General Hospital
Anne Schoettle Joins the General Hospital Writing Team
Soap opera veteran writer, Anne Schoettle, is the newest member of the recently retooled writing team of General Hospital. Schoettle’s name was revealed during the Thursday, September 5th episode of the ABC daytime drama series.
Anne is married to David Shaughnessy (who has directed episodse of Days of our Lives, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful) and brother to actor Charles Shaughnessy (ex-Shane/Drew, Days of our Lives and ex-Victor Cassadine, General Hospital).
Confirming her position with the GH writing staff was her daughter, Amy Shaughnessy. Taking to X, Amy expressed: “Look out #SoapTwitter, Anne Schoettle is BACK! #GeneralHospital #ScriptEditor.”

Photo: JPI
Schoettle joins GH co-head writers Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte as the script editor along with associate head writer, Cathy LePard as key members of the team.
Previously, in her soap opera career, Anne has been the head writer at Days of our Lives (1990-1991), and part of the writing regimes at Port Charles, Sunset Beach, The Young and the Restless, Guiding Light, and The Bold and the Beautiful.

Photo: ABC
For her work on The Young and the Restless, Anne has received three Daytime Emmy Awards and two WGA Awards.
What do you think of the current GH writing regime with Chris Van Etten back as co-head writer, alongside GH mainstay Elizabeth Korte and the recent promotion of Cathy LePard and now Anne Schoettle joining as the script editor? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
So far, it’s looking like Sonny will get away with murder yet again so I don’t see any difference with this new writing team and the others before.
Hope thar means GH/ABC is bringing back Kelly aka Sam; because Sam has way more story with lots of ties in Port Charles. I stand with Kelly Monaco, my favorite.
Youre riding for a disappointment. Writers dont hire actors. They just write story. Frank Valentini and the Disney execs fired Kelly Monaco. Only they could save her job. The writers have to write for the actors hired and placed under contract. They can only kill off characters when the Producers and Network Execs fire them. Kelly is done.
And Jacquelyn Grace Lopez as Blaze!’n
Blaze is inconsequential as she was only on GH for about 2 minutes. Kelly is a vet. No comparison.
So far so good.
Hope she makes a positive impact. I have not been able to watch GH because of the contract negotiation stalemate that is transpiring between Disney and Direct TV. Honestly, if I do not hear that things have drastically improved, I won’t go back when ABC becomes accessible for me again. Yes. I know I can figure out a way to watch GH on YouTube but I can’t muster up the energy/ enthusiasm it would garner for me to find a way to watch after a hard day at work. Right now, GH is like that gym that’s too far away from my home and work place. I need it to easily and effortlessly accessible. Disney allowing its contract with Direct TV to expire may have been the push I needed to break a life long addiction.
Hope she brings Sam Kelly Monaco back
I hope she can make GH watchable again. When they brought Van Etten back GH has gone downhill.
I could not agree more about GH and Van Etten. I may be in the minority here but I thought that when Patrick Mulcahey was co-head writer, the s/l’s and dialogue was on fire.
It won’t be General Hospital until Kelly is reinstated.
too many stories and not enough focus
like Harrington said, 3 group of writer changes while he played Cates. All went in a different direction.
Having been attuned to soap news/social media when Becky and Genie were originally let go, this time seems different. While I applaud soap fans for sticking up for their favorite performers, the decision to let Monaco go does not seem likely to be reversed.
The writing has been horrendous for a while now and Frank should rehire Ron! I’m sick of lame dialogue and I have been opting to watch on Hulu so I can skip over the ridiculous and nonsensical scenes and ludicrous entanglements.
okay I was feeling you till I got to the part where u said to rehire Ron, I’ll take any writing team over Ron, so please do not put that out in the universe.
Have you seen the absolutely appalling dragonshit that has been airing on Days of Our Lives lately?? First the dumbest serial killer story ever, and now an absolutely mindless “soap within a soap” story which ate up two full days of airtime this week? Because Days tapes 9 months ahead, ReRon is already gone, but we’re stuck with this garbage anyway.
It’s highly likely these stories got him fired from Days, just like the Fluke story and the absolutely moronic “exit story” he wrote for the iconic Luke Spencer got him fired from GH. And though OLTL never aired in Hell, I’m willing to bet any number of souls that his writing played a big part in that show getting cancelled.
Days makes so much sense compared to GH, why? GH always seems like they are making things up as they go along! And keep changing it and confusing as heck! No sospiness, no drama, no affairs, triangles! Ugh
Hey Potato Chip! I like your name.
does it really matter?, its like no matter what combo of writers they get together they’ll all make a mess, I mean I don’t even know who to blame for some of the current mess or who to give credit to when the show has been good. I don’t know if I’m paying more attention this year but the show has been a mess an yet its had some outstanding moments that kind that earn you the Emmy for best show, I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster ride, But like I always say, this is my show, my ride or die, But its hard to give credit to a lot of the mess the show is airing right now. I’m not looking forward to a lot of what’s airing right now, I mean, we know they are getting rid of sam(unless the listen to fan outrage) replacing Lulu with a new actor, we know sonny is gonna get away with murder, they ruined the jagger character, Kristina is now acting like Sonny with a skirt, can someone tell me what’s to like here?
The role of Lulu Spencer Facolnari is now being played by Jennifer Landon. 🙂
Michael Landons daughter? If that’s her, she was great in the last show I watched her in , but was cancelled.
.
Actually the last thing she was in was “Yellowstone”. Which apparently has NOT been cancelled. There was a ridiculous delay in production of season 5b which will finally be seen in November. And latest word here in Hell is that the show will continue on with Season 6, even though the “star” of the show, Kevin Costner will not be involved.
Good luck to Anne bring any sense of coherence or watchability to a Stacy Pulwer “script.” Her writing, if one can charitably call it that, is so appalling it boggles the mind that no one in the production team hierarchy has noticed, let alone intervened or removed her. I skip any episode in its entirety as soon as she is revealed as its dialoguist, because I know the hour will be inevitably insufferable.
Maybe Anne Schoettle can help get GH refocused with Van Etten and Korte back at the helm. Need to work fast as GH has fell to 1.8M viewers.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Chase and Brook Lynn Sign Divorce Papers; Are You Glad They Ended Their Marriage or Hoped for a Reconciliation?

