AWARDS SHOW CENTRAL
Airdates for all the pre-noms revealed!
This past Wednesday, the final 38th annual Daytime Emmy Awards nominations were announced. Many of you requested all the airdates (however, in rare cases, I only received episode numbers) for all the pre-noms, so here they are the Younger Actor airdates (and the rest of the categories will follow in subsequent columns). The kudofest airs live on CBS on June 19.
OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN
Brittany Allen: 8/24/10
Natalie Hall: 12/3/10
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood: 2/15/10; 2/15/16
Kim Matula: Episodes # 5866/67
DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Molly Burnett: 12/30/10
Shelley Hennig: 9/27/10
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Lexi Ainsworth: 4/27/10
Haley Pullos: 4/6/10
ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Kristen Alderson: 11/3/10
Brittany Underwood: 7/15/10
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Emily O’Brien: 3/25/10
OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN
Finn Wittrock: 7/27/10
AS THE WORLD TURNS
Mick Hazen: 5/14/10
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Scott Clifton: 8/31/10; 9/1/10
Zack Conroy: Episodes #5830; #5831
DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Casey Deidrick: 12/3/10
Chandler Massey: 11/15/10
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Chad Duell: 11/18/10
Nathan Parsons: 3/23/10
ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Edward Alderson: 7/1/10
David A. Gregory: 7/28/10
THE ART OF THE SUDS
Insiders: Diversity; and all demos key to soap opera success!
What came first: the soap or the opera? John Yorke, BBC's Controller of Continuing Drama and the showrunner behind shows like EastEnders, agrees with soap fans that American soaps need to shape up and reflect society realistically in order to survive. After all, international serial storytelling is soaring, except for the U.S.
He says, “I strongly believe that diversity is a gift to drama and we champion it endlessly. Every new ethnic, religious, or sexual group allows you the possibility of telling old stories in a new way, and viewers do seem to actually love characters irrespective of their backgrounds. The biggest story on British TV last year was a Muslim wedding [on EastEnders], in which the groom was unmasked as gay. I'm very proud of that, but it also demonstrates that we shouldn't be scared of going into new worlds and telling stories in those worlds confidently!”
As for the fight for the almighty 18-34 demo, Yorke guffaws: “Our remit is to appeal to a wide demographic so as many license fee payers as possible so it's not imperative. However, our shows do have the largest young audience of any soap, and it's something we're very keen to hold onto as they are our future audience.”
What he said.
Also, to further illustrate how short-sighted ABC Daytime is, according to The Wrap, Spanish net Univision, is expected to pull in approximately $1.3 billion, while NBC Universal's Telemundo will attract around $450 million ad dollars, both largely on the strength of the channels' popular telenovelas.
Moreover, according to Telemundo's Chief Operating Officer, Jackie Hernandez, these soap opera loving channels are now being considered a first option among many advertisers.
Across the pond, Real Housewives mastermind Andy Cohen hopes his successful soapy franchise isn’t to blame for the demise of daytime serials. “I hope that the Housewives and reality TV are not partly to blame for all of this,” he tells Soaps In Depth this week. “There are always stories to tell. Look at the success of telenovelas around the world. Everybody loves a love story.”
Not according to ABC.
THE FALL OF ABC DAYTIME
WGA-East Director speaks! Plus: Protest Rally set for May 17 ABC Upfronts
Soap fans are roaring back: As previously reported, Soap Fans United is launching a demonstration protesting the cancellations of All My Children and One Life to Live on May 17 outside Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The rally will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. to target the advertisers arriving at Avery Fisher Hall for ABC’s Upfront Presentation at 4 p.m.
The network upfronts happen annually to present fall lineups to advertisers and media to bring in dollars and promotion for the new season. Top advertisers and sponsors, along with the creative teams of new and existing shows, will all be in attendance, along with network executives, so if you’re going to plan a fan rally, this is the best place to do so.
Moreover, the savvy and mobilized group also took out a full-page ad titled “Disney Save Our Soaps,” in the May 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, which has been covered by several mainstream media outlets, along with the aforementioned rally.
