Mary Beth Evans, Dylan Bruce and Kristos Andrews recorded The Bay's Top Ten Countdown/Anniversary Special at ATI Studios on September 10. The stars of the popular web soap were joined by The Bay’s creator Gregori J. Martin for the occasion.  See more photos from the taping after the jump!

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The ABC Daytime soapers said they ain't letting the Mouse House's decision to rinse themselves of their suds slow their roles. All My Children lovely Natalie Hall has booked the lead in Love's Christmas Journey, a Hallmark Channel miniseries based on the series of Love Comes Softly books by Janette Oke. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress who plays society princess-turned-Vlogger Colby Chandler on AMC, will portray Ellie King, a young, pioneer widow mourning her husband and daughter. Okay, so it's not a comedy. READ MORE

Meanwhile, Elliot (Charles Shaughnessy) is trying to help his daughter Isabella (Claire-Louise Sedgley) remember more about what happened the night she was raped. And of course we can't forget Brian (Dylan Bruce) and Zoey's (Taylor Stanley) potentially explosive engagement party! Cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs mad bomber Igor (Camden Toy) is holding fast to his claims that he and Brian were getting busy on the low-low. Is the seemingly-scorned whackadoodle really crazy enough to blow Sara Garrett (Mary Beth Evans) her family, friends and frenemies to kingdom come? Watch below to find out. READ MORE

Martin expresses what it means to have Evans involved in the soap opera he's been working on for over a decade, not only as the star, but a producer. He also shares  what drives Sara Garrett—despite all her faults—is her unwavering love for her three children by three different men. Martin also has kind words for all the web series pioneers who've inspired him, such as Andrew Miller and Eden Riegel (Imaginary Bitches), Martha Byrne (Gotham) and Crystal Chappell (Venice), while explaining how his 80's-themed pot boiler is unique.

Daytime Confidential: Congrats on being named Number 9 in TV Guide Magazine's "What's Worth Watching" Guide for their Sept 20–26 issue! That has to feel good?

Gregori J. Martin: Thank you. That came as a very, very big surprise. A few days after The Bay premiered, the magazine came out. It was pretty exciting! TV Guide actually reached out to us. It's funny because I have my personal email linked to The Bay website's email, so sometimes it takes me a few days to get through all the emails, and I almost missed the note from them! [Laughs] The reporter said she'd been hearing a lot of positive things about The Bay, and she wanted some pictures. I sent her the link to our Photo Bucket account. I didn't even know what was happening. Then I saw the magazine. It was amazing to be picked by TV Guide as a show worth watching with all the great new and returning Fall shows. READ MORE

As the World Turns is something of a mystery to me these days. I haven't been blogging regularly about the show because, honestly, I am kind of flummoxed about what to actually write about from day to day.

I love ATWT. The show is blessed with some of daytime's strongest actors. In this age of massive cost cutting, ATWT found an arguably better production alternative than Procter & Gamble sister show Guiding Light. Speaking for myself, I find most days, most characters, most stories and most events to be sufficiently captivating to keep me coming back.

Nonetheless, something is badly amiss in Oakdale. The usual criticisms of ATWT are all-too-familiar: far too many recasts, underused vets, storylines that turn on a dime, compressed storytelling and ever shrinking production values to name a few. While those issues are real and important, they are only symptons of several larger problems that encapsulate the issues that I, other Daytime Confidential bloggers and commentators all over the internet have found themselves dismayed about over the last several months. After trying to put a finger on these issues while attempting to "figure out" what's going on at ATWT from a larger perspective, several things have jumped out as serious structural flaws, like a cracked foundation in a beloved old home. READ MORE

TV Guide Network's InFANity was on the set of As the World Turns for a look behind the scenes and to interview the cast. It's obvious that they've used old and new material, because they used a couple of interviews with Martha Byrne. Some of the other stars that were interviewed are Van Hansis, Jake Silbermann, Colleen Zenk Pinter, Marie Wilson, Billy Magnussen and Michael Park. Parts 2, 3 and 4 after the jump. READ MORE