The Locher Room

Please join actress Michael Hyatt who plays "Cissy Saint" on FX's Snowfall in The Locher Room on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. PST. Michael will be here to discuss Season Four of the hit FX series which debuts on February 24, 2021. As a fan of this show, I couldn't be more thrilled to have Michael join me for a conversation about her incredible career on stage and screen. Snowfall airs Wednesday evenings at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX and the next day via FX on hulu.

Before Hyatt’s work in film and television, she enjoyed memorable performances on stages throughout the country, most notably on Broadway in the critically acclaimed Ragtime. Hyatt’s numerous television credits include The West Wing, The Wire, The Kill Point, True Detective, Ray Donovan and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Hyatt can be seen in the Rodrigo Garcia feature film Four Good Days opposite Glenn Close which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. She currently can be seen in the HBO Max feature film The Little Things opposite Denzel Washington and Rami Malek and the HBO miniseries The Comey Rule as “Loretta Lynch” opposite Jeff Daniels and Holly Hunter.

Michael's character Cissy raised Franklin (Damson Idris) primarily on her own. Partnering with her son on a real estate business, season four finds Cissy with new hopes for her family and their future as the world continues to change around them.

In season four of Snowfall - It’s January 1, 1985. Ronald Reagan has won his re-election campaign proclaiming it is “morning again in America,” but in South Central, Los Angeles, it feels more like the sun is getting low. The demand for crack cocaine is high, and while our crew of dealers led by Franklin Saint (Damson Idris) are benefiting greatly from the rising tide of addiction, they are also starting to become aware of the damage the drug is doing to the people and to the place they love. With the entire nation taking note, the LAPD is diverting serious money and resources to the “war on drugs.” Politicians’ phones are ringing. Powerful people are concerned from the hallways of the White House to those of CIA headquarters where there are whispers that one of their own may be involved in this burgeoning epidemic. This season Franklin will be forced to emerge from his near-grave in order to try and regain control over his business and end the rising gang violence in the streets before it becomes an all-out war.

William Lucas (Bill) Walker, Emmy award-winning television writer / producer of Will & Grace, Frasier and Roseanne, lost his 93-year-old mother to Covid-19 after an infected healthcare worker didn't wear a mask while treating her. In response to her death, Bill created the Who Am I? Mask Challenge, a grassroots social media PSA campaign aimed at reminding people that masks remain the best lifesaver against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to President Biden’s call for all Americans to “mask up for my first 100 days” as vaccine rollouts continue to move forward, and to honor his mother’s life, Walker is posting a new video each day at the website WhoAmIMaskChallenge.com, where both everyday Americans and celebrities answer the question:
“Why do you wear a mask?”.

Please join Bill along with actress Amy Brenneman and champion Team USA diver and now Olympian Jordan Windle in The Locher Room to talk about the Who Am I? Mask Challenge. Bill will share his story and we will hear why Amy and Jordan participated in the Challenge alongside him. (Airdate: Friday, March 5, 2021)

Amy Brenneman is currently starring in the new Amazon Prime Series Tell Me Your Secrets and Jordan Windle just won two Big 12 diving competitions representing the University of Texas.

Please join me for a very special episode of The Locher Room in honor of Rare Disease Day which takes place on the last day of February each year (February 28). Airdate: February, 25, 2021

Today you will meet two very brave young survivors of Hydrocephalus along with their parents to learn more about this rare lifelong condition that affects over one million Americans from newborn to seniors.

15 year-old Cole Illions is a 13-time brain surgery survivor who will be here with his parents Michael and Kim Illions to share their story and talk about the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation started in Cole's honor. Joining them from Michigan will be four year-old Clara Shanks and her mother Heather and rounding out this panel will be Dr. Amit Ayer whose clinical focus is Neruosurgery, Epilepsy and Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at Stanford University. Dr. Ayer will be here to share insight to help us all learn more about this disease affecting children and seniors alike around the world.

As the name implies, Hydrocephalus is a condition in which the primary characteristic is excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. Although Hydrocephalus was once known as “water on the brain,” the “water” is actually cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The excessive accumulation of CSF results in an abnormal widening of spaces in the brain called ventricles. This widening creates potentially harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain.

Hydrocephalus is a rare condition that is only treatable through brain surgery and is the number one reason for pediatric brain surgery. Please consider making a donation today to help raise money for funding research projects, to help find a cure and to help find better treatment options for Hydrocephalus. The only treatment right now is brain surgery and the medical device used, which is called a shunt and has the highest failure rate of any medical device. Hydrocephalus is the number one reason for pediatric brain surgery in our country and an average of 40,000 shunt operations are performed each year. The lack of advancements in treatment for Hydrocephalus have left many diagnosed with hydrocephalus unable to lead full and productive lives.

