News Round-up: Whip, Herring, FNL, Strasser

Whip's back on B&B, cracking jokes
Troublemaker Whip Jones, played again by Rick Hearst, returns to THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Friday after a seven-year absence. Whip comes back as the PR war between Forrester and Jackie M Designs is heating up.

"Whip just happens to be one of the top PR people in the world," says Hearst. "He's looking for a job just like everyone else. They find him in a stack of résumés - sort of like actors."

Is Y&R becoming too gay?
TV Guide Canada's Denette Wilford takes a look at THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and their multiple gay storylines.

Lynn Herring extends stay at ATWT
Lynn Herring (ex-Lucy, GH) has been extended at AS THE WORLD TURNS as Henry's mother, Audrey. She will now air through the fall and share scenes with former GH husbands Jon Lindstrom (ex-Kevin) and Stuart Damon (ex-Alan).

Strasser's "Red Carpet Riot"
ONE LIFE TO LIVE star and Broadway veteran Robin Strasser will participate in a reading of "Red Carpet Riot," by the author team of David Van Etten (Chris Van Etten, David Ozanich, and David Levithan) on August 15 at 5:30pm at the Borders Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, TRUE BLOOD top Emmy snubs
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS just can't quite push the ball into the end zone. Despite raves from critics, NBC's football drama was again snubbed by the Emmys on Thursday, receiving only one nomination — for casting. As a ratings-deficient program, it's the kind of show that could really use awards attention. After three seasons, NBC has renewed it for two more, thanks in part to a partnership with DirecTV. A few substantial Emmy nominations would have helped validate that move.

CORONATION STREETcobbles filmed for Google Street View
Bosses at the ITV1 show allowed cameras to take 360 degree panoramic views of the Weatherfield cobbles so fans can look at the set on the internet. But viewers will not be able to see the antics of the actors if they log onto the Google site. Filming was stopped to allow a Google Street view car onto the set to take pictures of the Rovers Return, Rita's Kabin and Roy's Rolls among others. Stars including Tupele Dorgu, who plays Kelly Crabtree, looked on as the camera took pictures of the set and they are expected to go live in the next few days.

Ackles and Peck in latest Resident Evil flick?
Production Weekly reports via Twitter that Resident Evil: Afterlife will begin principal photography on September 28th at CineSpace Studios in Toronto. The 8-week shoot will see star Milla Jovovich reunited with writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson who previously helmed the first film in addition to handling writing duties on the series.

IMDB has "rumored" cast set to include Jensen Ackles (ex-Eric, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) as Leon S. Kennedy and Austin Peck (Brad, AS THE WORLD TURNS) as Kevin Ryman.