Exclusives

DC Exclusive: Buppies' Preston Davis and Damien Wigfall Talk "Treliot"



Move over Kish. Make room Nuke, there's a new gay soap opera supercouple in the making, "Treliot" aka Truth and Eliot played respectively by Damien Wigfall and Preston Davis in Buppies, the hot-like-fiya web sudser about the life and times of a group of well-heeled African-American socialites, currently airing on BET.com.

In Buppies, Eliot (Davis) is a quiet, slightly meek sports agent, dating Priscilla (Robin Thede), a sistah even Whitney Gilbert would have called sadity, whose life is rocked to the core when Truth (Wigfall), a hot shot NFL star, shows up at a birthday party held for Priscilla's best friend Quincy (Tatyana Ali), and quickly makes it known that he still has power over him. The final shot of episode 4 of Buppies saw the manipulative Truth (think a black, gay JR Ewing-in-training) leaning in to kiss a stunned Eliot.

I caught up with Davis and Wigfall to chat about what it's like going gay for BET.com's premiere, scripted web series. After you read the interview, be sure to check out today's episode of Buppies at 3 pm ET at BET.com!

Daytime Confidential: Preston, in Buppies, you play the role of Eliot David a sports agent, dating snobby magazine editor Priscilla, played by Robin Thede; Eliot also shares a secret past with sports star Truth (Damien Wigfall). What attracted you to this character?

Preston Davis:I think what attracted me to playing Eliot was the same thing that I was most afraid of. In this industry there’s still a stigma attached to playing gay characters, and a lot people advise against it. But I didn’t become an actor to support other people’s fears and insecurities. That’s just not who I am as a man or an artist. So, even though I was hesitant at first, I took a couple steps back and really thought about the kind of career I wanted and what I’d be compromising if I walked away from such a beautifully written piece of work. My goal is to be a true artist and part of that for me is helping reveal the endless realities of the young black male. READ MORE

DC #497: Daytime Confidential Celebrates 500th Episode With Ron Carlivati

In honor of the Daytime Confidential podcast's 500th episode (okay, this is actually 497 but who's counting?), Luke and Jamey chat with One Live to Live head writer extraordinaire, Ron Carlivati. In his first podcast interview, the George Washington University graduate, who left a career in law to pursue his dreams of writing for his favorite soap opera, shares with Luke and Jamey how his then-employer, former attorney David Baldacci selling his first novel, Absolute Power, inspired Carlivati to move to New York and follow his true passion.

Carlivati talks in depth about what it was like to go from being Dorian (Robin Strasser) and Viki's (Erika Slezak) biggest fan, to creating their storylines day in and day out. He shares what it meant to him to see the first confrontation he ever penned for the legendary duo air on television.

Carlivati also reveals why it was so important for him to restore Llanview's rich history and how he managed to return the soap opera to the diverse landscape creator Agnes Nixon first envisioned over four decades ago.

The talented scribe also explains in great deal why he felt the payoff of having Todd Manning (Trevor St. John) romance his amnesiac, one-time rape victim Marty Saybrooke (Susan Haskell) made the controversial story worth it in the end. He also shared how it made him feel to see Haskell win her second Emmy earlier this year for the storyline's climax, and explains why he feels two smart, flawed women like Tea Delgado (Florencia Lozano) and Blair Cramer (Kassie DePaiva) are drawn to Todd.

Carlivati also talks about his love for great sitcoms growing up and how that influences his storytelling. He then provides Daytime Confidential listeners with a sneak peek of what's next for his soap's top couples like Bo and Nora, Rex and Gigi and of course Kish. Will daytime's most realistically-drawn gay couple get a real love scene? You'll have to listen to this episode to find out. It's an interview you don't wanna miss!

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DC Exclusive: Victoria Rowell Speaks on Those Real Housewives of Atlanta Rumors



The Internet is abuzz with speculation that former soap opera diva Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla, The Young and the Restless) is set to join the cast of the smash hit Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Atlanta, possibly replacing either Nene Leakes or Kim Zolciak, who are rumored to be causing Bravo distress by constantly asking for more cash. 

The rumblings about Rowell possibly joining the reality soap started when urban celebrity blogger FreddyO posted the following item on his website on Dec. 16:

I have to tell yall, the entire ATL is going crazy to find out who is going to be the Next Atlanta House Wife. Several sources have told me that the one and only queen of day time television Victoria Rowell is going to be the newest wife to be added to the show, but nothing is set in stone just yet. She is best known for two high profile television roles: Drucilla Winters on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless, and her primetime role as Dick Van Dyke’s medical examiner, Dr. Amanda Bentley, on Diagnosis: Murder. I have been told that Bravo is looking at Victoria because she is full of drama and loves to fight. I have to tell yall, after working with people that have worked for her, “She would be the right one for the job”. They say ”she’s crazy, funny, and made for TV”. My only question is I didn’t know she lived in Atlanta.

After hearing about this from my ever-tweeting homegirl Jillian Bowe, I decided to find out myself. I called up Ms. Rowell, make that Mrs. Bailey, since she is now married to Radcliffe Bailey, a famed artist, collected by the likes of Elton John, who is based in Atlanta, where Rowell, the mother of two, and a stepmother to Bailey's children, does in fact divide her time between her fabulicious home in L.A.

