Stephen Colbert is a news junkie, but he’s also a soap fan as evidenced by numerous skits and jokes he makes in reference to them. The recent sex scandal plaguing Washington, D.C. is no different as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” told the tale of the soap opera that is “General’s Hospital,” referencing the ABC soap “General Hospital” in name and even logo. With a cameo appearance by “All My Children” star Susan Lucci, the skit will likely soon become legen – wait for it – dary, in the words of “How I Met Your Mother‘s” Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris).

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According to a report by Soap Opera Digest, ABC’s “General Hospital” has let actor Erik Valdez go nearly six months after joining the cast of the drama series in the role of Trey Mitchell. The character is the son of Kate Howard (Kelly Sullivan) and the recently departed Joseph Scully, Jr. (Richard Steinmetz). The character was married to Kristina Davis (Lindsey Morgan) in August. Their marriage was annulled in mid-October.

No final air date has been set. ABC does not comment on actor contracts or rumors.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, the world of soaps lost a true legend in Barbara Esensten, who passed at age 75. Esensten co-created “The City” along with her more than 20 year long writing partner James Harmon Brown. The duo worked together on such shows as “Dynasty,” “All My Children,” “Days of our Lives,” “One Life to Live,” “Port Charles” and “Guiding Light.”

In a posting on Esensten’s facebook page, former “Guiding Light” head writer Jill Lorie Hurst said, “I think you know how much I love you and one of the many reasons is how much YOU loved your wonderful family – Mike, the kids, the grandkids – that great house of yours – and your good old partner Jim Brown. You were such a good boss/girlfriend and you always smelled so good. I miss you already.”

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“The Young and the Restless” to re-air classic episode of Victor (Eric Braden) and Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) wedding that aired on September 5, 2002.

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On Friday, November 23, which just happens to be the day after Thanksgiving, former “One Life to Live” star Nic Robuck takes on his dark side as the star of Lifetime Movie Network’s world premiere movie “Dark Desire.”

The film, which we first reported on back in August while under the title “A Dark Plan,” follows Robuck in the role of Shane, who comforts the unhappily married mother of his recently deceased roommate while she mourns the loss of her son. Kelly Lynch (“Magic City”) portrays the mother, who soon realizes that Shane may have been the one responsible for the death of her son.

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On Monday, November 19, the winner of “The Price is Right‘s” first ever Male Model search, Rob Wilson, will be Live Tweeting during the east coast broadcast (11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM PT) of the venerable daytime game show.

Wilson won the nearly two month long contest which found hundreds of hopefuls seeking the coveted position. The contest began with a casting call in Los Angeles on August 30 and concluded on October 8, when Wilson defeated Clint Brink and Nick Denbeigh to be named “TPIR’s” first male model.

You can chat with Wilson by tweeting him @MrRobertScott. Make sure to follow @PriceIsRight for updates on “The Price is Right.”

“I wish she’d tell me what she was thinking” are the first spoken words in the teaser trailer for the upcoming  film “On Air” by Paos Revolution, a new production company formed by Jordi Vilasuso (“All My Children,” “Guidiing Light”) and acting coaches from “AMC” and “General Hospital.” The film will tell the fictionalized story of life after a popular soap opera gets canceled and how the stars of the program are forced to move on.

In the teaser, Vilasuso is joined by former “AMC” co-star Alicia Minshew, whose character says that she “gave ten years of [her] life to that show. I still can’t believe we got canceled.” While the line provides an unintentional punch to soap fans still reeling from the loss of the ABC drama series as Minshew portrayed Kendall Hart on the program for nearly ten years, it does show that life does go on. While we will no longer be seeing some of our favorite stars portraying some of our all-time favorite characters, the business of soaps will continue in one form or another.

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According to a report by Deadline.com‘s Nellie Andreeva, CBS has canceled freshman comedy “Partners” after the program hit a new series low in the coveted Adults 18-49 demo (1.8 rating) this past Monday. The series starred Brandon Routh (“One Life to Live”), Michael Urie (“Ugly Betty”), David Krumholtz (“Numb3rs”) and Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”). The series was based on the lives of creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick as two life-long friends and business partners whose “bromance” is put to the test when one of them becomes engaged.

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Although they weren’t listed with the other “Hot” stuff in TV Guide Magazine‘s Annual “Hot List” issue (pages 16-35), “General Hospital” earned a spot under Michael Logan‘s Daytime Highlights column (page 84) with the heading “Hot Again,” while NBC’s “Days of our Lives” also made the cut under the heading “Hot Days, Hotter Nights” courtesy of daytime’s hottest (and only) gay on screen couple, Will Horton (Chandler Massey) and Sonny Kiriakis (Freddie Smith).

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ABC’s “General Hospital” posted its largest overall audience in nearly 21 months (since week of February 21-25, 2011) as the daytime drama series averaged 2.82 million viewers during the week of November 5-9, 2012. This was the programs largest overall audience under executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati.

The series was up 21% compared to the same week last year (week of November 7-11, 2011) in Total Viewers (2.82 million vs. 2.27 million), 54% in Women 18-34 (266,000 vs. 161,000) and 23% in Women 18-49 (679,000 vs 571,000). “General Hospital” edged “The Young and the Restless” in Women 18-34 with its largest competitive advantage in nearly 4 1/2 years (since week of June 23, 2008).

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