Soaps Dish: Two OLTL Men Heading to GH?

Soaps Dish: Two OLTL Men Heading to GH?

At least two Llanviewers rendered “homeless” by ABC’s cancellation of One Life to Live (and Prospect Park’s decision to bail on the soap’s online continuation) may soon relocate to Port Charles.

Though unconfirmed by an ABC rep, Ted King, who played OLTL‘s Tomas, is due to start taping scenes for General Hospital next month, our friends at ABC Soaps in Depth report.

SID hears that Michael Easton (aka OLTL‘s John McBain) is set to join GH as well.

King, of course, previously played two Alcazar brothers, Luis and Lorenzo, on GH — both now dead — but it’s not clear if he would play yet another member of the international crime family or a brand-new character.

Easton has never appeared on GH proper, but did play vampire Caleb on the ABC sudser’s spin-off, Port Charles, where he was paired with Kelly Monaco’s Livvie. (Monaco now plays GH‘s Sam.) SID hears from at least one source that Easton will likely bring his OLTL crime-solver to Port Charles.

Both King and Easton had signed on to be a part of OLTL‘s online continuation, but Prospect Park pulled the plug on that venture in late November. Thus, OLTL‘s final episode will air Friday, Jan. 13 on ABC.

Earlier this month, there was talk that another OLTL vet, Bree Williamson (Jessica), would switch to GH, though an ABC insider told TVLine that was a “big fat rumor.”

TV Tonight 24th of December 2011: Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

TV Tonight 24th of December 2011: Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

The daily list in alphabetical order, of all the new episodes airing in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

    48 Hours Mystery S25E12: "Drawn to Murder"
    Austin City Limits S37E10: "Tom Waits"
    Bakuman. S02E13: "Alliance and Classmates"
    Cardfight!! Vanguard S01E50: "At the End of the Battle"
    Deal Or No Deal (UK) S07E102: "Episode 1782"
    EastEnders S27E205: "December 24, 2011"
    Fairy Tail S03E16: "Love and the Tears of Vigor"
    Fate/Zero S01E13: "The Forbidden Mad Feast"
    Home for the Holidays S01E07: "Episode 8"
    Lapland S01E01: "Episode 1"
    Last Exile (JP) S02E10: "Illegal Move"
    Merlin (2008) S04E13: "The Sword in the Stone (Part 2 of 2)"
    My Family S11E12: "Merry Nickmas"
    NFL On FOX S18E80: "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers"
    NFL On FOX S18E79: "New York Giants at New York Jets"
    NFL On FOX S18E83: "Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys"
    NFL On FOX S18E78: "St. Louis Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers"
    NFL On FOX S18E82: "San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks"
    NFL On FOX S18E77: "Minnesota Vikings at Washington Redskins"
    NFL On FOX S18E81: "Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals"
    Nissene over skog og hei S01E24: "Season 1, Episode 24"
    Oddities S03E04: "Holiday Bizarre"
    Outnumbered S04E07: "Christmas Special"
    Piers Morgan's Life Stories S06E05: "Donny Osmond"
    RocKwiz S09E13: "Christmas Special 2011"
    Saturday Kitchen S10E26: "December 24, 2011"
    Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi S02E12: "Love is a Bitter-Sweet."
    Shakugan no Shana S03E12: "Words of a Vow"
    Text Santa S01E02: "Episode 2"
    The Cube S04E08: "Corrie Special"
    The Nerdist S01E02: "Year in Review"
    Total Wipeout S05E04: "Winter Wipeout (2)"
    University Challenge (1994) S18E30
    Working!! S02E13: "Farewell Popura"
    You've Been Framed S19E15: "You've Been Framed at Christmas!"

How Louis C.K. Cut Out Networks, Used Them to Earn $1M -- and Gave Half Away

How Louis C.K. Cut Out Networks, Used Them to Earn $1M -- and Gave Half Away

Louis C.K. cut out TV networks by selling his latest comedy special online -- then used network airtime to promote it. The strategy helped him earn a cool million dollars in a matter of days, half of which he's giving away to his staff and charities.

It's hard to think of a more stick-it-to-The-Man approach to distributing your work. But The Man -- in this case TV networks and the conglomerates that own them -- don't seem to mind. Networks have given him prominent platforms to promote the special, "Live at the Beacon Theater," and its success has only added to the prestige of C.K.'s FX comedy, "Louie."

It hasn't hurt C.K.'s reputation, either: The New York Times said this week he's ascended to show-business sainthood.

And that was before he announced plans to give $280,000 to charities. They include the Fistula Foundation, which helps battered women; Green Chimneys, which works with children and animals; the Pablove Foundation, which help children with cancer, Charity: Water, which provides clean drinking water; and Kiva, which gives microloans. He will also pay out $250,000 in bonuses to staff.

