacy organization, died peacefully Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, her publicist announced.

In the movies, Barry starred in Send Me No Flowers as the soon-to-be divorced neighbor whom Doris Day suspects is having an affair with her husband Rock Hudson, and she played Glenn Ford's former mistress in Delbert Mann's Dear Heart. Both films were released in 1964.

Also that year, Barry appeared in the crime drama Kitten With a Whip (1964), starring Ann-Margret, and starred as Jack Klugman's spendthrift wife in the short-lived NBC sitcom Harris Against the World.

On NBC's Days of Our Lives, Barry portrayed Addie Horton Williams, who was married to the character played by Bill Hayes, from 1971-74. She then had a rather interesting turn as Peg English — who raised her adopted daughter Brooke (Julia Barr) while running an international drug cartel under the alias The Cobra — on ABC's All My Children from 1980-81.

On CBS' Guiding Light from 1984-87, Barry sparkled as the conniving Southern belle "Miss Sally" Gleason, then played upper-crust matriarch Isabelle Alden on the ABC soap Loving in the '90s.

Patricia White was born Nov. 16, 1922, in Davenport, Iowa. Her father was a doctor who cared for rural families, and her mother was the youngest of 14 children. She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., where she trained with Maude Adams — who played Peter Pan on Broadway in 1905 — and then studied under Sanford Meisner in New York.

Her first professional role came in a 1944 production of Laughing Water, by Henry and Phoebe Ephron (the parents of Nora and Delia), and she soon appeared on Broadway in Calico Wedding. Later, she was Steve Allen's co-star in The Pink Elephant.

She won a Rita Hayworth look-alike contest, was signed by Warner Bros. and made her big-screen debut as a showgirl in Her Kind of Man (1946). She went on to appear in such films as The Beast With Five Fingers (1946); Joan Crawford's Humoresque (1946); The Man I Love (1947) with Robert Alda and Ida Lupino; The Wreck of the Hesperus (1948); Gene Autry's Riders of the Whistling Pines (1949); The Tattooed Stranger (1950); and First Love (1954).

She co-starred with William Frawley, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford and other New York Yankees in the spring-training-set Safe at Home! (1962).

Barry starred in two episodes of The Twilight Zone and showed up on such series as Perry Mason, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, Route 66, My Three Sons, Three's Company, Dallas, Murder, She Wrote and PBS' Ghostwriter, where she played a movie star.

An astute businesswoman, Barry leased fully furnished homes to visiting stars, directors and other dignitaries in Los Angeles and New York. Her tenants included Peter Ustinov, Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward, Angela Lansbury, Paula Prentiss & Richard Benjamin, Joshua Logan, Don Rickles and Peter Gallagher. George Roy Hill was living in her house on Beverly Drive when he directed his Oscar-winning Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Barry, who had a fondness for Yorkshire Terriers, was the recipient of Women in Film's prestigious Founder's Award in 1999. In 2004, she starred in Martha Mitchell Speaks, a one-woman show in New York produced by Dorothea Petrie.

Her husband, Philip Barry Jr., who produced plays, films (The Mating Game) and telefilms for ABC, died in 1998. He was the son of playwright Philip Barry, and after her husband's death, she authorized all productions of Philip Barry plays, including stagings in London of High Society and The Philadelphia Story, starring Kevin Spacey.

Survivors include her daughters Miranda Barry, a former executive in charge of global Sesame Street productions, and Stephanie; son-in-law Mark; grandchildren Alixanne and Hailey; and godchildren Tracy and Stephen.

Memorial services are planned for early 2017 in Los Angeles and New York.

Melina Kanakaredes Set To Recur on ABC’s ‘Notorious’

(10/11/16) CSI: NY alumna Melina Kanakaredes has booked a recurring role on ABC’s new drama series Notorious.

From Sony Pictures TV and Jeff Kwatinetz’s The Firm, Notorious was inspired by the relationship between famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and long-time Larry King Live executive producer Wendy Walker. It’s described as a provocative look at the interplay of criminal law and the media.

Kanakaredes will play Dana Hartman, a natural beauty with a keen intelligence, sharp wit and a quick temper. She’s a woman who has risen to the pinnacle of success in broadcasting and plummeted to the depths of scandal-ridden despair. We meet her seven years out from the lowest point in her career, a mother to a rebellious twenty one year old daughter. She is a survivor, who will fight dirty to get what she wants and to protect her daughter.

Kanakaredes, known for her long-running role as Stella on CSI:NY, recently recurred on Extant. She also previously starred as Dr. Sydney Hansen on Providence. She’s repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment.

‘Shadowhunters’ Reveals Season 2 Debut Date & ‘Vampire Diaries’ Star Directing – NY Comic-Con

(10/9/16) The second season of Shadowhunters will premiere on January 2 2017, it was announced today at NY Comic-Con. With new showrunners Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer now in charge of the Freeform fantasy drama, today’s panel at the Hammerstein Ballroom also revealed that The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley will be directing an episode of the new season.

The actor broke the news himself in a video shout-out to the fans at the confab on Saturday.

This weekend’s panel included Slavkin, Swimmer and fellow EP McG, author Cassandra Clare and lead Katherine McNamara. Fellow cast members Alberto Rosende, Dominic Sherwood, Emeraude Toubia,Harry Shum Jr., Matthew Daddario and more were there too. Before the EPs and cast came out the crowd was shown an action packed preview of the new season.

“Things get worse for everyone before they get better this season,” teased McNamara. “The whole show expands,” added McG.

Based on Clare’s The Moral Instruments YA novels, Shadowhunters debuted on January 16 this year. The series centers on NYC-based Clary Fray (McNamara) who discovers on her 18th birthday that she has angelic blood and joins the group of Shadowhunters who guard the human race from demons and more.

Slavkin and Swimmer were brought on board in August to replace Ed Decter after the EP and person who developed the show for TV exited the series just before production on Season 2 started over creative differences.

New York Comic-Con runs until October.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/7/16) The Talk – CBS

Wednesday, Oct. 12

In honor of CBS Daytime being #1 for 30 years, “The Talk” welcomes stars from “The Young and the Restless” including Christel Khalil, Christian LeBlanc, Melody Thomas Scott and Jason Thompson and “The Bold and the Beautiful” with Scott Clifton, Don Diamont, Katherine Kelly Lang and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood and also reunites actors from legacy series, “Guiding Light” with Grant Aleksander, Beth Chamberlin, Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer and from “As the World Turns” Martha Byrne, Ellen Dolan, Elizabeth Hubbard and Collen Zenk (n)

Wendy Moniz on Pure Genius

(10/7/16) “Pilot” – Silicon Valley tech titan James Bell enlists Dr. Walter Wallace, an exceptional veteran surgeon with a controversial past, to run his state-of-the-art hospital with an ultramodern approach to medicine, on the series premiere of the new drama PURE GENIUS, Thursday, Oct. 27 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Dermot Mulroney, Augustus Prew, Odette Annable, Reshma Shetty, Aaron Jennings, Ward Horton and Brenda Song star.

Billionaire genius James Bell built Bunker Hill Hospital determined to revolutionize health care and treat the rarest and most challenging medical mysteries, at no charge. Previously, his chief of staff, Dr. Wallace, believed medicine was a human endeavor, not technological, until a eureka moment at the hospital convinced him otherwise. Bell’s team of trailblazers includes Dr. Zoe Brockett, an exceptional, fearlessly frank physician; Dr. Talaikha Channarayapatra, an idealistic, maddeningly literal neurosurgeon who believes the hospital is a beacon for change; Dr. Malik Verlaine, a former gangbanger now spearheading efforts to provide 24/7 health monitoring in poor neighborhoods via computer; Dr. Scott Strauss, an intense neurologist with an Ivy league pedigree; and Angie Cheng, an enthusiastic 3-D printer programming whiz. At Bunker Hill, Bell pairs the most brilliant minds in medicine with the most forward thinkers in technology and cuts bureaucracy out of the equation, all in the interest of saving lives, including his own.

RECURRING CAST: Wendy Moniz (Julianna Wallace).

GUEST CAST Includes: Guilford Adams (Will), J. Rene Pena (Administrator), Matthew John Armstrong (Paul Byer).

WRITTEN BY: Jason Katims, one of the series’ executive producers, and Sarah Watson.

DIRECTED BY: David Semel.

Soap Reunions On CBS

(10/5/16) CBS is celebrating 30 years at No. 1 with a host of soap faves and events. GUIDING LIGHT alums Kim Zimmer, Robert Newman, Grant Aleksander and Beth Chamberlin (ex-Reva, ex-Josh, ex-Phillip and ex-Beth) will air on THE TALK on October 12, as will AS THE WORLD TURNS’s Martha Byrne, Colleen Zenk, Ellen Dolan and Elizabeth Hubbard (ex-Lily, ex-Barbara, ex-Margo and ex-Lucinda). On October 10, THE PRICE IS RIGHT will welcome appearances by Y&R stars Peter Bergman (Jack), Joshua Morrow (Nick) and Jason Thompson (Billy), as well as B&B’s Pierson Fodé (Thomas), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) and Heather Tom (Katie). On October 13, THE TALK’s Sheryl Underwood reprises her role as Emmy on B&B. Finally, on October 14, PRICE model Amber Lancaster will play a model on Y&R who stars in a Bare by Brash & Sassy commercial. EW.com first reported the news.

Talk Show Appearance

(10/2/16) On Wednesday, Oct. 12, THE TALK will host talent from CBS Daytime past and present, including actors from Y&R and B&B as well as the much-missed AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT. Fans of those cancelled shows will not want to miss out on this very special reunion!

AMC's Larkin Malloy Dead at 62

(9/30/16) Larkin Malloy, who held roles on several soap operas including All My Children, has died. He was 62.

Malloy played AMC‘s Travis from 1987 to 1998. Walt Willey, who portrayed his on-screen brother Jack on the ABC soap, posted on Facebook Thursday that Malloy had died of complications from a recent heart attack.

Willey wrote:

Just got word that Larkin Malloy, who played my brother “Travis” on All My Children, died of complications from a heart attack he suffered on Saturday. Larkin Malloy welcomed me like a brother when I joined the cast in 1987. We worked together, did appearances together, partied together, vacationed together. He was an “actor’s actor”, spending many years teaching the craft, and a gentleman in the old world style. We spent many hours together, both on set and off, and truly were “Irish brothers from another mother.” Tommy, you will be missed. Love you, brother. ‘For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come’ Hamlet.

Larkin also appeared on the daytime dramas Loving, The Edge of Night, Guiding Light and As the World Turns and in a Season 13 episode of Law and Order.

His death comes one day after that of Agnes Nixon, the creator of All My Children and One Life to Live.

Nia Long Joins Netflix's 'Dear White People' Series

(9/30/16) (hollywoodreporter.com) Nia Long is headed to Netflix.

The actress has joined the streaming giant's Dear White People TV series in a recurring role, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Based on Justin Simien's 2014 crowdfunded movie, the series centers on a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug. The series is a send-up of "post-racial" America that also touches on a universal story about forging one's own unique path.

Long will play Neika Hobbs, a Winchester University African-American studies professor who is whip-smart and confident but whose pulled-together professional life contrasts a more complicated personal one.

She joins Logan Browning (Powers) and Brandon P. Bell, who will reprise his role from the film.

Simien will write and direct several episodes of the series. Yvette Lee Bowser (Black-ish) and the film's Stephanie Allain and Julia Lebedev will exec produce.

The series hails from Lionsgate, whose sister company Roadside Attractions released the movie. The 10-episode, half-hour series begins production this month for a 2017 worldwide premiere on Netflix.

Long's recent credits include House of Lies, ABC's Uncle Buck and Keanu. She will next be seen in Lifetime's Beaches remake opposite Idina Menzel. She is repped by CAA, Primary Wave Entertainment and Meyer & Downs.

'All My Children' creator Agnes Nixon dies at 93

(9/29/16) Agnes Nixon, the creative force behind the edgy and enduring TV soap operas "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," died Wednesday. She was 93.

Nixon died at a Haverford, Pennsylvania, physical rehabilitation facility close to her Rosemont home, said her son, Bob Nixon. She had checked in to gain strength for a planned book tour, he said.

She had just completed her memoir, "My Life to Live," on Sunday, a week before it was due to publisher Penguin Random House for publication in early 2017, her son said.

"She was really a great wife, mother and human being — but above all, a writer. She was writing up until last night," he said, and had called him with a few changes for the book.

The cause of death was not immediately known, he said.

Nixon suffered a stroke four years ago with serious complications, her son said, but she fought to regain her health. He confirmed her birthdate as December 1922, despite media reports that she was 88.

"I am devastated to learn that we have lost Agnes. I adored her and admired her and I am forever grateful to her!" Susan Lucci, who starred as Erica Kane on "All My Children," said in a statement.

Nixon created, wrote and produced the long-running ABC daytime serials, which were canceled in 2011 as the network bowed to the reality that soaps had faded as a daytime TV force. (Both subsequently had short-lived online runs.)

"All My Children" aired for nearly 41 years, while "One Life to Live" made it to 44 years. They were set in the fictional Philadelphia-area towns of Pine Valley and Llanview.

Social issues including child abuse, AIDS, alcoholism and gay rights made their way into the series' story lines. Erica Kane was the first regularly appearing TV character to undergo a legal abortion, in 1973.

In a 2003 episode of "All My Children," Bianca, who was Erica's daughter, and the character Lena shared what was billed as daytime TV's first same-sex kiss.

"The theme of 'All My Children' from the beginning is the belief that, as God's children, we are all bound to each other by our common humanity, despite our many personal differences," Nixon told The Associated Press at the time. "The Bianca story is our latest effort to dramatize that belief."

Nixon, a native of Chicago, was mentored by the grande dame of the soap opera genre, Irna Phillips, back in the radio age.

She was writing for a TV soap, "Search for Tomorrow," as early as 1951. In the late 1960s, while raising a family and serving as head writer for "The Guiding Light," Nixon created a "bible" detailing "All My Children."

The show was rejected by CBS, but after Nixon breathed new life into NBC's flagging "Another World," she was approached by ABC to create a new serial. That was the start of "One Life to Live," which earned such solid ratings in its first year that ABC asked for another.

"I said to my husband, 'I can't think of another one,'" Nixon told the AP in 2013. "He said, 'How about "All My Children"?' So I opened the desk drawer and took out the 'bible' and sent it to ABC. They said, 'Boy, that was fast work!'"

The stories and characters of Nixon's fictional worlds never ended for her, Bob Nixon said: "It might not have been on the air but it was in her head."

Agnes Nixon was married to the late Robert Nixon, and the couple's four children are among her survivors. Services were planned for Saturday in Rosemont, with a private burial to follow.

Agnes Nixon, Creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, Dead at 93

(9/29/16) (tvline.com) Agnes Nixon, creator of long-running soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live, died Wednesday morning. She was 93.

Nixon’s daytime-television writing/producing credits include stints at As the World Turns, Search for Tomorrow, Another World and Guiding Light. The first soap she created, ABC’s One Life to Live, premiered in 1968. Two years later, her All My Children also bowed on ABC. Both AMC and OLTL would run until 2011 on ABC (and then for a brief time after online).

Nixon also co-created Loving and was involved in that series’ spinoff, The City. She was a multiple Daytime Emmy winner and took home the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Nixon’s son, Bob Nixon, told the Associated Press that his mother had just finished her memoir, My Life to Live, and had checked into a Philadelphia physical rehabilitation facility in order to gain strength for an upcoming book tour.

As news of Nixon’s death spread Wednesday, those who worked with her her shared their memories.

Susan Lucci played AMC‘s Erica Kane for the soap’s entire ABC run. On Wednesday, via her Instagram account, she said she was “forever grateful” to Nixon.

Cameron Mathison, who played AMC‘s Ryan for the better part of 13 years, tells TVLine, “Most of my memories of her are from when I had the opportunity to travel with her for different events and appearances. I just remember how incredibly sharp and witty she was for being in her 80s. She constantly cracked me up and yet at the same time so elegant and sweet. She will be missed.”

Alicia Minshew portrayed AMC‘s Kendall Hart Slater from 2002 to 2011. “I would like to say that she was always such a beautiful class act when I saw her, with a great sense of humor!” the actress tells TVLine. “I think she put all of that into her stories. I was honored to be able to tell her stories for 10 years and am grateful for the time I got to spend with her.”

Susan Lucci: All My Children Creator Agnes Nixon 'Was All I Hoped to Be'

(9/29/16) (tvline.com) When Susan Lucci first read for the role of All My Children‘s Erica Kane — a part she’d eventually play for more than four decades and which would become emblematic of daytime television — she had no idea that the strong, flawed, brave, gutsy heroine pulled strongly from creator Agnes Nixon‘s own experiences.

Lucci just knew the character was good.

“I didn’t know for a long time that the story [Nixon] was telling through Erica was so close to her own,” Lucci told TVLine. “When I found that out, I felt so honored to be doing it. All I knew was that the writing I was seeing on the page was so rich and full of conflict and history and character — and also humor. She had such a great sense of humor, and it was all there.”

In an exclusive interview Wednesday evening, hours after Nixon’s family confirmed the news of her death, Lucci shared some memories of her 40-plus-year friendship with Nixon.

TVLINE | Can you remember your first impression of Agnes?

Absolutely. And actually, I didn’t meet her; I saw her in the distance. It was my final callback audition for Erica Kane and I was put on tape that day. Fra Heflin and I were paired, always, as mother and daughter until that day. Fra was put on tape at a different time. But I was put on tape that day. And when I finished, I saw a very pretty blonde woman in an Yves St. Laurent pantsuit which I recognized from magazines [Laughs]. She was the first woman I ever saw wearing the designer clothes that I had seen in magazines. And she had a beautiful satchel with her, and she was running down the hallway. As she ran down the hallway in the opposite direction from me, into what I think was the control room, the producer at that time Bud Kloss said to me, “Do you know who that was?” I said no. He said, “That’s Agnes Nixon.” I just had been so taken with the appearance of her. She was the first up-close I ever had to a professional woman who was a working, professional, successful woman in New York. She looked like everything I would have imagined such a woman would look like. I learned later that she was so much more than her appearance, which was beautiful and chic and modern. But she, herself, was all these things and more.

TVLINE | Talk to me about how your relationship with Agnes progressed as your time on the show went on.

The first time I was in her company outside of the studio was for an appearance that we were both asked to do early on in my career, early on with All My Children — certainly in the first year — down near where she lived. Her main house was in Rosemont, Penn. We rode the train down from New York, and that was just a thrill to be with her on the train and she told me about her Irish superstitions. I was just all ears. I was so thrilled she spoke to me that way. She asked me to come to her house to have some lunch, so I did… To go to her house, I saw a home. I knew that she had four children and she was also a very successful professional woman. And those were the things — I had no children at the time — but it was what I had always dreamed of. I wanted to be an actress and she was a writer, but I wanted to have it all. I wanted to have the career and raise the children beautifully, as she did. She was a mentor to me, as well. She was a role model. Her house was a home. And she was really part of that home. She had family traditions and love, and you could just feel all of it. And she was also a great success in her chosen field. That was all I had hoped to be, my whole life. She embodies it all.

TVLINE | Do you remember any times that she bucked you up? Or you talked about where Erica was going? Or that you celebrated with her?

