1980: Another World spin-off Texas premiered on NBC,
starring Beverlee McKinsey as Iris.
"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: Donald Briscoe assumed the role of Tony Merritt in Days of our Lives. A message appeared on the screen to explain the recast: "The part of Tony Merritt will be played by DONALD BRISCOE."
1980:Another World returned to 60 minutes daily, after more than a year of 90-minute episodes, to make room for Texas. Russ (David Bailey) and Tracy began their honeymoon, and Jamie (Richard Bekins) had dinner with Mac and Rachel.
1980: Another World spin-off Texas premiered on NBC,
starring Beverlee McKinsey as Iris.
"The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: Donald Briscoe assumed the role of Tony Merritt in Days of our Lives. A message appeared on the screen to explain the recast: "The part of Tony Merritt will be played by DONALD BRISCOE."
1980:Another World returned to 60 minutes daily, after more than a year of 90-minute episodes, to make room for Texas. Russ (David Bailey) and Tracy began their honeymoon, and Jamie (Richard Bekins) had dinner with Mac and Rachel.
Yes, I Do premieres Saturday, June 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel. The film stars Jen Lilley (Days of our Lives), Marcus Rosner (UnREAL) and Jessica Lowndes (90210).
Busy chocolatier Charlotte (Lilley) has left her boyfriend James (Rosner) at the altar three times and now she needs to prove to him that she really does want to marry him. Things are complicated when his ex-girlfriend Nicole (Lowndes), who is also the owner of Chocolate Monthly Magazine, arrives on the scene and says she wants him back.
Jen Lilley is returning to NBC soap opera Days of our Lives as Theresa Donovan, according to Soap Opera Digest.
When she left Days in November 2016, Lilley told Digest she’d be open to a return.
“I would definitely go back to Days of our Lives and play Theresa," she said. "I would be devastated if they recast the character without calling me first. I would love to reprise that role. In a perfect world, I would keep playing Theresa, just like how Eileen Davidson [Ashley, Y&R] has played Kristen. I would come back and do some arcs. That would be amazing. I know they say never say never, but if I were ever on a soap, it would be Days, because that’s really where I found a home.”
Lilley's Theresa will make her return in May 2018.
1980: Another World spin-off Texas premiered on NBC,
starring Beverlee McKinsey as Iris.
"History is a vast early warning system."
― Norman Cousins
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: Donald Briscoe assumed the role of Tony Merritt in Days of our Lives. A message appeared on the screen to explain the recast: "The part of Tony Merritt will be played by DONALD BRISCOE."
1980:Another World returned to 60 minutes daily, after more than a year of 90-minute episodes, to make room for Texas. Russ (David Bailey) and Tracy began their honeymoon, and Jamie (Richard Bekins) had dinner with Mac and Rachel.
All My Children alum Jonathan Bennett stars in Mommy I Didn't Do It.
Photo by Jake White Copyright 2016
Mommy, I Didn't Do It, the sequel to the 2013 TV movie, The Wrong Woman, premieres January 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. Danica McKellar reprises her role as Ellen Plainview, a lawyer and mother raising her teenage daughter on her own.
Seventeen-year old Julie Plainview (Paige Searcy, Days of our Lives) is a typical teenager, rebellious and resentful of her single mother who works long hours to support them. The morning after celebrating her high school graduation with her best friend, Sylvie (Caroline Sunshine), Julie is arrested for the murder of one of her teachers. Ellen, who has limited experience in criminal law, takes on the daunting task of being her defense attorney.
Ellen reaches out for help from Ben Saverin, (Jonathan Bennett, All My Children) a crime novelist she met four years earlier when she herself was on trial for a murder she did not commit. The two shared a brief romance that was interrupted when all of Ellen’s time and attention was directed towards getting her law degree.
Ellen will have to draw on all her strength when she goes up against Detective Hamer, (Jaleel White, who reprises his role) with a grudge against her, the victim’s wife (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), who accuses Julie of having an affair with her husband and a prosecutor, (Jen Lilley, Days of our Lives), who doesn't like to lose.
The film co-stars are Jim O'Heir, Veronica Cartwright and Heather Tom (The Bold and the Beautiful).
Jen Lilley at the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards in April.
She co-hosted the ceremony with Days co-star Eric Martsolf.
