The Bold and the Beautiful came in at the number two spot again, but with quite an increase of 3,626,000 viewers which marks a three year high and up +407,000 from last year at this time! The half-hour soap also gained in the key 18-49 female demo rating share … again the highest in three years.

General Hospital while still at the bottom of the four remaining daytime soaps picked up + 91,000 viewers for the ratings week, and with the upcoming returns of some of the 80′s Port Charles favorites, Kimberly McCullough’s upcoming exit story, and the arrival of Llanview’s Mannings and John McBain, things could very well be on their way up for the ailing soap.

Days of our Lives also added + 11,000 viewers.  Look for DAYS to have an increase in the next two ratings periods as several of their major stories are heating up.   However, the number one rated The Young and the Restless was the only soap to lose viewers this ratings weeks down almost -100,000 viewers from the previous week.  View the entire ratings courtesy of Soap Opera Network here!

© Gilles Toucas

Looks like the Marone family may have just gotten even smaller on the hit CBS sudser, The Bold and the Beautiful!  There are various reports from sources , and on the “all things Jack Wagner ” website, Wagner World, that the soap superstar may have been taken off contract by the series! In lieu of the fact that B&B had dropped Lesley-Anne Down (Jackie M.) to recurring as well as Brandon Beemer (Owen), and that Wagner’s Nick has not had a major storyline in quite some time, it would appear that the series has decided to shake some things up on their canvas.

Sources reached out to On-Air On-Soaps saying that they believe Wagner learned last week that his contract was not being extended, while at a music date at The Mohegan Sun.  There are also reports circling that B&B offered Wagner a chance to go recurring, but only if he would not appear on any other daytime series.

If any of this does prove to be true, and Wagner is taken off contract at B&B, it would be a perfect time for the new chiefs at General Hospital, (EP Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati) to snatch him up and create a return for the fabulous Frisco Jones, especially now that many of the 80′s heyday favorites are returning to the series, including Finola Hughes, Tristan Rogers, Emma Samms and Rick Springfield.

We will keep you posted on this developing story! Whatever the case, we wish Jack all the best!

Photo Credit: Peter Randolph

It’s been several years since fan favorite Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton) has been on-screen on Days of our Lives mixing it up with the characters of Salem.  Well, that’s all about to change in a few weeks when Lucas returns on-air and gets swept up, and is placed smack dab in the middle, of all the family drama surrounding Will’s coming out story, Sami’s secret romp with EJ, and his mother Kate’s business dealings, and that’s just for starters!

In this revealing interview with On-Air On-Soaps, the once rowdy bad-boy of the Salem scene discusses how time away has changed his perspective on the soap opera working environment. Plus, how Lucas will deal with Will’s sexual preference, and what it has been like for Bryan to work side by side again with his co-stars: James Scott (EJ), Alison Sweeney (Sami), Chandler Massey (Will) and Lauren Koslow (Kate).  In addition, the actor chats openly about how being a father in real life means being supportive of your child’s struggles whatever they may be.

Here’s our chat with Mr. Dattilo and we want to add, a big “Welcome Home!”

Bryan, your fans have missed you so much. They are a very devoted and loyal group, always coming to this website, and on my Twitter page, wanting to know when you will return, and now you’re back!   How are things this time so far for you at DAYS? Are you coming in with a fresh perspective?

BRYAN: That is awesome to know about the fans!   I feel a lot different.  I think before I was always into having a good time and just doing the work, but mostly having a good time. That was my priority. But now that I am back, I am just trying to sink into the work as much as I can, and make it as good as I can.  I want to go home at the end of the day and feel proud of what I’ve done and not thinking that there was something I should’ve done.  I don’t like to go home feeling regretful about my job.  It’s hard because it’s every day on a soap opera.  You can’t do great every day but I am trying, as opposed to before when I would just laugh off a bad day.  I am trying to take the job more seriously and make it about the work and not be the “comic relief” so much because people then tend to have you fall into that role everyday. But the people at DAYS are great. I am working with a lot of familiar faces and since I was gone, a lot of people came back to the show as well. It’s cool to see everyone, and you don’t realize how much you miss certain people until you go away for a couple of years.  Everyone from the people who run the show, to the Associate Directors, to the cameramen, to the sound people, to hair and make-up; they really become your family when you are here.  It’s great to be back and to figure out where I fit in the best and where I can plug myself in the best.

