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Jean Passanante Rejoins The Writing Team Of General Hospital!

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Veteran daytime drama scribe Jean Passanante, who recently revealed her departure from the writing team at The Young and the Restless, is heading back to her former digs on the writing team at ABC’s General Hospital!

Passanante confirmed the news via Twitter last evening tweeting:  “Heading back to Port Charles! I hear there’s one nutty hospital there.

The last time Jean was writing for the characters of GH was back in November of 2013, prior to her taking the co-head writing position at The Young and the Restless.

As soap fans know, Jean has written for a myriad of other soap operas including: Another World, All My Children, As the World Turns, and One Life to Live.  The move reunites her with her longtime colleague, GH head writer Ron Carlivati.

So, happy to hear the news that Jean is coming back to work at General Hospital?  Comment below!

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so glad that she will be back writing for general hospital.

Bring Steve back with you! Talk about ratings!!!! Thru the roof!!!!

Yuck! Steve is a horrible one note actor…Y&R can keep him!

It’s great news. I hope she can focus on families and bring some love and romance to GH! NO mob.

I agree–sick of the mob storylines, especially Sonny, Carly, and Franco. But that’s what fast-forward on my DVR is for.

I luv the mob stuff as do many fans..
GH IS mob stuff mixed with a variety of stories,,
GH is not just mob lol there much variety on GH..
The mobsters will never leave Port Charles, they rock !!

long live the mob !!!!

And GH does focus on families..
they just happen to be mob families lol Michael and Sonny have been great,,
Always there is something going on in the families..
All is well and as it should be with GH … 🙂

(GH is not as the other 3 soap nor is it supposed to be as them)

Yes seems like good news. It is interesting when you look at other recent developments. The show has had problems for a while and it is obvious that the network is stepping in to try and right the ship.

The ratings have not been good and the first week of sweeps, with the Nurses Ball and heavy promotion did not move the needle. The network ordered the live shows to try and get some buzz and they are bringing back Genie Francis. Now,
after the Fluke disaster and the Jake story just dragging, a new writer is coming on board, one that has Head Writer experience.

This is a good sign if for nothing else, it shows that the network is taking steps to try and improve the show. It’s nice to see a commitment and hopefully the show will get on the right track.

The Fluke “disaster”? I know some very vocal fans didn’t like it, but as far as I know they’re the only ones. Geary got at least one Emmy out of it, among other things. I have yet to hear any reports of network or cast, crew, or show dissatisfaction with that story.

Erick, aside from the vocal fans, who do you hear from? The silent one’s? The Fluke story was riddled with holes and inconsistencies that were talked about, all over the place, by many fans on many different sites and forums as well soap writers; many of them as well. The story dragged for way too long, regardless of TG’s absence and was then completely changed in a way that sealed the deal on the inconsistencies and holes.

TG getting an Emmy for a ten minute reel of performances is no indication of the story and its success.

As for hearing reports of the network’s dissatisfaction, where would you expect that to appear and is that how you think they would handle it? Broadcasting it so that you could hear about it?

Follow the events. Ratings are at best stagnant, not doing well, demos are down and hitting lows. The network ordered the Live Shows. RC said that they were the idea of the network and ordered. So right there we have an instance of the Network stepping in, inserting their control and demanding an event designed to boost ratings, something they care about. Something they’re not getting.

Then Genie Francis is coming back. She has been gone for two years and Frank’s statement was very telling. He said the door was always open if the story and timing were right. He made a point to show that he was in charge and that her absence was based on the show’s direction and story. So why now when we saw that FV had no use for her previously? Why give a qualifying statement about her return? You wouldn’t. He didn’t because It’s obviously not his choice. It’s about ratings and that’s the network. We also got reports that Genie demanded a contract and a story. It is clear this was done at the network level, especially given these other steps, including a new writer being added.

The network has an investment here. They’ve given Cartini three years. They’ve had some ups, but many downs and that’s what they are experiencing now. They get only so long on their own before the network comes in to try and protect their investment. That is obviously what is happening.

