General Hospital
Adam J. Harrington Joins General Hospital as a Recast John “Jagger” Cates: What Were You First Impressions?
In a major surprise, General Hospital had brought back the character of John “Jagger” Cates, played from 1992-1994 by none other than Antonio Sabato Jr.
Now, in 2024, GH has recast the role with Adam J. Harrington in the role as FBI agent, Cates. In story, on the February 2nd episode of the ABC daytime drama series, “Jagger” showed up in Port Charles at Bobbie’s and bumped into Carly (Laura Wright).
After explaining to her that he used to work at “Kelly’s” he goes inside. While there, he meets young Leo, and the series brings up Jagger’s history in that he also has an autistic son. Later, “Jagger” speaks to Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) about how well his grown-up son is doing living on the spectrum.
Photo: ABC
Later, Cates runs into his old friend Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) when he is the FBI agent trying to bust the arms dealer who is selling WSB weapons. Anna recognizes him and says “Jagger!”. Could John be a new love interest for Anna?
Primetime fans will recognize Harrington, who has quite an impressive resume of roles on series such as: Bosch, Dexter, Queer as Folk, Smallville, the CSI frnachise Criminal Minds and Supernatural to name but a few.
Courtesy/ABC
Longtime GH fans recall that “Jagger” was the older brother to Stone Cates, who died of AIDS played by Michael Sutton.
Photo: ABC
When viewers last saw the character of Jagger back in 2008, it was on the primetime spinoff of General Hospital, GH: Night Shift where he had named his syoung on, Stone after his late brother, and moved to San Francisco with the boy after his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
Photo: IMDb
So, what were your first impressions of Adam J.Harrington as John “Jagger” Cates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Where to start? I doubt anyone had a Jagger return on their GH bingo card.
1. Why did Leo say his last name was Falconeri? Continuity error? Come on Liz Korte – Leo proudly took the Q name when Ned adopted him. I realize they might have had Leo say that since Jagger would say he knows the Quartermaines. I wonder if ERS brought the name mishap up when filming.
2. I don’t know if there’s been such a major visual change in a character since Kassie DePaiva took over the role of Blair.
3. Took me a while to realize that Anna & Jagger had met. He’s a contemporary of her daughter which could make that potential pairing awkward. If he’s staying long-term, Maxie could be a good match. Even Jordan (don’t saddle her with once a quarter Brick). If he’s short term, he and Lois could be fun.
4. Scotty’s likely to get his feathers ruffled as Jagger and Karen didn’t end too well.
I agree with your comments. As for appearance, at the very least cast an actor with dark hair and eyes. Like they’ve done with the Nicholas recasts..And really, do we need more characters? There are so many talented actors on GH that don’t get enough screen time. Use what they have!
Say it again sister! GH has the some of the best actresses in daytime but more than half of them barely get a good storyline and yet they keep bringing on more actors. I love the characters of Laura, Anna, Alexis, Ava, Diane, Liesel, Sarah, Maxie and the list goes on. Give them a storyline. These actresses are kickass,. With that said I would have liked them to bring back Antonio Sabato, Jr to reprise the roll of Jagger. The recast of Nicholas has been awful. I miss Gloria Monty and Wendy Riche.
Also wondered about the Falconari thing. Either way , Leo was nerver a Falconari but used Jerome until Ned adopted him, right?
Actually Violet, Leo did go by Falconeri originally. Olivia and Ned (with Liesl’s help) convinced Julian that Leo died in childbirth. (Leo lived offscreen with BLQ in Brooklyn).
Boy, I’m really losing it. I’ve watched this SL from the beginning and don’t remember a word you said. Thanks for the info.
I barely remember that either but either way, Julian did find out Leo was alive, got visitation, and Leo loved him. Even Olivia thought Julian was a good father to Leo. But since she wanted to raise him with Ned, and it took them forever for her to even mention that Ned adopt him, Leo did go by Olivia’s last name, not Julian’s.
I’m willing to give this actor a chance. I prefer the original actor because that’s what I’m used to, but let’s see where this goes. I’m just glad they’re honoring the character’s history and not retconning it.
My first thought – GH will need a whole lot of references to Jagger’s grey hair – since all the fans are complaining that he is a BLOND.
