NEWS ROUNDUP: Meredith Baxter Gets SWITCHED, Demi Moore Files For Divorce, GLEE's Adele Cover #1

Meredith Baxter to Guest Star on SWITCHED AT BIRTH
Baxter will play Bonnie Tamblyn Dixon, the mother to Lea Thompson's character Kathryn and biological grandmother to Daphne (Katie LeClerc). Sparks fly and tension arises when she arrives for a family visit.

Demi Moore Filing for Divorce From Ashton Kutcher
The former GENERAL HOSPITAL actress said in a statement, "It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton."

17th Annual Out100 Revealed: Chad Hodge, Geri Jewell

Out Magazine has revealed their annual Out100 list today. The list is decidedly less soapy this year but a couple of people who have touched the soap world were included.

Chad Hodge, TV Writer & Producer (PLAYBOY CLUB Creator)
Geri Jewell, Comedian, Actor & Writer (ex-THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS)

Last year, the list included a number of people connected to soaps in some way:

Ricky Martin, Entertainer of the Year
Julianne Moore, Artist of the Year
Chris Colfer, Actor
T.R. Knight, Actor
Leslie Jordan, Performer
Nathan Barr, 'True Blood' Composer
John Benjamin Hickey, Actor
Kalup Linzy, Artist

PRIME TIME: Fall 2011's 3 Most Fascinating New Series

3. THE PLAYBOY CLUB
We were heartbroken when we first heard rumors that THE PLAYBOY CLUB wasn't picked up. When NBC officially confirmed cancellation, and then decided, effective immediately, to stop airing the visually rich, morally complicated period drama, we were flummoxed.

We Love Soaps refuses to believe that such a competent execution of the "MAD MEN meets THE SOPRANOS" formula would not have eventually paid off. Unable to bait each episode with cable TV style graphic sexuality and violence, THE PLAYBOY CLUB had to build its audience the old fashioned way: it had to leverage good writing into effective word-of-mouth. That takes time. The silver lining: there are several un-aired episodes sitting on a shelf somewhere, and one day, we'll get to see them.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV 3.17 Jacklyn Zeman Talks Playboy, GENERAL HOSPITAL & More!

On Episode 3.17, Damon L. Jacobs continues his discussion with longtime GENERAL HOSPITAL actress Jacklyn Zeman. Zeman shares her excitement about working with Nicolas Coster on THE BAY, talks about her Playboy Bunny days, and the reaction from GENERAL HOSPITAL fans about the storyline featuring Lucas coming out of the closet.

"When it came out that Lucas was gay, so many people came up to me," Zeman says. "People wanted more of those scenes. I knew they got it right. And then the show got scared or something and they cut off it. It's really disappointing when they do that. It's teasing the audience then it was a let down to everybody. Maybe they'll get some guts up now."

And will Jacklyn write a memoir in the near future?

Watch the episode below and let us know what you think.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Eddie Cibrian Injured on PLAYBOY SET, TV's 10 Most Important LGBT Characters

Beyond Jodie Dallas: TV's 10 Most Important LGBT Characters
Included in the PopMatters.com list are "The Soaps Homosexuals," specifically, Dr. Lynn Carson (Donna Pescow), ALL MY CHILDRE; Hank Elliot (Brian Starcher), AS THE WORLD TURNS; Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel and Christina Bennet Lind), ALL MY CHILDREN; and Luke Snyder (Van Hansis), AS THE WORLD TURNS: Carson and Elliot hold the honors of being the first lesbian and gay man to appear as regular characters on a soap opera. Montgomery married her girlfriend Reese Williams in 2009, although the marriage didn’t last. Snyder helped explore what it was like to be a gay teen, but set daytime history as part of soaps’ first LGBT “supercouple” when he hooked up with boyfriend Noah (Jake Silberman).

OPINION: While You Weren’t Watching THE PLAYBOY CLUB It Was Getting Better!

THE PLAYBOY CLUB has improved every week. But it’s a dog eat Bunny world out there, kids, and it looks like Peacock won’t be serving Bunny much longer, as We Love Soaps just reported, NBC has pulled the show from its schedule. While this primetime sudser was luxuriating in its soapiness, the viewers didn't seem to be there to witness it, and it seems like this Bunny is now as cooked as the one in FATAL ATTRACTION.