Any hopes for a last minute reprieve were dashed when filled with sorrow, Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers in front of a judge in the Dominican Republic on the Monday, October 26 episode of General Hospital.
The judge asked if they really wanted to go through with this, as a teary-eyed Brook Lynn and Chase both hesitated to sign the court documents. They admit that neither of them wants to get divorced, but they both came to the conclusion that too much mistrust has permeated their relationship, and too much has happened between them to stay married.
With that, Brook Lynn decided to put her pen to paper first. She signs the divorce papers. Next, Chase follows suit. They look at each other with tears in their eyes that their marriage is officially over. When the judge went to filing their divorce papers, Chase and Brook Lynn agreed to split custody of baby Phoebe straight down the line 50/50.

Courtesy/ABC
THE END OF THE ROAD
Next, the judge returned and gave each a copy of their paperwork. Chase says to Brook Lynn that he thinks that they should each fly back to Port Charles separately, and that he would take another flight home. Chase says goodbye to Brook Lynn and exits. Now alone looking at the empty room, Brook Lynn utters,“Goodbye, Chase.”
Later in the episode, as Brook Lynn flies back home to Port Charles alone, she listens to the message from Tracy (Jane Elliot) telling her she is doing the right thing by divorcing Chase.
Cut to: an emotional Chase who went to the beach. He looked at his wedding ring. Mourning the loss of his marriage, Chase buried his ring in the sand, at the same time Brook Lynn was removing her wedding ring on the airplane.
The drama won’t stop from here for Brook Lynn, because as teased in the GH video spoilers preview for the week, Jude (Wil Traval) will come calling wanting to see his “daughter,” and potentially staking claim to baby Phoebe! As for Chase, now that he is a free man, will he begin a relationship with his ex-wife, Willow Tait (Katelyn McMullen), with whom he has been completely duped? Stay tuned.
So, were you happy that Brook Lynn and Chase actually ended their marriage? Were you hoping that the two would reconcile at the last minute and realize love can conquer all, or do you think they were being adult about the situation that they couldn’t get out of their own way and feelings to make their union work? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, check out the scenes from Chase and Brook Lynn’s divorce and its aftermath below.
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Bests ‘General Hospital’ in Key Demos