Oh sure, we celebrated many times together. You know, I never really spoke to her about the writing of the character. I just felt so lucky. She would say to me, “You’ve got it.” She was so generous in her comments to me about what I brought to Erica. It was an amazing bond, because it was on the page. It was in her writing. Even before I knew Agnes, I would just think when I read it, “My god, how does someone know this?” It just made me fly. Made me soar. It was her writing. We were very much on the same page. [Laughs] I didn’t mean that as a pun, but yes, there it is.

TVLINE | All My Children taped its last ABC scene in 2011. There was a ceremony and cake, and Agnes was there. She was frail, but from all accounts, it seems like she was holding court, telling stories, still very sharp.

Absolutely she was. Our producer who was producing the show at that time in Los Angeles, Julie [Hanan] Carruthers, said that Agnes was the youngest voice in the room. Whatever room. And she was! She was modern. She was forward-thinking. She fought for storyline that was groundbreaking, that had never been done before anywhere on television. And she prevailed. It took a while, but she prevailed. When she had the opportunity and the greenlight to go ahead and write those storylines, they were rich, they were full and they were full of humanity. There are no words. She really was all that.

TVLINE | Were you in communication with her recently?

Oh yes, constantly. I’m so happy for her, and for all of us, that she finished her book. She finished her book. That will be out I don’t know exactly when, but I’m guessing very soon. In fact, last night, her son Bobby was saying that she asked him please to read the book jacket. She was supposed to sign off on it. That was last night.

TVLINE | Oh, wow.

Yeah. Yes, as you mentioned, she had become more fragile, certainly in the last few years. But she still went to speech therapy and physical therapy and was always looking forward and ahead. She would still tell jokes! We would go out to dinner and she would still tell jokes. [Laughs] She was just spunky and fantastic in the best sense of the word… One of the loveliest women, ever.

TVLINE | Is there anything you think I need to know before we go?

Yes, one more thing. Because this is Agnes. When Bobby spoke to me, I wanted to personally put a small tribute to her on my personal [Instagram] account. So I had my autobiography with me today — I was in meetings — and I knew there was a wonderful picture of Agnes and me in there together. During one of those meetings, we had spoken of it… I knew when I got back in the car, I was going to take my phone out and take a picture of the picture so I could post whenever Bobby told me that it would be OK to do that. So I got in the car and I took my book in my hand and it fell open to the picture of Agnes and me. And that is Agnes. That was Agnes smiling on me, Agnes and her Irish superstition and her spirit and the little elf in her. That was Agnes, letting me know she was still with me.

Agnes Nixon Dies: Creator Of ‘All My Children’ & ‘One Life To Live’ Was 88

(9/29/16) (deadline.com) One of the all-time giants of American soap operas is gone. Agnes Nixon, creator of the landmark ABC daytime dramas All My Children and One Life to Live, was an instrumental figure in making soaps a socially conscious medium and created Susan Lucci’s iconic AMC character Erica Kane, died today. She was 88. No details of her death were provided.

Born in Chicago in 1927, Nixon started out as a writer in the postwar early days of TV as a protege of legendary writer-producer Irna Phillips, who created many of the earliest American soaps. Nixon became a writer on the Phillips-created shows Woman in White and As the World Turns and would serve as head writer on Phillip’s iconic Guiding Light — then titled The Guiding Light — from 1958-66.

Nixon was highly in-demand early in her career, serving as co-head writer on Search for Tomorrow from 1951-56. She later would serve as sole head writer on Another World for 300 episodes from 1965-69, before creating her first series.

As a writer, she pioneered the use of soap operas to discuss real-world issues, penning what is widely believed to be the first medical-related narrative in the genre’s history. Inspired by a friend who had died of cervical cancer, Nixon wanted to educate women to get regular pap smears and subsequently penned a 1962 storyline in which Guiding Light lead character, Bertha “Bert” Bauer had a cancer scare.

Because of content restructions of the day, Nixon was forced to find creative ways to discuss the topic, as she was forbidden from using the words “cancer,” “uterus” or “pap test.” Despite these limitations, the storyline popularized the pap smear significantly among American women and for this Nixon was recognized as a pioneer in 2002 by Sentinel for Health.

Nixon made the jump from writer to show creator in 1968 with One Life to Live, a series on which she was specifically given the mandate to incorporate a more contemporary tone — not only examining class divisions but also racial and ethnic diversity, among them Jewish and Polish-American characters and most notably the first African-American soap opera leads played by Ellen Holly and Al Freeman Jr.

Thanks to the success of One Life, Nixon then was allowed to bring All My Children to television, premiering the series in 1970. The show was known for frequently incorporating real-life controversies and social issues, including the anti-war movement, the AIDS crisis and abortion. Nixon served as head writer on the series several times throughout its long tenure, and still was shaking things up well into the twilight years of her career. In 2000, notably, Nixon would be personally responsible for the first time the series saw a major character come out, with Bianca Montgomery revealing she was a lesbian.

Nixon also created the series Loving, which ran from 1983-95 on ABC but never managed to catch on like her other series.

In addition to her groundbreaking storylines, Nixon also created some of the most famous and iconic characters in soap opera history, most notably All My Children‘s Erica Kane. Introduced in 1970, Kane was portrayed for more than 40 years by Lucci, whose name became synonymous with consistently being nominated for, but not winning, Daytime Emmys. She earned 18 nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series before finally taking home the statuette in 1999. She was nommed again twice after that.

Nixon’s survivors include her son, Robert Nixon, a conservationist and filmmaker who among his other credits was co-producer on 1988’s Gorillas in the Mist.

'All My Children' creator Agnes Nixon dies at 93

(9/29/16) (usatoday.com) Another TV titan is gone.

Agnes Nixon, the "Queen of Modern Soap Opera" best known for creating the critically acclaimed soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live, died Wednesday at The Quadrangle, a senior living community in Haverford, Penn. She was 93.

A luminary in the world of daytime serials, Nixon also enjoyed writing credits on a score of other shows, including Studio One in Hollywood; Cameo Theatre; Somerset Maugham TV Theatre; Another World;Guiding Light;Search for Tomorrow; and Loving, which was later rebooted as The City.

Nixon first demonstrated an interest in writing while studying at Northwestern University, a passion which she channeled on One Life to Live and All My Children, which were heralded for their racial and social diversity. Nixon would go on to garner six Daytime Emmy Awards and five Writers Guild of America Awards. She was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Television Hall of Fame in 1993 and took home the Lifetime Achievement honor at the 37th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June 2010.

Ahead of the 2010 tribute, All My Children star Susan Lucci, who played Erica Kane on the show, said Nixon "helped create the very fabric of the daytime drama. With her vision, words and sensibility, she has created a legacy of characters and socially relevant stories that have made and indelible mark upon the lives of those who have and continue to watch her shows."

Following the news of her passing, Disney CEO and chairman Robert A. Iger also paid homage to the pioneer, telling USA TODAY in an emailed statement: "It is with a heavy heart I mourn the passing of television pioneer Agnes Nixon, someone I was proud to call a friend. Agnes’ impact on daytime television and pop culture is undeniable. She was the first to champion socially relevant topics, and the towns and characters Agnes brought to life leave an indelible imprint on television that will be remembered forever."

Hayden Panettiere -- Most Expensive Dog Sitter Lawsuit EVER ... SETTLED

(9/29/16) Hayden Panettiere better think twice the next time she pawns off a couple dogs for 6 years ... at least that's the takeaway after she settled up with her former dog sitter.

You'll recall Tia Brooks sued Hayden back in July in a bizarre case. Hayden got 2 rescues and left them with a dog sitter for 6 YEARS, paying a whopping $119,335.88. Seriously.

But Hayden claimed the dog sitter was a crook, giving the pooches away but pretending she was still caring for them and billing all the while.

Brooks claimed everything she did was kosher and turned around and sued Hayden for the $8,500 balance she said was owed.

We've learned the case quietly settled. They split the doggie in half and Hayden paid Brooks $4,250.

Agnes Nixon, Who Injected Social Ills Into Soap Operas, Dies at 93

(9/28/16) (nytimes.com) Agnes Nixon, a celebrated creator and writer of television soap operas, who introduced uterine cancer, venereal diseases, child abuse, AIDS and other societal terrors into the weekday fantasy worlds of millions of daytime viewers, died on Wednesday in Rosemont, Pa. She was 93.

The cause was pneumonia resulting from Parkinson’s disease, her family said.

In a career that paralleled the rise, enormous popularity and gradual decline of soap operas in the last half of the 20th century, Ms. Nixon fashioned many of television’s most popular daytime shows, drawing on a rich imagination to find the great and small human dramas lurking just below the surface of American life.

To a 1950s audience mostly composed of women who were at home doing housework and raising children, Ms. Nixon’s early scripts for “The Guiding Light” and “Search for Tomorrow” provided an escape: a glimpse of dashing lives, handsome cads, passions run amok, dark secrets and terrible betrayals.

But in the 1960s and ’70s she virtually reinvented soaps, creating for the ABC network “One Life to Live,” “All My Children” and other shows infused with social relevance and politically charged topics like racism, abortion, obscenity, narcotics, the generation gap and protests against the Vietnam War.

Like their predecessors, the new Nixon soaps were disturbing, fascinating and addictive. Because she presented various sides of a controversy, they were more complex. But she tried to avoid preachy dialogue, letting action and plot speak for themselves. The conundrum was no longer simply whether Tara was pregnant, but whether Phil, home from Vietnam and scarred by the horrors of war, could still love her.

Many Nixon stories were based on reality. In 1964, after a friend died of cancer, she created a “Guiding Light” character who was found, after a Pap smear, to have cervical cancer. Despite misgivings by the sponsor, Procter & Gamble, the character appeared onscreen, though the words “cancer,” “uterus” and “hysterectomy” were never uttered. Even so, thousands of women wrote in to express gratitude for the information that a simple test might save their lives.

On “One Life to Live,” which began in 1968 and ran for 43 years, Ms. Nixon created a tale that reflected the nation’s changing social structures and attitudes. It had many ethnic characters, including Jews, Polish-Americans and African-Americans. A woman assumed to be white was revealed after months to be a light-skinned black, turning the story, and the audience, sharply to questions of racial prejudice.

Ms. Nixon’s revolutionary changes were widely copied by other soaps and other networks, and helped capture new audiences at a time when the traditional base of daytime viewers — 20 million to 30 million daily, the vast majority of them homemakers — was being eroded by women entering the work force. Increasingly, men and college students drawn by their topicality were tuning in.

“It was a kind of first,” Lewis Antine, a graduate student at the City University of New York, told The New York Times after watching a 1974 episode of “All My Children” featuring a Vietnam War veteran. “It was a sense of your stuff being on TV for the first time, like, ‘Hey, they’re talking about us on Mom’s show.’”

Ms. Nixon was an unlikely source of tales of infidelity and divorce, let alone racial and antiwar conflicts. The mother of four children, she was married to the same man for 45 years. And she wrote not in the caldron of New York or glitzy Hollywood, but in her suburban home in Rosemont, on the Philadelphia Main Line. (She died in a nursing facility in Rosemont.)

Rosemont and adjoining Bryn Mawr, Pa., were the prototype for Pine Valley, the setting for “All My Children,” which had its premiere in 1970 and ran for 41 years. (For that entire time, its best-known cast member was Susan Lucci, one of daytime TV’s best-known and highest-paid stars, as Erica Kane.) In 1973, a character on the show was the first on television to have a legal abortion after the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. The show also tackled drug addiction, depression, child abuse and AIDS. In 2000, it introduced a lesbian character, who shared the first lesbian kiss on a soap opera. In 2007, a transgender character appeared.

“Life is fascinating,” Ms. Nixon told The Milwaukee Sentinel in 1983, “and if you look at your family and your friends and you have a writer’s viewpoint, you can see each person’s life as a soap opera in itself. The really amazing thing is they are basically similar.”

She was born Agnes Eckhardt in Chicago on Dec. 10, 1922, the only child of Harold and Agnes Dalton Eckhardt. Her parents were separated when she was an infant. She and her mother moved to Nashville, where she attended St. Cecilia Academy, a Roman Catholic prep school. She studied writing at St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind., and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Her father, who manufactured burial garments and paid for her education, wanted her to join his firm. He tried to dissuade her from a writing career by arranging a talk with Irna Phillips, a well-known creator of radio soaps and serials. The tactic backfired. After reading a script she had written, Ms. Phillips offered her a job in New York. She began in 1948, writing radio scripts for a hospital drama, “Woman in White.”

In 1951, she married Robert Henry Nixon, an auto dealer who later gave up his business to join his wife in a television production company. He died in 1996.

She is survived by their three daughters, Cathy Chicos, Mary Nixon and Emily Nixon; their son, Robert; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

In the early 1950s, Ms. Nixon wrote for major dramatic programs, including “The Philco Television Playhouse,” “Robert Montgomery Presents” and “The Hallmark Hall of Fame.” She eventually succeeded Ms. Phillips as lead writer for “The Guiding Light.” She was the head writer for the NBC soap opera “Another World” from 1965 to 1967.

For decades, the lucrative advertising revenues of Ms. Nixon’s best-known creations, “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” helped support ABC’s evening programming. But in the 1990s, the popularity of all soaps fell steadily as cable networks and the internet provided new sources of entertainment, and after 2000 their audiences and revenues went into steep declines.

In 2008, Ms. Nixon appeared on the 40th-anniversary episode of “One Life to Live,” and the 10,000th episode of “All My Children.” Both shows, with only 2.5 million viewers a day each, were canceled in 2011.

Fans bombarded ABC with protests and petitions and picketed network affiliates. An online production company, Prospect Park, offered a reprieve, announcing plans to continue both programs, with Ms. Nixon’s participation, online. The plans were delayed, suspended and revived as union and financing problems arose and were resolved. Both shows went into production in 2013 and were available via Hulu and iTunes, but they lasted only a few months before being canceled last November.

Because of both her success and her longevity, Ms. Nixon was often called the queen of the modern soap opera. From the premiere of “One Life to Live” in 1968 to the finale of “All My Children” in January 2012, shows she had created or had a hand in writing, producing or shaping as a consultant were on the air every weekday for 43 years — more than 11,000 days.

The recipient of many awards, including a Daytime Emmy for lifetime achievement in 2010, Ms. Nixon often spoke of soap operas as ensembles and would share credit with actors, directors, producers, camera crews and other writers. Her own contributions, she said, had no unrealistic objectives.

“On the social issues, whether the Vietnam War or abortion or racism, I never thought I could change the way most people felt,” she told the Catholic magazine America in 2002. “I just wanted to show the unfairness of it, the inequality, the injustice.”

Amazon Orders The Tick, I Love Dick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson to Series

(9/27/16) Amazon on Tuesday ordered to series three of its latest pilots: Jill Soloway’s I Love Dick, its remake of The Tick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

The Tick, starring Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Peter Serafinowicz, follows a strange blue superhero who is called to action when an underdog accountant (Vinyl‘s Griffin Newman) with zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead.

I Love Dick, based on the best-selling book, follows a married couple (Transparent‘s Kathryn Hahn and House of Lies‘ Griffin Dunne) as their preconceptions about love and monogamy are challenged by an enigmatic writer (played by The Following‘s Kevin Bacon).

Last but not least, Jean-Claude Van Johnson stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as a retired action film star (heh!) who enters the covert contractor game. Kat Foster (Your Family or Mine), Moises Arias (The Middle) and Phylicia Rashad (Creed) also star.

All three of the aforementioned programs debuted as part of Amazon’s latest “pilot season” on Aug. 19, meaning each pilot is already available to Prime subscribers. Full-length seasons are expected to drop in 2017.

Nashville Season 5: Looking Fave Joins Cast... as Will's New Love?

(9/22/16) Is Nashville eyeing a love triangle for the out-and- (finally) proud Will?

Presenting Exhibit A: Looking‘s Murray Bartlett is joining the CMT series’ upcoming fifth season in a major recurring role, TVLine has learned. Exhibit B: His character, named (for real) Jakob Fine, is described as “a very handsome, charismatic and successful men’s fashion designer.” Exhibit C: See Exhibit A and B and smush them together.

A Nashville source declined to say if Bartlett is being introduced as a love interest for Chris Carmack’s Will, but the insider confirms that the two characters will cross paths. Keep in mind that in the then-ABC drama’s Season 4 finale, Will reunited with Kevin (played by Kyle Dean Massey, who is expected to return in some capacity.)

Nashville will make its CMT debut with a special two-hour episode on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9/8c.

Adrienne Frantz and Scott Bailey Enjoy Family Time With Daughter Amelie

(9/14/16) (Photo) Adrienne Frantz (ex-Amber, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL; THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) and Scott Bailey (Sandy, GUIDING LIGHT) enjoyed a day out with their nine-month-old daughter, Amelie, and shared a beautiful family photo on Instagram!

“Family day ended with a walk to Alfred Coffee & Kitchen, a great new place in Studio City!” she wrote. “Love from the Baileys!”

We’re sure mom and dad enjoyed their coffee while little Amelie had some milk or another delicious treat. And we absolutely love her hoodie with the ears!

Tammy Blanchard on Bull

(9/12/16) “The Necklace” – Dr. Jason Bull (Michael Weatherly), the brilliant, brash founder of a prolific trial consulting firm, combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to create winning strategies that steer high-stakes trials in his clients’ favor, on the series premiere of BULL, Tuesday, Sept. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Michael Weatherly, Freddy Rodriguez, Geneva Carr, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Annabelle Attanasio and Christopher Jackson star in the new drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw.

Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail. The team includes his quick-witted brother-in-law, Benny Colón, who plays a defense attorney in mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security; former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm’s tough but relatable investigator; haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine-tunes clients’ appearances for trial. In high-stakes trials, Bull’s combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three Ph.D.’s and a top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of justice in his clients’ favor.

Guest Cast Includes: Luke Slattery (Brandon Peters), Katherine Reis (Taylor Bensimon), Tammy Blanchard (Adele Bensimon).

Rebecca Budig Celebrates Daughter Charlotte's Second Birthday

(9/9/16) (Photo) Rebecca Budig (Hayden, GENERAL HOSPITAL) can’t believe how fast her baby girl Charlotte is growing!

“Happy second birthday to my sweet baby girl,” she wrote on Instagram. “Even when you like to say you are four!”

“I can’t believe she’s two,” Budig added on Twitter, marveling at how quickly her daughter with husband Michael Benson has grown up.

Laura Wright Cut Her Hair

(9/1/16) (Photo) Daytime vet Laura Wright (Carly, GENERAL HOSPITAL; Cassie, GUIDING LIGHT) loves changing her hairstyle, and the results of her latest makeover are stunning!

“So I kind of did that short thing again,” she wrote on Instagram with a black-and-white photo of her newly-shorn locks.

We think Wright looks simply gorgeous! Of course that’s no surprise as the actress has gone this short before and it looked great then, too!

Bethany Joy Lenz Joins ‘Colony’

(9/1/16) One Tree Hill alumna Bethany Joy Lenz has joined the second season cast of USA Network’s sci-fi drama Colony, from Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal, in a recurring role. The series, from Legendary Television and Universal Cable Prods. stars Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies, and centers on one family’s struggle to survive and bring liberty back to the people of an occupied Los Angeles. Lenz plays Morgan, a highly-intelligent computer whiz with a conscience. She is determined to do what’s right. The role was played in Season 1 by Thora Birch, who had to exit due to scheduling conflicts. Lenz, who most recently appeared on CBS’ American Gothic and ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., is repped by Atlas Artists, Gersh and Hansen, Jacobson.

Days of Our Lives: Kassie DePaiva's Leukemia Diagnosis Pauses Eve Encore

(8/26/16) Real-life drama has rewritten Kassie DePaiva‘s imminent Days of Our Lives encore, as pot-stirrer Eve Larson née Donovan.

