News Round-up: FNL, Manhattanites, Rafe/Adam, Duff

JONATHAN REINER: Something Smells Wrong about the Latest ATWT Stunt Casting
"The past few years have seen an outbreak of stunt casting at ATWT, including an unseemly number of former GENERAL HOSPITAL stars making less-than-memorable impressions on viewers. The soap has almost ten actors on contract with more than 20 years experience -- how about telling stories for those characters (and their kids) rather than cast a big-name actor from another network in a role that no one cares about? Call me old-fashioned, but this trend of bringing on big names in new roles (which, to be fair, isn’t limited to ATWT) reeks of CELEBRITY APPRENTICE or some other attempt to revive a foundering reality franchise."

FNL Season Four Spells Disaster for the Couples of Dillon
The impact of the separate schools (Dillon vs East Dillon) may "add a new dimension" to Eric and Tami's relationship, Connie Britton said. "It's very hard to even grasp what it means—this whole new school that needs all this help that Coach is going to be going to, with redistricting and all that. I think it's going to be more [about] us trying to figure out what our new roles are in these places than it's going to be us at odds with each other. Maybe we'll find a way to come together and help each other with our competitive schools."

REVIEW: Let’s take Manhattan(ites)
Patrick Erwin reviews Manhattanites: "The star of Manhattanites, unquestionably, is the magnificent Ilene Kristen. Her performance as public relations diva Marilyn has it all – humor, bitchery and vulnerability that will just break your heart. I really enjoyed the movie (it has a boffo surprise ending)."

INTERVIEW: Soap veteran Louise Shaffer
Shaffer was a guest on "Robert Reid Live" on Tuesday with guest host Christopher Durham. Shaffer will be doing a book signing in New York City on Thursday.

Deep Soap: Was It Good For You?
Sara Bibel shares her thoughts on Monday's Y&R: "Adam and Rafe are buttoning their shirts. I guess they decided to go all the way before the first date. And Otalia still hasn’t had a second kiss. On one hand, this is far more realistic pacing then Nuke. On the other, this makes their mostly off-camera love scene look like QUEER AS FOLK."

Satire: Ex-Soap Stars, This Is For You … And the Fans Who Miss You
Matthew Weaver writes: "I shall now demonstrate by presenting to you, the disgruntled viewer, five wholly original concepts I think, given enough time to nurture and grow, could wind up representing the future of the daytime industry … and take this team all the way to the Super Bowl!"

Nielsen: DTV Unready Homes Drop to 1.7 Million
DTV readiness continues to rise as the transition approaches three weeks since the June 12 hard date for the switch to all-analog full-power TV, with 800,000 homes having prepared themselves since that date.

Hillary Duff joins GOSSIP GIRL
The actress-designer-pop chanteuse will play Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. She ends up rooming with Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) so it's safe to say she'll be majoring in Drama!