If you weren't watching, here's what you missed last night. First, the gorgeous Laura Benanti’s PLAYBOY CLUB alter ego, Bunny Mother Carol-Lynn, did a stupid thing last night. She hired an undercover reporter to be a Bunny at the club. I hate to say that David Krumholtz’s club manager character Billy Rosen told you so, Carol-Lynn, but David Krumholtz’s club manager character Billy Rosen told you so.

Monday Night Ratings: THE PLAYBOY CLUB Struggles, NBC Yanks It From Schedule

We love NBC's new sudsy Monday night show, THE PLAYBOY CLUB, but the time slot and incompatible lead-in, THE SING OFF, seem to have killed the show. PLAYBOY fell 8% to a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating last night and was watched by 3.4 million views.

NBC has now. pulled THE PLAYBOY club from its schedule.

PREVIEW: NBC's Monday Night Soap THE PLAYBOY CLUB

THE PLAYBOY CLUB is back on Monday, October 3 with a new episode, "A Matter of Simple Duplicity," airing at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Carol-Lynne (Laura Benanti) and Billy (David Krumholtz) decide to hire Doris (guest star Carrie Coon), a new bunny at the club, only to learn she has her own hidden agenda.

NEWS ROUNDUP: First Fall Show To Be Axed? Nathin Art Butler to GH, Kurt McKinney to OLTL

Which new fall primetime show will be the first one canceled?
FREE AGENTS joins THE PLAYBOY CLUB on the short list of new shows that are most likely to get sent out to pasture before Columbus Day.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We hope NBC gives PLAYBOY CLUB a chance to grow its audience.

PLAYBOY CLUB: Advertisers Say They Didn't Abandon Show
Two of the (seven claimed) advertisers themselves were also willing to disprove the PTC's claim. In an email, Kraft said, “For THE PLAYBOY CLUB, our sole purchase to date was on the premiere episode, and we did not have plans to advertise on that particular show through the end of the year.” Unilever, which owns the P.F. Chang brand, also confirmed that it hadn’t jumped ship, and will continue to advertise on occasional episodes.

NEWS ROUNDUP: 7 Advertisers Drop PLAYBOY CLUB, Chrysler Supports; Zenk in "Odyssey"; Y&R Casting

Seven Advertisers Drop Out of THE PLAYBOY CLUB After PTC Calls for Boycott
Citing the show's ratings, the group's president Tim Winter says, “What has been clear to everyone outside of NBC must now be clear even to those inside NBC: THE PLAYBOY CLUB is a commercial disaster and must be removed from the airwaves. We call for the network to cancel this degrading and sexualizing program immediately."

Kraft, Sprint, Lenovo, UPS Store, Subway, P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Campbell's Soup did not advertise in the second episode on Monday. Chrysler says it will continue to advertise on the show.

OPINION: I Like THE PLAYBOY CLUB for its Soapy Drama, Hot Girls & Cute Boys!

Bunny Mother Carol-Lynn (Laura Benanti) warns Bunny Maureen (Amber Heard, who could be Scarlett Johansson’s stunt double, if she does stunts) that Chicago can be dangerous in the latest episode of THE PLAYBOY CLUB. The new show’s second episode started connecting the dots laid out in last week’s premiere, linking characters together in ways we may not have seen coming.

RATINGS: THE PLAYBOY CLUB, TERRA NOVA, BOARDWALK EMPIRE & more, Where is DIRTY SOAP?

In the preliminary Nielsen numbers in from Monday night, THE PLAYBOY CLUB returned for its second week with a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating, down 19% from its premiere. Is THE PLAYBOY CLUB destined for the chopping block?

Meanwhile, TERRA NOVA had a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating, HART OF DIXIE a 0.7, and GOSSIP GIRL a 0.8.

