General Hospital
General Hospital 15,000th Episode Milestone Promo
Currently scheduled to air tomorrow on Tuesday, June 20th, is General Hospital’s 15,000th episode.
What we do know is that the standalone episode is centered around the character of Laura Collins played by GH icon, Genie Francis.
GH co head-writer, Dan O’Connor, previewed the episode in the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest on newsstands now.
Dan shared: “It’s a love letter to the fans, but also to the city of Port Charles. and Laura is also the Mayor.” He goes on to say that “Laura’s mayoral administration is rocked by a sudden and very muscular challenge.”
From the looks of the just released promo for the 15K celebration, the town bands together! Check it out below.
Share your congrats to GH for its 15,000 episode milestone, and if you are excited to see the Laura-centric story unfold, via the comment section.
The hearings are back tomorrow, so don’t bet your soul that ABC will actually be airing this episode, just yet.
If such a thing does happen, I would suggest that they release the episode anyway, so it can pop up at the normal time on Hulu and abc.com and allow affiliates to air it either in real time on a digital subchannel, or air it at 3:00 AM, which is how they used to handle pre-empted episodes.
They likely switched to doing national preemptions because in the long run it saves money. “Budget guru” Valentini then has less episodes to deliver saving $ spent on the non-contract staff and production. Similar reasons why they went to repeat episodes on major holidays.
If it does air Wednesday instead, it would be the third delay since this episode was originally supposed to air last Friday.
Network brass, not Valentini, make the decisions on what airs when.
Hi Rodd—-broadcast tv is owned by the government–
That’s why we get it free-
Anything to do with government/congress/whatever is preempted by the government.
So I had a rerun today, again! Not the 15,000th episode. So very disappointed in ABC
Looks like fun. And how about some love for 15K episodes’ worth of escapism, fun, drama, and great acting over the decades. The fire in Maura West’s eyes; the catfights; the murder trials; the longevity of great Genie Francis; the deaths of beloved characters; the lights shining on Billy Miller’s and Josh Swickard’s hair. I know soaps are silly to a lot of folks but I’ve gotten so much joy and necessary flights of fancy since my childhood that I say “so what?”. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
The problem is too many people don’t like it, so they don’t watch and the ratings continue to drop. How can a show like GH survive with its ridiculous storylines when there is so much other excellent television streaming. GH’s audience is slowly dying off and it is not gaining new fans. It’s a reality. If the genre is going to survive, it needs to start competing with the streaming series by presenting realistic, well-written storylines.
You are correct in saying that soaps need to step up their game on the writing department. As for the ratings continuing to drop, that pace seems to have leveled off significantly. The saving grace for daytime is the major erosion of primetime ratings. Some nighttime shows now pull in roughly the same amount of audience as GH. Daytime talk shows are also not the ratings gold they once were.
With OLTL being the last show leaving the air 10 years ago and NBC being committed to DAYS with limited edition streaming series, the genre may be a holding pattern for quite a while.
I get your point, Steven, and I agree that some plots are preposterous. But I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Granted I get weary of how dimwitted the police are on EVERY soap and the endless ‘whose baby is it’ tales. But I’ll tell you that, while a lot of touted programming on streaming channels is good, an equal amount is extremely violent, mean-spirited, demonic, sadistic, and preponderant with endless conspiracy puzzles that I lose interest in. I watched INVENTING ANNA, THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, THE UNDOING, MARE OF EASTTOWN…I just find them repetitive, too long, and have plots that could easily be wrapped up in two or four hours instead of eight or more. I don’t know what the answer is but I hope that soaps don’t become the next victim of typically modern “all or nothing” thinking.
Yes, Soaphound! GH is the best show out there! I love it and can’t wait to watch it everyday.
The BIG problem is — speed..
The soaps are still in the ’70s.. They have never evolved.
The stories go on forever..
Younger people grew up on speed, middle-aged people luvin and needing speed etc..
When things are slow all are upset..the soaps are extremely slow-
Fact; the soaps are still in the ’70s.. They have never evolved.
Soaphound, now, that’s the spirit! A very nice tribute.
Jamesj75
I agree with you. Soaphound’s always on the ball!
This is off topic but since Donna Mills was on the show and can now call herself an emmy winning actor because of the show. She has constantly bashed daytime threw out her career. In an interview just put up on youtube “called pioneers of Television”. She really knocks the genre in this 2022 interview. She says that daytime is not a good place to make a career because if you stay too long it ruins you for other things because you are just doing it off the top of your head. She also calls “daytime a stylized form of acting” not in a positive way. Since this interview I have gone down a rabbit hole of interviews with her and was shocked how negative she is about daytime. In one interview she bristles at “Knotts” being called a soap. According to her it was not. It was a Primetime Drama. She said the daytime shows go for caricatures and her show does characterizations.The list of negative daytime talk just goes on and on with her almost always taking offence at Knots being called a soap. Check out her interview on PBS called “primetime soaps”. She again says Knots was not a soap but a primetime drama!
She has spoken often about daytime being a great training ground post “GH” but in a Canadian talk show from 1982 with host Allan Thicke” says to her what a great training ground daytime is. She replies”no not really. You can fall into a trap doing a soap because they are so ponderous and are all about having another cup of coffee” He then says “so people are lying to me” She says”maybe they are afraid they”ll have to do a soap again like the actress who played my sister who is stuck in soaps and not advanced her career”!!I assumed she was referring to the wonderful Leslie Charleson.
All of this shocked me because I thought she was a friend of yours Michael and of Laura Wright and Genie Francis”
All of this from an actress who can now call herself an”Emmy Winning” actress because of a lowly soap!!
