I'll take mine with fries

Here's a cute blast from the past: check out DAYS' James Scott before he was an Adonis, and his hunky former castmate, Marcus Patrick, both getting pulses racing in this classic McDonald's commercial. When they look like this, we're all lovin' it!

More sands in the hourglass: DAYS renewed, though Johnson apparently out

After months of speculation, NBC and Sony Pictures TV have reached a deal to keep DAYS on the air, possibly through Sept. 2011. That's good news for Soaphunks.net visitors, as DAYS has won the award for Hunkiest Soap five out of the eight years that the award has been given. Keep growing studs like James Scott and Shawn Christian for as long as you can, Salem!

The downside of DAYS' remaining on the network is that the show has announced that it will be making some "onscreen changes," which include asking its talent to take a pay cut. Sadly, contract negotiations between the soap and hunk Jay Kenneth Johnson have broken down, and the actor has cleared out his dressing room. DAYS is looking to recast the role.

Johnson recently finished in ninth place in the Adonis 2008 contest.

Michael Fairman interviews the hunks...and gives us a shout-out

Even though I thought you guys should have beeen checking out Michael Fairman's great soap interview site already, now I really do! :)

In the past couple of weeks, Fairman has debuted interviews with two of daytime's hottest current hunks: two-time Adonis winner James Scott from DAYS and five-time Soaphunks.net Award winner Brandon Beemer of B&B.

In addition to being great reads on regular soap level, Fairman also pumps Beemer for workout info and generally asks all about what it's like being so damned hunky. And in Scott's interview, hear why he hates having his photo taken (sacrilege!) and look for Fairman's shout-out to soaphunks.net...thanks, Michael!

• Michael Fairman's Interview with James Scott
• Michael Fairman's Interview with Brandon Beemer

Passions hunks headed to DAYS

DAYS has scored a double-sided casting coup, scooping up two of the most popular hunks from the now-cancelled PASSIONS.

Daytime Confidential is reporting that Soaphunks.net Award winner and Adonis 2006 Eric Martsolf has been named as the recast for Brady Black, a role that was made famous by Kyle Lowder, now on B&B.

Also nabbed for a Salem stint was four-time Soaphunks.net Award winner Galen Gering. Less information is available about Gering's character at this time, although he is slated to play an FBI agent who has involvement with Nicole (Arianne Zucker).

Both of these actors are known, of course, for extreme bouts of shirtlessness.

Okay DAYS, this is really good news. Now just scoop up Adrian Bellani and complete the trifecta!

McCouch back to ATWT; Prescott out

In a surprising development, fan favorite and Soaphunks.net Award winner Grayson McCouch is set to return to ATWT on Sept. 24, less than a year after being killed off the sudser. No word yet on how McCouch's Dusty Donovan will be able to turn up very much alive.

McCouch is known for a very loyal online fan base, who helped him to strong finishes in the Adonis 2004, 2005, and 2006 contests.

In other ATWT soap hunks news, the latest recast for Mike Kasnoff (Jon Prescott) has been axed from the soap for "budgetary reasons." Prescott took over the role earlier this year, following the tremendously popular Shawn Christian and Mark Collier. Soap hunk fans will surely note that while Prescott was in the role, Mike--one of the most frequently shirtless characters in daytime history--went topless a total of zero times.

Soaphunks.net turns 10 today!

Where has the decade gone?

It's official: today is soaphunks.net's 10th birthday. Once upon a time sitting in my old bedroom, I decided the Internet needed a place for easy access to pictures of Don Diamont and Drake Hogestyn (among a few others - lol) and whipped up a very small, very bare bones Web site. This, folks, was June 5, 1998.

Ten years later, the site has grown exponentially and become more popular than I could have ever imagined. With five very successful summertime Adonis contests, and nine editions of the Soaphunks.net Awards, plus 6,326 pictures and 144 video clips and plenty of other special features, such as the 100 Most Memorable Moments in Soap History, the site has always been a blast to bring to you.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has helped me with the site over the years, and to all of you for visiting and making it so popular. The site always has been and always will be free, thanks to the support of generous donations from people like you.

Look for a 10th anniversary update with new pictures and video clips to be uploaded this weekend.

And again, thanks.

soapy

Beemer beams to B&B

The rumors are true, and recent DAYS cast-off Brandon Beemer is set to join B&B later this month in an as-yet-unnamed role. Whispers had been circulating online ever since the actor's DAYS departure that he might be headed to either B&B or OLTL. The length of Beemer's stay is also unclear at this time.

Beemer has been a very popular feature at soaphunks.net since his debut, racking up 9 Soaphunks.net Award nominations and 5 wins, plus a 6th place finish in Adonis 2007.

Things are Cook-ing at GH

This just in from SOAPNet.com:

SOAPnet.com can exclusively confirm that Jason Cook is joining the cast of GH. Jason is best known as Shawn Brady, the DAYS character he played from 1999 to 2006. Shawn was one half of Shawn and Belle, known by longtime fans as "Shelle" -- the pair who put the "super" back in supercouple in fictional Salem. And just who played Belle? That's right: Kirsten Storms, aka resident GH fashionista Maxie Jones. Jason will be playing a doctor who joins the staff at Port Charles's infamous hospital; no first airdate has been set, but he'll likely start appearing in June. We CAN tell you his character will be crossing paths with Maxie very early on. Could there be a "Shelle" redux? You'll have to stay tuned for more details!

During his DAYS tenure, Cook received nine Soaphunks.net Award nominations, winning four. He also finished 10th in the Adonis 2004 contest; a June start date on GH would render him ineligible for Adonis 2008.

Adonis 2008 calendar unveiled

The temperatures are rising outside, no doubt thanks to the launching of soaphunks.net's 5th annual Adonis contest.

The calendar for Adonis 2008 will play out like this as we search for the sexiest man in soaps:

April 30, 2008: Those fans attending live chat will go through each soap hunk with me to help determine the 32 semifinalists.
May 7, 2008: The selected 32 semifinalists will be divided into four groups of eight by random draw. These four groups will represent the first four weeks of voting in the competition.
May 14-20, 2008: Week 1 voting (Group 1 of semifinalists).
May 21, 2008: Week 1 results announced in live chat.
May 21-27, 2008: Week 2 voting (Group 2 of semifinalists).
May 28, 2008: Week 2 results announced in live chat.
May 28-June 3, 2008: Week 3 voting (Group 3 of semifinalists).
June 4, 2008: Week 3 results announced in live chat.
June 4-10, 2008: Week 4 voting (Group 4 of semifinalists).
June 11, 2008: Week 4 results announced in live chat.
June 11-17, 2008: Week 5 voting (Wild card semifinalists).
June 18, 2008: Week 5 results announced in live chat.

Voting for the finals will then begin on June 18, with one finalist eliminated each week, resulting in the identity of the Adonis 2008 being revealed on September 3, 2008.

Be sure to join us all summer long!