INDIE SOAP BEAT: October 13, 2009

In this week's "Indie Soap Beat" feature, we take a look at the latest happenings from around the world of independent soap opera production. We Love Soaps now has a shortcut to all our Indie Soap cover. You can view those posts by clicking the "Indie" option at the top of the page or by visiting IndieSoapBeat.com.

REALITY BYTES
In an expected but still exciting announcement, REALITY BYTES confirmed that Tristan Rogers would be playing Trevor Rains, a character described as "The Rainmaker - hired to save the show that made him famous from cancellation." Suzanne Niedland has also been cast as Karen Walton, "The Head Writer - The glue that holds them all together. Karen hides a lot of surprises behind her calm, matronly demeanor." More new characters were revealed last week as well.

VENICE
On October 7, the V Shop opened featuring a variety of VENICE merchandise. From the various tweets on Twitter, it appears the VENICE store was an immediate success. The next day the show announced that Emmy winner Lesli Kay, already starring in two daytime soaps, would be playing Tracy, the "London connection" of Crystal Chappell's Gina.

FAMILY DINNER
A new episode of Lauralee Bell's web series, FAMILY DINNER, was released on Monday on FunnyorDie.com. As with Episode 3, this family dinner features guest star Cloris Leachman, who plays Bell's mother. Bell joked to We Love Soaps that she hopes a Webby is in the show's future: "Our big joke is, 'The Golden Webby goes to... FAMILY DINNER.' Everyone says, 'There's Emmys and everything in your family, what's going on?' And I say, 'Maybe I'll be the first Bell to win a Webby.' This year there was almost as big of a celebrity turnout for the Webbys as the Emmys." If you haven't read the new We Love Soaps interview with Bell, check it out here.

FANTASY OVER REALITY
FANTASY OVER REALITY is a web-friendly sitcom that revolves around a group of guys and their fantasy football league. Episode #4 is now online and this is the best one yet. It features NFL stars Maurice Jones-Drew and Andre Johnson as well as some other players. Even if you're not a fantasy football player, you will be able to appreciate the humor in this series. Y&R's Vail Bloom stars in the show but didn't appear in this episode.

WED-LOCKED
Former GUIDING LIGHT star Lawrence Saint-Victor (ex-Remy) is producing, writing and starring in this new comedic web series which also features his former GL love interest Karla Mosley (ex-Christina), who is also part of the producing team. Former GL stars Yvonna Wright Kopacz (ex-Mel), Zack Conroy (ex-James) and Kim Brockington (ex-Felicia) also star in the show. You can watch the show's trailer here. WED-LOCKED premieres on November 1. Look for a We Love Soaps interview with Saint-Victor and Mosley coming soon.

GOTHAM
Production begins this weekend in Bergen County, New Jersey on the new Martha Byrne's web soap. A website is in development and will be rolled out any day now. Byrne tweeted that former AS THE WORLD TURNS star Margaret Reed (ex-Shannon) would be appearing in the premiere episode. On Saturday, a video preview featuring Byrne and Park was released by the show. Byrne hinted that a male character on GOTHAM would be an alcoholic.

HIGH RISE
When HIGH RISE returns for a second season early next year, the show will be played on Fox 5 in Atlanta. Season two will feature ten 30 minute episodes airing in High Definition. The show recently held an open casting call where they ask those submitting to describe why they should be on the soap and which character they should play.

EMPIRE
If you are in the New York City area and didn't get to see EMPIRE creator Greg Turner's new musical, "All Fall Down," at the New York Musical Festival, you are not alone. The show was a smashing success both creatively and in ticket sales. "All Fall Down" is the story of Ben Little, a perfect and popular 19-year-old who goes away to college and seemingly inexplicably jumps from his sixth story dorm room window. Surviving the fall, Ben returns home to his parents and grandmother. As his family tiptoes around the incident, the question quickly becomes not why did he jump, but why is nobody talking about it. Season 2 of EMPIRE is coming in early 2010.

WORKSHOP
This week there was no new episode of WORKSHOP, the comedic web series that was created by Nate Golon and Kimberly Legg and which stars former PASSIONS actor Phillip Jeanmarie. But while you're waiting for a new episode, coming next Monday, you can catch up on the previous 8. The season finale will air on November 16.

IMAGINARY BITCHES
The IMAGINARY BITCHES Emmy episode continues to be a YouTube hit approaching 22,000 views in less than four weeks. The show was also featured on a recent episode of BUCK FACTOR. We Love Soaps made a guest appearance so if you haven't watched the Emmy special, check it out here and let us know what you think.