Message from Martha Byrne

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a great summer! I have been very busy with many exciting projects. After leaving ATWT I took a family vacation to Atlantis in The Bahamas. It was an amazing place to share with my husband and my kids. I highly recommend it! It was wonderful to relax with my family. I didn't have too much down time after I came home from Paradise Island. After my return from my much needed vacation, I did a play called "Other People's Money" at the John W Engeman Theater at Northport in Northport NY. I played a tough talking attorney who returns to her hometown to save the family business. I always wanted to play a lawyer for the obvious challenges that it presents an actor. I met some great people who have a true love of the theater. I was given a tremendous amount of support by my cast mates. Having a familiar daytime face in James Depaiva (OLTL) definitely put me at ease, we spent many hours rehearsing and making each other laugh. It was a very special experience. On the music front, I wanted you all to be the first to hear about a new web company I am working with. If you go to www.talkmarket.com, click on electronics and fun, then RECENT. You will see a short video of me singing and talking about the song I wrote for ATWT, "Find My Way Back.” I think it is an amazing new program to market music and I am thrilled to be involved. Please check it out and tell your friends. It is a cool site to hear new artists. I know the daytime fans are the best, so thank you for your continued support. Most recently I produced a short film in LA called Chrysalis. It was written and directed by Paul Leyden (ex-Simon Fraiser). Paolo Seganti (ex-Damian Grimaldi) starred in the film along with Malin Ackerman (Heartbreak Kid). It is a very dark comedy with a twist I had never seen in a film, I fell in love with the script the first time I read it. We are wrapping up editing right now and I am very proud of the project. Paul and I will continue to work on producing/directing feature films in the future. What a thrill it was to work with Paolo and Paul from behind the scenes, it truly was a dream come true. I keep in touch with my cast mates from ATWT as much as I can. Thank goodness for email and text messaging LOL. There are so many wonderful people there that are a tremendous part of my life. I am eternally grateful for their support and friendship. My work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital continues. I am heading to Memphis for the PAB (Professional Advisory Board) meeting in October. It brings people from around the world to St. Jude to create new ways to help save lives through charity. I am honored to be a part of the team. Thank you for supporting the hospital. It is still very close to my heart. I will be having a chat in a few weeks and I hope all of you can make it. Hopefully I'll have more good news to share with all of you! Lots of love, Martha

90210 Returns Tonight

The lights at the Peach Pit went out at the turn of the century when BEVERLY HILLS 90210 went off the air. But the television show that was a pop culture sensation in the 1990s is back, on The CW, in what's being marketed as an edgy, updated version of the show. Catch the two hour series premiere tonight starting at 8pm ET. - Will The New 90210 Be As Successful As The First? - So, Just How Badly Does 90210 Stink? - 90210: Big shoes to fill - Brian Austin Green Spills on the New 90210 - Is 90210 a wise or desperate move?

GOSSIP GIRL Returns to Record Ratings

The second season of The CW's GOSSIP GIRL posted its highest ratings ever in all key demos last night. Aided by encouraging online reviews and a clever ad campaign, GOSSIP GIRL (3.4 million viewers, 1.7 preliminary adults 18-49 rating, a 5 share and a 2.3 adults 18-34 rating) returned up 6% from its premiere last year in the adult demo (and up 10% among the network’s key 18-34 demographic). Meanwhile, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS averaged 5.1 millions viewers last week, and a 1.7 ratings in the Women 18-49 demo. In fact, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL averaged 3.5 million viewers last week, also more than GOSSIP GIRL. So why is GOSSIP GIRL on the cover of every other magazine I see, with feature articles in the rest and newspapers across the country and Y&R is only on the cover of Soap Opera Digest? Are the 'GOSSIP' viewers much more demographically appealing to advertisers? Are soaps going after the wrong types of advertisers? Is the non-stop marketing working? It may be a little bit of each. But it is very interesting to look at the ratings the most buzzed about shows are getting.