For more information on the rally, you can contact reps Shawn Brady or Maree Blackston at contact@soapfansunited.com. Lincoln Center is located up the street from One Life’s studios at 132 W 65th St & Columbus Ave., New York, NY, 10023.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, TVGuide.ca spoke with Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America – East, Lowell Peterson, who is aware of the May 17 ABC Upfront fan protest and is distributing rally information to the writer's guild members in case they also want to attend.
Peterson is still lamenting the loss of AMC and One Life, stressing “it’s still important to maintain this genre. It’s broken a lot of new ground in terms of subject matter, which were once considered taboo or delicate. In addition to providing work for our members, the genre has provided enlightenment. [Soaps] have been a tremendous positive force so it’s a shame to see them being canceled.”
As for the barometer amongst New York writers, Peterson relays, “it’s very disappointing. It’s not like the shows moved, they’ve been canceled. It’s like losing a family friend for many of these soap writers.”
Peterson also notes that soap writers are “stalwarts” for going on strike two years ago to defend rights to new media royalties, etc, which aren’t applicable in the daytime world. “It was difficult for all our members to give up their salaries for the strike; the daytime writers made a lot of sacrifices.”
But there is hope for writers who want to continue in scripted TV, says Peterson. “Scripted TV is a long way from dead. It’s just shifting. I think daytime TV has a lot more life in it than ABC apparently thinks.”
THE IDIOT RATINGS: May 2-6/11
Winner: One Life still ABC’s top soap in total viewers and households! Plus: One Life only soap that’s up from last year!
Loser: All soaps plummet but AMC/One Life lose the least. Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings (Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)
Courtesy of Soap Opera Network
Total Viewers
1. Y&R 4,543,000 (-272,000/-525,000)
2. B&B 2,823,000 (-216,000/-286,000)
3. OLTL 2,498,000 (-46,000/+173,000)
4. GH 2,379,000 (-145,000/-279,000)
5. AMC 2,335,000 (-89,000/-103,000)
6. DAYS 2,239,000 (-160,000/-258,000)
Households
1. Y&R 3.3/11 (-.1/-.3)
2. B&B 2.0/7 (-.2/-.2) <---- ties low
3. OLTL 1.9/6 (same/+.2)
4. AMC 1.8/6 (same/-.1)
4. GH 1.8/6 (-.1/-.1)
6. DAYS 1.7/6 (-.1/-.2) <---- ties low
Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 936,000 (+10,000/-199,000)
2. GH 661,000 (-15,000/-230,000) <---- new low *
3. DAYS 651,000 (-15,000/-18,000)
4. OLTL 599,000 (-26,000/-125,000)
5. B&B 534,000 (-52,000/-64,000)
6. AMC 483,000 (-47,000/-153,000)
*Previous low: 676,000 (April 25-29, 2011)
All My Children, ABC/A — Susan Get Your Gun!
• All My Suds: TVGuide.ca spoke with Emmy winner Susan Lucci for an hour earlier this week in one delightful and laugh-filled interview, however bittersweet. Promoting her lovely, personal memoir, All My Life, Lucci went there when I went there. This Wednesday, Lucci will sound off why she left out Sarah Michelle Gellar out of her bio (there was a reported feud between the two actresses); how former head writer Chuck Pratt, Jr., helped destroy AMC; how Agnes Nixon was shut out of AMC and One Life creatively for years; and whether or not she felt she was thrown to the wolves when she was blindsided by her soap’s cancellation while she was on a international book tour. “I wasn’t thrown to the wolves; Agnes Nixon was,” she tells me. You won’t want to miss this interview! The rest will appear in the May 26 issue of Hello! Canada.
As most of you know, La Lucci will be headlining her first dual role, which began this week when doppelganger Jane Campbell was revealed as Erica’s kidnapper, but it’s not the traditional “twin” storyline. The age-defying goddess promises, “It’s an identity-theft storyline. It’s very modern and timely issue.” Lucci, who is a self-professed method actor, adds that she was excited to stretch her acting muscles by tackling on a new character on AMC.