How do you think you have changed the most during your time away from soaps?

Photo Credit: Adam Campbell

BRYAN: I have changed a little in a couple of years.  I got married and settled down.  I don’t run around with the crazy guys anymore.  I am like an old man overnight now! I try not to do anything crazy. (Laughs)  My goal is to stay out of trouble and I am trying to apply that to being on the set, too.

What most people are excited to see is how Lucas will react and be a part of his son, Will’s coming story.  How is working with Chandler Massey?

BRYAN: I did not really work with Chandler but for a couple of times before I left the show last time. He was just starting at that time, and now I see how much he has grown and how he has gotten comfortable.  I think he was a great actor then, but he is exceptional now.  It helps to have someone to play off of that gives you that kind of interaction. Chandler is a really good listener, and he is really good at adapting to a scene. So if something comes up unexpectedly, he is not thrown by it. Chandler kind of adapts with it and that is when he really turns it up.  I am kind of the same way whereas I want things to happen that aren’t predicted in the rehearsals, or are in the blocking.

How do you feel they are writing Lucas’s reaction to Will’s sexuality?

BRYAN: I have got to give the writers a hand (clapping-hands), because they totally had my character understanding and accepting of what this kid is going through.  I think the love of your child is the thing that overrides anything that comes between the two of you or anything that comes up in the future … knowing you always have that relationship to fall back on.  I honor the writers for it.

People were very concerned that they could possibly make Lucas the homophobe of the Horton family where he would shun his son.  If that were to have happened, I think fans would have been very upset!

Courtesy/NBC

BRYAN: I would have been disturbed by that as an actor, too.  In real life, I have a son and he is twelve, and he is getting to the point where he is interested in “things” and how “things” work and curious. If he came to me and said his sexuality was a thing he was struggling with, I would handle it the exact same way Lucas did, and that was supportive and loving.   I would say something along the lines of, “I care about you.  I honor your way of living your life and I love you anyway.  In fact, I love you more, because you have the guts to talk to me about it, or not.”  For my kid, whatever happens in his life, it’s important for kids to know that their parents are always there for them.  So I was happy Lucas was supportive, but I think Lucas’s fear was more about how other people were going to treat Will once they found out.

That is very common that parents have a deep concern of how society will view their child if they know they are gay, and that is because no parent ultimately wants to see their child hurt by people’s perceptions!

BRYAN: Right! I think that Chandler brings so many levels to it that there is so much to have going on between the two of them outside of whatever he is struggling with and his identity. I respected the writing and storyline, because it is written how you would want your parents to take the news.

It will be interesting to see how Sami and Lucas come together for Will, or are different sides of the fence with it.  Can you preview any part of that leg of the story beat?

BRYAN: It’s interesting. They have not brought that up yet as far as Lucas and Sami dealing with that because Will is still denying his preference, and Sami knows that something is going on with him, but does not know what.  I do anticipate having these scenes in the future with Alison about it.  It will be interesting to see Sami’s reaction to it.  I think she would probably react similar to Lucas, but Sami is a little more affected by what people think. So it might force her into some sort of frenzy!   I can’t wait to play those scenes out with Alison to see where the writing goes with that.

Courtesy/NBC

Hopefully, there will be a new woman for Lucas? Or, will it be Sami, Sami, Sami?

BRYAN: Well, he has got this fiancé in Hong Kong!  I don’t know how long that will last, or if it’s a speed bump between Lucas and Sami, or Lucas and anybody.  I have been playing it that Lucas is very concerned about Sami which he always has been and wanting to be there for his kids, and the fact that they share two kids together, and the fact that they have this history.  I think Lucas is coming back with some sort of agenda to make sure he is supposed to be engaged, and to make sure that his chapter with Sami is closed.

Can we expect Lucas to give EJ a piece of his mind for how he had used his control to really implode his family?

BRYAN: We have had some scenes where we have locked horns.  Lucas’s beef with EJ is how Will is working for him and he is subjected to all these things that Lucas finds inappropriate.  Most of the confrontations scenes I have had with EJ are about Will, but Lucas had also threatened EJ to stay away from Sami, but he has always done that and that never goes anywhere! (Laughs)  EJ is kind of in the same boat as Lucas with Sami, in that they have the history and they have kids. And like it or not, they are always going to be a part of each others lives.  Lucas is very suspicious of EJ’s motives and he can’t believe he wants to be Mayor!  It’s like “WHAT?” But James Scott brings a lot of levels to his performance, so it’s kinda cool to play ram against ram.