Guiding Light alumni Jan Conklin (Producer) and her real-life husband and actor Ritchie Coster (Nate / Alfred) will be here. The duo first met in London in 1992 when she was a cocktail waitress, and he was the bartender in Piccadilly Circus. This year the couple will celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary. The duo joined me in February 26, 2021.

Jan Conklin joined Guiding Light as an intern in 1989; became Paul Rauch's assistant in 1996 and under Ellen Wheeler became a Producer where she worked until the show went off the air in September 2009. After Guiding Light, she spent six-years working at Lululemon before joining New York Relief where she has been working for the past five years as Chief Operating Officer. She's presently serving as the interim CEO.

Ritchie Coster is an English actor best known for playing the roles of Dietrich Banning in The Tuxedo, Chechen in The Dark Knight, Elias Kassar in Blackhat, Mayor Austin Chessani on the second season of the HBO anthology television series True Detective and Francisco Scaramucci / Mr. Blue on the SyFy television series Happy!. He currently can be seen in Season 11 of The Walking Dead as Pope and in HBO Max's hit news series, The Flight Attendant. Daytime fans know Ritchie from playing Tom Pelphrey's adoptive father Alfred Randall on Guiding Light and from As the World Turns where he played Gabriel Frank.

Join me for the fourth episode in the Conversation with Alan series in The Locher Room for an in-depth discussion about the importance of Black History Month, the Black Lives Matter movement and what it's like for a parent raising a black child in America today. The show aired on February 24th, 2021.

Joining me for this conversation are Amelia Marshall and her 23-year-old son Marshall Schaffer, Karla Mosley who is raising two-year old Aurora and Lawrence Saint-Victor who is raising two-year old Christian.

Amelia Marshall played Gilly Grant, Karla Mosley played Christina Moore and Lawrence Saint-Victor played Remy Boudreau on Guiding Light. Lawrence can currently be seen weekdays playing Carter Walton on the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful.

Author Syrina Rice joined me in The Locher Room on February 24th, 2021. Syrina's has just released her first children's book, "Hey Mama." The book was inspired by her relationship with her very own creative seven-year-old and introduces us to her alter ego "Syd the Kreative." The story follows Syd's antics throughout the day and her Mama's reactions. It has a sweet affirming ending that encourages creativity and accountability in kids. Syd uses her imagination to create things people can really enjoy. The only problem is being a creative kid can get pretty messy. This is especially true when Mama doesn't quite see things the same way as Syd. Will the two of them ever see eye to eye? Syrina's daughter Sydney will join us for the interview.

Syrina created Rice Love Tree Publishing in 2020 with the sole purpose of creating a platform to share beautiful stories that promote the positive themes woven into the complexity of the black experience. Syrina and co-founder Darrell Rice, firmly believe it is important to honor honest and insightful storytelling about our unique relationship with self-love as a people. It’s our hope that our books will build confidence in young readers and encourage healing conversations within families.

Please join Bryan Beckley the author of the new book A Time to Heal: Stories of Hope & Inspiration live in The Locher Room live on Friday, February 19th at 5 p.m. EST / 2 p.m. PST. The book covers a wide variety of topics including: mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, bullying, the loss of a parent, representation, activism, addiction, spirituality, the healing power of the arts, the importance of having mentors and so much more. Bryan will share his personal reasons for writing this book.

Joining Bryan are Liris Crosse (actress, model), David A. Gregory (Ford, One Life to Live), Abigail Hawk (Abigail, Blue Bloods), Jeff Lima (Leon, Chicago Fire) , Jordi Vilasuso (Rey, The Young and the Restless), Robert Palmer Watkins (Dillon, General Hospital) and pop-singer Wils. Each one of these men and women are featured in Bryan's book and they will share their personal stories with all of you.

Terry Davis (April Cavanaugh Scott), Frances Fisher (Deborah Saxon) and Sharon Gabet (Raven Whitney) who met on the set of the ABC daytime drama The Edge of Night joined me live in The Locher Room on February 18, 2021. These three talented actresses also known as Edge's Angels will reminisce about their time working together on Edge and look back at some of their other daytime, primetime and movie roles as well.

Jennifer Bassey (Marian Colby Chandler, All My Children) and Francesca James (actress, writer, director, producer) joined me in The Locher Room on February 17, 2021. These real-life best friends will share memories from their time working in Pine Valley as well as talk about the many other roles they have had in their illustrious careers.

Soap Opera Digest’s VP, Editorial Director, Stephanie Sloane joined me in The Locher Room on February 12, 2021. Stephanie and I will chat about her 30+ career working at Soap Opera Digest. In addition to Stephanie, I will be welcoming a group of daytime and The Locher Room fans to join us for this special Valentine's Day show. This is my way of thanking all you viewers who have tuned in to The Locher Room over these past 10 months. Together we will all share some of our favorite characters, stories and the reasons why we have loved this genre for decades.