Webby Winners Announced: Riegel People's Choice

The 13th annual Webbys were announced Tuesday. Every category has two winners: one picked by the Webbys and the other chosen by online voting.

In the Online Film & Video categories, Eden Riegel was the online voting winner for "Best Individual Performance" for IMAGINARY BITCHES. Green Porno was the Webby choice.

LIFE IN GENERAL did not win the "Drama: Individual Episode" award.

Webby Nominations Announced

The nominations for the Webby Awards, the annual extravaganza of accolades for just about anything connected to the Internet, have been announced. Leading the pack of nominees for the 13th annual Webbys are The New York Times' nytimes.com with 13 nominations, NBC.com with 12, and The Onion with 8.

Soaps were reprsented in the list of nominees.

UGLY BETTY presents: Mode After Hours was nominated in the Best Writing category. Andrew Miller's IMAGINARY BITCHES starring Eden Riegel received a nomination for Best Invidual Performance. LIFE IN GENERAL/GREENVILLE GENERAL was nominated for best Drama: Invidual Episode.

A complete list of nominees can be found at webbyawards.com.

As always, Webby winners are limited to five words for acceptance speeches. Last year, when late-night comedian Stephen Colbert accepted his award for "Person of the Year," his chosen five words were, "Me, me, me, me, me!"

In 2008, there were separate awards shows for the Webby Awards proper and the Film & Video offshoot. This year, perhaps because of budget cuts, both sets of awards will be presented at the same show on June 8, in conjunction with Internet Week New York.

News Round-up

UGLY BETTY's America Ferrera to host a conversation with Hillary Clinton
Ferrera has agreed to help Hillary Clinton retire her campaign debt before a federal law prevents Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of State from being personally involved in raising funds.

Michael Fairman covers LIFE IN GENERAL
Fairman interviews creator Karen Harris, along with stars Brynn Thayer and Robert Desiderio.

GREY'S ANATOMY: Gone too far?
Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times writes: "For a minute there it looked like GREY'S ANATOMY had chosen medicine over soap, character-driven drama over silliness. When this season opened with the Chief kicking butt and taking names because Seattle Grace had lost its prestigious rating, it looked like the writers room was calling itself on its own occasional lapses into absurdity and was attempting to find footing once again in the land of grown-up television. For a minute there, it seemed like everything would be just fine. Now, of course, even the most dedicated "Grey's" fan has had her (there cannot be a single male fan left, can there?) faith rattled to the point of simple bone weariness.

GREY'S create ghost story as an Emmy vehicle for Katherine Heigl
According to Michael Ausiello, who reveals the twist in the Izzie/Denny ghost storyline, Shonda Rhimes "didn't cook up this story in order to grant Katherine Heigl's alleged wish to be let go from the show. Rather, the boss wanted to give her employee the thing she allegedly wanted, the thing that eluded her last season: great, Emmy-worthy material."

SARA A. BIBEL: How To Cut A Budget
"Daytime's economic downturn began in the mid-1990s. These latest budget cuts mean we are now in a Daytime Depression. The crisis has spread from DOOL to the ABC and CBS shows. I'm astonished at how much mainstream coverage this is getting. Variety singled out daytime in an article on the impact of the recession on the television industry. Fans have understandably focused on departures and salary cuts of favorite actors. As someone who has worked behind the scenes, I want to explore how the budget cuts impact shows as a whole."

Drama teacher (and former soap actress) charged with sexual assault
A drama teacher at Old Bridge High School in New Jersey, charged with having sex with a male student, was due to be released from jail Friday night after making bail. Lisa Glide, 35, of Howell, who is charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, posted the $100,000 bail set Friday at Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick. Glide majored in theater at Montclair State University, studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York and received a master's degree from New York University, according to a December 2005 story in the Suburban weekly newspaper. Glide told the newspaper she appeared on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ALL MY CHILDREN and DAWSON'S CREEK.

47-year-old Heather Locklear is Flirting with Forty on Lifetime
Heather Locklear gets all May-December with LIPSTICK JUNGLE's Robert Buckley in Flirting with Forty Saturday night.

