Here's a link to the Talk Show Rewind channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkShowRewind

Here's a link to Liquid Soap: https://www.youtube.com/@LiquidSoapTV

Both have been "verified" by YouTube, although I don't know how much that matters since I see videos from American shows uploaded to Indian-run YouTube channels illegally and they have verified badges too for some reason.

11 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Tara is Harrison's mother but Y&R have Summer acting as his mom and everyone pretending that Tara doesn't exist.

 

Didn't she go to prison though for some pretty severe crimes? The kid is young enough that they can pretend he doesn't have a mother. Plus, his birth certificate daddy is dead so the Abbotts can pretend they created the kid at this point. Haha.

12 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Oh wow... Liquid Soap is via Sony? Because, they've been posting on their Community tab and some answers have been very wrong. 

Yeah, I found out because a video I got from Corday for the Digital Series from a few years ago got a copyright note that was attached to Sony (even though Corday gave me the video for sharing purposes ), and they recommended the Liquid Soap channel in the notes. I did further digging and also remembered that Sony created a lot of YouTube channels during the height of the pandemic, including ones for Norman Lear's shows, The Nanny, and so on.

In fact, they also created a channel for classic talk shows called Talk Show Rewind which has old clips of "The Rikki Lake Show" and "The Tempestt Bledsoe Show." There are also dozens of other topic-specific channels they created on YouTube. I guess someone finally woke up and realized they could make some money off of the content.

As for accuracy, it's totally wrong in many cases, I agree. For instance, the DAYS videos say the show airs on NBC still and link to the NBC.com website which ironically redirects to the Peacock page for DAYS. Also, on the Y&R posts they note the show is currently in its 49th season even though the post dates clearly coincide with the show's 50th season -- the videos aren't from either season, to be clear.

3 hours ago, janea4old said:

This is the 2018 scene that was being reenacted/spoofed in Sharon's dream:
 

 

Speaking of Sharon and Nicholas. Here is the clip in which he proposed prior to that wedding.

For reference, the above clip comes from the YouTube channel called Liquid Soap, which I recently discovered is owned by Sony and is dedicated to highlighting clips/scenes from their soaps, including The Young and the Restless, Days of our Lives, Party of Five and Dawson's Creek, among others.

16 hours ago, Faulkner said:

I just have to say that Amelia is looking GREAT in that outfit and shaking her head. I now want to watch Victoria getting down in the club one night with her girlfriends, which means she'd have to have friends.

Speaking of which, that's what's missing on the soaps. Girlfriends and the bros. No character seems to have any true friends on any soap.

Bridget Dobson, co-creator and head writer of “Santa Barbara,” has died. She was 85 years old. No cause of death had been reported at press time.

Dobson was the daughter of the late Frank and Doris Hursley, co-creators of “General Hospital.” She had been married to her husband Jerome Dobson since 1961. Together, the two co-created “Santa Barbara” for NBC, which aired from 1984 to 1993 and won three consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series (1988, 1989, 1990). Dobson famously accepted the award in 1988, shortly after New World Television (now New World Pictures) locked her out of the show’s studio.

“I speak for all of us when I say it has been a long road,” Dobson started off saying in her acceptance speech, which aired during the “The 15th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,” adding, “And we are thrilled and proud to be here, and I speak personally when I say that though New World Television locked me out of the studio, they couldn’t lock me out of the Emmys.” New World Television co-produced “Santa Barbara” alongside Bridget and Jerome’s production company, Dobson Productions. 

The Dobsons were locked out of the studio after a dispute came about between them, New World Television and NBC over who had the right to fire the show’s then-head writer, the late Anne Howard Bailey. Reportedly, Bailey’s contract only allowed NBC to terminate her employment, something the Dobsons challenged. 

By 1991, the duo had settled their dispute with New World Television and NBC, returning to the studio and overseeing the show’s final years on the network.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published in July 1988, Dobson told the newspaper, “We wanted to take risks,” in response to how the show stood apart from others in the genre. “Otherwise, we knew the show would die in that time slot, as other soaps and game shows had.” She added, “We created two competitive families, the Capwells and the Lockridges, who were psychologically complicated but also psychologically and emotionally valid. We took the core of our own inner souls and put it on screen, for multifaceted characters with multidimensional personalities. That there was humor made the show unique–each character has a sense of humor.”

Overall, “Santa Barbara” took home 24 Daytime Emmy Awards out of 74 nominations, 11 of which were won over two years and 27 nominations.

Prior to “Santa Barbara,” Dobson had been the head writer/co-head writer of “As The World Turns,” “Guiding Light” and “General Hospital,” primarily working alongside her husband in that capacity.

In a post on Facebook, Pierpaolo Dongiovanni, a close friend of the Dobsons, announced the news of her passing, noting that she passed away earlier this week following a conversation with her husband Jerome. Dongiovanni is the creator and publisher of the first-ever continuously published blog dedicated to the history of “Santa Barbara.”

In his post, Dongiovanni, said, “Jerome Dobson told me that his beloved wife Bridget passed away three days ago. They spent a lifetime together, co-created, co-produced and beautifully co-wrote ‘Santa Barbara,’ among other things. Jerry and Bridget brought with them so much beauty on Earth. She gave me friendship, love, fun, hope and was pure inspiration to me, even when I was sick a couple of years ago. She may be gone, but always present.”

