News Brief

Alexandra Chando attached to new series
Alexandra Patsavas and Josh Schwartz are developing ROCKVILLE, CA, a music-centered series that will debut on TheWB.com in 2009. Each webisode will focus on a band performing at Rockville, a fictional music club, where the Schwartz-patented teen angst unfolds around them. Among the bands slated to appear are Phantom Planet, Earlimart and the Kooks.

The show, which will have an initial run of 20 episodes, is being filmed at the Echo, located on Sunset Blvd. in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Attached acting talent includes Andrew West from PRIVILEGED and Alexandra Chando from AS THE WORLD TURNS (ex-Maddie).

Linder helped raise awareness for ALS bill
The ALS Association and people across the country living with Lou Gehrig's disease celebrated a tremendous victory as President Bush signed into law S. 1382, the ALS Registry Act, in the late afternoon on Oct. 8.

The ALS Registry Act enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress as a result of the grass-roots efforts of thousands of people with ALS and their families who reached out to Congress. People like Kate Linder (Esther, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) helped raise awareness and build support for the bill among the public and lawmakers alike.

"I am so proud to have been part of this effort," said Miss Linder, whose brother in-law Scott was diagnosed with ALS in 2004. "This will truly make a difference in the lives of thousands of people with ALS and those yet to be diagnosed, including our military veterans who are at greater risk of ALS."

Review of tonight's FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Todd Martens from the L.A. Times writes: "If FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS spent its first four episodes dealing with football and community concerns, what with the whole JumboTron saga and Smash's college tryout, Episode 5 goes straight to the heart. And when Street pleads to Erin to move in with him -- if their names are together on a birth certificate, it's only logical they're together on a lease, he argues -- it's a giant bundle of warm, desperate puppy love. One almost feels awkward just watching it, and Street's roommate Herc (Kevin Rankin) is helpless to stop him."

OLTL stars at League of Hard of Hearing event
For one night, soap stars put aside their day job duties of boldly emoting, feuding and scheming to team up with top New York chefs at the 16th annual Feast with Famous Faces charity event. On Oct. 27, ONE LIFE TO LIVE actors and real-life couple James and Kassie DePavia enlisted a crew of their coworkers to help serve dishes at the walk-around tasting in support of the League of Hard of Hearing. The DePavias first became involved with the charity when their son was diagnosed with hearing loss.

Actress Hillary B. Smith, who plays lawyer Nora Hanen on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, has attended the event every year since its inception and was excited to be back, saying, "It's the best event, because you get to eat!"

PHOTOS: National TV Awards
BBC soap EASTENDERS beat rivals CORONATION STREET, EMMERDALE and HOLLYOAKS in the most popular serial drama category. Barbara Windsor said the win was "better than sex".

CADY MCCLAIN: Naughty Rabbits With Nasty Habits
"It looks like it’s going to be a very chilly Halloween, although maybe the weather will act like the stock market and have a sudden rise in temperature. Crazy days, these. I am beginning to think that these 'credit default swaps' are the REAL source of our problems. Gambling on whether stocks will go up or down without really owning any was deemed illegal in the 1930’s and was only made legal again when Bush took office. Hmmmmm."