General Hospital
Cameron Mathison On His GH Debut: “Drew Cain is back on General Hospital and Judging By This Photo He Means Business”
The highly-anticipated debut of longtime soap favorite, Cameron Mathison (Ex-Ryan Lavery, All My Children) on General Hospital will go down this week on the ABC daytime drama series, when Mathison takes over the role of Drew Cain, last played by Billy Miller.
On Sunday, Cameron took to his Instagram and shared a pic from the set of a bearded Drew, for when viewers first see Mathison’s new look for the role. Cameron’s first appearance is said to be today on August 16th.
Mathison shared his excitement at joining the cast of the iconic ABC daytime drama series: “This is the week!! Drew Cain is back on @generalhospitalabc and judging by this photo he means business👊🏼 I’ve been having an absolute blast shooting my first few weeks on GH and finally I’ll air Tuesday 8/17🙏🏼👊🏼💪🏼 Here we gooooooo!!!!”
In an interview with PopCulture.com, Cameron explained that EP Frank Valentini threw him a “curveball’ when he got to GH of who he ultimately would be playing: “I was told it was a different character for the first month and a half that I had signed the contract,” he explained.
As fans of the ABC series will see, Mathison has a beard for the role with some twists along the way: “I show up with this pretty, fairly long beard for me — about a five-week-old beard — and then while I was shooting that, I shot one day, in that day of shooting, I had to then shave and shoot some flashbacks which was cool. So in the same episode, I’ve got this (long beard) I’ve never done anything like that, and now during the General Hospital break, I’m having to grow the beard in again. So clever.”
So, are you ready to check out Cam in his new role as the latest Drew Cain on GH? Comment below.
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“The highly-anticipated debut of longtime soap favorite, Cameron Mathison…..”….by who?
Agreed, “favorite” is quite subjective in this case.
Exactly! Could care less. Not a fan.
It sounds like he’s complaining already.
Sorry…GH dropped the ball again…he should have been back as Ryan Lavery just like roger Howarth should have been back as Todd.
No one can replace Billy Miller
Amen, Michele. I’m sick over this anemic replacement.
Soaphound,
Hi, just watched nuDrew today, and he’s not so bad, but I still can’t think of him as Drew. He and Sam might make a good pair if she can dump Dante.
Dante and Sam are cute together and I’d HATE to see Drew go back with Sam. She discarded him for Jason; never looked back, barely shed a tear when he “died.”
I don’t even think the writers wrote any memorial scenes after Drew was presumed dead. It felt like Billy Miller and the Drew Cain character were truly discarded.
Disagree! Love Camron, he will do great as Drew.
I fully agree. I love Cameron but notfor this role
Sam answers the phone, ” is that you Drew?” No, it’s a singing card from Hallmark.
I like the wildeyed look, but Drew he ain’t!
Violet, it’s day two of CM and he’s already overacting. Those wild eyes are what I can’t handle. It’s not Drew. However… how about that Aussie jailtender? Wow, he’s gorgeous. Drew should bring him back to Port Charles. No, not for Sam…for us!
Soaphound,
Hopefully, he’ll control the eyes and yes the guard was a cutie but maybe o.k for you, but way too young for this old lady. All I do these days is look, at least I can still appreciate a good looking man.Sometimes my Home Care Worker watches with me, I’ve got her hooked on the Soaps and we check out all the “hunks” and tend to agree that Curtis has to be one of the sexiest looking.
Miss Violet, thank you for making me smile. 🙂
Hey Soaphound! I noticed the guard, too. His character name is Russell played by actor Josh Murray. I checked out his instagram; lol. Heres’ some info though not the best picture; some great shots on his instagram, though.
Maybe Drew will wake up little Sammy from her somnolent performance which consists of sleepwalking and sleep talking. Wake up, Little Sammy. Wake up! Better yet, maybe he can rescue her from that monstrous skirt which has being holding her hostage all week! That skirt maybe the ugliest article of clothing I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing on a soap actress. It’s like a Chia pet skirt and I fully expect to see mushrooms and grass sprout from it.
Don’t watch soaps but love him in all things Hallmark. Hope he still shows up there – I like him much better clean shaven and kind.
Why all this hate for Cameron? People absolutely loved him on All My Children. He has done well on talk type shows and in Hallmark movies and such.
He is amiable and genuine, and he certainly is a champion of the soap genre.
I know Valentini loves his pets. It may turn out that Cameron may not be the best Drew. But give him a chance. He didn’t ask to be cast as Drew. Drew was a very ill defined character as played by Miller. Cameron will bring different facets and colours to him.
