It's a June Jamboree!

Hey all! It's been a rough week for soaps but that's not stopping us from marching on and bringing you exciting and unique guests for our podcast! This month's guests include a young Emmy nominee, a dashing web soap hunk and an up-and-coming starlet who DAYS fans may recognize!

June 6: Molly Burnett (Melanie, DAYS)
June 13: Jillian Clare (ex-Abby, DAYS)
June 20: Ryan Clardy (Cane, EMPIRE)

Get ready for a fun and exciting month, only at Dayplayer Dish!
-Lee and Lauren

Genuine Shocker: ABC Daytime Replaces SOAPNet with Disney Junior?!

Not sure what to say about this, really. Read all about it HERE.

We'll talk about this sad news later this week. For now, leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Dream Summer Preview: One Life to Live

Hey guys! Hope you liked the All My Children stories I concocted! I had so much fun doing them that I went ahead and did some for One Life to Live. Hope you enjoy these! Don't forget to comment on your favorites/least favorites!

One Life to Live
It's a Summer filled with healing, romance and redemption for the citizens of Llanview after a dark first half of the year. Look for love, friendship and family to come to the forefront.

John/Natalie/Jessica/Brody: Natalie and Brody decide to keep their tryst a secret for the time being, not wanting to hurt John or Jessica. Brody's guilt begins to eat at him, though, and he eventually gathers the courage and decency to tell her. Jessica's reaction is a turning point for her; rather than hide from her problems via a different personality, she decides to take charge of her life, which leads to her diving into her job as a journalist. Natalie and John begin a heated romance, but a shocking twist will forever change Natalie's life. Brody, meanwhile, tries to get Jessica back, and it is slowly revealed that his mental state may be more fragile than he thought.

Viki/Charlie/Dorian/David: David wants to get back together with Dorian, who is more than happy to have David as her boy-toy once again. Viki and Charlie are happy and married, but Viki begins to worry about Charlie when he claims he got a phone call from Jared! Thinking it's another one of Mitch's cruel schemes, Viki and Charlie try to get to the bottom of things and may end up in peril. When Dorian and David try to help, the four end up on a ridiculous adventure that lands them back in Paris, TX where Dorian encounters a man from her recent past that will shake things up even more.

Starr/Cole/Langston/Markko: Hannah is ultimately revealed to be the one who pushed Marty down the stairs and beat up Ford. After she's hauled off to a mental hospital, Hannah makes a friend with connections to the teens and the two girls begin a dark and devious plan. Langston breaks things off with Ford and tries to fix things with Markko, who moves back in with his parents. Starr and Cole decide living together isn't a good idea and both go back to live with Blair and Marty. The older teen set generally takes a back seat this summer, but with Hannah and the mystery girl scheming, things explode in August. Maybe literally.

The Younger Kids: Danielle breaks up with Matthew and starts dating Nate, who has a stunning connection to Blair and Marty. His mother Inez clashes with Todd, Tea, and Blair. Destiny gives up on her ongoing crush on Matthew and volunteers at a nursing home, where she meets someone from Llanview's past. It's a very touching and heartwarming story. Matthew, meanwhile, meets Isabella, Markko's younger sister, and falls hard for her.

Blair/Marty/Todd/Kelly/Eli/Tea/Greg/Rachel/Inez: Why did Inez and Nate move to Llanview? The reason is stunning and changes Blair and Marty's lives forever. Tea is able to have brain surgery and begins to grow closer with Greg, but Rachel returning to town will throw a wrench in things. Todd and Rachel find themselves inadvertently thrown together one stormy night and the two find a new appreciation for each other, but things take a turn for the worse when Tea and Greg catch them in a strange position. Inez will become close with Marty, who is healing from her miscarriage. Blair is unhappy to find an easy chemistry between Eli and Kelly, and is distracted when Ross Rayburn returns to town.

Christian/Layla/Kyle/Fish: Look for the return of Kyle and Fish as Christian and Layla prepare for their wedding. These two couples are really going to show that soap couples can be fun, exciting and filled with drama without breaking them up. The four represent the more stable side of Llanview adults, but that doesn't mean they are without story. Kyle grows worried when Fish and the Llanview PD start investigating a series of kidnappings. When one of the four vanishes, the others unite to find the truth.