Soap fans may know her as fiercely protective mom and wife Theresa Brady on Days of our Lives, but Jen Lilley is also a big 1980s-90s TV aficionado. She gushed about getting to work with some TV icons from that era while shooting the Lifetime movie, Mommy, I Didn’t Do It.
“Never in my wildest dreams as a kid did I think I’d be working with Winnie Cooper and Urkel…It was fun!” she told Soap Opera Digest.
Not only did she hob knob with those TV legends, some familiar Days and other daytime faces joined her in brining the movie’s intriguing story to life.
“I play the lead prosecutor from the D.A.’s office and Paige Searcy’s character is the one being prosecuted,” Lilley said. She also had lunch with movie co-star Heather Tom (Katie Logan, The Bold and the Beautiful).
Two months ago, Lilley posted a picture to Instagram of herself “geeking out” seated on the couch from the set of '90s TV staple, Full House. Netflix is rebooting that show as Fuller House, leading many to wonder if Lilley will have a role on it. To Twitter musings on this topic, Lilley coyly responded, “#buzzbuzz,” tagging Lachlan Buchanan and Rich Keith in the Tweet. Buchanan (ex-Kyle Abbott, The Young and the Restless) has since confirmed a role on the reboot, and Rich Keith is one of its head writers.
Akbi Khan has been a soap mega-fan for 31 years. She has been writing about them and working to save the soap genre for several years. Last May she got her Master’s in rhetoric and composition, for which she completed a thesis on the Save Our Soaps (SOS) movement and created her own SOS group, thistimeitsforever.org. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, activism for various progressive causes, traveling down her spiritual path, rollerskating, going dancing, anything having to do with language or words, and laughing heartily and often, and more. You may reach her at akbikhan@gmail.com.
1980: Another World spin-off Texas premiered on NBC,
starring Beverlee McKinsey as Iris.
"If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree."
― Michael Crichton
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: Donald Briscoe assumed the role of Tony Merritt in Days of our Lives. A message appeared on the screen to explain the recast: "The part of Tony Merritt will be played by DONALD BRISCOE."
1980:Another World returned to 60 minutes daily, after more than a year of 90-minute episodes, to make room for Texas. Russ (David Bailey) and Tracy began their honeymoon, and Jamie (Richard Bekins) had dinner with Mac and Rachel.
Eric Martsolf and Jen Lilley hosted the 7th Annual Indie Series
Awards in April.
In the new issue of Soap Opera Digest, Eric Martsolf (Brady) shares his thoughts on Jen Lilley’s (Theresa) impending exit from NBC soap opera Days of our Lives.
“We’ll still be in touch and I look forward to seeing what she’ll do next,” says Martsolf, who also teases that viewers can expect to see a very emotional “Thrady” farewell. “You’ll see what these two people, Brady and Theresa, came to mean to each other.”
Martsolf and Lilley co-hosted the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards in April.
Meanwhile, Martsolf also talks about his family’s move to Las Vegas and the challenges of commuting back to Los Angeles for work.
He notes, “Living in Las Vegas and Los Angeles has been an adventure, but it’s also been tough.”
Serial Scoop Now host Michael Goldberg interviewed the stars in front of and behind the camera on the red carpet of the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards on April 6. You will see many performers from the world of daytime soap operas in the interviews below.
