Photo Credit: Danny Feld/ABC

via Press Release

PEOPLE.COM LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER SEXIEST MAN AND WOMAN ON TV POLL

Winners to Be Announced Live on ABC’s “Emmys® Red Carpet Live,” Sunday, September 23

People.com is launching its first-ever Sexiest Man and Woman on TV poll. Users will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite of five male and five female finalists chosen by PEOPLE’s editorial staff. Voting begins today on http://www.people.com, http://www.emmys.com and http://www.abc.com, and will continue until 7:30 p.m., ET / 4:30 p.m., PT on Sunday, September 23, the evening of “The 64^th Primetime Emmy® Awards.”

The five male TV star finalists are LL Cool J (“NCIS: Los Angeles”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”), Dylan McDermott (“American Horror Story”) and Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”). The five female TV star finalists are Zooey Deschanel (“New Girl”), Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), Heidi Klum (“Project Runway”), Sofía Vergara (“Modern Family”) and Kerry Washington (“Scandal”).

The winners of the poll will be announced live on ABC’s “Emmys Red Carpet Live,” hosted by “Good Morning America’s” Josh Elliott & Lara Spencer, Chris Harrison (“The Bachelor” / ”The Bachelorette”) and Clinton Kelly (“The Chew,” “What Not to Wear”), which begins the festivities of TV’s biggest night, coast to coast, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 from 7:00-8:00 p.m., ET / 4:00-5:00 p.m., PT, immediately followed by the awards ceremonies, live from 8:00-11:00 p.m., ET / 5:00-8:00 p.m., PT. Jimmy Kimmel, star and executive producer of the late-night ABC talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” hosts “The 64^th Primetime Emmy Awards.”

In its newest issue, TV Guide Magazine has revealed some of televisions highest paid stars. As you can imagine, the list comprises of former daytime soap stars who’ve either gone on to host their own talk show or headline a top ranked primetime series, or in the case of primetime soap stars – gotten richer!

Kelly Ripa tops the list of stars with a soap opera connection as the host of the daytime talk show “Live with Kelly.” According to TV Guide, the former “All My Children” star rakes in an estimated salary of $20 million per year. Meanwhile, Michael Weatherly went from “Loving” in the 1990′s to “NCIS” agent for a cool $175,000 per episode. Mark Harmon, Weatherly’s co-star on “NCIS,” generates an estimated $500,000 per episode and is the highest paid actor (scripted). The magazine, however, does not make note as to whether that amount includes his executive producer credit or if it is based solely on appearance alone. Harmon starred in the short lived 1980′s primetime soap “Flamingo Road,” which preceded his ground breaking role in “St. Elsewhere.”

“Guiding Light” turned “White Collar” star Matt Bomer makes an estimated $110,000 per episode of his uber popular USA Network series. Also hailing from “Guiding Light” is Hayden Panettierre, who will take in an estimated $75,000 an episode for her starring role in the upcoming new series “Nashville.” The show stars Connie Britton as a fading country star, but Britton will take in $100,000 per episode for her efforts.

The stars of “Grey’s Anatomy” recently renegotiated new deals to continue on the series for another two seasons. With the shows ninth season debuting in September, stars Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo will now make an estimated $350,000 an episode.

Although he hasn’t appeared on a soap for some time, Alec Baldwin gained notoriety in the 1980′s after starring in the daytime soap “The Doctors” and the primetime soap opera “Knot’s Landing.” Now starring in “30 Rock,” Baldwin commands an estimated $300,000 per episode. “30 Rock” is expected to complete its seventh and final season with just 13 episodes beginning October 4. Mariska Hargitay, who recurred on primetime soap “Falcon Crest” in 1988, is the highest paid actress (scripted) taking in $385,000 per episode for her work on “Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit.”