In a follow-up post, Dongiovanni shared a screenshot of a signed copy of the original “Santa Barbara” bible (outline that introduces the show and its characters in the first year), which said, “To Pierpaolo – The most charming, funny, smartest, most loyal friend and fan I’ve never met. Someday I hope we will actually meet in person – Bridget Dobson.”

In a five-part interview posted on the “Santa Barbara” blog, Dobson recalled how her family started in the soap world, revealing, “I was born in Wisconsin, where my mother was an attorney and my father was a professor of English. They entered, as a lark, a Wrigley’s chewing gum contest to write a show which Wrigley would sponsor. They won the contest…and began their writing career in Chicago, writing a radio program.”

After moving to Los Angeles when she was just seven years old, Dobson’s parents went on to write for more radio and then television programs before eventually landing the job as head writers of “Search for Tomorrow.” 

“My parents borrowed a fancy car, a Cadillac, from one of their ‘rich’ friends, and placed the car in their garage so that the hiring agent (the head of Procter and Gamble productions) would see the car in the garage as he walked to the front door and, presumably, he would think: ‘These writers must be very successful since they have a very expensive car in their garage. It worked,’” Dobson recalled of the experience in her interview. 

She added, “Everything in tinseltown is an illusion. They got the job. It was the first ‘regular’ pay check they’d gotten since my father left his tenured position in Wisconsin.”

After a successful run at “Search for Tomorrow,” the Hursleys co-created the daytime soap opera “General Hospital” for ABC, which Dobson would later write for over a five-year period, the latter two of which were as the show’s head writer.

“I did not just want a job. I was obsessed. I was adamant. I was furious. I was outrageous. I pleaded. I begged. I threatened. I had trained for this,” Dobson recalled in her interview of wanting to write for the ABC soap. “They stonewalled me. No. No job. ‘We’ll hire your sister.’ Which they did. Why not me? ‘Because you’re a party girl.’ Come on. ‘Because you’ll never meet the deadlines.’ What nonsense. ‘Because Debby needs the money.’ And I didn’t? Did they know what public school teachers make? We had an argument that made the sun and the earth seem small in comparison. I won. I threatened never to let them see their grandchildren.”

After working at “General Hospital,” Dobson went on to co-head write alongside her husband at “Guiding Light” (1975-1979), “As The World Turns” (1980-1983) and finally, their co-creation “Santa Barbara” (1984-1986; 1991-1992). The show aired its final episode on January 15, 1993 with the late Paul Rauch serving as executive producer and Pam Long as the show’s head writer.

“NBC-TV called to ask if we were to own a show, if we were to be in complete charge of every creative aspect of a show, from sets and costumes and hairstyles and music to every minute detail of the production, acting and writing, would we be willing to work again? Nobody in history had ever been asked this question. Not before and not since,” Dobson said in her interview about how things led to the creation of “Santa Barbara.”

“We were being offered total creative control of an hour a day television drama five days a week. We were floored. And enticed. And terrified,” Dobson recalled. “It had never been attempted and never achieved, not starting from zero – nothing – a blank page – to an hour a day, every day, five days per week, no seasons, no holidays, no respite…with total control in the hands of two individuals, not in the hands of a corporation or a network.

“So it was that Jerry and I came out of retirement and climbed what seemed to be an extremely steep creative mountain, clinging to sheer granite, our pen was our pick, no path, no trail, no rope or safety net.  We’d done our writing push-ups in the years leading up to this moment, but there was no way to properly prepare. What if we died?  Nobody even thought of that.”

In 2011, Dobson, alongside half sisters Deborah Hardy and Polly Keusnik, sued ABC as representatives of their parent’s estate, with the lawsuit alleging “breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, money had and received and an accounting.”

According to the suit, Frank and Doris Hursley had allegedly signed a deal in 1969 with ABC that would have had the couple receiving 10% of the show’s net profits from syndication, a deal which the Hursley children allege ABC failed to honor. The lawsuit did not specify how much the Hursley children believed ABC owed, but they wanted a judge to have the network open its books to an audit. Additional details on the case, including any resolution, have not been publicly disclosed.

On X (formerly Twitter), legendary TV Guide columnist Michael Logan said, “RIP Bridget Dobson, who gave us the soap of a lifetime when she created (with hubby Jerry) the deliriously radical #SantaBarbara. True TV royalty (her parents created #GH), Bridget was so ballsy, innovative and freakin’ brilliant that she had no imitators. Nobody even dared try.”

Currently writing scripts for “The Bold and the Beautiful,” former “Santa Barbara” writer Michele Val Jean also took to X after learning of Dobson’s passing, saying, “I’m devastated to hear we lost Bridget Dobson. I loved her. She was instrumental in my career and a great friend. A soap icon and a wonderful effervescent person. I don’t have words. My heart is [two broken heart emojis]. Bridget, I will always be your Princess. Rest well.”

“Childhood me aspired to grow up to be Bridget Dobson. RIP, Queen,” commented Sara Bibel, a former writer of “The Young and the Restless.”

Dobson is survived by her husband Jerome and their daughter Mary, among other family members.

