NEWS: Julianne Moore, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Terry O'Quinn, Corrie!

Julianne Moore to play Sarah Palin in HBO's adaptation of 'Game Change'
Oscar nominee Julianne Moore has landed the starring role of Sarah Palin in HBO’s adaptation of the bestselling book "Game Change."

Tina Fey: Julianne Moore ‘A Great Choice’ To Play Sarah Palin
“I’m imagining it will be a very different tone,” said Tina, whose impression of the former Alaska Governor on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is regarded as comedy gold.

Palin: I'm gritting my teeth for HBO movie
"Well, I am all about job creation, and I guess I could provide some of these gals who pretend like they're me some job security."

Eric Sheffer Stevens lands FOX pilot
Eric Sheffer Stevens (ex-Reid) has been cast on the FOX comedy, I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER alongside Jamie Pressley, according to Deadline.com.

Parker Posey joins ames Gandolfini's HBO film
A slew of actors, including Posey, have joined Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman in the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn.

LUX Hunk Kristoffer Polaha to Play Sarah Michelle Gellar's RINGER Lover
Polaha is bouncing back from LIFE UNEXPECTED's (still unofficial) cancellation with a plum role opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in CBS’ drama pilot RINGER.

Zach Gilford also cast in FOX pilot
ICELAND centers on Mackenzie (Kerry Bische), a 20something woman whose fiance recently passed away. Gilford will play a guy friend of Mackenzie described as "bad influence."

Daytime Ratings Report for the Week of February 28 - March 4, 2011
1. Y&R 4,464,000 (-162,000/-552,000) * <---- new low 2. B&B 2,830,000 (-97,000/-379,000) 3. GH 2,788,000 (-137,000/+206,000) 4. DAYS 2,646,000 (-110,000/-327,000) 5. OLTL 2,391,000 (-142,000/-72,000) 6. AMC 2,249,000 (-256,000/-479,000) "Corrie!" celebrates five decades of CORRIE
Trading its famous cobbles for the boards, "Corrie!" is a brand new play specially commissioned by ITV to celebrate Britain’s much-loved soap opera, CORONATION STREET.

Eddie Cibrian cast in PLAYBOY
SUNSET BEACH alum Eddie Cibrian (ex-Cole; ex-Jesse, CSI: MIAMI) has been hired to play the lead role in the NBC pilot PLAYBOY, replacing Jeff Hephner (Red, HELLCATS), according to TVLine.

Blacks, Hispanics Heaviest Mobile TV Users
Early results of a new Horowitz Associates study show that almost a third of urban consumers (31%) watch TV content via PCs, mobile, over the top devices or other alternative platforms each week and that Hispanic, Black and Asian urban consumers are particularly heavy uses of these platforms.

GREY'S ANATOMY casts Arizona's parents
The ABC series has just cast Judith Ivey (BIG LOVE) and David E. Kelley favorite Denis Arndt (PICKET FENCES) as Barbara and Col. Robbins, parents to Arizona (Jessica Capshaw).

GREY'S Musical Episode to Feature Cast Singing Fray, Snow Patrol
"How to Save a Life," the song that brought an audience to the Fray from its placement in GREY'S ANATOMY, will be treated to a group sing-along in the show's musical episode airing March 31.

Terry O'Quinn To Co-Star In Marc Cherry's ABC Pilot HALLELUJAH
Once again, he will play a mysterious character, but this time, it looks like he is a baddie.

Jules' Daughter Is GH's New Emma!
Robin and Patrick's darling daughter, Emma, will look a little different starting Wednesday, March 23, because GENERAL HOSPITAL has cast a new child in the role. Francesca Cistone will be taking over for twins Jessie and Gianna Salvatierra. If Francesca's surname sounds familiar, that's because her father, Danny Cistone, plays Theo's manservant, Jules!

Highlights From "Give Up Your Shoulds Day"
Highlights from the 3rd Annual Give Up Your 'Shoulds' Day conference held in November 2010.

