NEWS: Lisa LoCicero, Drake, Jeff Kwatinetz, Terrence Evans, Rick Springfield, Kathy Brier

Lisa LoCicero back on-screen at General Hospital next week
LoCicero will be back on-screen as GH's Olivia next week, after a maternity leave that the actress, who gave birth to daughter Verity on May 30, says "flew by." LoCicero tells Soap Opera Digest she doesn't know much about the show's storyline intentions for Liv, but acknowledges, "The writers really got hit with a double whammy in terms of this storyline. You’ve got a burgeoning romance, one of them gets knocked up and the other one [Wally Kurth, ex-Ned; Justin, DAYS] leaves unexpectedly [laughs]! It’s kind of like, ‘Uh, good luck coming up with something smooth for this!’ "

Drake reunites with his former Degrassi co-stars
Before being known as Drake, Aubrey Graham made a name for himself as a Canadian actor starring on Degrassi: The Next Generation. The rapper played Jimmy Brooks on the series, a basketball player who ended up in a wheelchair after a school shooting left him paralyzed.

Drake met up with a trio of his former costars on Wednesday night at the Toronto screening of the new series "We Are Disorderly." At the event, he was seen taking photos with Daniel Clark (Sean Cameron), Adam Ruggiero (Maro Del Rossi) and Lauren Collins (Paige Michalchuk).

Stage and Screen Actor Terrence Evans Has Died at 81
Evans appeared as Irwin Stubbs on Days of our Lives for 14 episodes in 1989. His other credits included Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager and Terminator 2.

Rick Springfield on What It’s Like to Jam with Meryl Streep
The General Hospital alum has a co-starring role opposite Meryl Streep in the new Jonathan Demme film, Ricki and the Flash, in which Streep plays the lead singer of a Southern California bar band who returns to Indiana to make peace with the ex-husband and three children she left to pursue—not very successfully—her muse.

"She brought that character to life" Springfield says of Streep. "It had nothing to do with [musical technique]—I mean it mattered that it looked like she could really play the guitar. But what really sells it to me is that she was incredibly brave and that she was that character. She’s not Meryl Streep when she sings."

Empire Creator Confirms Young Cookie Spinoff Plans: 'There's Ripe Story'
“There is going to be a spinoff from Empire, without question,” he said. “There’s so much ripe story that we’ve talked about already— about Cookie’s family, what makes her her. That in itself is fascinating to me.”

Patrick Duffy and Anne Archer have joined the cast of Will Wallace’s directorial debut Trafficked
The stars join previously announced cast members Kelly Washington, Ashley Judd, Jessica Obilom and Efren Ramirez.

One Life to Live alum Kathy Brier starring in "Gypsy" on Staten Island
The show opened last night at the Harbor Lights Theater Company, and runs two weekends through August 16th in an exciting new partnership with the historic St. George Theater in Staten Island.

Brier, who played Marcie on OLTL, stars as Electra.

Jeff Kwatinetz to telaunch The Firm management and production company
Kwatinetz is bringing back The Firm, almost seven years after the management and production company folded following his exit as CEO. Kwatinetz, who went on to launch Prospect Park with ex-Walt Disney Studios president Richard Frank, will be relaunching The Firm, which he originally established nearly two decades ago.

Netflix renews Sense8
August 8 is the birthday of all eight lead characters, so Netflix picked today to announce that Sense8 will be “reborn" for a second season.

NEWS: Gina Tognoni, Jason George, Taraji P. Henson, Robert Newman, Tristan Rogers, Shayne Ward

'The Young and the Restless' star Gina Tognoni appears at WLKY's Women's Living Expo
"This weekend we're giving to the local chapter here in Kentucky. So come on out, buy a pair of shoes and we'll be able to help the women here locally,” Tognoni said.