Greg
Very interesting and believable. I’d always had that feeling about her, that she was above everyone else. A lot of actors knock the daytime shows and the people working their asses off making them but they are WORKING steady making good livings, not sitting around waiting for an agent to call with a possible part for someone’s aunt or grandmother. I loved Knotts and when it was over and Syndicated, I watched it every morning, so I guess it could then be called daytime with rest of the Soaps.
General Hospital
Dee Wallace to Play the Late Jackie Zeman’s On-Screen Sister on ‘The Bay’
The Daytime Emmy-winning streaming series,The Bay, has revealed some major casting news. Former General Hospital guest star, Dee Wallace (ex-Patricia Spencer), who is best known for her roles in the blockbuster films ET and Cujo, is joining the show for its ninth season.
Wallace will take on the role of Charlotte Grace, who in story, happens to be the sister of Sofia Madison, played by the late Jackie Zeman (ex-Bobbie Spencer, GH).
In an intriguing twist, Dee came to General Hospital as the older sister of Luke (Tony Geary) and Bobbie. Patricia was key to the plot in the “Fluke” storyline where GH played out the harrowing backstory that Luke killed both his parents to protect himself and his siblings.
Photo: JPI
Dee was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2016 for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series for her work on GH.
Additional casting news from The Bay for season 9 includes: Mack Wilds, best known for his role as Dixon on 90210, joining the show as a recast Will Campbell. The character was last seen in season 3.
Photo: Oliviadabonet
In addition, Olivia d’Abo who played Karen Arnold on the the sitcom, The Wonder Years joins the show in the role of Felicia “Fifi” Garrett-Martin, the daughter of Lex Martin played by Tristan Rogers.
What do you think of Dee Wallace playing the on-screen sister, once again to the late Jackie Zeman on The Bay? Comment below.
General Hospital
GH’s Adam J. Harrington Reveals the Behind the Scenes Story of Becoming John “Jagger” Cates
When Adam J. Harrington showed up on all-new episodes of General Hospital, it shocked viewers of the long-running ABC soap opera, because he was the recast John “Jagger” Cates.
The character was previously played more than 30 years ago by Antonio Sabato Jr., and as fans of the soap have seen, Harrington’s version of Jagger and his circumstances are quite different. As it turns out, Adam was in the dark at what GH role he would be eventually cast in.
Speaking with GH co-stars, Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) on their Daily Drama podcast, Harrington shared the behind the scenes journey that led him to being the new version of John.
Photo: ABC
Adam shared, “I went into a chemistry read with Laura Wright (Carly) for a different character. I was told I wasn’t going to get the character, but hang tight, there’s something else. Then, that kind of took a couple of months and now we’re in December (2023), and then all of a sudden it was like, ‘here you go.'”
Once Adam was given a role on GH, he explained, “I still didn’t know who I was playing. I should have asked at that point. So the deal gets done, and I go, ‘By the way, who am I playing?'”
Photo: ABC
That’s the point where the GH powers-that-be let him in on just what he was about to take on. “They sent me a one sheet with John “Jagger” Kates in the description,” shared Adam. “It wasn’t until I went on YouTube and spent a good three or four days, watching all of Steve (Burton’s) storylines in the nineties (that I figured it out). By the way, they were fantastic. The production value … it was amazing the level of the acting, and the relationships you guys had. I really enjoyed it. So, that’s how I found out (about the character).”
Burton and Anderson asked Harrington about his thoughts on being a recast. “I thought it was important to go back to his circumstances and his upbringing, because that wouldn’t change no matter what he had become in the 20 or 30 or 70 years since we’ve seen him,” Adam shared. “I looked at what Antonio Sabato Jr. did and thought, ‘There was no way in hell I can even touch that or even come close, nor do I want to.’ The only thing I recognized was given his upbringing and what he’d gone through, it was a common sense of humor in there that’s either used defensively or as a way of getting through the world.”
Photo: JPI
As to how Adam should approach the part given it was a recast, he noted, “What I had been told from the brass is don’t worry about following that same emotional storyline. He’s gone away for a very, very, very long time, become successful and he’s come back. Basically, they were saying, you bring in you.”
Being part of the fabric of GH for awhile now, Harrington expressed, “I will say this about my experience so far. I am in absolute awe of the cast and the crew and watching how you do this on a train that refuses to stop. I said to a friend, ‘I’m on a train that’s going a hundred miles an hour, and they slow down to about 90 to kick you off after your scene is done.'”
So, what are your thoughts on Adam as John “Jagger” Cates after now seeing how the role has evolved and changed since its original version over 30 years ago? Comment below.
General Hospital
John J. York Back at General Hospital
On Friday, May 10th, General Hospital fans received some wonderful images and news. John J. York who has played the beloved Mac Scorpio on the ABC daytime drama series is back at work and taping all-new episodes of the show.
“Mac is back!” read the General Hospital social media post hashtag. John is pictured with longtime leading lady, Kristina Wagner and in other pics with Wagner, along with his TV son, Josh Kelly. York has played the younger brother of Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) since 1991.
Previously, York announced he was taking time off from GH to undergo treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes and multiple smoldering myeloma (two blood and bone marrow disorders). This included chemo treatments, finding a blood doner match for blood stem cell transplant and more.
Courtesy/GHIG
Late in 2023, York shared an update on his health on social media. At that time, John expressed, “(Things) are actually going along very well. I’m still in the middle stages of everything.” He added, “I’m feeling really good. Hopefully, hopefully, things go the way they are, maybe be back on the show late spring, early summer.
York’s return pics were greeted with wonderful excitement from his GH co-stars on the Instagram post, including co-stars Finola Hughes (Anna) and Cameron Mathison (Drew).
Michael Fairman TV is wishing John well, and thrilled to see he is back at work.
Share your thoughts as “Mac is Back” to General Hospital via the comment section below.
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