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CW's Riverdale To Be Soapy With Twin Peaks and Gilmore Girls Influences!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/CW

Courtesy/CW

When The CW’s new series Riverdale bows in 2017, it will have a much darker feel to it for the comic book characters readers have fallen in love with!  And according to TV Line, the Greg Berlanti series will be much soapier, too!

New Zealand actor KJ Apa takes on the lead role of Archie Andrews.  And when the cast which includes 90210’s Luke Perry as Archie’s father, and executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, sat down for an interview at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, they explained that while the series holds “classic coming-of-age stories that you’ve known from 75 years of Archie Comics,” that is also will “explore the secret life of all of these character that you thought you knew.”

There is a murder and a new girl in town in the story too, more reminiscent of Twin Peaks and Gilmore Girls as well!  EP Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa previewed, “The last day of a summer a mysterious girl arrives to Riverdale, Veronica Lodge, and a scandal is following behind her and she kind of walks into Pop’s famous diner in Riverdale right in the middle of a possible date between the characters of Archie and Betty.  So, the love triangle starts there.  While that is happening, over the summer one of the high school kids – this golden boy named Jason Blossom – drowned under mysterious circumstances,and you soon realize everyone is caught up in this mystery.  We used Twin Peaks as a bit of inspiration!”

Watch a promo for CW’s upcoming Riverdale after the jump! Then let us know if this soapy drama has got your interest piqued in the comment section below!

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It looks interesting but i tire easily of characters who cheat and lust after each other…the murder mystery might hold my interest but nothing beats the mysteries and crime drama on Edge Of Night!

You are so right, Jim!

Confused is this a dark side to Archie don’t even remember this comics but. Know I read them just forgot .

Qubo the television station has the Archie mysteries from the 90’s..I found that weird but I liked it. .plus the trailer of the show reminds me of the CW’s One Tree Hill. .I think it will be good. .

Growing up in the heart of the 60’s and 70’s The Archies was a Saturday morning fave..my mom even bought us the boxes of cereal where you could cut out the record and play it. We had a Close and Play record player and played “Sugar Sugar” till it broke lol…”you were my candy girllll”…

oooooo that trailer…oooooo that Archie…lol…bring it on

got that off a cereal box too!!!

It was the best if times..it was the best of daytime jimh.. Hope all is well with you.. As we get older I know that day to day grind lol..

Of

Its funny, name brand cereals get more and more expensive and you get less cereal, no prizes and the back of the boxes are usually non-eventful! I also cut out a record from the back of the box. It could have been “Sugar Sugar.” Perfect song for a box of “Honeycombs” laced with a ton of sugar!

LOL Timmm I’m sure there’s a melancholy smile of nostalgia somewhere within your reply (:

Why ddoes everything have to be dark? I have waited YEARS for there to be a live action show or feature film about Archie and the gang. They are taking the most wholesome piece of Americana and adding murder and stuff? I am not saying the series has to be as feel good as the 50’s comics! But it would be very cool to see that as a feel good show…either set in a more innocent era, or even set in the present seeing the characters use current technology etc. While I am glad that someone finally had the thought to do a show based on Archie, but we have enough grim, dark, morbid programing out there. Whats weong with a little happiness?

This trailer doesn’t seem anything like the Archie series at all. It seems like they took an * idea* for a series they wanted and plugged in Archie characters to …try and draw in Archie fans and have a built in audience.
Whatever they do with this series in this vein, it isn’t the
Archies. Sorry, producers. You may have a success, but no-go on the appropriation.

It looks HORRIBLE!

You are right too much darkness in everything!!!

Agree. Big time.

The comics recently had a alternate universe comic book storyline where Archie’s life came to an end when he took a bullet that was meant for his friend who was gay so such material can go pretty dark. The twist of the story was that the alternate universe is actually split into two, where Archie is married to either Betty in one world and or Veronica in another, but the stories of both sub-universes run concurrently, essentially the same except for certain scenarios involving Betty or Veronica.

I’d rather see them make a live action version of Afterlife with Archie,where Riverdale is overrun by a zombie apocalypse.

I will give it a try but I will probably hate it! Archie is supposed to be light and fluffy. I’m tired of these remakes that are NOTHING like the originals! So tired of everything so dark and gloomy!

Most remakes are horrible…like that Bewitched movie years ago-Nicole Kidman was the perfect choice to play Samantha but the movie was lame and nothing like the tv show…watch-they will do Eight Is Enough as a movie-instead of being about a couple with 8 children they will instead have Mr. Bradford as a bigamist married to 8 wives!-lol

Jim, I loved Bewitched! When I heard they were doing the movie I would have loved Jim Carrey to play Darren. Jim looks like Dick York in a way. Well, it didnt come to fruition and they went with you know who. Nicole is beautiful but not house wifey enough. Ferrel is still popular but way off for Darwood! A big let down!

Your right, it will be “Eight Desperate Housewives are Enough!”

Eight Desperate Housewives are Enough-funny-love it!!!

Who wants to see bug Ethel jug head and moose running all over the place being goofy..I prefer this to a flat out comic book come to life..those. Never end well as series..except on bygone Saturday mornings

Big Ethel lol I said bug

Great minds think alike…i thought Jim Carey as Darren too…also wanted Nathan Lane as Uncle Arthur and Betty White as Aunt Clara..also wanted that neighbor lady on Mama’s Family to play Gladys-the nosey neighbor!!!

Nathan Lane would have been great!

I replied to myself instead of you…if it appears its below your reply to me!!!

OK-
what are ”Archie Comics” ??

Su0000 no one on this earth is as seemingly disconnected as you lol…but it is 2016 and I suppose our youth are quite out the loop..you managed to find soaps..go to a comic store..Google nostalgic comic book characters…

‘Jason Blossom’…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Whatever. Next……….

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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