News Round-up: Tom Pelphrey, ATWT, NBC Ratings

Tom Pelphrey to star in "My Italy Story"
Two-time Emmy Award winner Tom Pelphrey from GUIDING LIGHT will star in Joseph Gallo's "My Italy Story," to be presented by the Mile Square Theatre at Monroe Center for the Arts, June 17-28. Matthew Lawler will direct.

The play is a story of a young man from Hoboken, NJ who sets out to heal the rift that divides his family, and in the process traces his roots to a remote village in Italy, returning to America to face a surprising family secret. Matinee performances on June 27 and 28 will feature Richie Call.

TV Guide Network Launches Celebrity Look-a-Like Contest
TV Guide Network has launched an "I'm a Celebrity Look-a-Like" contest where you can enter to win a role on the network's hit series LOOK-A-LIKE. Viewers have until June 21 to submit photos.

Michael Musto on Brash's Gay Soap Opera?
Village Voice's Michael Musto writes: "That could actually happen, seeing as P.J. Brash, who's written for soaps for years and has won an Emmy and several Writers Guild Awards, has concocted a script with me as the central character! I'd play a bitchy gossip columnist who's basically hiding a lot of heart (a real stretch). My character must also be hiding a lot of cash because he happens to double as the owner of a local gay club, which allows for lots of scenes featuring half-clad gogo boys and hunky bartenders."

Will HOLLYOAKS survive after Bryan Kirkwood?
As Kirkwood's deputy throughout the glory days, new boss Lucy Allan certainly has the chops for the job. And in her first interview in the role last week, she came across as someone who knows what she's doing.

But she doesn't face any easy task. With Warren and Justin now joining Max, OB, Craig, John-Paul, Louise and Mandy in the ranks of the departed (with Hannah soon to join them), she finds herself without a raft of well-loved characters, and a lot of new ones waiting to bed in.

Mother Doesn't Know Best on AS THE WORLD TURNS
"When Parker catches her drinking, Carly offers him a deal. She says, ‘If you don’t tell anyone about my drinking, I won’t give you a hard time for dropping out of school and being a screw-up.’” This throws Parker for a loop. “I think he secretly wants to be disciplined and forced to go to school, but he goes along with the offer,” Mick Hazen says. “He has no idea how much of a problem his mom really has. He’s not old enough to understand addiction. He doesn’t realize it’s a disease.”

EASTENDERS writer pens new drama series
BBC Three has announced that it has commissioned a new drama called PERSONAL AFFAIRS. The series, starring Laura Aikman, Annabel Scholey, Maimie McCoy and Ruth Negga and penned by former EASTENDERS writer Gabbie Asher, follows the fortunes of four personal assistants living in the City.

NBC makes history in the primetime TV ratings
NBC set a low-water mark of historic proportions for TV viewership last week. The network averaged 4.4 million primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. While it's not the smallest ever recorded by ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, it's the smallest to come in a week outside of the summer doldrums of June, July, August or early September.