Errol

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.

Read More

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

Quote

 

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.

Read More

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.

Glad you like it!

We also just added a similar feature for monthly episode counts.

For the third time in three weeks, and the first of 2024, “General Hospital” has temporarily recast a key role, this time with “Passions” alum Lindsay Hartley stepping in as Sam McCall, replacing Kelly Monaco, on the Tuesday, January 2 episode of the daytime drama series.

In the episode, Hartley, who has previously filled in for Monaco in episodes aired in 2020 and 2022, shared some hot and heavy scenes with Dominic Zamprogna, who plays Dante Falconeri on the daytime drama series. Dante and Sam have been romantically involved storyline-wise since 2021.

Hartley’s sudden appearance as Sam follows last week’s temporary recast with Nicole Paggi (“Hope & Faith”) appearing as Maxie Jones, replacing Kirsten Storms, and Courtney Fulk temporarily replacing Eden McCoy as Josslyn Jacks. McCoy had taken a leave of absence from the series shortly after losing her mother to cancer in November. McCoy returns to the set this month and is expected to appear on-screen again sometime next month.

For those wondering what happened to Monaco, details on what caused her absence were not known at press time, but don’t fret: the actress is already back taping at the show and will be a part of next week’s emotionally filled memorial episodes dedicated to the late Jacklyn Zeman and her character Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer who the people of Port Charles will learn has passed away. Zeman herself passed away in May after a short battle with cancer.

The two tribute episodes are set to air on Wednesday, January 10 and Thursday, January 11. Monaco can be seen in the cast photo sitting next to on-screen sister Kate Mansi (Kristina) and on-screen mother Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis). Standing behind Monaco is the aforementioned Zamprogna as Dante, who is there to support his girlfriend.

In addition to appearing on “General Hospital” as Sam McCall occasionally, Hartley is probably best known to soap fans for her iconic portrayal of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane on “Passions.” She also starred in the soaps “All My Children” and “Days of our Lives.”

Outside of acting, Hartley has directed a number of made-for-TV movies for Lifetime and Tubi, among other providers.

Note: The post Lindsay Hartley Steps in for Kelly Monaco as Sam McCall on ‘General Hospital’ appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

1 minute ago, Antoyne said:

This writer is clearly a Phyllis fan

Or, as I like to joke around saying, an intern who doesn't know anything about the topic they are writing about. But that's just me being rude. Otherwise, I agree, it must be a Phyllis fan. Haha.

Didn't know where to post this, but I found this effing hilarious:

https://people.com/lauralee-bell-jump-scares-young-restless-castmates-video-8421035

55 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Aren't we still on a one-day delay from pre-emption (as Sofer's December return was post-poned one day)? My guess is tomorrow's episode may likely feature them.

Right, which is why I said at least on December 29. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

7 hours ago, Toups said:

Did GH air their annual year end full credits? 

Nope. At least not on December 29, 2023. 

It’s been ten years since SOAPnet signed off as the first and only cable network devoted to airing episodes of current and classic soap operas 24 hours a day. So, how have viewing habits changed since the network signed off? Let’s break it down!

Since officially dissolving as of 12:00 a.m. ET on January 1, 2014, SOAPnet has been replaced by a multi-platform world where watching shows on the go has become the new standard via streaming capabilities.

For instance, instead of watching episodes of “General Hospital” on ABC or catching up at night on SOAPnet back in the day, viewers can now watch the show Live and On Demand on Hulu, the ABC App and ABC.com. In fact, if you missed an episode, you no longer have to wait for a weekend marathon to catch up. Now, you can watch up to two weeks On Demand at your leisure with what we now call binging, or if you utilize the DVR feature courtesy of a Hulu + Live TV subscription, you can hold as many episodes as you want until you delete them.

As for “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless,” Paramount+ is their official streaming home, in addition to watching daily on CBS. Fans can watch Live and On Demand via a Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscription or just On Demand with the Paramount+ Essential plan. Before Paramount+, both shows and a plethora of other CBS programming were available to stream on CBS All Access. The rebrand to Paramount+ in 2021 resulted from Viacom and CBS merging to become ViacomCBS, which itself has since been rebranded to Paramount Global.