I didn’t watch it back then. So what your all saying is moot to me.
Antonia Sabato Jr is drop dead gorgeous , you’ll have to google him 🙂 he was a great Jagger
He WAS gorgeous. Still good-looking but not like back in the day. The recast is great-looking, too. I think he would have made a great Jax recast if he could do an accent.
A Devil has a theory on this one, and admittedly, it’s way out of left field…..
Usually when they recast a character on soaps they make an effort to have at least a slight resemblance to the previous version. There of course have been exceptions. OLTL never aired in Hell, but I have heard the “Asian Blair” story. And even on GH… there really wasn’t much of a resemblance between Greg Vaughn’s version of Lucky Spencer, and Jonathan Jacksons original.
But NuJagger not only has zero resemblance to the original, he DOES have a resemblance to an older character currently in Port Charles. With the blonde hair & pony tail, he looks very much like a younger version of Cyrus the Virus!
Is GH about to mess with 30 years of history here, and say that Jagger – and also, the late Stone Cates – are the sons of Cyrus?? This would create an improbable link between Cyrus’s backstory and Sonny’s, given how close he was to Stone. Robin Scorpio would also be linked to that story, though Hell knows if we will ever see her again. This would also make NuJagger the nephew of Laura, and this happens on the very day that she’s mourning the apparent “loss” of Spencer and crying to Kevin about how her entire family seems to be “fading away”.
Am I reading too much into this, or do y’all see what a Devil sees here?
Oh… and how exactly would Anna recognize Jagger anyway? She was “dead” when he was originally in Port Charles in the early 1990s, and he was long gone by the time she came back. I don’t even remember them crossing paths on “Night Shift 2”, though Anna did make appearances on that season, due to Robert Scorpio’s health crisis in that season.
Didn’t think of the resemblance, but now that you mentioned it. Luckily we only have another month of C&D to deal with. I don’t know if they’d mess with the Stone lineage (sacrosanct to GH history). Would Cyrus abandon 3 kids?
My first gumption was Jagger is somehow Dex’s father.
Apparently Jagger did cross paths with Anna sometime on Night Shift. But for her to be the first one in PC to recognize him? Sonny, Scotty or Lois maybe.
Dex is probably too old to be Jagger’s son. Though if you add on the appropriate number of years, give or take some mild SORASing, the recently departed “Adam” character (played by Sonny’s real life kid, Josh Benard) would have been perfect for the age Jagger’s kid Stone 2.0 would be now. Too bad they already gave Adam a father on the show. I suppose they could do a rewrite where Jagger gave his kid up for adoption, but that seems unlikely since he was probably around 5 or 6 years old when he appeared on Night Shift with the original Jagger.
Josh Benard has wrapped his stint as Adam. For the foreseeable future, the character won’t be seen. Up to Pat & Liz if they want to pursue that character further.
Dex isn’t too old; he’s in his 20s and Jagger would be about 51, 52.
Yeah, but Jagger only had one son (Stone II) and he was about 5 or 6 years old on the 2nd season of Night Shift. Dex would probably have to be in his late 20’s if we’re to believe his story of being a military combat veteran, and then working for mercenary “private contractors” for a while, before Mikey hired him.
What if Dex was adopted by his abusive family? Jagger & Karen gave him up for adoption a year after they left PC. Would make him Scotty’s grandson.
Or, more likely, Dex has no connection to anyone on the canvas.
Unless he has more than one son, he acted like he only had one when he told Olivia that ” his grown son” was also on the Spectrum as Leo which he was so good with. Hope he doesn’t turn out to be a bad guy.
I think the writers blew the whole arms storyline with John Brennan and decided to wrap it up. Albeit sloppy, by having John a.k.a. Jagger show up with his hatred of Sonny and a cover of being an FBI agent he could have numerous ways of getting around any security anyone has. I don’t believe Dex is his son, and I certainly don’t buy brick and his suspicions of Dex. I definitely don’t believe Jason was the shooter because number one he never misses and number two. He certainly wouldn’t miss two targets in that small an area. Either way it looks like GH is about to destroy yet. Another legacy character.