Featured below are Days of our Lives stars Jen Lilley and Eric Martsolf, the hosts of this year's ceremony; Janessa Alberre (Miss North Hollywood USA); Hart of America's Amber Nash, Kevin Gillese and Benjamin Scott Holst (Hart of America); Or So the Story Goes' Judith Avers, Melissa Malone and Frances Southwick; Frank Leone from In Retrospect; Winterthorne'sKathleen Gati, Kevin Spirtas, Martha Madison, Josh Thrower, Barbara Caruso and Michael Caruso; Colleen Zenk (As the World Turns); Yancy Butler (Witchblade); Jillian Clare (Ladies of the Lake); The Bay'sPatrika Darbo and Kiko Ellsworth; Sebastian La Cause, Jason Cicci, Cady Huffman, John Cramer, Darcie Siciliano, Bradford How and Veronica Reyes-How from He's With Me; Ryan Gowland, Molly Hawkey and Julia Wackenheim-Gimple from F'd; BLACK's Daniel Betances; Viral stars Melissa Archer and Barry Brisco; Milgram and the Fastwalkers' Richard Cutting, Victoria Guthrie and Johnny Alonso; Misguided'sMelissa Claire Egan and Paul Gosselin; Hollywood Wasteland's Paula Rhodes, Matt Newcomb, Beth Newcomb, Sandra Solanchick and Ryan Robert Daggitt; EastSiders' Kit Williamson, Stephen Guarino, Brianna Brown and John Halbach; Life's a Drag creator and star Ian Verdun; Nature Show's Andy Batson and Jarrod Lynch Moses Anderson; The Bay's Gregori J. Martin, Nicolas Coster, Terri Ivens, Lilly Melgar, Kristos Andrews, Karrueche Tran, Ronn Moss, Devin DeVasquez, Mary Beth Evans, Matthew Ashford, Taylor Stanley, Alicia Leigh Willis, Jared Safier and Brittany Underwood; The Under 5ers' Alexandra Nader and Matthew Ryan Wilson; Hunting Season's Ben Baur, Jon Marcus, Marc Sinoway, Jake Manabat, Tyler French and David Garelik; These People's Zac Hug, Carolyn Hennesy, Claire Downs and Jeremy Glazer; Keith Broke His Leg stars Keith Powell and Jill Knox; Capitol Hill's Pete Rush; Sheena Metal; Hollywood Wasteland's Caley Bisson and Kaitlin Clark; Michael Shlafman, Benjamin Warner and Julian Stamboulieh from LARPs; Redheads Anonymous' Elisabeth Ness, Kevin Sebastian and Ed Nescot; the team from The Beat & Path: Walk of Shame, including Brandon Russell and DJ Amen Ra; The New Adventures of Peter & Wendy's Brennan Murray, Kyle Walters and Paula Rhodes; The Platoon of Power Squadron's Jake Jarvi; the team from Anacostia, including Tia Dae; Wasted's Jean-Jacques Javier; The Bay's Vincent De Paul; Club 5150's Crista Flanagan, Lee Sherman and Crystal Carson; Rare Bird's of Fashion nominee Christopher Chwee; Fully Engaged's Erika Robel; and Conversation From the Afterlife's Adam Henry Garcia and Aden Hakimi.
Eric Martsolf and Jen Lilley hosted the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 6 at the historic El Portal Theatre.
Serial Scoop Now interviewed the stars in front of and behind the camera on the red carpet of the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards on April 6. In the first of our multi-part coverage, we chat with Days of our Lives stars Jen Lilley and Eric Martsolf, the hosts of this year's ceremony; Janessa Alberre (Miss North Hollywood USA), Amber Nash, Kevin Gillese and Benjamin Scott Holst (Hart of America); Judith Avers, Melissa Malone and Frances Southwick (Or So the Story Goes); Frank Leone (In Retrospect); Kathleen Gati, Kevin Spirtas, Martha Madison, Josh Thrower, Barbara Caruso and Michael Caruso (Winterthorne); Colleen Zenk (As the World Turns); Yancy Butler (Witchblade); Jillian Clare (Ladies of the Lake); and The Bay's Patrika Darbo and Kiko Ellsworth.
As the World Turns alums Jake Weary and Daniella Alonso star in TNT's Animal Kingdom
Weary (ATWT's Luke Snyder) stars as Deran Cody in the series inspired by the award-winning feature film. The story centers around a teenager who moves in with his relatives at their beachfront home after his mother dies of an overdose. The family is run by matriarch Janine, played by Emmy winner Ellen Barkin, and the teen is drawn into their life of indulgence and excess, but soon discovers the dark truth behind their dangerous world. Weary plays the troubled and suspicious youngest Cody son. Fellow ATWT alum Daniella Alonso (Pilar) plays Catherine, the wife of Baz, played by Scott Speedman.
Days of our Lives star Jen Lilley launches clothing line for charity
Lilley (Theresa on Days) has designed a clothing line to raise money for her favorite charity, Childhelp. She tweeted, "BIG NEWS: I've teamed up with BeYourOwnYou and designed an exclusive clothing line to raise money for my favorite charity, childhelp! #childhelp#byou #clothingforacause Check it out and please SHARE this post!
