Interview: Nia Peeples and Citizen Jane, Part 1

It has been only a few months since we last saw Nia Peeples on television, as Karen Taylor on The Young and the Restless. Next month we get to see her in a new role in the Hallmark Television original movie Citizen Jane, with Ally Sheedy, Sean Patrick Flanery and Meatloaf. Nia plays Evelyn, Jane’s (Ally) best friend and ally in this harrowing true-crime tale. Jane’s aunt is killed and it comes down to Jane to find the murderer.

While Nia was drawn to the story about one courageous woman’s battle for justice, she also knew what great acting company she’d be in. Nia says: “I really wanted to work with Ally Sheedy, and also Sean Patrick Flanery and Meatloaf. They are a great group of people.

“This was the first time I had ever met Ally and was excited to be working with her. I had always really liked her work. She seemed like someone who has a really quirky sense of humor and she does. She was great. She’s very dedicated.”

Not only is Citizen Jane a crime thriller, but it is also a story about the power of friendship. “It’s a really empowering piece for women,” Nia explains. “To me, I felt that the most important relationship in there was the women’s friendship. I didn’t think the friendship was well developed, so it was my challenge to think about what little things I could do here and there to let the audience know how important these women are in each other lives without talking about it. Ally and I really worked at doing things — like sharing candy or a pat on the back, anything that a friend would do — just so that there was more being told than was what on the page.”

Nia can relate to the need for another woman’s friendship and the kinship felt between to women. “I am 47 now, and I am really starting to weigh women’s friendships. I can really understand the importance of the women in my life. I’ve had such a busy life as a mother and a wife and a career person, that I didn’t develop those support people. And really, they are the most amazing people in the world.

“They can’t replace your children or your husband, but they are such a grounding structure for women. Women sort of have that reputation for being very catty and backstabbing, but I think just to embrace ourselves and who we are to each other is really important. This is especially important in this movie. We women, we are the village, we really are.”

Evelyn and Jane’s relationship is paramount to the movie and to Jane’s ability to find justice. Nia explains: “As a friend to other women, you really have to find that place to be friend by allowing them to bounce their thoughts and their fears and their ideas off you and being able to give your opinion without taking over. You have to let them take the path that they need to take. It’s a really good lesson, and a good friend has to be able to do that. You have to love them enough not to control them. It was Evelyn’s challenge to stand beside Jane and allow her to take the journey she was going to take.”

You can see Jane’s journey on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on the Hallmark Channel. Stay tuned next week for more about Nia and what it’s like being one of the 100 most beautiful people, creating a line of health and beauty products, and helping those in need.

Some AMC Stars Might Not Make the Move to L.A.

In an interview on Regis and Kelly this morning, Susan Lucci stated that is not sure if she'll make the move to Los Angeles when AMC moves there this fall. "I love All My Children ... but I don't know what I'm going to do." She added that she will think on this decision on the vacation she is about to take.

Another actor on the fence about the move is Thorsten Kaye. He told the New York Daily News: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm not the kind of dad who wants to be 3,000 miles away from my kids." Thorsten's wife, Susan Haskell, currently works on One Life to Live which will continue to be produced in New York.

Days' Arianna Casting Switcharoo

Actress Lindsay Hartley will join her former Passions co-stars on Days of Our Lives, as she takes over the role of Arianna from Felisha Terrell. Lindsay previously portrayed Theresa on Passions, with Galen Gering (Rafe, Days) playing her brother Luis, and Eric Martsolf (Brady, Days) playing her hubby, Ethan.

No Hope for a GL Reprieve

Here is the official statement from Telenex Media Inc. about the demise of Guiding Light and its possible return on another network:

"We promised our fans we would do everything we could to find a new home for the show. In the ensuing months, we have engaged in serious discussions with many networks, leaving no stone unturned in our effort to place the show elsewhere. Unfortunately, despite the urgent and dedicated efforts of many people, we have not been able to secure an outlet to carry the show moving forward. We are extremely disappointed with this outcome, but we are confident we have exhausted every possible option.”

