Genie Francis by Bob D'Amico/ABC
She's baaack.Genie Francis is returning to General Hospital next month to reprise her role as Laura."This is a short visit," Francis, 46, told the AP. "It's a mother-daughter story. Years ago when I started playing the character as a 14-year-old girl, it was a mother-daughter story, only I was the daughter. So it's kinda cool this is full circle. It's nice to come back for visits. General Hospital is my home."She'll return to a storyline involving Lulu, her daughter with Luke Spencer (played by Tony Geary).Laura was last seen in Port Charles in 2007 in a mental institution, having slipped back into a catatonic state. The return engagement — in which she and Luke renewed their vows — won her the Daytime Emmy for Best Supporting Actress.Luke and Laura's 1981 TV wedding, by the way, still ranks as daytime TV's highest-rated soap opera episode, attracting 30 million viewers.Francis — who lives in Maine and runs a home furnishing shop — said producers assured her Laur...
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Antonio Sabato Jr. by Joel Warren/SoapNet
In Part 1 of this Q&A, Antonio Sabato Jr. talks of cheating death on Celebrity Circus. Meanwhile, on Season 2 of SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift (arriving July 22), he will breathe new life into onetime rebel-without-a-cause "Jagger" Cates, whom he last played (on GH) in 1995. Sabato surveys what's ahead for the hood-gone-good. — Matt Mitovich TVGuide.com: Had ABC tried previously to get you back to GH proper?Antonio Sabato Jr.: There was some talk, but I didn’t really know about it. There were rumors, through the fan clubs and places, about Jagger coming back. And then it came to be this year. [GH casting director] Mark Teschner, who's a good friend of mine, called me up and said, "We'd love Jagger to come back, on Night Shift. You're the only one who has ever played him, and no one else can play him." That’s how it went. And then we had an issue [with Celebrity Circus], where I would lose a day of training. But I said, "I have to make both happen. They ...
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TV Guide Network is looking to tally up and show off today's sexiest soap stars — both the chiseled, six-pack-toting fellas as well as the wavy-haired, born to come-hither femmes.Just to be clear, we are not looking for the prettiest or the most talented. We want sexy.Nominate your favorites here in comments. Just remember to spread the lust, giving kudos to both actors and actresses.Find out where your favorites landed when TV Guide Network counts down Soaps' Sexiest Stars on Sunday, July 13, at 8 pm/ET (the women) and Sunday, July 20, at 8 pm (the men). Ready... set... suggest!
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SOAPnet has picked up General Hospital: Night Shift for a second season to launch in July, after the General Hospital spin-off scored record ratings for the cabler in its first year.As for changes, Season 2 will not only be shot in high definition, it will feature continuity between Night Shift and the ABC mothership. (Good news for those who remember how the first time around, Jason was imprisoned during the "day" yet roaming about/playing hero at "night.") Characters from Night Shift's first season will return, along with new players and "legacy characters" from ABC's long-running daytime drama.Even more siginificant than the series attracting record numbers of viewers to SOAPnet was its No. 5 ranking among women 18-49 in all of basic cable for its timeslot, given the network's limited distribution. — J.R. WhalenRelated:• Tristan Rogers Checks Back into GH• Antonio Sabato, Jr. Working the GH Night Shift
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Jeanne Cooper by Robert Voets, Peter Bergman by Robert Voets, Tracey Bregman by Tony Esparza/CBS
Nominations for the 35th annual Daytime Emmy awards were announced Wednesday, and CBS' daytime lineup has the early lead with 51 total nods — or for comparison purposes 12.75 nominations per soap. ABC netted 27 noms for its three sudsers, while NBC's Days of Our Lives and Passions amassed 10 bids between 'em.Among the noteworthy tallies, The Young and the Restless collected 11 acting nods, including at least one contender in every race, while Days made an atypically strong showing, scoring four acting nominees. Kudoscast host ABC, meanwhile, may want to instead broadcast a test pattern, as All My Children, General Hospital and One Life to Live netted just three acting nods combined. That said, both GH and OLTL are vying in both the outstanding drama series and writing contests.The major races:Lead ActressMaura West (Carly, ATWT)Crystal Chappell (Olivia, GL)Nicole Forester (Cassie, GL)Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R)Jeanne Cooper (Katherine, Y&R)Lead ActorDavid Canary (A...