DePaiva had long ago resumed taping scenes at the NBC sudser, to begin airing later this summer, when during a three-week July production hiatus, “I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and have spent six of the last nine weeks in the hospital,” the actress shared via her blog on Thursday.

With three more months of treatment ahead of her, “My prognosis is good,” DePaiva said. “I will not likely need a stem cell/bone marrow transplant, and we expect a complete cure. I consider this just a bump in the road. I have amazing prayer warriors, family, and friends that have been extremely supportive and life-affirming throughout this.”

DePaiva had parted ways with Days last September, last airing in February. Her return is pegged to Theresa and Brady’s wedding, where — spoiler alert — Eve is due to be abducted by Orpheus.

“This has been a private matter,” DePaiva said of her recent social-media silence, “but with Eve’s return coming soon I felt it was time to let my loving fans know what’s been going on…. Although I’m unable to be ‘camera-ready’ now, my goal is get back to stirring up trouble in Salem soon. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.”

Read Kassie's full statement here: kassiedepaiva.com/.

GH’s Emme Rylan: Injury Update

(8/24/16) Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH) provided Twitter updates on her recent injury (a broken nose). The injury occurred, she reported, when “my son [Levi] was running to jump on a cushion I was on & I sat up just as he jumped, his head broke my nose! Taken down by 4yr old!” Her operation will take place this week. “I have surgery Thursday morning but because of already scheduled dark weeks i will not be taking time off from work,” she explained.

Nashville Season 5 Premiere Set at CMT

(8/24/16) Nashville‘s comeback tour will kick off just after the new year.

The cancelled ABC country-music drama will make its CMT debut with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, January 5, at 9/8c, the cable network announced Wednesday.

As previously reported, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz (thirtysomething) will take over as showrunners; Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Charles Esten, Jonathan Jackson and many of their castmates are confirmed to return.

We hear that the proposed Nashville after-show is still a possibility, as well, even though it was not included in the network’s announcement.It’s safe to assume that Nashville‘s season-opener will deal with the cliffhanger that ended the drama’s ABC run: Divorced parents Avery and Juliette were on the verge of reconciliation… just before her private jet went missing. (A happier ending was shot, but Lionsgate and ABC Studios convinced the network to use the more ambiguous outcome, in hopes of making the drama more attractive to potential buyers.)

In addition, CMT also announced that its series adaptation of the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, starring Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), will premiere sometime in March and that the Billy Ray Cyrus scripted series Still the King will return for Season 2 in the spring.

The network also has ordered a pilot for the soapy comedy His Wives & Daughters, which follows “the eclectic and cunning wives and daughters of larger-than-life country-music legend (and infamous womanizer) Eddie Ray Banks.” The potential series is created and produced by Dina Chapman (Tia & Tamera) and Steve Sessions (Still the King).

New Season of Nashville Coming to Thursdays in January on CMT

(8/24/16) It’s the news #Nashies have been waiting for!

The fifth season of Nashville will kick off with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Nashville is set against the backdrop of the city’s music scene and follows Rayna Jaymes and Juliette Barnes. Both women face personal and professional challenges as they navigate their paths as artists and individuals. Surrounding them and often complicating their lives are their family, friends and, in some cases, lovers, as well as the up-and-coming performers and songwriters trying to get ahead in the business. Music City can mean so many things to different people.

In Nashville, musicians and songwriters are at the heart of the storm driven by their own ambitions. Some are fueled by their creativity and passion for fame. Others struggle to cope with the pressures of success and are doing everything in their power to stay on top.

Also joining CMT’s scripted lineup is Million Dollar Quartet (working title), which will premiere in March. Set in Memphis during the tumultuous early days of the civil rights movement, the eight-part limited-run series tells the untold true story of nothing less than the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Guided by Sam Phillips, young musicians like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis combined the styles of hillbilly country with 1950s R&B and changed the course of music forever.

The all-star cast includes Chad Michael Murray as Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, Billy Gardell as Presley and Arnold’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Drake Milligan as Elvis Presley, Kevin Fonteyne as Johnny Cash, Christian Lees as Jerry Lee Lewis, Jonah Lees as Jimmy Swaggart, Trevor Donovan as Eddy Arnold, Keir O’Donnell as Dewey Phillips, Jennifer Holland as Sam’s wife Becky Phillips and Margaret Anne Florence as Sam’s assistant Marion Keisker.

Million Dollar Quartet will also be joined this spring by season 2 of the hit show Still The King, which won over fans this past summer. The comedy centers on Vernon Brown, played by Billy Ray Cyrus, a scandal-ridden washed up one-hit wonder who is kicked out of country music, only to emerge 20 years later as the second-best Elvis impersonator. In Season 1, he re-connected with a former one-night-stand, played by Joey Lauren Adams, only to discover he has a 15-year-old daughter he’s never met, played by Madison Iseman.

Additionally, CMT has ordered a pilot for His Wives & Daughters. The soapy, comedic series centers on the eclectic and cunning wives and daughters of larger-than-life country music legend (and infamous womanizer) Eddie Ray Banks. After his estranged family is brought together unexpectedly, tempers flare and old rivalries resurface setting the stage for startling secrets to emerge as an unforgettable mystery begins to unfold. Casting is underway now with production slated to begin in the fall.

Be sure to follow CMT on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates on all of our shows, and don’t miss the season premieres of I Love Kellie Pickler and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team on Thursday (Aug. 25).

Single Mom A Go Go: Episode 5 - KASSIE DEPAIVA

(8/23/16) Single Mom A Go Go: Episode 5 - KASSIE DEPAIVA: Video.

Real-Life Injury For GH’s Emme Rylan

(8/23/16) Emme Rylan (Lulu, GH) announced on Twitter that she broke her nose during a play session with her sons, Jackson and Levi. “So it finally happened.. The price of playing outside with my boys.. They broke my nose. #mylifewithboys #theyarebiggerthanme #needsurgery,” she wrote. We wish her a speedy recovery!

Thomas Gibson has been going through a divorce for two years

(8/22/16) Thomas Gibson‘s troubles aren’t just relegated to his professional life: The former “Criminal Minds” star may also be in the midst of a quiet divorce.

Gibson, 54, filed for divorce from his wife of more than 20 years, Christine, on June 18, 2014, Extra reports.

In the filing, Gibson claims “the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities … that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.”

Christine responded with a general denial on June 27, 2014. Gibson responded with a counterpetition reaffirming his initial filing in December 2015. If no further action is taken on either side by October 25 of this year, the divorce petition will be dismissed entirely.

Gibson’s marriage first showed signs of trouble in August 2013, when it was reported that he fell victim to a catfish scheme.

A woman, using photos from X-rated sites, reportedly contacted Gibson and the pair carried on a two-year online romance. When he discovered she wasn’t who she said she was, his attorneys sent her a letter telling her to stop contacting him, TMZ reported.

The woman then sent TMZ a video Gibson had sent her from a hot tub in December 2012. At the time, Gibson insisted the video was heavily edited — and that he and his wife had been separated for more than two years when it was filmed.

A rep for Gibson declined to comment on his personal life.

When Gibson’s on-set fight and subsequent firing from “Criminal Minds” was revealed, a source close to the actor told Page Six, “Thomas is a family man … he arranges his filming schedule around his family in Texas, and he spends as much time with his kids as he can.”

Aww! Matt Bomer Says His Grandparents are His 'Model' for a Long-Lasting Marriage

(8/21/16) Matt Bomer's inspiration for a long-lasting marriage? HIs grandparents.

"Well, we have three kids right now, so you've got to fit the romance in when you can," the 38-year-old actor told PEOPLE on Friday night at the onePULSE Foundation benefit in support of the tragic nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. "I sort of take cues from my grandparents."

The Last Tycoon star added that he and husband Simon Halls take it "one day at a time" to ensure their relationship remains strong. But they have a great template that started years ago.

"[My grandparents] just celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary, so I always look to them and I see how every day they express their love for each other and I try to follow. They've set a pretty good model for me to follow."

Bomer and Halls were married in a quiet ceremony with their "nearest and dearest" friends and family in 2011. The couple has three sons together: Kit, Walker and Henry.

Last year, Bomer told PEOPLE that the key to successful parenting is keeping everything as normal as possible – despite their dad's Hollywood fame.

"I don't want anybody out on stage any time soon," he said. "I want them to have a nice, normal childhood."

Brittany Snow Reveals Her Funniest Fan Encounter and Why Her John Tucker Must Die Prank 'Didn't Go Over Well'

(8/19/16) (Video) Brittany Snow is opening up about everything from her secret talents to her funniest fan encounters, and it's all for a good cause.

The Pitch Perfect star sat down with PEOPLE for a game during which she has to answer five random, rapid fire questions, and in return gets to offer up one shameless plug.

Questions cover everything from the one Pitch Perfect actress she would never challenge to lip sync battle (hint: she's "feisty"), and her most devious prank from John Tucker Must Die, which involves Jesse Metcalfe and "did not go over well."

She also reveals why Anna Camp and Skylar Astin should consider themselves luck to have her as a bridesmaid, and her secret talent.

As for her craziest fan encounter, let's just say he knows how to wax on and how to wax off.

And for her shameless plug, Snow chose to promote a good cause, her charity, Love Is Louder. A project of The Jed Foundation , Love Is Louder was created with the actress to support anyone feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone.

Check out the video to hear Snow's answers!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Adds Brittany Snow

(8/18/16) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Season 2 forecast: lots of Brittany Snow.

The vocally talented American Dreams/Pitch Perfect alum will appear in three episodes of the CW comedy’s second season, TVLine has learned. Her character, Anna, is described as “a hip and cool L.A. chick and beauty entrepreneur who sweeps into town and shakes everything up for Rebecca.”

And don’t get your aca-panties in a twist: She’ll have a musical number during her run on the show.

Series star and co-creator Rachel Bloom announced the news via song on her Twitter account on Thursday.

In addition to American Dreams, Snow’s TV credits include Ben and Kate, Full Circle, Harry’s Law and Guiding Light.

Beaches Remake on Lifetime: Nia Long Nabs Barbara Hershey Role Opposite Idina Menzel's Bette Midler

Nia Long, you are the wind beneath Idina Menzel’s wings.

The actress, most recently seen in ABC’s one-and-done comedy Uncle Buck, has landed the Barbara Hershey role of Hillary in Lifetime’s forthcoming remake of Beaches, TVLine has learned. As previously reported, Menzel will fill Bette Miller’s shoes as CC.

Per Lifetime, the modern-day remake of the beloved 1988 tearjerker chronicles “the serendipitous meeting of two youngsters on the Venice Boardwalk, who, though worlds apart in lifestyle, embark on unexpected and lifelong friendship. CC is an aspiring singer trying to make it in Los Angeles, while Hillary is the daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer who struggles to find her own destiny. Their friendship—even with its ups and downs—sustains them for decades.”

The pic will feature new takes on the classic songs “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “The Glory of Love” and include several other songs recorded specifically for the movie. Production began Monday in Vancouver with an eye toward a 2017 premiere date. Allison Anders (Ring of Fire) is set to direct from a script by Bart Barker (Honeymoon with Harry) and Nikole Beckwith (Stockholm, Pennsylvania).

Long’s other TV credits include Third Watch, House of Lies and Hand of God.

Thomas Gibson Pursuing Legal Action After Criminal Minds Termination

Thomas Gibson, who on Friday was fired from veteran CBS procedural Criminal Minds following an on-set altercation, is looking to file suit against the show’s producers.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Gibson has hired Los Angeles-based litigators Skip Miller and Sasha Frid to mull over whether it would be in his best interests to pursue legal action after he was dismissed for allegedly kicking writer Virgil Williams during a heated dispute over creative differences. Williams is said to have filed a complaint with human resources, forcing Gibson, who was directing the episode in question, to be replaced by an alternate director before he was initially suspended and subsequently let go.

Upon his dismissal on Friday, Gibson released a statement to TVLine in which he expressed sorrow for not being able to see Criminal Minds through to the very end, but did not at any point address the supposed conflict:

“I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years,” Gibson said. “I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.”

As reported by our sister site Deadline, this latest incident was the second of its kind for Gibson, who years ago reportedly shoved an assistant director and was in turn assigned mandatory anger management classes.

Criminal Minds Season 12 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Criminal Minds: Thomas Gibson Fired in Wake of On-Set Altercation

Thomas Gibson‘s two-episode suspension from Criminal Minds has become a full-fledged firing. In a statement, ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios — which co-produce the CBS procedural — said, “Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds. Creative details for how the character’s exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date.”

The move comes in the wake of an on-set altercation in which Gibson allegedly kicked a producer. “There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement,” Gibson said earlier this week. “I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have and always will.”

As reported by Deadline, this latest incident was the second of its kind for Gibson, who years ago reportedly shoved an assistant director and subsequently was made to attend anger management classes.

“I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last 12 years,” Gibson said in a statement to TVLine. “I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won’t be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have.”

Gibson’s character, BAU Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, will likely be sent away on special assignment in Season 12’s third episode. During TVLine’s Season 12 preview Q&A with Erica Messer, the showrunner made mention of a storyline that will take Hotch off the canvas. Setting up the return of Paget Brewster as BAU team member-turned-Interpol agent Emily Prentiss, Messer told Matt Mitovich, “Prentiss is doing essentially temporary duty with us, while Hotch is on temporary duty doing something that the Director tapped him to do.”

Gibson’s Hotch will thus be off-screen “for a couple of episodes,” Messer said at the time, “and then we’ll get to see what that assignment was about. It’s a big thing that will play out.” Or… not.

Criminal Minds Season 12 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Soap opera vets headline play at UMES

(delmarvanow.com) “Breathing Under Dirt,” premiering Aug. 13 at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center on the UMES campus, will be a theatre novelty on several levels.

On one hand, the event will mark the inauguration of the Lower Shore Performing Arts Company, which joins the ranks of other local companies with this production.

Additionally, it’s a first for 12-year-old Meredith Taylor, who will be making her debut alongside established actors from across the country, whose careers span decades.

“This opportunity is just so amazing for me,” said Taylor, who will be entering the seventh grade at Pocomoke Middle School this fall.

“I have, like, this personality where I like to show myself off,” she said. “I just enjoy the stage and enjoy entertaining people."

For her part, Meredith’s mother, Cynthia Taylor, is ecstatic about the opportunity her daughter has been given.

“She’s already had opportunities that most 12 year olds would only dream of, so this is great,” she said. “How funny is it that a 12 year old was involved in hours of conference calls? That can’t happen that often, can it?”

“Breathing Under Dirt,” which was the winner of March’s Manhattan Repertory Theatre competition, is set against the backdrop of the 1950's South and details the generational effects of an unforgiving family.

Michael O’Leary, who wrote, produced and stars in the play, played the character of Dr. Frederick “Rick” Bauer in the record-setting 57-year run of “Guiding Light,” and will be playing the father of Meredith’s character, “Lucy.”

“This is a story about finding reconciliation and forgiveness while we still have life,” O’Leary said.

He cited his own difficult childhood experiences as an inspiration for the production.

“I was the child of an alcoholic father,” he said. “At the end he made his amends, but I realized later the impact that had on me. And this play is really about that journey I had through the years.”

O’Leary successfully recruited the talent of a number of his former co-stars, including Cynthia Watros, who played Annie Dutton on “Guiding Light” from 1994 to 1998 and “Libby” on the ABC cult favorite “Lost.”

“When she agreed to come on board I literally cried,” O’Leary said. “She’s just that good of an actress. She has this vulnerability, sensuality and power all in the same person, and that’s what this character is. I think people are going to be blown away by her.”

After 26 years on “Guiding Light” playing the character of Lillian Raines, actress Tina Sloan decided to join O’Leary’s production, where she’ll be portraying the mother of Watros’ character.

“When Michael showed me his play, I was floored,” Sloan said. “It was just so poetic - maybe it’s the Irish in him, but I was just taken back by it.”

Performances of “Breathing Under Dirt” are set for Aug. 13 at 2 pm and 7 pm, and Aug. 14 at 2 pm. General admission tickets are $40 and premium tickets, which include priority seating and a meet and greet with the performers, are $75. The play is “family friendly,” according to O’Leary, and tickets can be purchased at www.lowershorepac.org.

Thomas Gibson -- Ordered To Anger Management For Previous 'Criminal Minds' Outbursts

Thomas Gibson's angry outburst at a "Criminal Minds" writer wasn't the first time he's been violent on set -- connecting with a director's chin -- TMZ has learned.

Our production sources tell us in 2010 Gibson pushed an assistant director in front of cast and crew while filming a scene. At the time, he blamed it on the AD moving too slowly. He wasn't suspended, but it was enough for network honchos to send him to anger management classes.

And that's just one in a string of incidents. We've learned Gibson's been aggressive and verbally abusive for years on set, but no one's said anything about it since he's the show's star.

We broke the story ... the writer Gibson kicked had enough and put in a call to his agent, who then called the network to do something about it.

Gibson's been on suspension for 2 weeks ... so far.

Report: Thomas Gibson Suspended From Criminal Minds In Wake of Physical Altercation With Producer

Criminal Minds star Thomas Gibson has reportedly been suspended from the long-running CBS procedural for one, possibly two episodes in the wake of a physical altercation with one of the show’s producers.

According to a report by TMZ, and confirmed by our sister site Deadline, Gibson got into argument with an unnamed producer and kicked the individual in the leg.

In a statement to TMZ, Gibson said, “There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement. I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have and always will.”

Per Deadline, Gibson’s future with the show as a whole is under review following the incident.

Criminal Minds is currently in production on the fourth episode of Season 12.

Back in 2013, CBS dealt with a similar matter at CSI when co-star George Eads got into an on-set altercation with a writer. The actor was subsequently written off the series for several episodes.

Criminal Minds‘ 12th season is set to premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 9/8c.

Hearst Lands New Role

Rick Hearst (Ric, GH) will be joining the cast of SINS as FBI Agent Jack Bellows. The actor announced the news on his Instagram page, “Very excited to be joining the cast of a new suspense crime series called ‘SINS’ in the role of FBI Agent Jack Bellows. Like their page and follow on Twitter for updates. Twitter.com/sinsseries.” Nathan Parsons (ex-Ethan, GH) and Henry Czerny (ex-Conrad, REVENGE) are also part of the cast.

Guiding Light reunion: GL stars team up in new play, 'Breathing Under Dirt'

On Fox 5 DC: Video.

GUIDING LIGHT REUNION: The Guiding Light stars Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer), Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), Cynthia Watros (Annie Dutton), and Tina Sloan (Lillian Raines) chatted with Erin Como Fox 5 DC on life after GL: 19min Video.

Empire EP Confirms Taye Diggs' Arrival in Season 3 'Is All About Cookie'

Just as we suspected, Taye Diggs’s new Empire character will quickly become obsessed with the C-word when he makes his debut in Season 3.

“His story is all about Cookie,” exec producer Ilene Chaiken confirmed Monday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “It starts as a Jamal story and then intersects [with Cookie].” Asked by TVLine if Diggs’ Obama-esque Angelo Dubois will be a love interest for Taraji P. Henson’s alter ego, Chaiken teased, “He certainly would like to be.”

In possibly related news, Chaiken also shared that this will be the season that Cookie will “try to leave Lucious,” adding, “She’s going to try to move on… She’s fighting for her life. She’s fighting for her opportunity to start over.”

Empire‘s third season premieres Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9/8c on Fox.

