1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party. 1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.  1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.  1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"History is a vast early warning system."
― Norman Cousins

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

The great American road trip is about to get a lot gayer. EastSiders, the Indie Series Award-winning LGBT series from writer/director/actor Kit Williamson, has announced that their third season will follow the show’s central characters Thom (Van Hansis, five-time Daytime Emmy nominee for his work on As The World Turns and EastSiders) and Cal (Kit Williamson, Mad Men) as they hit the highway from New York City to Los Angeles. Will this be the trip of their lives, or the end of the road?

The producers have launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete the new season. The journey home to Silver Lake was shot on-location in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and (of course) California over 35 days last fall. Now the production is seeking funding for additional shoot days, and post-production costs. The campaign is set to run until June 6th, by which time they must have raised their minimum goal of $60,000 or they will not receive any of the funds. The first two seasons of the series were also financed through crowdfunding, with two successful campaigns raising over $178,000.

Previous cast members Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat), Brianna Brown (Dynasty, Devious Maids, General Hospital), Stephen Guarino (Happy Endings), Willam Beli (RuPaul's Drag Race) Traci Lords (Crybaby), Matthew McKelligon (You're Killing Me), Jonathan Lisecki (Gayby) and John Halbach are all set to return. Additional cast members will be announced during the Kickstarter campaign.

1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.  1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"More and more, I tend to read history. I often find it more up to date than the daily newspapers."
― Joe Murray

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

James Patrick Stuart

James Patrick Stuart teases General Hospital debut
Stuart is making a daytime comeback, with a GH debut scheduled for July 8. He tells Soap Opera Digest his new role as “so fun, it just seemed like it would be exactly the way that I would want to go back. I wouldn’t want to go back to anything subtle!” He previously played Will Cortlandt on All My Children.

Marie Wilson dishes her upcoming Days of our Lives exit
Wilson reveals to Soap Opera Digest how she found in February out about her upcoming exit. “Albert Alarr [co-executive producer] gave me a call and he told me about the change of direction for the character,” she recounts. Wilson last airs as Summer Townsend later this month.

Nashville Update: Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Plus 7 Others Set to Return for Season 5 on CMT
Connie Britton (Rayna James) and Hayden Panettiere (Juliette Barnes) are both poised to return to the CMT-bound Nashville in Season 5, TVLine is reporting. Also expected back for the 22-episode season are co-stars Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne), Sam Palladio (Gunnar Scott), Jonathan Jackson (Avery Barkley), Clare Bowen (Scarlett O'Conno), Lennon Stella (Maddie Conrad), Maisy Stella (Daphene Conrad) and Chris Carmack (Will Lexington).

Coronation Street dismisses claims that cast isn't happy about filming six episodes a week instead of five
A report in The Sun suggested that cast members were unhappy with the extra-hectic schedules set to begin in late 2017, and feared that the additional episode per week will adversely affect the quality of writing on the soap’s storylines.

But showrunners have since revealed that cast members are actually behind the move, describing the reaction from cast favorites as overwhelmingly positive." A Corrie spokesperson told Digital Spy: "We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response to the news from cast, writers and crew when it was shared with them and the production team on Wednesday."

As the World Turns alum Van Hansis stunned by murder of 49 people at Orlando gay club
Said Hansis (ATWT's Luke Snyder): "I think it’s really important to stay out there and keep fighting and to not let something like this terrible tragedy stop the celebration and the ownership of how far we’ve all come. It’s very telling that even though gay marriage passed across the country and things have changed so much for the positive, there’s still this underlying homophobia. You’ve got to stay angry, and you’ve got to stay vigilant. You have to ask for more than just moments of silence and prayers at times like this."

Pierson Fodé and Francesca Eastwood

Francesca Eastwood enjoys horseback riding with newly single Bold and the Beautiful star Pierson Fodé
Eastwood was spotted horseback riding in Los Angeles on Friday with Fodé, who plays Thomas Forrester on B&B. Fodé recently split with longtime girlfriend Victoria Justice.

"They've been on a break for a couple of months. They are hoping to work things out and still care for each other a lot," a source told Just Jared. Fodé and Justice met in 2013 while shooting the film Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List.

