NEWS: CW, Benard, Michael, RFD, GLEE, Drinking Game

How The CW Stays Undead
According to the people who really count in determining The CW's fate—the network's owners and affiliates—The CW will be here for a long time. The actual network's red ink is just part of the picture, according to CBS and Warner Bros. executives who say that despite the losses on the network level, the profitable programming assets created by the venture overall are a big win.

How GLEE Married TV and Music in a New Moneymaking Model
"In addition to the normal market opportunities that a highly watched show brings you, we have this entirely additional aspect to the show -- the music," said Gary Newman, one of the chairmen of Twentieth Century Fox Television. A GLEE tour is in the works, and producers also have solo albums in mind for various cast members. Licensed merchandise could be possible by next fall.

INTERVIEW: GLEE's Jane Lynch (Sue)
"I didn’t want to be gay. I wanted to be… I wanted an easy life. And you know what? I am gay and I still have an easy life."

The SECRET LIFE Drinking Game
THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER has so much talk about sex amongst its teen -- and adult -- characters, Internet pages are being devoted to keeping count of mentions of the act per show, including one installment where the S word was reported as being dropped a whopping 70 times. Some viewers have, not surprisingly, been using the show's sex-laden dialogue as the basis of a drinking game.

INTERVIEW: GREEK's Gregory Michael (Grant)
"About a month into auditioning, I auditioned for As the World Turns. It was a very small part. It was a two-line role in one episode, and I booked that job. I couldn't believe that I actually booked a job. And then, when I was on the show itself, I remember taping my first scene and thinking, 'Oh, my God, this is my shot. This is my chance to do something. I've got to make it memorable.' So, I was on the set, shooting this little prom scene. I played a 16-year-old on the show, and there was me and my girl and then the leading couple. We were there just to supplement their characters, but I thought, 'I'm going to do something here,' and I started making googly eyes at the lead female, while we were shooting. I was being heavy on the eye contact.

"All of a sudden, I hear, 'Cut!,' and the executive producer and the director of the show came down to talk to me. I was like, 'Oh, shit! I'm screwed. They're going to kick me off the show. I know I shouldn't have been doing that.' The director said, 'Can I talk to you please? Can you come here?' And she said, 'Greg, I really like what you're doing and I want you to keep it up,' and I was like, 'Really? All right.' They called me back that night for two more episodes, and two turned into five, and five turned into 20, and I did about 40 episodes, by the time I left. It was all about taking that risk. That was the beginning of my acting career."

Mega TV kicks off new slate of shows today
From Monday through Friday, Mega TV will begin with the soap opera DUENA Y SENORA at 4 p.m. ET, a touching story based on the uncontrollable love between Adriana and Diego, which is hampered by the ambition of others.

Why the Americans have better taste than us when it comes to TV
"The fact is Americans have better taste than us" when it comes to television, says British Daily Mirror TV critic Jim Shelley. He adds: "It's hard to believe now, but in years gone by there was nothing we Brits loved more than telling ourselves that American people had less taste than we did – especially over TV."

RFD-TV has slowly become an empire
Last year, RFD-TV, the 24-hour cable rural network that suggests that what Americans most desire is to ditch the urban prison, move to a town of 20 and raise meat goats, recorded $25 million in gross revenues. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This type of small, low-budget niche network is exactly what I would like to see P&G create with their archive of soaps.)

GLAAD: CBS Needs to Improve on Inclusion of LGBT People
On Friday GLAAD called on CBS to address an apparent bias in its Super Bowl advertising decisions after CBS declined to air a commercial with gay content during the Super Bowl because the “creative is not within the Network’s Broadcast Standards for Super bowl Sunday.”

Bonnie Dennison is Scarlett Johansson's understudy
A revival of "A View From the Bridge" opened on Broadway last week starring Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson. Former GUIDING LIGHT actress Bonnie Dennison is Johannson's understudy in the role of Catherine.

INTERVIEW: GH's Maurice Benard (Sonny)
"I know Sonny needs a girl because he hasn’t had one. Claudia was just kind of a thing that happened. It was not romantic. So if Vanessa [Marcil] comes back it would be great for me, but we’ll see.

"These shows go up and down. We’re feeling like this is a way up one. This is like a 30 foot wave. I think Bob [Guza] is doing… I know some people have trouble with the mob and the violence and me and what not but you know what? It’s what Bob does so great. This could be one of his best."