Soap Operas Archives - Channel Guide Magazine

‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Laura Kai Chen Loves Her Job

April 8, 2019 Channel Guide Staff Comments Off

Laura Kai Chen grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago near Lake Michigan. When we spoke, she gushed about how beautiful the city is, and one of her favorite restaurants as a child, “There was a Japanese restaurant called Akia Hana near where I grew up, where we used to go quite a bit. And then there was a fondue restaurant in Chicago. Downtown. I cannot for the life of me remember what the name of it right now. And of course, there is so much great pizza.” After graduating as a theater major with a master’s degree from […]

Stephen A. Smith and Joe Zee guest-starring on General Hospital

March 11, 2016 Jeff Pfeiffer Comments Off

Described in a press release as “longtime General Hospital enthusiasts,” ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith (First Take) and FABLife host Joe Zee will live out their dreams by making cameo appearances on the daytime drama March 31 and April 1, respectively. Smith will play an IT expert and mob henchman hired by Sonny (Maurice Benard), while Zee plays himself, a stylist to the stars, who is hired by Nina (Michelle Stafford) as guest fashion editor for Crimson. “I had an absolute blast on GH,” said Smith, in the release. “The cast members could not have been more warm and welcoming. I was amazed not only by their […]

ABC plans two days of General Hospital live broadcasts

April 2, 2015 Jeff Pfeiffer Comments Off

Hearkening back to the era of live TV and radio, when many soap operas got their starts, ABC’s daytime drama General Hospital will broadcast live from Los Angeles for two episodes. One episode will air on Friday, May 15, and another on Monday, May 18. “Taking such an iconic show as General Hospital live for two days is both exhilarating and risky,” said executive producer Frank Valentini, in a release, about the two upcoming live broadcasts of GH. “I am enormously proud of our cast, crew and staff for all their tireless dedication and hard work that will be leading up to this […]

General Hospital goes retro in 52nd anniversary episode

April 1, 2015 Jeff Pfeiffer 5

Long-running daytime drama General Hospital, recently nominated for 28 Daytime Emmys, will commemorate its 52nd anniversary in its April 1 episode — 52 years to the day that the series debuted in 1963. Note: Spoilers are contained later in this article. It’s a collision of past and present with the episode. Acknowledging its past, the episode will revisit key scenes from the very first GH episode, played out by current cast members. Legendary character Dr. Steve Hardy will be portrayed by Jason Thompson (Dr. Patrick Drake); Nurse Jesse Brewer will be played by Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Webber); and Ryan Carnes (Lucas Jones) will […]

All Hail E!’s New Queen, Elizabeth Hurley

March 12, 2015 Kellie Freeze 1

The private lives of public people enthrall us, and none piques our interest more than the closely guarded and fiercely private British royal family. A new series on E! offers a peek behind palace gates into the world of fictitious British royals whose world is filled with regal tradition and protocol, but rife with scandal, intrigue and backstabbing drama. E! teases that its juicy series, The Royals, is “Anarchy in the monarchy.” Reigning over the melee is Queen Helena, deliciously played by Elizabeth Hurley. Hurley’s Helena has an obsession with controlling the image of the family and thinks nothing of […]

General Hospital & Baby Daddy Double-Crossover Event, Part 2

February 13, 2015 Kellie Freeze Comments Off

Today, in the second part of a double-swap between General Hospital and Baby Daddy stars, actors from the ABC Family Comedy are heading to Port Charles for their close-ups. On Feb. 4, GH’s Kelly Monaco played a very exaggerated (and very funny) version of herself on Baby Daddy, and now Derek Theler (“Danny Wheeler”) and Melissa Peterman (“Bonnie Wheeler”) are visiting the soap. I spoke with Derek and Kelly last week and they revealed the biggest difference between shooting Baby Daddy and GH, is that soap operas — which have to hair a new hour of programming every day — work amazingly […]

General Hospital & Baby Daddy Double-Crossover Event, Part 1

February 3, 2015 Kellie Freeze Comments Off

A crossover episode is a win-win for TV fans. Not only do you get to see your favorite characters interacting with megawatt stars, but also you get to see your favorite celeb flexing his or her acting chops in another role. Baby Daddy and General Hospital have two upcoming crossover episodes (is that a double-crossover?). I spoke to Baby Daddy’s Derek Theler & General Hospital’s Kelly Monaco about the fun of visiting another show and how they become like foreign exchange students in their visits each other’s “strange lands.” The first crossover event airs Feb. 4, when Kelly Monaco (as […]

5 Questions with … General Hospital’s Kelly Monaco

February 3, 2015 Kellie Freeze 15

Kelly Monaco has starred as Sam McCall on General Hospital since 2003 and wowed audiences in 2005 as Dancing with the Stars‘ Season 1 victor. Now, the brunette bombshell is taking a step away from Port Charles as she appears on ABC Family’s Baby Daddy in the first part of a General Hospital–Baby Daddy swap. (Baby Daddy stars Derek Theler and Melissa Peterman will return the favor when they appear on the Valentine’s Day episode of GH on Feb. 13.) While Monaco and Theler swapped stories from their visits to each other’s sets, Monaco took a few minutes to answer our 5 Questions. 1. You’re […]

CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” to celebrate 7,000th episode

January 15, 2015 Jeff Pfeiffer Comments Off

It’s been on the air for over 25 years, has won three Emmys and counts Cosmo Kramer among its fans. Now, CBS’ daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful will be celebrating its 7,000th episode with a special installment airing Jan. 23. The 7,000th Bold and the Beautiful will break with the series’ usual format and feature a retrospective documentary showcasing the most iconic moments and the history of the show’s creation, commentary from the cast, fashion throughout the decades, guest stars, original screen-test footage and more. “7,000 episodes of television is an incredible achievement, and one we are tremendously proud of,” said Angelica […]

Billy Miller joining “General Hospital”; takes over Jason Morgan role

September 2, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer 1

Fans have been speculating about this for awhile now, and today ABC has confirmed that daytime favorite Billy Miller will be joining the cast of General Hospital, taking over the role of Jason Morgan (previously played by Steve Burton until the character’s “death” in 2012). On the series, Jason Morgan had been presumed dead, but his body was never found, and a few weeks back, viewers saw what appeared to be Jason (or at least his arms) stirring awake from a cryogenic sleep. An ABC release promises that with Jason’s imminent return, “fans can look forward to an exciting new […]