Bethany Joy Lenz on American Gothic - August 24

“The Veteran in a New Field” - The city is in a panic after the SBK’s accomplice strikes again. As Alison enlists Brady's help to clear her name and find the real culprit, Tessa suspects that Madeline knows more than she's letting on and Cam is forced to make a decision about Sophie's custody of Jack, on AMERICAN GOTHIC, Wednesday, August 24 (10:00-11:00PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.

RECURRING CAST: Enrico Colantoni (Mayor Bill Conley), Deirdre Lovejoy (Detective Linda Cutter), Bethany Joy Lenz (April), Glenda Braganza (Darcy Campano).

Monday: 'Guiding Light' stars on Good Day DC!

It’s been years in the making, and Monday (Aug 8) on Good Day DC, we're bringing you an EPIC Guiding Light reunion!

Only on Good Day @ 10a, GL stars Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer), Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), Cynthia Watros (Annie Dutton), and Tina Sloan (Lillian Raines) will all be LIVE in the Loft!

The hearts of soap opera fans everywhere were broken when Guiding Light-- one of the longest running programs in the history of television-- went off the air in 2009. So what have some of the show's most popular actors been up to since then? This summer, they are starring in a play, Breathing Under Dirt-- written by Michael O’Leary! The play will make its LIVE debut on August 13 and 14 at the Lower Shore Performing Arts Company in Princess Anne, Md.

For more details and to purchase tickets, go to www.lowershorepac.org or call 443-614-0830 or 757-894-0833.

Guiding Light fans: Tweet us your questions and your favorite memories of the iconic show using #GoodDayDC or post them on our FOX 5 DC Facebook page. We may use some on air while they're here!

What will happen next? You have to stay tuned.... (fade to black)

GUIDING LIGHT Faves Reunite For New Project

On August 13 and 14, GUIDING LIGHT alums Michael O’Leary (ex-Rick), Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip), Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian) and Cynthia Watros (ex-Annie) will perform Breathing Under Dirt, a play written by O’Leary, at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center in Maryland.

Breathing Under Dirt, A New American Play, will be performed at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (a short distance from Baltimore, DC, and Philadelphia) on August 13 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and August 11 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: $40 & $75 (includes exclusive Meet and Greet). For more, call (443) 614-0830 or (757) 894-0833 or visit lowershorepac.org. Read an interview about the play here.

Guiding Light Star Is Mother of the Bride in It Shoulda Been You

(playbill.com) Actress Kim Zimmer, best-known for playing Reva Shayne on the long-running soap opera Guiding Light, stars as Judy (the role originated by Tyne Daly on Broadway) in the Gretna Theatre production of It Shoulda Been You.

Seen on Broadway last season, the musical comedy runs July 28-30 and August 4-6 at the Gretna Theatre in Mt. Gretna, PA.

Conceived by Barbara Anselmi, It Shoulda Been You has book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove, with music by Anselmi and additional lyrics by Jill Abramovitz, Carla Rose Fisher, Michael Cooper, Ernie Lijoi and Will Randall.

The cast also features Joe Briel, Jane Brockman and Mark Epperson, as well as Molly Tower, Tracy Bidleman, Luther Chakurian, Kayleen Seidl, Ryan Bloomquist, Chris Giordano, Drew Tildon, Tom Blaisse, and Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton.

The production is directed and choreographed by Dennis Courtney. Music direction is by Ryan Edward Wise.

Visit gretnatheatre.org.

Scream Queens Adds Two

Scream Queens‘ hospital is getting even more full.

Jerry O’Connell (Mistresses) and Laura Bell Bundy (Hart of Dixie) are the latest additions to Season 2 of the Fox horror-comedy, EW.com reports.

No details are available yet about both actors’ mysterious characters, who will recur during the hospital-set sophomore run. Season 2, premiering Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 9/8c, also features new series regulars Taylor Lautner (Twilight) and John Stamos (Grandfathered).

‘The Last Tycoon’ Drama Picked Up To Series By Amazon

With a well-known title and formidable lead cast, Amazon’s The Last Tycoon pilot has been a strong contender for a series pickup. Now the project, toplined by Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer, Rosemarie DeWitt and Lily Collins, has been ordered to series by the streaming service, I have learned. It comes from Sony TV’s TriStar Television. I hear Amazon’s other drama pilot from the batch, The Interestings, is not going forward.

Written and directed by Billy Ray based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon was inspired by the life of film mogul Irving Thalberg, on whom the book’s protagonist Monroe Stahr was based. The project centers on Stahr (Bomer), Hollywood’s first wunderkind studio executive in the 1930s as he climbs to the height of power pitting him against his mentor and current head of the studio, the brawny, imposing, charming and vain Pat Brady (Grammer), a character based on Louis B. Mayer. Having come from the streets, Brady has no intention of returning to his misfortune, and is determined to make sure his studio is successful, no matter what personal morals he compromises. Dewitt plays Pat Brady’s wife, Rose Brady, who may be involved with Stahr.

In The Last Tycoon‘s 1976 big-screen adaptation directed by Elia Kazan and written by Harold Pinter, the roles of Stahr and Brady were played by Robert De Niro and Robert Mitchum, respectively.

Bomer, Grammer and DeWitt all have toplined TV series before, USA’s White Collar (Bomer), Frasier and Boss, among others (Grammer) and Standoff (DeWitt). This marks Emmy winner Grammer’s return to drama series following his Golden Globe-winning turn on Boss. Bomer also won a Golden Globe, for HBO’s The Normal Heart, and recently co-starred on American Horror Story: Hotel. DeWitt has been focused on movies for the past few years, recently starring in Poltergeist. Collins comes from feature background, with starring roles in Mirror Mirror and The Mortal Instruments.

Ray executive produces The Last Tycoon alongside Chris Keyser, who serve as showrunners, as well as Josh Maurer, David Stern and Alix Witlin. Pulitzer-winning author and F.Scott Fitzgerald scholar A. Scott Berg served as consulting producer on the pilotThis marks TriStar TV’s second series at Amazon, joining Good Girls Revolt.

Single Mom A Go Go: Episode 3

Single Mom A Go Go: Episode 3 - EMME RYLAN: Watch.

One Tree Hill Cast Reunites! Chad Michael Murray, Bethany Joy Lenz and More Come Together for Fan Convention

(Pic1, Pic2) Comic-Con may be a lot of fun. But if you ask One Tree Hill fans, this event reigns supreme.

Over the weekend, InsideOTH hosted their annual fan convention in Wilmington, North Carolina. Aimed for fans who want to reconnect in the city that started it all, the event featured everything from meet-and-greet sessions to a one-hour trolley ride that allowed viewers to relive some of the show's most unforgettable scenes.

Perhaps the true highlight of the weekend came when a majority of the cast cleared their schedule and made the trip to meet fans and reminisce about the unforgettable series.

During the celebration, the cast recreated Gavin DeGraw's theme song with a performance of "I Don't Want to Be." During a panel, Shantel VanSanten sang the toaster pastry song.

And yes Chad Michael Murray fans, the actor repeated a line that will give you all the feels. Hint: We will never forget you Payton.

"We cherish this family. And we know you do as well," organizers shared on Instagram with a cast photo. "We want to thank everyone for coming to our reunion. You truly made it magical for the cast as well as the producing team who puts on this event."

This certainly isn't the only way the cast has kept in touch over the years. Just last summer, the gang had a family reunion in Montreal.

In fact, Robert Buckley and Stephen Colletti documented their separate hang out on Instagram just a few weeks ago.

"@stephencolletti and I met this girl on the street and thought she looked so much like Hilarie Burton that we had to take a picture," he joked on social media.

Antwon Tanner, Barbara Alyn Woods, Paul Johansson, Sharon Lawrence and more were also spotted attending the fan convention this weekend.

Emme Rylan's Son Has a Scary Accident!

Emme Rylan (Lulu, GENERAL HOSPITAL) had quite a fright when her four-year-old son, Levi, took a dangerous tumble!

“Levi fell down a flight of stairs,” she tweeted. “He is totally okay, but I’m not!” She followed that up with hashtags declaring, “Loving someone more than yourself is scary” and asking, “How will I survive parenthood?”

Levi is Rylan’s younger son with Don Money. They also have a six-year-old boy, Jackson. So GH castmate Laura Wright tried to reassure her fellow mommy by joking “Wait, is he your back-up? You need more!”

We’re glad Levi is doing fine, and hopefully Rylan will be okay soon as well. Of course, parents never stop worrying about their kids no matter how old they get!

Kyra Sedgwick To Direct, Kevin Bacon To Star In ‘Story Of A Girl’ Lifetime Movie

The Closer star Kyra Sedgwick will make her directorial debut with Lifetime movie Story Of A Girl, based on the novel by Sara Zarr, with The Following alum and her husband Kevin Bacon set to star. Production begins this September in Vancouver for a 2017 debut on Lifetime following the film’s festival run.

A powerful coming-of-age story, the film is about a teen who must deal with the ramifications of a sex video that goes viral. When a sex video of 13-year-old Deanna Lambert and Tommy, her older brother’s best friend, hits the Internet, her life of carefree innocence is changed forever. Three years later, Deanna is still dealing with the fallout of the video, including being branded the school slut and bearing the burden of the daily taunts from her classmates. Her home life is even more troublesome as her father’s anger and disappointment over the incident has left him unable to look her in the eye. Ready to move on, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by the mistakes of her past.

Story of a Girl is produced by Kikkosview. Golden Globe and Emmy winner Sedgwick produces and directs from a script written by Laurie Collyer (The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe) and Emily Bickford Lansbury (Work of Art: The Next Great Artist) who also produces. The film is also produced by Liz Levine and Adrian Salpeter of Random Bench (Toad Road). Ross Katz (Lost in Translation) is executive producer.

Sedgwick was tapped to direct the film as part of Lifetime’s Broad Focus initiative to provide women with more opportunities to write, direct and produce content for the network. This year to date, Lifetime has hired women to direct 30% of its movies and 40% of its scripted series episodes, according to the network. Sedgwick is repped by CAA, Impression and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams.

Kingdom: Wendy Moniz Cast as Love Interest for Real-Life Hubby Frank Grillo

Dinah and Hart, reunited!

To the six of you who understood that reference, congratulations. To everyone else, listen up: Kingdom is staging a Guiding Light reunion!

Wendy Moniz, recently seen in House of Cards Season 4, is joining DirecTV’s MMA drama as a major new love interest for her onetime GL squeeze (and current real-life husband) Frank Grillo, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Moniz will appear in multiple episodes as Roxanne Dunn, a smart, stylish and tough attorney who can stand toe-to-toe with Grillo’s Alvey. She’ll first appear during Season 2B, which kicks off Wednesday, June 1 at 9/8c on DirecTV’s Audience Network.

This marks the couple’s first significant onscreen pairing since their late-’90s Guiding Light collaboration (they also previously co-starred together in the short-lived NBC drama Battery Park).

ATWT ALUM RELEASES NOVEL

Tom Wiggin (ex-Kirk, ATWT/ex-Lawrence, GL/ex-Gil, AW/ex-Joe, Texas) has written a book, The Client's Wife, the first in a series of mystery/romances starring Emma Charles, the 30-year-old grandaughter of Nick and Nora Charles (of The Thin Man movies). Emma is following in her grandparents' footsteps as a private eye in present day New York City. She has just secured her first client when she meets Dash Moran, a jazz pianist who just might be the man of her dreams. Emma joins forces with Dash and an unforgettable cast of characters to unravel a series of murders in this stylish romp that races from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Harlem and to the glittering mansions of the Hamptons. The book can be purchased at Amazon or on Kindle or through the website, www.emmacharlesmystery.com. Check it out!

The Client's Wife: an Emma Charles Mystery

(Paperback, Kindle) by Tom Wiggin (ex-Kirk, ATWT/ex-Lawrence, GL/ex-Gil, AW/ex-Joe, Texas)

Emma Charles is the 30 year old granddaughter of Nick and Nora Charles, the high society sleuthing couple immortalized in “The Thin Man” movies of the 1930s. Emma's dream of following in her grandparents’ footsteps has started to come true: she has opened her own private investigation agency and secured her first case with a high profile client.

The second part of Emma’s dream is more elusive: enjoying the kind of romance that Nick and Nora made famous. Emma’s devotion to her grandparents’ Swing Era culture has made it impossible to find a contemporary man who can match her wit, taste and love of jazz music and gin martinis. But as Emma tackles her first case, which has unexpectedly implicated her client’s wife, she meets Dash Moran, a jazz pianist who has big dreams of his own and also harbors a deep appreciation for that bygone era.

In this stylish mystery/romance that races from the posh Upper East Side of Manhattan to funky Harlem and out to the glittering mansions of the Hamptons, Emma joins forces with Dash and an unforgettable cast of characters to solve a series of murders that threaten to make Emma and her client’s wife the final victims.

Agnes Nixon Fast Facts

(erietvnews.com) (CNN) -- Here's a look at the life of Agnes Nixon, creator of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."

Personal: Birth date: December 10, 1927

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois

Birth name: Agnes Eckhardt

Father: Harry Joseph Eckhardt, owner of Perfection Burial Garment Company

Mother: Agnes Patricia (Dalton) Eckhardt, bookkeeper

Marriages: Robert Nixon (April 6, 1951-November 22, 1996 his death)

Children: Catherine Agnes, Mary Frances, Robert Henry, Emily Anne

Education: Attended Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1940-1944

Other Facts:

Agnes Nixon grew up in Nashville, Tennessee.

Known as the "Queen of Soap Opera writing," she has nine Daytime Emmy writing nominations and four wins between her two shows "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," and a Lifetime Achievement award.

Her storylines often included socially conscious topics of the time, such as uterine cancer and Pap smears, racial identity, interracial relationships, abuse and abortion.

She created roles specifically for these actors: Laurence Fishburne, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Berenger on "One Life to Live".

She patterned her soap opera cities after an area in Philadelphia known as the "Main Line."

Nixon was one of the early writers on "The Guiding Light" (1953-2009), the longest running soap opera in history.

The character Agnes Eckhardt appeared on both "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" played by Nixon. She also played the characters Agnes Dixon on "One Life to Live" and Aggie on "All My Children".

The production company Prospect Park teamed up with Apple and Hulu, to save "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" by making both shows available online.

Timeline:

1944 - After college Nixon begins writing for the radio soap opera, 'Woman in White."

1950 - She relocates to New York and begins freelancing for live television prime-time broadcasts.

1951 - Writes for 13 weeks for daytime television as head writer for the soap opera "Search for Tomorrow."

1952-1954 - Writes for prime-time drama "Robert Montgomery Presents."

1957-1959 - Nixon writes for the soap "As the World Turns."

1959-1965 - Head writer on "The Guiding Light."

1965-1967 - Becomes head writer for "Another World"

July 15, 1968 - Nixon's creation "One Life to Live" debuts. She is the head writer.

January 5, 1970 - Another Nixon creation debuts, "All My Children," also with Nixon as head writer.

June 26, 1983 - The soap opera "Loving" premieres. Nixon is co-creator with Douglas Marland.

1988 - Wins Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team for "All My Children."

June 25, 1994 - Nixon becomes the first female writer to be inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame.

November 1995 - The storyline of "The City," created by Nixon, James H. Brown and Barbara Esensten, picks up where "Loving" left off.

1996-1998 - Wins Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team for "All My Children".

May 12, 2010 - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announces Nixon as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

April 14, 2011 - ABC announces the cancellation of "One Life to Live" as of January 2012. "All My Children" is also being canceled.

June 30, 2011 - ABC announces "All My Children" will air its final episode on television on Friday, September 23, 2011.

January 13, 2012 - "One Life to Live" airs its final episode on television.

April 29, 2013 - "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" come back to life, airing twice weekly online at Hulu and Apple's iTunes. Nixon is the creator of the new "All My Children."

Fall 2013 - The first online seasons of "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" end. Further production is then put on indefinite hold, due to legal proceedings between ABC and Prospect Park, which produces the shows.

Classic Soap THE DOCTORS Returns In Reruns

Rerun rights to THE DOCTORS, which ran on NBC-TV from 1963-82, has been picked up by Lucen Productions and will air on Retro TV, which is available in most markets. Matthew Golden, Luken's Vice President of Production, said in a statement, "The Doctors is one of the greatest examples of the soap opera format in its prime, loved by critics and audiences alike. We're thrilled to return this classic series to the air, and bring its exciting, engaging storylines back to our audience's daily lives." Alec Baldwin, Kathy Bates, Ted Dansen, and Kathleen Turner, along with daytime vets including Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda, AS THE WORLD TURNS), Kim Zimmer (Reva, GUIDING LIGHT) and Hillary B. Smith (Nora, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) are among the well-known names that appeared on the soap. It is expected to begin running later this year.

'Guiding Light' Actress Maureen Garrett Comes Out Publicly

(www.out.com) After virtually disappearing from the public eye after playing the role of Holly Lindsey for 35 years, the actress is ready to share her personal life with her fans

Anyone who tuned into Guiding Light over the last 35 years knows the name of actress Maureen Garrett. Viewers remember her as Holly Lindsey, one of daytime’s most conflicted and complex characters, and half of the Holly/Roger power-couple that took GL by storm.

Much to her fans’ dismay, Garrett was one of daytime’s most private actresses, remaining decidedly out of the limelight. When she did grant the occasional interview, it was always related to the show. Unlike many of her former costars, she has no memoir, no fan page, and no Facebook or Twitter. Internet searches reveal little more about her than was available in print 20 years ago: She speaks German and French and enjoys swimming and yoga.

With the end of Guiding Light in 2009, the elusive actress, now 64, seemed to disappear altogether. In the 60 Minutes episode profiling Guiding Light’s cancellation (which included several interviews with GL veterans) Garrett was notably absent. It was intentional. When the GL lighthouse went dark for good, she no longer felt the desire to pursue acting. She left New York and quietly disappeared from television.

But now she's back, ready to let her fans know more about her personal life. And she’s starting by revealing her 20-year relationship with her partner, Janet Morgan (pictured second from left).

Together the couple has raised three sons who are now happy and worldly young adults. Their eldest son is living in Stockholm and working on environmental issues. Their second son is an agro-forester in Costa Rica, where he’s working on using breadfruit for poverty alleviation. Their youngest recently graduated from college and is currently leading wilderness treks in the U.S. and Canada.

Garrett and Morgan also opened their home to one of Garrett’s nieces, which the actress says gave her the opportunity to raise a "fine young woman."

As for the contrast of having a relationship with a woman while playing one of the straightest super-couples that ever graced daytime TV, Garrett simply says, “It was acting.”

Garrett admits she didn’t have a whole lot in common with Holly. While she says she shared some traits with the character, namely “the chase” and various forms of escape, their similarities ended there.

“She wore far too much makeup,” Garrett says, noting that her friends and family were entertained by her glamorous appearance on television: she’d arrive on the GL set straight from her cabin, clad in jeans and boots, and was completely made over. The daily transformation remained temporary, of course. “At the end of the day I almost always washed off the make-up, and with it, Holly’s brand of crazy.”

So why let fans get to know details of her life now? Garrett says, quite simply, that she’s no longer concerned with what people know about her.

While Garrett’s Guiding Light costars knew of her relationship with Morgan, fans of the Holly/Roger saga never had a clue. Several reasons the actress never shared her family story publicly. The first was Garrett’s predilection for privacy. The other reason is even more obvious: when she was center stage on GL, it was simply a different time in history. In the early '90s—often considered by viewers to be the Holly/Roger heyday—very few celebrities publicly deviated from the socially prescribed norms. Ellen was on TV, but she didn’t reveal her sexuality until 1997; the result was a deluge of negative publicity that resulted in her show’s cancellation. Rosie O’Donnell’s popular talk show was on in the same years that Holly and Roger were creating storms on Guiding Light, but O’Donnell didn’t come out until 2002.