Crystal Chappell to Return to Days

According to TV Guide Magazine, Crystal Chappell is returning to Days of Our Lives as Carly Manning as soon as Guiding Light ends. She starts taping in September, with her airdates beginning in October.

Many Otalia fans had been hoping the couple would switch over to As the World Turns to continue their budding romance. Since it appears that won't be happening, maybe we'll have a Bo and Carly reunion? Or maybe Lawrence Alamain (played by real-life hubby Michael Sabatino) will be hot on her heels?

UPDATE: Crystal confirmed the Lawrence Alamain will be returning to Salem via this Twitter message: "Michael will indeed pop up on DOOL." The Alamains keep coming, as Louise Sorel is set to reprise her role as Vivian Alamain as well.

This is good news for Days fans, as the show and the story lines have been floundering for quite a while. The reintroduction of Carly could breathe some much-needed life into the flailing soap.

GL Casting Tidbits

Maureen Garrett (pictured) brings Holly back to Springfield on Wednesday, August 26.

Jessica Leccia (Natalia) returns to Springfield from her maternity leave on Monday, August 17.

David Andrew MacDonald returns as Edmund on Friday, August 7.

AMC and OLTL Move to New Production Facilities

(Read entire story here.)

By SHEILA MARIKAR

All My Children and One Life to Live are getting new homes — but you can still catch them at their old times.

ABC Daytime announced today that it would move production of AMC from New York to Los Angeles and that OLTL would move into AMC's former New York space, giving both shows facility upgrades and streamlined production models.

AMC's new facility is twice as large as its current one. It includes two stages, which will allow it to keep more standing sets. It will also allow the series to switch immediately from standard-definition to high-definition TV.

OLTL will enjoy similar upgrades when the show moves into AMC's old home, which is 30 percent larger than OLTL's current space.

After the show relocates in December, AMC will begin taping episodes in Los Angeles the week of Jan. 4, 2010, and will begin airing in HD in February. The move of OLTL to its new home takes place soon after AMC relocates.

Interview Outtakes, Part 3

Most of the time when I am conducting an interview with a soap star, I have more interview material than space for printing the interview. Here are some blurbs from stars that did not make it to the print version of the interview, but were too good not to publish.

Vanessa Williams (ex-Elizabeth, “South Beach,” pictured left) on the possibility of Wilhelmina and Daniel every getting together on “Ugly Betty”: “That would be bizarre. I can’t even say it’s a love/hate relationship, because I don’t think she’s ever really loved. She’s tolerated and hated him. Maybe if the show were to end and then they had the two of us get together — I don’t even know how the fans would react, but that would definitely be something completely unexpected.”

Taylor Spreitler (Mia, “Days of Our Lives”) on where she’d like to see herself in 10 to 15 years: “I just still want to be working. I don’t really care what else happens — yeah, winning Emmys and stuff like that, that’d be nice — but as long as I am working, I don’t really care.” On pursuing a musical career: “If I did do that, it probably wouldn’t be for a while. But that would be fun. I love singing, but I am kind of scared. I get nervous when I have to sing.”

Jane Krakowski (ex-Tonya, “Another World”): “Here’s a little bit of trivia for you: Tina Fey’s husband, Jeff Richman, writes all the songs and all the music on ‘30 Rock’ — the incidental music, the theme song, ‘Muffin Top,’ all the Janis Joplin-type songs we did this past season, the musical event on the season finale, etc. Jeff writes incredible songs. He is such a talented musician.”

Michael Easton (John, “One Life to Live”) on playing vampire Caleb Morley on “Port Charles” from 2001-03: “That was so much fun. We had a lot of fun with that. That story line had passion and humor, and so many things that you don’t often get. We were very fortunate to get such good story lines.”

Melora Hardin (of “Gilmore Girls” and “Once and Again”) on filming the feature film “You,” her directorial debut: “It is quite a family affair. My husband wrote it, I directed it, we co-produced it, and we both star in it with our children and my parents (both actors, my Dad is well-known character actor Jerry Hardin). We also work with lots of good friends, who are also wonderful actors, like Brenda Strong (“Desperate Housewives”), Joely Fisher (“Till Death”), Allison Mack (“Smallville” and Amy Pietz (“Caroline in the City”). We made the film in 18 days with our own money and in our own home, as well as many locations donated by friends and family. One of my best friends, Paula Cole, wrote the title song for the movie, and lots of other great musicians contributed to our fabulous soundtrack.”

