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Disney-ABC Officially Cancels KATIE! Talk Show To End After Two Seasons!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

The ax has finally fallen on Katie Couric’s afternoon talker, Katie!  Soap fans can now have some retribution that 2/3 of all the replacements that ABC, or the Disney/ABC Syndication wing came up with to rebrand their daytime lineup, that saw iconic soap operas, All My Children and One Life to Live cancelled, and General Hospital moved to a new time slot to  acommadate Katie going into their original timeslot in television markets around the country, has all but failed.  The only show to survive this is The Chew!  The Revolution and now Katie have tanked!

According to an official press release today from Disney/ABC and Katie Couric, “While production will continue on Katie through June 2014, we’ve mutually agreed that there will not be a third season of the show. We’re very proud of everyone’s contributions to making Katie the #1 new syndicated talk show of 2012-2013, and we look forward to the rest of the season.”

Couric was expected to give the news to the show’s staff after today’s taping, the last before the scheduled holiday break until January!  Seems like a lot of major changes happens in the final week before Christmas in the daytime biz!  For months, we have been reporting that the cancellation was imminent and now Disney/ABC pulled the trigger!

At present time there is  no replacement for Katie.  Disney/ABC is working on finding something to put in the talker’s place, having recently hired syndication executive Lisa Hackner!  The big hurdle there is if the syndication arm  can mount a new production that fast!  ABC found it continually hard to make Couric’s show economically feasible because of its cost, even with a budget reduction.   ABC stations have already been reportedly exploring local newscasts to replace the talk show next fall, with other programming acquisitions as an option to newscasts!  Starting in January, Couric will do Katie along with her duties under her new deal with Yahoo. After Katie ends in May, she will focus on Yahoo while looking for opportunities in TV!

So, what do you say soap fans?  Are you happy Katie is going to be a-goner? Or, will you miss her talk show? Let us know!

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I can’t believe her talk show lasted this long. Katie does well with an ensemble cast. Being on her own just shows how phony she is.

ABC should now learn from their mistakes that cancelling the soaps was one bad idea. They should put OLTL and AMC on in half hour slots and their numbers would soar.
I am shocked The Chew has lasted longer than Katie.

I want One Life to Live to come back too. But I actually like The Chew. My ideal lineup for ABC would be The Chew, One Life to Live and General Hospital.

All My Children can stay dead for all I care.

I really like the Chew… I would like to se All My Children come back in the 3:00 slot…

YEAH!!! Happy holiday soap fans. this is our gift. Now Please ABC put GH back to 3pm.

Better yet, cancel that horrid The Chew with all those idiotic people clowning around for their own pleasure ,and bring back OLTL and AMC. They should never had been cancelled them in the first place.

I’m with you!!

yes, cancel The Chew ABC buy back AMC/ OLTL and Merge the two soaps like they should have done in the 1st place.

Totally agree, Harry, with everything you said. And does ABC not understand the meaning of “boycott”? I haven’t strayed from standing firm and watching nothing on ABC besides GH since they cancelled two of my favorite soaps.

Sorry to crash the party but Katie’s cancellation won’t bring back AMC and OLTL.

First, her show was syndicated so her cancellation has no impact on AMC and OLTL. Secondly, even if her talk show had been a network show, chances are ABC would have replaced it with another talk show instead of a soap opera. Thirdly, her show wasn’t cancelled because of low ratings but rather because her contract was too expansive. If her contract had been cheaper with the same ratings, the show wouldn’t have been cancelled.

Sorry if my post may offend some, but I’m just being realistic here. Katie’s cancellation won’t bring back AMC and OLTL. Anyone who continue to think otherwise will only end up being hurt and frustrated.

Amen. Bring back the old afternoon line up

Janet, this may have been a “syndicated” show, but it was produced by ABC/Disney and shown primarily on ABC stations. So, ABC is who needs to come up with something to fill that time slot.

SZima, ABC doesn’t necessarily need to find a replacement to Katie because her show was syndicated. They may leave the show with no replacement as they did when they cancelled The Tony Danza Show a couple of years ago.

I don’t know why everyone thinks that Katie had a timeslot. In my market, Katie aired on the NBC station and she didn’t even aired at 3:00pm. She aired at 4:00pm. On my ABC station, it’s Ricki Lake that aired at 3:00pm last year. Now that Ricki Lake has been cancelled, it’s another lame talk show that is airing after GH (I think Dr. Oz, but I’m not sure).

I am with you, Max, I don’t watch anything in the afternoon BUT GH. I meant it when I said I would boycott any shows that replace AMC & OLTL. It is now time to bring them back, and get your high ratings for those shows, or even combined them for an hour each day. What ABC did was so wrong in every way. All of their talk about people wanting more reality type shows proved them WRONG at every angle and how long is “The Chew” going to last???

Any show in which it seems that the hosts are having a grand ole time while forgetting that there are viewers out there is an unmitigated disaster. The Chew makes me want to Spew.