Raines Gets A Pulitzer!

GUIDING LIGHT alum Ron Raines (Alan) has established quite a theatrical career for himself since the soap's demise, and now adds another notch to his belt by joining the cast of the hit musical Newsies!

"I'm thrilled to be going into the Tony Award-winning Broadway show Newsies," Raines says. "It's an exciting show filled with hope and dreams of a better tomorrow. It's a wonderful family event. Come see us!"

A Tony nominee himself for his role in last year's Follies, Raines will be temporarily stepping into the role of Joseph Pulitzer while actor John Dossett stars in Giant. Raines will play the role from Tuesday, October 9, through Sunday, December 16, so if you want to see him on stage, you'll need to act quickly! Visit the show's Web site for more information and tickets!

Tell-All Tome About Y&R And B&B!

Soaps In Depth editor Michael Maloney, along with Lee Phillip Bell, has written an authorized biography of Bell's late husband, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS and THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL creator William J. Bell. The Young and Restless Life Of William J. Bell is set to hit bookstores on June 1 and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.

The book details the Chicago native's pre-soap opera life as an advertising executive in the era just before MAD MEN to his unparalleled career as television's most prolific writer. Bell not only is the mastermind behind the two surviving CBS soaps, but he also wrote for suders GUIDING LIGHT, AS THE WORLD TURNS (for nine years), and ANOTHER WORLD, which he co-created along with his mentor, soap opera legend Irna Phillips. In 1966, Bell left Phillips and took over as headwriter of DAYS OF OUR LIVES, saving the show from cancelation.

The Young And Restless Life Of William J. Bell offers insights into Bill's creative process -- how he felt about recasting, publicity, spoilers, sweeps, stunt casting and, of course, storytelling! The tome contains backstage dish and never-before-seen photos from the Bell family's personal albums. Lee's successful career as a broadcast journalist in the days of live television in Chicago is also covered, and the book contains information from the "bibles" for AW, Y&R and B&B that any soap fan will want to read!

Over 65 people -- including family members, actors, writers, producers, network executives and other notables from the soap opera world -- were interviewed for this book that every soap fan will want to have! So pre-order your copy today!

(The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell: Creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful)

Fun Horror Movie Fact

Before inking Friday the 13th, Victor Miller wrote for soap operas “All My Children,” “Guiding Light,” and “One Life to Live.”

'The Notebook' musical headed to Broadway

Get ready to weep, theater fans: "The Notebook" is heading to Broadway in the form of a musical by "One Tree Hill" star Bethany Joy Galeotti (ex-Michelle, Guiding Light).

Galeotti has been working on the show with her writing partner Ron Aniello for years, and the pair even staged a reading in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2009. But they got a vote of confidence from Nicholas Sparks himself, who said on "The Early Show" Dec. 14 that a musical version of his book would hit the Great White Way at some point in the future.

The bad news: We don't think Ryan Gosling is involved in any way. He's too busy being nominated for Golden Globes and being the unofficial Sexiest Man of the Year.

The good news: It's "The Notebook." You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to fall hopelessly in love. Gosling or no, if you're a lady, you're genetically predisposed to love the crap outta this.

Order Kim Zimmer's Tell-All

I'm Just Sayin'!: Three Deaths, Seven Husbands, and a Clone! My Life as a Daytime Diva by Kim Zimmer - Order Here!

Mindy's Twitter Tales of Life in Springfield

Guiding Light's Mindy Lewis Bauer has has new twitter account, follow her and read about all of the latest happenings in Springfield at this address: twitter.com/#!/MindyLewisBauer

Kiss Taped

According to a tweet from Crystal Chappell, GL did indeed tape a kiss between Olivia and Natalia for the finale but it was cut. Chappell wrote, “Nat and O send Rafe off to Army. I kissed her cheek, [but] the scene never made the show.”

Chappell On GL's Final Episode

"Oddly enough, I was here [at DAYS] and watched it in my dressing room," says Crystal Chappell (Carly, DAYS; ex-Olivia, GL) of the final airing of the 72-year-old soap on September 18. "It was heartbreaking. The whole week was heavy, though, but a very good week. You knew the show was coming to an end. Even though I knew it was coming, I wept when Alan died in such a noble way. I like that people had their happy endings. When Josh and Reva drove off in their pickup truck and they scrolled the end, it was like, 'Oh my God!' It was just devastating. So sad!"

Guiding Light Goodbye: Final Thoughts

Guiding Light Goodbye: Final Thoughts: Grant Aleksander, Michael O’Leary and others. Read here!

Dying of the Light

Nothing is quite as rare in television than the ending of a soap opera. Show runners have to wrestle with questions they never normally worry about, since soaps are intended to last indefinitely. Do they just let storylines go unresolved, or do they try to wrap them up?

The series finale of Guiding Light, after 15,000 episodes, opted to grant the long-suffering citizens of the fictional town of Springfield happy endings. After a little suspense, leading character Reva Shayne tearfully agreed to marry beau Josh Lewis for the fourth time. Two other marriages took place. Two of the show's teens drove off to university. "It's just too many goodbyes," says one character.

For fans around the world, last Friday's end of The Guiding Light was the end of an era. The question on most devotees' minds now is whether it also signals the end of an entire genre.

The soap opera that became the longest running drama in TV history debuted as an NBC radio show in 1937, and then as a CBS TV program in 1952. Back then, companies like Procter & Gamble invented the genre to sell the soaps that sponsored the shows.

The soap opera rose to a ratings peak in the 1960s and 1970s, buoyed by automobile advertising and a large, stay-at-home daytime audience. The soaps invented what television scholars have called "immersive story worlds" – long-running narratives that aren't expected to end, ever.

Until now, that is. The soap may have had its day. Dwindling advertising dollars, and the aging of soaps' core viewership out of the coveted 18-49 advertising demographic have been blamed for the genre's decline.

So with Guiding Light finally over, what measures are the remaining seven daytime soaps taking to make sure they remain on the air? On Feb. 16, 2009, All My Children featured a same-sex wedding, the first soap to do so. It's not clear that such attempts to keep plots relevant will work in the long run.

"There are so many entertainment options, lifestyle options competing with soap operas now," says C. Lee Harrington, professor of sociology at Miami University. She is co-editing a forthcoming book, The Survival of Soap Opera, which will discuss how soaps' producers can save the medium.

"Soaps are routines, and if you break those for many months, it can be hard to get back into it," explains Nancy Baym, author of Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community. After coverage of O.J. Simpson's murder knocked some soaps off the air for months, "it spiralled. Once the viewers were gone and not as many of them came back, the producers got interested in younger, sexier storylines to bring in younger viewers."

Devotees to Guiding Light have been voicing their anger and sadness about the show's end online. "I can barely keep it together," wrote one fan on the Guiding Light's fan forum at SoapCentral.com.

Seventy-two years and 20,000 episodes later, however, some producers and fans were admitting the show had gone stale. The show's declining ratings – just 2.1 million viewers per episode this year, down from 3 million five years ago – had led producers to dramatically change production values to save money. Many fans voiced adislike of the show's experimentation with shaky handheld digital cameras and less grandiose sets.

Others didn't take well to attempts on the show's part to introduce storylines aimed at a younger demographic, particularly a recent plot about cloning. Yet although the show's demographics are aging, the book's authors also point out that they are incredibly active online – something soaps' producers could be doing more to engage.

"Fans are using YouTube to do personal archiving" of the show, says Harrington. "They'll repackage the whole history of a couple, for example. They haven't offered interactive opportunities to viewers the way other shows have done."

Some believe that this online activity means reports of the soaps' demise are exaggerated. The three major networks all broadcast some TV content on their own websites, and "the industry has not found a way to monetize those viewers," argues Sam Ford, a co-editor of The Survival of Soap Opera. "There's no metric of engagement." Ford, a research affiliate of M.I.T.'s Convergence Culture Consortium and a longtime soap opera fan, has compared soaps to long-running programming like pro wrestling

No matter how many storylines are wrapped up, however, longtime fans have logged on to online discussion forums to list countless loose threads Guiding Light left hanging – and will now go unresolved for good.

"I have been with you for the whole 72 years," one fan posted in all-caps on the comments thread of a CBS news story on Guiding Light's cancellation. "Your show and your town are like so many nice, beautiful and happy places I have been ... Please take care and you all will be in my heart forever. Your faithful viewer an old sad women (sic)."

Lights officially out for iconic CBS soap opera

The longest-running drama in broadcast history, CBS' "Guiding Light," wrapped up its 72-year run this afternoon.

The show went out on a high note, with many of the characters gathering for a picnic in a park on a bright sunny day. The show's most famous on-again-off-again couple, Reva (Kim Zimmer) and Josh (Robert Newman), met at the light house, reaffirmed their love for each other and drove off together in Josh's pick-up truck.

CBS in April decided to pull the plug on the program because of its high cost of production and flagging ratings. This past year, the show mustered an average 2.1 million viewers an episode -- a far cry from the more than 5 million viewers it attracted a decade ago. CBS plans to replace the soap opera on Oct. 5 with a remake of "Let's Make a Deal," hosted by Wayne Brady.

"Guiding Light" was created in the depths of the Depression, in 1937, as a 15-minute radio program aimed at selling soap and other products to housewives -- thus earning it the moniker of "soap opera." In 1952, the show moved to television, where it has been a mainstay ever since. It is owned by packaged products giant Procter & Gamble, the maker of Ivory, Tide, Mr. Clean and Crest toothpaste. Legions of the show's fans protested the cancellation, saying they had a special place in their hearts for the program about the families of the fictional Midwestern town of Springfield. Some begged CBS to reconsider its decision. But the network said that neither it nor P&G could make the finances work, and they joined those who mourned the death of the history-making serial. Beyond entertaining millions of viewers with the love lives of the characters, the show explored themes that were once taboo for television: rape, abortion, adultery and AIDS.It was produced in New York and provided jobs for thousands of people over the years.

"This ground-breaking program has provided steady employment, wages and benefits for thousands of AFTRA performers and other union members working in the entertainment and media industries," the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in a statement today.When CBS made its decision, the show's executive producer, Ellen Wheeler, was philosophical."This show has been here since before World War II," Wheeler said in early April. "It has gone through wars and tragedies and triumphs -- man walking on the moon, and the dawn of the computer age. This show chronicled all these changes in society. It has been our mirror on society for generations, and when you lose something that is part of the fabric of society you lose something precious."

World's longest running soap ends

The world's longest running soap opera has been screened for the last time, having been on air in the US for more than 70 years.

Guiding Light first appeared on NBC radio before moving to television in the 1950s, but viewing figures had declined in recent years.

It featured many actors who went on to be major stars, including Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart and James Earl Jones.

The final episode ended on an upbeat note before the screen faded to black.

All the characters were gathered together in a park for a picnic before the show's long-running on-off couple, Josh and Reva, finally declared their undying love and drove off in a pick-up truck.

The actors playing the characters, Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman, had both been in the show for more than 25 years.

Guiding Light began life as a 15-minute daily drama on NBC radio in 1937 before moving to television in 1952.

It initially focused on Rev John Ruthledge and the community in a fictional suburb of Chicago called Five Points, but the recent show revolved around the lives and loves of three families in the fictional mid-western town of Springfield.

The show won dozens of awards in its seven-decade span and ran up more 15,700 episodes, each ending in a cliffhanger.

CBS said it had broken new ground with its coverage of social issues such as cancer, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy.

"No show in daytime or prime time, or anytime, has touched so many millions of viewers across so many years as Guiding Light," said CBS Senior Vice President Barbara Bloom.

But the BBC's Los Angeles correspondent Peter Bowes said that in the increasingly competitive world of daytime TV, Guiding Light had struggled to win an audience.

Interviews

Guiding Light Goodbye: Ellen Wheeler, From the TV Guide Archives: Beverlee McKinsey

Tina Sloan Says Goodbye to Guiding Light

After 72 years on radio and television, Guiding Light is going dim.

Veteran cast member Tina Sloan sympathizes with viewers she expects to be devastated by the show's airing of its final episode Friday. But she thinks fans will share her thrill about how the show told its final stories.

"I think the fans are going to be ecstatic," Sloan tells TVGuide.com. Sloan uses the same word to describe her feelings about the marriage of her character, Lillian Raines, who somehow remained single for nearly all of her 26 years on the show.

"She fell in love with Buzz (Justin Deas) two years ago and started having fun," Sloan says. "It was a different note for her; she's always been the caregiver, the generous nurse, the loving mother and grandmother. When she met Buzz, he just made her laugh, and there was a different note in her personality. And she embraced it, and I think they celebrated that in the wedding.

"These marriages were just lovely," she continues. "We're all having these happily-ever-after, Cinderella endings, which is a real treat for everybody, including the actors. We're all going off happy to be happy, and I would hate to go off not happy."

Head writer Jill Lorie Hurst says the writing staff's major goal was to wrap up the show's immense history in a way that gave closure, but not too much. "We knew right away that we couldn't — and shouldn't — wrap everything up too tightly. We didn't want to tie it with a bow and not leave any room for the audience to wonder. But [the audience] was our top priority. We wanted them to be as satisfied as possible. We had some reunions, some new couples — we tried to have a little something for everyone."

Hurst said it was also "extraordinarily important" to honor the history of the show within the present storylines. Sloan's character, for example, visited the grave of her friend Maureen (Ellen Parker) in one of the final episodes. Maureen died in a car accident after learning her husband had an affair with Lillian.

"We tried to touch on history as often as was appropriate without hitting our audience over the head with it," Hurst says. "We can just mention a place or a time or a character name, and as long as they know that we remember where these people come from, they know we're all aware of how the past affects how we move forward."

Sloan says the final episodes also paid tribute to the previous generations of actors on the show. "[Maureen] was a very important character on the show, and a lot of the old fans loved her. So it was a way to give her back at the end. I think the writers tried to give everyone their old favorites, for a glimpse at least."

One of the toughest parts of ending the show is saying goodbye to some characters for good, including Alan Spaulding (Ron Raines). He died, perhaps as a result of giving his bone marrow to his son, Phillip (Grant Aleksander).

"Alan died, and that's a really sad thing, but he died making a sacrifice, which is a beautiful thing," Sloan says. "He had hurt a lot of people in his heyday, so in a sense, if anyone had to die, it sort of had to be him. There had to be a sacrifice of some kind."

"That was hard," Hurst adds, noting that Alan's death was on their must-do list before the show wrapped up. "We talked a lot about everyone's love stories, and what issue or relationship a lot of these characters had to resolve," Hurst says. "Phillip and Alan, in our minds, was a big story, and ... that was one of the first things we talked about. It was very important to us to find some redemption for Alan and to get that relationship to a good place."

Hurst says the happiness that Lillian finds is a nice balance to Alan's death. "It was very important to me that Lillian get to be a bride," she says. "She never had that fairy tale moment that a lot of women get to have, with all the hope of starting a new life. But it's never too late, so we really felt she deserved it."

Sloan says Guiding Light's cancellation reflects the turbulent daytime television industry.

"We are the emotional consciousness of our country, and I think we also stand for generational family values," Sloan says. "And the fact that those family values are being taken off the air worries me for our country. Our show has so much history, and I think it's something you treasure. I don't think it's something you throw over for a game show." (CBS announced in August that a new version of Let's Make a Deal will fill Guiding Light's timeslot.)

Hurst, however, remains optimistic about daytime's future. "I think there'll be changes — maybe we'll go back to half-hour soaps or maybe cable will branch out and take on daytime storytelling," she says. "Then there's the Internet. There are so many places to tell stories, and I believe we will continue to tell them. I believe the audience counts on us, the daytime community, to do that. We're going through a rocky period, but I really believe that we'll survive. It will be different, but there will be storytelling."

It's those stories and the characters in them that Hurst hope fans take with them once the show is gone. "I hope we brought the audience some joy and some comfort more than anything else," Hurst says. "I hope they'll remember Tom Pelphrey's laugh, Buzz and Lillian, the Cooper family poker games. I hope they will carry some sort of comfort with them. I grew up as a viewer, and I understand what that means to tune in during the day and have company. Sometimes you just need the company of people you like and care about during the day."

Sloan says she's just happy to be a part of Guiding Light's place in history. "It is soap opera," she says. "It's the first, the longest, and nobody will ever outlive it.

"We believe in love," Sloan says. "We're going to have bad, naughty things going on, but that's the spice of life. Of course we're going to have all these things — we're a soap opera. But we also, underneath it all, had this core value system that was quite extraordinary. I know it's a soap opera, but we were extraordinary."

'Guiding Light' goes out in style; storied soap opera ends, appropriately, on a light note

There were plenty of hugs, stories about leaving home and coming back, and a happy ending for a longtime love story in Friday's finale of "Guiding Light."

Producers had said the finale would give viewers a sense of transition, and it did.

There were on-again, off-again relationships rekindled, closure in some, and new beginnings for others.

In the end, though, the love story between Reva Shayne (Kim Zimmer) and Josh Lewis (Robert Newman) was a common thread that held the episode together.

Early on, Lewis told Shayne he loved her, and wanted to marry her - but not then. He wanted to wait a year later.

Just past the midpoint of the hour-long show, the story was fast forwarded a year.

"You knew I was going to show up - what you didn't know is what I'm going to say," Shayne said when they met again at the foot of a lighthouse, with her son, Colin, in tow.

She said the year away helped her find the old Reva, the character she's played since 1983.

He said he loved her, she said she loved him. They kissed.

"We're going to go on an adventure, you, me, Colin," Lewis said.

In a true daytime moment, before the Josh and Reva storyline finished, the show cut to an extended montage of scenes showing other cast members tying up their stories to a musical backdrop.

Then, Reva, Josh and Colin (played by Nicholas Curzio) got into an old green Ford pickup.

"You ready?" Josh said.

"Always," Reva said.

They smiled and drove off, leaving the lighthouse (shot at New Jersey's Gateway National Park) on the screen, and the words "The End."

TV shows come and go in prime time all the time. However, in the daytime genre, the shows have a closer connection to the viewers, which makes endings like this harder.

In the case of "Guiding Light," that end hits roughly 1.2 million people. Not a large bunch by any measure, but a dedicated crowd.

Co-writer Jill Lorie Hurst told the Daily News earlier that the writers and producers were "really proud we were able to leave the characters in a good place - a good place the audience and the characters deserve."

As finales go, there wasn't any big bang, or gripping dramatic moment people will talk about for years to come.

Instead, "Guiding Light" went out on a light note. No catastrophes, just a bunch of scenes - a quickie wedding or two, a day in the park, and a shot near a lighthouse - all designed to bring people together for a final glimpse at the characters, and then send the viewers away forever satisfied that, at the very least, Josh and Reva were back in each others arms.

Lights out for 'Guiding Light'

Friday marked the final flicker of CBS' "Guiding Light," as that venerable daytime drama logged its farewell hour after 72 years on the air.

The last episode took an upbeat, life-affirming tone, complete with a scene that gathered many of the characters at a picnic in the park on a beautiful day.

And the closing moments sealed the future of the show's signature on-and-off-again supercouple: Reva (Kim Zimmer, who created the role in 1983) and Josh (Robert Newman, who started on the show in 1981).

