General Hospital
CONTROVERSY: GH's Lisa was set to inject Patrick with HIV + Blood-filled Syringe!
Courtesy/ABC
The Internet has been a buzz since last evening after long time General Hospital viewers witnessed the story point where a whack-job Lisa (Brianna Brown) had Patrick (Jason Thompson) and Robin (Kimberly McCullough) tied up inside a cabin on a boat as part of her twisted revenge plot. Then, in the unthinkable, Lisa turns the tables, and instead of injecting some drug concoction with her usual syringe happy habits, she instead draws blood out of the arm of Robin. Now as we all know, Robin has been HIV positive for many decades, and that the show has responsibly told the story of living with HIV.
However, in this beat of the story, Lisa’s new rationalization is that since she can’t have Patrick, and since he loves Robin so much, she will inject him with her blood, thus infecting him with the HIV virus. Now, of course, at the end of the episode there was a fight for the syringe. So we don’t know who is going to be injected; Lisa herself, Patrick, or perhaps a drunken Matt who is stumbling around the boat, or none of the above.
Whatever the case, many viewers have found this tasteless and cause for pause to use Robin’s HIV status and the issue of blood as a weapon against someone, namely the man she loves. So what are your thoughts on the story point? Let us know!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”
Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
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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‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
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RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
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the plot here fits the psycho character. I see no problem. As if this is a worse fate than shooting and killing someone innocent, like Georgie? Seriously, this is a soap and the weirdness is exactly why I LOVE GH!
THANK YOU! Thank is EXACTLY what I think. I am sick to death of all the GH bashing. Its nice to hear from a like-minded person.
Omg, I forget, I don’t think she was shot but stabbed. Either way. Point made.
I didn’t mind it. It seemed like the kind of thing a deranged mind like Lisa would do.
To me it’s not a taste issue. It’s more of an issue of why bring back Lisa Niles at all. I hated her character from the getgo and her presence has not created the kind of drama deserving of such a great soap couple like Patrick and Robin. I think there is so much negativity against the Lisa character that it causes some fans to find fault with anything related to her and the story. But, there is also the fact that GH under Bob Guza has become a dark, sexist and tasteless show. So every time GH writes a story with such a dark component (like injecting someone with HIV blood), it puts some fans over the edge- understandably. I just want a great, emotional and textured story for Robin and Patrick that is worthy of the tremendous talents of Kim McCullough and Jason Thompson!
Honestly, as good an actress as the woman who portrays Lisa is, I just tired of her crazy antics. The whole idea of her continually coming back, is absurd. The idea of her trying to inject Patrick with HIV blood isn’t pleasant but it isn’t more upsetting to me than her taking Emma out for ice cream without her parents permission, in order to prove her ability to scare and manipulate and yet, at the time, have everyone else believe her. I am ffing through Lisa scenes now. If GH wants to bring back a good villain, resurrect Manny or Alcazar or anyone else.
Par for the course with GH. The same show where a man can get raped (Jax) and get yelled at by his wife for it. Or that chemotherapy is an evil option for cancer treatment. Or that you can have PPD and go through every cliche known to the illness, all while gaining knowledge of the illness from Brooke Shields’s book. They take promoting important issues in the most insensitive, disgusting and irresponsible way as possible to a whole new level. In their attempt to be “creative” and “original” with this so-called twist, they only really managed to demonstrate once again what a joke this show has become.
This portion of this storyline makes me seriously uncomfortable. To have a doctor, a nutcase, threaten to stick someone with HIV+ blood is unimaginative and stupid. The current writers are using one of the best storylines in GH history. I believe yesterday’s scenes were too little, too late. How dare GH attempt to use Robin’s blood as a weapon to stress how crazy PBL Niles has become. This was Labine’s original intent to Robin contracting HIV. The current storyline is a slap in the face of Claire Labine and her original intent for Robin becoming HIV+. I hated yesterday’s scenes because TPTB didn’t have to go this route to begin this murder mystery.
And you people want to know why they are canceling soaps left and right, I quit watching this one months ago and when I read this I am glad. Shame on you GH! First Guza kills an innocent child so he can prop up his couple and now this.
omg, it was tasteless, is bob guza secretely back?, maybe he’s a ghost wrtier for the show for all we know, or maybe he left his storyline book behind and wolf who really hasn’t been really original is copying and putting Guza’s work on the air.
Aria…Guza never left. He still has his hand in the writing.
I am so grateful I gave up watching GH decades ago. If this is what you people want to watch on a daily basis, you’re all demented. when GH is inevitably cancelled next year I will personally send a thank you card to Katie Couric.
Honestly I find this story stomach turning, grotesque, and completely tasteless. i know alot of people had problems with Guza’s writing and praised Garin Wolf when he became head writer but I was very apprehensive about him taking over, after all he was the writer who did all the outlines during the strike & who loved to prop Jiz and LOVES triangles, that enough was cause for concern. Yes Guza thought he was living in Soprano land but I have to admit I enjoyed the big sequences he did like The Trainwreck, The Metro Court Hostage Situation, Jasam rescuing Jake from The Russian, The Biotoxin Hospital Crisis, and much more. Garin Wolf can not write thee kind of action all encompassing stories, the lead up to this Lisa story has been boring as hell. For days we watched these people on a boat during nothing while Lisa lurked and then did it become exciting when she started? No, it became grotesque and sick. I found this whole story appalling & quite honestly I ended up fastforwarding through alot of the Robin/Lisa/Patrick scenes because I couldn’t stomach it anymore. And on top of that we’ve all heard the rumors about the Franco/Sam story, that she’s most likely going to be raped on the heels of Lisa injecting people with HIV infected blood. Quite honestly I find it disgusting, and if this is GW’s brand of entertainment he’s sicker & more twisted than Guza ever hoped to be.
