Laurence Lau by Steve Fenn/ABC
Lau of Attraction: Former All My Children idol Laurence Lau (who can forget Greg and Jenny?) joins As the World Turns Aug. 18 as Brian Wheatley, who'll run Oakdale's new foundation for sick kids. Cougar alert: Look for granny Lucinda to get the hots for him. Beth in Show: Beth Maitland, the incandescent actress who brought The Young and the Restless its very first acting Emmy (back in 1985), returns to the soap Aug. 13. Her character, Traci Abbott, shows up at a Jabot board meeting where they're choosing the next CEO. Her ex-hubby Brad wants the job but doesn't get it.The Billy Club: Billy Miller, brilliant but way too evil to stay in AMC's Pine Valley as psycho Richie Novak, will be the new Billy Abbott on Y&R. The character's previous portrayers include Ryan Brown and Emmy winner David Tom. — Michael Logan
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Michael Gross by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
One of the great patriarchs of '80s TV, Family Ties star Michael Gross, will join The Young and the Restless on Aug. 15. He'll once again be seen as an antiestablishment, hippie dad — only this one is radically different.On his beloved sitcom, Gross played Steven Keaton, a former '60s peacenik holding onto his flower-power principles while trying to raise a family in Reagan's America. On Y&R, he's River Baldwin, a former Vietnam-era activist who was connected to a group of student terrorists.So far, viewers have been led to believe that River — the long missing dad of Genoa City attorney Michael Baldwin (Christian Jules LeBlanc) — was a drifter, druggie and draft dodger who abandoned Michael and his mother, Gloria (Judith Chapman), and fled to Canada. He was also wanted for murder after his participation in a bank bombing."But the truth is not so black and white," says Y&R head writer Maria Arena Bell. "In trying to track down his father, Michael fears he's go...
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Danny Trejo by John Sciulli/ WireImage.com, Vincent Pastore by Jason Kempin/ WireImage.com
Two "top" soaps are turning to proven baddies to add some ferocity to their canvases.The Young and the Restless has tapped no less than Danny Trejo — you know him and have been intimidated by him in any number of big-screen thrillers (The Devil's Rejects, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Con Air...) — to play a bartender who lends Victor his ear when the tycoon passes through Mexico. Trejo first airs Aug. 11. At General Hospital, Vincent Pastore — who is perhaps best known as The Sopranos' Big "Kitty" (sorry, had to work around the blog's language filter) — is coming on board this October as doctor lawyer business tycoon firefighter philanthropist WSB agent mobster Maximus Giambetti, aka Max and Milo's pop. Pastore is also a part of a new promotional campaign touting daytime television's "unlikely" fans. — Matt MitovichSoaps-related primetime news:• Exclusive: Private Practice Landos Night Shift's Billy Dee• Exclusive: Ugly Betty Taps Pretty Hunky Mark Consuelos
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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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The Young and the Restless courtesy CBS
I'm liking the babe-geezer romance of Sabrina and Victor on The Young and the Restless, but why the snoozy setup? Outta nowhere, Victor has become an avid art collector (Sabrina's his consultant), leading to weeks of pretentious art talk, museum visits, even cameos by real-life artists. This isn't a plot! It's barely a pseudosituation, and the show has way too many of those lately. (Will Karen conquer her stage fright? Who will take an ad in "Restless Style" magazine?) What happened to all the emotionally epic, high-fever stories that made Y&R such a landmark? This soap has somehow lost its opera. — Michael Logan
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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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Joshua Morrow by Albert L. Ortega/WireImage.com
The Young and the Restless vet Joshua Morrow has joined the lineup for Secret Talents of the Stars, a CBS reality competition launching Tuesday and pitting assorted interestingly abled celebs against each other. In the April 15 outing, Morrow will perform an "edgy rock-and-roll" act with extreme juggling pro Marcus Monroe. His competish for the night: Girl Next Door Bridget Marquardt (performing... um, on a trapeze), country crooner Jo Dee Messina (dancing hip-hop) and boxing champ Roy Jones Jr (rapping). Viewer votes determine who moves on to the next round. Now help Joshua pull a Kelly Monaco and win this enchilada! — Matt Mitovich
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Cast of The Young and the Restless by Robert Voets/CBS
Today’s Video Break: The Young and the RestlessEpisode Number: 8858Year: 2008Why we love this episode: Gloria is convinced she sees John’s ghost. Katherine comes clean to Jill about her mini stroke. Nikki confides in Kay about David’s addiction. God how we love the drama of daytime television! Watch it now! | More online videos
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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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Matt Dallas by Eike Schroter/ABC Family, Alex O'Loughlin by Cliff Lipson/CBS
It may be slim pickings for fans trying to score last-minute tickets to the 25th Annual Paley Festival in Hollywood. Luckily, the Paley Center for Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to television, new media and radio, has added 11 star-studded panels to its spring 2008 lineup, kicking off March 28. Kyle XY, Bones, Moonlight, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Greek, The Young and the Restless: 35th Anniversary, The Sarah Silverman Program and The View are just a few of the hit shows who now will participate in the spring season. The casts and crews, it has been revealed exclusively to TVGuide.com, will field questions from the general public in bicoastal screenings, followed by intimate Q&A sessions. “It is an honor to be recognized as a successful show,” says Kyle XY himself, Matt Dallas. “This season was a great season and we are proud of the work we have accomplished thus far. We are excited to go back to work and continue to make a show that we all...
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