
Aired on CBS
The web comedy “Old Dogs & New Tricks” is in the midst of its second season, and guess what? Not only is “General Hospital’s” Ian Buchanan (Duke Lavery) popping up on the series as Christoph, a Hollywood photographer who becomes a romantic alternative for one of the show’s leads, but it was “The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Susan Flannery (Stephanie Forrester) who convinced him to join the show!
With just a week to go before production is set to begin once more on “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” after more than a year since both series aired their last episodes on ABC, a number of behind the scenes personnel have been hired on to help spearhead the soaps into the digital world via Hulu and iTunes later this spring.
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On Monday, February 11, Paos Revolution, the team behind the upcoming “On Air” film starring “All My Children‘s” Jordi Vilasuso (Dr. Griffin Castillo) and Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall Hart) announced the launch of their official website. “The launch of paosrevolution.com is the first step of our plan to connect fans to the soap actors and insiders they love. Founding partners Jordi Vilasuso, Dock (Jeff Dockweiler) and John Homa are committed to creating an interactive actor friendly environment,” said a press release announcing the launch.
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With Prospect Park now signing agreements with key unions SAG-AFTRA (actors), the DGA (directors), and the WGA (writers), with an expectation to begin filming episodes of “All My Children” as soon as next month, we wondered who you wanted to see act on the soap when it moves to the web. Your choices can include past actors as well as wishful casting (recast and new characters are welcomed). We also wondered who you want to join the writing team now that thousands of writers are at Prospect Park’s disposal courtesy of their agreement with the WGA, as well as who you want to direct episodes of the series. Keep in mind that Agnes Nixon, who created both “AMC” and “One Life to Live,” is currently working as a consultant for Prospect Park, according to Foz McDermott, head of production for TOLN (Prospect Park’s The Online Network). Also note that actors Jordi Vilasuso (Dr. Griffin Castillo), Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard), Debbi Morgan (Dr. Angela Hubbard), Vincent Irizarry (Dr. David Hayward) and Lindsay Hartley (Dr. Cara Castillo) are all confirmed as signing on to return to “AMC” when it moves to the web. Alicia Minshew (ex-Kendall Hart) has reported that she’s been approached, while Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery) hope’s he can be involved. There’s no word yet on the status of Susan Lucci (ex-Erica Kane), who was the only original cast member from the first season of “AMC” that had remained with the show without interruption from its debut on January 5, 1970 through its final ABC broadcast on September 23, 2011.
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Emily Squires, who was nominated for fifteen Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards throughout her career based on her work on “As The World Turns,” “Guiding Light,” “Sesame Street” and “Between the Lions,” passed on Wednesday, November 21 at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. She was 71 years old.
Squires directed episodes of “Sesame Street” from 1982 to 2007, while also serving on the shows writing team. She also served as a script writer on “ATWT,” “GL,” Search for Tomorrow,” and “The Secret Storm.”
A cause of death has not been determined according to her husband Len Belzer.
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Although CBS canceled “Made in Jersey” in early October due to low ratings, the network has since decided to air two unaired episodes of the series beginning with tomorrow’s episode entitled “Camelot,” which follows series stars Janet Montgomery and Kristoffer Polaha as they represent a wealthy woman acting as a surrogate to her comatose sister. After learning the facts of the case, Martina (Montgomery) begins to suspect the husband may be up to no good.
Chris Beetem, who has appeared on both “As The World Turns” and “One Life to Live,” will portray Mason Burch, the husband in the episode. Beetem most recently appeared in episodes of “Royal Pains,” “Unforgettable” and “Pan Am.”
“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.
Photo Credit: John Paschal/JPI
Soap Opera Network wishes “The Young and the Restless” star Christian Jules LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) a very happy birthday as the three time Daytime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2005, 2007, 2009) turns 54 years-old today.
Joining the cast of “Y&R” all the way back in 1991, LeBlanc has enjoyed nearly two decades in Genoa City. Although he departed the role in 1993, LeBlanc returned to the CBS soap in 1997 and has remained there ever since. He brought his character from “Y&R” to “As The World Turns” for a couple of episodes in 2005.
LeBlanc appeared in episodes of “In The Heat of the Night,” “Diagnosis Murder,” and “Cheers.” Along with co-star Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor), the actor appeared in a 2009 episode of “Guiding Light” just as the series was coming to a close.
Note: Starting Saturday, September 1, 2012, Soap Opera Network will begin providing soap fans with a new database system that will house actor biographies, birthdays, and much more. Be on the look out.
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On Saturday, August 18, We Love Soaps Editorial Director Roger Newcomb married Feature Editor Kevin Mulcahy Jr. in front of the famous Times Square TKTS steps in New York City. The wedding was officiated by Colleen Zenk (ex-Barbara Ryan, “As The World Turns“).
I was married in the middle of Times Square on Saturday, August 18. With friends and family sitting on the Red Steps in Duffy Square, Kevin Mulcahy Jr. and I said our ‘I dos.’ It was our dream wedding, in our dream location surrounded by more love and enthusiasm than I ever could have imagined. We both always wanted to live in New York so we went all out with a New York City theme. As you might notice from the photo above, three-time Emmy nominee Colleen Zenk, best known to soap opera fans as Barbara Ryan in ‘As The World Turns,’ officiated our wedding. Colleen became an ordained Universal Life Church minister in order to participate in our special day. It meant the world to us as we’ve grown to love her dearly as a friend and to count on her advice and wisdom as we navigate our way through a hectic life in New York City.
- Roger Newcomb
Soap Opera Network wishes to congratulate Newcomb and Mulcahy on their nuptials and all the best.
For more on the wedding and to send your congrats to the happy couple, click here.
Photo Credit: JPI Studios via Twitter
On Tuesday, August 14, Jon Hensley (ex-Holden Snyder, “As The World Turns“) tweeted, “Hi All, B&B has invited me back for a few more episodes, i shoot them next week! No details yet!”
Fans can expect to see his character, Dr. Meade, on screen again sometime in September.