If you pitched C.K.'s success with the special as a Christmas movie, people might say it was too corny to be believable.

The comedian did his last three specials for HBO, Showtime and Comedy Central. This time, he sold it on his website for $5, including a note asking people please not to pirate it. It went on sale Dec. 9.

"People told me everyone's gonna steal it," he told Jimmy Fallon. "So I just wrote a note that said please don't do that ... And they didn't."

C.K. has sold the special to about 220,000 people so far. Besides the more than half a million dollars for his staff and charities, he paid about $250,000 in production costs. He'll pocket the rest.

He said he decided to give much of the money away because "I've never had a million dollars all at once ... I felt uncomfortable about having that much money."

His D.I.Y. approach wouldn't work for everyone. C.K. is one of the best comedians alive, and could draw nearly a quarter-million people to download his material. He's also the rare talent who can not only write, star in, and produce and direct his own special, but also develop a simple and convenient way to sell it.

He used TV networks to promote, seizing on a long relationship with NBC to appear on both  "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." (Besides writing for "Late Night" when Conan O'Brien was its host, C.K. has also guest-starred on "Parks and Recreation.") He also appeared on ABC's nightline.

Former NBC Exec Marc Graboff in Talks to Run 'American Idol' Parent CKx

Former NBC Exec Marc Graboff in Talks to Run 'American Idol' Parent CKx

Marc Graboff, most recently the president of West Coast business operations for NBC, is in negotiations to run CKx, the entertainment company that owns "American Idol" and produces "So You Think You Can Dance," the New York Post reports.

The move comes as CKx, which also owns the rights to Elvis Presley's image, name and likeness, and operates Presley's former mansion Graceland, prepares to split with Michael Ferrel, its current chairman and CEO. Ferrel helped broker the company's sale to asset manager Apollo Global Management earlier this year.

As TheWrap reported in November, Graboff chose to leave NBC under what the network characterized as "absolutely amicable" terms. Graboff had been with NBC since 2000, and had held his most recent position since August 2010.

According to the Post, CKx decided on Graboff after a lengthy search, during which a number of potential candidates were courted, including Sirius XM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein; former Blockbuster director Jules Haimovitz; and Charlie Collier, president and general manager of AMC.

In a deal that was announced  in May, Apollo agreed to buy CKx for an estimated $512M.

"X Factor" brings wins for "shocked" Amaro, and Fox

"X Factor" brings wins for "shocked" Amaro, and Fox

"The X Factor" winner Melanie Amaro said on Friday she was shocked at her victory but believed that singing from her heart had given her the edge over her rivals in the TV contest.

Amaro's triumph also gave broadcaster Fox a ratings win, with Thursday's two-hour finale bringing in 12.4 million viewers, making "X Factor" the most-watched show of the night on U.S. television.

The 19 year-old from Florida won a $5 million recording contract, but said on Friday she was going to keep details of her first album a secret.

"I am going to keep everyone guessing as to what is going to come out, so people will go get it and they will be amazed," she told reporters on a conference call.

But she said she planned to spend some of her winnings on a foot massager and a new house for her mother.

"I feel as though I am in a dream. I feel as though this is not real...I was so thrilled to have won and so shocked," said Amaro.

Amaro's powerhouse vocals had made her a front-runner since her first audition for the show.

But she was cut from competition's early rounds, only to be later reinstated by "X Factor" creator Simon Cowell, in what TV watchers widely considered a manufactured drama to hype interest in the show's first season on U.S. TV.

Amaro on Friday said she did not know whether her initial elimination and call-back had been deliberately staged, but said she genuinely thought she was out of the contest.

"I had no clue Simon was coming to my house. I thought I was out of it ... I kept thinking I wasn't good enough," she said. "All I know is that he (Cowell) apologized about it. Whatever happened in the past, is the past."

Asked why she thought she had won, the modest teen said; "I think doing what I do, with all of my heart, put me apart from some of the other contestants ... I sing to the very, very pit of my soul because singing is something I truly enjoy."

Amaro's win closed a mixed first season for "X Factor", which Cowell brought to the United States from Britain with huge fanfare and predictions it would topple long-running "American Idol", also on Fox, as the nation's most-watched show.

But "X Factor" audiences have been about half those of "Idol" and producers on Friday declined to disclose the number of votes cast by the public in the finale.

Fox executives, however, say the show has been a success and has helped the network win Thursday nights in the fall with the key 18-49 age group for the first time in its history.

Fox also noted that the audience for Thursday's finale was 1.4 million more than that for the summer climax of NBC's rival TV singing contest, "The Voice".

