General Hospital
Adam J. Harrington Talks on His Final Scenes as John “Jagger” Cates, Changes in Direction of Character, Maura West and His GH Co-Stars
Just last week, viewers saw the demise of John “Jagger” Cates when in a major confrontation in the rain, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) shot the FBI agent twice in the chest ending the run of Adam J. Harrington. The actor was first seen on-screen in the role back in February of this year.
Leading up to his final days of taping, Harrington was given a juicy arc, where Cates became a man so obsessed with bringing down the mobster for his crimes and past transgressions on those he loved and cared about, that he could not think clearly, but was laser-focused on putting Sonny behind bars by any means necessary. Those “means” included getting a “confession” out of Ava (Maura West) about the night Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi) came to see her, fell through a window, and lost her baby, and threatening Kristina.
Now, Adam exclusively appeared on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream conversation for the first time since being killed-off the legacy soap opera. Harrington opened up about his time as the recast “Jagger”, previously played by Antonio Sabato Jr. and more. During the streaming broadcast, Adam appeared clean-shaven and with shorter hair as he teased a new role he was prepping for, that for now, needs to remain hush-hush.
Courtesy/ABC
During the conversation, Harrington spoke on “Jagger’s” climatic scenes with Sonny, working with many of his GH co-stars, how he met and worked with the late Billy Miller (ex-Jason/Drew, GH) when they appeared together on Major Crimes, and how the GH co-head writer shake-up affected Agent Cates story on the canvas.
Courtesy/ABC
Last Day on Set
Harrington revealed what it was like to finish his job at GH, when Cates was shot by Sonny and left soaking in the rain, and then having to say his farewells to the cast and crew. “I finished on a Friday,” Adam shared. “The shooting was filmed on a Wednesday, and on Thursday, I was partly laying on the ground, soaking wet with rain going up my nose. On Friday, it was wonderful and sad, and bittersweet and everything. But, it was a really intense day because it was a last day before everyone goes on hiatus for a month. Everybody was working really hard. I had 70 pages of dialogue to do that day, and the cast and the crew, and the producers, were all amazing just to try to get me through it. Then, we all had a big, and really sweet hug fest at the end. I jokingly said, ‘It was my time at soap opera school,’ because it was kind of a semester.”
Photo: ABC
Stone and Michael Sutton
One of Adam’s biggest regrets was not getting the opportunity to work somehow with Jagger’s brother, the late Stone Cates played by the incredible Michael Sutton. “I’m just making observations on my own. I’m not a writer, not paid to be a writer. I’m not executive producer. I wouldn’t want those jobs. They’re just high stress and a whole other skillset,” Harrington began. “But, I personally would’ve loved to have gotten the chance to work with Michael. I do understand though, that visually it might become difficult for an audience to keep investing in a new ‘Jagger’ when you are seeing Michael and I, unless it’s (under) really dim lighting. He added, “I think it would have been cool if ‘Jagger’ visited Stone’s gravesite. I often wondered that for myself and my own back stories, has ‘Jagger’ gone to the grave or not?”
Photo: ABC
Writing Regime Changes
As viewers watched Cates’ storyline, it evolved from what seemed to be a more upstanding FBI to thinking he is doing his job, to a revenge-filled, single-focused man, who is driven by his desire to make Sonny pay for his crimes. Harrington clarified, “We have to remember that there was three executive head writer changes. I think in the six months I was there, I only shot four and a half months because of the breaks (the show) would take. I think the first writers were gone within a month. And then, the second writers, I don’t know how long they lasted. And then the third came in. So, every time a new writing team comes in, they’re going to want to put their own stamp on it to show their bosses why they got hired. So, I knew after the first writer change, everything might be up in the air as far as why I’m there, because ‘Jagger’ was so newly re-introduced. I didn’t know ahead of time that there were changes in his motivation, but I understood why they were once I clued into them and why they were happening, just because it was coinciding with the writers changing.”
Photo: ABC
Finding Out He Was Going To Be Killed-Off
I had a friend point out to me, who said, ‘Listen, just so you know, two things are going to happen. Either, half the town goes to prison, or you’re going bye-bye,'” shared Harrington. “So you bring in an FBI agent, two things are going to happen. People are going to go to jail, and/or he disappears, right? They had let me know in May, I think, that I was going to be done. So that final chunk of story, I knew it was going to wrap up. It was just a matter of how. That final arc was just backtracking from the confrontation with Sonny and how to plot that. ‘How do we get the audience to buy into the conceit that an FBI agent would show up without a gun?’ And the other one for me personally, was, ‘What happens to my son Stone?”