Note: The post R.I.P. Bridget Dobson – Co-Creator and Co-Head Writer of ‘Santa Barbara’ Dies at 85 appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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I personally am sick of revisiting the 60s, 70s and especially the 80s of GH in terms of anniversaries. At this point, we're getting one every five years, and I don't know how much I can take of only seeing stuff about Luke and Laura, AIDS, and the like. While I have yet to watch the special myself, I'm glad they focused on more current content as the older stuff won't be bringing in any new sets of eyeballs. While you can embrace your history, you can't just sit on what happened in the past. 

In fact, as an example on the show, Laura is married to Kevin and Luke is dead. So why keep bringing up how big of a deal they were? You need to set the tone for what's happening now and in the future.

Maybe when the show the show is eventually canceled they can remind people about Luke and Laura, but I'm personally sick of it.

1 hour ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

Yes, I concur. Yet all over people are talking about this as if it's a realistic possibility. After all this time the golden boy has a wishing & hoping fanbase. Hey, I'd be all for it & Keesha could return with a 24 year old son in tow. 

If I recall correctly, all they did was an end of show In Loving Memory screen. I never thought that was enough. 

The character died years prior to the actor's death. Storyline-wise, there was no story to tell. Outside of honoring Alan with a plaque or something similar to what The Young and the Restless did for the character of Neil Winters, what else could they do?

Fresh off the news that Steve Burton will be returning to “General Hospital” as Jason Morgan, and two days after the actor himself announced he had taped his final scenes at “Days of our Lives” as Harris Michaels, the latter series has formally confirmed Burton’s exit from Salem while noting there’s plenty of time left with the character appearing on screen.

A spokesperson for “Days of our Lives” tells Soap Opera Network, “Everyone enjoyed having Steve back in the ‘Days of our Lives family.’” They added, “Although he finished taping at the end of the year, ‘Harris’ will remain on the show for many months to come.” Burton taped his final scenes just before the show broke for his Christmas holiday break.

A final airdate for Burton has not been announced, but with the “Days of our Lives” taping six to eight months ahead, fans should expect to continue seeing the actor as Harris Michaels through at least late spring/early summer, much of which will also coincide with his appearing again as Jason Morgan on “General Hospital.” Burton had only signed a one-year deal with Corday Productions, producer of “Days of our Lives.”

A few months after reprising the role of Harris Michaels on the spinoff series “Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem” (Chapter Two), the mothership announced Burton’s return in November 2022. He originated the role in 1988 which also marked his first foray in appearing in a soap opera.

“I started my daytime career on ‘Days of our Lives’ in 1988 while on a hiatus from the sitcom I was doing called ‘Out of This World’ when I was a senior in high school. It’s been really cool to reprise the character I started with, Harris Michaels,” Burton said on playing the character again in an interview with Soap Hub at the time. 

“Daytime is a small world, so I knew a lot of the cast and crew already and met some new peeps,” Burton continued. “Everyone has been so welcoming, and I am always grateful for new opportunities.”

During his time in Salem, Burton worked most closely alongside scene partners Kristian Alfonso (ex-Hope Brady) and Tamara Braun (Ava Vitali; ex-Kim Nero/Carly Corinthos, “General Hospital”). 

After exiting “Days of our Lives” the first time, Burton joined the “General Hospital” cast in 1991 as Jason Quartermaine. By 1997, the character had lost his memories and began going by the name of Jason Morgan. Burton exited the ABC soap in 2000 only to return on a full-time in 2002. He again exited the series in 2012 before eventually ending up in Genoa City, playing Dylan McAvoy from 2013-2017. A few months later, Burton returned to “General Hospital” as Jason Morgan, only to exit again in November 2021 after being let go for not complying with the since vacated Disney/ABC vaccine mandate.

“I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me. I don’t think anybody should lose their livelihood over this, but with that being said, you know me, I’ll always be grateful for my time at ‘General Hospital.’ I love it there. I grew up there. I grew up with some of you, so, I’ll always be grateful,” Burton said in an Instagram video explaining his departure from the soap.

Incidentally, Burton pre-determined his return to the show in the same video, saying, “I am excited to see what the future brings and maybe one day if these mandates are lifted, I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan — that would be an honor, and if not, I’m going to take this amazing experience [and] move forward, and be forever grateful.”

Burton made his then-final appearance on “General Hospital” in the Friday, November 19, 2021, episode when the tunnel his character was in collapsed, seemingly leaving him for dead. 

In the following episode, aired Monday, November 22, 2021, and without Burton appearing, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Leisl (Kathleen Gati) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) frantically tried to remove fallen debris from the tunnel collapse but were quickly escorted out by Anna (Finola Hughes) and Robert (Tristan Rogers) for their own safety, and in the hopes that Jason was able to get out on his own another way. Later, they are told that Robert’s men scoured the island only not to find a trace of Jason which gave credence to the possibility that Jason’s body is still in the tunnels, presumably dead from the debris that fell on him in the Friday episode.

At the end of the episode, The Chariot tarot card is shown where viewers last saw Jason. The card represents “willpower, determination, and strength” or “determination, focus, and willpower.” Essentially, the card is supposed to represent a positive outcome. Therefore, with Burton’s imminent return to the series, it looks like viewers will get their wish when Port Charles discovers Jason isn’t dead after all.