Finally, Lucci revealed that Sept. 23 is AMC’s last airdate and the cast and crew will finish taping sometime in August.
• Speaking of Sarah Michelle Gellar, the Emmy winner finally sounded off on AMC’s cancellation, telling MSN.com: "I'm very upset about that. First of all, they had the audacity to cancel it on my birthday. So let's have that discussion. I think it's criminal. I remember pretending to be sick when I was younger and staying home and watching the ABC soap lineup in bed. And I realize it's tough economic times and it wasn't necessarily financially working, but there has to be a way to make it work. And these shows have been on for 40 years. I'm sorry, [but] I don't see either one of these shows they're replacing with it lasting more than a year. I really don't, and I say that with confidence. And I think, I don't think they tried hard enough to save the genre. And, it's just devastating to me."
Would she come back for the finale, the reporter asked? Well, that would be hard to do, especially considering Alicia Minshew is successfully playing Erica’s daughter – and received a Lead Actress Emmy nod this week!
But Gellar’s game: "I'm waiting for the call. I would. I absolutely would. My phone is not ringing. I think it has to be more like a bartender or something because there is someone that plays my character now. She does an amazing job with it, and it is her character now, so I'd have to play someone else. I could be the UPS man!"
• All My Comebacks: Cady McClain first airs on AMC May 17! But who will she be playing? And wow, that was fast. Didn’t someone say the Emmy winner was still in negotiations just a couple of weeks ago? Also, returning is Thorsten Kaye, who will resurrect his popular role of Zach this summer!
• Is fan fave Chrishell Stause out? Looks that way, according to Soap Opera Digest, who caught a now-deleted tweet from the actress, who posted on Twitter that she was leaving AMC early and before the finale.
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS/CTV — Taylor gets boinked by a berry, too!
• Emmy nominee and all-around funny guy Scott Clifton tweeted this the day he was nominated for the umpteenth time as Outstanding Younger Actor: “The shittiest part about Emmy noms being announced is running into the talented people you KNOW should have been nominated but got snubbed.” It’s a lonely life. Expect an interview with La Clifton very soon…
• Hurray: Hunter Tylo is finally on Twitter! You can follow her @TaylorMade4U. Score one for the persistent B&B international publicist extraordinaire, David Gregg (not to be confused with my editor, Greg David). Too bad Gregg can’t teach a course for the counterproductive publicists over at ABC Daytime.
Speaking of Tylo, the actress gives a beautiful tribute to AMC, where she cut her soap teeth on when she played Robin McCall, and One Life, soaps she and her sister used to watch. What is it about One Life? Crystal Chappell, Susan Lucci, Lisa LoCicero, and many other soap stars cut their teeth on the adventurous and smart One Life.
Tylo sighs, “As an actor, I’m just floored, because Agnes Nixon… her show was genius. Her, Bill Bell, these are icons in the industry. To see these two shows go away, it’s sad. It’s a comment on devaluing of an art form that I just don’t think it appreciated like it should be. And I’m very upset, of course, for my friends. The sadness that I felt, which is interesting – that it had caught my heart like that.”
Meanwhile. Tylo should have some fun on-screen next week when Taylor eats one of Thomas’s berries (get your mind out of the gutter) that he brought back from the island. Expect Taylor’s hallucination and subsequent behavior under the influence to be rather different than Brooke’s. I’m in!
• In story 411, “Bromas” decide to keep their possible island sex romp a secret because Thomas doubts anything carnal happened. But our Brooke knows better! Meanwhile, Thomas picks up where he left off with Dayzee.
Days of our Lives, NBC/Global — Light, camera, man-action!
• Who does Alison Sweeney think she is, Susan Flannery? Sweeney must have one sweet deal over at NBC because this past Monday, The Biggest Loser host directed an episode of DAYS! Congrats. Can’t wait to see how it turned out.