EASTENDERS dead baby plotline exploited by Facebook scammers
At first glance it may look like a genuine BBC webpage, and you may believe that you are about to watch an exclusive clip of the popular soap opera, but in fact the whole page has been created to dupe you into take an online survey.

NEWS: SKINS, Comcast, Regis, LUX, Bloom, Hennig & JKJ

More DAYS Exits: Shelley Hennig & Jay Kenneth Johnson
Shelley Hennig (Stephanie) and Jay Kenneth Johnson (Philip) have both decided to leave the show. "It just feels right," says Hennig of why she's taking off after four years. "I have been preparing for this for awhile, so I have said my mental good-byes. I will miss the faces I see here every day, but everybody has been really encouraging and has embraced my decision.... I feel like I'm going out with a bang after last week's air shows and I feel great about it creatively and I am thankful to the writers for giving me that. I am thankful for this role that DAYS has given me and will miss playing this character. I am forever thankful for the fans and this wonderful gift that was given to me. It's been a lot of fun to play and I wouldn't change anything." Hennig's last tape date is February 2.

As for Johnson, "It feels perfect," he says. "The story ended and there's a lot of stuff going on out there. I thought about it a lot; it just felt like the right time. I want to thank the fans for continuing to watch and following me from my first stint to the other shows I've done and back to here. I hope they keep an eye on me in the future."

SKINS premiere on MTV attracts 3.3 million
Insiders had their fingers crossed for anything above 3 million, so this number comes as a relief.

NEWS: FNL Returnees, Eric Mabius, Jake Silbermann, 15M For CORRIE

CW Unveils Midseason Schedule, HELLCATS Moves To Tuesdays
The CW today became the latest network to release its mid-season schedule. With only one hole to fill, that of departing sophomore LIFE UNEXPECTED which did not receive a back order. The network is moving freshman drama HELLCATS to LUX's Tuesday 9 p.m. slot behind ONE TREE HILL. The rest of the schedule will remain intact. The majority of the CW’s primetime schedule will return with originals the week of January 24, with the season (and probably series) finale of LUX slated to air in back to back episodes on Jan. 18.

BIG BROTHER's Rachel Reilly Talks Scandal and Soaps
Brendon Villegas, whom she met and fell in love with on BIG BROTHER, sent photos of his naked genitals to a woman he met online. (In an apology video, Villegas claims he was being blackmailed). The incident abruptly ended Reilly's relationship with Villegas. It may also have ended his gig on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Reilly plays a waitress at the show's Bikini Beach restaurant. Villegas had been playing a bartender there, at least until the scandal broke. She was invited back for the January episode. He wasn't.

LIFE UNEXPECTED Not Picked Up Beyond 13 Episodes

Deadline.com is reporting that The CW will not give a full season order for LIFE UNEXPECTED, which means the show will likely air a series finale in January unless ratings suddenly make an "unexpected" turnaround. Despite critical praise, LUX has been the the lowest-rated series on the CW this fall. The network will not make a an official cancellation decision until May.

NEWS: Eileen Davidson, Louise Fletcher, David Zyla, Ageism

Congratulations to Derk Cheetwood on new baby daughter
Tweets Tyler Christopher: "Everyone congratulate Derk on his new daughter that was born today. That's now 23 cousins between our 2 families."

Adds proud father Cheetwwood: "Everything went great mom & child are great. Thanks for all your kind words. God Bless!"

Louise Fletcher to Guest Star on PRIVATE PRACTICE
Louise Fletcher, who played Jack Nicholson's stern caretaker in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, has been cast as Pete's mother, TVGuide.com is reporting. She'll first appear in Episode 9.

Y&R's Eileen Davidson needs sleep
The YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS star is featured in the new CBS Watch magazine. Says Davidson: "I’m pretty useless without sleep. It frightens me to think how many decisions I made on no sleep when my son was an infant. I know a lot of people who exist on four to five hours a night. Insomnia runs in my family, so sleep is my prized possession. I’m obsessed with getting a good night’s sleep."