'The Young and the Restless' actor Tristan Rogers on moving to Palm Springs
“My wife, Teresa, and I didn’t want to raise our newborn daughter, Sara, in LA, so we moved here in 1993,” Tristan, 68, shares with Closer. “It’s a little safer and it’s easier to make friends.” A few years after settling into their new home, Tristan and his family moved again — to this spectacular four-bedroom, four-bath ranch house.

Shayne Ward addresses Coronation Street 'crisis' rumors
Following rumors that the soap is in trouble, Shayne told The Sun: "Shows need refreshing. It's all about new characters. "If you're being charming and cheeky, like Aidan, then people will like you. He has great family values. We're similar in that he's grown up on an estate and is half-Irish."

Ward will debut on Corrie in August as Aidan Connor, the cousin of Kym Marsh's character Michelle.

'Grey's Anatomy' Promotes Jason George to Series Regular
The Sunset Beach alum made his debut as Dr. Ben Warren on Grey's Anatomy in season six, playing a love interest for Bailey (Chandra Wilson). The two married in season nine. The actor has recently been splitting his time between Grey's Anatomy and another ABC drama, Mistresses, which returns for season three this month.

'Friday Night Lights': Adrianne Palicki Thinks Tyra Would Have Married Tim Riggins and 'Literally Become' Tami Taylor
"I think that she's literally become Tami Taylor," Palicki told People on Thursday at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas. "I think she's a counselor at some really awesome school, maybe a university somewhere, maybe married to Tim Riggins. And he's a coach of some football team, and they're literally like the reincarnation of [Tami and Eric]."

Taraji P. Henson was cast as Cookie on 'Empire' about 30 seconds into her audition
“About 30 seconds into Taraji being Cookie, Lee [Daniels] whispered to me, ‘She’s Cookie right?’” Danny Strong said, and noted he told Daniels that he agreed. “Then [Lee said to Henson]: ‘All right bitch, you got the part.’”

'Guiding Light' alum Robert Newman to star on "Love Letters" at the Barn Theatre
Newman (Josh Lewis on Guiding Light) returns to The Barn Theatre to star opposite Penelope Alex in "Love Letters," the Broadway hit about a couple who meet in second grade and communicate through letters and postcards for more than 50 years. Brendan Ragotzy directs. "Love Letters" runs June 9-June 14.

'Gilmore Girls' reunion is helping a little Texas TV festival become a big deal
Austin has become the psuedo home to the TV industry this weekend as the ATX TV Festival returns to the city for its 4th year — or "season," as they call it.

‘8’ Is Enough: The Wachowskis’ New Netflix Drama Is Gloriously, Terribly Insane
Created by the Wachowskis along with Babylon 5’s J. Michael Straczynski, Sense8 is a gargantuan feat of both creativity and capitalism: Its narrative spans eight cities and its production budget permitted travel to all of them.

Mexican soap operas build cultural bridge with China
Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa once said:" Culture has done for Latin America what politics and economics have failed to achieve: integration."

The cultural bridge that has connected the two regions via the small screen has been in place since at least the 1980s, following the production of The Rich Also Cry (Los ricos tambien lloran), a Mexican soap opera that was an enormous hit in China.

The Tony Awards Broadcast: Broadway’s Chance to Woo America
The annual Tony Awards broadcast is, of course, about honoring the best of a theatrical season. But there is more than one way to win the night: For producers, the real battle is over wooing ticket-buyers, and the broadcast’s musical numbers are seen as the single most important way to do that.

'Crossroads' star Terence Rigby's life story revealed in new book by former 'EastEnders' scriptwriter
“I decided to write the book from my point of view so it’s partly my memoir, too,” says Juliet Ace, who met Rigby when he was in the chorus of Pickwick in the West End.

The Instant Media Phenomenon That is Caitlyn Jenner
The Bold and the Beautiful "continues to inform, enlighten and entertain. Rick, for years a romantic cad and a veteran of many failed relationships, surprisingly responded to Maya’s revelation by admitting that he, too, had not been fully open and honest in his adult life about deeply personal matters -- and by further committing himself to her."