While it had been widely reported to be the case, CBS finally confirmed on Monday, November 10, that Charles “Chuck” Pratt, Jr. has been hired on as the new head writer of “The Young and the Restless.” The official word came from “Y&R’s” Twitter page, which also noted that Pratt will receive a co-executive producer credit on the series. Pratt replaces Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante, “Y&R’s” current head writing team.

Lifetime announced last week that it wasn’t moving forward with a third season of “Witches of East End,” reports Deadline. The series followed a new generation of witches based on the book of the same name. Featuring former “Days of our Lives” and “Revenge” actor, Eric Winter, “Witches” ended its second season in early October.

Last week Bravo finally confirmed that “Days of our Lives” and “The Young and the Restless” actress Eileen Davidson had officially joined the cast of the network’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” As viewers get ready to watch all the drama unfold between Davidson and her co-stars, which includes former soap star Lisa Rinna (“DAYS,” “Melrose Place”), TV Guide Magazine has an exclusive look at Davidson’s home.

“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has been entertaining millions of late night talk show fans since debuting earlier this year as an escape from late night talk shows. The premise of the HBO series is that host John Oliver takes a closer look at the happenings of the past week in terms of news, politics and social media, and culls it altogether into one half hour of entertainment that seeks to empower and inform its viewers. In a segment highlighting a “CBS This Morning” report on a device known as the Salmon Cannon, Oliver, who was so in awe of the Salmon Cannon concept, gives viewers insight into the purpose (it helps push the Salmon that typically get caught in hydroelectric dams over said dams) and decided to make his own, which resulted in the flying fish hitting several of television’s biggest stars including “The Young and the Restless'” Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) during a made up “Y&R” scene featuring co-star Joshua Morrow (Nicholas Newman) as the two fight over Sharon’s hidden secrets.

The November Sweeps ratings period is a time where the daytime soaps pull out all the stops to attract new and old viewers with big events, big reveals and big returns. No other soap has all three points nailed down as CBS’ “The Young and the Restless,” which will give viewers another dose of Grace Turner (Jennifer Gareis), now that Mariah (Camryn Grimes) has officially been revealed to be Sharon’s (Sharon Case) daughter, while also giving fans insight into what Sharon’s childhood friend, Amy Wilson (Julianna Morris Polaha), has been up to since last being seen in Genoa City. The soap will also welcome former “M*A*S*H” star Sally Kellerman to the cast in the newly created role of Constance Bingham. To ensure viewers are well versed into the happenings on screen and behind the scenes during this very important month, Soap Opera Network is breaking down who’s coming, who’s going, and when to expect those pesky preemptions we all love (to hate).

Ratings Report for the Week of October 27-31, 2014

“The Young and the Restless'” Steve Burton is sticking around for at least another year as Dylan McAvoy, reports CBS Soaps In Depth. “I’ve re-signed for a year, and I’m very happy!” Burton tells the magazine.

While the date for the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards wasn’t necessarily a secret, it was still somewhat surprising when it was revealed that next year’s Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards would be taking place on Friday, April 24 and the big show would be taking place on Sunday, April 26 – the earliest either ceremony will have taken place since at least 2006. In an interview with David Michaels, Senior Executive Director and Co-Executive Producer for the Daytime Emmy Awards & Events, who notes to Soap Opera Network that we can likely thank “The Young and the Restless'” Christian Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin) for revealing the dates online, the executive addresses the red carpet debacle that rocked the industry earlier this year, while also providing insight into what we can look forward to seeing from both the creative side and the broadcast side for next year’s telecast, and a greater understanding of how four new categories will change the future of the awards ceremony.

As the saying goes, “Remember, remember! The fifth of November,” in reference to the fifth day of the month of November, which got a modern boost in understanding via the Natalie Portman vehicle “V for Vendetta,” some CBS Daytime soap fans will remember the day for a presidential press conference that resulted in their favorite soaps being interrupted in several markets, including the second largest market – Los Angeles! As a result, those impacted markets will offer makegoods, which finds stations re-running a program that may have been interrupted in any significant way in its corrected form at a later time. “The Bold and the Beautiful” did not air in nearly 11% of the country, while “The Young and the Restless” did not air in nearly 7% of the country.

If seeing “The Young and the Restless’” Max Ehrich (Fenmore Baldwin) appear on both his CBS Daytime home and in his recurring role as “Under the Dome’s” Hunter isn’t enough for you, then you’re in luck: The actor will soon be showing up on Nickelodeon’s new comedic series, “100 Things To Do Before High School!”

Today is a must-tune-in day for CBS Daytime, as the network is pulling out all the stops for soap fans!

Before enjoying your annual Thanksgiving meal with friends and family on Thursday, November 27, one day earlier – Wednesday, November 26 – the men of CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” will provide plenty of thanks for viewers of “The Queen Latifah Show” as the talk show welcomes actors Peter Bergman (Jack), Justin Hartley (Adam), Daniel Goddard (Cane), Bryton James (Devon) and Joshua Morrow (Nicholas) to the program to chat with Queen Latifah herself.

The CW announced today that the fourth season of “Hart of Dixie” will launch on Friday, January 9 at 9:00 PM, ET, with 10 all-new episodes. The series, starring Rachel Bilson (“The O.C.”) and Wilson Bethel (“The Young and the Restless”), follows a big city girl who moves to quirky BlueBell, Alabama and finds herself more at home there than anywhere she’s been before.

Daytime newcomer Jeffrey Christopher Todd is heading to CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” next month in the recurring role of Tobias, a Jabot employee working in the lab for Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson).

“The Young and the Restless’” Genoa City is gaining a new resident, and it seems there will be a Jekyll and Hyde twist!

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!

Ratings Report for the Week of October 20-24, 2014

On Thursday, November 6, fans of NBC’s “Days of our Lives” will once again say goodbye to Eileen Davidson as she wraps her three month stint as Kristen DiMera on the daytime drama series. During her return, much of Kristen’s storyline revolved around her rivalry with Theresa (Jen Lilley) and her unusual relationship with Daniel (Shawn Christian), which included a roll in the hay.

Good news, soap fans: The date for the 2015 Daytime Emmy Awards has been set, and it’s closer than you might think!