They rendezvoused, according to plan, at the local lighthouse and declared their undying love. Then these soul mates climbed into Josh's pickup truck.

"You ready?" asked Josh.

"Always," Reva said.

And they drove away, as the words "The End" flashed on the screen before a final fade-out.

"Guiding Light" began on radio in 1937, then moved to TV in 1952. In recent decades it was set in the midwestern town of Springfield, where it focused on the Spaulding, Lewis and Cooper clans.

Along with veteran cast members, the show also played host to many actors who left to find larger stardom elsewhere. These include Kevin Bacon, JoBeth Williams, James Earl Jones, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow, Hayden Panettiere and Melina Kanakaredes.

CBS issued word that the soap opera would be axed last April, and production of the show, which was taped in Manhattan and in nearby Peapack, New Jersey, wrapped in August.

"Guiding Light" now becomes the latest victim of the ratings collapse afflicting the entire soap-opera world. With an average 2.1 million viewers, it was the least-watched of all the network soaps, which after today (and some 15,700 past weekdays for "Light") will total only seven.

On Oct. 5, CBS will fill the slot "Guiding Light" is vacating with a new edition of the game show "Let's Make a Deal."

In this publicity image released by CBS, Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman from the daytime series "Guiding Light," are shown. The venerable weekday soap opera is airing its farewell hour, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, after 72 years on the air. The words "The End" appear on the screen before its final fadeout.

Guiding Light Fades to Black

After 72 years on the air, Guiding Light is over. Longtime fans said goodbye to their favorite dramatic and dysfunctional families, the Spauldings and the Lewises, on Friday, when CBS aired the soap’s final episode after many seasons of marriages, divorces, remarriages, scandals, back-from-the-dead encounters and numerous miracles — seven! — that had paralyzed characters walking again. But beyond the melodrama, Guiding Light bolstered the careers of many of Hollywood’s most famous stars. Before Footloose, Kevin Bacon played alcoholic teen T. J. ‘Tim’ Werner in 1980. James Earl Jones was one of the first African-American actors to have a regular role on a soap, when he starred in the 1960s. Heroes star Hayden Panettiere played a young Lizzie Spaulding from 1996 to 2000. And die-hard fans will even remember when Calista Flockhart had a minor role as a babysitter in the late ’80s. As soap operas struggle to remain profitable and reality shows provide a heaping portion of heartache and backstabbing, the dimming of Guiding Light truly marks the end of an era. But before you put away your bonbons and that box of Kleenex, here is one last clip of the longest-running TV drama in history. In it, Josh and Reva (played by Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer), Springfield’s longtime on-again, off-again couple, finally reunite — presumably for good this time — in front of the town’s iconic lighthouse.

'Guiding Light' ends 72-year run amidst melancholy feelings from cast and crew

Actress Beth Chamberlin said getting through her final scene on CBS' soon-to-end soap "Guiding Light" was heartwrenching.

"There were a lot of different emotions going on for all of us," Chamberlin told the Daily News. "I think those emotions sort of surprised us at times."

Those emotions are sure to run high Friday, when at 10 a.m. CBS airs the final episode of "Guiding Light" after a 72-year run that spans radio and TV.

"I would feel fine, and then, when I shot my last scene, I just broke down and cried so hard," says Chamberlin, who plays Elizabeth (Beth) Ann Raines Spaulding. "It was like the death of a friend for me at that moment. As much as I was prepared, I was surprised at the death."

She's not alone.

Even though it has suffered audience declines like all daytime programs - and changes in story lines and casts along the way - "Guiding Light" means something to its 1.2 million daily viewers.

"Anytime we lose one of our shows, it's really a tragedy and it sobers everyone," said co-head writer Jill Lorie Hurst. "I remember when 'Port Charles' and even 'Passions' went off the air, we were all very sad."

There's talk of other daytime dramas going away, and CBS executives admit they're keeping an eye on "As the World Turns." The medium has changed, and audiences have fractured.

Still, Hurst believes there's a future in the format as long as producers adapt. "Guiding Light" tried changing over a year ago, when the show began shooting with hand-held cameras and went outdoors.

"I don't know the audience has time to invest in hour-long shows," she said. "The existing shows could go to a half-hour. I think the storytelling will exist, but I think we're going through a change."

For now, though, there will be some mourning.

Once the producers got word that the show was going to end, the plan was to tell stories that didn't wrap up the characters' stories, but rather suggested a transition.

"We didn't want to leave it open to speculation," she said. "We were a little more conventional. We didn't want to have a car crash or a bus crash, or anything like that. We wanted you to have an idea of where people were going."

The final days of shooting last month brought the cast together, said Chamberlin. She had her last scene with Grant Aleksander, who plays Phillip Spaulding, and got there earlier than usual. During the final days, the cast members were invited to watch others go through their last scenes, too.

"[Aleksander] remarked I was very quiet," Chamberlin said of the filming in mid-August. "And I said, I have to be quiet, I'm afraid once I start crying, I won't stop. I need to do my work. I had to go off in a corner, by myself."

She admitted the loss hasn't quite sunk in yet.

"When we finished the writing, we were kind of numb and exhausted," said Hurst, who was there for the final filming days.

"There was, strangely enough, a lot of joy along with the sorrow," Hurst said.

She also doesn't think there will be another show to span so many generations because the business has changed so much.

"It was a unique show about relationships that reflected the times as it was being shown," Chamberlin said. "This is a unique show in its relationships, not just in longevity, but with the fans and its characters."

60 Minutes

Video: 60 Minutes Guiding Light Story: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

GL cancelled three times!

Did you know that this isn’t the first time that GL was cancelled? Procter & Gamble originally cancelled the NBC radio soap on Dec. 26, 1941 after it premièred Jan. 25, 1937. Fans protested by sending in 75,000 letters. Luckily, General Mills bought the serial in 1942, but later killed the show on Nov. 29, 1946. It was finally brought back by CBS radio on Jan. 2, 1947. On Sept. 18, 2009, GL will once again fade out. This time, however, permanently.

Interviews

Interviews: Lisa Brown (Nola, GL), Justin Deas (Buzz, GL)

1937-2009: Saying Goodbye to Guiding Light

At 60 Minutes we're pretty proud that we are now beginning our 42nd year on the air, but as broadcasts go, we're merely middle aged compared with the oldest established permanent floating soap opera ever broadcast.

"Guiding Light" is just finishing its 72nd year, and sadly, for its fans, Friday's broadcast will be its last.

Since Franklin Roosevelt's second term as president, Guiding Light has served up an endless menu of torrid love affairs, heartbreak, infidelities by the score, double crosses, kidnaps, suicides, sin, sex and salvation - in all, 20,000 of episodes of life on the precipice.

What pushed Guiding Light over the edge is that old grim reaper of all television shows, low ratings.

It's a bittersweet time, these last days, as hardcore fans and the show's entire staff turned up for the taping of the final scenes.

Guiding Light has always been a loving reflection of America's morals, manners and marital mayhem, where actress Tina Sloan and many others have worked together for over a quarter century.

Asked if they were surprised when the show was canceled, Sloan told correspondent Morley Safer, "The pink slips stunned us, all of us. Even though we were on life support and we knew we were on life support we just couldn't imagine anyone would pull the plug on their watch on a show that's been so historic."

It started on radio in 1937, and made the transition to television in 1952. And through the years and into a new century, Guiding Light chronicled family life in the mythical town of Springfield. Everybody, it seemed, had a dark secret.

It was a place where even the good guys often had a lurid past. Take the character of Josh Lewis, played by actor Robert Newman.

There was planting evidence, bribery and blackmail.

"And all this done by a former preacher?" Safer asked.

"Yes," Newman said. "And your point would be?"

For the better part of a quarter century, Newman and Kim Zimmer have played Springfield's star-crossed lovers Josh and Reva, marrying and divorcing each other three times. And that's just for starters.

"He married my sister, when I was dying of cancer," Zimmer explained.

"And she married my father and my brother. Are we really going to have this conversation now?" Newman joked.

Asked how many marriages she's had, Zimmer told Safer, "I believe I just had my ninth."

She once survived driving off a bridge in a fit of post-partum depression; he once had her cloned. On the soaps, the weird and the wonderful are routine and everyone has his or her very own miracle.

"I did a menopause story. And then four years later I was pregnant on the show," Zimmer recalled.

Also, her character was presumed dead three times, and even died once. "I flat-lined on a Friday. Woke up on a Monday. And walked out of the hospital on a Tuesday, yes," Zimmer explained.

In the surreal world of the soaps, missing characters presumed dead routinely turn up again.

And the medical help is somewhat dicey. Peter Simon and Michael O'Leary play the Bauers, father and son doctors.

"I started May first of 1983. Started the show on a Friday, I was an orderly, changing bedpans. Monday I was doing brain surgery with my father," O'Leary said.

"Was it successful?" Simon asked.

"No. The first of 38 deaths," O'Leary joked.

"You are renowned as a doctor who keeps losing these patients, yes?" Safer asked.

"Regardless of whether it was a strep throat or whatever it is. It doesn't matter, if they die, they die fast," O'Leary explained.

The very longevity of the show blurs the line between fiction and reality. To many fans, some of the crises may hit very close to home.

"What makes you people so real to so many people?" Safer asked.

"Because they've watched, oftentimes, our birth, our marriage…and then our deaths," actress Beth Chamberlin said.

"And rebirths," Tina Sloan added.

We got a crash course on the Byzantine history of Guiding Light from veteran actors Ron Raines, 15 years on the show; Beth Chamberlin, 20 years; Tina Sloan, 26 years; and Grant Aleksander, a 27-year soap veteran.

"There are these great stretches that the audience will grant you. You're allowed to send a child off at the age of 12 and bring them six months later fully grown…," Aleksander said.

"Or even the next day, possibly," Chamberlin joked.

"They will accept those things. They won't accept if you take a character and write it in a way that is completely inconsistent with what they have come to accept," Aleksander explained.

Tina Sloan's character, for instance, is the saint of Springfield who has survived breast cancer and countless other crises. And she slipped up just once.

"One time, in the entire history of my 26 years here, I slept with someone who was married to my best friend. And she died as a result of this because she was so upset she drove off a snowy cliff. And people have still not forgiven me. And this was 20 years ago," Sloan explained.

There are no minor crises in these families. "Something dramatic always happens at a big dinner," Raines explained. "Family sitting down. At a wedding. At a funeral."

Indeed, funeral scenes are commonplace on Guiding Light, with all the characters who've met mysterious deaths or been written out of the plot or simply succumbed to Dr. Bauer's ministrations.

For the actors, though, taping one memorial hit home: a requiem, in a way, for the program itself.

"I'm 54 years old. I will never have a job like this again, ever in my life. Nothing this steady and this stable and this wonderful," Zimmer said.

The backstage story of Guiding Light is a rich one. On the show's 70th anniversary, the actors recreated the radio version from the 1930s.

The original focus was inspirational, featuring a minister whose Guiding Light attracted the down and out, the lonely and the troubled.

In their heyday on radio, producing soaps was like printing money.

They got their name - "soaps" or "washboard weepers" - by delivering the soapmaker's dream, a captive audience: women across America, stuck at home with the laundry and the kids.

But times have been changing. "They've been going one by one. I worked on a show called 'The Doctors' once. Does anybody remember that?" says former network executive and television historian Tim Brooks.

Brooks says the soaps hit their peak in the 1970s, when the networks were running 16 of them; the passing of Guiding Light leaves just seven.

How come?

"It's that the world has changed," Brooks said. "The world has turned, so to speak."

Aside from women leaving home for the workplace, soaps are facing more competition from talk shows and reality TV. Also, despite the casting of many younger actors, the number of younger viewers willing to sit for an hour a day is dwindling.

"The audience has gotten older," Brooks explained. "And as the soap operas have attracted more and more 50-plus, 60-plus audience, they've become less attractive to the soap manufacturers."

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Guiding Light's executive producer Ellen Wheeler did everything she could to postpone the inevitable.

She's a whirlwind on the set, where time is money, hustling cast and crew from scene to scene.

"It's great to work at that speed," Wheeler told Safer. "If it was really good, we don't have time to pat ourselves on the back. But if it was really bad, we don't have to think about it either, because we gotta move on to the next one."

She cut costs by using smaller crews and smaller sets. For instance, she turned a basement storage room at CBS into Springfield's mini-mart.

Though writer Jill Lorie Hurst and producer Wheeler knew the end was coming, accepting it was another matter.

"We still have so many stories we would love to tell," Lorie Hurst said.

"We have to say goodbye to the characters. And we have to say goodbye to the town, the whole town. We have to say goodbye to each other. Our working relationships are over," Wheeler added.

That means not just the actors, but the production staff responsible for sorting out the thousands of details involved in doing an hour show Monday through Friday, soldiering on through the last few episodes.

"It's sad. It is sad," said actor Frank Dicopoulos. "The thing I'm gonna miss the most are the people. This is a family. This is my family away from my family."

As Dicopoulos notes, it's a tight-knit group, on-screen and off. He has played the same character - a Springfield cop - for 22 years.

The thousands of actors who have passed through Springfield over the years include Calista Flockhart, Angela Bassett, Hayden Panettiere, Jimmy Smits,Taye Diggs, Allison Janney, and Kevin Bacon, a teen with a drinking problem.

"Some amazing people have worked at Guiding Light," Jill Lorie Hurst noted.

"Amazing. To be at the end of that amazing group of people is quite an honor," Ellen Wheeler said. "It puts a lot of fear in your heart. You want to be true to all the things they created. And all the love and hope that they gave to generations of people."

Asked what last show is going to be like for the cast and crew, Beth Chamberlin told Safer, "I think it won't sink in for maybe a month later that we're actually not going back. We're not just light on story right now, there is no story to be told."

"We're just all so lucky to have each other, all of us…," Sloan added.

And so they taped the final TV episode, number 15,762. Add to that roughly 4,000 radio shows, and you get, over the course of the program's life and death - 20,000 snapshots of Springfield.

And now, time to look for work.

"You go out there and do what actors do," Dicopoulos said. "They audition, a role has come up. And, you know, that's the nature of the beast."

Fans bid farewell to beloved 'Guiding Light'

If you need something from Luetta Feekes, check the clock before asking. If it's between 2 and 3 p.m. you probably better wait - at least on a weekday.

That's when Feekes sits down to watch "Guiding Light," a soap opera the 64-year-old Sioux Falls woman has been watching nearly all of her life. "My mom watched it, and I just carried on watching it," she says. "My family knows not to ask me to do anything until after it's over."

For an hour a day, five days a week, Feekes immerses herself into the world of the Spauldings, the Bauers and the Coopers.

"They're all my favorites. Well, not Alan Spaulding. But nobody likes him," she says. "He's a wealthy scoundrel who tries to make his children and grandchildren out to be like him and that's not good."

But Feekes and other "Guiding Light" fans only have another week before the citizens of the fictitious town of Springfield ride off into the proverbial television sunset. After 72 years, first on radio, and then on network television, "Guiding Light" ends its run Friday.

While soaps like "Guiding Light" are routinely dismissed in popular culture, stereotyped as programs with preposterous storylines and pitiful acting, the stories told on daytime television also present some entertaining, occasionally inventive work that doesn't always get the attention it deserves, says Roger Newcomb, editor of welovesoaps.net.

But for the fans, it's all about the characters and the relatable human emotions they convey to their television audience day after day.

"The stories are really about people communicating, sharing their feelings," Newcomb says. "Soaps are never going to be able to tell an action adventure story as well as the prime-time shows or at the movies - they don't have the budgets. But what they can do better than anybody else is tell a story."

That's what's kept Kelly Waldner watching over the years. She started watching "Guiding Light" when she was 10.

"I know a lot of people think that soap operas are stupid and a waste of time, but a lot of the plots are so realistic," the 31-year-old Harrisburg woman says. "Just like Reva having cancer and fighting for the life of her and her baby. I cried through that whole ordeal just because I have been there myself. I had to make a decision years ago as to whether or not I would receive cancer treatment or carry a baby."

The occasional over-the-top plots are also a way to tell some pretty groundbreaking stories, Newcomb says. "Soap operas told AIDS stories before anyone else. They told breast cancer stories before anyone else," he says. "They brought social issues into people's lives."

It is, however, more than the storytelling and the drama that keeps soap fans tuned in. It's also the characters. The actors, many of whom have been playing the same part for decades, are like family.

"Because they're on every day - five days a week - people really feel they know the characters," Newcomb says. "You get to see them in a more in-depth way than you do in prime time or on a movie. And there's a sense of comfort with these recognizable faces, people you've watched all your life."

But it's not just the families on screen that make soaps like "Guiding Light" so special. It's the families at home that gather together to watch them.

"I remember my mother listening to it on the radio," says Marlys Nellermoe of Pierre. "That was something that was not done lightly. It was a battery powered radio, and you didn't waste the radio - you saved it for the news and the weather. But by gosh, she listened to 'Guiding Light.' "

Marylou Nagel started watching "Guiding Light" because of the women in her family, too. "My grandmother watched it. My mother watched it. My sisters watch it. It's a family affair," the 33-year-old Humboldt woman says.

All that, however, haven't been enough to draw in the viewers. As dedicated as soap operas fans are, ratings have been steadily declining over the years.

"The audience has eroded so much," Newcomb says. "Part of that is a natural erosion - there's a million options on TV for people these days. But the audience for soaps has eroded so much, there's not much room for air and multiple shows are currently under threat of cancellation."

It's particularly hard to get new viewers. Not as many people are home watching TV during the day - they're working, Newcomb says. "In some ways, watching with mom or grandma, as so many fans my age had done, has gone away."

It's also hard to appeal to everyone. "Think about it - with a show that's been on for 70 years like 'Guiding Light,' you have some fans that have been watching since the beginning, some who have been watching for 20 years and some who just started last year," Newcomb says. "How do you please everyone? I think it's hard."

Not to mention that watching a daily show is a huge time commitment. "It's like watching five prime-time shows," Newcomb says. "I don't know how many younger people are willing to invest that much time these days."

It's not always easy keep up with the storyline, Nagel admits. "I try to watch every day, but it's hard. Life happens." If she misses a day, or runs out of time to watch what she's recorded on her DVR, Nagel will catch up by reading a plot synopsis online.

For Nellermoe, however, the hour she spends watching "Guiding Light" every day is pure bliss.

"Before we had a VCR, I could only tune in on work holidays. So the day that I got a VCR to record it was really a luxury for me," she says. "Now it's my treat. I sit down with a cup of coffee, fast forward through the commercials and watch 'Guiding Light.' "

Waldner knows the feeling well. "I will miss just sitting and having my hour of quiet during the day."

But more than that, Waldner is going to miss the characters. "I grew up with this show. It's like letting go of a childhood friend."

Still, as "Guiding Light" wraps up its final storylines this week, some fans continue to hold on to the hope that the show will find a new home, either on a cable network or on the Internet.

"I hear online that someone is still trying to figure it out," Nagel says. "So there's a possibility. We're all praying for a miracle."

Because, as soap opera fans know all too well, if a popular character can return from the dead, anything can happen.

Irna Phillips, The Mother of Daytime Drama

The following biography was provided by Guiding Light:

At the time of her death in 1973, Irna Phillips was responsible for the creation of not only broadcasting's two longest-running shows, "Guiding Light" and "As The World Turns," but an additional dozen iconic radio and television dramas including "Another World" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," as well as, quite simply, the entire soap opera genre itself.

