Could this really be true or is it just another check out line attention grabber?  Will Maurice Benard really vacate his role as mob man Sonny Corinthos? Maurice Benard celebrates his 15th anniversary with General Hospital this month.

My thoughts: Most likely the mag did an interview with Benard regarding the end of his current contract and his feelings about things beyond General Hospital.  I wouldn't take this as his exit interview but wonders never cease. 

Mischa Barton graces the cover of the September issue of Marie Claire magazine and I must say for a lady with questionable fashion taste, Mischa looks absolutely gorgeous on this cover.   All My Children fans remember Mischa from her days playing Lily Montgomery and of course her break out role as Marissa Cooper on The O.C. 

Inside the mag, the actress dishes on her recent troubles, the press and her love life.

“I’m lucky to know you can have more than one soulmate in life,” she says. “But, like a true actress, I’m always changing the way I feel about who I want to be. Nowadays, I feel I’m settling more into a woman and I’m understanding who I am.”

Beth Ehlers' first airdate on All My Children appears in this weeks Soap Opera Digest. She is set to grace our screens on Thursday, July 24th as ex-soldier Taylor McBride. Earlier this year, Ehlers vacated her role as Harley Cooper on Guiding Light after 20 years. Hopefully, her presence in Pine Valley will make for some great drama.

 

Soap Opera Digest online is reporting that The Young and the Restless will go on its first big location shoot to Paris in October. The storyline and the actors who will accompany the show to Paris have yet to be announced. However, this Y&R viewer believes that it has to do with Sabrina, Victor, and that whole crew. If that does happen, I'm unfortunately sure we would all be susceptible to more French talk. Then again, I could be completely wrong. Nevertheless, I think the show going on location has potential.

Soap Opera Digest online has released the cast list for General Hospital: Night Shift. The list is as follows below, but be sure to check out the shows  season premiere on Tuesday, July 22 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SoapNet.

Antonio Sabato Jr. as Jagger Cates
Tristan Rogers as Robert Scorpio
Kimberly McCullough as Dr. Robin Scorpio
Jason Thompson as Dr. Patrick Drake
Sonya Eddy as Epiphany Johnson
Billy Dee Williams as Touissant Dubois
Adam Grimes as Dr. Kyle Julian
Carrie Southworth as Dr. Claire Simpson
Ethan Rains as Dr. Leo Julian
Azita Ghanizada as Dr. Saira Batra

Young and the Restless star Christian LeBlanc recently sat down with Soap Opera Digest online to discuss his character Michael Baldwin's crazy family. In the interview, Christian speaks about how the Baldwin-Fisher clan came about and the special relationship Michael and Gloria share. Here is a little snippet of what he had to say about that, but be sure to check out the entire interview. 

Weekly: Your scenes with Judith are wonderful, and so is the dynamic between Gloria and Michael. Do you realize how special it is?
LeBlanc: Judith is brilliant, and Gloria and Michael's relationship is special. They never say they love each other. He never calls her Mother. It's always Gloria. When you're on a daytime show, it's like doing a play on Broadway. How do you keep yourself from being bored and make it fresh and new every day? I tell you, when I have scenes opposite those characters, Gloria and Kevin, I just don't know what to expect. I can't tell you what reading Judith or Greg will give, because they're that good. It keeps me interested, and that's such a joy.

Daisyclover1938 sent us the heads up and we'd like to give her a BIG OLD SHOUT OUT for making it into Soap Opera Weekly!  Daisy sent in her thoughts to the mag about the recent JaSam scenes.  Way to go Daisy and thanks for the scan!

‘Tis the summer to reunite families with loved ones on your favorite shows.

Soap Opera Digest online is reporting that the following will be headed to your favorite soap:

On Bold and The Beautiful, Patrick Duffy (Stephen) will reprise his role of the Logan patriarch starting June 20. His arrival’s just in time for him to meet his long lost grandson Marcus (Texas Battle) and his estranged wife in La La land.

On All My Children, the Van Peebles family has another family member to have soaps added onto their phenomenal resumes. All around Renaissance man Melvin Van Peebles will be joining his son Mario (Samuel) in Pine Valley.  Melvin will play Samuel’s dad named appropriately, Melvin starting July 10.

The elder Van Peebles is known for not only being a actor/director/screenwriter playwright and composer but also for his groundbreaking film, “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” where he wrote, produced, scored, directed by, and starred in the film making it the top grossing independent film that was released in 1972.