Sam Behrens encouraged Shari Belafonte to take on the role of Janice on General Hospital
January 19 will mark Shari Belafonte's first GH appearance as the new Janice Lomax, mayor of Port Charles. "In truth, I had never thought about doing one," she says of making her soap debut. "But when my manager first asked me if I'd be interested in doing this, I thought, 'You know what? I bet you can teach this old dog a couple of new tricks!’ " Her husband, Sam Behrens, who played Jake Meyer on the show from 1983-1987, encouraged her to take the gig. "He was very much like, 'Oh, you're going to have a good time,' " Belafonte tells Soap Opera Digest.
Jamie Foxx’s Darktown will explore race in 1940s Atlanta
Foxx is teaming with former Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal on a 1948 Atlanta-set drama about the city’s first black police officers, who are forced to lead segregated lives.
How to Get Away with Murder casts Adam Arkin, Roxanne Hart and Wilson Bethel
Bethel (ex-Ryder, The Young and the Restless) has landed the role of Charles Mahoney, the Ivy League-educated son of Arkin’s Wallace (a Warren Buffet type who’s quiet and observant, but knows how to command a room when he chooses) and Hart’s Sylvia (a tough yet distinguished and smart socialite).
Empire and Scream Queens renewed by FOX Empire’s third season episode order has yet to be determined, while Scream Queens will head to a new location for Season 2.
Mariah Carey won't be coming to Empire after all
Despite Lee Daniels saying repeatedly that “Mariah is coming on,” there are currently no plans to have her on the show this season, according to Daniels' fellow co-creator Danny Strong. The same goes for Oprah Winfrey. Strong tells The Hollywood Reporter: "None of those people are going to actually be on the show so I can't control what names all of a sudden take off as being guest stars because they're not."
FOX orders 24: Legacy pilot, featuring an “all-new cast of characters”
Kiefer Sutherland will still be listed as a producer on the new 24, which FOX says "will revolve around a military hero’s return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back—compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.”
Days of our Lives star Suzanne Rogers (Maggie) gets nervous when shooting Christmas episodes
"I tend to be nervous before I work anyway, and that particular day, there’s so much that I can call upon, so much history. I walk out into the set and it’s all decorated, and the wing chair is there, and you see Tom, you see Alice there, so it's all of that. All of that comes back, and then the minute they open up the lid to the box, where the ornaments are there, there it is."
Jen Lilley, Kate Linder, Emmy Rossum, Lisa Rinna & more feed the homeless on downtown LA on Christmas Eve
Traditional Christmas ham, brown butter garlicky green beans and cheesecake were among the fare at Los Angeles Mission's annual holiday meal Thursday afternoon. More than 600 volunteers, including musician Pharrell Williams and celebrity chef Ben Ford, took to the serving stations to feed more than 3,500 people, many from Skid Row.
Jonathan Jackson and Steve Burton are opening Jack and Jameson's
Smokehouse in Franklin, just south of Nashville.
Soap opera stars Jonathan Jackson and Steve Burton team up for new Franklin (TN) restaurant
Jonathan Jackson (Avery, Nashville, ex-Lucky, General Hospital) has joined forces with actor Steve Burton (Dylan, The Young and the Restless; ex-Jason, General Hospital) to open a new restaurant in Franklin. According to the restaurant's Facebook page, work on Jack and Jameson's Smokehouse is underway at 509 Hillsboro Road. Owners Jackson and Burton have been friends for more than 15 years, and believe Jack and Jameson's (named for their sons, not the booze) is "the kind of family friendly, world-class restaurant and music venue Franklin needs."
David O' Russell's self-reflective Joy movie premieres Christmas Day
Writers Richard Brody in the New Yorker: "Joy' begins not with a vision of Joy’s primal creativity but with a seemingly incongruous graft, a scene that seems like a digression from a story that hasn’t even begun. It’s a clip from a (fictitious) soap opera (featuring Susan Lucci) in which a woman who’s being done of out money by a family cheat gets hold of a gun and is ready to use it to defend her interests. The clip is an elaborate narrative goof in its foreshadowing of a scene in which Joy will have to reconcile herself to the notion of killing to protect an investment. But, more importantly, the faux soap opera is the blatant, almost too obvious and yet surprising hand-tipping of Russell’s crucial theme. Despite the stiff and dull artistry of soap operas, they deal with the very stuff of life—money, love, violence, family, and the conflicts that they spark. To capture any attention at all, a movie or a TV show, whatever its aesthetic virtues or failings, must bear the rough-and-tumble of conflict of daily existence that makes more or less anything happen."