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DC Exclusive: Buppies Creator Talks Web Soaps, Blacks in TV and How "90's The Young and the Restless" Inspired Him



Primetime television watchers still mourning the back-to-back (to back) deaths of Girlfriends, Everybod Hates Chris and The Game, along with daytime soap opera fans, frustrated whenever they tune in to All My Children or The Young and the Restless to find beloved, black characters like Jesse, Angie or Neil being pushed to the side (or off a cliff in the case of Y&R's Drucilla), take heart. The revolution is truly being webivised, thanks to BET.com's wickedly-soaptastic web dramedy Buppies.

Starring The Fresh Prince of Belair and Y&R beauty Tatyana Ali (who, along with her sister Anastasia, also co-produces the series via their HazraH Entertainment single), the Cover Girl-sponsored Buppies is the dramatically-comedic saga of Quinci Allen— a celebrity publicist and descendant of black Hollywood royalty, reeling from the death of her power player father, as well as having been recently dumped by her ball player fiance. 

 The series, which also stars Ernest Waddell as Quinci's pal Shaka, a corporate lawyer by day/rapper by night; Robin Thede, as Priscilla, Quinci's snooty pal from college; Preston Davis, as Prissy's boyfriend Eliot, a sports agent with a secret; and Chante Frierson, as Kourtney, a "get you told" hip-hop heiress who grew up with Q, was created by one Julian Breece, and co-produced by Aaliyah Williams (Game Theory Films).

I recently caught up with the Harvard and USC Graduate School of Cinema-TV alum, who jointly with his producing partner Aaliyah Williams, was highlighted as one of "10 New Voices in Black Cinema" by IndieWire. Breece shared with Daytime Confidential.com how his sharp, hilarious, scripted web vehicle (a first of its kind for BET.com) came to be.

 The prolific filmmaker (his debut short The Young and Evil was an Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival) also revealed how some of his television influences growing up, from The Cosby Show spinoff It's A Different Word, to Falcon Crest and "90's The Young and the Restless" inform Buppies. Breece also talked candidly about the post-Obama state of African-Americans in primetime and how the current climate doesn't lend itself to waiting around for opportuities.  

Daytime Confidential: What made you decide to create a series revolving around black Hollywood socialites?

Julian Breece: Buppies started out as a film school project. When I came up with the idea I’d just moved to Los Angeles and was really intrigued by the Hollywood scene. Anyone who’s worked out here, particularly on the celebrity side, knows that it's a world built completely upon delusion. Sometimes reckless delusion. Then, down the block, you have "black Hollywood," which is reckless delusion times 10, especially when you consider our racial history in this country. You see it and think to yourself, “Hmm, I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Malcolm and Martin had in mind.” So, initially Buppies was meant to be a pure, Curb Your Enthusiam-style comedy that parodied the black elite. This was about five years pre-Obama, mind you, and it’s an approach that wouldn’t be timely now. So, when I developed the series for the web, I decided to make the show more relationship-driven, and flesh out the universal themes of the show. The backdrop is Hollywood, but at its core, Buppies is a story about young people struggling to figure out who they really are in a world where nothing's how it seems. READ MORE

DC Exclusive First Look: Sexy Vanessa Marcil Pics From New Web Series! (Photos)

Check out these scorching images of General Hospital and Las Vegas alum Vanessa Marcil from the set of her new Crackle.com web serial The Bannen Way. Marcil plays Madison, a sexy, street smart thief, who proves a ready match for series protagonist Neal Bannen (Mark Gantt). Here's what the Crackle.com PR peeps have to say about Marcil's character:

"Madison is a beautiful street thief and brilliant con-artist. No one can be sure what she's up to, where she's from, or if her name is even Madison. She proves to be Bannen's match when he tries to recruit her for a job but his manipulative tactics don't work on her. Their relationship is a constant chess match that usually ends in a stalemate. She can be his greatest asset but often times turns out to be his foil."

This show looks FIYA! Take a look at the pics below. READ MORE

DC Exclusive: Young and Restless Star Wilson Bethel, Soul Man



A funny thing happened when The Young and the Restless introduced Ryder, the latest member of the soap's ever-expanding Fisher-Baldwin clan. For once I didn't flinch. In fact, I had quite the opposite reaction. Instead of bitching about "another Fisher-Baldwin", I found myself intrigued by one Wilson Bethel, the intense, young actor playing the role of Kevin's (Greg Rikaart) nefarious half brother.

Recently I spoke with Bethel, who gave his breakout performance as Cpl. Evan "Q-Tip" Stafford in the Emmy-winning 2008 HBO miniseries Generation Kill. We chatted about what it's been like making the jump from primetime to daytime. We also talked about his artistic family, including author mom Joyce Maynard, and his love for a little soul. 

Daytime Confidential: I have to admit, when I usually hear about a new Fisher-Baldwin coming to The Young and the Restless, I am less than enthused, but I have loved Ryder from day one! How did the role come about?

Wilson Bethel: I came in for the role of Chance, but I wasn't right for the part. I had a prior relationship with Camille, who does the casting for Y&R, and I guess through some random course of events I ended up playing Ryder. READ MORE