Scott Turner Schofield seeing the impact of The Bold and the Beautiful's transgender storyline
"A transgender woman of color stopped me outside of a clinic," Schofield told Gay Star News, "she recognized me and said, 'I’ve been watching your story line. It’s keeping me coming back here every day to get my treatments. It means so much to me and thank you so much for being a part of that.'"

"This is a woman who is experiencing poverty and all this tough stuff, she gets to see herself reflected in the glamour of a soap opera and that that really helps her through her day. Hearing that means everything and it doesn’t matter that there are some people who don’t want to see that kind of storyline."

Karla Mosley and Piolo Pascual

Bold and the Beautiful star Karla Mosley presents at the 43rd International Emmy Awards
Award-winning Filipino actor Piolo Pascual presented the award for Best Telenovela on November 23 alongside Mosley, who plays Maya Avant Forrester on B&B. Brazilian novela Império took home the Emmy.

As the World Turns alum Van Hansis reflects on not coming out, previews upcoming roles
"When I first started with the show (ATWT) it was my first job," explained Hansis (Luke Snyder) in an interview with the Windy City Times. "I was scared and very young. I wasn't actively hiding it, but also I didn't want that to define me and I still don't because I think there are a lot more interesting aspects to my personality than the fact that I am gay. Hindsight is 20/20 and it wouldn't have been a big deal if I had come out when I was kid. What was scary is that I did an interview for Out Magazine before it aired on the show so I had no idea what was happening. I told them I was straight and knew it was a lie. I got trapped in that lie. I regret doing that, but it was the only time I was flat-out asked."

Hansis stars as Dusty in a new film, Kiss Me, Kill Me.

"He starts the film as a kept man," Hansis reveals. "He has a long-term relationship and he is in love. He is proposed to at a party and things go sour pretty quickly. That night his fiance is found murdered. Dusty blacked out and doesn't know what happened. He may even be the killer!"

Former Dynasty star Emma Samms loved her primetime soap role, but doesn't miss living in Los Angeles
"It was enormous fun, it was hard work in as much as I had to actually be at work at 5.30 in the morning, which is early, especially as I had a half-hour drive," Samms explained to the Gloucestershire Echo, "so I'd leave the house at 5am, that's pretty drastic!"

"And it means that of an evening you're not going to be, well you shouldn't be, out on the town. You should be learning your lines for the next day and then trying to get to bed early, so I certainly didn't have this wild party lifestyle; I certainly didn't have a Carrington lifestyle! But it was enormously good fun and of course, easy compared to most other jobs, it was fantastic, I was very lucky."

Samms is venturing into new areas these days.

"I'm moving into writing and directing. I've always written, the first screenplay that I wrote and was made was 17-18 years ago, so I've always done that, but it's only recently I've been directing. I've done a short film which I wrote and directed, we're just starting to enter it into festivals now so fingers crossed. I'm currently working on an adaptation of a play into a screenplay (which is proving very tricky) for a feature film, which I hope to direct."

Loving alum Michael Weatherly charged with a DUI
According to TMZ, the NCIS star was stopped for speeding earlier this month in Hollywood and officers determined his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit.

EastEnders character to be killed off in 'tear-jerker' plot
[SPOILER ALERT!] Last month it was announced that Derek Martin would reprise his role as lovable cabbie Charlie Slater in EastEnders, but unfortunately he won't be sticking around for long. The legendary 82-year-old actor will make his Albert Square comeback next year, before swiftly being killed off for good.

According to the Mirror, Charlie will meet his untimely demise in a dramatic "tear-jerker" storyline in January that will no doubt rock the East End. Charlie's daughter Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) – who is also returning to Walford with husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) – is going to be left heartbroken after his shock passing.

1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.  1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
― Maya Angelou

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie Loomis remained in a coma, Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David Collins (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

EastSiders stars Van Hansis as Thom and Kit Williamson as Cal.

Indie Series Award-winning drama EastSiders is back! Season 1 ended on a bleak note for Cal (Mad Men's Kit Williamson) and Thom (As the World Turns' Van Hansis) with Cal moving out of their apartment when it seemed like they couldn't get past each other's infidelity. Season 2 begins with Cal and Thom waking up in bed with another guy, a threeway that Cal barely remembers. With their trust issues still unresolved and new boundaries being explored, will their relationship be able to survive?