Pretty Little Liars boss clears the air about ending series after Season 7
The Pretty Little Liars may have finally unmasked “A,” but according to executive producer Marlene King, that doesn’t mean their journey is necessarily coming to a close anytime soon. The morning after the big Charlotte/CeCe/”A” reveal this past August, King told TVLine, “We have enough story to take us to the end of Season 7, and we’re going to let the fans tell us if they’re ready to say goodbye to this world and these characters.”
Pretty Little Liars casts Toby's mystery woman, Yvonne
Kara Royster has been cast in the recurring role, Variety has confirmed. Yvonne is described as smart, sleek and classy and an important person in Toby’s life. The character will be in a total of three episodes, first appearing in the fourth episode of Season 6B.
Patrick Dempsey responds to THAT Shonda Rhimes comment
Remember when Shonda Rhimes said yes to being petty and shamelessly admitted that she's killed off characters because she didn't like the actors? Remember how everyone then assumed she was shading Patrick Dempsey because "Derek" had just died in a tragic car accident? Well, you can now return to your regularly scheduled (Shondaland) programming — and with zero internal conflict — because Dempsey is A-OK.
"I think she loves being provocative and that’s fine for who she is<" Dempsey recently said. "That gets people talking about all the stuff that she’s doing. She’s an amazing woman who is incredibly productive. She’s promoting a book. She’s promoting three shows. And she’s emerging as the star of all of these things. I think she knows how to deal with the media and what she needs to say to get the response that she’s looking for. She’s very savvy."
Flavorwire: The Best TV Characters of 2015
The last includes Sarah Pfefferman, Transparent; Jessica Huang, Fresh Off the Boat; Rebecca Bunch, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; and Cookie Lyon, Empire.
Jen Lilley stars in the all-new movie The Spirit of Christmas, premiering
Saturday, December 19, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. Photo by Courtesy
of Lifetime Copyright 2015
Days of our Lives star Jen Lilley is everywhere these days. In addition to her busy schedule playing Theresa Donovan on the NBC daytime drama, she recently released a fantastic Christmas album, "Tinsel Time." On Saturday night (8 p.m. ET/PT), she is starring in Lifetime's The Spirit of Christmas movie premiere. At the exact same time, Hallmark will be airing Mariah Carey's directorial debut in the film, A Christmas Melody, which will feature Lilley's "Jingle Bells" from her new album.
Speaking of The Spirit of Christmas, Lilley plays ambitious young lawyer Kate, and exhibits much charisma and star power in the role. It's a pretty standard Lifetime movie, but it is fun to watch Lilley take on a new role and be featured as a leading lady in this type of project. Her character, Kate, has a promotion on the line so she heads to Vermont to broker the sale of an old inn. Kate has her work cut out for her when she learns its haunted and she meets Daniel Forsythe (Thomas Beaudoin) - a handsome man who died 95 years ago! Each year, Daniel takes human form exactly twelve days before Christmas, unable to move on with the mystery of his death unsolved. Determined to help Daniel, Kate finds herself in an unlikely romance with the dashing Christmas spirit.
Watch a sneak peek of The Spirit of Christmas below.
Eric Martsolf and Jen Lilley will host the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards.
Returning to the same stage where he wowed the crowed with his rendition of "Oh Indies," Emmy winner Eric Martsolf has been named host of the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards. Joining Martsolf is his Days of our Lives co-star and past ISA nominee Jen Lilley. The ceremony is set for Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.
The two-hour ceremony begins at 8 p.m. PT and celebrates the best in independently produced scripted entertainment created for the Web.
The Indie Series Network will once again be the charity sponsor for the Indie Series Awards. Nominations for the 7th Annual ISAs will be announced on Wednesday, February 3.
Watch Martsolf perform "Oh Indies" at the 6th Annual ISAs below:
The Spirit of Christmas premieres December 19 on Lifetime.
Holiday movie The Spirit of Christmas will premiere Saturday, December 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. The film stars Jen Lilley, who plays Theresa Donovan on Days of our Lives, along with Thomas Beaudoin (Other Plans) and Bates Wilder (Black Mass).