A first airdate for Burton on “General Hospital” was not known at press time.

Note: The post ‘Days of our Lives’ Confirms Steve Burton’s Exit, Spokesperson Says Show Enjoyed Having ‘General Hospital’-Bound Actor in Salem appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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After four consecutive weeks of declines and four consecutive weeks below two million viewers, ABC’s “General Hospital” was finally able to reverse course during the week of December 25-29, 2023 (Week 15).

For the week, the daytime drama series averaged 2.040 million viewers, increasing +125,000 viewers from its performance during the week of December 18-22, 2023 (2.040 million vs. 1.915 million). In fact, this marked the show’s best outing among Total Viewers in six weeks – since the week of November 20-24, 2023.

“The Price is Right” (4.222 million / 4.808 million) hit a new season high for both half hours among Total Viewers during the Christmas holiday. The second half-hour saw the biggest increase overall week-to-week, adding +311,000 viewers. The first half-hour added +244,000 viewers.

“The Young and the Restless” (3.406 million) attracted its second-largest audience of the season and had its best performance since the week of November 20-24, 2023, adding +165,000 viewers over the week ago period. “The Bold and the Beautiful” (2.908 million) hit a new season high among Total Viewers with an increase of +149,000 viewers compared to one week earlier. The show’s previous season high (2.888 million viewers) was also during the week of November 20-24, 2023.

“NBC News Daily” (1.248 million) also saw an uptick from its performance one week earlier, adding +16,000 viewers.

“Let’s Make a Deal,” “The Talk” and “The View” aired amended repeats for the week and are excluded from the weekly rankings. Ratings for “TODAY 3rd Hour” and “TODAY with Hoda & Jenna” were unavailable at press time.

Note: The Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 demo ratings were unavailable at press time. This post will be updated when/if we receive them.

What follows is a breakdown of how the daytime broadcast shows performed during the week of December 25-29, 2023 in Women 18-49 Rating, Women 25-54 Rating, Households and Total Viewers, including a look at their comparable performance in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. A closer look at the daytime soaps, including their daily performance breakdown in the demos, will be posted shortly.

Week Of December 25-29, 2023 Rankers

Households

Total Viewers (In Millions)

The numbers above are calculated using Live+Same Day viewing and DVR playback, defined as 3:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. and are courtesy of Nielsen. Household ratings are the percentage of TV homes in the U.S. tuned into television, each of which represents 1,250,000 homes as of the 2023-2024 television season.

Note*: Officially, the demo ratings are sorted by the rounded figures released by Nielsen. “NBC News Daily” 2021 and 2020 figures are compared to the performance of “Days of our Lives,” which moved to Peacock exclusively beginning September 12, 2022.

Year-to-year comparisons (2023 vs. 2022) for most daytime broadcast shows among Households and Total Viewers will be unavailable for the foreseeable future due to figures being unavailable to Soap Opera Network during that period.

Women 18-49 Rating (Rounded)

Pending Updates

Women 18-49 Rating (Unrounded)*

Pending Updates

Women 25-54 Rating (Rounded)

Pending Updates

Women 25-54 Rating (Unrounded)*

Pending Updates

Notable Preemptions/Schedule Changes:

• “The Bold and the Beautiful” was preempted on Monday, December 25, 2023 (Christmas Day) due to CBS Sports coverage of NFL Football featuring the Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs and the show aired a repeat on Friday, December 29, 2023. The show’s weekly average is based on three days (Tuesday-Thursday).

• “General Hospital” did not air on Monday, December 25, 2023 (Christmas Day) due to ESPN on ABC Sports coverage of the Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets game on the East Coast and the Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers on the West Coast. The show’s weekly average is based on four days (Thursday-Friday).

• “The Young and the Restless” was preempted on Monday, December 25, 2023 (Christmas Day) due to CBS Sports coverage of NFL Football featuring the Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs and the show aired a repeat on Friday, December 29, 2023. The show’s weekly average is based on three days (Tuesday-Thursday).

• Pending Additional Updates

Note: The post Daytime Broadcast Ratings for the Week of December 25-29, 2023 appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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6 minutes ago, Lye-C said:

GH should move to primetime?!

3 minutes ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

I don't know, Errol, my two big takeaways are that they need to appreciate the fans, all of the fans, all the time, everywhere. And, #2 that nothing is more important than show history. But, that's just me. 

56 minutes ago, Errol said:

Which hopefully proves a point to the network.

What I meant was that GH is still a viable show and deserves more recognition from the network for its accomplishments. No, not that it should move to primetime, but now it shows that it can do better than certain primetime shows even in primetime, ironically. 

ABC ranked a solid number one among Households, Total Viewers, Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Adults 25-54 on Thursday, January 4, the night in which the network aired an all-new LIVE episode of “The Golden Bachelor,” dubbed “The Golden Wedding,” and the primetime special “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling.”

