Technology is bringing new competition and ways to reach women who aren't at home, says Lynn Leahey, editorial director of Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly. TV soap actresses Crystal Chappell and Martha Byrne have launched online soaps VENICE and GOTHAM, respectively.
Networks and syndicators are embracing technology, too. All My Children, like General Hospital, will be shot in high-definition, and greater use of CGI will allow "spectacular stunts," ABC Daytime president Brian Frons says.
"Some (soaps) have been on many years, so people feel the need to make sage-like statements about the future of the genre," Frons says. "Nobody makes those statements when a sitcom or long-running drama dies. It's the end of that program, and that's the way we should look at it as well."
INTERVIEW: Y&R's Darius McCrary (Malcolm)“I hope that as an actor I’ve got something in me that I will be able to bring to it that will be a 'realness.' This is an incredible group of actors. Kristoff [St. John] and Peter Burgmen, these guys are phenomenal at what they do,” McCrary said of his new cast mates. “I’ve been blessed to work with some great actors – Robert DeNiro, Willem Defoe, Gene Hackmam – some heavyweights – by the grace of God. So what I intend to do with this role is bring my experience from past situations and be a solid actor and possibly treat this as I would a feature film, not a soap. I am trying not to have any soap moments, and in watching this show, there are very few of those anyway.”
NEW YORK TIMES: Watching TV Together, Miles Apart
Using readily available adapters that cost less than $100, people can connect their cable and satellite TV lines to a computer, grab streams of live television and make them available on Web sites like Justin.tv.
Broadcast Nets Profess Optimism With a Straight Face
While 2009's mantra was "Broadcast Is Broken," network executives are convinced they can put it back together in 2010 after a strong late-year scatter market and a fall TV season with promising new entries like Fox's GLEE.
Mobile DTV, 3D to Heat Up CES
Seamlessly bringing Internet content to the TV screen was a big theme at last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But so many “connected TV” devices and services have come to market in the past year that the ability to hook a TV to a broadband connection, either directly or through a bridge device like a set-top box, no longer seems novel. Instead, the buzz at this week's show, which starts on Jan. 7, is expected to center on mobile DTV receivers and 3D HD-capable TV sets and Blu-ray players. Both categories are speeding to retail after the creation of new technical standards last fall.
TRUE BLOOD casts a boyfriend for LafayetteAccording to The Hollywood Reporter, the recurring role has gone to Southland’s Kevin Alejandro. Alejandro will play Jesus Velasquez, a good-natured Latino orderly who’s caring for Lafayette’s mother (played by Alfre Woodard).
Kim Raver joins GREY'S full time
Kim Raver is taking up permanent residence at Seattle Grace. Raver has been upped to a regular on ABC's GREY'S ANATOMY only two months after she joined the medical drama as a recurring character.
No comments:
Post a Comment