PREVIEW: Monday Night's NBC Soap THE PLAYBOY CLUB

THE PLAYBOY CLUB is back on Monday, September 26 with a new episode, "The Scarlett Bunny," premiering at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

The bunnies are excited to learn there will be a contest to be a Playboy magazine covergirl, but for some it means revealing their past. As new Bunny Mother Carol-Lynne (Laura Benanti) begins training the women, especially new Bunny Maureen (Amber Heard) to be the perfect bunny, she discovers a dark secret Maureen has been hiding.

Monday Night Ratings + Dharma and Greg in Two and a Half Men

The season premiere of TWO AND A HALF MEN on Monday night drew a series-high 27.7 million total viewers, almost doubling the audience of the CBS sitcom's opener in 2010. The show replaced Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher and, after one week, it paid off. One of the surprises of the episode was the appearance of Dharma and Greg (former soap star Thomas Gibson). DHARMA & GREG was also created by Chuck Lorre. Watch their brief appearance below and find out how CASTLE and THE PLAYBOY CLUB performed in the ratings.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Billy Ray Cyrus to 90210, Judy Blye Wilson, David Kreizman, Anne Hathaway

Emmy ratings tumble, down 8% from last year, but up in demo
The 12.4 million who tuned in ranks among the lowest in Emmy history, but not as low as the lowest — 12.2 million in 2008. In the all-important adults 18-49 demographic, the Emmys, airing on Fox from 8 to 11 p.m., received a 2 percent bump over last year, with a 4.2 rating. Meanwhile, 21.5 million viewers watched the Atlanta Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles on NBC's SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Eva La Rue Bracing For End Of AMC, Robert S. Woods as Castle's Father, J.R. Ewing

Eva La Rue Bracing Herself For The End Of ALL MY CHILDREN On ABC
“I’m going to be watching every single episode,” she said. “I’m going to be watching it all from work in my trailer. I feel like I grew up there. [I spent] the better part of my adult life there; I got married there; I had my daughter there. Some of my closest friends, [I met there]. I watched it when I was a kid. My mom watched it when I was little.”

Nathan Fillion would love for Robert S. Woods to play Castle's father

PREVIEW: Monday Night's NBC Soap THE PLAYBOY CLUB

Pictured: (l-r) Laura Benanti as Carol-Lynne, David Krumholtz as Billy, Eddie Cibrian as Nick, Amber Heard as Maureen, Leah Renee as Alice, Naturi Naughton as Brenda, Wes Ramsey as Max — Photo by: John Russo/NBC

From Academy Award-winning executive producer Brian Grazer, THE PLAYBOY CLUB, premiering Monday night on NBC, is a provocative new NBC drama about a time and place that challenged the existing social mores and transformed American culture forever.

A Memorable TV Fireman Remembers 9/11: Nelson Aspen Talks With Eddie Cibrian

A Memorable TV Fireman Remembers 9/11
By Nelson Aspen

I had the chance to catch up with Eddie Cibrian (ex-Sunset Beach, Young and the Restless) in advance of the 10 year anniversary of 9-11. I first interviewed him in NYC years ago when he was playing fireman Jimmy Doherty on the popular TV series THIRD WATCH. I assumed that his Manhattan residency, combined with portraying one of the city's first responders and learning so much about the special qualities it takes to hold such a job, would give him an interesting perspective on the emotional milestone.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Daytime Ratings, Nielsen for iPad, OLTL Departures, Primetime Casting

Daytime Soap Opera Ratings For The Week of August 8-12, 2011
Despite a slight loss in total viewers last week, ONE LIFE TO LIVE is up an astronomical 641,000 viewers compared to the same week last year. The show also tied THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL for second place with a 2.1 household rating. GENERAL HOPSITAL, ALL MY CHILDREN and DAYS OF OUR LIVES were all up in total viewers last week.

NEWS ROUNDUP: James Franco Tapes GH, Busy Jacob Young, SATC Prequel

James Franco tapes new GENERAL HOSPITAL episodes
Franco taped episodes on Saturday, August 13, and he will air as planned on September 20.

Amber Tamblyn and David Cross are engaged
The couple, who have been dating since 2009, have managed to keep their engagement a secret longer than most Hollywood duos. "They've been engaged for weeks," a source close to Amber adds.