Tiffany to appear on Y&R
Singer Tiffany, who rose to success in the late '80s as a teen pop star ("I Think We're Alone Now"), will appear on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS as a Christmas caroler on December 22.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: ALL MY CHILDREN's Peter White
"I started on the show around 1974," White recalls of his early days on AMC. "When Eileen [Herlie] came on and we all realized we were going to have our storylines together…forgive me for saying this, but that's when soaps — [including] ALL MY CHILDREN — were really good." White has many fond memories of his co-star. "Eileen just sort of fit in. Eileen, Francesca (James; ex-Kitty) and I, we connected royally. I remember talking to Agnes Nixon (the show's creator), and she said, 'I have to write a storyline about you guys, because you all get along so well!' That was sort of it; we just became instant family and have been ever since, which is great."

NBC dumps 2 top execs, spares Ben Silverman
Katherine Pope, president of Universal Studio Media, and Teri Weinberg, the executive vice president of NBC Entertainment, are taking the fall for NBC's woeful programming.

FNL's Kitsch in Canada
That the man who makes even Hugh Jackman a little antsy about his looks was at Amber in Yorkville last Friday. The FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS hunk and good Alberta boy Taylor Kitsch was spotted there after the Gemini Awards.

The manly work of art only has a few months of relative serenity left, they say, because he has a breakout role in Hugh's big Wolverine movie, out next year. Indeed, at a recent press thing for the film, there was more fan frenzy for Taylor than Hugh, which caused People's Sexiest Man to quip that he was a little "jealous" of the Canadian.

INTERVIEW: Marlena De Lacroix, Damon Jacobs and Patrick Erwin
Marlena and her MarlenaDeLacroix.com contributors appeared on "In The Zone" radio last night.

News Brief

ESPN's Matthew Berry on his OLTL guest appearance as Neil, the jewelry appraiser
"[Being on a soap] is both infinitely easier and much, much harder than what I do on a normal day. The easy part: You get a script a week before. You don't have to write, you don't have to research, nothing. It's all just handed to you. Everything I do at ESPN, I write and "perform" myself. We have so many platforms, I always feel as if I am rushing from one set to another, from one studio to a computer for a column or chat, back to shoot something, then off to another place for radio or a podcast. I'm always in motion. That's the nature of sports, of course. News and analysis is always changing, and in fantasy, player value fluctuates more than my dating life.

But at OLTL (that's what us insiders call it) everything is at a very relaxed pace. You show up, you go through a relaxed rehearsal with the director and other cast members, you take a long lunch, you go to makeup, you hit the set. It's all very professional and civilized. If you screw up, there's almost no chance that Larry Johnson decides to run for almost 200 yards and score two touchdowns so that everyone can then call you out on it, often with correctly spelled words.

So it's, like, super easy. Except, of course, that it's super hard. On ESPN, all I have to do is 'be myself.' Even I can't totally screw that up. But acting is, well, acting. Like being someone else. While not appearing as if you are trying to be someone else. You have to be natural and conversational, with every eye in the joint focused squarely on you. It's like an awkward first date and you're wearing makeup.

I was constantly trying to figure out what to do with my hands. And desperately trying to remember my lines. While appearing to be listening to what other actors were saying. And not look like a complete tool. And then say my words naturally. And then remember where to walk to and what camera I was supposed to be on without actually looking at the camera. And then remember my next line. The whole thing was a blur. A total blast, but a blur. My co-stars, Christopher Cousins (who plays Cain), Andrea Evans (Tina Lord) and Tallulah Bean (David Vickers, the dog) were unbelievably patient and kind with me. The entire crew was great. I'm convinced I'm a terrible actor, but we'll see what America thinks. Regardless, it was a very cool experience to get out of my comfort zone and play someone else. And not an Adrian Peterson in sight."

CADY MCCLAIN: Vote for Obama + Halloween pics
"He brings HOPE as a important humanistic idea to the forefront of our minds, which is an admirable quality as a leader. I have never seen him lose his temper, which can’t be said of McCain. He has a great smile- seems like a decent guy with a really smart and levelheaded wife, who will no doubt give him moral support in office. It’s like a 'good' or 'healthy' revolution. Where we can finally bring to fruition all the POSITIVE ideals that were born 40 or so years ago!"

Five types of voters supporting California's anti-gay Proposition 8
The "Nuke" Voter. Named for The American Family Association and others who protested when AS THE WORLD TURNS added a gay character fearing their presence would lead to adultery, sex outside of marriage, divorce, lying, amnesia and hot shirtless men on television.

Brooke Smith's GREY'S ANATOMY ouster is not right and not okay
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak writes: "Here's hoping it won't take long for a rival network to get smart and sign you to a holding deal right away. I hear the folks at Fox actually have a thing for fiercely intelligent, highly capable, decidedly un-cuddly doctors. Give 'em a call!"

