Emmy-award winning soap star Eileen Davidson has plenty of experience dealing with drama, having played “The Young and the Restless’” Ashley Abbott since 1982 and “Days of our Lives’” Kristen DiMera since 1993, but the actress is admittedly having a bit of trouble adjusting to the intense drama she’s enduring as part of the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills!”

It’s been a “secret” for months, but the news that “The Young and the Restless’” Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott; Kristen DiMera, “Days of our Lives”) and Lisa Rinna (ex-Billie Reed, “DAYS”) have joined the cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” is slapping the few unaware viewers in the face this morning: Both soap divas are featured in the reality series’ brand new cast photo and Season 5 premiere trailer that Bravo just released!

With NBC’s “Bad Judge” and “A to Z” pulling less a than a 1.0 rating in the key Adults 18-49 sales demographic the network has decided to end both Thursday comedies after airing the original full 13-episode order for each. “Judge,” the higher rated of the two, starred “The Practice’s” Kate Walsh as a “bad judge” who really isn’t. The series pulled a 0.9 in the demo in its most recent airing, while “A to Z,” co-starring Cristin Milioti (aka: the mother from CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother”), pulled in a 0.7 rating, which is the lowest rating a primetime show reportedly can hit before it gets the axe. Former “Passions” star Ryan McPartlin recently completed an arc on “Judge.”

While it’s been the worst kept secret in daytime, Soap Opera Network can finally report that actress Molly Burnett is returning to NBC’s “Days of our Lives” in the contract role of Melanie Jonas, a role in which she originated in 2008. Burnett, who left the soap in 2012 in order to pursue outside projects, returns to Salem as her character harbors a secret that even daddy Jonas (Shawn Christian) isn’t aware of!

While he played a waiter on two episodes of CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2010, actor Christopher Sean is getting the chance to play what he loves when he joins the cast of NBC’s “Days of our Lives” next week as Paul, a baseball player who is being treated by Dr. Daniel Jonas (Shawn Christian) after an injury he’s sustained. His first airdate is set for Friday, November 7.

“It’s impossible to forget Samantha Brady!” declared Caroline (Peggy McCay) on yesterday’s episode of “Days of our Lives,” exactly mirroring the thoughts that many of the sudser’s fans have had on their minds leading up to star Alison Sweeney’s last episode today. Many tears have been shed (both onscreen and off), but was the character’s exit really movie magic? Or would a completely different ending been the way to go?