Starting in September 2022, “Days of our Lives” left NBC after nearly 57 years on broadcast television, becoming a Peacock exclusive series. Peacock renewed the series for two more seasons in March, which will cover the show through its show’s 60th anniversary. The move to Peacock marked the first time that a daytime drama series had become exclusive to a streaming service, not including the short-lived reboots of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” which at launch were available on Hulu and the discontinued Hulu Plus premium option, along with the ability to purchase episodes on the since discontinued iTunes store. Prior to being exclusive to Peacock, same day episodes were available to stream for free on Peacock hours after the show’s NBC broadcast starting in April 2020.

Before streaming, and several months prior to SOAPnet’s final broadcast, same day episodes of “The Young and the Restless” were moved to then CBS-owned TVGN starting in July 2013. “The Bold and the Beautiful” joined its sister soap on the channel in December 2013, and so did “Days of our Lives” in August 2015 when TVGN was rebranded to Pop TV. 

In the years since acquiring all three soaps, “Days of our Lives” was dropped from the channel in 2016, with “The Bold and the Beautiful” following suit in 2017. “The Young and the Restless” remained on the channel until 2019. Since 2020, the channel itself has become virtually obsolete, airing no original content. This is a far cry from when it gained mainstream attention with the well-regarded and critically acclaimed comedy series “Schitt’s Creek,” which ended its run in 2020 and later swept all seven major categories in which it was nominated during “The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards,” including Outstanding Comedy Series.

The Pop TV website is rarely updated and mainly highlights “NCIS: New Orleans” and “Law & Order” reruns as part of its schedule. In fact, the page links to a TV schedule featuring a list of crime reruns and links to curated Paramount+ programming. Beyond that, the channel also promotes its never-updated social media platforms, all of which last saw any attention from a Paramount intern in April. Ironically, considering the lack of updates, the website notes that the network is “TV the way it should be: effortlessly entertaining and home to some of the most buzzed-about shows in television, including ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘One Day at a Time.’”

Outside of the failed SOAPnet-like rebroadcast attempt by Pop TV and a plethora of streaming options currently available, another more modern way of watching the soaps is through FAST (Free Ad Supported Television) services, such as Pluto TV from Paramount Global or Unlocked Channels from ABC.

In October 2021, Pluto TV launched the Soaps Channel dedicated to rebroadcasts of “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.” While initially saying there were plans to provide fans with additional episodes from other daytime and primetime soaps, the channel continues to only air episodes from the two CBS stalwarts. Pluto TV is available as an app on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Playstation, Tivo, Xfinity, Roku, and other Smart TV-enabled devices, including those designed by Samsung and Vizio. You can also stream programming via its website, plutotv.com, without registering or signing up. By doing so, however, you can customize your viewing experience.

ABC launched a beta version of the all-new “General Hospital Spotlight” FAST Channel in May. The channel allows fans to watch episodes of the daytime drama series from 2018 and later for free at any time, 24/7, with no login required. The channel was officially launched in late June and is available exclusively on ABC.com or via the ABC App.

SOAPnet launched on January 20, 2000, and after nearly 14 years of broadcasting, the channel ended its run at the stroke of midnight, airing the final 2013 episode of ABC’s “General Hospital” (originally aired on Monday, December 30). Throughout the episode, viewers were treated to endless commercials promoting ABC and ABC Family programming, including “General Hospital,” and the since-canceled shows “Revenge,” “The Chew,” “The Fosters,” “Switched at Birth,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “Ravenswood.” ABC Family was rebranded to Freeform in 2016.

As stated by Anne Sweeney, the then co-chair of Disney Media Networks and then president of the Disney/ABC Television Group, “SOAPnet was created in 2000 to give daytime viewers the ability to watch time-shifted soaps, before multiplatform viewing and DVRs were part of our vocabulary. But today, as technology and our businesses evolve, it makes more sense to align this distribution with a preschool channel that builds on the core strengths of our company.” That preschool channel, named Disney Junior, formally replaced SOAPnet on cable and satellite services on January 1, 2014, marking the official end of the channel and “the new way to watch soaps.”

“Disney discontinued their SOAPnet broadcast. The SOAPnet channel is no longer available from any television provider,” read a message immediately after the channel signed off.