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• A bare-chested Chandler Massey was surprised in the morning with news of his Emmy nomination via his savvy publicist who caught the whole thing on camera. Check out the hotness. It’s too bad Massey’s Batman to his Robin wasn’t nominated as Younger Actor this past week. Casey Deidrick was robbed, robbed, I say!
Finally, sorry Chill fans, it looks like Will’s gay love interest is not going to be Chad, but a character played by a new actor named Freddie Smith (left), who currently plays ex-DAYS star Trevor Donovan’s love interest Marco Salazar on 90210. It’s suggested that Smith will be playing one of Justin and Adrienne’s sons. Why DAYS isn’t capitalizing on a Chill pairing is beyond me mainly because of the red hot chemistry between Massey and Deidrick – and the conflict that would arise between another Brady-DiMera pairing would set DAYS up with front-burner storyline for years. But let’s hope that Chad doesn’t turn out to be homophobic when Will comes out. |
• Crystal Chappell fans will want to run out and buy Soap Opera Digest, because the Emmy-nominated Venice creator answers readers’ questions, including if they use real booze on the set of her Sapphic web serial (Yes, they do!).
General Hospital, ABC/Citytv — Grahn reacts to Emmy nom!
• TV Guide magazine is reporting that Constance Towers will return next month during the June 27 week as villainess extraordinaire Helena Cassadine, in time for Aiden’s paternity reveal. It’d be nice if GH somehow pays homage in some subtle, sly way to Liz Taylor, who recently passed away and who originated the role of the Cassadine diva.
• Will she wear the blue “boob” dress or not; that is the question. “No, I’m not; but I’m sure the blue boob dress will show up, but I won’t be in it,” laughs Nancy Lee Grahn, who is thrilled with her 2011 Supporting Actress Emmy nomination.
Let’s just pray she doesn’t drive to Las Vegas, where the ceremony is being held again, because she could run over the entire daytime community! But seriously, Suds spoke with the Emmy winner, who won in this category previously, about re-entering the Emmy game after a little hiatus. “It took me a couple of days to realize how this process works,” she says. “Also, GH put me in the Lead Actress category, but I was like, ‘Is there a guest-star category?’ I’m way under my guarantee so I doubt I would qualify – even though in my own mind, I’m a lead. It was appropriate to put myself in the supporting race, anything else would be a lie. I’m happier for Lexi [Ainsworth’s] Emmy nomination than my own. She did such a good job in that storyline and was so committed. She deserves it – and I think she’s going to nail it.”
And luckily, Grahn isn’t competing with Lead Actress nom Debbi Morgan, who she tied with in 1989. “This category seems to like me and I really like this category. I’ve been very supportive of this medium, so I think it’s very fitting that I’m in this race.”
• Here we go again: In story 411, Lisa plots to murder Robin again.
One Life To Live, ABC — It’s Roger Howarth Day!
• When is One Life’s last breath being drawn? Rumours suggested January 6 was the soap’s last airdate, but ABC has denied that Intel. Soap Opera Networks’ Errol Lewis investigated, and ABC’s spokeswoman, Jori Peterson, actually told the truth for once! "That is not the correct date for One Life’s final episode," she said. But knowing her, it probably is the last airdate.
So that leaves January 13, 20 or 27, 2012 as finale options.
• Where’s Gary Tomlin when you need him? It’s a shame Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati are inept at choosing Emmy reels because One Life really needed the extra CBS exposure when the Daytime Emmy Awards air on June 19.
• There’s nothing better on soaps than witnessing an actor finally decide (or learn to act) on the job. David Gregory has been killing it as Ford longs for his son, Ryder. Who would have thought that the person to bring Ford down to his knees and experience a catharsis would be a cute little baby? Gregory, who has been nailing his passionate and desperate monologues as Ford, is heartbreaking opposite that little kid. Bravo!
• In future story 411, Matthew, who murdered Eddie but Clint's taking the blame, is punched in the head by Nate. On May 23, poor Matthew is considered almost brain dead, reports TV Guide magazine. With Clint needing a heart, is One Life going to pull a GH?