REVIEW: StrikeTV's LIFE IN GENERAL
Jonathan Hludzinski at Tubefilter writes: "There’s great production value from the costumes to the camera work to the sets. It’s clear that Ms. Harris has a lot at her disposal here and uses it to her full advantage. However, great production value does not a great show make. It’s just a pilot, so maybe things will get better, but the acting is slightly over the top (either an actor or director problem – I’m suspecting a little of both). The story, well, it’s serialized, like a soap, so there are a lot of starts, but I’m not yet invested in any of the characters to care about any of the stories. And the music gives the impression that it’s supposed to be funny, but it’s just not happening.

My suggestion to Harris and crew is this: ten minutes is too long, cut at least two or three minutes, focus on one story, let it begin, middle and end, and PLEASE give Jo Beth Williams more screen time (she plays the show’s exec producer and she’s the best thing in it). There are a lot of good elements here, but unfortunately, until they’re put together right, LIFE IN GENERAL will be a general mess."

Cherry Valley resident, Erin Sanders, a rising TV star
It all started with a box of Girl Scout cookies. When Cherry Valley resident Erin Sanders was 9 years old, she spent one day going door to door at her grandmother's apartment building in Encino selling cookies. At one of the apartments, Erin rattled off an impressive spiel of cookie names and descriptions. The resident happened to have a friend with a talent agency and he gave Erin and her mother a business card.

Although Erin is enjoying her current work on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, she does miss the friends she made working on ZOEY 101 and, she misses her character, Quinn.

"After being one character for four years, it's sad not doing that anymore," she said. "It became a whole persona. We were like family," Erin said of her ZOEY 101 co-workers. "But we still see each other as much as we can."

The Latest in Soap Videos

Here are some of the latest soap additions from around the web.

WALK AWAY BITCH: Janet tells Carly what she really thinks in a preview of Monday's AS THE WORLD TURNS.

SCRUBS: On Friday's episode of GENERAL HOSPITAL, there's a chance the umbilical cord of Robin's baby may be wrapped around its neck.

LIFE IN GENERAL: Courtney is missing, Rod is screwing Maddie, Rachel just found out that her husband cheated on her, and Raymond may have suffered a fatal heart attack.

GREENVILLE GENERAL: Episode #1 of the show LIFE IS GENERAL is based on.

STRIKE TV Officially Launches Today

The beta version of Strike TV has been available to some for a while now, but the complete website is open to everyone (the "hard launch") as of today.

Check out Karen Harris' LIFE IN GENERAL, which is a behind the scenes look at the soap GREENVILLE GENERAL, where Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS) stars as the harried head writer and John Ingle (Edward, GH) plays the show's creator.

I gave the debut episode a B+ when I watched it back in August.

REVIEW: LIFE IN GENERAL

I just watched the first episode of the new Karen Harris online soap, LIFE IN GENERAL, on the beta version of StrikeTV.

LIFE IN GENERAL is described as "a look at the creative process, the politics of network television, the office romances, the backstabbing, lying, deceit and depravity that can only be found on and off the set of a soap opera. These actors, writers, producers and crew members eat, breathe, and sleep Greenville General, the 2nd longest running Daytime Drama on U.S. TV. It's a world as outrageous, compelling, energetic, chaotic, and heartbreaking as the show they put on the air five days a week, 52 weeks a year."

I thought it was an excellent first effort. I wasn't blown away and I didn't feel there was anything groundbreaking here, but to be honest, it was instantly more entertaining than anything I'm seeing on my television screen this summer. And even though it's not an original concept, with all the backstage drama in daytime lately, now is the perfect time for a show that deals with the behind the scenes angst of putting on a daily soap.

Arianne Zuker was a delight as Winifred, the 'Greenville General' writer, who is unhappy her stories are being rewritten. The first episode really focused on her character and she owned it. John Ingle was excellent as show runner, Raymond. Scott Clifton was charming in his appearances as Fritz, who seems to be the Assistant Director.

The Doogie Howser-esque opening was a bit cheesey but it fit.

I was hoping to see something more interesting from JoBeth Williams' Mary Kate, Brynn Thayer's Rachel and Robert Desiderio's Brian. Of the three, Desiderio's character, the "star" of 'Greenville General,' was the most intriguing. I'm hopeful good things are in store for all three.

