News Round-up: FNL, Schmidt, BBC, Barrios, Reckell

Michael Ausiello: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS season four premiere an 'epic triumph'
"The premiere (airing Oct. 28 on DIRECTV’S The 101 Network) is an epic triumph. Exec producer Jason Katims promised that the episode — which focuses on Coach Taylor starting over from scratch with the Bad News Bears East Dillon Lions — would feel like a second pilot, and he wasn’t kidding. Katims (who wrote the ep) did a remarkable job balancing the new (six characters!) with the old (Tami, Julie, Saracen, Riggins, Landry, and J.D.) BTW, one of the six returning faves I just mentioned transformed into an unbelievable douchebag over the summer. I totally didn’t see it coming. Equally as shocking: The episode’s gut-wrenching climax."

INTERVIEW: Y&R's Kevin G. Schmidt (Noah)
Schmidt was a guest on "Mr. Media Interviews" on Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of ‘restless’ on our show, but not a lot of ‘young.’… I think what’s happening now, it’s a transition… I don’t know if Eric (Braeden)’s going anywhere, but I think this is just the show evolving and having to make some tough decisions in a tough economy.”

INTERVIEW: DAYS' Peter Reckell (Bo)
Reckell appeared on "BuzzWorthy Radio" on Wednesday afternoon. Reckell spoke about the return of Carly Manning on DAYS, how Bo Brady has evolved over the years and revealed that he and Kristian and Alfonso will be taping a guest spot on 30 ROCK today.

VIDEO: The loss of Y&R/DAYS in New Zealand explained
CLOSE UP met a die-hard fan dreading the end of her daily fix, while Auckland University researcher Professor Cristel Russell spoke to Close Up to explain what exactly consumption bereavement is.

BBC plans to cut violence on the screen after EASTENDERS complaints
The BBC will try to reduce the amount of violence in its programs as part of a crackdown on falling standards. The unprecedented move follows hundreds of complaints this year about graphic scenes in flagship shows such as EASTENDERS. Earlier this year viewers of the BBC1 soap were left reeling after watching a character buried alive, while in another episode a boy of 13 was knifed by a gang.

EASTENDERS Christmas murder plot revealed
EASTENDERS villain Archie Mitchell is to be killed off at Christmas, sparking another Walford murder mystery.

Depositions next for SOAPnet case
Attorney Mark Gelman hopes to begin taking depositions of soap opera personnel in about four months.

“I’d like this to be resolved before the next criminal trial in Christopher’s case,” he said.

CW unveils drama slate
The CW's drama development slate includes a sudser set in space, a modern spin on "Little Women" and a pair of projects from the exec producer behind ONE TREE HILL.