General Hospital
Could General Hospital end up as a primetime Summer Series?
Courtesy/ABC
There is a report out this evening from TV Guide, that is saying that while General Hospital may get the ax later this year in the daytime to make room for Katie Couric’s new syndicated talk show that the alphabet network may be looking into other scenarios to keep the show on the air in primetime!
According to TVG, “One scenario being discussed has the drama continuing as a short-run prime-time summer series, similar to Spanish-language networks’ telenovelas. Even if the cost of production doubled over the typical soap budget (around $200,000 per episode), a nighttime version of GH would still be inexpensive for an original scripted show.”
Perhaps, what they really should be doing is keeping GH on the air in the daytime and doing a summer series to bring more eyeballs to it in the daytime, so the soap doesn’t go away all together? Whatever the case, new creative heads, Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati are plotting big returns for GH with Robert, Anna and Holly and bringing John McBain and the Mannings over from OLTL, be it long or short term to try and drive up the ratings and invigorate the ailing lone ABC soap.
What do you think about a primetime GH telenovela style arc? 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
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
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Don’t like it. I want for General Hospital to remain on abc Daytime. Waiting an entire year for a short Summer prime time version doesn’t do much for me.
Although OLTL was by far my favorite soap on ABC, it is now a thing of the past. But GH isn’t and it’s not too late to save it. It’s time for OLTL and GH fans to put their differences aside and to join forces to save General Hospital.
I’m calling out all OLTL fans, GH fans as well as Y&R/B&B/DAYS fans to boycott The Revolution like the plague and to support General Hospital by watching it live on ABC as much as possible (if possible, avoid the DVD or online thing). I know that General Hospital isn’t exactly the best soap right now, but it needs our help and it’s time to save it and prevent this cancellation trend that has completely wiped out the NY soaps to infiltrate itself on the LA soaps.
Because if General Hospital gets canceled, you can be sure that these anti-soap executives won’t stop it there and will go after the three remaining soaps until they have succeeded in fully killing a genre that has existed since the 1930s .
So let us, ALL soap opera fans, join force to save General Hospital and
show these bigwig network executives that soap operas are still a viable business in 2012.
I am with you but HOW does anyone know if we watch live on ABC or on DVR, DVD, VCR or online? HOW DOES ANYONE KNOW THAT? I will gladly watch it live if I know how this matters & will help things! Thanks
unless you are a Neilson home, watching it live means nothing. The best thing right now, as per Raven Beauty’s blog, is to watch it at abc.com on your pc or mibile device. She has heard from a reliable source that abc is monitoring online viewing of GH right now. For what purpose? nobody knows but still-anything to help. DVD watching only counts if the info is requested from the cable company (which it rarely is and still only for a week after airing) I dont know anyone who has a Neilson monitoring system, so I will dvr it as I normally so and also watch online at night, even if it’s just in the background, while I check e-mails.
Heather: This is a wonderful post but you have to continue to keep posting THIS POST. Because people dont get it. If they don’t stop with which show is better and which should be cancelled, there will be no more GH., period. Please continue to POST this same post. Save it and copy past t in your email so that U can go back to it and re-post it. Hopefully, your post will take fire and people will see that we need to rally together. Continue to fight for the genre by saving GH., at the same time we must still do all the things we were doing before OLTL got cancelled (sending soap, petitions on Facebook, boycotte cable get a Dish, call /write Disney and abc) in hopes of getting it restored elsewhere.
Absolutely! I couldn’t agree more. I am also not watching ANY ABC shows, except for GH. In the morning, I now watch the Today show on NBC instead of GMA that I watched for years. The afternoons I turn to CBS, as they still have two soaps Y&R, BB, then turn to ABC for GH. I autotune my satellite, so the channels will change even if I’m not at home ( I keep the tv on for my cats when not at home). I’m only watching shows on networks that still run soaps in the daytime. I think we soap fans need to give our support to the remaining soaps on the air even if we never watched those soaps before. That’s what I’m doing even though I never watched BB or Days before now. I too urge you all to do the same if you can.
I’d prefer it to stay in the daytime as is, but at this point, I’ll take my stories any way I can get them.
That’s true, I’d rather have it part time than never.
Why did not think of this for AMC and OLTL?!!!
For me, GH was the targeted soap to save in the first place and the save AMC & OLTL was a smoke screen and slap in the face to fans who participated.
same here-better some of the time, than not at all!
Why not bring OLTL back as a primetime summer run show while they’re at it.
I wish they would just leave our soaps alone, they have done more than enough damage! Let us recover from our latest losses…seriously!!!
So after all the whining about how expensive Soaps are and that is the reason they have to go – now they say Soaps are cheap compared to Prime Time shows? I always thought the expense excuse was a lot of bunk.