The series, which was created by Williamson, also stars Fresh Off the Boat's Constance Wu, Matthew McKelligon, John Halbach and features guest appearances from Sean Maher, Stephen Guarino, Brea Grant, and Traci Lords. Brianna Brown, who was terrific this summer on Devious Maids, is a fascinating new addition for season 2 as Cal’s sister, Hillary.  Other newcomers include Satya Bhabha, Adam Bucci, Vera Miao, and Willam Belli.

With top-notch production values, a talented engaging cast and fascinating complicated relationships, EastSiders is must-see Web TV for fans of great character drama.

Watch the Season 2 trailer below:

Photo: Courtesy of Max Spann Real Estate & Auctions

Guiding Light home to be auctioned in Peapack-Gladstone
A Somerset County home that last served as the setting for the soap opera Guiding Light is scheduled to be auctioned later this month. Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co. has scheduled the auction for 11 a.m. September 29 a at the Peapack-Gladstone Municipal Building, 1 School Street, Peapack.

The 4,543-square-foot, four-bedroom Dutch Colonial and its 32-acre property, known locally as the Betsy Komline house, were purchased from Elizabeth Komline by the borough of Peapack-Gladstone in 2005 with state Green Acres funds.

The interior of the house was used for a number of difference sets including the Spaulding dining room and Cross Creek. The front exterior was used as the home last lived in by Natalia, Olivia and Emma.

“The producers of the Guiding Light chose the Komline home because of its ‘homey’ feel and the views that it offered,” said Bob Dann, executive vice president and chief operations officer for the auction house. “The winning bidder will have a wonderful home that was part of television history on a property that is surrounded by parkland. They won’t have to worry about Roger showing up, he is long moved away.”

Note: Check out photos from our 2008 set tour here.

Karla Mosley feels her Bold and the Beautiful character is relatable
“I think many of us can relate to [Maya] whether we’re dealing with gender identity or race—or are just at odds with our family,” Mosley said.

Pierson Fode added to The Bold and the Beautiful pop-up fan event in New York City on September 145
Fode joins previously announced stars Linsey Godfrey, Thorsten Kaye, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, John McCook and Ashleigh Brewer.

Edward James Olmos joins FOX’s Urban Cowboy
Olmos will play a retired hitman who’s forced to confront his old demons when his niece and nephew seek his help in Texas.

Empire's Cookie and Mimi. Photo Courtesy of Chuck Hodes/FOX

Will Marisa Tomei's Mimi Whiteman romance Cookie Lyon on Empire?
Empire showrunner Ilene Chaiken recently TVLine that Mimi is “one of those very, very rich people who thinks that it would be really fun to own a movie company or to own a music company” — and that the character is proving to be a “thrilling” addition to the show’s sophomore season.

NBC is developing a funeral home musical from the producers of Parenthood and Smash
Jason Katims is teaming with former Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron on a South Central-set drama that explores death through song and dance.

Sofia Vergara and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting are TV’s highest-paid actresses
The Modern Family actress and The Big Bang Theory star each earned $28.5 million over the past year, according to Forbes. Ellen Pompeo from Grey’s Anatomy ranked third with $11.5 million.

New Apple TV will take advantage of apps
"We believe the future of television is apps,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said as he revealed the new Apple TV, which will have its own App Store.

The 70 Best Musical Moments on TV
No. 1 was Six Feet Under's series finale using “Breathe Me” by Sia.

Van Hansis on how his start on As the World Turns helps today, and Luke Snyder's historic kiss
How working on a daytime soap helped prepare him for films: "Working on soaps you move so quickly...it's insane how much, how many pages you do in a day. I joined that show I think it had been on the air for 48 or 49 years already so you really join a group of people who really know what they're doing and who work very efficiently. I think you know just the preparation of doing so much so quickly is really you know beneficial for all sorts of of acting but especially on films when there's when you're again working really quickly and you've got a lot to do, it only can help that you have that training from the soap."