Courtesy/ABC
GH Co-Stars
Adam shared his thoughts on working with several of his key scene partners, chief among them Maura West as Ava Jerome, whom he felt that if he had stayed on the show that Ava and Cates would have potentially had a budding on-screen relationship that continued.
On Maura West: “I just absolutely loved, absolutely loved working with her. I think my favorite moments with her were the most tender I think of his interactions with the other characters. I always saw Jagger, and it got supported in the script, as incredibly lonely. I thought Ava could try to kill him and Jagger would still forgive her and understand.”
On Maurice Benard: “Maurice and I had very few conversations and when we did, they were really lovely. We would talk when we got to set … we’d figure things out. It just kind of clicked right away. I trusted it, he trusted it. The intense hatred they had to play in the world of Port Charles, which culminated in Sonny unloading his gun on Jagger, ended when the cameras stropped rolling. There was a big hug after we shot the final (scene). I have an enormous amount of respect for him and he is such a delight to work with.”
On Steve Burton (Jason) “I love the back and forth between the characters, but working with Steve, he’s just such a pro and has such amazing energy. I always looked forward to the scenes we had together. I think my first real chunk of scenes was with him and it almost felt like a ‘Bourne Identity’-style interview sequence. That was a ton of fun to play.”
On Finola Hughes (Anna): “Everything Jagger was saying was right, and she wouldn’t budge. I was trying everything including pleading with her, then being argumentative, and she never budged. That’s why Finola was so much fun to work with. She is just a wonderful person. We had a lot of endless conversations about stuff. But man, did she make me angry in those scenes…”
Photo: JPI
Working with Billy Miller
Adam had the opportunity to work with the late, great three-time Daytime Emmy winner, Billy Miller, when they both appeared on the series Major Crimes. Harrington offered up the highest praise to the beloved star. “There are people that come along in your life and they just make an impact right away. Billy was one of those people,” expressed Harrington. “I remember there was a lot of laughing between takes and then watching his work, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s good. This guy is really good.’ And then we would see each other around town every once in awhile and have a conversation. But I’d always thought, ‘Man, I’d love to go toe to toe with him again in some work.’”
John Cates/Jack Brennan
While Adam was playing John Cates, at one point Brennan (Charles Mesure) was known as John Brennan before having his first name changed to Jack, causing some confusion on the show. Adam shares what went down behind the scenes on the name change. “I had met Charles, we got along really well, and then I decided to stick it to him and steal his name!” laughed Adam. “I had auditioned (for GH) and then there was a lot of conversations and them wanting to find me something (on the show). So, the mix-up could have just simply been they had John Brennan or Jack Brennan, and then they realized they were going to bring ‘Jagger’ back, because they were trying to find something for me and that’s where I stole his name!”
You can watch the full conversation with Adam below.
Now let us know, will you miss Adam as John “Jagger” Cates? Do you hope GH might bring him back down the line as a new character with a new look? What did you think of the way the series killed-off the character? Would you have been intrigued to see an Ava/Cates pairing? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
So we can assume he wouldn’t have been killed off if Chris van Kill Everyone hadn’t been brought back. It’s a shame; they should’ve had Jagger presumed dead and held somewhere. There still could have been an investigation/crime story. Or, they could have had him arrested for the attempted murder of Ava and carted off to jail. Instead, Van Kill-Etten killed off another legacy character and got rid of a great-looking actor who could have returned as a love interest for Nina or Lois at some point down the line…
Oh come on…Cates was NOT a legacy character! No ties to any family in GH, only Stone, and he wasn’t even there when Stone died. Just because he had a part back in the day doesn’t make him legacy! Hardy’s, Quartermaines, Weber, Spencers….THOSE are legacy characters!!
I’d also add Scorpio and (yes, at this point) Corinthos to legacy/core family list.
I also thought it strange that he didn’t visit Stone’s grave, or is there none, I wasn’t watching during that time.
This is going back through 30 years of Fuzzy Devil Memory, but I seem to remember Stone being cremated and Robin doing something with his ashes. I might be wrong about that, but it would explain why there’s no grave to go to. As tiny as the Port Charles cemetery is, it wouldn’t be likely that he would have visited Karen’s grave without also visiting Stone.
Makes sense to me, thanks.