 

 

Mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce! Soap Opera Digest is reporting that Little Richard will appear on The Young and the Restless. The Rock and Roll Legend is set to perform at an upcoming wedding. However, it's not the wedding you’re thinking of. Jeffrey and Gloria elope on June 30th, and Little Richard performs at the ceremony. In the words of the legend himself: "Shut Up!"

Summer brings a lot to the table in the world of soaps. You can always count on make ups, break ups, betrayal, danger, and enough drama to give Broadway a run for its money. Check out these summer previews that will turn the Guiding Light red hot!

Olivia/Alan/Dinah: It's a summer of bickering and revenge for these three. Not only with Dinah have Bill and Ava living in the Spaulding Mansion, but Olivia as well. That's right, Olivia moves into the big house at Ava's request. Naturally, two women as strong as Dinah and Olivia are going to butt heads. Expect a few cat fights to explode between the women. However, these two should focus there attention on Alan rather than themselves. Alan wants to be back on top by all means necessary this summer. The way he goes about reclaiming his fortune and power will be "strange" to say the least. 

Bill/Lizzie/Ava/Remy: Bill wants to have the American Dream this summer. He figures the best way to do that is to marry Ava! No, I’m not kidding. Bill proposes to Ava. Just guess what her answer is. When Lizzie finds out Bill and Ava's news, she is crushed. She still loves Bill with all her heart but things are just beyond messed up right now. To keep her mind off Bill and Ava, Lizzie searches for a new love and continues her plan for revenge on Bill. Let's go back to Ava for a bit. She may want to have a dream life with Bill, but Remy is the one she's dreaming about. Ava finds herself getting closer and closer to Remy. Will something happen between these two? Here's a better question: When will Ava's secret come out so Bill can kick her to the curb and go back to Lizzie?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
Blake/Coop/Ashlee: I apologize to the fans of Coop and Ashlee right now, because you aren't going to like what happens.  All of Blake's pursuing pays off because she gets Coop. Coop connects with Blake on a higher level than he and Ashlee are on. Speaking of Ashlee, the poor dear is still having self-esteem issues. Even though she is losing weight, she continues to be unhappy. Right as Blake and Coop are connecting, Ashlee finds a new innovative activity to focus on. Will this activity pull her further away from an already wandering Coop?

Reva/Jeffrey/Cassie/Josh: Reva's movie ignites some serious drama. The recreation of Josh and Reva's first wedding at Cross Creek has Cassie and Jeffrey squirming in their skin. The wedding brings Josh and Reva closer together, entirely too close for Cassie and Jeffrey. How will the closeness of "Always" affect the relationships of Josh/Cassie and Jeffrey/Reva? Staying on Reva for a bit, she finds herself at a crossroads. She loves Jeffrey but the memories of Josh are really getting to her. What will she ultimately do to solve her dilemma? Will her solution involve Joshua in any way? Speaking of Josh, he is still having a problem dealing with Cassie's betrayal. Cassie is desperately trying to keep her tryst with Cyrus a secret. She better hope that when Josh finds out that it was Cyrus, it doesn't push him into Reva's arms. 

Mallet/Marina: Things get pretty hot and heavy for these two during the summer months. Look for them to be steaming up your screens in the near future.  Mallet is truly falling for Marina and Dinah knows that. It tears her up to see Mallet with another woman. However, don't think Mallet is completely over Dinah yet. Mallet and Dinah had a true love affair and feelings like that don't go away in the blink of an eye.

Daisy/G/Cyrus: Cyrus has nothing but trouble on his hands in the upcoming summer months. His brother, G, is the root of most of his problems. Cyrus wants to keep G and Daisy apart, but doesn't do a good job of it. Daisy is drawn to G and The Coopers, Reva, and Cyrus can't understand why. Daisy slips further and further down that dark path of trouble with G. Cyrus is torn on protecting his brother or Harley's daughter. He feels responsible for the both of them. Who does he choose? Anything is possible in this situation. On top of all that, Cyrus still has to deal with Cassie. His brother killed her daughter. How will Cassie react when she discovers this tidbit of information? More importantly, how will it affect an already stressed out Cyrus? 

Harley: Here's an extra Harley scoop for all of you. Even though she may not be in Springfield, her presence will still be felt. RUMORS say that a Harley return is possible. So Harley won't make a permanent exit from the show. More RUMORS say that GL is looking to recast Harley. Names like Cady McClain have been considered for the role. It is still unclear if Harley will return to town after her June 23rd exit date.

Hopefully, it will be one spicy summer on daytime’s longest running drama.