You also forgot about Jacob Young who also doesn’t look like either of the other portrayers. I think you’re reading WAY too much into it. GH simply has no interest in bringing back crazy Sabato Jr and went with the actor they thought was best. The character hasn’t been seen for 30 years on the daytime version. Who cares if he looks different.
Recasts who look nothing like the original are sadly not uncommon. But recasts who look a lot like another character on the show, that’s probably significant.
As for Jacob Young… yeah, I’m trying to forget all about him. Didn’t care for that bad interpretation of Lucky at all. Greg’s version of Lucky was almost entirely a different character from the original, but at least he played that character well. He also took over the character of Eric Brady so well that nobody even thinks about Jensen Ackles anymore (not that he cares, he’s done alright for himself… kept a show going for 15 years before the Warner/Discovery implosion killed the entire network that show was on)
I personally didn’t much care for Jacob Young’s interpretation of anyone.
I care!!! Bring Antonio back!!
What I think has nothing to do with the story and everything to do with Frank Valentini wanting to stick it to Sabato. When Ingo was ranting about being let go, and saying he was going to appeal the judge’s decision in his lawsuit, Sabato tweeted to Ingo that “Frank what’s-his-name” should be fired. So, lol, I’m thinking Frank went in the complete opposite direction to “erase” any previous thoughts of Sabata as Jagger and let this recast make the part his own… Just a thought…
Hopefully he is a short-tern return.
There’s really not much story for an FBI agent in PC—the police already do too little!
And I agree—he looks waaay too different from the original! It’s like they hired the guy and pulled a name from a hat of past characters and gave it to him. At least it was a man’s name!
How about the hired a guy with good looks charisma and perhaps the best actor that was up for the role….its been so long since the character has been on screen it may be very easy to adapt to him…..the Cyrus thing is way out in left field I would say….and FBI to add to the mix why not!!
Hiring an actor/producer/writer of this stature brings prestige and respect to daytime rather than hiring out of the same old “Soap” acting pool. I don’t know how they got a guy with such a resume.
So glad they did not rehire the talentless Trump supporting Sabato Junior!!
We have literally been BEGGING for Serena Baldwin to come back. No one asked for Jagger.
I think Serena Baldwin is wise to stay away, considering Scotty has had three “long lost children” come to town, and all three of them left in body bags. The first of those three being Karen Wexler, of course. Who was with the original Jagger Cates.
Too bad Antonio wasn’t playing the role again.. but will to give Adam Harrington a chance.
i love him
I remember I had a crush on Jagger(Antonio Sabato jr) he was it for me, but that was back then and now, well lets just say my crush is over but to the recasting since I no longer have a crush it really doesn’t matter to me, still I would of like to have seen Antonio again, but I guess just like Ingo Rademacher their political views is not very popular with disney owned ABC. so fat chance of Antonio or Ingo ever appearing on GH again.
Boy, Satan and OG are driving me crazy. I never knew Jagger or Stone but Cyrus being their dad is plausible. At this point if they say he fathered Steve Hardy, I’d probably believe it. I still think he was Austin’s father, with everything he claimed to have done for him. Why does his own mother hate him so much, does she know that maybe he’s abandoned her grandchildren, certainly not because he’s a criminal and only allows the one that brings her Hummingbird Cake to visit her? Oye, too much!
Violet – with comments like this – I appreciate you even more! Got a chuckle with the Steve Hardy comment.
Double chuckle! Sometimes I wish posts would state the year they started watching GH… It would help to understand some comments that make no sense or are just plain bizarre.
Brian, I realized after I posted that I’d goofed, saying ” fathered Steve Hardy”, with Steve being the elder and long dead, if that’s what you are referring to and of course it “made no sense and was bizarre” so excuse my senior moment, of which I have many, being over 90, my only excuse, and I started watching GH when they started, sorry don’t know the year.