NEWS: NYC Jobs, Ryan Devlin, B&S, DH, H&V, Salaries, Minka

TV’s Top-Earning Men Earn Nearly Twice As Much As TV’s Top-Earning Women
Primetime’s 10 top-earning men collectively raked in $308 million between June 1, 2009 and June 1, 2010, nearly double the $162 million their female counterparts pulled down during the same period.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE fills the NYC void left by LAW & ORDER hiring 1,200 and spending millions
The acclaimed series hired 1,200 people and poured millions of dollars into local industry coffers while filming in Brooklyn over the past year, Crain's New York Business reported Sunday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hopefully some of the former ATWT and GL crew is getting work on NYC shot series like BOARDWALK and BLUE BLOODS.

NEWS: Susan Lucci, Byrne, Gauthier, Rambin, Fillion, Rowell

Susan Lucci and Her Husband Discuss His Heart Condition (AFib), Stroke Prevention
Helmut Huber: My legs start shaking, I was so terrified. I was healthy as an ox, never had any symptoms, not to mention how there was no history of it in my family.
Susan Lucci: Thank God I was home. My only focus at that moment was to find out what Helmut had. I started calling everyone I knew and was soon led to St. Francis Hospital in Long Island, which not only is 10 minutes from our home, but they had a great team of cardiologists.

Leven Rambin survives car crash
Rambin's friend Tayler Shields: "When Leven text me and said she had been in a car crash I thought it was a fender bender until I was sent this photo! This is serious and when I saw her bruises today I realized how intense it really was!"

PHOTOS: Demise of soaps a boon to Long Lake, New York in the form of "An Adirondack Affair"
"It really is all about downsizing in corporate America," says soap bet Martha Byrne, the award-winning actress who spent more than two decades on AS THE WORLD TURNS. "It involves a lot of different aspects of how the world is changing. Something that's worked for 54 years, why is it gone? What changed, not just in the world and the genre, but what happened behind the scenes to affect those changes?"

NEWS: Jean Passanante on Reid, Kim Zimmer, Barbara Windsor

Former ATWT head writer Jean Passanante on why she killed the character of Reid
Asked how the show settled on this particular ending, Passanante says, “In the back of our minds we thought we'll end the show with a death, a birth, a wedding, a funeral and a retirement. We were sort of trying to encapsulate what happens on a show, in a town, and in life in a short period of time.”

Asked if she’s aware of the backlash from fans, Passanante answers emphatically that she was. “I am aware of it. I was at the Paley Center doing a panel and a couple of people kind of accosted me – this is before it even aired. … The fact that it happened to be a gay guy that died is completely arbitrary and coincidental. I'm a little stunned that there's this attitude that, you know, we can't interrupt a gay romance, as if we haven't done exactly that with straight romances.”

Kim Zimmer on her return to ONE LIFE TO LIVE
"I'm definitely not trying to step on anybody's toes or take anybody's airtime, by any means. And I've been made to feel very welcome. Erika called me three times before I agreed to the role, just to put a little bee in my bonnet about how fun it would be to work together again. She was very terrific and supportive. But I understand the fans. There are people on the show like Ilene Kristen [Roxie] who would love to be working more. I just think it's a sign of the times at OLTL that the producers and writers are looking for ways to shake things up."

NEWS: Susan Olsen to Y&R, Evan Ross, Emma Caufield, FIVE-0

Susan Olsen to guest on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Olsen (aka Cindy Brady) will make her first scripted TV appearance in more than 10 years by playing Mrs. Liza Morton, a pre-school owner. Her episode, which will be shot on July 30, will air Sept. 1. In the scene, Reed – the son of JT and Victoria – is returning to preschool while Delia – the daughter of Chloe and Billy – is starting her first day of pre-school.

Hope in the soap that has Haitians glued to the TV
UNDER THE SKY, Haiti's newest comedy soap opera, focuses on the daily lives of a family of ordinary, middle-class folk who, like 1.5 million of their countrymen, have lived in tents since January's earthquake, which killed 300,000 people and turned much of their capital to rubble.

