soap operas: Last News

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First black-led daytime soap in 35 years officially ordered at CBS

“General Hospital” by my mother’s side in the ’80s — it was all about Cliff (Peter Bergman) and Nina (Taylor Miller) on “AMC,” Vicki (Erika Slezak) and Clint (Clint Ritchie) on “OLTL” and, of course, Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) on “GH.”But when Jessie (Darnell Williams) and Angie (Debbi Morgan) came along on “AMC,” it was the first time I ever saw a black supercouple sudsing up our TV screen — likely in VHS recordings that my mom would make so I could watch after school.While I would forever stay loyal to my ABC soaps — although when we went down Grandma’s house, it was all about “The Young and the Restless,” “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” on CBS — I couldn’t help but feel like progress had been made when the groundbreaking soap “Generations” premiered on NBC in March 1989 with a predominantly black cast.Flash forward 35 years — and 33 years after “Generations” was canceled in 1991 — and there is a new black soap coming to daytime just when the genre had seemed to be on its last suds.On Monday, CBS announced a series order for “The Gates” — which “follows the lives of a wealth Black family in a posh, gated community”— that is set to premiere in January 2025.The new soap on the block — which will have Michele Val Jean (“The Bold & the Beautiful,” “General Hospital”), a black multiple Daytime Emmy winner, as writer, showrunner and executive producer — was developed in a joint venture between CBS and the NAACP.Look how far we’ve come, Jessie and Angie.But in addition to seeing black folks go through all that drama that makes us escape our own lives for just a bit, “The Gates” also marks the return of daytime soaps that were all but obliterated from network TV in the bloodbath of the late ’00s
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Lara Parker, star of soap opera ‘Dark Shadows,’ dead at 84
Facebook Monday.She died just one week before her 85th birthday.“For more than 50 years, our lives were intertwined through our mutual love of literature, writing, and acting,” Scott wrote of her late “Dark Shadows” co-star.“We could not have been more unalike, and therein lay the magic of our enduring friendship. My thoughts are with her family in this sad time of grief and remembrance.”Parker’s daughter, Caitlin Hawkins, confirmed her mother’s death in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.Before kickstarting her career in entertainment, Parker enrolled in Vassar College in New York, where she roomed with none other than Jane Fonda.She later completed her undergraduate degree at Southwestern at Memphis, which is now Rhodes College, before graduating from the University of Iowa with a master’s degree in drama.She went on to marry her first husband, Tom Parker, and the pair welcomed two sons, Rick and Andy during their time living in Wisconsin.Lara then decided to kickstart her acting career, and traveled to NYC where she landed a role in Dan Curtis’ series, “Dark Shadows.”During her stint on the six-season-strong show, the actress starred in a film based on the series, “Night of Dark Shadows,” in 1971.A year prior, she starred alongside Robert De Niro in Brian De Palma’s “Hi, Mom!”After wrapping “Dark Shadows,” Lara relocated to LA to continue expanding her onscreen portfolio, including a role in the 1973 drama “Save The Tiger,” which earned Jack Lemmon a Best Actor Oscar.
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Mother of Emmy-winning soap star Billy Miller reveals son’s cause of death: ‘He fought a long hard valiant battle’
Billy Miller set the record straight that her son died of suicide after a strenuous battle with mental health issues.“He fought a long hard valiant battle with bipolar depression for years. He did everything he could to control the disease,” Patricia Miller wrote in her statement to Soap Opera Digest, first thanking fans for their love and support in the wake of her son’s tragic death.“He loved his family, his friends and his fans but in the end, the disease won the fight and he surrendered his life.”Patricia issued the statement to address rumors circulating about how her 43-year-old son died were “not true” following his death on Friday.“I wish they were but they just aren’t,” the mother wrote.She revealed the family is “desperately trying to deal with our loss” and said she had “nothing further to say” on her son’s death.“I want to personally thank the many fans & personal friends for the overwhelming amount of love, prayers & condolences sent to me and my family on the devastating death of my beautiful son BJ.”“The Young and the Restless” stars agent confirmed to The Post on Sunday that he struggled with manic depression.Miller died two days shy of turning 44 in Austin, Texas.Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sept.
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