There’s been some recent buzz that Hunter Tylo may soon be returning as “The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Dr. Taylor Hayes, but are the rumors true?

Yesterday, it was announced that veteran soap actor Rick Hearst would be returning to ABC’s “General Hospital” for the first time since 2009 as his character Ric Lansing. Hearst is scheduled to first air on Monday February 24, but isn’t expected to speak until Tuesday, February 25, according to ABC Soaps In Depth. In honor of his grand return, the actor took to Twitter to thank the fans, “GH” executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati for making it all happen.

As previously reported, soap stars Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery, “All My Children”) and Jack Wagner (ex-Frisco Jones, “General Hospital;” ex-Dominick Marone, “The Bold and the Beautiful”) are set to star in the Hallmark Movie Channel Original movie, “My Gal Sunday,” which premieres tonight at 9:00 PM ET on the cable network.

Ratings Report for the Week of January 13-17, 2014

Several “Days of our Lives” actors have tweeted short congratulatory messages in support of today’s news that NBC has renewed their series until the 2015-2016 season, but they’re not the only people celebrating the exciting news: Major personalities from the rival soaps have jumped aboard to give shout outs to the iconic soap, as well!

While it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Deadline Hollywood is reporting that ABC is renewing its commitment to “General Hospital” for the upcoming 2014-15 television season. The “GH” renewal follows the recent two-year “Days of our Lives” renewal by NBC, which was announced today, and last week’s renewal of “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” by CBS. Historically, as the network owns “GH” outright, ABC won’t necessarily make an “official” announcement as CBS and NBC have for their daytime soaps.

As previously reported, CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” announced a new partnership with Pan Macmillan and its digital-first imprint, Momentum, in which the publishing company will release a series of novellas surrounding several characters from the daytime soap opera. Today, it was announced that the first two of eight novellas will go on sale on Tuesday, January 28. An e-book version of each will be released worldwide. In Australia, paperback print copies will be available at the same time as the digital release.

It seems like just yesterday that the world was ready to nail the lid on the coffin of daytime soap operas. Ratings were low across the board, and a slew of sudsers — “Guiding Light,” “As the World Turns,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” — were cancelled, leaving only “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” on the air. But to the surprise of critics and many soap fans, 2013 saw a drastic turnaround: All four remaining soap operas saw a significant increase in ratings, and “The Young and the Restless” once again made a list of the top 10 most-searched television programs of the year, among popular series like “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.” So why the complete 180 in daytime soap popularity?

Fans of “The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Karen Spencer may be in luck: The character’s portrayer, Joanna Johnson, has teased that she may soon be headed back to the soap opera!

Ratings Report for the Week of January 6-10, 2014

CBS Daytime is proving that it just won’t stop when it comes to high ratings, with the latest Nielsen live plus same day ratings showing another increase for “The Young and the Restless” and record breaking numbers for “The Talk!”

The recent behind-the-scenes drama over at “The Young and the Restless” has created quite a storm, but a little bit of sunshine broke through the clouds today when CBS announced it has renewed the 40-year-old soap opera through 2017. Fans of the show have taken to Twitter to congratulate the cast and crew, and they’re not alone in the celebration: The actors are also thrilled that the sudser they call home received the official extension.

During the CBS portion of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour this morning, Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment, announced the early renewals of the network’s full daytime lineup consisting of soap operas “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless,” game shows “Let’s Make a Deal” and “The Price is Right,” and talk show “The Talk.” The renewal for next season (2014-2015) follows a season full of growth for the network in viewers and the all important key women sales demos for all of its daytime programs. “Y&R” was renewed through the 2016-2017 season, the network said.

Ratings Report for the Week of December 30, 2013 – January 3, 2014

Soap fans may remember Victor Alfieri for his stints on CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” and NBC’s “Days of our Lives,” but these days the former soap star is battling attacks with a hairbrush, reports TMZ.

As previously reported, “General Hospital’s” Emily Wilson (ex-Ellie Trout) announced that she will be appearing in an upcoming episode of ABC’s “Castle,” which Soap Opera Network has since learned will air on Monday, January 27.

CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” ushered in 2014 with their largest weekly audiences in several years, according to ratings data released today by Nielsen Media Research for the week of December 30, 2013 through January 3, 2014.

Nominees for Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Daytime Drama Series were announced today for “The 45th NAACP Image Awards,” scheduled to air Saturday, February 22 on TV One. “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” were once again dominant in both acting categories.

Robert Adamson may best be known as “The Young and the Restless’” Noah Newman, but what many fans might not know is that the actor is also a talented director. He’s made several short films — and he even met his real life flame, Linsey Godfrey (Caroline Spencer, “The Bold and the Beautiful”), after casting her in one of his recent projects! Soap Opera Network caught up with Adamson, who gave us the scoop on his films, love life, “Y&R” and more!

Ratings Report for the Week of December 23-27, 2013