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Adam J. Harrington Joins General Hospital as a Recast John “Jagger” Cates: What Were You First Impressions?

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

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.

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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.

General Hospital

Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)

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Maura West and Kelly Sullivan

It was just over 13 years ago on General Hospital when Ava Jerome (Maura West) shot and killed Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) in an effort to keep her quiet from revealing that Derek Wells was actually Ava’s back-from-the-dead brother, Julian Jerome (William deVry). It’s a crime that somehow Ava never has quite paid for either.

The episode back aired on August 13, 2013 and viewers had to say goodbye to Kelly Sullivan who played Kate and her alter, Connie. In the story, just before she died, Kate/Connie scrawled the letters AJ in her own blood, initially making the PCPD and Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) think that it was AJ Quatermaine (Sean Kanan) who did the deed.

Now, Sullivan recalled sharing scenes with the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning West, during a live conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel. Kelly was the special guest talking about her recent return to the soaps in her new role as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Darcy Dylan.

Photo: JPI

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MAURA WEST

Speaking of her final GH scenes and working with Maura West, Sullivan gave her then GH co-star major props. “If you’re going to be shot by somebody (on the soaps), you want to be shot by Maura West, c’mon!”

Maura West debuted back in May 2013 as Ava, and Sullivan remembered when the As the World Turns favorite began on GH. “I remember when Maura West first arrived at GH. She walked in with this cute little bob (hairdo) and she’s just delicious,” shared Sullivan.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Kelly revealed more about Maura, adding “I think she’s amazing! I remember right before I left the show, someone suggested, and I would still love to do this with her, if she ever want to, but someone suggested that they wanted to direct the stage play A Streetcar Named Desire with Maura and I, where I would play Stella and she would play Blanche! Wouldn’t that be great?”

Speaking of the Ava/Connie showdown scenes, Sullivan expressed, “On television and on General Hospital specifically, Maura West is able to play a character who does the most horrendous things and you still care about her and that’s the mark of a really great actor. In other words, you’re able to be liked in the midst of the most horrendous things, and as a performer not shying away from that, and to just have the courage to do what’s on the page (in the script).”

Photo: JPI

KELLY SULLIVAN PARTING THOUGHTS AS SHE LEFT GENERAL HOSPITAL

Kelly also shared her sentiments when she walked off the set of General Hospital after her run back in August of 2013. “I really was honored. Every day I would go to work and I would say a little prayer, which is I want to do justice for my character, explained Kelly. “It’s between me and my character. I get to walk this path with her and to leave the show on that note, which is, I left every out there. I just gave it my all and again what an honor it was to play Kate/Connie.”

You can catch the full conversation with Kelly where she talks about her time on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless where she played Sage Warner and now The Bold and the Beautiful below.

So, do you remember the Ava and Connie scenes where Ava shot and killed her? What did you think of Kelly Sullivan’s sentiments about Maura West? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, watch the reveal where Ava recalls murdering Connie below!

 

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General Hospital

Steve Burton Reportedly Signs Three-Year Contract with ‘General Hospital’

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Steve Burton

The question of will Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) stay awhile at General Hospital after his recent extended hiatus from the show earlier this year, has reportedly been answered.

TMZ via court documents obtained in Burton’s ongoing legal battle with his ex-wife Sheree Gustin, shared that Steve actually inked a new three year deal with the ABC soap opera back in June.

That is significant because it was June when Burton returned back to work as Jason. In addition, the court filing confirmed that Burton had already moved back to California from Tennessee.

Steve Burton

Photo: ABC

STEVE’S HIATUS AND HIS RETURN TO PORT CHARLES

GH fans will recall, it was back in February of 2026, that Burton announced via his Instagram that he was stepping away from his role of Jason Morgan for short break and pointed to wanting to spend quality time with his new wife, Michelle Lundstrom Burton with whom he tied the knot back on May 17, 2025.

Steve expressed at that time, “I’m newly married and looking forward to spending some quality time with my family.” It was back on March 25 that viewers saw Jason carted away by the WSB after taking the fall for Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr) who shot then WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes).

Burton returned to work on June 1, and due to General Hospital taping roughly six weeks ahead of air, made his on-screen comeback on the July 13 episode.

GOING FOR GOLD AT THE UPCOMING DAYTIME EMMYS

Then, Steve and his enduring fans got an extra special treat on the same day, when it was revealed on Extra that he was nominated for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series category.

Steve previously won in the Supporting Actor category for his work as General Hospital’s Jason in 1998 and as The Young and the Restless’ Dylan McAvoy in 2018.

Now with Jason and Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) relationship seemingly hitting the skids, plus Jason’s commitment to staying out of mob life to focus on being present for his son Danny Morgan (Asher Antonyzyn), what does the future hold for the fan favorite character? Stay tuned.

So, happy to hear that Steve Burton signed a new three year deal with General Hospital? Knowing that, what storyline would you like to see Jason get involved and with who? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Reach an Impasse; Is This the End of Their Relationship?

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Jason and Britt

On the Friday, September 11 episode of General Hospital, Jason (Steve Burton) and Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) relationship becomes strained to potentially the point of no return.

Things take a turn when an unglued Britt having been traumatized by almost being killed by Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) asks Jason to back her up with the PCPD when she reports Anna for attempted murder.

However, Jason told Britt, he can’t. Jason shares that he does not believe Anna would have gone through with shooting her. Therefore, Britt was not in any real imminent danger. Britt is flabbergasted and hurt that Jason is refusing to tell the police what he actually witnessed for himself on Mount Emerson.

Britt

Courtesy/ABC

BRITT WANTS BACK UP FROM JASON

Jason counters that he can’t believe that Britt would want Anna punished. or sent to prison, or a mental facility after the trauma she endured while being locked up and mentally tortured while at Wyndemere.

He asks Britt, “How could you even say that you want her locked up or prosecuted for what she did when you knew she was being held prisoner and you did nothing to save her?” Britt is stunned by Jason’s response.

Coming up, official General Hospital spoilers share that on the upcoming Monday, September 14 episode, Jason confides in Carly (Laura Wright), while Britt is stung. In the video preview that aired at the end of the Friday, September 11 episode for this coming Monday, Britt says to Jason, “You don’t believe me. Do you?”

General Hospital head scribes, Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte previously teased in their fall preview of the soap, “Britt and Jason have come a long way and fought a lot of enemies to be together. But the most stubborn obstacle to their happiness isn’t without, it’s within. Decisions Britt made to stay alive while under Cullum’s thumb will come back to haunt her and may prove too difficult for this unlikely couple to survive.”

So, what do you think will happen? Will Jason and Britt break-up over Britt’s lies and Jason’s unwillingness to report Anna’s crime against her? Do you want Jason and Britt to go their separate ways? If they do, will Britt become romantically involved with Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) ? If so, who do you pair Jason with? Anyone? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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