According to Programming Insider, ABC averaged 4.13 million viewers compared with 2.43 million for NBC, 2.28 million for CBS, 1.72 million for FOX and 280,000 viewers for The CW. Among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, the key demos used to set advertising sales rates for primetime programming, the network also ranked number one with a 0.43 rating and 0.60 rating, respectively. Among Adults 18-49, ABC’s 0.43 rating topped second-place NBC with its 0.29 rating, third place FOX with its 0.26 rating, CBS’ 0.18 rating and The CW’s 0.02 rating. In Adults 25-54, ABC did a 0.60 rating compared with NBC’s 0.45 rating, FOX’s 0.41 rating and CBS’ 0.30 rating. The CW ranked fifth with a 0.06 rating.

ABC was led by “The Golden Bachelor” (8:00-10:00 p.m.), the night’s most-watched and highest-rated series overall, averaging 4.968 million viewers, a 0.55 rating in Adults 18-49 and a 0.73 rating in Adults 25-54. Among Adults 18-34, the show was also number one with a 0.45 rating. The special episode of the hit unscripted series saw “Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner marry Theresa Nist on live television (East Coast broadcast, tape delayed West Coast) with former contestant and fan favorite Susan Noles officiating the wedding.

Following “The Golden Wedding” was ABC’s broadcast of “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling,” a primetime special celebrating 60 years of the network’s popular daytime drama series “General Hospital.”

The ABC special averaged 2.450 million viewers, tied for first place with NBC’s “Dateline” during the 10:00-11:00 p.m. time slot. CBS’ broadcast of “SEAL Team” ranked third among Total Viewers, averaging just 1.570 million viewers.

“General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling” also ranked number one among Households throughout the hour, with a 1.67 rating compared with the 1.59 rating for “Dateline” and the 0.97 rating for “SEAL Team.”

Among Adults 18-49, ABC’s special was in second place with a 0.2 rating, beating “SEAL Team” (0.12 rating) but behind “Dateline” (0.29 rating). Meanwhile, in Adults 25-54, the special did a 0.34 rating, again ranking second ahead of “SEAL Team” with its 0.22 rating but behind “Dateline” and its 0.45 rating. However, the special did rank a solid number one among Adults 18-34 with a 0.13 rating compared with second place “Dateline” and its 0.09 rating and “SEAL Team” with its 0.06 rating.

At the conclusion of the special, the network announced that Steve Burton would be reprising his role as Jason Morgan on the daytime drama series, with the actor set to make his return on-screen sometime early this year. To find out how his return to the series came together, click here.

For more on how the rest of primetime performed in the key ratings categories, including half-hour breakdowns, click here.

Note: The post RATINGS: ABC Tops Thursday with ‘The Golden Wedding’ and ‘General Hospital’ Primetime Special appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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13 minutes ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

What point is it that you hope they take away? 

Do I really have to explain?

43 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

 TV Ratings 1/4/24: The Golden Wedding Solid but Below  Season Average, General Hospital Special Flops

Time	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers (mil)	Network
8 PM	The Golden Wedding	0.55	6	4.97	ABC
	Hell's Kitchen	0.34	4	2.35	Fox
	Law & Order (R)	0.33	4	2.57	NBC
	Young Sheldon (R)	0.24	3	3.47	CBS
	Son of a Critch (R)	0.04	0	0.36	The CW
8:30 PM	Ghosts (R)	0.20	2	2.46	CBS
	The Conners (R)	0.03	0	0.29	The CW
9 PM	Transplant	0.27	3	2.28	NBC
	Ghosts UK	0.22	2	2.44	CBS
	We Are Family (R)	0.19	2	1.11	Fox
	The Conners (R)	0.04	0	0.28	The CW
9:30 PM	Ghosts UK (F)	0.19	2	2.17	CBS
	Children Ruin Everything (F)	0.02	0	0.20	The CW
10 PM	Dateline NBC (R)	0.29	3	2.45	NBC
	General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling	0.20	2	2.55	ABC
	SEAL Team	0.12	2	1.57	CBS

The show tied Dateline in Total Viewers with 2.45 million viewers. Not sure why whichever site you're quoting (link maybe?) has it at 2.55 million.

That said, yes, it did better than the show itself. Which hopefully proves a point to the network. In fact, if I'm not mistaken,  it outrated the Story of Soaps but was below the Y&R 50 special which had a more friendly time slot, airing on a Monday at 8:00 p.m.

After much speculation, and just one day after announcing his departure from “Days of our Lives,” actor Steve Burton is set to reprise his role as Jason Morgan on ABC’s “General Hospital,” it was announced last night in a promo aired during the network’s broadcast of the primetime special “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling.”

In the promo, co-stars Laura Wright (Carly Spencer) and Kelly Monaco (Sam McCall) can be seen walking out of two of three mystery doors. Wright opens the promo, walking out of her door, saying, “You know what they say when one door closes…” followed by Monaco opening her own door and commenting, “Another door opens.” The two then eye each other as a dimly lit third door is shown at the center, only to open up to reveal Burton as the lights get brighter.

 “Happy anniversary, ‘General Hospital.’ Stay tuned. Big things are coming to Port Charles,” says Burton as the promo closes to mark the conclusion of the primetime special.

Shortly after the big announcement, the show shared the promo and promotional pictures on social media. Additionally, an interview with Burton was published by Daily Drama, which is home to his new podcast with sometimes “General Hospital” co-star Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), titled “The Daily Drama Podcast with Steve Burton & Bradford Anderson.” The podcast launched in November 2023 and is available on wherever you listen to podcasts.