Jagger? Seriously?? In order for a character with some GH history to be
believable,he/ she at,the very least, should have the same coloring…hair and eyes…this guy is the anti-Jagger. Sorry, but at least with the Lucky replacements they had the coloring…I mean how weird would it be for Billy Warlock cast as Lucky….or Vanessa Marcil cast as Carly… not even close. I just find it annoying that the writers have no regard for the original Jagger and all us diehard, longtime viewers
Well, since you brought it up, Warlock was nothing like Sean Kanan. And, Laura Wright shares little in common with the other 3 Carly’s
I wasn’t a fan of Billy Warlock’s A.J. and at least all the Carly’s had similar coloring…..but the contrast between Antonio Sabato Jr and Adam Harrington is glaring. Sorry, not even close. My other issue with Adam Harrington is he reminds me too much of the creepy murder on Criminal Minds, Season 8 Ep 22….it’s been years, but the minute I saw him he gave me an unsettled feeling and then it him me…he was a creepy creepy guy on Criminal Minds. He is obviously a good actor because I remembered that episode after all this time.
Good acting can make up for a lot so we’ll give him a little time.
The added benefit is the character has been off the canvas for decades. It’s the immediate recasts that are usually more jarring. As good as he was on SB and DAYS, Jed Allan never fit as Edward Quartermaine. Longtime ABC viewers will chuckle when mentioning “the real Greenlee” campaign when Rebecca Budig returned to the role.
Jed Allan as Edward had to be the worst casting ever. He was too tall, he had a full head of curly hair, and he was the same age as Alan & Tracy, who were supposed to be his children. Not to mention that whole ridiculous thing where he had the hots for crazy Heather Webber.
Thank Hell that mess didn’t last long. I didn’t think John Ingle was really a good fit as Mickey Horton on Days either, so it was better for everybody when he went back to GH.
I adored Jed Allan on SB, never saw him in role of E.Q. and to me Rebecca was the “real Michelle Bauer” on GL which was probably before your time.
Thank you sister!!! I just wrote two reviews of my own on here saying the same thing with anger!! This new jagger is NOT JAGGER. Not his looks, his acting nor his anything! No sexiness no nothing!!! The show is boring enough these days!!!! Bring sexy Antonio back as Jagger!!! Long time fan here. This-is a disgrace to us older fans. And they can bring back the original Lucky too.., just never again Greg Vaughn or that last guy…Jonathan Jackson needs to come back now.
Would love to see Jonathan Jackson, Vanessa Marcil and Nathan Parsons come back. I also dislike the Molly and Kristina recast. Nothing against the actress playing Kristina because i liked her on days.
Don’t like the new jagger Antonio Sabato is the only one who can play Jagger.
Agree. Exactly. I’m boycotting this dude until he’s gone and Antonio is back.
He looks nothing like the Jagger character . Blonde hair ? Bad recast
I know Antonio Sabato, Jr. but never saw him as Jagger but this guy is an arrogant jerk and if they plan on putting he and Anna together , would be a big mistake, rather have Valentin.
It would really be awkward for Anna to be with a guy who went to high school with her daughter, Robin.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Thursday, the lineup of presenters for 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards taking place on Friday, October 30, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.
The ceremony will stream live on the NATAS YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@theemmys and watch.TheEmmys.tv.
Scheduled to present from the current soaps are: Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, General Hospital), Delon de Metz (Zende, The Bold and the Beautiful), James Preston (Nick, The Bay), Paul Telfer (Xander, Days of our Lives), Tamara Tunie (Anita, Beyond the Gates) and Susan Walters (Diane, The Young and the Restless).
Photo: NATAS
In addition soap alums, Crystal Chappell, Lesli Kay, Joe Lando, Eva LaRue, who is also a nominee this year, A Martinez, Juliet Mills, and Alicia Leigh Willis, will also be on hand to present.
The ceremony which celebrates nominated lifestyle programs and dramas will also include presenters: Eva zu Beck (Superskilled with Eva zu Beck), Danielle Chang (Lucky Chow), Sunny Hostin (The View), Derek Hough (Extra), Pati Jinich (Pati’s Mexican Table), Star Jones (Divorce Court), Michael Jr. (Stand Up and Do Something), Judge Greg Mathis (Mathis Court with Judge Mathis), Keke Palmer (Glam Through the Ages), Nischelle Turner (Entertainment Tonight), and Andrew Zimmern (Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen).