On Luke Snyder's historic kiss with Noah Mayer: "In retrospect I do understand you know what it meant and I'm so proud of it but kind of at the time it was you know it was, I wasn't aware of it."

Listen below:

EastSiders stars Van Hansis and Kit Williamsone star as Thom and Cal.

Indie Series Award-winning EastSiders has released a trailer for the show's upcoming second season. Things didn't look good for Silverlake couple Cal (creator Kit Williamson) and Thom (As the World Turns Emmy nominee Van Hansis) when last we saw them.

Based on the new trailer, it looks like they are opening up their relationship to help keep it alive, but will that work?

If you're looking for a continuing story with drama, humor and heart, EastSiders might be the one for you.

EastSiders also stars Constance Wu, Matthew McKelligon, John Halbach and features guest turns from Sean Maher, Stephen Guarino, Brea Grant and Traci Lords. Brianna Brown (Devious Maids, General Hospital) joins the cast this season as Cal’s sister, Hillary, along with new additions Satya Bhabha, Adam Bucci, Vera Miao, and Willam Belli.

Season 2 is being released through Wolfe Video and Vimeo on September 15. You can pre-order the entire second season here.

Watch the trailer below:

A trailer for the upcoming gay murder mystery Kiss Me, Kill Me was released on Wednesday.

From director Casper Andreas (Going Down in LA-LA Land) and screenwriter David Michael Barrett (Such Good People) comes the new gay thriller starring Queer as Folk lead Gale Harold and three-time Emmy nominee Van Hansis, Luke Snyder in As the World Turns.

While confronting his unfaithful boyfriend, Dusty (Hansis) blacks-out. When he comes to, his boyfriend Stephen (Harold) has been murdered and he's the prime suspect. Also joining the cast are: Jai Rodriquez (Queer Eye), Shangela (RuPaul's Drag Race), Jackie Monahan (Codependent Space Alien Seeks Same), Kit Williamson (Eastsiders) and also from Going Down in LA-LA Land, hunky Matthew Ludwinski and the hilarious Allison Lane.

The contemporary film noir, set in West Hollywood, will make its World Premiere next month at REELING: The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, on September 18, followed by an after-party with cast and filmmakers. The premiere will launch the movie's worldwide festival run. More info can be found at the festival's website: reelingfilmfestival.org/2015.

Watch the trailer below:

Elliotte Crowell as Jenny Bump

What happens when your life doesn't turn out the way you expected it to? Created by three-time Emmy nominee Van Hansis and acclaimed downtown playwright James Ryan Caldwell, Ms. Guidance follows Jenny Bump, a struggling actress, who, after a nervous breakdown on the New York stage, returns to the performing arts boarding school she attended in her youth to act as an interim guidance counselor. However, listening to the dreams and ambitions of her students only stokes the dying embers of her own, and soon Jenny is back to her old tricks, scheming for fame, and ruining lives (her own included) in the process. The show has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the final three episodes of a six-episode first season of the much-anticipated dark comedy.

Tonally, Hansis describes the show as “Strangers With Candy meets Anton Chekhov” noting that although the series is an entertaining "fast and dirty comedy”, underneath the humor is “that layer of life that a lot of artists- actually, a lot of anyone- feels all too deeply. It’s a feeling you carry along with you, but try to ignore- the feeling that what you have become is less then you were meant to be.”

“Ms. Guidance is about much more than theater and drama kids and singing and dancing," says Caldwell. "It’s about the sense of uselessness when your skills and talent don’t materialize into a successful career. Its about what we do with the dregs of our dreams – do we allow them to torment us, or do we shape them into something new? It’s about having the dreams of a teenager, when in reality, you are an adult.”

Van Hansis

Having privately funded the first three episodes, Ms. Guidance shot almost entirely on location last summer at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts last summer. Producers are looking to the public to raise funds to finish the first season.

Hansis co-directs with Melodie Sisk (producer on features “Summer of Blood” (Tribeca, 2014), “Female Pervert” (Slamdance, 2015) and “Applesauce” (Tribeca, 2015, among others).

1970: ABC aired the final episode of The Best of Everything. 1984: All My Children's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.  1996: Days of our Lives' Sami and Austin married. 1998: One Life to Live's Bo grieved his son, Drew.

