Dante's Cove: August 2006 Archives

The second season of the gothic gay soap "Dante's Cove" will premiere on here! Networks on Sept. 1. There's all kinds of action: addiction, insanity, love, infidelity, coming out and breaking up. I'm already hooked after seeing the first two episodes. Now I'm not going to give away any of the details but I think viewers will be pleased to see that William Gregory Lee (Ambrosius) has a cool new haircut that updates his look (well, he WAS under a spell and locked in a dungeon for 200 years and got a little shaggy) so he's even hotter than in season one.

The returning residents of Hotel Dante, most of them sexy gay men and lesbians, will be joined by some newcomers this season. New characters as well as Jon Fleming taking over the role of Adam (replacing Steven Arnell). Adam was straight last season but this season, all bets are off. Stay tuned.

One of my favorite characters is Van, wonderfully played by Nadine Heiman, is learning more about how to use her supernatural powers sharing terrific scenes with Tracy Scoggins (Grace), Thea Gill (Diana) and, of course, the soulful Charlie David (Toby) who is her best friend on the show.

“Dante’s Cove: Season Two,� was the first original series renewed by the here! Networks for a second season. The complete first season of the show is now available on DVD.

The show’s new website,www.dantescove.com , will feature cast bios and photos, a series history, and video clips so it's a good way to catch up if you're a new viewer.

OK, so it's not as big a deal as replacing Darrin on "Bewitched," Becky on "Roseanne," both Fallon and Steven on "Dynasty" or even Miss Ellie for a season on "Dallas." But Here! TV's supernatural sudser "Dante's Cove" will have a new actor in the role of Adam, the "straight" high school friend of Charlie David's character.

Here! CEO Paul Colichman says the actor who originated the role, Steven Arnell (right), wasn't comfortable with the gay turn his character takes in season two which required man-to-man love scenes. And if you've seen "Dante," you know those scenes are steamy. Amell had appeared as a spin instructor on three episodes of "Queer as Folk" and was a regular on the now-canceled ABC Family series "Beautiful People."

His departure gives Jon Fleming (left), a juicy role in the hot soap. Fleming appeared in four episodes of "Will & Grace" a few years back but most of his other screen roles have been pretty generic: man in speedo on "Mad TV," mystery man in an episode of "Days of Our Lives," pool boy on "Passions" and jogger on "Desperate Housewives."

She was the lovely lesbian Lindsay for five seasons on "Queer as Folk" and now the beautiful actress Thea Gill has a new gay gig: a lovely lesbian witch on the supernatural soap 'Dante's Cove," set to begin its second season in early September on here!TV.

Gill, straight in real life, isn't as sweet on "Dante's" as she was on "Q a F" (although she did cheat on Melanie with a MAN, I think in season four). She will play Diana Childs, a mysterious newcomer to "Dante's Cove" who will tangle with Grace (Tracy Scoggins) as revelations of their secret past threaten to change Dante's Cove forever. This is a busy time for the actress who is currently filming the dark romantic comedy "Mulligans" andn has been cast in the indioe film "Seed."

Last March, Gill got a pretty terrific honor when she received 2006 PFLAG Spotlight Award in Washington D.C.which celebrates outstanding contribution by a straight ally towards ending discrimination towards gays and lesbians, helping change perceptions, and helping keep families together.