NEWS: GLEE, Tigelaar, Wand, Taylor Spreitler, Shadows

GLEE returns with a record 13.7 million viewers — nearly double its audience
Fox said that Tuesday's episode of GLEE outperformed the prior season average for the show by 88 percent in total viewers, or 13.7 million people compared to 7.3 million.

Send an SOS for 16 sitcoms and dramas 'on the bubble'
USA TODAY's 13th annual Save Our Shows poll asks you to pick which among 16 television network sitcoms and dramas "on the bubble" between renewal and cancellation are worth preserving.

NEWS: Grimes, Smollett, Aussie Soaps, O'Leary, Ferrera

Camryn Grimes returning to Y&R for a day
Grimes will reprise her role as Y&R's Cassie Newman for one day when Sharon and Nick's late daughter pays another ghostly visit on March 15.

America Ferrera Says Goodbye to UGLY BETTY
“I’m staying in denial for now — I’ll deal with all those emotions in a little bit. I imagine that when we finally wrap it’s not going to be a dry-eyed goodbye.”

Neil Patrick Harris to be a bad guy on GLEE
According to reports, Harris is playing a character who is "really funny and really mean."

Will the CW Renew MELROSE PLACE or LIFE UNEXPECTED?
CW boss Dawn Ostroff says of LIFE UNEXPECTED's renewal chances: "I would say it's got a real shot at this point." As for the struggling Tuesday night soap, she says, "We hope MELROSE PLACE picks up steam."

NEWS: Michael Learned, David Canary, White, Hastings

Don Hastings on the end of ATWT and possible role on OLTL
“We still don’t have a finish date, maybe in July,” he said. Will he miss the show? “It hasn’t hit me yet because I’m still working.” He wants to keep working, too, and joked with Bob Woods about playing a serial killer on his soap, ONE LIFE TO LIVE. “I wouldn’t kill you, though,” joked Hastings. “I like you!”

Maybe This Whole Crusade to Have Betty White Host SNL Isn’t Such a Good Idea After All
New York Magazine's Mark Graham writes: "We love the Internet, we really do. After all, it is the very source of our livelihood! That said, we have learned over the years that if you give the Internet a pixel, it will take a mile."

LIFE UNEXPECTED: A Quiet Freshman Gem on The CW
Ed Martin writes: "Like most of the shows on The CW, LIFE UNEXPECTED is very much a primetime serial full of pretty people neck-deep in drama. But unlike virtually all of the others, this one has an uncommonly ambitious storyline as its foundation and characters with so many layers to them it could take years to peel them all away. The opportunities for rewarding emotional connections are endless."

Michael Learned joining GENERAL HOSPITAL for a short run
Learned is joining the cast of GH for a short-term story arc. The four-time Emmy winner begins taping in mid-March and will appear onscreen in early April. Learned will play Shirley Smith, a cancer patient, who will be involved with Robin (Kimberly McCullough), Patrick (Jason Thompson), Lisa (Brianna Brown) and the rest of the hospital staff.

ALL MY CHILDREN exec producer Julie Hanan Carruthers plots David Canary's exit
Canary will continue shooting AMC into April, then Carruthers will use the recent death of James Mitchell (Palmer) as impetus for Adam to leave town. “Everyone in Pine Valley will be greatly affected by the loss of Palmer, especially Adam,” previews the soap chief. “It will force him to face his own mortality, something that’s very rare for such a Type A personality.”

Lifetime's audience has been shrinking as it aims for younger viewers
ifetime's numerous makeovers have taken a toll: Its prime-time audience has plunged so much that the channel no longer even ranks among the top five favorite cable networks among women under 50, according to Nielsen.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Perhaps the network would have done well with a cable version of GUIDING LIGHT featuring Otalia.