Read a detailed background on the Rise and Fall of SOAPnet

Note: The post Life After SOAPnet: How Soap Fans Watch the Four Remaining Daytime Soaps in 2024 appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

On Monday, January 1, 2024 (New Year’s Day), the two broadcast networks that still carry scripted programming as part of their daytime lineups, ABC and CBS, are set to provide a different set of programming than they offered on Christmas Day, with ABC airing The Rose Parade along with sports, while CBS is set to air reruns of its regular daytime schedule. Meanwhile, Peacock releases an all-new episode of “Days of our Lives.”

On ABC, the network will broadcast “The Rose Parade” from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET/8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PT. Marking its 135th year, the annual event brings residents and visitors to Pasadena, California as they celebrate New Year’s Day with grand floats covered in flowers, spirited marching bands, and high-stepping equestrian units. Immediately following the parade, the network will air its coverage of College Football with the Cheeze-It Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee game. 

As a result, ABC will preempt its full daytime schedule, including “The View,” GMA3: What You Need to Know” and “General Hospital,” on both the East and West Coasts. All three shows will return to airing original episodes on Tuesday, January 2.

As for CBS, the network is set to air reruns of its entire lineup, including “The Price is Right,” “The Young and the Restless,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “The Talk” and “Let’s Make a Deal.”

In the case of “The Young and the Restless,” the series will air episode #7739, which originally aired on October 17, 2003, and is a continuation of the repeat that the network aired this past Friday. In the episode, Nick (Joshua Morrow) questions Sharon’s (Sharon Case) loyalty, J.T. (Thad Luckinbill) and Brad (Don Diamont, now Bill Spencer on “The Bold and the Beautiful”) work together to rescue Colleen (then played by Lyndsy Fonseca), and Kevin (Greg Rikaart) keeps up appearances with Lily (Christel Khalil).

On “The Bold and the Beautiful,” the show continues airing episodes from its Rome, Italy location shoot, this time episode #9049, which originally aired on Monday, June 26, 2023. The episode featured Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) surprising Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) with a romantic gesture via a private performance by opera singer Andrea Bocelli, while Liam (Scott Clifton) confided in Wyatt (Darin Brooks) about his trip to Rome. Veronica Bocelli (real-life wife of Andrea) also appears as herself.

Watch a snippet from Andrea Bocelli’s performance below.

Both “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” along with the rest of the CBS daytime lineup, return to originals on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

As for “Days of our Lives,” which is the only daytime drama series airing an original on New Year’s Day, the people of Salem ring in the New Year with a bang. As Paulina and Abe (Jackée Harry and James Reynolds) celebrate together, Tate (James Martin Mann) finds Holly (Ashley Puzemis) unconscious after she is the victim of tainted pills. After learning what happened to her daughter, Nicole (Arianne Zucker) is beside herself. Elsewhere, Theresa (Emily O’Brien) is furious with Alex (Robert Scott Wilson) when he suggests that Tate might have been involved with Holly’s drug use. Lastly, Harris (Steve Burton) has questions for Stefan and Ava pertaining to what happened to Holly.

Watch this week’s “Days of our Lives” promo below.

“Days of our Lives” streams all new episodes weekdays exclusively on Peacock. Visit PeacockTV.com for more information.

Note: The post Sports Preemptions, Classic Soap Rebroadcasts and an All-New ‘Days of our Lives’ Sets the Tone for New Year’s Day 2024 appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

9 hours ago, dragonflies said:

They wouldn't reverse it cause Frons wanted it gone. His pet was GH even though GH is the one that deserved cancellation

That did make sense Errol but also that was the covid era and all show's ratings were down big time. So is it really an accurate comparison?

Ratings were terrible in the first few months following the pandemic shutdown, yes. However, when B&B and Y&R are the only ones showing improvement over those 2020 numbers, I think it is worth noting. It shows it's taken time for them to build back their audiences while the other shows, which had gotten early bounces (like the game shows) are definitely not performing so great. I could add 2019 to further compare if that helps clear things up even better, but I'm not sure it would.