In the interview, Burton said, talked about being let go from the daytime drama series in November 2021 following his decision not to comply with the since vacated Disney/ABC vaccine mandate for all employees and how things led up to his imminent return to the show, specifically how everyone tried to keep details of his return to the show a secret but were a bit unsuccessful in keeping a complete lid on things.

First up, Burton notes that there were no hard feelings behind the scenes after he was let go by the studio/network, saying, “I didn’t have any ill will because ‘GH’ was my family. I was there for so long. I grew up there. This show, ‘General Hospital,’ has enabled me to live such an amazing life.

“I know it’s hard for people to believe because a lot of emotions get in there, and I understand,” Burton continued. “People get emotional. It was an emotional time in the country, in the world…but I like to focus on love, I like to focus on gratitude. I truly believe when one door closes, another door opens.”

As for keeping his return a secret, Burton explains it was not easy, considering people would notice him back on the studio lot and immediately put two and two together. He says, “We tried to keep it super low profile in the building,” adding, “Here’s the thing. Once you start telling makeup, hair, wardrobe, it’s hard. It’s supposed to be hush-hush but I’m going back in the building…you can’t just drop me in the dressing room and then take me up to stage and shoot something without people noticing.”

So, how does Burton feel to be back on the show? “It was incredible going back.” He added, “Just the welcome back from everybody on the lot, starting with the people at the gate. It was amazing.”

Click here to hear more from Burton on his return to the soap opera that helped make him a household name, including how he thinks his character should make a reappearance in Port Charles.

A first air date back for Burton was not known at press time, but according to Soap Opera Digest, fans can expect to see the actor back on screen imminently, which means he’ll be appearing on “Days of our Lives” as Harris Michaels simultaneous to his return to “General Hospital” as Jason Morgan considering the Peacock original series tapes six to eight months ahead while the ABC soap tapes within the more traditional three to six weeks ahead.

Check out the promo aired during the primetime special below.

Note: The post Steve Burton Returning to ‘General Hospital’ as Jason Morgan, Details How Things Came Together appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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What did I tell y'all?

His post has received just over 137,000 views as of this (my) post and has been up less than two hours.

Carla Hall (“The Chew”) is going on a global adventure in the all-new Max originals series, “Chasing Flavor,” where she’ll explore the unexpected roots of popular dishes within today’s American food culture, from chicken pot pie to ice cream, which leads her to Ghana, Italy and Turkey, among other countries.  The series premieres Thursday, February 1 on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streaming service.

In “Chasing Flavor,” Hall traces the history and lineage of dishes, discovering the interconnected, international origins and cultures that paved the way for today’s American cuisine – because if you don’t know the history, then you don’t know the dish. Over the course of six half-hour episodes, Hall will dive into other American classics, including shrimp and grits, hot chicken, barbeque and more.

“‘Chasing Flavor’ brings together so many of the things I am passionate about,” says Hall of her new series. “It’s about food, and family, and sharing stories and history and travel. And more importantly, giving credit to the cultures that had a hand in a particular dish.” She added, “I’m really proud of this show.  Everyone involved in making it, myself included, put their heart and souls into it.  It was a wonderful adventure, and I can’t wait for others to share it.”

In one of the episodes, viewers will follow Hall as she takes an unexpected dairy adventure from the United States to Italy and Turkey to discover the origins of ice cream. Stopping at New York and Philadelphia’s top ice cream spots, Hall will learn the unique churning methods used to give the classic dessert its smooth, creamy texture. Then, in Italy, Carla discovers the difference between ice cream and gelato. Meanwhile, Hall uncovers a unique ingredient in Turkey that gives ice cream its silkiness.

Among other stops around the world, Hall will go on a taco trip to Mexico to discover how a vertical flame helped cultures collide to create tacos al pastor. She also explores how Jamaica helped to shape the flaky crust of chicken pot pie, and in Ghana, she gets a spicy taste of the roots of hot chicken with chef Eric Adjepong.

Check out the official trailer below.

“Chasing Flavor” begins streaming on Max beginning Thursday, February 1. The series is produced by Fremantle’s Original Productions for Max.

Note: The post Max Sets Premiere Date for Carla Hall’s ‘Chasing Flavor’ appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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4 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Plus, as I previously mentioned, a lot of content is still missing from the combined feature.

Exactly. With millions now getting Hulu for free through that T-Mobile deal, this will definitely add to Hulu's total subscriber base significantly. Would love to see what impact, if any, this has on the amount of people said to be subscribers beyond the current 48 million or so that the service is said to have right now. We'll likely not see the proper figures until Q2 or as late as the conclusion of Q2/beginning of Q3.

I definitely don't think they'll be dropping Hulu as a standalone service after this news:

https://deadline.com/2024/01/hulu-t-mobile-streaming-bundle-apple-tv-netflix-1235694383/

Considering Disney+ isn't on this already, I don't see how that deal with Hulu could be signed if Disney were going to just get rid of Hulu as a standalone brand. It seems that Disney is just doing a "hard bundle," with Hulu directly integrated within Disney+ so that people who subscribe to both don't have to watch from outside one single app. Again, Hulu +  Live TV is making Disney far too much money to just drop those millions of subscribers, and there's no way LIVE content from Hulu can technically exist within Disney+ due to carriage and licensing deals. 

