• Episode 12: San Vicente

We’re hearing there’s going to be a “crazy naked” sex scene on Melrose Place before the two recently ousted players go on their merry way: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield.

How racy is it? “It involves us both wearing half-loin cloths that they had to tape to us,” Colin himself tells us. “There are very few clothes involved in the near future.”

And if your name is Bronx you probably shouldn’t hear this part but Colin says of Ashlee/Violet: “She’s up for anything.”

Saucy!

Not that we’re complaining, but what’s behind all of this nakedness, and why is the main suspect in a major murder mystery shacking up with the resident Melrose wackjob? We have more scoop…

A source close to the show tells us that Colin and Ashlee actually have not one but two supersteamy sex scenes in the next few episodes, where the troubled twosome are almost completely au naturel. (They leave the show around episode 13.)

Does this mean Violet will end up with her demented version of happily ever after with Auggie? Don’t count on it. Colin says that some very bad things are a-brewin’ in his final eps:”Things get pretty violent and kind of crazy. Auggie ends up hitting the bottle and falls off the deep end a little bit.” Colin adds that the drinking was to be a more developed storyline, but because of his early exit it will be cut short.

Hey, if we can’t have Colin on Melrose Place forever, at least we’re getting a nearly-nakie image to remember him by. And just think what it’ll do for his reel.

- Source: eonline.com

• Episode 8: Gower

• Episode 9: Ocean

After the recent news that her sister, Ashlee, had been cut from the CW drama, the singer blasted the show on her official Twitter page. “CW catching up on MP,” Simpson Tweeted on Sunday night. “Who writes this crap? i have had bad scripts to work with, but this? thank God my sister is amazing and got you some press.”

For her part, Simpson-Wentz was more measured when discussing her character’s fate.

“Having the chance to play Violet on Melrose Place has been a thrill,” she said in a statement. “Although I always knew her story would come to a final, insanely unpredictable end, playing a creepy, unstable character was something I always wanted to do, so I jumped at the chance. Thanks to the CW and the entire cast and crew of Melrose Place for allowing me this opportunity.”

In a recent poll, 67 percent of PEOPLE.com readers said they wouldn’t miss Simpson-Wentz on the TV show.

Jessica Simpson’s rep had no comment.

- Source: People.com

Reacting to yesterday’s announced dismissal of Simpson-Wentz and Egglesfield from the Melrose Place cast, costar Stephanie Jacobsen tells Usmagazine.com, “We’re sad!”

“We’re obviously going to miss them!” Jacobsen lamented at Thursday’s Guess Vanity Fair T-Shirt Launch party in Beverly Hills.

Jacobsen, who plays Lauren Yung on the series, got the news via phone call from Egglesfield himself. “He is a soldier,” she praised. “He said, ‘That’s the business.’ He’s amazing.”

Jacobsen seemed less surprised by Simpson-Wentz’s departure, noting, “I don’t know if Ashlee’s involvement was ever intended to exceed the murder mystery story line” that wraps up around the twelfth episode. “But obviously I’m not privy to the details.”

Meanwhile, the actress has already welcomed the show’s most high-profile new arrival: Heather Locklear, reprising her role from the 90s original as Amanda Woodward. “I chatted with her in makeup and I’ve been in two table reads with her,” she notes. “She is warm and divine! We are so excited and flattered to have her!’

Following yesterday’s news, Simpson-Wentz said in a statement, “Having the chance to play Violet on Melrose Place has been a thrill . . . Thanks to the CW and the entire cast and crew of Melrose Place for allowing me this opportunity!”

- Source: usmagazine.com

“Having the chance to play Violet on Melrose Place has been a thrill. Although I always knew her story would come to a final, insanely unpredictable end, playing a creepy, unstable character was something I always wanted to do, so I jumped at the chance. Thanks to the CW and the entire cast and crew of Melrose Place for allowing me this opportunity!”

- Source: eonline.com

Two months into its run, The CW’s ratings-challenged (but creatively-smokin’) Melrose Place reboot is about to undergo a major renovation. For starters, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield have been let go (they’ll last air in January), and the “Who Killed Sydney?” mystery is being wrapped up in December. Then, in addition to Heather Locklear’s Amanda, several new characters will be introduced and the show will take on a lighter, more fun vibe. Here, in an exclusive interview, exec producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer explain why they’re fixing a series that many (myself included) felt wasn’t broken and tease what’s ahead for Melrose 2.0 3.0.

What was behind the decision to let Ashlee and Colin go?
TODD SLAVKIN: Well, we always knew that this murder mystery would end in episode 12. And we always knew that [Ashlee's] character of Violet would be instrumental in that as a suspect, and [Colin's character of] Augie as well. And once that murder mystery was solved, she would go on her way. That was the original plan going into the development of the show.

So it was always the plan for Ashlee to leave after episode 12?
SLAVKIN: Yes. Because we felt that once the murder mystery was resolved, the tone of the show was going to shift into a much more fun, romantic, sexy upbeat kind of show, and [her] character would move on.