The show was just under ten minutes and the time flew by. It left me wanting more, which is a good thing. I felt there was a lack of depth for most of the characters that I hope will be revealed in future episodes. So far, the characters are portrayed as a bit one-dimensional.

Congratulations to Karen Harris on a good first effort. Future episodes and making the audience care about the characters will be key to the long-term success of the project.

GRADE: B+

News Brief

Deep Soap: Daytime Continues To Chew Off Its Own Leg
Sara A. Bibel blogs: "Another weekend, another set of shocking behind-the-scenes events. Just as Jossip-gate faded, Firing Friday began. The news trickled out. First Daytime Confidential broke the story that Ed Scott was out as Days of Our Lives Executive Producer. Then, Sunday night TV Guide Canada’s Nelson Branco revealed that The Young & The Restless’s Executive Producer Josh Griffith was also let go Friday. Scott’s replacement is Gary Tomlin, a veteran EP whose credits include SUNSET BEACH and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Y&R has not yet named a new Executive Producer. Both men were allegedly fired for the same reason: rewriting scripts without the headwriters knowledge or permission. Writers from each show separately complained to the writers’ guild, which responded by issuing cease and desist letters to the producers. Both shows are produced by Sony. It seems like the studio was wary of possible legal action and decided to make a pre-emptive strike."

Trevor St. John issues an apology for "gang rape" comment at OLTL luncheon
OLTL's Trevor St. John (Todd) has issued an apology for saying "I'm all for gang rape" at the annual ONE LIFE TO LIVE fan club luncheon.

"I regret the way I responded to the question about the upcoming Todd and Marty storyline. It was meant in jest and I should know better than to ever try and make a joke about such a serious subject. I intended no disrepect and apologize to anyone I offended." --Trevor St. John

Hinsey Won't Be replaced at 'Weekly'; Leahey Assumes Control
Per Nelson Branco, via Daytime Confidential: Editorial director of Soap Opera Digest and its sister publication Soap Opera Weekly, Carolyn Hinsey won't be replaced. Lynn Leahey will be assuming control of the SOW, while Stephanie Sloane continues as editor at SOD.

New website for SOW and SOD
Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly are launching a brand new homepage tomorrow, August 19. It will "feature more of what you love — breaking news, spoilers, quizzes, videos and more — with easier navigation and better visuals."

Ex-OLTL star Laurence joins CSI cast
After weeks of negotiations, Fishburne has finally agreed to join the "CSI" cast, making his first appearance in Episode 9. Here's what CBS has to say of Fishburne's role: "Fishburne will play a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics. His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence -- tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself. In the course of a murder investigation, he comes into contact with the CSI team and ultimately joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Level-1 CSI." sort of in this journey and -- and to discover who his true character will ultimately become."

Fishburne never watched CSI
But Fishburne says he's a "CSI" fan now that he's joining the cast. "To be perfectly frank, when we met here in New York I felt a little stupid an embarrassed that I hadn't watched the show prior to meeting them, but the episodes they sent me were really engaging, and really wonderful and dark and moody, like the work I've been involved in," he said today. "I was like oooooh, wow...this'll work." As for his character, details remain sketchy -- "CSI" producers deny he'll have the DNA of a serial killer. Fishburne says he'll be known on set as "the professor...he's a fresh set of eyes."

PATRICK ERWIN: Bad apples redux
"...there are several writers and/or producers whose stories have NOT been popular. Their creative efforts have shown a fundamental lack of understanding as to what soaps are about. They exhibit a complete disconnect to what the audience wants to see. And they have been fired, early and often. But they keep being rehired. Again, and again, and again."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the comments, Patrick. My personal dream is to see Tom Casiello as headwriter for ATWT, with Martha Byrne as Executive Producer.

AUDIO: Interview with LIFE IN GENERAL producer/writer Karen Harris
Luke Kerr and Jamey Giddens interview GH writer and LIFE IN GENERAL producer/writer Karen Harrison on the latest "Daytime Confidential" podcast.

"I'm going to make 'Greenville General' its own show so you can see behind the scenes, and then you can what the fuss is all about."