Why is working with James Scott so cool?

BRYAN: He is a good actor, and he always knows where he is going with a scene, and again, when something comes up in a scene that is not planned, he always is willing to roll with it.  I think that is a big quality in an actor.  Working with James is always a challenge and making sure I am not the one in the scene just whining to him to leave Sami or Will alone. I kind of have to pick my moments to challenge him, because the more you challenge a character like that, the more they revel that they are getting to you.  As an actor, I get notes from the producers or the directors to really turn it up on James, but there are moments that I think are more effective, to hit him with what I feel, rather than play the anger and the argument, because that just shows the other person that you are truly affected.  If you show that, then EJ automatically wins that confrontation.

Courtesy/NBC

How long have you actually been back at the studio now?

BRYAN: I have been back taping for a month. It’s been a challenge getting used to work load again, but hopefully I am cutting it!

It’s so good to have you back Bryan! You were always my bud on the red carpet at all the award shows, like the Emmys! 

BRYAN: And we will do it again someday!

If you were to preview for the fans what to expect from Lucas, what would you say?

BRYAN: I would say he is more present and accounted for. He is more involved with a variety of people in the way that he can be, because he has so much history with so many of the characters on the canvas.  Lucas is one of those characters that can tap into any storyline.

How is working with the amazing Lauren Koslow again?  Lucas and his on-screen mom always had such an interesting relationship?

Photo Credit: PR Photo

BRYAN: Oh, we have had great scenes! Lauren has always been, and is the best person to work with.  I have such a great dynamic with her. I love Lauren’s pace and delivery. We are very similar in real life in a lot of ways. So, we get to play that out in a lot of our scenes as mother and son, which is kind of interesting.  It’s an older and more refined relationship, too.

And then you have all of your other on-screen half-brothers, sisters, etc, too?

BRYAN: That goes to Austin, to Billie, to Carrie, and then that gets me into the Rafe thing, and then the Sami/Rafe thing, and then the Sami/EJ thing, and the Will thing, and then the mother, and then the mother having trouble with her relationships and how he affects those, and the business that they are all kind of involved with together.  I don’t know what the show did without me … to tell you the truth! (Laughs)

Courtesy/ABC

ABC’s hit primetime  soap series, Revenge is bringing in great numbers for the  alphabet network and leads its timeslot against CBS and NBC! Based on its success, according to EW.com, “The lion’s share of the net’s drama pilots in development for fall offer sudsy tales in the vein of the Hamptons-based drama!”   This begs the questions, is the network trying to please their alienated soap fans who lost All My Children and One Life to Live in the daytime? Or, is it high-time that the primetime soap is finally having its comeback and now its quite apparent to the studio suits?

On-Air On-Soaps already reported to you last week that two shows, Americana and Nashville were greenlighted for nighttime soapy pilots and yet there are still more coming.  Check these out below.

Devious Maids: Based on the Mexican format, this soap follows four maids with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.

Scruples: Based on 1978 novel Scruples that follows the life of Wilhelmina Hunnewell Winthrop, a.k.a. Billy, a previously plump woman who loses weight, becomes fabulously cool, and survives a very rich (and very old) first husband. She ends up opening up a Beverly Hills clothing boutique called Scruples.

Gilded Lillys:  Set in 1895, this epic love story follows the opening of the first grand luxury hotel in NYC, against a backdrop of vicious family rivalries, scandalous secrets, and conflict and comingling of classes.

Last Resort: An international action-thriller-soap that follows the story of establishing a new society in a world held hostage by the crew of a ballistic missile submarine. Basically a U.S. nuclear sub crew refuses orders to fire their missiles and escape to a NATO outpost and declare themselves the smallest nuclear nation.

So let us know … would you watch any of these on the table if they were ordered to series?

Courtesy/ABC

One Life to Live fans who have been desperately clamoring to get the show’s replacement, The Revolution kicked to the curb could get their wish if the horrific ratings for the new lifestyle/makeover show continue in this downward spiral out of the gate.

