Tune-in alert! Saturday night, December 5th, the daytime community once again leads the way with a special livestream presentation to help those affected deeply by the coronavirus pandemic.  This time, the event will shed light on the restaurant community, who have been hit hard during these trying times.

The real-life duo of Aianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS) and Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel DAYS)) are set to host Daytime Cares: A Live Event for the Restaurant Community.   

The event will be streamed on The Locher Room  YouTube channel and Facebook page beginning at 8 p.m. EST / 5 PST.  The Locher Room’s Alan Locher, will also join them as a co-host.

Throughout the night, Daytime Cares will be showcasing the Restaurant Strong Fund, which supports restaurant industry employees who have been impacted by COVID19 closures.  Viewers can also make a donation now or throughout the evening via the livestream link.

Many of your favorite daytime soaps stars are in the line-up and are scheduled to appear including:

Lamon Archey (Eli, DAYS)
Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R)
Galen Gering (Rafe, DAYS)
Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, GH)
Martha Madison (Belle, DAYS)
Sofia Mattson (Sasha, GH)
Michael Mealor (Kyle, Y&R)
Marci Miller (Abigail, DAYS)
Wes Ramsey (Peter, GH)
Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter, B&B)
Paolo Seganti (ex-Damian, ATWT)
Crishell Stause (Selling Sunset, ex-Jordan DAYS, ex-Amanda, AMC)
Sal Stowers (Lani, DAYS)
Jason Thompson (Billy, Y&R)
Cynthia Watros (Nina, GH)
Laura Wright (Carly, GH)

Other talent participating in the event are: Grammy Award-winning artists Gloria Gaynor and Lisa Loeb, the leading ladies of  Broadway’s Wicked and Phantom of the Opera, plus celebrity chef Katie Chin.

Founded by media executive Bob Wall, TV director Sonia Blangiardo and actress Arianne Zucker, Daytime Cares is a collective of Daytime TV talent who drive awareness and donations to non-profits, celebrate and highlight the heroes of the COVID 19 pandemic, encourage volunteerism and assist in very tangible ways for those who are most in nee

So, will you be checking out Daytime Cares tonight? Comment below.

Leave it to the stars of the Great White Way to come up with a clever digital podcast during these trying times we all face amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Enter Broadway’s podcast soap,  As the Curtain Rises, which premiered on October 22nd and is posting new episodes.

Photo: JPI

On December 3rd, the latest installment dropped featuring former Ugly Betty star Michael Urie who is featured in the cast in the role of Bobby.

Here is the premise of the show: After the ‘Broadway Disher’ (Lesli Margherita) leaks news of a top secret, in-the-works, new mega musical, the Broadway community goes off-the-charts batty. Top-of-their-game Broadway Producers Cheryl Philips (Lillias White) and Steve Jones (James Monroe Iglehart), arch enemies, pounce. Who will get the rights? Will way-out-of-their-comfort-zone creators Kaye (Ashley Park) and Bobby (Michael Urie) manage to deliver a draft of the show before their marriage implodes? Will Director/Choreographer Zoey Taylor (Ariana DeBose) send the show’s budget into a free fall with her wildly ambitious vision?  Will Broadway Diva Emma-Olivia (Sarah Stiles) get a Schmackery’s cookie (with Sprinkles) named in her honor? Will newbie Agent Maxwell Fernsby (George Salazar) step into his new big shoes? And will Science Consultant Andrew Barth Feldman (Andrew Barth Feldman) protect the integrity and authenticity of the in-the-works mega musical, before he needs to leave this top secret show to star in a new Broadway musical?

As The Curtain Rises proudly supports The Actor’s Fund, the Broadway Podcast Network Frontline Initiative, and is a sponsored project of IFP (www.ifp.org).

Check out previous episodes of the podcast here.

You can watch Urie do his thing in the role of Bobby in this teaser released on social media below.

Then let us know, what do you think of the concept of the Broadway spoof on soaps? Comment below.

Watch @michaelurie in a sneak peek of the Broadway-themed soap opera As the Curtain Rises: https://t.co/WcTjk1NrDf pic.twitter.com/moVu1ueom4

— Playbill (@playbill) December 3, 2020

In a major reshuffling of the executive infrastructure at Disney/ABC, several lay-offs were handed-down including to longtime ABC executive Vicki Dummer who most recently was Head of Current Series Programming, ABC Entertainment,

In her position, Dummer oversaw the creative aspects from the network level for General Hospital.  Vicki had been with the company for over 24 years and was a noted longtime fan of the show in interviews she had given during her tenure.

Courtesy/ABC

Back in September of 2018, William Burton was given the position of SVP and Head Of Daytime, Sports and Syndicated Development/Production for ABC Entertainment.  He had been in charge of the the business operations for General Hospital at a network level, while Dummer continued to handle the creative.  However today, Burton was also let-go.

The exits come as ABC and Hulu have consolidated original content under Craig Erwich, and 20th Television and Touchstone TV under Karey Burke.

The layoffs are believed to have effected 12 staff members mostly at the executive level.

Deadline broke the news and then updated their story later today.

Just who and what department in the new structuring will take over General Hospital remains to be seen.  We will keep you posted once any additional news or announcements are made.

So, what do you think of the exits of Vicki Dummer and William Burton? Comment below.