Excellent post…I am going to forward it to Frons & Sweeney. Not that it will help.
I also agree that GW has burned this show much worse than Guza did. Excellent post!
I thought it was gross….but fit the character. Then again i sat thru Mitch giving his daughter electro shock and plan to rape her to have his baby. Nothing is too shocking anymore
I find it simply silly. With the medicines out now, HIV is not the death sentence it was when the character of Robin first contracted it. I’ve heard it’s not fun being on all the drugs but it’s not a death sentence so to inject him doesn’t have the gravitas it would have if the storyline had been done 15 years ago so why bother?
I agree it fit with Lisa’s psycoh behaviour and it was indeed a sickening twist, which is what made it good. What really bothered me was Patrick saying that he wasn’t afraod of a virus. Yes, progress has been made in meds, but they are horrific side effects and they eventually stop working. The mosguided idea that HIV/AIDS isn’t so bad is the reason people don’t protect themselves and infection rates are on the rise after decades of declining. Those scenes reinforced a really scary step backward in HIV/AIDS prevention
I think Patrick didn’t want to show fear because he didn’t want to play into Lisa’s game. Additionally, he knew that there are also precautions that he can do to maybe prevent becoming infected such as going for an intensive one month prophylactic HIV Meds regimen. IMO, Patrick freaking out would make no sense. He’s a doctor and he lives with HIV everyday through his wife.
Brianna Brown is an excellent actor…. she was compelling to watch prior to her final exit scenes…. we all knew she wasn’t going to split robin and patrick…. i thought she had great chemistry with johnny. Hot “love” scenes. i was hoping GH would pair them together…. she was a believeable “villian”. it’s not often we get to watch a 3rd person, if you will, interACT with a supercouple. ie: compelling drama…. i’ll miss her on GH… the story with the dirty needle was unneccessary. didn’t leave the door open for a possible return back to gh for Brianna brown. I AM GOING TO MISS ROBIN.
Where is Wendy Riche??????? She is about the only person who can save GH now. Between Frons, ABC, Jill Farren Phelps, Guza and now Garin Wolf, I think their sole purpose was to KILL off GH. I loved GH when Riche was EP. She brought heart, humor, family, action and romance. Phelps brought her death cloud (from the other poor soaps she helmed prior) and managed to make me not care about the shows future anymore. My GH “died” when Phelps officially took over. I think this woman hates love in the afternoon. Its been all doom & gloom with writing to make one wince. The Q’s were allowed to kill killed off and the mob was allowed to flourish. Robin & Patrick were the only saving graces at the but now this latest plot twist is just $$#$%! Technology and OJ didn’t kill off soaps…morons like Phelps with big assists by Guza and Frons are the ones who killed off any love one had for GH. I suggest to the cast of GH, bail out now. Wendy Riche….Please know how much I loved your vision of GH….Karen/Jagger/Brenda, Brenda/Sonny/Jax, Emily & Zander, Lucy & Kevin, The Nurses Ball, Alan Q, etc. YOUR legacy will never be forgotten, but this current #$@, you betcha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WR is rolling in her grave right now.
Wendy Riche is not dead.
I got confused with Gloria Monty…….thanks.
So get Riche back then…….
Lisa should have been KILLED OFF a long time ago!! NOBODY gets away with what this character has!!!! Same goes for Anthony!!! KILL HIM OFF!!!
I think they have overkilled the story of luny lisa enough is enough.
Proof that ABC is wanting to drive viewers away like they did with All My Children so they can replace it.
I had no problem with this storyline. BB is a magnetic actor, she seems to just always pull your eyes to her. She performed the hell out of this last bit and I am really enjoying the storyline. Villains go too far, that’s that the whole point of being a villain. Take something sacred or Out of Bounds and then go there. That’s what they had Lisa do. Watching Patrick not even flinch, watching Robin silently cry begging Lisa not to do it. Watching Robin fight with all her power to stop Lisa – all if it was great IMO. Lisa went too far, of course she did – she’s a cray cray villain!
Totally agree with you…. BB is magnetic and compelling to watch…. she stole her scenes….. and that’s saying something…. robin and patrick in my opinion are GH’s top super”couple”. BB acted with the best of them…. reason i tuned in to gh in the first place… wouldn’t lisa have been hot with johnny?
I hated this particular plot point. There was really no need to go there. I have no idea why there was a need to even bring Lisa back, there is no point to it. The thing that bothered me even more than Lisa using Robin’s blood was having Robin trying to inject Lisa with the HIV-infected blood. Robin would never have done that, it makes no sense. I could see her trying to kill Lisa before infecting her with HIV. And why didn’t we see Robin get the upper hand on her and just beat the living crap out of her? Why can’t the writers remember that she is Anna Devane’s daughter?? She has been trained in martial arts, she can fire a gun and can handle knives. Lisa would be no match for her. Why did we constantly see Lisa able to overpower her? Makes no sense. Robin wouldn’t have even needed the needle.
Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson were great, but the story itself is not worthy IMO of their considerable talents. I still can’t believe that this is what the writers came up with for them. There is a ton of history between those characters and they deserve to have a story that doesn’t include Lisa at this point.
Once again, here is GH problem. The writers don’t value the history of its characters. Who cares about Lisa and her deranged pyschotic mindset. Just set her fire already.