I actually liked John Jagger Cates character in the beginning but it very much makes sense that the three sets of writers turn over messed any new development up. He had a lot of potential with many various loves as well as storylines. The cast is bloated, and has been for quite a while. GH is all over the place. I hope they finally figure out which characters they want to keep and provide them with storylines that ultimately make sense.
As for Adam Harrington, I can see him being Sharon ‘s new therapist (love interest) on Y and R. Have them do an in-patient clinic stay in Paris and run into Ashley. Could provide some fun.
I’m so freaking tired about all of the corporation switching roles, new start ups, etc.!!!
We need drama, mystery, and most important, romantic love on our daily televisions.
I wonder if he will return in a new role.. I really like him, just not Jagger v2.
Yeah…. He can be the long lost (glimmer) twin “Richards Cates”
it was interesting he said there was 3 changes in writing team during his time there, as a viewer its hard to keep track of whose writing what or when, still in my opinion some writers still need to be fire because they are making horrible decisions, so now they have sonny outright kill off jagger, Carly is gonna cover for sonny because she’s loyally blind, Michael also is covering for him, and well sonny can abuse Jason, disowned him try to get him kill and this dumb stone cold Jason will still be loyal, its just sick, are we suppose to love these characters? are we suppose to be cheering for a CarSon reunion? are we suppose to watch these 3 amigos act self righteous with other characters? Are these writers so desperate to impress the hire ups that they want to out do each other at the expense of these characters they want us the viewers to love blindly? I’m not impress with these writers sorry to say, its like they have no moral compass, its a soap I’m an all but its hard to be force to have to wanna see what three main characters on this show that are murderer and want to root for them. we all know they are gonna get away with it, and its disappointing because back in the day, when Robert and Anna and company were the leads, they actually solve crimes and got the bad guys put away, its gonna be sad to see Robert and Anna not be able to catch these murderers.
Good points, I’m feeling you!
I STILL THINK, somehow Kristina is the one that shot Kate’s. From behind or off to the side of Sonny,,, I think in her frame of mind she can’t recall any of it.
And as for Anna, she needs to get what’s coming to her!! Secretly working with that Cassidine! She acts so pure and virtuous, I am so sick of her! She definitely should not be COMMISSIONER!
If they recover the gun Alexis threw off the bridge, it will show whether it had been fired. As for Anna, I’m more than sick of her self-righteous butt! The way she turned on Sonny and romancing Valentin was enough for me.
Agree !!!
Yes! Thinking Kristen could have. And Anna needs to chill! Her British crying butt!
1. No
2. No
3. Not smart or how Sonny operates usually
4. No
General Hospital
How ‘General Hospital’s’ Ned and Lois Love Story Moved Rosabel Kurth, Daughter of Wally Kurth and Rena Sofer, to Tears and Served as Inspiration
In a case of life imitating art, literally, Rosabel Rosalind Kurth, the daughter of Wally Kurth (Ned, GH and Justin, DAYS) and Rena Sofer (Lois, GH) took to her Instagram over the weekend to share her emotional reaction to watching her now divorced parents real life love story play out on General Hospital; beginning in the early 90s when on-screen Ned and Lois were one of the “It’ couples of the show.
As Rosalind explained, it was the Lois and Ned’s love story that impacted her so much that it fueled one of her latest art projects. Here’s the backstory: Rena Sofer and Wally Kurth were married in 1995 after being in story on GH. They had Rosabel in 1996, before divorcing in 1997. The two had gone their separate ways for many years, and in 2023 resumed working together on-screen as exes Lois Cerullo and Ned Quartermaine on General Hospital.
Here’s what Rosabel shared in her post, “In 1993 Rena, my mom, was cast on General Hospital to play Lois Cerulo, a spunky band manager and romantic opposite to Eddie Maine (aka Ned Ashton) played by Wally, my dad. As Ned and Lois fell in love, so did Wally and Rena, following relationship milestones close behind the work of the script-writers. Until Wally and Rena got pregnant with Rosie, me, and the scriptwriters had to write in a new pregnancy and eventually a new character.”
Photo: WKurthIG
Rosabel continued the real-life back story, “My mom left the show to have me, and shortly after the love story stopped writing itself my parents divorced. For 27 years my mom and my dad had minimal contact at best, tense contact at worst… until 2023 when Rena was recast to return as Lois on General Hospital to help Eddie (Ned) with identity recall after a bout of amnesia.”