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Debbi Morgan by Steve Fenn/ABC
Over the past couple of months, many daytime greats have returned to the suds — some in old roles, some in new ones. So how are these prodigal kids doing? Michael Logan shares his take.Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams (All My Children) It's been worth a gazillion plot contrivances to see Angie back with her "dead" Jesse after 20 long years. Oh, how we've longed for her blazing soul and Earth Mother passion! How much we've missed his sass and cool and cut-to-the-chase honesty! And aren't they still incomprehensibly beautiful together? Watching these legends reunite in that terrific train-station scene made me realize how starved we soap fans are for true, epic love. Clearly, you can go home again.RATING: 5 out of 5 starsTamara Braun (Days of our Lives) She was the best and most electrifying of the four gals who have played Carly on General Hospital — save your irate letters, you can't change my mind! Now she's opened up a big can o' whoop-ass on Salem as Ava, a bodacious b...
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All My Children courtesy ABC
The 100-day Writers Guild walkout crippled most of showbiz, but all the daytime soaps stayed in production and most of them stayed in the pink — no drastic ratings slides, no horrible creative collapses. In fact, some shows are in better shape because of the strike. Free of head writer Hogan Sheffer, Days of our Lives has regained its heart and emotional chutzpah. The reunion of Grandpa Shawn (Frank Parker) and his long-lost dying sister Colleen (Shirley Jones) left me blubbering like a fool; the subsequent plane crash where Shawn sacrificed his life for his loved ones was harrowing and poignant. It’s been a long time since Days made us care this much. The Young and the Restless has quickly and vastly improved without exec producer/head writer Lynn Marie Latham, a wildly destructive force who fired many of the show’s great longtime staffers and filled the writing team with cronies (including her husband and son). CBS will not bring her back. Best. Decision. Ever.All M...
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Kimberly McCullough and Michael Sutton by Cathy Blavis/ABC
If you're crazy about General Hospital's Kimberly McCullough — and who isn't? — don't miss the SOAPnet marathon Robin Unwrapped (kicking off Sunday at 10 am/ET). McCullough's character, the HIV-positive Dr. Robin Scorpio, recently became pregnant, and this three-hour homage helps trace her journey to this landmark point.Getting a replay is the popular 2006 episode when Robin and Patrick (her eventual babydaddy) first admitted their love for each other, as well as the 1996 hour that featured her sweet, steamy frolic with Jason during a Port Charles heat wave.But best of all is a multi-hanky episode from 1995 in which Robin's AIDS-stricken lover, Stone, is able to focus his eyes and gaze upon her one last time before he dies. McCullough earned the second of her two Emmys for that one. You'll easily see why. — Michael Logan
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Shell Kepler, who played General Hospital's nurse Amy Vining for 23 years, died Friday at Oregon's Health and Science University Hospital. She was 49.Although the actress, whose cause of death has not been released, was on the soap from 1979-2002, she also had roles in several eps of Three's Company and a 1982 Joan Collins movie, plus she was an entrepreneur. Kepler marketed on HSN Lacy Afternoon, a line of women's garments which in 1994 reportedly was worth $20 million. — Anna Dimond
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Brandon Beemer, Martha Madison, Jay Johnson, Nadia Bjorlin by Paul Drinkwater/NBC
Days of our LivesFour top characters — Philip, Shawn, Chloe and Belle — will hop a private jet to Ireland to find Belle's kidnapped daughter. And go figure: Philip adds to the stress onboard by demanding Belle choose once and for all between Shawn and him. "Could there be worse timing?" Martha Madison says with a laugh. The actress, who plays the freaked-out mom, promises a "huge reveal in Ireland that will tie up over 20 years of story and explain why the DiMeras have such a vendetta against the Bradys." And we finally learn the true identity of Belle's father, John Black (Drake Hogestyn). "It'll change everything in a big way," Madison promises. "Belle's gonna be a DiMera! Who'da thought?"All My ChildrenIt's no secret All My Children's Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) likes men — witness her 11 marriages and countless trysts — but she's never enjoyed an interracial romance. Until now. Actor Mario Van Peebles joins the show this week as Erica's new love interest, Samuel...
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