With a promotion on the line, ambitious young lawyer Kate (Lilley) heads to Vermont to broker the sale of an old inn. Kate has her work cut out for her when she learns its haunted and she meets Daniel Forsythe (Beaudoin) - a handsome man who died 95 years ago! Each year, Daniel takes human form exactly twelve days before Christmas, unable to move on with the mystery of his death unsolved. Determined to help Daniel, Kate finds herself in an unlikely romance with the dashing Christmas spirit.
Rachel Lindsay Greenbush, Jeremy Miller, Erin Murphy, Alison Arngrim,
Kami Cotler, and Keith Coogan. Photo Credit: Bill Dow Photography
On August 30, A Minor Consideration, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives and working conditions of child performers, held its first friend-raiser entitled the “Guiding Star Gala.” Over 40 former and current actors and child stars attended the event, which also featured special guest Jen Lilley (Theresa, Days of our Lives).
Attendees included Alison Arngrim, Paul Peterson, Erin Murphy, David Bloch-Mandel, Jeremy Miller, Scott Schwartz, Katie Kurtzman, Darby Hinton, Sarah Monahan, Johnny Whittaker, Randal Whipple, Geri Jewell, Tony Dow, Radames Pera, Jeanne Russell, Liane Curtis, Samantha Stanton, Kami Cotler, Ellen Latzen, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn, Sarah Em, and Coogan's grandson, Keith Coogan, as well as many others, who gathered to share, support and speak out.
An evening of fun, food and bowling with some of your favorite child stars at the famous Lucky Strike Live at Hollywood & Highland offered an impressive silent auction (put together by the events organizer, Scott Schwartz) with proceeds going to the charity.
EastEnders Ben and Paul stripped down to their boxers near a dead body.
EastEnders funeral parlor gay embrace cleared by TV watchdog
Ofcom has cleared a controversial EastEnders scene that showed two men half naked in a funeral parlor of breaching the broadcasting code. The media regulator received 76 complaints about the scene in the BBC1 soap, which showed characters Ben Mitchell and Paul Coker stripped off above the waist and embracing in front of a dead body in an open coffin.
“Ofcom assessed a number of complaints about a storyline in these episodes and concluded they didn’t raise issues warranting further investigation,” said a spokesman for the broadcasting regulator. “We found the scenes were justified in the context of a long running plot line and sexual contact between the characters was implied rather than overt.”
Al Sharpton and Andre Leon Talley to appear in season 2 premiere of Empire
Empire’s imprisoned patriarch Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) will get the support of two very powerful real-life figures in the season 2 premiere: Reverend Al Sharpton and fashion icon André Leon Talley will both appear when the Fox hit returns on September 22 to show their support for the embattled music CEO at an epic, outdoor “Free Lucious” concert.
Days of our Lives star Jen Lilley: "I’m going down in soap glory!"
“I play everything balls-to-the-wall,” she says. “My worry is not pushing the audience too far. I worry about not being full-on committed in every moment, which is not always easy in the crazy world of soaps. I had a storyline where Theresa got pregnant and had her fetus stolen. All I could say was, ‘Bring it on! I know this is goofy, but I’m going down in soap glory!’”
Jen Lilley on working with Days co-star Thaao Penghlis
“Soap opera legend, Thaao Penghlis, played Lord Haman. When we filmed The Book of Esther I had just finished my run as Maxie Jones on ABC’s General Hospital, so Thaao and I instantly bonded over our shared soap opera background and swapped behind-the-scenes stories. One day, Thaao told me he has died and come back to life 6 times on NBC’s Days of Our Lives! I giggled and asked him which death was his favorite, and he said, one time his character, Tony, died because someone slit his carotid artery. The fans were so outraged that Tony was killed off, that a short time later, his character came back, driving a boat, with his fabulous Fabio-esque hair blowing in the wind, and as the camera zoomed in, you could see a BAND-AID on his neck where his carotid was sliced! I was in stitches, no pun intended!
“Now, three years later, Thaao and I are working together on Days of our Lives. It’s funny how paths intertwine. Thaao is one of the finest actors I’ve ever met…he’s mesmerizing. It’s almost unfair having to act opposite of him, because you don’t want to say your lines; you want to be an audience member, rapt by his performance!”
Scandal Season 5 to mark the 'reconstitution' of the Gladiators
Acknowledging that the show’s central Gladiator conceit was sidelined a bit in Season 4 because “we were busy healing” Olivia, Shonda Rhimes says Season 5 will feature “the reconstitution” of Team OPA.