Yes. The Fluke disaster. Covered with a Emmy- a Daytime one.

Erick, cast and crew are not going to complain about a story because they value their jobs. You ever see that episode of Friends in which Joey, who played Dr Drake Amore on Days of Our Lives complains about the writers? Joey’s character ends up stepping into an empty elevator shaft and ends up dying. Funny and fictional? Yes, but it’s predicated upon a reality–if you value your job you don’t bitch about the writing. Tony Geary strongly hinted that the writing was ridiculous but he vowed to play the hell out o fit anyway. The Fluke debacle was made up it went along and it showed.

Where in the world do you get any of this information?? Ratings have not been going down, and the network didn’t order the live shows. The rating have fluctuated but over all the numbers are up – overall. The Fluke story was anything BUT a disaster. GH hasn’t had this much buzz about in decades. Period.

The Fluke disaster is almost an understatement. It was like a train wreck in slow motion. Now that Geary’s emotional self-love storyline is done, maybe Show can actually tell a story instead of a year-long testimonial to a hasbeen who was never much to begin with.

Dotty,,
I agree with your words…
Some people are just grumpy when stories are not the way they want them to be- written just for them .. lol
I thought the Luke story was awe grand/awesome.. I really like the journey..
The Luke story did not start until after the Fluke ride ended and that is when Luke went on his journey to face his demons, not before..

First there was Fluke story stuff.. after was the Luke story, and it was great ..

Dotty, I get my information from various sources, much of it, from Michael Fairman.

I saw in a couple of places that it was at the network level that the live shows were conceived and ordered. Here is a clip from Michael Fairman’s interview with RC, where RC says that the Live shows were the brain child of Paul Lee. Paul Lee is the President of ABC Entertainment Group, he runs the network.
http://e98.637.mwp.accessdomain.com/general-hospital/ron-carlivati-interview-general-hospital-42nd-annual-daytime-emmys-red-carpet/2015/04/30/

As for the ratings. The ratings are not great. They are up in total viewers from other times and down from other’s, yes they fluctuate. But the overall numbers are not great. The fact that Paul Lee, the guy who runs the entire entertainment group, the network and the studio, is involved should tell us something. For him to get involved in the GH process and to try and devise a way to boost ratings and generate interest for a soap opera, given all his responsibilities, is telling.

But the ratings are actually down, the one’s that count, the demos. Here is another link to Michael Fairman’s story on the current ratings. He points out that although there was a small gain from the previous week, GH “unfortunately hit their all-time low in the demo rating share for the third week in a row.” And the fact is that GH is down over 100,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo, close to 20%, from this time last year.

So yes, The Live Shows were the network’s call and the ratings, the demo ratings, are down and hitting an all-time low.

AJQ..
GH ratings are not down they holding in the line of steady..
And-
GH has via RC and FV have brought in approximately a million, a million viewers, and that is greatly upping cancellation ratings it once had..
No other soap has brought in millionish new viewers during the past 2 years..

(ratings are up and down.. GH is doing well..:)

Su0000-

FV & RC have not brought in a million viewers. If GH is averaging approximately 2.8 million viewers, that would mean that it was averaging only 1.8 million viewers prior to Cartini and that is absolutely false.

But this is about demo ratings and GH is down in 18-49 from the numbers prior to Cartini. That is a fact, as reported by Michael Fairman, GH is at an all time low in the 18-49 demo. Here is the link, so you can now tell Michael Fairman that he is wrong. http://e98.637.mwp.accessdomain.com/news/ratings-all-soaps-gain-in-total-viewers-except-days-down-but-expectations-are-high-nbc-soap-will-rebound-for-50th/2015/05/15/

ALQ, HI..
My comment was about GH’s numbers rising ..

2012– Jan. (avarage)
One Life to Live 2.1 (Final ABC Season; ended January 13, 2012)
Days of our Lives and General Hospital 2.0 (tied)

GH since RC and FV took over GH has gained a millionish/there abouts, new viewers..