Yes, but will there be as many Virgin Marys hanging on the wall? I like my novellas authentic.
Right now I need the patience to wait for Frank & Ron to work some magic. Today’s GH was awful !
It has gotten so bad that when the scene was going on with Tracey & Anthony I was gringing at his voice & demeanor…. Hate this. Hurry up and dump these awful storylines. Then advertise on prime time who’s back, especially on Wednesday & Thursday nites with their best lineups. I cannot believe not having
One life today I turned off GH. Do we really need to deal with a new messed up kid thrown into the mix……really?
Oh how I agree. Every day I turn GH on & TRY to watch, every day I turn it off in disgust. I cannot stand Anthony & Tracy, I mean really. And I when I saw the new angry kid, I turned it off then.
Another example-Friday, I think it was, I turned it on at 2:00-first thing was Ethan kissing that girl, I turned it off-it is hard to invest in a story when you know the character is leaving.
At 2:30 I checked again-there is Sam with big tears in her eyes & Jason looking sick-what’s new here-turned it off.
At the end of the show checked again & there is Sonny getting either shot or blown up AGAIN. Turned it off. I am trying but this poor show needs a total overhaul-I mean clean house & start over, it is so bad. And to think OLTL is gone.
I would rather for The Revolution to tank so that GH takes its timeslot in September.
Although OLTL was by far my favorite soap on ABC, it is now a thing of the past. But GH isn’t and it’s not too late to save it. It’s time for OLTL and GH fans to put their differences aside and to join forces to save General Hospital.
I’m calling out all OLTL fans, GH fans as well as Y&R/B&B/DAYS fans to boycott The Revolution like the plague and to support General Hospital by watching it live on ABC as much as possible (if possible, avoid the DVD or online thing). I know that General Hospital isn’t exactly the best soap right now, but it needs our help and it’s time to save it and prevent this cancellation trend that has completely wiped out the NY soaps to infiltrate itself on the LA soaps.
Because if General Hospital gets canceled, you can be sure that these anti-soap executives won’t stop it there and will go after the three remaining soaps until they have succeeded in fully killing a genre that has existed since the 1930s .
So let us, ALL soap opera fans, join force to save General Hospital and
show these bigwig network executives that soap operas are still a viable business in 2012.
A primetime summer series? Sounds to me like an even easier way to get rid of GH once and for all. I can see it now. Well we took it from daytime and put it on primetime, but the ratings were not what we would like. Might as well cancel it in favor of another reality show … after only a handful of episodes. That is what ABC does.
What GH, and while we are at it, OLTL, AMC, GL, ATWT, PC, Loving/The City, etc., all the cancelled shows and those remaining need is to go to their OWN network, like the CW, or even HULU – they just started their own original programming. I would be willing to pay a subscription fee to watch QUALITY television again.
What sort of damage control is this? We can all see through this. The show is getting cancelled, one way or another.
As soon as Ron’s material starts airing, I’ll be watching GH. Not before.
how would it work? i just can’t see it.
I’m almost done with GH, so boring lately, how dumb is this ghostly gal running around, to broad of storylines, get back to the main players and thier issues, the more you add the less focus. I would rather read this then watch GH now.
ABC needs to STOP with the insanity!!!! Enough is enough, leave GH alone and get rid of these stupid live talk shows that air on every channel everyday all day. Cheap Cheap Cheap is what ABC has become and I’m ready to boycott all together. They can afford the one last soap on the network and put alot into it to make it successful. Kaitie Couric wasn’t successful as a primetime news anchor and she won’t do any better as a talk show host. Wake Up ABC before you lose all of your remaining viewers to other networks.
Amen! KC is not the deal!!
I’m being driven to whatever it is that my mother watches on TNT all day.
Ron should hit the ground running. Entice the OLTL viewers to want to give GH a try. He is already alienating the Jolie fanbase by ignoring Melissa Archer going over with Michael Easton to GH. Wouldn’t take much for die hard fans to follow. Instead of treating GH’s cancellation as a done deal, do what it takes to save it!
They tried this format (televovelas) with Port Charles. 13 week story arcs. So where is Port Charles now?