Revenge star Gabriel Mann to visit The Mysteries of Laura
Mann will play Shane Parker, a “charismatic entrepreneur who co-founded a billion dollar nano-tech company.” Shane’s suspicious behavior after his partner’s death gets the attention of the NYPD, making Shane a suspect.
Ricky Martin and Reese Witherspoon to appear on premiere of Neil Patrick Harris' upcoming live show, Best Time Ever
Harris clearly is struggling with the secrecy around the show, though he did let slip that both Ricky Martin and Reese Witherspoon have been booked to appear. "All of us will be seeing it together for the first time on September 15," he said. "It feels to me more pressure in anticipation because it's a blind commit in some ways. We don't want to reveal every single thing. We're holding a lot of cards close to our vest because that's what's going to make it exciting."
If NBC's Coach reboot is a success, ALF could be next
“It’s not a direct kind of reboot,” NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said about the new Coach, with original creator Barry Kemp. It’s a picking up and it’s an extended family and Hayden is a grandfather, and a father-and-son story. So it’s a way to do another variation on a family show with, I think, a truly talented star and a great showrunner and a presold title. And if that works, then ALF: The Series is next.”
GLAAD talks to The Bold and the Beautiful stars Karla Mosley and Jacob Young about trans storyline
"As a woman of color I understand how important it is that we be given the opportunity to write and tell our own stories," says Mosley (Maya Avant). "One of the first things I had to do was acknowledge my own privilege as a cisgender person to be in the position to play this role. I felt it was important that our show include trans actors in this story line and I'm happy to see that's happened. I'm also excited to see more trans actors and stories starting to be included in TV & Film."
"His pull is stronger to her than any business or any other relationship," adds Young (Rick Forrester). "As far as this role affecting me personally. It absolutely has, I have always believed in equal rights. I have and always and will be a strong advocate for the transgender community."
The actor had a candid discussion with his Nymphomaniac director Lars von Trier in the June-July issue of Interview magazine, in which he said that he has recently reconciled with his dad, now 79, a "manic-depressive schizophrenic."
"He's always had trouble – he was a fantastic actor and extraordinarily charismatic and very, very good looking, but he had a really difficult time working with directors, collaborating with people," Slater told the director, also noting that his mother was his father's agent.
Slater also reflected on his first TV role. My mother became a casting director and she cast me in a soap opera called One Life to Live. I was, like, 8 years old, playing a kid who had hurt himself on a skateboard. I had, like, three lines. I did the lines and everybody in the studio applauded—I was immediately hooked after that. I was like, "This is the life for me."
Marvin Gaye's son plans to sue Empire for stealing his idea
Marvin Gaye III claims he registered a treatment on a show called Diamonds & Ballads with the Writers Guild of America back in 2010. Gaye says the treatment describes a family in the music business -- "a music based 'black' and 'hip' version of Dynasty ... with a little Sopranos." Gaye shopped the treatment around to TV execs and said it was loosely based on the lives of his legendary family and the Berry Gordy family.
Gaye insists the people in the industry with whom Lee Daniel's associates received emails pitching his treatment. Gaye feels Daniels unwittingly fessed up in 2014 after Empire hit big, when he said, "I wanted to make a black Dynasty." He also said it was similar to The Sopranos.
Days of our Lives casting new role: Summer Days is seeking a Caucasian woman in her early 40s to play the short-term, contract role of Summer. She is described as a passionate loner who has been in and out of institutions and is a small-time thief. The show is asking for experienced actors only, names preferred, to begin taping at the end of the month.
Amell was standing off to the side when Stardust interrupted a match between Neville and King Barrett. But winning for Stardust had little to do with the match going on – once he spotted Amell, Stardust made his way toward the star and incited a quick throwdown. Watch the brawl above to see Amell wail on Stardust until security gets in the way.
1980: Another World spin-off Texas premiered on NBC,
starring Beverlee McKinsey as Iris.
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
― Maya Angelou
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: Donald Briscoe assumed the role of Tony Merritt in Days of our Lives. A message appeared on the screen to explain the recast: "The part of Tony Merritt will be played by DONALD BRISCOE." In the clip below, Laura was played Floy Dean. Susan Flannery took over as Laura two months later.
Jen Lilley is returning to NBC soap opera Days of our Lives as Theresa Donovan, according to Soap Opera Digest.
