I don't think we've ever recieved one single story as a tip from as many different readers as we have on this article about All My Children's plans to cast an Iraq Vet on the show.

"An open casting call for "All My Children" is far from business as usual: The soap opera is seeking an Iraq war veteran to play an injured veteran.
AMC

Beth Ehlers plays an Army lieutenant on "All My Children." She'll link up with a soldier she thinks is dead.

The ABC daytime show has created a romantic story line to combine entertainment and a window into the challenges faced after combat, said executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers.

"All My Children" has launched a broad search to fill the role, inviting veterans to contact the show's New York casting director. The series also is working with a veterans' support group, USA Cares, as well as the military.

"It will make it such a heightened experience for the audience and for us ... to cast a real-life soldier, a veteran, and bring him into our created drama," Carruthers said.

The veteran-turned-actor will play the character of Brot, a key figure in a plot that's already under way and involves a visitor to fictional Pine Valley, Army Lt. Taylor Thompson (Beth Ehlers). Continue Reading...

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Like clothes through a spin cycle, so are the Days of Our Lives. Days of  Our Lives released a press release today confirming the appointment of Gary Tomlin as co-executive producer and thanking fired exec Ed Scott for his "contributions" and "amazing energy". 

Hmmm, it's been awhile since I took my undergrad publicity and media affairs course, but I remember something about facing a scandal head on being touted. Instead of skating, make that doing figure eights, around the issue at hand - Scott's alleged re-writing of Dena Higley's scripts and claims that he gave certain actors free reign to do the same - why not issue a firm statement about how Days of Our Lives doesn't condone violations of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), which is why Days had to come to the "painful decision" to relieve Scott from his duties? I mean, that's how this lil' ol blogger would have handled it. Oh well, again, that would be "too much like right". Here's the spin release, er press release in full:

  Continue Reading...

Sarah Bibel has written an excellent piece called Unhealthy Dialogue about the recent firings of Ed Scott and Josh Griffith and how it cut close to home for her since she worked for both Scott and Griffith in the past. She also points out how only in daytime writers are considered interchangeable and expendable. Here is an excerpt.

"It seems like the writers’ strike ushered in a new era of nastiness in daytime. While the rest of the entertainment industry shut down, daytime, as it has during every other strike, kept going...Daytime writers were the only writers forced to choose between their union and their job, the only ones with anything to gain by leaving the union. If a couple of primetime writers went financial core, NBC wouldn’t have handed them Heroes. It’s only in daytime that writers are considered to be interchangeable and expendable."

Read Unhealthy Dialogue.

Editorial director of Soap Opera Digest and its sister publication Soap Opera Weekly, Lynn Leahey revealed to TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco today that former Weekly editor Carolyn Hinsey won't be replaced.

"There will be no new editor at Soap Opera Weekly," says Leahey. "I will be assuming control of the magazine, while Stephanie Sloane continues as editor at Digest."

As Branco previously reported, budgetary issues were at the root of Hinsey's role being phased out.

"Everyone knows when a new owner steps in, the person with highest salary is the first to go," says Branco. "The same thing happend to Mimi Torchin when Primedia took over."

Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Digest were both acquired by Source Interlink last May when the media corporation purchased Primedia's Enthusiast Media (EM) Division.

Today on Daytime Confidential Luke and Jamey visit with General Hospital Script Writer Karen Harris about her new web series Life in General which premieres on Strike TV.

Starring Jordan Bridges, Days of Our Lives' Arianne Zucker, General Hospital's John Ingle, Lindze Leatherman, and Scott Clifton, among others, Life in General is the story of the people who work on the second longest running soap opera on American television, Greenville General.

Join us as we learn the inspiration for Life in General and Greenville General and how their development was born out of the Writers Strike. Read Karen Harris' Strike TV Blog and watch the Life in General Trailer.

Hear about Karen Harris' work on General Hospital: Night Shift and how she loves to write for the Scorpios and Scrubs. Find out what it is like for her, as a writer on the original The Incredible Hulk and Knight Rider, to see the series reborn in film and in primetime.

All this and more on today's special episode of Daytime Confidential.

Note: We just recieved word that the Daytime Confidential Exclusive code for previewing Life In General should be available for 200 lucky Daytime Confidential listeners and readers later this week. Due to the Beta testing it was not yet available at the time of publication for this interview.

Check out these Life in General related links: Life In General MySpace Profile, Life in General Facebook Profile, Karrin Harris' Strike TV Blog, Arianne Zucker's Lowd Suga', Lindze Leatherman Official Website, Scott Clifton Official Website and Strike TV.

Have a question or comment for the Daytime Confidential podcast? Leave us a voicemail by calling (917) 677-9757.

