News Round-up: THE CUT, Bradford Anderson, GREY'S

BBC to launch multiplatform interactive teen soap, THE CUT
The BBC announced Thursday that BBC Switch, a BBC brand devoted to multiplatform content for teenagers, has started production of a new multiplatform interactive TV soap opera called THE CUT. The show, which is slated to launch later this year, will offer five-minute episodes on bbc.co.uk/switch, as well as a weekly omnibus edition on BBC Two.

According to the BBC, the show was developed by BBC Switch and EASTENDERS writer, Al Smith, in collaboration with KATEMODERN producer, Pete Gibbons, and director, Sarah Walker. It will be shot on tapeless cameras and edited in-house, as part of what the BBC describes as "an efficient digital production process allowing capture and broadcast to be just a few weeks apart." The story is fast-paced and relevant to young audiences, with secret crushes, family dramas and plenty of intrigue. The writing is quick, witty, and knowing, rich with pop-culture references and with storylines suggested by teens themselves."

Jaws drop at the GREY's finale
The season finale of GREY'S ANATOMY on Thursday "either dropped the boom on one of the most shocking season-enders in recent TV history or else set the show up for an insanely frustrating and convoluted series premiere next fall. The audacity of killing off two key cast members in two separate incidents in under five minutes is tremendous, but that audacity only counts if George and Izzie are well and truly dead."

GH's Bradford Anderson on his Emmy nomination
"[My character, Spinelli,] was supposed to die in a car bomb, I think. So getting to stay beyond that was wonderful, and now...to have this, I feel very fortunate and lucky to have a job." Meanwhile, co-star Julie Berman was "floating on cloud nine" after the announcement.

PEYTON PLACE still addictive 45 years later
Long before Wisteria Lane became a TV destination, a New England hamlet was the place viewers turned to see desperate housewives and their high-drama kin. PEYTON PLACE, the first prime-time TV soap opera, shattered conventions and made household names of Mia Farrow (as Allison MacKenzie) and Ryan O'Neal (as Rodney Harrington), in the serial swirl of adultery, unwanted pregnancies, hidden pasts and unrequited lust.

Former ATWT star Claire Bloom (ex-Orlena) romanced by icons of Hollywood
She's been romanced by Hollywood greats Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier, rejected Elvis Presley and enjoyed a glamorous life and glittering 57-year career. And now, at the age of 78, award-winning actress Claire Bloom is to appear on DOCTOR WHO – as the Time Lord’s mother.

Mala Bhattacharjee on the Daytime Emmy reception
"After some mingling and mixing, it was time for speeches and the formal nomination announcement. Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer (Josh and Reva, GL) read off the first batch of nominations, with their trademark banter. After the formal part of the reception, complete with an unveiling of the Emmy ticket design, it was time to move around again."