According to TV Media Insights, the second week of The Revolution was pretty dreadful and is down 28% of its lead-in The Chew and even more importantly down 43% down from its time period a year ago, “Hello One Life to Live, people”

Here is what TV Media Insights had to say with its complete analysis of the situation! “The next set of Live Plus Same Day data from Nielsen (which includes total viewers) will not be available until Thursday.  But based on the metered markets to-date in week two (through Tuesday, Jan. 31), critically panned new ABC daytime talker The Revolution has sunk further.  Using the weighted household averages, the Monday and Tuesday telecasts of The Revolution this week is averaging a mere 1.3 rating/4 share in the 56-metered markets.  Compared to the week one average (1.5/ 5, Jan. 23-27), this is a loss of 13 percent.  Keep in mind that the week one total viewer average for The Revolution was already a subpar 1.68 million viewers (which was off by 37 percent from One Life to Live one year earlier).  So, unless there is an uptick, week two will be lower.

This week to-date, The Revolution is down by 28 percent from the lead-in average (1.8/ 6), and 43 percent from the time period average in January 2011 (2.3/ 6).  Next up at TVMI: the week two total viewer results for The Revolution.

So what would ABC next plan be if this show tanks?  Keep General Hospital from cancellation?  Bring back One Life to Live?  Or, fill the time slot with another show with a bunch of hosts that no one cares about?  Let us know your thoughts?  We know you have something to say about this one!

Photo Credit: Gilles Toucas

Seems like someone at B&B has been working, “After Hours”!  Yup, the beautiful Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy) has just released her first music video of her dance tune, “After Hours” under the name Jacqui Mac!

Jacqueline has teamed up with her long time Fashion Stylist/Song Writer Chaz E. Foley to create her first dance track, “After Hours” which is now available on iTunes and Ring Tones. So make sure to download it so you can do some heavy cardio to it!

Watch the video after the jump, and listen to the track and let us know what you think?  Do you think Jacqui Mac could be the next club sensation with a soap opera twist?

Courtesy/ABC

All My Children’s Michael E. Knight’s (Tad) is starring in a new play, The Cost of the Erection, which will have its West Coast Premiere at The Blank Theatre in Hollywood, California. The premise of the play is about wealthy Susu Ziegler who has purchased an exclusive Manhattan raw space apartment overlooking the Hudson. She hopes to have her architect husband design this tricky space, but with their marriage on the rocks, she forces him to compete against a younger, hotshot architect. This sexy, funny tale is told in a heightened theatrical style, compressing and playing with time and space, and ultimately examines what makes a marriage work.

The Cost of the Erection features Knight, along with The Bold and the Beautiful’s Robin Riker (Ex-Beth Logan), James Louis Wagner and Kal Bennett and previews begin this weekend February 4th with the show running through March 18th! For ticket info and seat available make sure to go online at www.TheBlank.com, or by calling (323) 661-9827.

Photo Credit: Michael Geniac

However, On-Air On-Soaps is exclusively giving one lucky fan and their guest a pair of tickets to the play, and a meet and greet with Michael E. Knight after one of his performances in The Cost of the Erection!  Here’s all you have to do … answer all ten of our questions in the “So you think you know Michael Knight trivia contest” below.  The first person to submit their answers correctly in the comment field will be notified via email from On-Air On-Soaps and will have 48 hours to respond.  If you fail to respond, we will default to the next person who had all the answers correctly.  In case, no one has answered all ten questions correctly, we will identify the person who had the most correct and they will be awarded the prize.  Please make sure to put 1-10 in the comment field before your answers to the questions.  The winner will have the opportunity to see the show and meet Michael between February 15th and March 4. It’s a fantastic fun night if you will be in the southern California area during the run of the play! ^th.  

So get set and get ready! Put on your Michael Knight and Tad Martin thinking caps on and after the jump let the games begin!

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW MICHAEL KNIGHT TRIVIA CONTEST

1) How many Daytime Emmys has Michael Knight won?

2) What was the full name of Tad’s doppelganger when Michael returned to AMC in 1992?

3) What is the name of Tad’s child with Brooke?

4) Who did Edna Thornton pay Tad the Cad to date because she was overweight and unhappy?

5) What are the two things in common between Michael E. Knight and David Hasselhoff?

6) In 2011, what sitcom did Michael appear in?

7) What famous theatre in New York City did Michael get his acting training at?