Peter Bartlett to star in "What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling"
Peter Bartlett (Nigel, OLTL) will join David Pittu in "What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling," a comedy with music, to run at the Atlantic Theatre Stage II, September 2-28, with an opening set for September 10. The show features a book by Pittu, who will co-direct with Neil Pepe, and a score by Randy Redd. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Evening News

Deep Soap: All The Drama Your Computer Can Handle
"At the risk of sounding serving, right now the real action in daytime is happening on-line. That’s where all the behind-the-scenes drama is revealed. That’s where viewers can watch classic soap episodes. The internet is also filled with original soap content. GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT features weekly webisodes about the characters of Claire and Kyle. Last year, NBC experimented with an original on-line soap COASTAL DREAMS, written by current DAYS OF OUR LIVES co-headwriter Rick Draughon. Josh Griffith wrote an on-line miniseries for CBS.com, L.A. DIARIES about the adventures of The Young & The Restless’s Amber (Adrienne Frantz) and As The World Turns Alison (Marnie Schulenburg) in Los Angeles. Now, daytime veterans are producing their own series for the net. All My Children alumna Eden Riegel stars in the on-line hit IMAGINARY BITCHES. Next week GENERAL HOSPITAL writer Karen Harris is launching LIFE IN GENERAL, an original series about a fictional soap opera."

INTERVIEW: One-on-One with Corbin Bernsen
"I like the fact that I continue to work. I don't think I'm ever fulfilled. I'm an artist and I don't think the canvas will ever be finished. It's always sort of a search. Every actor, and I don't care how big they are, we all worry about what the next thing is going to be. Not so much for a paycheck, I mean if you make $20 million for a picture you should be able to figure that much out. But there's this ego connection, and not in a bad way. It's what drives us to do these things and that's never really satisfied. So a more fulfilling career? I don't know. But it's led to a more full career."

Soap Stars in the "Photo File"
Theater Mania put up some photos from the past week which include ATWT's Billy Magnussen's opening night in "Paper Dolls" and ONE LIFE TO LIVE star Jason Tam looking very western.

ATWT's Lauretta Vaughn in "Street Lights For Obama"
Street Lights For Obama, a one-night-only benefit concert of Joe Drymala's new hip-hop/pop musical Street Lights, will premier this Sunday, August 17th at 8pm at The Zipper Factory. Lauretta Vaughn, of CBS' AS THE WORLD TURNS joins the company along with Lelund Derond Thompson, Jasmine Torres, Jason Michael Miller, Jhon Christopher, Jose Luis Trujillo, Ebony Hood, and Markita Prescott.

RICK SPRINGFIELD: He's still a working class dog
"Springfield still retains his dreamy good looks even as he approaches an age where many of his peers are addressed as Grandpa."

A Martinez and Hector Luis Bustamante team up for poignant story
A Martinez and Hector Luis Bustamante, stars of the Lifetime Movie Network film Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story, came to acting in different ways.

Martinez was drawn to acting for the company he would keep.

"I became an actor for the least noble of reasons," Martinez says during a party at the Beverly Hilton. "I wanted to be around the girls I met doing plays. When I was in high school, I noticed the females who were doing plays were the most interesting, the most accessible and fun of any females I had ever been around."

More from LIFE IN GENERAL's Karen Harris

Karen Harris, the Writer, Creator and Executive Producer of the upcoming online soap, LIFE IN GENERAL, has blogged about the project.

"LIFE IN GENERAL' had first reared its head in the early 1990’s. I’d done my first tour of duty as a scriptwriter on GENERAL HOSPITAL. (P.S., the fact that both General Hospital and Greenville General both revolve around a hospital is the only thing they have in common). This was new territory to me. I’d spent fifteen years as a writer and producer of prime time shows, mostly action-adventure like The Incredible Hulk, and Knight Rider, Street Hawk, and a bunch of shows no one’s heard of. I did pilots for Universal and Aaron Spelling, and movies of the week for Fox. But my bread-and-butter shows were taking a break, comedy was king, and when a friend asked me to write GENERAL HOSPITAL, I took the leap.

The feature film, Soap Dish had come out, and I thought it was terrific. Then I discovered that the real behind-the-scenes was funnier, dirtier, sexier and way more dangerous. I wanted to do something realistic about the goings on at a Daytime Drama. I actually pitched it around – the story of the people who work on the second longest running serialized drama on US television…the beloved Greenville General. And Life in General was such a perfect title. But it was hard to get anyone to bite. Behind-the-scenes stories of movies and television series were considered a bad bet. So the concept got tucked away in my drawer. Besides, I was getting myself a helluva daytime education from the brilliant Claire Labine, and adjusting to the transition from a primetime career as a writer/producer/show runner to being a full blown, full-time Daytime writer. A few years later, after a year as co-head writer on GH, with the very talented Robert Guza, I went back to more traditional syndicated hour television. I was also pitching my own shows – and Life in General came back out of the drawer. I rewrote the concept, incorporating some of my more recent experiences and relationships. Still no sale. I couldn’t seem to get the real heart of it across. So I decided to write the script. Maybe that would better sell it. I wrote the Teaser and the beginning of Act I. 12 pages that I loved.