Fox has already renewed "X Factor" for a second season but media speculation is rife over whether heavily-criticized judge Nicole Scherzinger, and British host Steve Jones will be returning in 2012.

Fox Sports Wins Key Ruling Against Dodgers

Fox Sports Wins Key Ruling Against Dodgers

Fox Sports received an early Christmas present Friday as a federal judge in Delaware temporarily halted the Los Angeles Dodgers' plan to sell TV rights to future games while he considers Fox's appeal.

The judge, Leonard Stark, also indicated that agrees with Fox's argument that a barnkruptcy judge was wrong to allow the team to sell the lucrative rights despite Fox having certian protections in its contract with the team.

"The court is also likely to conclude that the bankruptcy court opinion and/or order are based on one or more clearly erroneous findings of fact," Stark wrote in his opinion granting Fox's request for an emergency stay, as reported by the AP.

Attorneys for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt had argued that delaying his efforts to sell lucrative TV and other media rights could significantly harm his effort to finalize a sale of the entire team by the April 20 deadline imposed by a settlement between Major League Baseball and the Dodgers.

Fox's full appeal will be heard by the judge at a hearing scheduled to take place Jan. 12.

AMC Renews 'Hell on Wheels' for Second Season

AMC Renews 'Hell on Wheels' for Second Season

The Western drama becomes the fifth of the network's six original series to get an additional year.

Sources tell that the cable network is expected to announce a formal renewal of the Western drama starring Anson Mount and Common in the coming days.

The series, which revolves around the building of the first transcontinental railroad, became AMC’s second-highest original series premiere when it launched in November behind the net’s zombie hit The Walking Dead, drawing 4.4 million total viewers, and an impressive 2.4 million in the key adults 18-49 demographic.

The Western now marks the fifth of six original series to stretch beyond freshman seasons as AMC continues to find success with scripted fare, joining Walking Dead, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Killing. In addition, the series has proven a valuable property internationally.

Hell on Wheels was created by Joe and Tony Gayton, who also executive produce alongside Endemol’s Jeremy Gold and John Shiban. The drama is produced by Entertainment One.

The Season 1 finale is set for Jan. 15.

Adam Lambert Says He's "Embarrassed By Drunkenness"

Adam Lambert Says He's "Embarrassed By Drunkenness"

Adam Lambert says he's "embarrassed" by the actions that led to his arrest in Finland Thursday.

"Violence is not to be taken lightly. Embarrassed by drunkenness," the American Idol runner-up tweeted late that day. "No punches thrown, no injuries and no charges. Media always exaggerates."

American Idol's Adam Lambert arrested and jailed in Finland

Lambert, 29, and his boyfriend, Finnish reality TV star Sauli Koskinen, reportedly got into a brawl on Thursday inside a Helsinki gay bar called DTM (Don't Tell Mama), and continued the fight outside after being removed from the club. They were arrested at approximately 4 a.m. and spent several hours behind bars.

A few hours after he was released, Lambert tweeted that was he "laughing" about the incident.

I Hate My Teenage Daughter's Katie Finneran Is Pregnant

I Hate My Teenage Daughter's Katie Finneran Is Pregnant

I Hate My Teenage Daughter star Katie Finneran is pregnant, People reports.

"Life could not be better right now," Finneran told the magazine.

Finneran, 39, and her husband, actor Darren Goldstein, are already parents to son Ty.

See other celebs who are expecting

"The idea that our 10-month-old is going to be a big brother is simply thrilling," she said.

Finneran, who's a two-time Tony Award winner, currently stars alongside Jaime Pressly on the Fox sitcom.

My 'Challenge' Enthusiasm is Infectious

My 'Challenge' Enthusiasm is Infectious

The prevailing wisdom is that the sexual exploits of The Challenge's contestants will only come back to haunt them at the doctor's office, but for the newest season of MTV's addictive, reality competition series, former fuck buddies are paired in the quest to win [insert irrelevant prize money here since everyone on the show is only after fame].
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The Challenge: Battle of the Exes launches on January 25 and promises to be the most shocking, scandalous and STD-inducing entry to date!

Not only is CT back (and paired with drama mama Diem), but here's how the other teams break down:

Abram & Cara Maria
Dunbar and Paula
Dustin & Heather (from Real World 2011's Las Vegas edition)
Johnny Bananas & Camila (when did they date?!?)
Leroy & Naomi (also from RW: LV)
Mark & Robin (nice to see their retirements didn't stick)
Nate & Priscilla (who?)
Rachel & Aneesa (best. ever.)
Ty & Emily (yes!)
Tyrie & Jasmine (double yes!)
Vinny & Sarah (seriously?)
Wes & Mandi (classic.)

So, yea. This is gonna get ugly.

New season premieres January 25 at 10 p.m. on MTV.