Paula's Soapbox

ATWT, AMC, and Y&R alum Cady McClain is working on a new docu-series called Seeing is Believing: Women Direct - and she needs your help! The actress has set up an Indigogo campaign to fund the project and with a month left you still have time to grab some great perks in exchange for your donation! Just $5 will get you a photo showing your support. $25 will get you a journal written by Cady and early access to the first episode and $50 will get you a signed photo of Cady dressed as a chicken on AMC in 2011! The donation perks go all the way up to $10,000 so there are plenty of things to choose from. Fair warning though - supplies are limited!  For instance, there are only 5 signed photos of Cady in the chicken suit left, so the sooner you can donate the better! Go to her  Indiegogo   for more information! 

The drama continues between Prospect Park and ABC. According to  Deadline.com   Prospect Park is suing ABC for $25 million dollars. Prospect Park claims that ABC is in "breach of contract" over the OLTL characters who were essentially on loan from them. Reportedly this will not affect the re-launching of OLTL and AMC on April 29th. Of course it remains to be seen what if any impact this will have on General Hospital and the characters that Roger Howarth, Michael Easton, and Kristen Alderson will ultimately play when they return to the show. You can read the full article by clicking on the deadline.com link above. I'll post updates as they become available. 

I have tons of updates to tell you about on the AMC reboot. First off Jill Larson (Opal) announced via  facebook   AJ has been aged and will be played by actor Eric Nelson (pictured below). Larson also posted a pic of the new Cassandra, played by Sal Stowers... a pic of Miranda played by Denyse Tontz... and a pic of Opal's son Petey, played by Rob Wilson... Also Jordi Vilasuso (Griffin, ex-Tony, GL) posted a video tour of the new dressing rooms:  In addition  Soap Opera Network   is reporting that actor Ryan Bittle will be playing JR Chandler: photo by Hallmark Channel  Also,  Soap Opera Digest   is reporting that Ray MacDonnell (Dr. Joe Martin) will be appearing in the reboot.  In other news Susan Lucci appearing on The View this morning and talked about the possibility of returning to AMC. See a clip below:  Also  ABC Soaps in Dept...

Earlier today actress Kassie DePaiva (Blair, OLTL) tweeted her excitement for the OLTL reboot, set to begin production later this month.  It's difficult not to get excited about the renewal of these soaps when the stars are this enthused. Despite the fact that many people don't like watching tv online, I really hope AMC and OLTL can defy the odds and build an audience, making history in the process. Now that we are down to only four soaps on network tv the success of these shows online is imperative to the future of the genre.  According to  ABC Soaps in Depth   AMC and OLTL will alternate their tapings in Connecticut until both shows have filmed for 17 weeks.

Earlier today  Soap Opera Digest  posted a press release from The Online Network, the future home of All My Children and One Life to Live. The release states that production for both shows will begin on February 25th. They will air sometime this spring.  As previously reported the following actors have been confirmed to re-join AMC:  Lindsay Hartley (Cara) Vincent Irizarry (David) Thorsten Kaye (Zach) Jill Larson (Opal) Cady McClain (Dixie) Debbi Morgan (Angie) Jordi Vilasuso (Griffin) Darnell Williams (Jesse) In addition  ABC Soaps in Depth   is reporting that David Canary (Adam/Stuart) is coming back and that Susan Lucci (Erica) will re-join for one episode.  The following actors have signed on for OLTL: Melissa Archer (Natalie) Nick Choksi (Vimal) Kassie DePaiva (Blair) Josh Kelly (Cutter) Florencia Lozano (Tea) Kelley Missal (Danielle) Sean Ringgold (Shaun) Erika Slezak (Victoria) Hillary B. Smith (Nora) Robin Strasser (...

Actress Debbi Morgan tweets the start date for taping the AMC reboot. It looks like things are well under way. Here's hoping everything works out this time.  Are you excited for the new AMC? 

Soap Opera Digest   is reporting casting news for both GH and the new AMC. AMC is looking to recast the part of Cassandra, previously played by YaYa DaCosta. GH is looking to cast for an entirely new role (big surprise), a male hospital intern. Both of this roles will be contract, so we will most likely be seeing a lot of them. Stay tuned to soap opera digest and this blog for more updates! 

With the recent announcement that AMC and OLTL are once again attempting to move their production online, the viability of the Internet has never seemed more evident. There are numerous cyber soaps and web serials, some good, some not so good. If you've never seen one it is important to note that you cannot expect the same production quality that we are used to seeing on television. The money just isn't there yet, but I believe at some point in the future it will be. Look how far television has come since we switched from radio programming. Like the rest of you I have no idea what the future holds for AMC and OLTL. If they do succeed in moving online, they may not be exactly the shows you remember. Like all cyber soaps, the production quality will undoubtedly be different than when it was on tv, but I hope that people will give them a chance despite that. I also hope you will give other online shows a chance because many of them show great potential and take very little time to...

Nominations for the 38th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced last week. The following is a list of the categories that you will be most interested in, along with a few that you probably won't be and will likely never see announced during the Emmy telecast. For more information and to see a complete list of nominees go to http://www.emmyonline.org Outstanding Lead Actress Alicia Minshew (Kendall) AMC Debbi Morgan (Angie) AMC Colleen Zenk (Barbara) ATWT Susan Flannery (Stephanie) B&B Laura Wright (Carly) GH Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) Y&R Outstanding Lead Actor Ricky Paull Goldin (Jake) AMC Michael Park (Jack) ATWT James Scott (EJ) DOOL Maurice Benard (Sonny) GH Christian LeBlanc (Michael) Y&R Supporting Actress Melissa Claire Egan (Annie) AMC Julie Pinson (Janet) ATWT Heather Tom (Katie) B&B Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) GH Bree Williamson (Jessica) OLTL Tricia Cast (Nina) Y&R Supporting Actor Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) GH Jason Thompson (Patrick) GH...

I've been a fan of "Hot in Cleveland" since before it started airing on TVLand last year. I mean Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli, and Betty White, what's not to love? Then to find out that Wendie Malick's character was a former soap star, well, that was just icing on the cake. I assumed that this would be the extent of the soap opera references though. I thought there would probably be running jokes about Victoria Chase's glory days as a soap actress and that would be it. I certainly never anticipated a crossover event that would bring AMC's Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight, and Darnell Williams to this show and would bring Wendie Malick to AMC. The beginning of this crossover happened last Wednesday when Malick's Victoria Chase went to L.A. to tape a guest spot for AMC alongside her longtime rival Susan Lucci. Obviously the purpose of this event is to boost ratings since soaps are relevant to the character, but it also proves that soaps a...

Perhaps nothing is more disheartening to a soap fan than to see a favorite character behave in ways that are, well, out of character. This is what happened to Aiden Turner's character, Aidan Devane just prior to his departure from "All My Children." Now, in a new interview, my friend and fellow soap blogger Michele Dargan of Soapbox1 , sits down with Aiden to ask him the tough questions about his time in Pine Valley and whether his future might allow for a return to the show. Click here to read the full interview, complete with new photos of the former soap star. His answers may surprise you!