General Hospital's Maurice Benard and Sarah Brown by Ron Tom/ABC
In Part 1 of our exclusive first sit-down with Sarah Brown, the three-time Daytime Emmy winner revealed what led her back to General Hospital and the concerns she had about doing so. Here in the conclusion of our Q&A, Sarah previews Claudia Zacchara's first encounter with Sonny, the inevitable face-off between "two Carlys" and the length of her new Port Charles visit. Be sure to take in every bit here, as the "lead" (that is, the truly juicy stuff) sort of got buried at the end. But oh, is it worth it. — Matt MitovichTVGuide.com: Of course, Laura Wright is now playing Carly, so you are creating a new role....Sarah Brown: I'm going to be playing Claudia Zacchara. She is the eldest daughter of Anthony Zacchara.TVGuide.com: Played by Bruce Weitz....Brown: Woohoo, I can't wait to work with him! TVGuide.com: Is Claudia totally a tough cookie or does she have a soft spot somewhere?Brown: Oh, she has a soft spot, because she's being played by me. [Laughs] I can't fathom playing a ...
read more
General Hospital's Sarah Brown by Ron Tom/ABC
A funny thing happened in the six-plus years since Sarah Brown left General Hospital — the role of Carly, the hell-raising, rollerblading tomcat she created back in 1996, was recast. A lot. With Laura Wright now embedded in the role, when Brown resurfaces in Port Charles on Jan. 31, she will have a brand-new vixen to bring to life — Claudia Zacchara, the prodigal daughter of mob boss Anthony. Here in Part 1 of TVGuide.com's exclusive sit-down with Brown, the three-time Daytime Emmy winner shares how her GH return came about and reveals why she is excited to be back. — Matt Webb MitovichTVGuide.com: When did the talks to return to GH first start up?Sarah Brown: Oh, I want to say about five months ago. It was a really interesting happenstance. TVGuide.com: Was it a call from [ABC Daytime president Brian] Frons or...?Brown: No, it was nothing like that. First, I haven't seen Maurice [Benard, Sonny] or anybody from the show — except for Tava [Smiley, ex-Chloe] and St...
read more
Drake Hogestyn by Chris Haston/NBC
I knew we were in for a bumpy ride when All My Children started the year by murdering Dixie — the show's heart and soul — with a plate of poisoned pancakes. But hey, that meant more airtime for Zarf, a rude, suffocatingly hammy, penis-flashing transgender rock star who fell in love with Pine Valley's saintly lesbian Bianca. Appropriately, fans on the Internet named the couple "Barf." In a pathetic attempt to boost ratings, Days of our Lives pretended to kill its most popular male character, John, played by Drake Hogestyn. Even the cast was fooled. But with the Nielsens staying flat, Hogestyn is now back at work and we're left to wonder: How the hell can we ever invest in Days again?General Hospital viewers had a fit and threatened to stop watching when heartthrob Jax was held hostage and forced into sex by a loony Russian chick. Meanwhile, they didn't seem to mind when a Port Charles strangler killed three women.Things that made me cringe: Constantine Maroulis on The Bold ...
read more
A day late and perhaps a dollar short on top of that. But nonetheless, I would be remiss if I did not share my resolutions for 2008. Such as:• The consensus is deafening and I cannot ignore it any longer. Though I have never seen a single episode, nor do I have the opportunity to "catch up" with previous-season DVD sets, I resolve to watch The Wire when it returns this week.• Provided that the strike ends... someday... and we start getting new How I Met Your Mothers, I resolve (again!) to finally track down Alyson Hannigan for a Q&A.• The sometimes groanworthy Private Practice? I resolve to stick it out through the end of the season.• I resolve to do whatever is within my meager yet undeniably increasing powers to get 30 Rock's audience into the seven mil range.• As managing editor of this fine site, I resolve to shout from the mountaintops, in the loudest manner possible using HTML, the resolution of the WGA strike once it arrives.• I resolve to de...