8.  In an interview with On-Air On-Soaps at the end of his run at AMC, who was Michael talking about when he said, “She had this kind of fierce loyalty to her children.  I remember doing scenes with her where Tad was weighing being a Martin, and that woman would be there with tears in her eyes. When I found out she was gone there was a part of me that said, “Maybe it is an end of an era.  Maybe it is time for me to walk away from this?”

9) What was the correct full birth name of Tad Martin?

10) Was Tad ever an employee of Opal’s Glamorama? Yes, or No?

After you have submitted your answers make sure to view the very special preview of The Cost of the Erection by watching the video below!

Courtesy/ABC

The outspoken and fabulous, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) of General Hospital, has a new storyline launching this week, when it is revealed that Alexis has menopause! So what does the Daytime Emmy award winning actress think about this plight for her alter-ego?  Well, in a new interview out today from TV Guide, she with her wry sense of humor and honesty takes a look at the decision to make Alexis have hot flashes! Plus, Grahn, who has been taken to task by some on twitter, talks about those tweets that landed her in a bit of hot water, but also how important she feels it is for her to a voice on a myriad of subjects when soap actors are all but ignored by the mainstream press!   Here are a few excerpts below!

Nancy on if she feels the soap audience wants to see a menopause story:  “Do they want to see one more mob shootout? In the 15 years I’ve been on GH we haven’t had many stories told about women from a woman’s perspective. I think I can make this funny and entertaining and relatable. Besides, it’s very timely, because the soaps are also going through menopause! Women can either think of this stage of life as death or a chance to transition into something wonderful, and that’s what the soaps need to do. To survive, they need to change with the times. They need to adapt. [Laughs] They need some damn hormones!”

Nancy on if new GH executive producer, Frank Valentini is happy with the menopause decision for a story for La Grahn, when it was originally Jill Farren Phelps idea/concept:  “Frank doesn’t like the idea of Alexis having menopause because he thinks it makes her too old. Now if she turned into some dried-up old hag over this, well, that would be very painful to watch. But there’s no need for that. I had a great love affair in real life, a really amazing romance, after I started menopause, so I know it’s not the end of life as we know it.”

Nancy on accidently spilling the GH spoiler that Sam is pregnant via Twitter, and if she gotten into hot water because of it: [Laughs] I did! I’ve gotten in trouble a couple of times. But let me tell you what happened there. I had not been watching the show at the time and I thought that news was already out. Fans were Twitter-tricking me. They were asking, “How do you feel about your character becoming a grandmother?” and “Isn’t it great that Sam’s pregnant?” And I’m, like, “Oh, yes!” not realizing I was confirming it. I was rightfully reprimanded by the network. It was an honest mistake, I swear. I would never be that stupid.”

Do you like the idea of a menopause story for Nancy and Alexis? Or, would you like to see her tackle something else? And, if so, what? Let us know!

Courtesy/ABC

General Hospital’s new head writer,  Ron Carlivati has made an addition to his writing team.  Former One Life to Live writer, Scott Sickles,  (who worked with Carlivati in Llanview) will now also be writing the perils of the residents of Port Charles!

Most recently, Scott was responsible for the beautiful speech given by Viki (Erika Slezak) on One Life to Live’s second to last episode.  The moving speech was about what soap operas are all about and how they connect with the audience and become part of our extended family.  But the emotional impact of that speech and its eloquent words were so loved by fans of the genre that will be remembered forever.

Sickles announced his new GH gig on his facebook page today!  Congrats from On-Air On-Soaps!

Photo Credit: PR Photo

It’s so great to know that soon we will be getting the opportunity to see the one and only Tristan Rogers back where he belongs as Robert Scorpio on General Hospital!  Rogers, who currently also stars in Gregori J Martin’s web series, The Bay, tweeted from the set at ABC Prospect today as he began his first day back on the lone ABC soap!

Tristan tweeted, “First day back in The Hospital. Feels ‘out-of-worldly’.  First air date would seem to be 2/29. Interesting date. It only appears every leap year. Just did blocking with John and Fin. Great vibe”

Of course, Tristan is referring in the last part of his tweet to working for the first time in a long while with on-screen brother John J. York (Mac), and on-screen long-time sparring and love partner, Finola Hughes (Anna)!

Are you looking forward to Tristan’s big return? Let us know!