Su0000-

Your numbers are wrong, you are confusing the rating with the raw number. 2.0 would be a rating, it doesn’t mean 2 million viewers.

The average in total viewers for Jan 2012, was 2,340,000 not 2,000,000.

And again, it is about the 18-49 demo, the demo that a majority of advertisers care about, the audience number they use to determine the price they will pay for commercials, the number that Paul Lee cares about and why the network has now gotten involved.

GH has lost over 100,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo in the last year, that is almost 20% of the audience. The number is even down from the time period that you have used as an example, Jan 2012, the last month before FV and RC took over. The Jan 2012 18-49 avg was 584,000. It is currently 530,000.
They had increased, now they are back to all time lows.

Those are the facts. The 18-49 demo is down significantly in the last year, it is at an all time low for three weeks and GH does not currently have a million more total viewers since Jan 2012, not even close.

AJ, your posts are always long and filled with information that backs up MOST of your statements BUT to say the Fluke story was a disaster dismisses some of our credibility. If you study EVERYTHING that was written and televised you can find loopholes BUT if your a fan who watches GH for entertainment purposes and not so much with a critical eye, you would see that the story wasnt so bad and its not done. Your writing a review before it ends. Tony will be around the rest of the summer and he vowed to clean up some of the holes. He did say that he is less interested in the twilight of his career in the direction of his story and letting the writers write and he acts. Genie needed to be back a year ago but she will be here now. As far as these rating stunts, GH FANS will watch regardless. A “Live” show is really what we see everyday anyway since there are no time for rehearsals or two and three takes. Lastly, the ratings may not have reached the peak they expected so far for sweeps but GH is healthy. Genie may bring back a couple old fans back to the show or a couple new ones but she is not a ratings blockbuster. If you want to see a soap struggling and looking for any angle to keep its head above water, tune into NBC, Days is flat lining. I wish them luck. GH doesnt need it. They are healthy.

You all need to get a room.

People bitch about the mob issues on GH. I got news for you, its been around for 33 years and its not going away. It creates drama. They try and focus on the hospital but people come and go in a hospital and they end up there one way or another. What do you want to happen, someone cut their finger at a bakery and come to the hospital looking for stitches?

Me, too!

I am glad to have her back on GH…

Clearly some fans know about her writing but I’m not familiar, all I know about is that RC is the head writer and FV runs the show, pass that when things are great I praise RC/FV and when it’s bad same thing, so beyond that how would I know what she’s responsible for writing if she’s part of a writing team? But welcome back I guess..

Her work is a plus to the show! Very good news!

I am not overly familiar with the writing of Jean Passanante..
I do know; while she was with Y&R the terrible writing of the- music box story among other snores) well I hope she doesn’t bring that stuff to GH..
I hope she is good and doesn’t mess up my GH .. lol
Her resume looks good.. And the comments here look good in her favor..

She wrote for GH before she came to YR.

People started leaving because of the Gay scenes. Many have said they’re good byes on blogs. I look forward to more story lines. Bring A new rich guy.

I am happy they are featuring gay story lines on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.. I enjoyed the ones on All My Children, As the World Turns, and One Life to LIve. It broke new ground and gave a chance for people to understand love between people of same sexes. I wish on Days, they would let Sonny and Will enjoy their marriage alittle before bringing in another gay male to upset the apple cart. I am sad to see Freddie Smith leave, i hope they recast his character. Luke, Noah, Reid, Oliver and Fish were all great on their respective s oaps. I think it is great the daytime dramas are willing to feature new groundbreaking stories involving gay couples.

WORD!

Jean, seems like you went from the outhouse to the penthouse! Yes Y&R is #1 but so were they Patriots and we see what happened with their “Balls!” GH’s PSI’s are legally inflated and ready for you to pick up the ball and throw a couple touchdowns! Welcome back!