"History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future."
― Robert Penn Warren

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1967: On Dark Shadows, while Willie remained in a coma, Julia (Grayson Hall) attempted to hypnotize David (David Henesy) to stop his prying into Barnabas' (Jonathan Frid) affairs.

Three-time As the World Turns Emmy nominee Van Hansis is interviewed by his EastSiders co-star Kit Williamson in the cover story of The Fight magazine. Williamson asks Hansis about why he wasn't out publicly until now.

"I guess it was a combination of a lot of things," Hansis says of his As the World Turns days. "It was my first job, it was a different time back then in regards to LGBT stories being told—I mean, the Luke [Snyder] story was groundbreaking at the time. Now, I think every remaining soap has a gay storyline. I was completely green, fresh out of college, and honestly, I was scared."

Hansis, who won an Indie Series Award this year as part of the EastSiders ensemble, also shares his excitement about season two of the hit web series.

Indie Series Award-winning EastSiders, a critically acclaimed dark comedy starring Van Hansis (As The World Turns) and Kit Williamson (Mad Men) as a gay couple trying to stay together in the aftermath of infidelity, has announced that the series will return for a second season. The production will launch a Kickstarter campaign to finance the show on April 14.

Written and directed by award winning playwright Kit Williamson, EastSiders, explores the aftermath of infidelity on a gay couple in Silverlake, CA.

"I'm so excited to take the show back where it started: in the fans' hands, on Kickstarter," said Williamson. "This is a very unique moment in time where audiences have the power to say what kind of stories they want to see told. We've been so lucky to have found an amazing community of viewers that have been with us from day one, and continues to grow every day. I hope they want to see more from us, because I am so excited to continue telling this story.”

Six-time Indie Series Award-nominated EASTSIDERS has announced the next chapter in its life: as a web comic. The first installment will debut on the show's website (EastSidersTheSeries.com) on Thursday, March 27, with subsequent pages rolling out on Mondays and Thursdays through April 28.

Conceived as part of the successful Kickstarter campaign that funded the first season of the series, the web comic will pick up the story from the moment the first season left off, continuing the final scene of the first season. The web comic will be written by series creator Kit Williamson and illustrated by Aman Chaudhary.

We Love Soaps and the Indie Series Network are excited to reveal the first round of presenters for the 5th Annual Indie Series Awards, which celebrate the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Web. Stars from Television, Film, Broadway and the Internet are coming together to celebrate the very best of the World Wide Web.

The Indie Series Awards, hosted by Carolyn Hennesy, will take place on April 2, 2014 at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.

The first 10 presenters are listed below:

Charlene Tilton

The Indie Series Awards celebrate the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Web. In the next of our 5th Annual Indie Series Awards Spotlight features, We Love Soaps takes a look at the nominees in the Best Lead Actor - Drama category: J. Julian Christopher, BULK, Richard Cutting, Milgram and the Fastwalkers, Peter Halpin, 3some, Van Hansis, EastSiders, Jason Kuykendall, Dark Pool and Sebastian La Cause, Hustling. Watch the nominated work featured in an episode of each of their series below:

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SERIES “EASTSIDERS” TO BE BROADCAST AS FEATURE FILM ON LOGOTV

Los Angeles, CA (January 7th, 2014) The first season of “EastSiders: The Series” has been reformatted as a feature film and will receive it's broadcast premiere tonight at 11:30pm EST on the Logo network. This marks yet another step in the journey of the series which debuted its first two episodes on YouTube, made the move to LogoTV.com to release the remainder of the first season, and will now screen on television for the first time. “EastSiders” received the LA Weekly Award for Best Web Drama in 2013 and is currently nominated for a Satellite Award for Original Short-Format Program. This marks the first year that the International Press Academy has recognized new media projects. Check local listing for details.

STATEMENT FROM SERIES CREATOR KIT WILLIAMSON

“I am so excited that “EastSiders” is going to be broadcast as a feature on Logo. Back when we were filming the first episode in my living room I never imagined the show would be seen by as many people as it has. A cable broadcast certainly didn't seem like a possibility, and I'm so grateful to the fans that campaigned to see the show on the channel.”