Things continue to look up, up, up for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates. Now, in the latest Nielsen ratings picture, that 15-time Daytime Emmy nominated drama has moved into the #3 spot over legendary soap opera, General Hospital in the key women’s demos, 18-49 and 25-54.
In addition, according to data from Soap Opera Network, Beyond the Gates is closing the gap on General Hospital, even among total viewers. Let’s take a look at the week in question which are reflected in the latest ratings report.
For the week of October 5-9, 2026, Beyond the Gates is inching closer to an average of 1.8 million viewers tuning-in with the ratings week at 1,756,000. While down slightly from the previous week by -9,000, the series taped in Atlanta, is still up year-over-year +161,000.

Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES
As for the all-important demos, Beyond the Gates delivered a 0.22 ratings share in women 18-49, which is up +0.02 week-over-week, while General Hospital fell to fourth place in ratings share for the demo with 0.21, which was on par from the previous week. Then, in women 25-54, Beyond the Gates scored a 0.32 ratings share; that’s 0.05 points more than GH who came in with 0.27 of the ratings share and up + 0.02 week-over-week.
So, what had viewers tuning-in to Beyond the Gates the week of October 5-9 2026? For starters: Hayley Lawson Hamilton’s (Marquita Goings) blackmail plot falls apart as Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis) and Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom) intervene to stop her in her tracks. Meanwhile, Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) proposed to Shanice (Ernestine Johnson) in the Big Apple.
In addition, Smitty (Mike Manning) refused to participate in Martin’s (Brandon Claybon) upcoming political press conference due to liability concerns, and Andre (Sean Freeman) confronted Dani (Karla Mosley) about her near-death experience the night of the tornado and what it has to do with her ex-husband, Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett)!

Courtesy/ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over in Port Charles and General Hospital, the ratings week saw a slight uptick in total viewers of +6,000 with a total viewer average at 1,898,000, and up overall +20,o0o year-over-year.
In story, GH brought viewers, ADA Justine Turner (Nazneen Contractor) breaking off her secret romance with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) as she seemingly struggles to believe his professed innocence in the prison beatdown of Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota). Then as Sonny cannot get a single person to believe that he is telling the truth, his ex-wife, Carly (Laura Wright) shows up and stands by his side.
Elsewhere, Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase’s (Brook Lynn) marriage continued to crumble, as Lulu (Alexa Havins) published explosive allegations that Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) drugged Drew (Cameron Mathison), after recording Sidwell in his hospital room, who later denies he said anything about Willow and Drew to Lulu.
As per usual, the number #1 and number #2 soaps of the week were The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. The sister soaps also saw the gap close between the two for the top spots with Y&R adding the most viewers for the week with both soaps losing the most viewers for the ratings period.
In total viewers, Y&R came in with 3,015,000 while B&B 2,628,000, which means there is less than 400,000 viewers separating the two.
So, what do you think of how Beyond the Gates outperformed General Hospital in the key demos for the week of October 5-9, 2026? Do you think its just a matter of time before Beyond the Gates overtakes General Hospital in total viewers for the #3 spot, or do you think the iconic daytime drama series can stave them off and maintain its hold on #3 in the viewership? Weigh-in via the comment section.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Brook Lynn Gets a Shock from Jude, Nina Gets a Reprieve, and Ava’s in the Hot Seat