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

I think that is the point to show the numbers during 2020, the height of covid, when production was at a halt, and weren't we only getting only a couple new episodes a week.  The comparison shows how the soaps have rebounded (or not as the case may be) since the pandemic.

We started getting all-new episodes every day like we used to when B&B went back to originals on July 20, 2020. Y&R and GH soon followed in August, and DAYS, which technically never stopped airing originals, returned with episodes filmed after the pandemic shutdown in October. 

Otherwise, yes. 

1 hour ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

What should have been reversed? 

ABC's decision on canceling One Life to Live should have been reversed before they made the announcement. The show was on an upward trend in the weeks/months before the decision and was outpacing General Hospital in many instances, not to mention it remains the highest-rated canceled soap of the last 30 years and the only soap within that time frame to gain viewers during its final months on the air (not just a last-minute bump for finale week).

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

That's a good question. I keep asking myself that too!

@Errol???

Never mind  see Errol answered it.

Sí

20 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Thanks that makes more sense. Why do they compare to 2020 anyways?

I started adding additional years to compare the current ratings to so as to put in perspective how the shows are doing relative to a trend. I did this because we were long told that All My Children and One Life to Live were canceled due to their trend of losing viewers. Therefore, when you look at how a show does this week, last week or compared to one year ago, you don't have a clear picture of how the networks are looking at the positive or negative aspects of a show. For instance, OLTL was trending upward just before it was canceled. But it was down in the two years prior, which justified ABC's decision even though it should have been reversed before announcing the decision.

The fact that Y&R and B&B in particular still manage to outpace their 2020 numbers when most shows (daytime, primetime or otherwise) can't say they are up in anything compared to any recent periods, it's necessary to mention or highlight when people claim the sky is falling and the shows are about to be canceled or placed strictly on streaming.

I started out by doing two year differences and then adding three year differences a while back. This way, when available, you can see how the show is doing this year relative to last year, two years ago and three years ago. If the trend is just down, down, down or up, up, up (or some other mix) then you can understand why a show is either canceled or renewed.

Does that make sense?

12 minutes ago, BrendaB said:

Why does this show keep propping up a z-list ESPN talking head as a "star"?  Do sports fans even think of him as a star?  No sports fans are watching General Hospital and soap fans are not watching sports, anyways.  The show is overflowing with 60 years of superstars in film, television, stage and music that they could be highlighting on this special.  So it's ridiculous they keep trotting out and propping up Brick or whatever-his-name-is like that.

He's cheap (already works for Disney). He likes the show and talks about it to his millions of followers on social media and is good friends with Maurice Benard in real life. It's a cross-promotion type thing if you think about it. On the day the show airs, he can talk about it on his ESPN show to hopefully get people to tune in, plus he can share the news on his social channels.

As for the stars you are speaking about, most of them refuse to mention they ever worked on the show, much less any soap opera, and they are more likely to want to get big paydays for appearing on the special.

For the fourth consecutive week, and the fifth time overall this season, “General Hospital” attracted fewer than two million viewers during the week of December 18-22, 2023, according to the latest Nielsen figures available to Soap Opera Network. Note: Women 18-49 and 25-54 ratings were unavailable at press time.

“General Hospital” (1.915 million) was down by -12,000 viewers week-to-week, marking its fourth consecutive week in which the series has lost viewers. Among Households, the daytime drama series kept its 1.3 rating. 

A possible cause for the show’s decline in recent weeks could be attributed to a carriage dispute between TEGNA and DIRECTV, which began Thursday, November 30, and has resulted in the satellite provider losing access to 66 TEGNA-owned television stations across the United States. Thirteen of those stations are ABC affiliates, including WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth, the fifth-ranked DMA (Designated Market Area). WFAA is the most watched station in the market and the highest-rated ABC affiliate overall that is not owned by The Walt Disney Company, parent of the ABC Television Network.

That said, TEGNA also owns 15 CBS stations and 22 NBC stations, and neither network is seeing noticeable declines among their daytime shows. In fact, “The Price is Right” (3.978 million / 4.497 million) saw hefty week-to-week gains as viewers headed into a long Holiday break and was the week’s big winner among Total Viewers.