read more
Kirsten Storms and Kristina Wagner by Ron Tom/ABC
Few soap queens stir up as much fan fuss as Kristina Wagner. But the beloved star's return to General Hospital on Dec. 20 won't be a happy holiday homecoming. Her character, Felicia, is back for the funeral of her teen daughter Georgie (Lindze Letherman), the latest victim of the Text Message Killer. "It's just so sad," Wagner says. "On my first day back, I cried through 13 scenes and left feeling pretty blue."Last seen two years ago, Felicia has been away on the flimsiest of excuses (a sick aunt in Texas), and her other daughter, Maxie (Kirsten Storms), is furious about it. "Maxie tears into Felicia during the eulogy and puts her down for not being present and available," Wagner says. "Felicia runs out of the funeral, and to honor Maxie's feelings, she doesn't even go to the burial. Later, she rushes to Georgie's grave for a few moments, hoping Maxie doesn't see her. It's a terrible way to say goodbye." — Michael Logan
read more
Genie Francis in 'The Note,' courtesy Hallmark Channel
Inspired by the message at the heart of The Note, the Hallmark Channel movie she stars in this Saturday at 9 pm/ET, Genie Francis wants to make amends with any General Hospital fans who to this day — decades after the fact — were disappointed to see her quit the sudser at the peak of her popularity. "I know that Laura [Baldwin Spencer] meant a great deal to many people, and still does," says Francis. "I've long regretted not taking the fans into account when making the hasty decision to leave the show."Forgiveness and reconciliation are at the core of The Note, and filming it forced me to look inside myself at certain decisions in my past.... Right now I want to reach out to all of my fans and say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you so abruptly, for not taking into account the feelings of the people who helped Laura truly take on a life of her own. "It was the decision of a young, impetuous girl," Francis says in closing, "and the woman she has become asks for your...
read more
ABC Daytime and SOAPnet have partnered on a first-ever "Hot Guys" calendar, featuring some of the (ahem) biggest stars from All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. The 14-month 2008 calendars will first be made available at ABC's Super Soap Weekend (taking place Nov. 10 and 11 at Disney MGM Studios), then later at ABCTVStore.com."Who's the beef?" you ask? The calendar features AMC's Thorsten Kaye, Cameron Mathison, Aiden Turner and Jacob Young, OLTL's Kamar de los Reyes, Michael Easton, David Fumero, John-Paul Lavoisier and Trevor St. John, and GH's Maurice Benard, Steve Burton, Tyler Christopher, Jason Thompson and Greg Vaughan.OK, now where's my female soap stars calendar, featuring Bree, Kelly, Cady and Marie?! I'm envisioning a playful pillow fight theme.... — Reporting by Matt Mitovich
read more
Natalia Livingston and Tyler Christopher by Ron Tom/ABC
As the World Turns: And Baby Makes Five Paul (Roger Howarth) and Rosanna (Cady McClain) get hitched, but Paul may have impregnated Craig's gal Meg. Naturally, somebody will mess with the paternity test. Holden and Lily head for divorce court. Nutty moms Barbara and Iris team up for villainy. General Hospital: Murder at the Ball Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) throws a black-and-white ball climaxing in the death of a top character. The story rewinds 11 hours, then each episode moves forward one hour — à la 24 — to reveal what really happened. Who's going bye-bye? There's much buzz that it's Nik's ex-wife Emily (Emmy winner Natalia Livingston), but ABC is strictly mum. One Life to Live: What a Drag Baby snatcher Marcie (Kathy Brier) evades the law via an offbeat underground railroad that finds her performing with drag queens in Georgia and getting help from a Katrina family in New Orleans. Plus, Tuc Watkins, briefly sprung from his gay-neighbor gig on Desperate Housewives, ...
read more
Maurice Benard by Scott Garfield/ABC
SOAPnet's Sunday schedule revamp, effective Oct. 14, finds the One Life to Live marathon moved to noon to 5 pm/ET, where it will be followed by the General Hospital marathon. Then, from 10 pm to midnight, the cabler will offer up "Relax & Relapse," a new programming block offering up what is described as "essential, historical" GH episodes featuring "pivotal characters and key episodes." Asked to elaborate, a SOAPnet rep cites the train crash, Brenda's return, and other memorable episodes that, more likely than not, will have relevance to a current GH storyline.The Days of our Lives marathon then follows, from midnight to 5 am.
read more
Nazanin Boniadi and Jason Thompson in GH: Night Shift by Adam Larkey/SOAPnet
New View cohost Sherri Shepherd has joined the lineup for the 12th-annual ABC Super Soap Weekend, to be held Nov. 10-11 at Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The complete list of talent includes these stars from your fave ABC shows: All My ChildrenSusan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, David Canary, Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Thorsten Kaye, Michael E. Knight, Alicia Minshew, Aiden Turner and Jacob YoungGeneral HospitalBradford Anderson, Julie Berman, Tyler Christopher, Josh Duhon, Sonya Eddy, Rebecca Herbst, Kimberly McCullough, Kelly Monaco and Laura WrightGeneral Hospital: Night ShiftNazanin Boniadi, Dominic Rains, and Kent King will join GH regulars Thompson, McCullough, Anderson, and EddyOne Life to LiveKristen Alderson, Kathy Brier, Brandon Buddy, Kamar de los Reyes, Kassie DePaiva, Michael Easton, Forbes March, Erika Slezak, Trevor St. John, Tika Sumpter and Bree Williamson
read more