What are your thoughts, soap fans? Does my OLTL sound any better than the real OLTL? Let us know!
--Lee

Dream Summer Preview: All My Children

Bored by this year's Summer previews from all the magazines? Dayplayer Dish has your tonic! Here's my (Lee) dream "Summer Preview" for my favorite soaps. Be sure to comment on YOUR dream Summer previews!

All My Children

It's a Summer of familiar faces and new beginnings for the citizens of Pine Valley as various crises bring back Pine Valley's younger generation.

The Kane/Montgomery Family: Bianca returns to Pine Valley to deal with her mother's disappearance. Bianca's not the only Montgomery returning, though; a surprise visit from Reggie delights a heartbroken Jack, but Reggie's got more on his mind than helping Jack cope. He wants to find his biological family, and another streetwalker-turned-Pine Valley-ite may be the key to finding his mother. Bianca, meanwhile, clashes with Greenlee, who learns a secret about Reese that will blow Bianca out of the water. Also look for the late-Summer return of Sean Montgomery in a story that audiences will really enjoy.

The Hubbard Family: Angie is stunned when she is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Rather than turn to Jesse for help, Angie grows reclusive and withdraws from everyone who loves her. And Jesse and Angie's marriage fall apart when Jesse meets a mysterious woman connected to another Pine Valley citizen. Randi and Frankie decide to try and have a child, but a new woman in town will make Randi very insecure about her relationship with Frankie. Natalia and Brot finally embark on a relationship and are happily "in like" with each other, but when Cassandra returns to town to deal with her mother's illness, a new sibling rivalry beings to heat up.

The Chandlers: Annie loves Scott. Scott loves Annie. Annie lusts for JR. JR lusts for Annie. JR loves Marissa. Marissa? SCORNED. Look for Marissa to grow a backbone as she takes on Annie with the help of David and Greenlee. Gas-lighting takes on a whole new meaning as Marissa slowly begins to make Annie question her sanity. Greenlee and Marissa develop a friendship. JR's conflicting emotions drive him back to the bottle, while Scott begins to drift into a depression. Someone surprising will provide emotional tonic for him towards the end of the Summer. Colby begins a romance with Damon, but is shocked when Petey Cortlandt returns to town a dashing hunk!

The Martin and Colby Families: Tad and Damon slowly begin a father/son relationship. Krystal and Tad grow closer, as Liza resorts to scheming to take Damon down. Look for the return of Marian from the psychiatric ward, but will her return prompt Liza to come to her senses or enable Liza to scheme even further? At the end of the Summer, Liza does something drastic that will forever change the dynamic between the Martin and Colby families.

That's all I got for now, folks! Tune in later this week for more dream summer previews!

--Lee

Why General Hospital is Like an Abusive Relationship (or, why Judge Carroll deserves an Emmy)

Hey, soap fans! Sorry the blog's been kind of stagnant lately. Between my (Lee) getting a (paying) job and Lauren working hard to secure all our great guests, we've had no time to dish out new content. Well, the drought is over now, and you have General Hospital to thank for it.

If you watched GH at all this month, you have seen the Port Charles trial of the century as Sonny went on trial for Claudia's murder. As we all know, Michael was the real killer and Sonny and Co. have been trying to cover it up since November. I initially HATED the story. I resented the fact that Michael murdering his step-mother was being treated like a heroic act and that Sonny arrogantly told him, "Ya did good!" I also resented Michael devolving into a brat, running around town spouting orders at people and threatening everyone with violence. For months, changing the channel to Dr. Phil was my only escape from the Heroic Murderers show.

...then came Sonny's trial. It began with a bang (literally) as Sonny, in cold blood, shot Dante as Josslyn was being baptized. Olivia's scream and infamous line "My God, Sonny! You just shot your own son!" immediately got me hooked again. For the first time in YEARS, the amoral attitude of the show's main characters was being addressed. The trial, led by incredible guest star Dakin Matthews as Judge Carroll, incorporated the show's best actors, including Blake Gibbons' Coleman on the jury and Dahlia Salem as the rabid and ruthless prosecuting attorney Claire Walsh. For the first time, Sonny was getting his comeuppance and couldn't do a thing about it. I literally laughed out loud when Sonny quietly threatened Claire. Her response, loudly: "Did you just threaten me in open court?!" It was BRILLIANT.

Of course, the trial ended in dramatic fashion after Dante convinced Michael to take the stand, resulting in Michael being sentenced to two years in prison. After Judge Carroll delivered the speech I've been waiting years to hear, condemning all the adults in Michael's life and blaming them for Michael's behavior, tears were shed, threats were issued, Carly got put in her place by Tracy, and my life was complete.