A Jewish schoolteacher from Dayton, Ohio, she was a script-writer for a daytime radio talk show before creating and starring in the Chicago-based "Painted Dreams," the first daytime serial specifically targeting women listeners. By 1932, "Painted Dreams" had become so successful that Phillips urged the local station, WGN, to sell the show to a national network. When they refused, Phillips took them to court claiming the show as her own property.

While the lawsuit was being settled (rights were eventually granted to CBS), Phillips went on to create several other soaps, including "Today’s Children," "Woman in White," "The Brighter Day" and "The Road to Happiness."

By the time she created "The Guiding Light" in 1937, Phillips was writing two million words a year, dictating all the scripts in their entirety for up to eight hours a day.

Originally an inspiration tract, "The Guiding Light" followed the travails of Reverend Dr. John Ruthledge and his often-troubled flock. Phillips reportedly based Five Points, the town it was originally set in, on her own childhood neighborhood. She wrote, "In the region lived Italian, German, Irish, Jewish and Swedish families. It is often popular today for the younger generation to dismiss as myth the melting pot story of American history. Those of us who grew up in the early years of this century, when cities were populated largely by first and second generation Americans, know the reality of the melting pot…. It certainly was real."

Though she never married, Phillips adopted two children, a son and a daughter, when she was in her forties. And though publicly she appeared to be a somewhat lonely figure, her unpublished memoir revealed that she actually had many love affairs, mostly with doctors and lawyers - not so coincidentally, the same professions that her shows glorified on screen.

Of marriage, Phillips is quoted as saying, "Why would I want to get married? If I want to pick a fight, I can always (fight about the shows)!"

And fight she did. Not just with her shows' sponsors, but with the actors, as well.

Phillips demanded that her actors stay in character at all times and was furious when her "As The World Turns" ingénue, Rosemary Prinz, took a role as a streetwalker in a theatrical production. Phillips’ constant browbeating and haranguing of Prinz drove the young actress to a nervous breakdown and quitting the show. In 1971, after actress Jane House did a nude scene in the Broadway play, Lenny, Phillips tried to kill off her character and drove House to quit, as well.

By 1973, Procter & Gamble could no longer put up with Phillips' tyranny and fired her from "As The World Turns." She died on Dec. 22 of the same year.

One of her protégées, Agnes Nixon, creator of "All My Children," didn't learn that Phillips had died until she called to wish her a Merry Christmas.

Phillips had not wanted anyone to know of her passing.

Actor loses guiding light

Frank Dicopoulos was out walking on a New Jersey beach near his home one weekday morning not long ago, chatting with a reporter by cell phone.

''It's strange,'' he said. ''It's very strange.''

Strange because, for the first time in more than 20 years, Dicopoulos was not preparing for work.

Since 1987, the Firestone High alum has played Frank Cooper, a role created for him, on the CBS soap Guiding Light. But the network has decided that Friday's telecast will be the soap's last. Production has been completed. A new version of the game show Let's Make a Deal will succeed it in October.

Dicopoulos still can't quite believe it.

''It's very difficult, very sad,'' said Dicopoulos, who grew up as Frank Dickos before changing his name from its Americanized version to the Greek original. He got the bad news when executive producer Ellen Wheeler called on April Fool's Day.

''It made no sense to me whatsoever,'' he said. ''I'm kinda frustrated and kinda angry and kinda upset.''

The show was still drawing about 2 million viewers a day, he said. And its 72-year history on radio and, since 1952, on television made Guiding Light the longest-running broadcast series ever.

''We have four and five generations of watchers,'' Dicopoulos said. ''Can you imagine — to be seen in all those homes for all those decades?''

One of those long-ago viewers was Akron's Areti Temo, a Greek immigrant who learned English from listening to Guiding Light on the radio and later watching it on TV.

Mrs. Temo's granddaughter, Melina Kanakaredes, went on to become an actress — and, as Eleni Andros Cooper, part of the Guiding Light ensemble Please see 'Light', from 1991 to 1995, as well as Dicopoulos's wife on the show. Dicopoulos still refers to the years working with Kanakaredes as one of the high points in his Guiding Light tenure. ''I miss that connection,'' he said. ''When it works, it really, really works.''

Told of Dicopoulos' comments, Kanakaredes said, ''That's so sweet. . . . It was my first [acting] job out of college. I had done some commercials, but I was still new. . . . My grandmother was so excited.''

Kanakaredes, now starring on CSI: NY, would use the show as a shout-out to Akron-area friends of Mrs. Temo. (The widow of Temo's Candy founder Christ Temo, she died in 2004.) A list of customers for Eleni's catering business would often include local folks' names, Kanakaredes said.

While Kanakaredes and Dicopoulos did not know each other well before Guiding Light — there's about a 10-year age difference — she still marvels that they ended up working together.

''The odds of two people from the same town ending up, not only on the same show, but as love interests — it's so weird, so random,'' she said.

But if you talk to people from Guiding Light for long, the sense of community and family is evident. Besides working with Kanakaredes, Dicopoulos's favorite moments include times he acted with his real wife, Teja Anderson, and their daughter, Olivia.

Anderson appeared on the show in several roles, but the one that stands out for Frank is ''when she came on as a blind date for me. We had an absolute complete blast and got in a kind of food fight, and she did a great, great job.''

Then there's Olivia, who played Maureen Reardon on the show. ''It was an absolute thrill to work with my daughter,'' he said. ''It's, like, the old man's going off and the new blood's coming on.''

So you can see why the likely end of Guiding Light stings so much, not only for fans, but for actors like Dicopoulos. It's not only business. It's painfully personal.

''When you see some of the crap that's airing . . . this is definitely a medium and a vehicle that is needed,'' he said. ''How many reality shows and game shows can you possibly have? They're going to wear themselves out. . . . You need a blend, you need a mixture.''

Dicopoulos continues to believe that Procter & Gamble, which owns the program, has a ''very realistic'' chance of finding it a new home, although it might include some format changes. He believes daytime soaps, though an endangered TV form, still belong: that soaps provide a way of seeing others working out their differences, as well as providing viewers with difficult lives of their own some relief by seeing others suffer. ''You know, misery loves company,'' he said.

Guiding Light has endured decades of adjustments, a less-than-prime-time budget — which was then cut — and a possibly lethal time-slot change.

Although WOIO (Channel 19) carries Guiding Light at 3 p.m. weekdays, CBS offers it for 10 a.m. — when many potential viewers are not at home, he said. ''Guiding Light could have survived if we had been in a 3 o'clock time slot.''

Still, he said, ''we were able to pull off a miracle for years.'' Although Wheeler has made some controversial changes (such as using hand-held cameras) since joining GL in 2008, Dicopoulos considers those part of the miracle.

''I'm just so proud of the show,'' he said. ''Ellen Wheeler did a phenomenal job reinventing the show, even with budget cuts. She bought us an extra year and a half. . . . The saddest thing is, we were all excited about some of the story lines that were planned. . . . We had arrived where we wanted to be.''

Only, as far as CBS is concerned, the next step won't be seen. And as hopeful as Dicopoulos remains, he knows that you can't eat hope. Asked what he would be doing if the show is in fact done, Dicopoulos cracked, ''Retail.'' Then, he said more seriously that he had shot a pilot (he couldn't say for what) and was meeting with an agent about jobs, including some possibilities in prime time.

''I'm back in the pool,'' he said.

Some familiar faces have graced 'Guiding Light'

From the 1960s through the early '00s, more than a dozen now-recognizable names breezed through Springfield. Here are some you might remember.

In 1966, Cecily Tyson became the first female African-American contract player in daytime TV.

Also in 1966, the man who would lend his molasses pipes and embody Darth Vader, James Earl Jones, became the voice of reason on "Guiding Light" as Dr. Jim Frazier.

Billy Dee Williams stepped in to play Dr. Jim Frazier in 1966 when Jones left the role.

It's a whole new round of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon when you recall that from 1980-1981 the actor portrayed Tim, a teenage alcoholic.

Calista Flockhart has done businesswoman ("Ally McBeal") and needy, yet responsible sibling ("Brothers & Sisters"). But in 1989, she played Elise, a baby sitter who accidentally misplaces one of her charges.

After making waves on "Dynasty," Joan Collins played Baroness Alexandra Spaulding on "Guiding Light" in 2002.

'Guiding Light' Says Goodbye -- Will More Soaps Follow?

In five days, the light goes out.

After 72 years -- beginning on radio -- the soap opera that Guinness World Records christened the longest-running drama in TV/radio history will leave its melodramatic plot lines (Teen drinking! Cancer! AIDS! Cloning?) in the CBS vaults, another victim of the shrinking ratings that are decimating the soaps industry.

This year, "Guiding Light" averaged 2.1 million viewers, continuing its steady decline from even five years ago, when it attracted about 3 million.

Replacing the soap on Oct. 5 is a revamped "Let's Make a Deal," the game show popularized by Monty Hall in the 1960s and '70s, with Wayne Brady as the new host.

Whether or not "Deal" attracts "Guiding Light" mourners is irrelevant because games shows are infinitely cheaper to produce than daily dramas -- and that in itself is a victory for CBS and Procter & Gamble, which owns the show.

"Guiding Light," like its chest-clutching, mock-fainting peers, certainly has a devoted flock.

But soap operas are a fizzling concept in a world where viewers can catch the latest HBO series on demand, flip among 200 cable channels or go online to watch an episode of "30 Rock" on their laptops.

Even "As the World Turns," the second-oldest soap, is on shaky ground, according to CBS President Nina Tassler.

All of daytime is a challenged time segment in the broadcast day, she told critics at this summer's annual Television Critics Association gathering.

Given the range of competition, it isn't so surprising that interest in Josh and Reva, the Bauers, the Spauldings, the Lewises and the Coopers waned to the point where it was no longer financially sensible to maintain production of "Guiding Light."

"It's fractionalization, but by and large, it's a generational thing," said Peter Maroney, general manager of WTVR, the local CBS affiliate that airs "Guiding Light" weekdays at 3 p.m. "It's not your grandmother's TV anymore. A lot of soap-like serialization drama has shifted to prime time and other [parts of the broadcast day] as well, along with reality shows. I can see the appeal of soaps to a certain demographic, but there are so many places now to get that same sort of thing."

Years ago, before Twitter was a verb and the Internet existed primarily as a platform to shuttle e-mail, soap operas were appointment TV.

College students who now spend between-class time zipping off text messages and updating their Facebook pages had another goal: to sit on the couch and follow the daily stories of people they didn't know, but with whom they had formed an inexplicable bond.

But now, with so many distractions and options, younger generations have no desire to develop these ersatz relationships.

"If you think about people who started listening to soaps on the radio, that's all they had," said Dr. Thomas Donohue, a mass communications professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who specializes in TV studies.

"There wasn't any competition for character identification. There's so much competition on so many other media outlets now that people don't get hooked as easily."

But how about the ones who are still captivated?

Even though ratings for "Guiding Light" and its sudsy brethren have diminished, for a couple of million people a day, that hour of escapism isn't something that can be easily replaced by Brady offering a deal behind Door No. 1.

Nearly 150 people from Richmond to Florida to Canada responded to a Richmond Times-Dispatch query seeking fans of the show. And with the exception of a disgruntled viewer who no longer likes Reva's clothes and the more progressive plot lines (the lesbian single moms, Olivia and Natalia, made many traditional viewers uncomfortable), all expressed the kind of remorse usually reserved for family funerals.

"My love affair with 'Guiding Light' began at birth. You see, we were born in the same year, nine months apart and my mother would rock me to sleep as she tuned in her favorite 15-minute soap," said Sandra Cheatham Nelson of Richmond. "As the clock moved forward, I had come full circle, for I sat in the same rocker cradling my own daughter while glued to the love life of Reva and Josh. . . . I am saddened by the demise of my dear soap. It will be like a death in the family. I suppose I will just have to sit in the same rocker, close my eyes and let the imagination years of radio take over once more in memories of what was and is no more."

Rhonda Harper, a Fortune 500 executive in Atlanta, e-mailed to say, "The show has been my mind candy. I shift into low gear and lose myself in another world. But more than that, it's been a stabilizing force. My world changes, people and places come and go, but the show was always there."

Indeed, psychologists and sociologists opine that an attraction to soaps is twofold: The fictional settings allow viewers to live vicariously through the characters and sometimes identify with real-life issues, while the plotlines offer an unabashed diversion from everyday life.

"It's cathartic for a lot of women [the main demographic of soap watchers] to look at the characters and say, 'See, I'm not the only one. My life has some real bumps as well,'" Donohue said. "Then there is the idea that people having affairs with each other's in-laws certainly is escapism given the forbidden fruit of that kind of illicit relationship. I'd never sleep with my brother-in-law, the woman said, but I like watching somebody who will."

That feeling is confirmed by third-generation "Guiding Light" fan Christina Saba of Glen Allen, who stopped watching the show several years ago when plot lines were altered to appeal to younger generations, and contained some dashes of mundane realism.

"They cut back on any story lines involving anyone over 30, it seemed to me, and were focused on twentysomethings and teenagers," Saba said in an e-mail. "[Then] they started filming outside, changed the introduction to the show and started including interviews of the actors. Do soap watchers really want reality?"

Most soap fans, it seems, are not only attracted to the ongoing drama but also addicted to the daily cliffhanger, a compelling tease to ensure viewers will return to learn the resolution.

Dr. Carole Lieberman, a media psychiatrist and former Emmy-winning psychiatric script consultant for "The Young and The Restless" and "The Bold and The Beautiful," said it becomes routine to tune in to see "if the secret will be revealed, if the mistress is pregnant, if the son will sabotage the family business, if two star-crossed lovers will finally fall into each other's arms.

"Losing a soap opera, after being a faithful fan for years, is very traumatic because to viewers these are not just 'characters,' they are 'real people.' So it's like losing one's best friends and losing the 'drama' that's otherwise lacking in their own lives."

The crumbling of the once-dynamic soap industry has been gradual, and the large numbers of women who returned to the work force during the past couple of decades certainly instigated the erosion of the genre's core viewership.

But, more specifically, some experts pinpoint the O.J. Simpson trial in 1994-95 as the beginning of the end for the genre -- partially because of the real-life drama the trial generated, but also because of simple TV logistics.

Interest in the Simpson case was so overwhelming, most networks pre-empted the soaps in favor of nonstop trial coverage.

"Everyone tuned in daily to watch O.J., and when -- many months later -- his trial was over and the soaps returned, many viewers did not, because they realized they could live very well without them," said Deborah Wilker, a veteran entertainment journalist and contributing editor at Moving Pictures magazine. "Like FM radio and other moribund forms of media, traditional soaps have been dead for years."

That's the heartbreaking reality that faced the "Guiding Light" cast the second week of August, when the show's final scenes in the fictional town of Springfield were filmed in Peapack-Gladstone, N.J.

The early symbol of the show -- and the inspiration for its title -- the Friendship Lamp that sat in the church window of the Rev. Dr. John Rutledge, acting as a beacon for family and friends who needed to find him for help, will always epitomize fans' devotion to something that lasted seven decades.

Even nonsoap-opera fans must recognize the rarity of "Guiding Light," if only for its astounding longevity.

It may be premature to pull out the bugle to sound taps for all daytime dramas, but an evolving media landscape dictates that the status quo is rapidly changing.

"Remember the premise from which soaps came: in the middle of the last century, they evolved from radio to become a midday distraction for stay-at-home wives," Wilker said. "Now there are so many other ways that housewives and college students can fritter away their daytimes -- the least of which are 20 games shows like 'The Price is Right,' harmless talk shows like Ellen [DeGeneres] and Rachael Ray and the many courtroom/judge shows. All are worthy diversions. Soaps -- with their faux worlds and helmet-haired heroes, soaps are simply having a harder time than ever getting people to buy in."

Greatest moments of 'Guiding Light'

On Friday, 72 years of television history will come to an end when “Guiding Light” airs its last episode on CBS. With audiences dwindling, the daytime’s grand dame had trouble justifying its existence despite recent, bold attempts at renovation.

Mama will level with you: “GL” was the soap on when she got home from school, and it’s been sporadic viewing ever since.

“Guiding Light” was never the hippest show — even in the ’50s it seemed like your grandma’s soap compared to faster, edgier fare like “As The World Turns” — but at its best it could seem more real and vivid than the lives of its audience. At its worst, it was pulpy and derivative, but that was generally when “GL” tried to imitate its competitors.

As fans prepare to say goodbye to this TV icon, let’s look back at some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the longest-running continuing saga in recorded history.

* Meta Kills Ted: Before the parents of people who vote for the next “American Idol” were conceived, “GL” invited its audience to decide the fate of Meta Bauer, who was on trial for killing her husband to retaliate for his role in her son’s death. Unsurprisingly, she was acquitted.

* Roger Rapes Holly: “GL” was the first soap to tackle the subject of marital rape when troubled executive Roger took out his frustrations on his wife, kicking off the show’s most complex love/hate story. The late Michael Zaslow and Maureen Garrett were superb.

* Reva Jumps in the Fountain: Every daytime soap sought to catch the “Dallas” gusher in the early ’80s, and “GL” was no exception when they introduced Oklahoma oil family the Lewises and the paramour of three of the men, sultry Reva Shayne, played to the everloving hilt by Kim Zimmer. Anticipating the advent of YouTube, Reva made a big scene in front of true love Josh Lewis (Robert Newman), declaring herself the “slut of Springfield.”

* Bert Comforts Josh: Like nearly all soap characters before and after him, Josh Lewis suffered a bout of paralysis that would eventually pass. But before it did, the depressed hero had a heart-to-heart with the show’s matriarch, Bert, who in real life was herself wheelchair-bound following a leg amputation. The moving scene was a classic example of what “GL” did best: heartfelt, multi-generational storytelling.

* Maureen Dies: Following the death of Charita Bauer, who played Bert, the mantle of soap mom went to Bert’s daughter-in-law Maureen, who subsequently was deemed boring by a focus group and met her end in a car accident. This decision altered the dynamic of the show, and many argue it never recovered.

* Born Again: “GL” used the occasion of its 70th anniversary to offer a mini-history of the show’s early days with current cast members playing their predecessors. It was perhaps the most earnest tribute to its past that a daytime soap has aired.

* Otalia: The stripped-down, digitally shot “GL” of the last couple of years failed to engage viewers until it introduced the lesbian love story of Olivia and Natalia, both older single moms who slowly discovered they were falling for each other. The tale has sparked the interest of a legion of new and lapsed fans, leading all of us to wonder whether the pair will finally kiss by the final episode.

Interviews

Interviews: Kim Zimmer (Reva), Tina Sloan (Lillian), Kim Zimmer (Reva)

After 72 Years, Springfield Gets a Stop Sign

Videos- Seven Decades in Springfield (Watch here!)

MOTIONS are an actor’s currency, but on this day in early August, Robert Newman was coming up empty. He sat slumped in a chair in his nearly vacant dressing room at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street in Manhattan. Cartons with his name scrawled on them were stacked in the corridor. His colleagues, some of whom he had worked with for decades, were all packing up as well. “I shot my last scene in the studio an hour ago,” he said, then paused and studied his hands, clasped in his lap. “I don’t know how I feel.”

For most of the last 28 years Mr. Newman has been known to millions of “Guiding Light” viewers as Josh Lewis, half of one of the soap opera’s most popular couples. But on Sept. 18 he will be out of his longtime gig, along with more than 150 other cast and crew members. Their jobs may be more glamorous than most, but ultimately they are not much different from millions of other workers who have recently watched their employers go bust. “What it really comes down to is the people I’ve worked with. We’ve shared so much for so long,” Mr. Newman said, “and we’re all going in different directions.”