Exactly! Why would they do this, when they’ve tried it before? And why wasn’t this an option that was even considered for OLTL……which is my opinion was the best soap on tv, and deserved to be saved. Although, putting a daytime soap in the primetime line-up is a sure fire way to make sure it gets cancelled. If the 2.5 – 3 million viewers isn’t enough in daytime, then why would it be enough for primetime? Not to mention, as of March 2012, Soapnet will be a thing of the past. Running the soaps exclusively on Soapnet would have been better than canceling all of the soaps. Hell, the network is called Soapnet, so why not just feature AMC, OLTL & GH on that network? That way the fans get to see their shows, and the network can run their lousy talk shows during the day on the regular network channel. Soapnet should have been a ground-breaking network that featured all the shows that we love, and also could have been the forum to start up new original soap series. Instead of running repeats of O.C, Beverly Hills 90210 & Gilmore Girls. Ryan’s Hope, Generations, Another World, As The World Turns, Santa Barbara, Guiding Light, Sunset Beach…..I mean, it’s not like they didn’t have a bevy of shows to run on the network. We soap fans our fanatical about our shows, and I know that if they were to run all of the programs that I listed above, they would surely have an audience to tune in. I for one, miss Generations & Sunset Beach….and they haven’t been on for years.
Seems to me, they don’t have the right people in charge….cause the people in charge don’t know how to think outside of the box.
I am confused. Should the ratings jump for GH, and they will, why move it anywhere? Is Katie, Revolution, Chew that high in ratings??
If the show is good, bringing in viewers, can’t another network pick it up?
I am not a telenovela fan. I like daytime drama and its legacy characters and histories. Seems as though B&B is that sort of telenovela with its stop-and-start plotting and character assassinations. Just not my thing.
Would love the focus to be on daytime and keeping that genre special and unique. Moving GH to summer primetime does not solve a problem. The strongest primetime offerings seems to languish during summer months so I would expect GH to do the same.
One day someone decided daytime drama was beginning to fail and ignored warning signs or failed to do right the ship. As a result, we have lost so much wonderful entertainment in favor of glossy personalities who offer self-improvement hints my parents and vets like Heloise have shared for years.
That someone was Brian Frons. Several actors have spoken of his dislike of the genre and how it’s fans meant nothing to him. So he is leaving abc come the end of January. Big deal. The damage has been done. He is also responisble for the mess SoapNet has become. Before his reign SoapNet had great original programming; like Soap Talk, One Day With in addition to running old soaps like Another World, Ryans Hope, Dallas, Dynasty etc. etc… He took over and gave us The OC twice a day, 90210 three times a day and Gilmore Girls. The same stuff over and over. But that seems to be the way Disney does things as anyone who has kids will tell you. (How many times have you seen the same episodes of Good Luck Charlie or Wizards of Waverly Place?) It was the fans of abc daytime who pushed Oprah to the top. She ran after GH and I for one as I know many others would not have watched her had she not had a great lead in like GH. (I have a few choice words for her as well but that is for another time.) OLTL is gone and tha’s it. GH is on it’s way and there is no one who can convince me otherwise. Katie Couric is washed up. No one wants to see her yet again. You know TNT is doing a reboot of Dallas. If that fares well in the ratings then maybe some cable channel may step up and buy the rights to OLTL.
Why not bring back OLTL in that form?
Don’t like it at all… unless it is all we get! Let’s keep GH on daytime in whatever slot it is in… frankly it could be the morning as long as it is on and we can get it on abc.com or hulu or wherever. There is one nice aspect to primetime and that is increased viewers. I like the idea of doing it with OLTL and if the viewers like it someone thinks about spinning off a new network for OLTL and GH if it has to move and then eventually B&B, Y&R and DOOL all go there too. I still like the notion of an all soaps network with maybe some shows or movies that use the soap actors for fun new ways to use their talent. Sort of like one big rep group with any type of vehicle (plays, movies, shows, musical concerts, talk shows with the stars with Michael hosting and interviewing and etc.)
I would rather see the genre evolve than go away. If done the right way I think it could work. Let’s give it a shot.
put it on anytime, any place but it has to be on 5 days a week and 52 weeks a year. I need my GH fix daily, not just for the summer.
Bringing it to prime time is another way to let it die. If it doesn’t attract more than it’s current viewers it will be cancelled after one season, and a summer series is what, 8-12 episodes? No, we need to get the ratings up and keep it online.
what is a primetime all? I love My GH
Honestly, I’ll watch whenever it’s on. Daytime, primetime, online, infomercial-only-time, makes no difference to me. What I will not watch, ever, never in a million years, is Katie Couric talking about anything.
Zzzzzzzz
Gimme a break already!
Still do not understand why ABC is wasting money on Katie Couric. Does anyone remember that, a former “The Today Show” co-host, Jane Pauley had a talk show? Will anyone want to watch Katie Couric listening to herself babble on and on?
I love GH!! If it is taken off, I might as well sell my TV….
I am soooo tired of all this drama about GH, I WANT GH TO STAY WHERE IT IS FOREVER! If ABCD wants to commit suicide so be it. Right now GH is the only show I watch on ABCD, so if they cancel it, this lady is off to CBS. ABCD is a lot like FB as far as I am concerned all FLUFF and NO STUFF…most of their programming stinks anyway and I am tired of people (ABCD) deciding for me what I watch.