Listen to Daytime Confidential by clicking on the Daytime Confidential Player at the bottom of this post or Download us for FREE via iTunes. Vote for us on Podcast Alley. Add us as a Friend on MySpace. Drop by our sister site TV Fan Online and visit with other soap fans in the TV Fan Online Forums.

Last week TV Guide Canda's Nelson Branco handicapped the 2009 Daytime Emmy Lead Actor category. In this week's Nelson Ratings he's handicapping the Supporting Actress category. Here are his picks.

Ellen Dolan (Margo, ATWT)
Marcy Rylan (Lizzie, Guiding Light)
Catherine Hickland (Lindsay/Olympia, One Life to Live)
Kathy Brier (Marcie, OLTL)
Lea Delaria (Madame Delphina/Delbert Fina, OLTL)
Judith Chapman (Gloria, The Young and the Restless)

Wild Cards: The increasingly astonishing and mesmerizing Andrea Evans (Tina, OLTL) not only has a lot of friends in daytime, but she’s also raised her game to new acting heights and artistic depths. Although the Mendorran storyline that ushered her historic comeback was punishingly insulting, Evans has somehow miraculously proved soap actors can indeed turn crap into gold. As aforementioned, if NATAS creates a guest star category, then Delaria may earn a nod there instead.

Be sure to check out the Nelson Ratings for more industry coverage and commentary.

If you had to choose, which five actors do you think would be up for Supporting Actress if you were handicapping next year's Emmy Awards?

Calling all One Life to Live fans to put on your thinking caps. In the next few days we'll be recording our Top 10 Ways to Improve One Life to Live episode as part of our ongoing summer series the Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Favorite Soaps.

Each week as part of our Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Favorite Soaps seires we'll be going in depth and discussing how to improve each show. We had planned to have two shows per episode it turned out that they each need to be their own individual episode.

Make your suggestions by commenting on this post or calling the Daytime Confidential comment line at (917) 677-9757.

On today's episode Daytime Confidential begins the first of eight episodes focusing on The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Favorite Soaps. Join Luke, Mike, Jamey and Nicki as they discuss and debate The Top 10 Ways to Improve Guiding Light. This may be Daytime Confidential's longest episode ever so buckle up for an in depth discussion on Guiding Light.

In each of The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Favorite Soaps the Daytime Confidential gang will discuss some of the common issues facing the soaps as well as some of the unique problems facing each show.

This along with your comments on the blog and on the Daytime Confidential Comment Line makes for an entertaining discussion on the ills facing Guiding Light and its fans.

Have a question or comment for the Daytime Confidential podcast? Leave us a voicemail by calling (917) 677-9757.

Listen to Daytime Confidential by clicking on the Daytime Confidential Player at the bottom of this post or Download us for FREE via iTunes. Vote for us on Podcast Alley. Add us as a Friend on MySpace. Drop by our sister site TV Fan Online and visit with other soap fans in the TV Fan Online Forums.

Nelson Branco has updated Friday's Suds Report today (Sunday) with more information about Ed Scott's firing from Days of Our Lives by Ken Corday and reveals that The Young and the Restless' Josh Griffith has been given his walking papers.

Check out the excerpt below.

Moments after Giddens’ bombshell scoop aired online, The Suds Report soon learned The Young and the Restless executive producer Josh Griffith was also given his walking papers on the very same day. Astute Suds readers will remember TVGuide.ca broke news suggesting CBS chief Barbara Bloom was angling to replace Griffith this past June. The reason? Griffith was also reportedly re-writing Maria Arena Bell’s scripts. However, after the Writers Guild of America sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Y&R studios, “Josh stopped hijacking scripts immediately, but everyone still wanted him fired,” points out a snitch. One can only assume Paul Rauch, who recently served as a consultant on Y&R on a short-term contract, will most likely inherit the top spot on daytime’s No. 1 soap opera.

Read the Suds Report for more details.

Hey everyone! Hope your weekend is going well! Buckle up folks and keep your hands in car, it's going to be a bumpy ride this week on All My Children!

Fusion:   Last week I told you that JR devises a plan to take over Fusion for Babe who is all too happy about the plan and Adam will be throw his hat into the bid, however, hold the phone, here comes Pete Cortland! Yep I said Pete, who plants his lips on Colby right in front of the old coot.  Pete uses Adam's anger to his advantage and they come to an understanding with the help of daddy P.C.   Look out Fusion girls, the Cortland's and the Chandler's know how to play dirty! Annie Lavery puts herself into the middle of  the takeover, could this be the way to rid herself from Greenlee land? 

While a plan is being cooked up to take over the cosmetic giant, Amanda and Babe tell Kendall and Greenlee that the company is doing so well because they have been showing up at the office and working.  This goes right over the heads of the creators of Fusion.  Mrs. Devane and Mrs. Slater are too gungho about getting the dirt on CrazyAnnie when they learn about the key, what will it unlock? Continue Reading...