What follows is the complete list of salaries of stars with soap opera connections:

• Kelly Ripa (“Live with Kelly”) $20 million per year
• Mark Harmon (“NCIS”) $500,000 per episode
• Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: SVU”) $385,000 per episode
• Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) $350,000 per episode
• Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) $350,000 per episode
• Ellen Pompeo (“Grey’s Anatomy”) $350,000 per episode
• Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”) $300,000 per episode
• Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) $200,000 per episode
• Anna Paquin (“True Blood”) $200,000 per episode
• Alexander Skarsgård (“True Blood”) $200,000 per episode
• Michael Weatherly (“NCIS”) $175,000 per episode
• Connie Britton (“Nashiville”) $100,000 per episode
• Terry O’Quinn (“666 Park Avenue”) $100,000 per episode
• Vanessa Williams (“666 Park Avenue”) $100,000 per episode
• Larry Hagman (“Dallas“) $75,000 per episode
• Lea Michele (“Glee“) $75,000 per episode
• Hayden Panettierre (“Nashiville”) $75,000 per episode
• Madeleine Stowe (“Revenge”) $75,000 per episode
• Kerry Washington (“Scandal”) $75,000 per episode
• Dave Annable (“666 Park Avenue”) $65,000 per episode
• Emily VanCamp (“Revenge”) $55,000 per episode
• Patrick Duffy (“Dallas”) $50,000 per episode
• Josh Henderson (“Dallas”) $50,000 per episode

For a complete list of stars and their salaries, pick up your copy of TV Guide today or head on over to the magazine’s website.

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Tonight at 10/9c on ABC will be a repeat airing of the networks new celebrity esque suspense drama “Scandal.”

Craig Sjodin/ABC

Show Description
Everyone has a secret… and Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to protecting and defending the public images of the nation’s elite and keeping those secrets under wraps. Revered and feared at the same time, Olivia, a former communications director to the President of the United States, left the White House to open her own prominent crisis management firm. She is hoping to start a new chapter in her life -both professionally and personally-but she can’t seem to completely cut ties with her past. Olivia’s former boss, President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn), and his chief of staff, Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry), are never far, and it soon becomes clear that Olivia’s clients aren’t the only ones with secrets. Olivia’s accomplished staff includes Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick), a womanizing lawyer who’s trying to settle down; Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), a slick litigator with his fair share of secrets; Huck (Guillermo Diaz), a hacker extraordinaire with a CIA past; and Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), an investigator who has a love/hate relationship with Stephen. Although Olivia and her team specialize in fixing the lives of other people, they can’t quite seem to fix the problems closest at hand-their own.

In the premiere episode, young lawyer Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) is offered a job with Olivia Pope and Associates, and she is in awe. Olivia and her team of “gladiators in suits” will do whatever it takes to make their clients’ problems go away, and newbie Quinn is initiated into the group with trial by fire on day one — when a White House intern accuses the President of having an affair. Olivia is the only one the White House trusts to diffuse the problem, but as she gets deeper into the situation, Quinn soon realizes Olivia’s clients aren’t the only ones with secrets.

“Scandal” stars Kerry Washington (“Ray”) as Olivia Pope, Henry Ian Cusick (“Lost”) as Stephen Finch, Columbus Short (“Stomp the Yard”) as Harrison Wright, Guillermo Diaz (“Half-Baked”) as Huck, Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan, Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins, Tony Goldwyn (“Ghost”) as President Fitzgerald Grant, and Jeff Perry (“Grey’s Anatomy“) as Cyrus Beene.

“Scandal” is written by Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice”). Rhimes and Betsy Beers (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice”) are executive producers. Judy Smith is co-executive producer. Paul McGuigan (BBC’s “Sherlock”) is the director. “Scandal” is produced by ABC Studios.

“Scandal” replaces the previously scheduled repeat of ABC’s “Castle.” “Scandal” airs Thursdays at 10:00 PM ET/9:00 PM CT on the ABC Television Network after “Grey’s Anatomy.”