Nathan West and Maxie Jones are headed to Cassadine Island. [Touchdown!]
We need more Scotty and Franco moments in their robes eating steak. [Touchdown!]
Agent Sloan is recasted. Third times a charm. [Touchdown!]
Anna brings a recasted Robin home with her. Sorry Kim. [Touchdown!]
Stefan Cassadine swoops in and steals ELQ from Nicholas! [Touchdown!]
Hayden sticks around in Port Charles. [Touchdown!]
Jason and Sam reunite. [Touchdown!]
Carly and Rick, seriously! [Touchdown!]
Luke walks off into the moonlight and hops on a ship captained by English. [Touchdown]
Recast Dylan and he will be Tracy’s right hand man to recover ELQ [Touchdown!]
Goodbye Sabrina, Carlos, Lucy and Liz! [Touchdown!]
Hurry back Ned! [Touchdown!]
Brenda and Julian? [Touchdown!]

How about they Sabrina, Lucy and Liz and they say goodbye to those Godfather rejects Olivia, Dante, Max, Milo, Diane, and Ric Lansing?

I am all about booting the Godfather rejects!

Jean Passanante is a good writer with a lot of experience behind her. She has worked with the GH landscape before so it won’t be foreign to her. I have to say I love Ron Carlivati’s writing style because in addition to good drama he adds great humor into the mix. Those characters have complexity and it’s refreshing to see. As for the comments mentioned above about leaving GH because of gay storylines, I find those who leave needing some therapy. Two or three characters being gay and being portrayed as part of the fabric of a community is real life. The idea that someone doesn’t like a gay character getting airtime shows a complete lack of humanity. It’s okay to be gay as long as you don’t talk about it or acknowledge it in any way. That line of thinking belongs in the 60’s. Not in current times. Explore more stories with those characters and place the emphasis on the fact that gay or straight we all live the same lives. I love the direction the show is taking. The actors are top notch and with the exception of one or two characters I have to say that I love the entire cast. They obviously work together well. I love GH quite a bit and look forward to what the writing team has to offer.

Beautifully said. When I was 13 years old in 1993 and started watching General Hospital if you told me in 2015 after 23 years of watching the show that there would be a gay couple on it I would have laughed in your face. In 1993 I knew I was gay at 13 years old I knew I was gay at 6 years old I knew that I thought Bo Duke was very cute it wasn’t sexual I just had a crush on him. So for me to see gay characters on General Hospital it helps me identify with a couple.

Wow some of what I’m actually reading here looks correct. Yes, key demos have been at record lows including the first two weeks of Sweeps. Yes the live shows were probably pitched by Cartini to ABC simply as a means to counter the ratings slump in the absence of any stories actually taking place.

Yes Fluke was pretty strongly disliked. I believe the network likely asked for rewrites to wrap it up after it still dragged even after TG’s successful return from surgery rehab. Yes more downs than ups especially lately.

I don’t think hiring back Jean Passanante is incidental at all. I think it’s strategic. Among all the people on twitter connected with ABC and the show that welcomed her back, there was one very glaring omission. There’s a very good reason for that.

Unfortunately, the “live” shows nor the touted Nurses’ Ball added nothing. They were lackluster, and that’s being kind. And the Fluke story did alienate many, many fans because of the total violation of Luke’s character, someone the longtime fans loved and were previously devoted to.
To be blunt, the Fluke storyline (the “climactic” 52nd anniversary show was a real shock and letdown) accounts for the low ratings. And the writing is simply bad.
The current writers care nothing for the legacy of the show and the historical accuracy of it. A real turnoff for the longest, most loyal viewers.
In short, the show is in trouble, ratings wise and the suits at ABC want to shore it up; thus they have hired JP, a writer who is sympathetic to “women’s issues,” probably to write the Laura scenes for Genie Francis–and those she will have with Luke as they attempt to salvage that character so Tony Geary can exit with some shred of dignity after his evil, angry, ego-obsessed portrayal of Fluke, a distasteful character that longtime, loyal fans wanted nothing to do with.
Again, I ask: what is gained if you win an Emmy and lose an audience?

They should keep the Nurses Ball. The whole thing is what keeps Sonny and the mobsters from overrunning the show once again.

I so agree!

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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