Next, Rosabel revealed the key scene between Lois and Eddie (Ned) in which she noticed it also seemed like a breakthrough moments for her parents, “Two years ago, at 27 years old, I turned on General Hospital to watch Lois and Eddie rehash the past, but what I really watched was Rena and Wally having a conversation, making eye contact and even smiling at each other in the same room at the same time. When I turned on this episode of GH I didn’t know that I’d get to see a flashback sequence encapsulating Lois and Ned’s entire love story in under 2 minutes and I certainly didn’t know it would move me to tears the way it did.”
The art project the talented Rosabel is working on she shared is called, “The Honeymoon Period.” It is the first part of what she imagines to be a years-long investigation of love and fantasy through the lens of my parents’ scripted romance. Kurth added, “I’m still gathering the courage and figuring out what this body of work will look like, how it will affect my relationships, and how I will share it with you all in the end and in the meantime.”
Photo: JPI
As a proud mama, Rena Sofer jumped into the comment thread and expressed, “Awwwww my love!!! I love this journey for you both as an artist and a daughter!! You are so lucky to have all of this on tape to watch and experience for yourself!! And equally as lucky to have your mother and father here to guide you through any questions that may come up!! I am immensely proud of you!” As soap fans know, Rena is also an artist having been making ceramics, pottery and the like.
You can watch the montage of Ned and Lois scenes below in Rosabel’s touching post below.
Now let us know, was Lois and Ned’s love story one of your all-time favorites on General Hospital? Are you glad that Rena and Wally got some closure from their 2023 reunion on-screen? What do you think of the artistic talents of Rosabel Rosalind? Let us know via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Brennan, Cassius and Dante Discover Bombshell Revelations
This week on General Hospital, several men in Port Charles are about to find themselves in major confrontations as secrets are revealed! In the newly released promo for the daytime drama series in episodes airing May 4-8, first, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) talks to Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) about the night that Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) was shot.
Dante believes someone else got their hands on the gun that wasn’t Jason (Steve Burton). Elizabeth says she thinks she knows who it is. Will she explain her theory that Dante’s son, Rocco (Finn Carr), was the shooter given the teenagers injured hand, even though the news will devastate the acting police commissioner?
Then, in the pick-up from last Friday’s cliffhanger, as Josslyn (Eden McCoy) went to exit her apartment, Cassius (Ryan Paevey) grabbed her arm hard not allowing her to go anywhere. Suddenly, we now see she is armed with a candlestick and is ready to club him! But is she able to succeed? Or will she wind up knocked out herself and taken captive to Wyndemere?
Finally, in the showdown that has been a long timing coming, a fuming Jack (Chris McKenna), who has storm trooped into Carly’s (Laura Wright) bedroom, finds her in between the sheets, but the person she was with was not there at the time.
Now in the pick-up, a spiteful Carly tells Jack to turn around, where it would seem he will see his nemesis, Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart), as the man sleeping with his supposed girlfriend.
In addition, take a look at the official GH spoilers for this week below.
MONDAY, MAY 4
Michael James Scott from Broadway’s Aladdin performs at the Savoy. Josslyn is in danger. Lucas is threatened. Brook Lynn is moved. Trina and Kai get amorous.
TUESDAY, MAY 5
Ethan delivers intel to Sonny. Ric is tested. Elizabeth makes a request of Laura. Chase and Brook Lynn discuss their future. Curtis confides in Jordan.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
Britt is floored. Dante seeks out Liz. Ethan covers his tracks. Laura tries to protect a loved one. Sonny faces a dilemma.
THURSDAY, MAY 7
Carly gets alarming news. Valentin makes contact with Nina. Willow is confident in her plan. Trina and Gio make a pact. Molly is suspicious.
FRIDAY MAY 8, 2026
Sonny takes extreme measures. Carly makes an announcement. Dante is flabbergasted. “Nathan” puts pressure on Lulu. Felicia supports Lucas.
Check out this week’s GH spoiler video below entitled “Can’t Let You Go” below.
Now let us know, what do you think will happen to Josslyn in her confrontation with Cassius? Will Jack seek revenge on Valentin and Carly once he finds out she has been sleeping with the enemy? Will Dante get a clue his son shot Cullum? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Outdistances ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ in Total Viewers, ‘GH’ Most Audience Gains Year-Over-Year
The ratings report is out for the week of April 13-17, 2026, and the top-rated The Young and the Restless, pulled further ahead than in recent weeks of its top competitor and sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful in total viewers.
According to the latest ratings report from Soap Opera Network, for the four network broadcast soap operas, on the strength of several key storylines, Y&R came in averaging 3,126,000 total viewers while B&B had 2,759,000. Total viewers data was not available for the previous week.