But the work was interrupted in 1999, when I went back to Daytime as a Headwriter on PORT CHARLES. This led to more Daytime, more syndication, then a year on ALL MY CHILDREN, then 3 years back on GENERAL HOSPITAL, which felt like coming home. I’d settlee into a very comfortable routine – perhaps too comfortable. And then, the Strike.

I’m not kidding, when I heard about Strike.TV at this meeting, I leaned over to some of my GH colleagues and said 'Want to do a show?' They looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. I had. They had other things on their minds, but I knew what I had to do. I went home and pulled out the concept of LIFE IN GENERAL. It was still really fun. But I knew I had to do something to make this special for the internet. Something different, and unexpected. And it was obvious – tell the story of Life in General, and then follow it with episodes of the show they all work on…Greenville General.

Maybe that’s what it always needed. It suddenly took on a whole other personality. I polished up the teaser (which is now the entire pilot episode) and I wrote the soap scenes. I found a way to make the two thematic – to see the headwriter, Winnie, go through her day, and to see how what she experiences informs what she writes. And how what she writes translates to a daytime drama. In a perfect world, both elements of this concept will find a following. You don’t have to watch one to appreciate the other – if you’re a big soap fan, I hope we’ll create a show in Greenville General that will be must-see. I hope that LIFE IN GENERAL provides insight and humor, and real drama to the sometimes silly lives we lead. Both shows will have classic elements, of love, betrayal, envy, and obsession. Each feeds the other. I hope they’re both entertaining. And I hope that Greenville General will better introduce the world of Daytime Dramas, a world I have come to love, to people who think they wouldn’t be caught dead watching a soap opera.

I’m going to save some inside chatter for next time, but here’s a few tidbits. People who follow serialized dramas want to know if these characters are based on real people. Of course they are. Just like Winnie writes from her own experiences, so do I. But not in the way you may think. Winnie Marshall isn’t me. I’m not a ‘creamy skinned, willowy blonde with a trace of an Atlanta accent’ except maybe in my fantasies. But Winnie has my feelings, and my fears, and some of my experiences. I’ve never met Doug Marland or Agnes Nixon, but Greenville General’s creator, Raymond Kennedy, represents, in my mind, these icons of the world of Daytime Television. The executive producer of Greenville General, Mary Kate Walton, is not based on any one executive producer I’ve worked with. She is, in fact, based on every one of them. And some supervising producers, and a couple of directors I’ve worked with. As we move forward, these characters will become more well-rounded, familiar, and human. And I also plan to explore the changing world of Daytime in today’s entertainment landscape.

As for the making of this show -- I hadn’t produced a television show in a very long time. In Daytime Dramas producers and writers barely even intersect. But this was like riding a bicycle – all my instincts kicked in, and I knew what I had to do. Gather the best group of people around me that I could. Work with actors I love. Find crew who could be passionate about what we were creating. And make it good enough that we could do it again, and again, and again. With any luck, what you see on Strike.TV is just an introduction to what can become an ongoing series. I, personally, would love nothing more than to do it again.

LIFE IN GENERAL became one of the most joyful collaborations of my career. It would be my lifeline at a time when my world and my future, like all of ours, were uncertain. We had been given a truckload of lemons, but damn it, I would make lemonade.

LIFE IN GENERAL was an idea simply waiting to be born. I thank all who helped birth this baby. And I honor the work, commitment and talent of a great group of human beings in the cast, crew, and at Strike.tv for figuring out how to make dreams come true."

New Online Soap LIFE IN GENERAL

Karen Harris of GENERAL HOSPITAL fame is writing a new online soap called LIFE IN GENERAL. The show will air on Strike.TV, an online network featuring original content, and premiere in a beta launch August 18th (followed shortly by an official launch).

In the meantime, check out a behind the scenes mini-documentary on the site that will give you a taste of what the show is about.

STRIKE.TV behind-the-scenes: LIFE IN GENERAL from StrikeTV on Vimeo.