Rebecca Budig Is Back!

ABC has confirmed that Rebecca Budig is returning to All My Children as Greenlee Smythe. She was presumed dead last February when Kendall ran Greenlee's motorcycle off the road. Headwriter Charles Pratt Jr. confirmed: "Greenlee didn't die but is being cared for by Nurse Gayle in Gloucester on orders from Dr. David Hayward."

Eric Braeden Says Goodbye to Genoa City

It has been whispered about for weeks, and now it is official: Eric Braeden who has starred as Victor Newman on the #1 rated soap The Young and the Restless, a role he originated in February 1980, has departed the soap after being asked to take a huge salary cut in the middle of his contract.

While it is not unusual in these economic times to ask to take a salary cut when renegotiating one's contract (see Jess Walton and Melody Thomas Scott), it's quite unheard of to be asked to take a pay cut on an already determined salary, and in the middle of one's contract.

I'll be talking with Eric later this week about it, and will bring you the full story ASAP!

Interview: Catching Up With Courtney Thorne-Smith

Courtney Thorne-Smith (pictured left, photos courtesy Lifetime Television) is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Allison Parker on the popular nighttime soap opera Melrose Place from 1992 to 1997. She then honed her comedic chops on the ABC sitcom According to Jim from 2001 to 2009. Now she is starring in an original Lifetime Television movie called Sorority Wars, playing Lutie Snow, a woman who desperately wants her college freshman daughter, Katie, to join the sorority she co-founded, the Delta house.

Courtney was excited to try something new with Jim ending its eight-year run. She reveals: “Doing Sorority Wars was really fun — it has a lot of good stories within the movie. When I first read it, I thought it was sort of a lark, but once I started working on it, I started noticing all the stories about friendship, the mother-daughter relationship and being true to yourself. I thought, ‘Wow, it’s actually really good.’ I was really impressed the more I got into it.”

Playing the mom to a college-age daughter was a new challenge for Courtney, and she was more than happy to take it on. “I played the young ingénue for so long, and when you’re the ingénue, you are the grounding, normal person in a sea of crazies. With Lutie — well, “crazy” is a strong word — she is really neurotic, and she lives in the past.

“She is still so involved with her sorority; it’s like she thinks she is still in the sorority. It’s the most important thing in her life besides her daughter. She’s really tightly wound, and I liked that I’d really got to play a character. It was so much fun for me.”

Was it difficult for Courtney to tap into a part of herself to be able to empathize with Lutie’s obsession with her old sorority and her daughter’s future place in it? “It was hard until I realized that Lutie wanted this to be something that she shared with her daughter. Her sorority was where she felt most important and the fact that if her daughter didn’t make that same choice, then what would they share?

“Lutie never created anything else for herself in later life. She feels rejected when her daughter doesn’t want what she has to offer — and it’s heartbreaking when you think about it that way.”

Courtney enjoyed acting with her co-star, Lucy Hale, who plays her daughter, Katie. Lucy is best known for her role on the critically acclaimed and now-defunct comedy-drama “Privileged.” Courtney gushes: “She is so solid. I kept telling her, ‘Don’t worry about getting another series; you’re going to be a movie star!’ Her work is very honest. And she’s so smart. She’s going to go far — mark my words!”

While Courtney did have fun on the set, it also was a sort of learning experience for her. “What I learned from Lutie is that you really have to keep your life going, keep it on a forward path. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to give everything to my son, because I do, but you need to have a full life. It doesn’t help you to get stuck in the past.

“It’s like, what if I were still wearing my Melrose Place baseball cap and asking people to call me Allison? It wouldn’t work. I’ve moved on. Even though with the new Melrose Place, it’s HARD to move on. You just have to move on and keep your life going in a positive direction.”

You can see for yourself that Courtney Thorne-Smith has moved on in her new movie, Sorority Wars, which premieres Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the Lifetime Television network.

B&B: Such a Tease!

•Stephanie (Susan Flannery, pictured) learns the truth about her condition.

•Bill warns of a hostile takeover.

•Katie takes a stand against her sisters.

•Steffy spills Stephanie’s secret.

•Eric takes drastic measures to save his company.

ATWT: Such a Tease!

•Paul (Roger Howarth, pictured) is bothered by Meg's odd behavior.
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•Lily is left speechless when Holden comes home.

•Luke is disappointed when Noah misses an important moment.

•Liberty struggles with Janet's offer.

Y&R: Such a Tease!

•Nick is forced to tell Phyllis (Michelle Stafford, pictured) the truth about the baby. Will her reaction be one of compassion or anger?

•After losing Colleen, Billy decides to make some life changes, which includes leaving Jabot but will Jack allow his little brother to walk away so easily?

•Chloe reluctantly agrees to go on a date with Chance to the Harvest Festival but ends up caught off guard by the entire evening.

•Gloria and Deacon make a deal to trade the Terroni for five million dollars but it may not be as easy as Gloria thinks to get her hands on the painting.