In story, The Young and the Restless delivered the fallout from Holden (Nathan Owens) learning he’s Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore) biological son, Stephanie (Vivica A. Fox) hoping her son would be be a donor match to save Malcolm’s life, and Holden letting Lily (Christel Khalil) know he is her half-brother. In other arcs, Sally (Courtney Hope) learned she is pregnant with Billy’s (Jason Thompson) child, while Adam (Mark Grossman) headed to Vegas to help his brother Nick (Joshua Morrow) takedown his nemesis Matt Clark (Roger Howarth).
Photo: JPI
Adam reunited with Riza (Tina Casciani) with whom he was known as Spyder. He is concerned that Nick has developed a drug addiction. Adam gets knocked out by Matt Clark after finding Nick in a storage room and the two are taken hostage. Eventually, Adam gets Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) to save them while Nick finds a stash of pills and pockets them. Matt prepares to take Sharon (Sharon Case) and Noah (Lucas Adams) hostage.
Over at The Bold and the Beautiful, the truth was finally exposed and thanks to a tip off from Daphne (Murielle Hilaire), Electra (Laneya Grace) leaned that Ivy (Ashleigh Brewer) was the perpetrator who took the letter meant for Will (Crew Morrow), where she professed her love for him and wanting to be back together with him.
Ivy, went so far as to continue saying she was doing it for her niece’s own good. Elsewhere, Katie (Heather Tom) and Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) riff as over their warring fashion houses Forrester Creations and Logan heated up, while Dylan (Sydney Bullock) and R.J. (Brayan Nicoletti) both were figuring what, if any, future she had with Will, and he had with Electra.
MORE VIEWERS TUNING IN THAN 2025
It should be noted that year-over-year all four soaps were up in 2026 in total viewers for the ratings period. Y&R was up +75,000, B&B +202,000, Beyond the Gates +117,000, who for this ratings period had 1,661,000 tuning-in, and General Hospital which came in at under 2 million viewers for the week, but did see the largest jump in total viewers compared to 2025 with +211,000.
In story at General Hospital for the week, Ethan Lovett (Nathan Dean) returned to Port Charles, Curtis (Donnell Turner) was worried about Jordan’s (Tanisha Harper) medical issues following the car crash, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) developed an interest to join the mob, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) confronted Jacinda (Paige Herschell), and Nina (Cynthia Watros) learned her daughter shot Drew (Cameron Mathison), and has been drugging him into a locked-in state unable to speak or move.
The ratings discussed above are from Nielsen and their Live+Same Day data for the week of April 13-17, 2026.
So, what do you think of the latest total viewer ratings picture? Which daytime drama is floating your boat? Which are you interested in least? Let us know via the comment section below.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Remy to Dylan, ‘Since You Owe Me, I’m Here to Collect!’
How ‘General Hospital’s’ Ned and Lois Love Story Moved Rosabel Kurth, Daughter of Wally Kurth and Rena Sofer, to Tears and Served as Inspiration
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Brennan, Cassius and Dante Discover Bombshell Revelations
‘Beyond the Gates’ Nicole Plays the Field: Who Is Her Ultimate Love Match?
Y&R’s Joshua Morrow Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’: His Co-Stars Couldn’t Agree More (Exclusive)
DAYS Stephen Nichols Remembers Drake Hogestyn as the ‘Most Vital, Enthusiastic, Committed Man I Ever Knew’ Ahead of the PanCan PurpleStride Walk
DAYS Stephen Nichols and Co-Stars Walk in Honor of Drake Hogestyn at PanCan PurpleStride LA, ‘I Felt Him With Us’
Brandon Barash Granted Restraining Order Against ‘General Hospital’s’ Kirsten Storms
‘Days of Our Lives’ Rob Scott Wilson Talks ‘Turning Heel’ as Necktie Killer, Ben Weston
GH’s Giovanni Mazza Performs Violin Version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ at LA Lakers Playoff Game; Co-Stars Heap High Praise
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Remy to Dylan, ‘Since You Owe Me, I’m Here to Collect!’
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Brennan, Cassius and Dante Discover Bombshell Revelations
‘Beyond the Gates’ Nicole Plays the Field: Who Is Her Ultimate Love Match?
‘General Hospital’s’ Giovanni Mazza Performs Aladdin’s ‘A Whole New World’ Ahead of Monday’s Crossover with Michael James Scott
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Kristen Double Crosses Sophia and Sends Her Up the River; Rachel Boyd Delivers Emotional Performance
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