PREVIEW: Tonight's LIFE UNEXPECTED

LIFE UNEXPECTED "Bong Intercepted" Episode 4 - When Lux (Britt Robertson) gets suspended from school, Cate (Shiri Appleby) does her best to convince Principal Dugan (guest star Merrilyn Gann) to give Lux a second chance, but, unfortunately, her efforts may have made the situation considerably worse for Lux. Meanwhile, Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) is insulted when he finds out that Cate and Ryan (Kerr Smith) are hosting a radio station event at the bar across the street. Austin Basis also stars. Jeff Melman directed the episode written by Emily Whitesell.

PREVIEW: Tonight's LIFE UNEXPECTED

LIFE UNEXPECTED "Rent Uncollected" Episode 3 - When Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) tells his parents (guest stars Robin Thomas and Susan Hogan) about Lux (Britt Robertson), they insist on planning a dinner at which they can meet their granddaughter and Cate (Shiri Appleby). Cate reluctantly agrees to go to the dinner and is further annoyed when her overbearing mother (guest star Cynthia Stevenson) and neurotic sister (guest star Alex Breckenridge) show up unexpectedly. Meanwhile, when Cate (Shiri Appleby) hears about a gang fight at Lux's school, she immediately decides to have Lux transferred to her and Baze's (Kristoffer Polaha) alma mater, Westmonte. Kerr Smith and Austin Basis also star. Executive producer Gary Fleder directed the episode written by executive producer Liz Tigelaar.

PREVIEW: Tonight's LIFE UNEXPECTED

Cate (Shiri Appleby) and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) are paid a visit by a social worker whose job it is to evaluate both of them and determine if they are fit parents on tonight's all new episode of LIFE UNEXPECTED.

Lux (Britt Robertson) is torn when her boyfriend, Bug (guest star Rafi Gavron), and best friend, Natasha (guest star Ksenia Solo), suggest that Cate and Baze may not be in it for the long haul and that Lux should return to her old life and the people who love her most of all.

NEWS: DAYS Books, Mark Pinter, Wireless TV, Leno

Sourcebooks to Launch DAYS OF OUR LIVES Book Line
DAYS OF OUR LIVES has inked a publishing partnership with Sourcebooks to do a line of branded titles. The deal, brokered by agent Jeff Herman and done in conjunction with Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Consumer Products, will produce nonfiction and fiction titles, from novels featuring the cast to historical "behind the scenes" accounts of the show itself.

Days of Our Lives Publications will launch with the May 2010 title, by Corday, "The Days of Our Lives: The Untold Story of One Family's Deam and the True History of The Days of Our Lives." Sourcebooks calls the title "an insider memoir" about the family behind the soap, adding that it will show fans "the true stories that drive the fictional ones they love on TV." Sourcebooks is also planning a coffee table-style illustrated book to celebrate the show's 45th anniversary for release in the fall, as well as a number of novels based on DAYS characters.

Pinter back to GENERAL HOSPITAL
Mark Pinter (ex-Roger, AMC; ex-Grant, AW, et al) returns to Port Charles as Federal Agent Thomas Rayner on Tuesday, January 26.

BUPPIES Nabs 13 Indie Soap Award Nominations!
"I'm truly over the moon about the nominations. Our amazing cast and crew went above and beyond to make Buppies happen and it means so much to have that recognized," says Buppies creator Julian Breece to Daytime Confidential.

Is Leno's 10 p.m. show getting the axe?
Jay Leno is going back to his 11:30 PM time slot, and it's looking like Conan O'Brien is the odd man out ... sources tell TMZ.

CES2010: Haier shows off TV demo that has wireless electricity
Chinese manufacturer Haier is showing off a 32-inch TV set at CES that is running completely wireless. The video is provided by a DVD player using Wireless HDMI, which is something a lot of manufacturers also offer. But the big trick is that Haier is also powering the TV sans electrical wires.

CW previewing LIFE UNEXPECTED online
The CW will put the first 10 minutes of its new drama LIFE UNEXPECTED online a week before its linear debut. Starting Jan. 11, the network is putting an extended preview across all official CW fan pages.