Both half hours of the popular game show added +396,000 viewers on average compared to one week earlier, plus “The Young and the Restless” also saw week-to-week gains, adding +72,000 viewers over the week of December 11-15, 2023. Meanwhile, “NBC News Daily” brought in +75,000 additional viewers compared to last week.

“The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” continue to show improvement over their 2020 figures, with the former adding +149,000 viewers while the latter added +155,000 viewers. In fact, “The Bold and the Beautiful” is also up over its comparable performance during the same week in 2021, adding +35,000 viewers.

“The Talk” and “The View” aired amended repeats for the week and are excluded from the weekly rankings.

What follows is a breakdown of how the daytime broadcast shows performed during the week of December 18-22, 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 18-22, 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.

“The Talk” and “The View” aired amended repeats. As a result, neither show was rated by Nielsen.

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:

• Pending Updates

Note: The post Daytime Broadcast Ratings for the Week of December 18-22, 2023 appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

Brian Gaskill is heading to Genoa City next month when he appears on CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” as a new character named Seth, a man Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) meets at an AA meeting.

First reported by Stephanie Sloane in her all-new “Soap Dish” column for TV Guide Magazine, on sale January 4, 2024, Gaskill says his experience on the show’s set has been good and praised his co-star. “Melody has been incredibly inviting and kind, a joy to work with,” says Gaskill, who noted, “It feels amazing to be back [on a soap set].”

Making a name for himself in Hollywood in 1994 when he played the role of 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 on “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.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest published last year, Gaskill said of his time working on soaps, “I love the medium and I think I have a lot to bring to the table. If the part was right and if I was right for it, I would love to do it.”

At press time, an official airdate for Gaskill had not been released.

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

Read More

2 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

@Errol I got it in the mail today it's dated Jan 8 - 28 and has Sam Heughan on the cover

It's fine. No worries. I understand that print issues come out sooner than digital ones. My only concern was that technically it's not supposed to be out yet.

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens, and that holds true for former Soap Opera Digest editorial director Stephanie Sloane. The veteran soap journalist has joined TV Guide as a columnist.

According to a post published earlier this month on the TV Insider website (online counterpart to TV Guide), in announcing Sloane’s joining the publication, writer Meaghan Darwish noted that Sloane is eager to answer all the burning questions in her new column. Soap fans are being asked to email [email protected] with questions for their favorite soap stars or submit questions in the comment section found at the bottom of the post on the TV Insider website (click here).

Sloane’s column, titled “Soap Dish,” makes its debut in the January 8-28, 2024 triple issue of TV Guide, on sale January 4, 2024.

“Stephanie has been covering the drama of daytime TV for more than 30 years as a writer and editor at Soap Opera Digest. With her unparalleled access to all the stars, producers and creators, you can expect major scoops, behind-the-scenes coverage and insider stories in every issue of TV Guide Magazine that you won’t find anywhere else,” reads a description of the new column, which is receiving a primo spot within the magazine, appearing within the first 15 pages thus far out of the usual 135-140 page magazine.

In addition to Sloane’s content appearing in future issues of TV Guide, fans can also find more from Sloane on TV Insider in the new year.

In November, Sloane exited a360media, publisher of Soap Opera Digest, after the company eliminated her position as VP, editorial director while deciding to fold the print magazine and the teen books she oversaw, including  J-14. She began her writing career straight out of college in 1990 when she joined Soap Opera Digest.

The legacies of both brands remain in the digital space via soapoperadigest.com and j-14.com. The company honored the remaining balance of paid subscriptions for the print edition of Soap Opera Digest by providing Women’s World as a replacement magazine.

Last week, Sloane, along with former Soap Opera Digest editors Meredith Berlin and Lynn Leahey, took part in a live interview with Alan Locher on “The Locher Room.” Throughout its nearly 50 years in print, Soap Opera Digest became the go-to magazine for all daytime fans to read and learn more about their favorite storylines, actors, characters, and behind-the-scenes scoop. Sloane replaced Leahey as the magazine’s top editor in 2011. The final print issue of Soap Opera Digest was dated November 13, 2023 (shown above).

To watch what Sloane, Berlin and Leahey had to say about their time overseeing Soap Opera Digest, click here, or watch below.