This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital airing October 26-30, a secret relationship is revealed, a new lead on the case of the missing Brennan (Chris McKenna), and a knock on the door that may alter the life of Brook Lynn Quartermaine’s (Amanda Setton) happiness take center stage!
In the just released GH spoilers video for the week, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) gets an eyeful when he walks into the Quartermaine stables and finds Rocco (Finn Carr) kissing his sister, Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarksi). Things have already soured between the “brothers” as Jason (Steve Burton) tells his son, “You and Rocco can’t be so quick to throw that kind of friendship away.”
Meanwhile at the PCPD, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) is going over the case of MIA former WSB former Port Charles bureau chief, Jack Brennan with Joe (Jonathan Bennett). When Dante asks what leads he may have, Joe shares, “Ava Jerome.”

Courtesy/ABC
Just then, Agent Baines (Alimi Ballard) is seen sitting in a dimly lit room with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros). Viewers have not seen Nina, since the WSB whisked her away presumably to Steinmauer, because they believed she was the culprit who did away with, or caused, the disappearance of Jack Brennan after Drew (Cameron Mathison) framed her.
Now, Baines says to Nina, “We may have rushed to judgment.” Does this mean, Nina could be sent back to Port Charles, if everyone now zeroes in on Ava (Maura West)?
Then, in the shocking conclusion of the video preview, Brook Lynn opens the front door of the Quartermaine mansion to find Jude (Wil Traval) standing there with a demand! “I’m here to see my daughter,” he tells BLQ as she looks stunned.
Will it turn out the Jude is the biological father of baby Phoebe, and if so, what his relationship to Hudson Parker (Troy Lennon Appel), who viewers recall beat up Ethan Lovett over the little girl? Stay tuned!
SPOILERS
Now below, check out the official GH spoilers for the action this week in Port Charles.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26
Carly and Valentin take on a new mission. Jason issues a warning to Willow. Curtis gets bad news. Scout and Rocco’s secret is at risk. Lulu doesn’t like what she hears about Charlotte.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27
Sonny confronts Alexis. Portia comes to Ava’s rescue. Dante worries that Gio is headed for heartbreak. Scout opens up to Drew. Danny issues an ultimatum.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28
Ava lawyers up. Dante defends Lulu. Britt’s news stuns Willow. Carly shares her suspicions. Tracy drops a bombshell.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29
The Quartermaines are rocked. Anna has a breakthrough. Tracy prepares for battle. Joe questions Carly. Ric makes a request of Alexis.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
Jason grills Josslyn. Dante and Elizabeth are shaken. Danny makes a confession. Trina and Emma are alarmed. Lulu gets disappointing news.
Now below, watch the latest GH promo entitled, “Secrets Come Home.”
So, do you think Nina comes back to Port Charles and the WSB takes Ava into custody? Do you think Jude will prove he is the biological father and takes baby Phoebe away from Brook Lynn? Who actually killed Jack Brennan? Weigh-in via the comment section.
-

Beyond the Gates6 days agoTabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?
-

Breaking News5 days ago53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Presenters Announced
-

Interviews4 days ago‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Cast Dish on Steffy, Finn & Carter, Daphne Baby Drama! (Exclusive)
-
Days Of Our Lives1 week agoDays of our Lives’ Conner Floyd Talks Dominic Marino Mystery, Chad and Belle, and Susan Seaforth Hayes (Exclusive)
-

Previews1 week agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: What Has Happened to Jill?
-

General Hospital1 week agoKin Shriner Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ TV Daughter Kelly Kruger
-
Beyond the Gates1 week ago‘Beyond the Gates’ and Daytime Emmy Nominee Mike Manning to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel
-

Breaking News5 days ago2026 Daytime Emmy Awards: ‘Extra’ Partners with NATAS for Pre-Ceremony Red Carpet Stream; Week of Segments Leading to Ceremony and Post-Coverage