Until Sonny and Carly had their 800th round of grief sex.

In one horrible decision, the show is back to square one. Carly should know better than to sleep with Sonny at this point! What, does she want to bring ANOTHER doomed child into this world? Does NOTHING get through that woman's head?!

That, ladies and gents, is why GH is like an abusive relationship. They deliver Emmy-worthy story of the year, only to revert back to the same old tricks and plot devices that get them into these slumps in the first place. I hope when Jax finds out Carly slept with Sonny - again - he dumps her and goes for Claire Walsh (if she and Sonny don't do the nasty first).

What do you guys think? Is GH, or any of your soaps, treating you like royalty one minute and spitting on you the next? Let us know in the comments section!
--Lee

May Day! May Day! Days promo is on fire!

If you listened to the podcast last Sunday, then you know that my pick for most anticipated soap for May Sweeps is Days of Our Lives. The promo is on fire! I am so glad NBC (for whatever reason) started to invest in DOOL again! The scene with Victor and all of his ex-wives? Classic! Can't wait. ~LA

The Stereotypes of Soaps Are Dying, Has Run Its Course!

We Love Soaps posted an article this morning from Cincinnatitoday.com, which interviews P&G global marketing officer Mark Pritchard. Mr. Pritchard offers his opinion on why “daytime dramas have run their course.” I find it funny that in the same article, it discusses how instrumental P&G is working to help bring back the dynamics of watching television together as a family. Mr. Pritchard states that “People tell us that they want more shows to watch together as a family, or appealing to all family members." Well, Mr. Pritchard, let me tell you a little bit about my family. My grandmother started out as an avid soap opera watcher, she would listen to Guiding Light on the radio, and later, when it made the transition to television, she followed. When she had her children, they became avid soap watchers. I would be told countless stories on how they would all would sit around the small black and white television, and watch the soaps right along with my grandmother. My uncles included. My mother went onto to college, and when she would come home, she would sit around, and discuss soaps with my grandmother. Flash-forward to when I was born, I followed in my family’s tradition, and became addicted to soaps (that and the reason I was told to either shutup or take a nap when my grandmother’s stories were on). Once a week, my grandmother, my mother, and I, would all get on a three way telephone call and discuss the latest on soaps.

So you see Mr. Pritchard, I disagree, daytime dramas haven’t run their course, it’s all about adapting, and reinventing yourself(this means those who are in charge of these dying soaps) to the audiences. I’m sure my grandmother was hesitant in making the change to watch Guiding Light on television, but she did it. Why? Because she believed, and loved her soaps. She would follow the Bauers, and the Hughes anywhere. When my mother went into the workforce, she was hesitant that a VCR would not record her soaps, but she taped them anyway? Why? Because she remembered the good times she had watching the soaps with my grandmother. Today, I DVR, watch soaps online, and try to watch the soaps at their scheduled broadcast time, Why? Because I remember how we would all come together as a family, and discuss our soaps.

Mr. Pritchard, you are wrong. Daytime dramas haven’t run its course. Tell that to Martha Byrne, Michael O’Leary, and Crystal Chappell, beloved soap opera veterans who love, and support this genre so much, that they are reinventing the wheel so to speak, by taking the successful formula of old school soap story telling to the web. Coincidentally, they were all former employees of Proctor and Gamble, the company in which Mr. Pritchard works for.

I hate when these once a year articles come out, where we get these quotes by the people in charge, who offer their “wisdom”, in one sentence that always speak doom and gloom to the soap genre. When we interviewed Martha Byrne, I learned more about how to market, creative ways to reach your audience, and what executives think in terms of marketing to the audiences, in that one hour, than I have learned from the powers that be in my twenty plus years of watching soaps. You say Daytime dramas have run their course? Show me, don’t tell me. Show me on Twitter, where there are millions of fans tweeting in 140 characters or less, about their soaps day in and day out! Show me at a So Long Springfield event, where thousands of fans show up, and support the cast of Guiding Light. Tell me where you are losing viewers, when myself, and millions of others DVR, or tape their soaps,yet the Nielsen ratings is what you look at, and conclude that daytime is dying. I leave you with the wise words of my grandmother “ if you want it dead, than you will have to kill it yourself!” Of course she was talking about a spider at the time, but it’s so fitting for the daytime genre! :) ~Lauren