B&B: Such a Tease!

•Ridge is put on the spot.
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•Taylor (Hunter Tylo, pictured) makes an unexpected decision.

•Brooke and Stephanie have opposite predictions of the future.

•Katie creates an idea to save Forrester Creations.

•A cougar goes after its prey.

GL Casting News!

I am so excited about this, I could burst: Morgan Englund reprises his role as Dylan Lewis on Guiding Light on Monday, Sept. 14.

In my (and most other fans') book, he is the true Dylan Lewis, and I am glad to see he'll be back to bid good ole GL farewell. In fact, the entire time his mom, Cloris Leachman, was on Dancing With the Stars, I kept hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the audience cheering her on.

With so many fan faves coming back to say goodbye, it makes the cancellation of this grand ole show all the more bittersweet.

UPDATE: More fan faves are coming back! Melissa Hayden (Bridget) and Lisa Brown (Nola) will also return on Monday, Sept. 14 for a special occasion.

Y&R: Such a Tease!

•Mary Jane goes to extremes to make Jack (Peter Bergman, pictured) hers.

•Nick learns that Sharon and Jack are over for good. Will this change his future with Phyllis?

•Nikki's uncertainty starts to show as her wedding day draws near. Will she go thru with their plan or leave Paul at the altar?

•Ashley suffers an unnerving hallucination. Is this the breakdown everyone has feared was coming?

GL: Such a Tease!

•Jeffrey and Jonathan (Tom Pelphrey, pictured) devise a plan to stop Edmund.

•Dinah and Shayne tie the knot.

•Alan finds out Phillip's secret.

•Mallet finds out the hard way that he was wrong.

ATWT: Such a Tease!

•Meg and Lily exchange harsh words.

•Luke (Van Hansis, pictured) questions Damian's motives.

•Bob puts a patient's life in danger.

•Emily and Paul enjoy their new arrangement.

GH: Such a Tease!

Sonny admits to Claudia he doesn’t know how he feels about her.
Things go from bad to worse for Alexis.
Dominic flirts with Lulu.

Sam’s one step closer to finding Michael and Kristina.
Robin’s on a mission to clear Alexis’ name.
Dominic is horrified to find Johnny and Olivia together.

Jerry stays one step ahead of Sam.
Michael and Kristina walk into danger.
Diane warns Alexis that the cards are stacked against her.

Dominic is hiding a major secret.
Sam’s in for a surprise when she finds Michael and Kristina.
Spinelli finally has his say with Mac (John J. York, pictured).

OLTL: Such a Tease!

Bo holds Clint and Nora’s (Hillary B. Smith, pictured) fate in his hands.
Todd has his hands full dealing with both Tea and Blair.
Stacy’s in distress after a heated argument with Gigi.

Stacy receives devastating news.
Todd works to get back in Tea’s good graces.
Nora struggles with the decision she’s made.

Schuyler acts on his feelings for Gigi.
Cole’s in a tight spot.
Cristian gets an eyeful when he spots Fish at the diner.

John stops Cole from making a dangerous mistake.
Tea gets the goods on Bo and Nora as Matthew’s hearing begins.
Cristian demands that Fish be truthful with Layla.

AMC: Such a Tease!

Kendall shares a tearful goodbye with her sons.
Annie’s wish comes true.
Tad and Taylor spin a story to a suspicious Krystal.

Natalia accuses Jesse of not being on the up and up.
Kendall gets a visit from Stuart’s ghost.
Marissa comes to JR’s (Jacob Young, pictured) aid.

JR challenges Annie to admit she really doesn’t love Adam.
Zach begs the court for leniency toward Kendall.
Angie shares her suspicions about Jesse with Frankie.

Kendall learns her fate.
Marissa is the unintended victim of Marion’s quest for revenge.
Annie knows what JR’s really up to.