Same thing with Colin?
SLAVKIN: Colin was always meant to be the ultimate suspect. And his brooding alcoholic [character] tonally didn’t fit the paradigm moving into post-murder mystery Melrose Place.

Is it fair to say that if either of those characters clicked you would’ve found a way to keep them?
SLAVKIN: Well, you never know when you go along. But in the end, we felt like it was right [decision].
DARREN SWIMMER: The nature of soaps is that as things progress along, the story takes on a life of its own and the characters come and go in relation to that.

How did Ashlee and Colin take the news?
SLAVKIN: They’re total professionals and they took it like professionals. When you go into a show you never know what’s going to evolve and what the possibilities are. But because they knew ahead of time [that leaving was a possibility], it wasn’t a complete shock.

People are going to look at these changes and assume it’s a direct result of the show’s disappointing ratings.
SLAVKIN: Well, I understand that perspective. None of us foresaw the ratings; there’s nothing we can do about that. All we can do is write and produce the best show we know how. It’s fine to speculate, but in the end there was always a plan.

What about Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro? Are they leaving, too?
SLAVKIN: Thomas is very much a part of the fabric of this show. Many storylines are ahead for him. You’ll get to see him interact with his old friend Amanda Woodward as well as all the characters on our show. With Laura, we would never close the door officially. She did her part in the murder mystery. We love her. We think she is gorgeous and a great actress and would love to have her be involved in the future, but there is no plan at the moment.

Can you elaborate on the tonal shift?
SLAVKIN: Now that the characters are no longer suspects, they can have a great time, they can focus on their careers, they can get into bed with each other without having this ominous cloud hanging over the building… But this is still Melrose Place. There’s still going to be intrigue on the show.

Do you think viewers were turned off by the dark nature of the show?
SWIMMER: Who knows why the ratings aren’t better? I think for us, it’s just a matter of moving on in the direction we [always] wanted to go.

Some people might wonder why you’re fixing what’s not broken. Personally, I love the show.
SLAVKIN: Which we understand and I totally get that. I think our feeling is that TV shows need to evolve. Mike, you’re a fan of Smallville. You’ve watched that show and you’ve seen the evolution in that show. Characters come and go. This being much more of a soap opera, we feel that it’s heated up more rapidly, where characters come and go and have arcs and move on. There will be new characters coming in.

Tell me about those new characters.
SLAVKIN: There’s a doctor, a new resident at the hospital who is irreverent and funny and will mix it up and move into the building. He will be a roommate of one of the characters and interact with Lauren. He’s a guy that, even though he’s a doctor, he doesn’t take life very seriously. Medicine can be very fun as well as serious to him and he ends up lightening up Lauren. We think this guy’s a lot of fun and is going to mix it up in a great way with the rest of the cast.

Has the role been cast?
SLAVKIN: Not yet.

Any other new characters?
SWIMMER: We have [Heather Locklear's] new love interest played by Billy Campbell. He has a three-episode arc. He plays basically a billionaire version of Jonah. He’s the equivalent of a Mark Cuban. Again, a lot of fun, funny, irreverent, and is someone who can actually make Amanda Woodward smile.

How long do you have Heather for?
SLAVKIN: A long time. She’s in every episode moving forward. She’s a major focus [of the show]. She has a hidden agenda that will become not so hidden as the episodes move along. She’s not just the boss of Ella [Katie Cassidy].

Does Heather still have it?
SLAVKIN: Absolutely. Not only is she so fun as Amanda, but she’s such an amazing, hysterical woman. Her [return] is going to be a big moment on Melrose Place.

- Source: ew.com

Booo!

CW just picked up a full season of the breakout freshman hit The Vampire Diaries, and the network has also ordered five more episodes of Melrose Place.

Why did Vampire Diaries get a full season while Melrose Place didn’t? Here’s what we’re hearing…

Diaries has been an unqualified hit for the CW—it’s easily the network’s top show. Melrose’s ratings, meanwhile, are just marginally ahead of already canceled The Beautiful Life. In fact, a repeat of the canceled CW series The Game that aired on BET the other night beat out an original episode of Melrose Place. Sad but true.

So why keep Melrose on at all? Well, Melrose comes with endless publicity in the form of returning original MP stars like, oh, Heather Locklear, and insiders remain enthusiastic about the production quality and big upcoming storylines like a major character death and backstory reveals for fan faves like Katie Cassidy’s Ella.

Now, help us answer a not-so-burning question: Which middle-of-the-road Melrose Place character is most expendable? We’re pondering this upcoming character death, and we’re trying to figure out who you could stand to lose. Katie Cassidy’s Ella Sims is excluded, because she’s clearly the show’s breakout star, and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz’s Violet is also off the list, because she’s extremely crazy and no one likes her, but between the other regulars, Michael Rady, Jessica Lucas, Stephanie Jacobsen, Shaun Sipos and Colin Egglesfield, who should be safe, and who is a good candidate for a highly promotable sweeps-month killing-off?

- Source: eonline.com

So I guess CW ordered 18 episodes of Melrose Place until today right?