After spending just one year in Salem, Steve Burton is already gearing up for the next adventure in his life. In a YouTube video published on Wednesday, the actor announced that he taped his final scenes on “Days of our Lives” as Harris Michaels, a character he first portrayed on the daytime drama series in 1988, marking his first foray into soaps, and again in 2022 for spinoff series “Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem” (Chapter Two).

In the Daily Drama exclusive video, Burton said, “Well, I just shot my final scenes here at ‘Days of our Lives’ and I just wanna say, thank you so much to the cast, to the crew.” He added, “It’s been amazing. I can’t believe it’s been a year already. So, thank you so much to the fans. It’s just, I’m always so full of gratitude. So thank you. Stay tuned.”

A final airdate for Burton was not revealed in the actor’s video. However, with the show taping six to eight months ahead, don’t be surprised to see him on screen through at least the early part of summer.

A representative for the Peacock original series had not responded to a request for comment at press time.

Soap Opera Digest reports that Burton taped his final episode just before the show broke for its Christmas holiday break. In an interview with the outlet, published shortly after it was announced he would be reprising the role of Harris Michaels on “Days of our Lives,” Burton noted, “When you’re in the busi-ness 36 years and people are still calling? I’m super-grateful.”

Burton and former “General Hospital” co-star Bradford Anderson recently launched their “Daily Drama Podcast” featuring interviews with other daytime stars, including Laura Wright, Kate Mansi, Tamara Braun and James Patrick Stuart, among other content features. The podcast replaced the duo’s “It’s Awesome Podcast.”

Prior to returning to “Days of our Lives,” Burton appeared as Jason Morgan on “General Hospital” from 1991-2000, and again from 2002-2012. Soon after, he joined the cast of “The Young and the Restless” as Dylan McAvoy.

After departing the CBS soap in early 2017, Burton returned to “General Hospital” in September, remaining with the show through November 2021, when it was announced the actor had been let go from the ABC series after not complying with the network’s since vacated vaccine mandate. He reprised the role of Harris Michaels on “Days of our Lives” beginning in April 2023, appearing five months after the show first announced his return.

Last week, it was announced that Burton and his wife of nearly 25 years, Sheree Gustin Burton, were officially divorced.

Watch Burton’s announcement video below.

Burton also addressed his exit in an Instagram video.

Watch Burton and Anderson’s conversation with Laura Wright below as they discuss the inner workings of daytime television, particularly “Days of our Lives” and “General Hospital.” Plus, Burton talks about his time working on both series and touches a bit on his exit from the latter series.

Note: The post Steve Burton Exits ‘Days of our Lives’ as Harris Michaels; Actor Reveals He Only Signed a One-Year Deal With Soap appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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1 hour ago, John said:

How long until GH invites him back?

Who says they hadn't already?

^not me confirming or reporting anything.

Get ready to witness “General Hospital” star Kelly Monaco (Sam McCall) as she dons her dancing shoes once more during ABC’s broadcast of “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling,” an all-new primetime special dedicated to the daytime drama series which is celebrating its 60th year on television that is set to air  Thursday, January 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, following the network’s LIVE broadcast of “The Golden Wedding” (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET/delayed PT). The special will also be available to stream the next day on Hulu.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), executive producer Frank Valentini shared some behind-the-scenes photos of Monaco and “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Valentin “Val” Chmerkovskiy as they rehearsed, which marks a reunion for the pair. After Monaco won the first season of the popular ABC competition series back in 2005, she returned in 2012 during the show’s 15th season, dubbed the “All-Stars” edition, with Chmerkovskiy as her dance partner. The pair placed third.

“So much fun. So many surprises. Don’t miss ‘#GeneralHospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling’ – our primetime special airs tomorrow night at 10pm (EST) on @ABCNetwork,” said Valentini in his post.

Valentini’s post came in response to Monaco’s which was posted nearly two hours earlier on Wednesday morning. In her post, she said, “I put my dancing shoes back on for the @GeneralHospital primetime special (featuring a special appearance by @iamValC). ‘General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling’ airs tomorrow (January 4th) at 10pm on ABC. Don’t miss it!”

On the Tuesday, January 2 episode of “General Hospital,” Monaco was noticeably absent from the series as soap alum Lindsay Hartley (“Passions,” “All My Children,” et. al) stepped in as Monaco’s character Sam McCall for the third time. She previously filled in for Monaco in 2020 and 2022.

Valentini, Monaco nor ABC have commented on what may have caused the sudden recast at press time. However, it could be that Monaco was given time off to rehearse for the special. Either way, she’s already back taping at the show and will appear in the emotionally filled memorial episodes dedicated to the late Jacklyn Zeman and her character Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer which is set to air next week Wednesday, January 10 and Thursday, January 11.

Last month, ABC announced it would air a retrospective special dedicated to “General Hospital” that will feature a robust slate of current and past cast members, including “Dancing with the Stars” pro dancer Chmerkovskiy, who also made an appearance on the soap in an episode aired in December 2012. The special also features several celebrity surprises from “General Hospital” alums Emma Samms, Rick Springfield and Amber Tamblyn, among others. Also, look for ESPN host Stephen A. Smith to take part. Smith has made several appearances on the soap throughout the years as Brick, an enforcer who works for Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard).