It may be a total bust. That’s the worst scenario. I am just shocked by the constant negativity and hatred towards actors on this line! They are doing a job and playing fictitious characters.
We should all be willing to give CM the chance to see what he does with the character. Whether or not one liked his work as Ryan Lavery or in the Hallmark films.
He definitely gets bonus points for the publicity machine he brings along with him. The more press GH gets the better. CM has been doing numerous interviews, including with some outlets that typically don’t cover soaps.
Agree!
JJ,
I think what it is when a main character is replaced, especially one that was so loved as Billy Miller, it’s like a a betrayal of sorts to that actor and their fans. Just think how it would upset fans if M.Benard/Sonny was replaced by someone after being so invested in this person. For the fans that don’t like him it wouldn’t matter or maybe it would be welcome but the others would be up in arms and react accordingly. A lot of people do take it personally and not as able to rationalize it as you do, especially do not feel that Billy was as “Ill defined” as you do also. I liked Cameron as Ryan Lavery, so hope he’ll grow on me as Drew.
Well it is interesting Cameron appeared the same week nutritionists declared that white bread isn’t so bad after all. Confidence? I think not!
Hope to see Tony the bodyguard figure in more, I remember Philip Boyd from The Have and the Have Nots.
Brian,
OMG, I loved that show and miss it already, but did not recognize Tony. That was such a big cast, hard to keep track of everyone. What part did he play? I’ll have to watch for Tony again.
He played Oscar. He was involved with Candace in the first few seasons. He was one of my main draws to the show, plus OLTL’s Tika Sumpter.
I like Cameron but I feel this is a mis-cast. (Not his fault.) Unless he plans to bulk up in weight and muscle, he’s not gonna pass as Drew or someone who can be twins with Jason. He’d be more suited to play a doctor or something else. I understand Billy Miller probably didn’t want to come back. Cameron needed a job since Home & Family ended. I’m happy Cameron can work, but GH gave him the wrong character to portray. I will give it time, but right now I’m not convinced. Yes, he’s got the blue eyes and the sandy hair like Billy Miller. But Cameron is a naturally lean guy. It works right now as a character who’s been held captive….but a healthy Drew is a beefed up Drew. If Cameron can’t beef up are they gonna pad his shirts? I just don’t see it, but I hope they all prove me wrong because I like Cameron.
Have you seen him without a shirt? He was always shirtless on AMC. Lol. He is a very muscular man, but lean as well. Twins do not necessarily have the same body types, especially as they are now in their 50’s. One could be balding and overweight while the other could be buff and slim.
Yes but my point is gh had already established these particular twins as having the same build. Billy Miller and Steve Burton were similar heights and builds. Yes, I have seen Cameron with his shirt off; and thank you for proving my point about him still being quite lean in spite of his muscles.
And almost immediately, the fake “flashbacks” kick in. Are we going to get Drew’s entire history retold. What’s next, are we going to see poor dead Oscar scenes with his fake daddy??
If they thought this would help “sell” the NuDrew, they thought wrong.
So who is holding NuDrew prisoner?
The guard having an obvious Aussie accent is probably not a coincidence. Could Drew be held hostage “down under”??
No, not here in Hell. The OTHER “down under”. And if so, who’s running this prison?
Well… how many evil Australians do we know….. might Jerry Jacks be involved in this some how??
Jerry could very well be the guy running the prison… but he’s always the mercenary type…. always working for somebody else, never really the head of the operation. It’s certainly not out of the question that Jerry could have been working with Whiny Heiny, who we know was responsible for Drew’s disappearance and faked death via plane crash.
But Heiny’s dead now. Don’t let the body missing from the freezer fool you, Heiny is definitely in Hell! And if that’s the case, what would be Jerry’s reason to keep up this fraud of keeping Drew under wraps, if nobody’s paying him to do it?
Which of course means there must be others involved…. and it’s probably whomever killed Hayden’s mommy.
Oh Satan, what a disaster is this story. Actually, the Aussie jailer should be the keeper actor and then dump nuDrew totally. More Sam? Ugh! And dummy Dante as a rival for her “affections”… I’m gonna have to go back on caffeine.
Hey, I might need to increase the caffeine myself, now that it seems like we might have had another escape from Hell…..
Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have appointed Poppy Bush to be in charge of Underworld Security……
Cameron should be playing his AMC character Ryan Lavery instead of Drew FV the producer of GH should’ve had Billy Miller return to the show plus Ryan Lavery is the cousin of Griffin Munroe.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
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B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
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