Note: The post Former Soap Opera Digest VP, Editorial Director Stephanie Sloane Joins TV Guide as New Soap Columnist appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

Nearly two years after separating, Steve Burton (“Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital,” et al.) and Sheree (Gustin) Burton are now officially divorced, several media outlets reported on Thursday.

In July 2022, Burton filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 25 years, citing irreconcilable differences. According to the filing, their official separation date was listed as March 1, 2022, with Burton seeking joint legal and physical custody of the couple’s two minor children, Jack, now 17, and Brooklyn, now 9. Their eldest child, Makena, is now 20 years old.

News of Sheree and Steve’s separation first came to light in May 2022 when Burton commented through an Instagram story to clear up confusion following fans posting messages on his timeline congratulating the actor after Sheree made a since-deleted post on Instagram to announce she was pregnant with her fourth child. The daytime veteran stated the child was not his. 

“I wanted to clear something up. Sheree and I are separated,” said Burton in his Wednesday, May 4, 2022 post. “She recently announced that she’s expecting her 4th child. The child is not mine,” he noted, adding, “We are still co-parenting our three beautiful kids. We would appreciate privacy at this time.”

In October, Shree again took to Instagram to announce she was expecting her fifth child, a daughter. In her post, she shared, “If you would have told me I was going to have 5 kids with 2 of them being born in my 40s I would have laughed and said you were crazy but God has a plan, and here I am and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for my life and the people in it.”

Sheree has yet to indicate by name either child’s father publicly. 

According to PEOPLE, both parties waived their rights to spousal support “now or at any time in the future, regardless of the unforeseen circumstances that may exist in the future.” However, Sheree will receive $50,000 in retroactive support, while Steve will pay her $12,500 per month in child support for the aforementioned minor children until April 2024. Thereafter, the amount will be reduced to $10,000 per month.

Since exiting “General Hospital” as Jason Morgan in November 2021, after he was let go from ABC for not complying with the network’s since vacated vaccine mandate, Burton has since reprised his original soap role as Harris Michaels on “Days of our Lives.”

Note: The post Steve Burton and Sheree (Gustin) Burton Finalize Divorce After Nearly 25 Years of Marriage appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

Read More

24 minutes ago, janea4old said:

For Michael Maloney's articles in recent issues of TV Guide print magazine - something similar occurred - a few of his print articles appeared later/longer on the tvinsider website.

I imagine they'll do the same for Sloane. In fact, here is a somewhat buried article on tvinsider, dated Dec. 8, announcing Sloane's arrival. 
https://www.tvinsider.com/1114181/soap-stars-storylines-characters-burning-questions/

You are so damn good at research!

10 minutes ago, Errol said:

You are so damn good at research!

According to that post, it looks like Sloane's content will appear on the TV Insider website, along with the print/digital edition of TV Guide magazine.

Per a source at TV Guide, the print and digital issue isn't supposed to be on sale/available until at least January 4. But like @janea4old pointed out, print subscribers might get the magazine early, although this doesn't appear to be related to print.

7 minutes ago, janea4old said:

Per the coming issue that was posted early, TV Guide now has a new section called "Soap Dish" by Stephanie Sloane.  I wonder if that will replace what Maloney offered in recent issues, or be alongside that?
Link to other thread:  link

Based on what you linked/shared, it's clear that Stephanie Sloane is now in charge of that section and it is getting more attention from the magazine's editors as they are asking fans to email [email protected] if they have a question for their favorite soap star. Good for her.

Among other changes at TV Guide, Jim Halterman (West Coast Bureau Chief) was recently let go. Among his many contributions to the magazine, he was the one who primarily covered soap content within the magazine prior to Michael Maloney's written content and now Stephanie's column/section. Prior to the shuttering of SOD last month, Halterman would have a snippet here or there in every other issue about the soaps and would sometimes have a longer story published on TV Insider (online counterpart to the magazine) along with a Zoom with the actor.

Next year will be an interesting one. That I can already tell.

4 minutes ago, janea4old said:

TV guide sends their print issues out in the mail at least a week or more before it's released digitally.    It's been common in past few years to see articles tweeted out far in advance because people get the issue early.

 

Not disputing that. However, the copy that's been circulated around the web isn't from a print edition.