“General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling” airs Thursday, January 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Check out a promo for the primetime special below.

Note: The post Kelly Monaco Dons ‘Dancing’ Shoes for ABC’s ‘General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling’ Primetime Special appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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1 minute ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

I am just posting this to let you know what it looks like when someone posts the link to a new article by you, in this example, in a Facebook soap opera group. There's the link & then this big white space which shows ap & com. That is all. 

 

I'd rather people not share articles posted on the message boards that were originally published on the Soap Opera Network website as the articles are only shared on the boards for discussion-driving purposes. If sharing on social media, share the original link which will show up as it should. The original link is always referenced where it says the following:

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Note: The post Brian Gaskill Debut Date on ‘The Young and the Restless’ Revealed appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.
 

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An example for properly sharing article links on social media (this case Facebook) is as follows:

As reported last week, soap alum Brian Gaskill is returning to daytime television for the first time in 15 years, joining CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” in the role of Seth.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the actor will make his official debut on the soap opera beginning Monday, January 8. He’s set to appear in several episodes with his character described as someone who will cross paths with Nikki. That said, the January 8-28, 2024 issue of TV Guide, on newsstands Thursday, reveals that Seth is a man Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) meets at an AA meeting.

In addition to “The Young and the Restless,” Gaskill has had several other roles in multiple soap operas, including playing David Michaels in the short-lived primetime series “Models Inc.,” a spinoff of “Melrose Place.”

Gaskill is probably best known to soap fans for his role as Bobby Warner on “All My Children” or Rafe Kovitch on “Port Charles.” Following the cancellation of the latter series, Gaskill was cast as Oscar “Ozzy” Marone on “The Bold and the Beautiful.” He would later have roles in “As The World Turns” (playing B.J. Green) and “Guiding Light” (playing Dylan Lewis).

From 2012-2015, Gaskill appeared as Chase Walker on “The Bay.” Since then, he’s appeared in a few other television shows, including “Castle” and “Casual,” among others.

Note: The post Brian Gaskill Debut Date on ‘The Young and the Restless’ Revealed appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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I'm getting a kick out of these major publications attempting to cover soap news:

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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/9996094/general-hospital-executives-replaces-actress-kelly-monaco/

SWITCHING IT UP General Hospital replaces Kelly Monaco as soap opera shocks fans with recasting ‘all three Davis sisters at once’

 

Not only don't they link to SID's article, but this is Lindsay's third time portraying the character which they even note with their inputting 2020 and 2022 in their own article. Then they take posts from X/Twitter to prove "fan outrage."

Sigh.

Dominating ABC’s primetime and late-night schedule on Sunday, December 31, ABC’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” hit a three-year high among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers in primetime and late-night, Nielsen reported on Tuesday.

Kicking things off from 8:00-10:00 p.m. was part one of the highly rated entertainment special’s primetime edition, which averaged seven million viewers and a 1.81 rating in Adults 18-49. The special was up year-to-year by +35% in Total Viewers (7.0 million vs. 5.2 million) and +33% among Adults 18-49 (1.81 rating vs. 1.36 rating) to score three-year highs in both measures – since 2020.

Part two, which aired from 10:30-11:30 p.m., averaged 10.4 million viewers and a 2.93 rating among Adults 18-49, jumping +30% year-to-year in Total Viewers (10.4 million vs. 8.0 million) and +32% among Adults 18-49 (2.93 rating vs. 2.22 rating), also hitting three-year highs – since 2020.

The second half of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” now ranks as the highest-rated entertainment telecast on any network in primetime since March 12, 2023, when ABC broadcast the Oscars.

As for the late-night edition, part one (11:30 p.m.-12:37 a.m.) averaged 18 million viewers and a 5.33 rating in Adults 18-49, peaking in the midnight quarter-hour with 22.2 million viewers and a 6.41 rating among Adults 18-49. The show was the highest-rated entertainment special on any network in two years – since ABC’s 2021 broadcast of  “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”

Up +30% year-to-year among Total Viewers (18.0 million vs. 13.8 million) and up +30% among Adults 18-49 (5.33 rating vs. 4.11 rating), part one ranked as the No.1 program on New Year’s Eve among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers, and was the evening’s No.1 most social program across all of TV and ranked a solid No.1 among social video consumption on the night, growing its video views count by +20% over last year.

Part two of the late-night portion (1:09 a.m.-2:07 a.m.) of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” which came on after ABC’s affiliates took a break for local news broadcasts, also managed to see an uptick in viewership year-over-year, averaging 5.1 million viewers (+19%; vs. 4.3 million) and a 1.47 rating among Adults 18-49 (+14%; vs. 1.29 rating).

In November, ABC announced a deal to continue bringing New Year’s Eve coverage from Times Square through 2029, signing a five-year deal with producer Dick Clark Productions, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

Note: The post ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’ Hits Three-Year Highs in Primetime and Late-Night appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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I believe one of the main reasons episode counts fell for some *ahem* actors is due to episode guarantees being reduced in contracts over the years and Frank Valentini taking over as EP in 2012. Previously, you could see out of hand it was to have actors appear in roughly 95% of every episode aired in a single year.