• Tarty for the Party: In holy-crap story 411, Marty takes off with Baby Liam next week. Just have to say that I’m loving, loving, loving Susan Haskell’s spot-on portrayal of a lunatic on the edge. Perfection. Haskell’s brilliant take on a psychiatrist bordering on a breakdown and using her training is one of the best I’ve ever seen in daytime history. Yes, it’s cliché for yet another rape victim (and one of its most iconic, to boot) to go nuts (hello: GH’s Laura) but who the hell cares because it’s organic, makes story/character sense (given her rapemance by Todd; or was that Todd?), and could open up new possibilities between Haskell and Trevor St. John.
Which begs the question: With Roger Howarth’s must-see return today, did Ron Carlivati once again just manage to save his biggest error (writing a rapemance between “Tarty” during his head-writing tenure)? I hope so, but Haskell is leaving the series. Or is she? I hope she sticks around. If Haskell puts herself in Lead Actress Emmy contention next year, it’ll be one hell of a battle between her and Erika Slezak!
• Meanwhile Ratings King, Errol Lewis, prints an important Nielsen Ratings analysis between One Life and GH, which is must-read. Click here to read why One Life is the better ABC soap bet than GH.
• The luckiest person on the planet? Whomever shaves Josh Kelly’s nether regions! Either this man is hairless or he’s very diligent in shaving his entire body, because when Cutter is practically naked in a very low-hanging towel, I can tell his religion, if you know what I mean. Levi’s should hire Kelly as its model because he has the best V.
The Young and the Restless, CBS/Global – Is Nichols leaving?
• Behave yourself, Y&R actors: According to co-head writer Scott Hamner, daytime’s No. 1 soap has plans to hire actors from One Life and AMC. "We are seeking out some very talented actors," shares co-head writer Scott Hamner. That will definitely help out with contract negotiations!
• Is Stephen Nichols out at Y&R? Next week, an intoxicated Abby accidentally runs over Tucker but Ashley takes the blame. “This was not about writing him out for a vacation,” states co-head writer Scott Hamner. “It was written purely from the point of view of dramatic storytelling and changing all the dynamics surrounding the fight for Jabot, the control of Tucker’s company and the emotional ties between people who re going to suddenly find themselves polarized.” But is Tucker F*cker heading to the soap heavens? “There is definitely a ‘tune in’ factor to see how it all plays out.” We’ve heard that before.
• Meanwhile, in story 411, is Lily losing her mind over Ghost Cane? Colin hopes so, because he’s set his sights on taking custody of his two grandchildren.
• Fame: I’m going to live forever! Erica Gimpel will recur as Detective Mauro beginning May 16. The Fame alum joins Nia Peeples and Stephanie Williams as Y&R immigrants. “We’re all about the retro,” states a very proud Hamner.
Want to dish the soaps with Nelson Branco? Join The Suds Report discussion group today on Facebook.com.
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Nelson Branco is the managing show writer for CTV's national talk show, The Marilyn Denis Show. Part time, he works as a Toronto freelance entertainment journalist, who regularly contributes to Hello! Canada, The National Post, The Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, TV Guide USA, tvguide.com, Inside Entertainment, OUT, OK!, Entertainment Tonight, etalk Daily, and fab magazine, along with spearheading the soap coverage for TVGuide.ca's popular daytime-TV hub. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1997 with a Radio and Television Arts BA degree, he moved from Toronto to New York in 1998 to take on the roles as senior news editor at Soap Opera Update. Branco first freelanced for Soap Opera Weekly as an intern in 1994, and after leaving Soap Update to help create and launch Bauer Publishing's In Touch Weekly in 2003, the Winnipeg native continued to freelance occasionally for its sister publication, Soaps In Depth. In addition, Branco has successfully helped create and launch various magazines In Touch Weekly, Hello! Canada and Canada's first celebrity magazine, Weekly Scoop, where he served as its news and entertainment director. Branco was also a producer and an on-air expert on TVTropolis series, Planet Soap. |