•Adam finds himself feeling guilty about what he done to Sharon. Is he finally feeling the weight of his actions or is this just another game he is playing?

Days: Such a Tease!

NEXT WEEK:

* Nicole tells Mia that EJ knows the truth.
* Carly (Crystal Chappell, pictured) is confronted by a crew member with a gun.
* EJ confronts Brady about helping Nicole.
* Victor informs Bo of Lawrence’s death.
* Lucas makes amends with Chloe as a part of his 12-steps.

Thursday – Nicole is forced to admit to EJ and Chad that she made a deal with Mia.
Friday – Chad confronts Mia about all her lies.

Meet and Greet With Tyler Christopher

WHAT:
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to meet one of daytime soap's hottest stars, Tyler Christopher, who plays Nikolas on General Hospital.

Tyler will be in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of Soap Opera Digest magazine's "Shop Like a Soap Star" national tour. The star will be signing autographs and posing for pictures with his fans.

WHEN:
Saturday, October 10th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Wal-Mart Supercenter #2593
2310 East Serene Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89123

COST:
Free.

Interview: Sherri Shepherd Shares Her View on Sherri

Sherri Shepherd’s infectious sense of humor is clearly evident during her day job as a co-host of the wildly popular talk show “The View.” But, as many fans know, Sherri got her start in comedy, and she is returning to her comedic roots to bring her own sitcom to Lifetime Television. “Sherri” will premiere on Lifetime this Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. After a week of original episodes, the show will move to its regular timeslot, Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

“Sherri” is loosely based on the comedian’s own life and follows the story of a working mother and part-time entertainer trying to pick up the pieces of her life when she splits from her husband after she discovers his affair.

The first thing I had to know was how she fits it all in. Sherri explains: “I guess if it were a job that I hated it would be very hard. But this job is a dream come true for me — I’ve always wanted to have a talk show, I’ve always wanted to have my own sitcom and I’ve always wanted to make people laugh — so it’s all coming true. It just energizes me. I keep thinking that if you pinch me, I’ll wake back up as a legal secretary with some lawyer telling me to get him some coffee.”

It’s difficult to get a new show off the ground, so Sherri jumped at the chance to star in her own sitcom when the opportunity presented itself. “The executive producers — Nina Wass and Gene Stein, who also produced my 2002 sitcom, ‘Less Than Perfect’ — called me in for a meeting and told me: ‘You’ve been an ensemble player for years. It’s time to be the star of your own show, and we want to pitch something (to a network) for you.’

“So, I told them all the gory details about my husband and going through a divorce, and I went through my stand-up act for them. They were laughing and crying, and they said: ‘This is what you should do. This is the show! It will really resonate with women everywhere.’”

Lifetime Television network was the perfect place for Sherri to take her show. Sherri tells me: “Lifetime is very supportive of the show. I love working with a bunch of women; it’s so great. This ain’t your grandmother’s network anymore. It’s very hip and very cool. It’s edgy — my show can get really edgy.”

Sherri draws from her real-life experience for material for the show. For example, Sherri reveals: “I was with my husband for 11 years. Now I’m a single woman, a single mother trying to meet guys. Everyone says to go to clubs. So there’s a scene where we’re all dressed up in leather jackets and leather pants, and I had a wig on. That’s how I dressed 11 years ago when I’d go out to a club.

“So we go to the 40/40 Club, which is Jay-Z’s club, and I see all these half-naked girls. So I say to my girlfriends: ‘These girls have no C-section scars; they can dress how they want. How hip can we be? We look like six mad mothers looking for their kids.’”

Is it easy for Sherri to switch between talk-show host and sitcom star? According to Sherri, it takes a little doing. “On ‘The View’ we have to give our opinions; we don’t hide behind lines, since nothing is scripted. I have to be very assertive and aggressive. Then I come over to the ‘Sherri’ set, and I get to hide behind a character. I have to sit for five to 10 minutes before I can get to that zone, but once I’m there, it’s just a lot of fun.”

Don’t miss the fun with Sherri, and be sure to check out “Sherri” on Lifetime beginning Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Sarah Brown to Join B&B

Three-time Emmy Award winning actress Sarah Brown has been cast in the role of Sandy Sommers on The Bold and the Beautiful, Executive Producer and Head Writer Bradley P. Bell announced today. “Sarah’s powerful screen presence and vast range as an actress has intrigued me since she first appeared as Carly on General Hospital,” said Bell. “I look forward to challenging her with this new role that will be unlike anything she’s done before. Teaming Sarah with Jack Wagner, Ashley Jones and Rick Hearst will create a fresh and formidable platform for The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Brown’s portrayal of Sandy Sommers will kick off a story arc surrounding Bridget (played by Ashley Jones), Nick (played by Jack Wagner) and Whip (played by Rick Hearst) that will touch on a very specific woman’s issue and emotionally touch the hearts of the B&B audience. Her first tape date is October 1, 2009 and her first air date is scheduled for November 5, 2009.