“Guiding Light,” broadcasting’s longest-running scripted program, will go dark after 72 years, 15,762 televised episodes and what will undoubtedly be a tearful end. (The final scenes are a closely held secret.) Although ratings have been sliding for years, fans were still shocked when CBS announced in April that it was canceling the show. Angry callers threatened to boycott CBS and Procter & Gamble, which owns “Guiding Light,” despite P.&G.’s claim at the time that it would try to find another home for the show. That reprieve never materialized.

The truly shocking fact is not that “Guiding Light” was canceled, but that it survived for so long. In the 1960s and ’70s, generally considered the heyday of television soaps, the daytime schedule was dominated by as many as 19 daytime dramas. Through much of this period “Guiding Light” was among the Top 5 in ratings, Nielsen reported. The audience was overwhelmingly female. Grandmothers, mothers and daughters often watched together.

But by the end of the ’80s many of those women were in the work force, dramatically cutting the size of that audience. Once dominant shows began to fail. “The Edge of Night” shut down in 1984, followed by “Ryan’s Hope” in 1989, “Santa Barbara” in 1993 and “Another World” in 1999.

The rise of reality TV since the early 1990s has lured away much of the next generation of potential fans, who now get their fix of melodrama from a wide range of cable channels. There they can follow the travails of characters like Jon and Kate, or Lauren and Heidi. Slowly, “Guiding Light” slid to the bottom of the ratings.

In the last decade viewers have kept up with soaps in increasingly diverse ways, sometimes by episodes recorded on DVR, sometimes through episodes streamed online. But that new technology didn’t help “Guiding Light,” at least not enough. In the past five years its audience declined to less than half that of “The Young and the Restless,” the top-rated daytime soap.

“Guiding Light” made its debut on NBC radio on Jan. 25, 1937, and moved to television on June 30, 1952. That means that at least five generations of listeners and viewers have followed the many marriages, divorces, affairs, murder trials, bizarre dream sequences and thousands of other creative plot twists that constitute the multidecade family histories of the Bauer, Spaulding, Chamberlain, Reardon, Cooper and Lewis families of Springfield, U.S.A. Fans have remained loyal through 12 presidents, one world war and even a dubious cloning story line.

But that devotion wasn’t enough. In recent years the executive producer, Ellen Wheeler, tried to resuscitate “Guiding Light” by experimenting with freehand cameras to break with the conventional soap-opera look. Ratings continued to decline, but Ms. Wheeler, an Emmy-winning former soap actress herself who came to “Guiding Light” in 2004, said she believes that without those changes the show might have died even sooner.

“We didn’t change the stories that we told or the relationships between the characters, all the good parts of what is soap opera that we brought with us,” she said. “We just tried to look at how we could make those stories even closer for the audience.” Reaction was mixed, but Ms. Wheeler said fans communicated to her that they liked the changes.

Stories are the heart of soaps; they create an emotional connection to the characters and their struggles, and that keeps fans coming back for more. Longtime viewers who welcome the shows into their homes every day often say they feel they know these people, sometimes even more intimately than they do the members of their own families.

And “Guiding Light” was able to sustain that bond longer than anyone else. It was created by Irna Phillips, who pretty much invented the soap genre during the Depression and also created “As the World Turns” and “Days of Our Lives,” both still being broadcast. Her decision to create central characters who were often professionals — doctors, lawyers, ministers — became a convention that most soaps have followed, with emotional scenes often taking place in hospitals and courtrooms.

“Guiding Light” brandished a socially conscious streak from the start; its name comes from the reading lamp in the window of the show’s original main character, the Rev. Dr. John Ruthledge, who preached racial tolerance and spoke out against war and the injustice of poverty. In the early days the show began with a poem that represented his philosophy:

There is a destiny that makes us brothers

None goes his way alone.

All that we send into the lives of others

Comes back into our own.

Later “Guiding Light” was one of the first soaps to feature African-American actors in regular roles. In the mid-1960s James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams had turns portraying Dr. Jim Frazier, while Cicely Tyson and Ruby Dee had runs as that character’s wife, Martha. Jill Lorie Hurst, one of four current head writers, ticks off some other firsts: stories about characters struggling with cancer, marital rape and teenage alcoholism (one of Kevin Bacon’s first professional roles).

Some ideas were inspired by the actors. Early in her time at the show, Ms. Hurst said, she worked on a story about cochlear implants featuring a hearing-impaired actress who had gone through that surgery. “I loved working with her, being able to absorb the actor’s real story and then translating that into the character,” she said.

A more unconventional episode took place two years after Hurricane Katrina, when the cast trooped down to Biloxi, Miss., to highlight the plight of residents whose homes still hadn’t been rebuilt. Cast members like Kim Zimmer, a fan favorite who plays Reva Shayne (three times married to and divorced from Josh Lewis), climbed ladders, hammers in hand, to volunteer before taping an episode marking the show’s 70th anniversary. It’s an event that many cast members, including Mr. Newman, recall with pride.

But the show didn’t always hew so close to reality. Some plots were funny, others ridiculous — lost loves, time travel.

During a celebration of the show last month at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan, the actor Michael O’Leary (Dr. Rick Bauer) recalled his least favorite moment on the show, when he was supposed to give another character, Phillip Spaulding, a stuffed lamb as Phillip left town. The script called for Mr. O’Leary to throw the lamb against the wall so that the stuffing would come out of it. But that was not meant to be: the lamb remained intact, bouncing around on rubber feet, creating hilarity on the set.

Then there are the many incarnations of Ms. Zimmer’s Reva, probably the most beloved character on the show (whose multiple marriages and divorces, sometimes to the same man, make her name Reva Shayne Lewis Lewis Spaulding Lewis Winslow Cooper Lewis Lewis O’Neill). In a 1984 episode she jumped into a fountain and declared herself baptized as the Slut of Springfield, a scene that is considered one of the show’s classics. At points in the show her character was Amish, a clone, the princess of an island nation, a time traveler, a psychic and a talk-show host.

Many fans say Reva’s strenuous though improbable journey inspired them to be better people. At the Paley Center event one woman in the audience said that watching Reva mourn the loss of her husband Jeffrey gave her the courage to move forward when she lost her own spouse. At a reception afterward fans crowded around Ms. Zimmer, begging her to pose for photographs with them. One gave her a Tiffany necklace and helped put it on.

Watching the throng around Ms. Zimmer, Toya Booth, a 33-year-old associate minister at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, N.Y., recalled how she used to rush home from school in Louisville, Ky., to watch the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show with her mother and two grandmothers. “I loved the story of Reva and Josh,” Ms. Booth said. “She could do everything I couldn’t do. I just loved her passion.”

Eight years ago Ms. Booth moved to New York. While she was homesick, she said, watching “Guiding Light,” made her feel close to her family.

The last day in the New York studio was as nostalgic as the Paley Center gathering of fans. There was a constant taking of and posing for photos; family members videotaped husbands and wives as they worked; final scripts were being passed around and signed; cast and crew members angled for props they might take home. Raul Reyes, who worked as an extra since 1983, clutched the shirt he wore as an orderly at Cedars Hospital. “I’ve always played orderlies,” he said. “Anyone who has died in this hospital in the last quarter-century, I have wheeled them away.”

Ms. Wheeler, the executive producer, said the cast and crew were equally emotional at the last shoot in Peapack, N.J., a few days later, when their names were read aloud along with the number of years they had been on the job. “Hundreds of years of people’s lives were represented there on that day,” she said.

But even as she mourned the show’s demise, Ms. Wheeler said: “Serial storytelling has gone on since people sat around the campfire. Sharing all those characters in common binds us together” — even if it’s only for an hour, five days a week.

An institution ends when 'Guiding Light' turns off

Until not so long ago, Stage 42 at CBS' Broadcast Center held a honeycomb of chambers where "Guiding Light" was shot.

Here stood a life-size dollhouse whose rooms (the Spaulding study; the Company restaurant; the Beacon hotel) fit together, snug as a Rubik's Cube, providing multiple locations and ease of production.

Except that, by a Friday in early August, half of Stage 42 was a void. Roughly half of the set had already been dismantled. This was the last day shooting here at West 57th Street. Then two final days on location in New Jersey. Then lights out for "Guiding Light."

You don't have to be a fan of the show, or of the soap opera genre it pioneered, to feel a sense of gravity at the demise of "Guiding Light."

"It's been reflecting American life back at America since before World War II," said "Guiding Light" executive producer Ellen Wheeler.

"We are the history of so many people," added veteran leading lady Tina Sloan. "They watched it for so long."

But Friday, Sept. 18 (check local listings for time), they will watch its final hour, after 72 years and more than 15,700 weekdays on television and radio. It's a run, an institution, that has never been matched and never will.

"I was just packing up my dressing room," said a wistful Robert Newman, who began on the show 28 years ago, and, with only a couple of sabbaticals, has played colorful, oft-wed Josh Lewis ever since.

"I've got a lot of junk in there," he mused.

As he spoke, a corridor outside the dressing rooms was jammed with racks of clothes and other costumes being put up for sale to the "Guiding Light" troupe.

"I took my nurse's uniform," said Tina Sloan, who began her run as nurturing Lillian Raines in 1983.

She made a joke about wearing the uniform at home and waiting for emergencies to handle, like she did at Cedars Hospital as Lillian.

"I'm mourning her," Sloan said, turning serious. "They're putting 'Let's Make a Deal' in our place. All I can say is: BIG deal!"

Yes, a revival of the what's-behind-the-curtain game show, this time hosted by Wayne Brady, will inherit the slot left by "Guiding Light" beginning Oct. 5. (Repeats of "The Price Is Right" will air in the interim.)

It's the latest chapter in the doomsday scenario that has plagued soaps for decades and has now claimed "Guiding Light."

Used to be, at any given time there were a dozen-odd daytime dramas on the schedule. Soon there will be only seven. The oldest now becomes CBS' "As the World Turns," which began in 1956 (and, like "Light," is owned by Procter & Gamble, whose line of household cleaning products inspired the "soap opera" term).

"Light" was created by soap matriarch Irna Phillips (who also masterminded "As the World Turns" and "Days of Our Lives," now NBC's lone daytime drama). It debuted on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute serial, then came to CBS television on June 30, 1952. (Yet another Phillips creation, "The Brighter Day," began on radio in 1948, then began its eight-year TV run in 1954.)

In 1968, "Guiding Light" expanded to 30 minutes and, in 1977, it became a full hour.

Those were the glory days of "Light" and daytime drama overall. Huge, faithful audiences flocked to their TVs at the appointed time each day, knowing each installment of their chosen soaps was a now-or-never proposition - thus not to be missed.

The genre was a cash cow. Time magazine in a 1976 cover story noted that the networks relied on profits from daytime to bail out their costly, deficit-financed prime-time shows.

Then, within a few years, soaps had peaked.

If the power of the soap has been its knack for reflecting changes in the culture, it painfully exhibited a range of cultural changes with its own steady loss of viewer support.

More women had jobs out of the home, away from TV sets, during daytime hours. Meanwhile, other TV genres were stealing soaps' thunder as rival showcases for racy behavior and emerging social issues. How was even the scrappiest soap supposed to outpace the anything-goes world of daytime talk, reality shows or premium-cable dramas?

In the 1991-92 season, top-ranked soap "The Young and the Restless" was drawing 10.3 million viewers, with "Guiding Light" seen by 6.5 million.

By the 2006-2007 season, "Y&R" was still No. 1 - but with roughly half as many viewers. "GL," in the cellar, had 2.75 million viewers.

But "Light" wasn't going down without a fight, and a couple of years ago, it launched a do-or-die effort to save itself.

"We were given the directive to save money and be innovative," Wheeler said. "We held onto the characters and the story and the history and the relationships. But we tried to change the style. It was time to deliver the stories in a more intimate way."

By then, the narrative had gone through decades of evolution, leaving far behind the Chicago suburb of Five Points (where "Light" was first set) and its protagonist, the Rev. John Ruthledge, who placed a lamp in his window to welcome parishioners.

Now it takes place in the bucolic midwestern town of Springfield, and revolves around the sprawling, commingling Spaulding, Lewis and Cooper clans.

Their world was abruptly transformed in February 2008. Production changes for the show included ditching pedestal studio cameras and three-walled interior sets.

Hand-held video and realistic four-walled, ceilinged sets were suddenly the rule. And the whole production company began spending part of every week - a two-hour bus ride from West 57th Street - in leafy Peapack, N.J., which was cast in the role of the program's Springfield hometown.

The show looked better than ever - more cinematic and contemporary. Still, its ratings continued to slide (this season, "Guiding Light" has logged an average viewership of less than 2.1 million).

Last April, the word was handed down: "Guiding Light" was axed.

"It's sad," Newman said, "but not entirely unexpected. I'm worried about the other shows right now. The economics of trying to produce 250 episodes a year, with 25 contract players full-time - it's a difficult thing."

But Newman's cast mate Frank Dicopolous said he was caught off-guard by the bad news.

"I think the show had reinvented itself and we were on fire," he said. "I think it was working again."

Dicopolous, a regular on the show continuously since 1987, plays family man and law-enforcement officer Frank Cooper.

He started with a three-year contract, but said he loved the work and the stability, even as he reeled off a few "Light" departees: Kevin Bacon, JoBeth Williams, James Earl Jones, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow, Hayden Panettiere and Melina Kanakaredes (whose character, he noted, had been married to Frank Cooper).

Dicopolous acknowledged twinges of sadness in recent weeks.

"When will I have a full blown-out reaction? I can't answer that." But as he spoke of the "Guiding Light" company, he said, "It's such a cohesive group, and we're all realizing that we pretty much will never have this again." His eyes moistened.

So what would he like to do next?

"Host a game show," he said, and burst out laughing.

A few days after that, production wrapped forever. Speaking by phone from her receptionist's desk (her own office already vacated) executive producer Wheeler described the challenge of bringing in this saga for a landing.

"We wanted to be sure we tied up both the characters' current stories and their history," she said. "And yet we wanted to leave them in a place where they weren't finished. We want to let the fans know that, while they may not be able to tune in, the lives of these people in Springfield will continue."

But how much longer can the soap opera genre that "Light" championed evade extinction?

"What we call soap operas is actually serial storytelling," Wheeler said, "and it existed way before the term 'soap opera.' Serial storytelling will go on. And since I consider that to be what soap operas are, I don't think they'll ever die."

Paley Center Tribute

During the GL Paley Center tribute, executive producer Ellen Wheeler admitted that she came up with the Otalia love story. Watch a clip here!

Dean the Dog

FRANK DICOPOULOS (Frank) is featured as the voice of “Dean the Dog” in the companion CD to the children’s book “Loukoumi's Good Deeds.” Other celebrities featured include Jennifer Aniston, Olympia Dukakis, and Gloria Gaynor. The book will be on sale April 1 and a portion of the proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For more information, go to www.Loukoumi.com.

Only Love Video

Can't get enough of GL's theme song? Be sure to check out this link to Kati Mac's "Only Love" music video, which features GL stars and footage from the soap, as well as Mac, who takes a singing stroll through — you guessed it — Peapack, NJ! Click here to check out the video.

Kettlebell pro Beth Chamberlin

Kettlebell pro Beth Chamberlin (Beth, GL) takes her beloved fitness routine to the next level with the release of her second workout DVD, Kettlebell Way to Your Perfect Body Vol II: The Empire State, which can now be purchased online at www.beacon-fitness.com. "I'm really psyched about it," Chamberlin shares. "We shot [the video] from this amazing penthouse, so we have the entire New York City skyline. Beginners can use it, but in every round there's an alternative round that's more advanced. Every round is also three minutes: It's a minute each of upper body, core, and lower body. There's also a shuffle feature so it mixes it up," she smiles. Be sure to check out an upcoming issue of Digest for more scoop on Chamberlin's love for kettlebells.

Buy Only Love

Guiding Light’s new theme song, "Only Love," written and performed by Kati Mac, is available for purchase on her website, www.KatiMac.com.

Jonathan's Story

Pocket Books celebrates the 70th anniversary of America’s longest running daytime drama, Emmy Award-winning Guiding Light with an original novel, GUIDING LIGHT: JONATHAN’S STORY (Pocket Books; September 18, 2007; $21.00), which features the popular character Jonathan Randall in an all-new passionate and adventure-filled love story, that provides crucial information not revealed on the show. The book will also feature his illustrious mother Reva Shayne, his beloved deceased Tammy Winslow and Jonathan’s arch-enemy Alan Spaulding. Jonathan's Story was conceived by Guiding Light’s Emmy-nominated Head Writer David Kreizman.

Stars of Guiding Light will promote the publication of Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story at two live appearances at shopping malls where they will autograph copies of the novel.

Thank You Guiding Light

Let's Make A Deal. Terrible title. CBS really should change it to Let's Plunge A Dagger In Your Heart. Yep. That sounds right. That sounds like a talentless game show about dunces in costumes replacing a drama with heart and soul and Coopers and Spauldings and Bauers and Reva Shayne. This feels like I'm writing an obituary. Seventy-two years, that's a very long life in radio and television (especially now when people seem to have misplaced their attention spans, the era of fifteen minute soaps may need to be revived), but as far as I'm concerned, seventy-two years wasn't nearly long enough for Guiding Light, there was still so much life left to live vicariously through. If there's anyone out there who was lucky enough to have listened and watched for the entire run, I so envy you, my devotion to Guiding Light only began twenty-two years ago when finally a local station picked up GL. I was ten years old and immediately fell for a certain dreamy Greek mechanic and his feisty teenage sister. The down-to-earth Coopers hooked me on life in Springfield, and right up to the end they held a special place in my heart, though most every character who ever walked into Company, visited Cross Creek, or trespassed into the Spaulding mansion was truly something special, brought to vivid life by some of the most talented people on the planet, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. They gave us unforgettable matriarchs and patriarchs like Bert, Maureen, H.B., Hawk, Sarah, Henry, and Ross. They gave us an incomparably complex villian named Roger Thorpe. They gave us so many serious well-told stories such as childhood cancer, body image, addiction, paralysis, teenage pregnancy, marital rape, racism, death, and Vietnam. They gave us humor with Nola, Nadine, Billy, Fletcher, Dinah, Alexandra, Rick, and so many more. They gave us some of the all-time great love stories in Frank and Eleni, Olivia and Natalia, Lucy and Alan-Michael, Dylan and Bridget, Phillip and Beth, Harley and Mallet, Cyrus and Marina, Harley and Gus, David and Kat, Rick and Abby, Matt and Vanessa, Ross and Blake, Remy and Cristina, Bill and Lizzie, Jonathan and Tammy, Quint and Nola, Billy and Vanessa, Buzz and Nadine, Buzz and Jenna, Ed and Maureen, Fletcher and Alexandra, Alan and Hope, Danny and Michelle, Mallet and Dinah, and Josh and Reva (sorry if I forgot your favorite). Not surprisingly, a soap that even in its worst moments was always one of the finest shows on television, went out in lovely fashion, doing their best to give each of our beloveds their own version of a happily ever after, still there won't be a Thanksgiving (at Bill and Lizzie's house this year but hey we can watch a game show instead. Yippee.), a Christmas, or a Fourth of July, and probably a lot of the days in between when I won't wonder where all of these characters are, how life is working out for them, did Rick burn the burgers this year, who's dressing up as Santa, have Natalia and Olivia shared a real kiss yet, did Alan really, truly die, and which Spaulding offspring is having the latest Romeo and Juliet moment with which Cooper offspring. I'll always wonder. I'll miss them all.