News
Former One Life to Live Star Mark Lawson Appears In Audi's Super Bowl Ad Featuring David Bowie's 'Starman'!

Courtesy/Audi
If you were catching all the ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl 50, top advertisers and creatives go to great lengths and millions of dollars to deliver memorable spots. Many Americans seem to say that they watch the Super Bowl, not for the game, but for the commercials each year.
While many Super Bowl commercials are being talked about on Monday morning at office watercoolers everywhere, soap fans took a moment and paused when a very familiar face popped up in the Audi commercial, which also touchingly used the late David Bowie’s 1972 “Ziggy Stardust” hit, “Starman” as its musical-theme backdrop.
Playing the part of the young astrounaut was former One Life to Live favorite Mark Lawson (Ex-Brody Lovett – 2008-2012). In the ad, the song and spot tells the story of a retired astronaut who rediscovers his passion for life — and powerful machines — when his son lets him drive the 2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus.
Venables Bell & Partners created the ad, directed by MJZ’s Craig Gillespie. It ran in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. Audi released a :60 as well as an extended :90 version which you can watch below last Wednesday as preview prior to it’s unveiling nationally on the big game.
Watch Mark Lawson in the Audi/Starman Super Bowl ad after the jump! Then weigh-in …. what did you think of the commercial and seeing Mark? Did you love the casting? What did you think overall of this year’s bundle of Super Bowl commercials … thumbs up, or thumbs down? Comment below!
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Breaking News
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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I always thought Mark Lawson physically resembled Billy Miller and thought he shouldv’e been tested for the role of Billy Abbot when David Tom left…if Billy Miller ever left GH i would like to see ML be the first replacement choice but i hope Billy Miller stays…when SK left GH as AJ i think Mark Lawson could have been an ok AJ recast as well instead of killing the character off!
I loved this ad…First, I have always followed the space program…wanted to be the first girl on the moon starting at 6yrs. Then there was Bowie, one of my all time favorites. But MF you added a bonus…I wondered who the attractive younger astronaut was. He really did resemble the astronauts older self, or vice-versa.
Since I didn’t watch the Super Bowl except to check in occasionally for the score (was watching Downton Abbey part of the time), I will bing watch the commercials. Form what I did see so far Audi #1 and Budweiser with Helen Mirren #2. The others I did see didn’t do much for me.
Coincidentally, it was another car (Lexus?) ad with young boy dressed up as Darth Vader starting the engine with “the force”, and usually anything Budweiser with their horses and dog ads that I have really liked from the past.
Mark also eerily resembles Keir Dullea in A Space Odyssey.
So good to see him again! He looks great! How I miss my OLTL actors!
I miss them too Melissa. I always said OLTL has the strongest cast I’ve ever seen.
I loved this ad and I didn’t even realize it was the guy from OLTL in it until now. I thought it was great casting just because those two guys looked so much alike! I also thought it was the best use of a song in a TV ad since Eminem’s song from the 2011 Chrysler ad! Well done!
I had forgotten, but you’re so right about the Chrysler/Eminem ad.
I saw the ad sometime last week and immediately recognized Mark Lawson. I loved him as Brody on One Life to Live. Initially, I thought it was a promo for a new series or film. I’m just glad to see Mark is still working.
Love, love, love him. An underrated actor. He projects a sincerity that is impossible to fake. Would love to see him back on a soap.
I always liked Mark, he is gorgeous, beautiful eyes, great body. Loved his biceps! He and Natalie were a HOT couple, when they showed them in bed I wish they had a sex tape lol.
It seemed too much like copying the movie, THE MARTIAN – and don’t tell me they didn’t know about it because the movie was made and distributed before this commercial was made.
Loved The Martian. If you think it influenced this ad…probably. But if you want to see the movie that has influenced all of the current “realistic” space movies watch A Space Odyssey, 2001. 🙂
Ugh, Rose! I saw 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY a long time ago. I will take my space movies with Matt Damon, haha!
In defense of the commercial, I will say that at least Audi looked like their money was well spent unlike the stupid and classless commercials that are utterly forgettable.
I have a friend that is in one of the new H&R Block commercials (she is one of the dollar bill girls) and THAT commercial looks like it could have been a Super Bowl commercial.
I also miss the Monster commercials – they were funny and creative.
I like anything with Matt Damon, especially the Bourne movies. He never seems to disappoint.