The 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards will bring together an exciting mix of presenters representing the full spectrum of daytime television,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO of NATAS. “From familiar faces in daytime drama to the personalities and creative voices behind talk shows and lifestyle programming, this year’s lineup reflects the breadth of talent that makes daytime so special. We look forward to celebrating the people who continue to shape the genre.”
Matthew Hoffman (Love Island USA, Cheap A$$ Beach Houses) will serve as the ceremony’s Voice of God, bringing his signature comedic narration to the evening’s celebrations. As previously announced, Lifetime Achievement honoree Genie Francis (Laura, General Hospital) will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by her husband, Jonathan Frakes.
So, what do you think about the list of presenters for the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards? Let us know who you are looking forward to seeing via the comment section below.
General Hospital fans took to social media following the airing of the Wednesday, October 21 episode of the ABC daytime drama series. In story, Molly (Kristen Vaganos) reveals to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) that she has received an offer to join the top law firm in Chicago that practices civil law. She says it’s her dream job.
The problem Molly says is relocating from Port Charles and uprooting her life and being away from her mother, Scout and boyfriend Cody Bell (Josh Kelly). Wistful that she may lose another daughter to a long-distance situation (Kristina left a few months back to go to medical school in California), Alexis urged Molly to get Cody to go with her.
Molly still seemed concerned and has trouble committing to the idea. Alexis tells her to talk it over with Cody. Meanwhile, Cody asked Tracy (Jane Elliot) is he can have Thanksgiving off because he and Molly planned to spend Thanksgiving together with their families. After initially balking, Tracy agrees.
Courtesy/ABC
WILL MOLLY AND CODY HEAD TO CHI-TOWN?
Later, Cody shows up at Miller & Davis and the conversation turned to Thanksgiving dinner that Alexis is hosting. Molly and Cody asked her not to cook anything. Cody hugged Molly reassuring Alexis that he and Molly would take care of whatever was needed on Turkey Day.
So, this raises the question, why out of nowhere are we learning that Molly received an amazing law offer in Chicago, if the character was not being written out? If Molly leaves the canvas, would the character of Cody make his exit too?
Kristen Vaganos joined GH as a recast Molly Lansing-Davis back in September of 2023 and went on contract in August of 2024. Josh Kelly began playing Cody Bell back in June of 2022. Initial reports were that Kelly joined the show on contract and then as of June 2025 went on recurring status with the show per his choice.
Do you see a world where GH is writing out Molly and Cody? Would you be sad to see Kristen and Josh exit the soap opera? If this is not what is going on, is this just a plot point for some other story that is upcoming? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.
It’s been over two-years since his last appearance on General Hospital, now fan favorite Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin) has taken to social media to share his thoughts on the casting of his grown-up TV daughter, Serena Baldwin now played by Kelly Kruger.
Kelly took over the role of Serena on-screen starting with the July 30, 2026 episode and has been ensconced in the storyline with her mother, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), in trying to win back full creative control of Deception for her.
In fact on the Monday, October 19 episode of the ABC soap opera, Serena tried to dupe Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) into signing over Michael’s (Rory Gibson) shares of the company. Jason caught on and wondered why she was doing this. She claimed she just wanted to help her mom gain creative control from Tracy (Jane Elliot) rather than full ownership, and begged Jason to keep quiet about it, which he agreed to for now.
Courtesy/ABC
WHERE IS SCOTT?
On Monday, Shriner also took to X and said, “I think Kelly Kruger is doing a great job on General Hospital, and she and Lynn Herring work well together.” That was followed by comments in his thread about the show needing to bring back Scott too.
In fact, back on August 25, Shriner also took to X with a reminder that Scott is still around and ready to come back to Port Charles, sharing, “Scotty Baldwin always fits in he just needs the right sport coat !!!!”
The last time Serena mentioned her father Scott was when Kruger made her debut and informed Lucy that her father was, “living his best life in Key West.” Meanwhile, Shriner posts on his X account continually and shared back on August 2, that it has been 49 years since he made his on-screen debut as then teenaged, Scotty Baldwin and thanked the fans for al the love and support.
So, now let us know, are you enjoying Kelly Kruger as Serena Baldwin? Do you want to see GH bring back Scott Baldwin into the story, so Serena has both her parents in Port Charles? Do you like the potential of Jason and Serena pairing? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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