Same here they should have never canceled. I stopped watching everything on ABC except of General Hospital is a damn shame. I also miss AMC and OLTL. What did was very wrong and I know they’re regretting it.

ABC gave Prospect Park such a hard time so why don’t they just put AMC & OLTL back on themselves? Don’t they get it? Nobody is watching these crappy new shows! They must be losing money & isn’t that what it’s all about to them?

OLTL is never coming back. It is too expensive to start a soap, even an establish one. sorry.

Actually, The Chew’s ratings have been rising over the past year. So obviously people are watching and enjoying it even if it’s not soap fans.

Listen to Mary and Janet. OLTL and AMC are dead. Move on.

What a bunch of haters! Obviously not soap fans!

There is enough local newscast as it is…how much news and talk do we need…i hear the headlines and then check out the weath report in the morning and in the evening…sometimes just once a day…breaking news and sometimes follow up reports ill tune in to…and thats all i need…cable news have a rehash of news daily 24/7…we have enough news, talk and reality garbage!!!

weather!

Maybe you can ask Propect park if they want to do OLTL again to air at 2pm. Please no more talk shows or reality shows.

a reality show, will replace katie. trust me this will happen. i love reality shows.

you may be alone in that, prime time reality ok, but give daytime back to the soaps please.

I’m with you! No more reality, cooking, or news programs! Glad Katie done! Let`s have something new, refreshing with a twist!

i am so happy, that katie couric has been cancelled. i know i am dreaming but abc needs to bring back one life to live in the fall. Abc should admit, they made a huge mistake in cancelling one life to live and all my children. but, they will not admit it. abc prove me wrong. katie was a flop, i am so happy she failed. the revolution tanked as well. karma is a bitch. I have to say, that i enjoy watching the chew. thats the only show, that survived. just bring back, one life to live and i will be happy again. all my children, can stay dead. I gave up on all my children, the ratings were falling. one life to live rating were way up, and they cancelled it. brian frons needs to be locked up and tortured with jill pharren phelps. she is a soap killer, like brian frons. i will call sheila carter and caesar faison, and they can torture brian frons and jill pharren phelps. merry christmas everyone. merry christmas too you michael fairman.

My God, AMC and OLTL are DEAD!!!! They’re NOT COMING BACK!!! Let it go, people!!! I loved them also but the writing is on the wall!!! CANCELLED!!!

Yes but it’s funny that everyone is still talking about them. No one talked about Guilding Lighht as much as these too soaps. I agree, it’s probably too late, but we could still hope.

Finally! Another epic fail for ABC/D daytime tv. I hear The Simpsons’ Nelson Muntz saying ,”Ha ha”.

We all saw this coming.

Katie’s Talk Show didn’t really interfere with General Hosp here in Orlando, Fl, as her show was broadcast on NBC at 2:00pm while GH was shown on ABC at 2:00pm. Of course, when Katie was first brought to TV, General Hosp was moved from it’s original 3:00pm time slot which did not make GH’s longtime fans very happy. I personally am now used to watching GH at 2:00pm and hope the ABC network doesn’t change It back to 3:00pm……but I could learn to live with it!!!! I never watched Katie’s Talk Show but wish her all the best!!!!

I would have liked to seen Katie join the “View”. I have nothing against Katie or her show, but I’m glad that the show is cancelled.. I hope everything ABC puts into daytime falls apart.

I am thinking that The View should be cancelled next due to its abysmal ratings and its horrible co hosts. Barbara Falters has lost it and Dumber and Dumber (Sheri and Jenny) are intolerable. Whoopi is the only sane one on the panel and she looks like she wants to jump out of her skin

BRING BACK ONE LIFE TO LIVE!

I totally agree. Of course, with ABC legal issues with PP I highly doubt we would see OLTL or AMC return to the daytime line-up. I am a OLTL fan, but I want AMC fans to have their show too. I wish ABC could admit their mistake, resolve their issues with PP, and put both shows on for a half hour.

As of now, I only watch GH. Never have and never will watch the chew. The Revolution and Katie fell victim to cancellation and it will continue to happen.

Yes, for sure and then cancel The Chew and bring back AMC! I am giving up on both GH and Y&R so I need a decent soap to watch.

Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They should bring back AMC & OLTL half hour slots like B &B.

Bye Bye we want our soaps back

Heck YEAH I am happy she has been axed!! Now just bring OLTL and AMC back and give GH their RIGHTFUL time slot back. Admit it, ABC…you screwed up, now fix it!

From your lips to God’s ears.

Wow buh bye. Can’t really fill that OLTL spot can they.

PUT SOAPS BACK ON ABC, Maybe A Revival Of Ryan’s Hope??!!!!???

Delia, Her Kids: Ava & John (Little John), Husband Roger, Daughter In Law Lizzie & Grandson Owen;

That’s A GOOD WAY To Go.

PUT RYANS HOPE Back On ABC!!!! They Would Definitely Be COMPETITION to THE DYING OR DEAD THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, WHICH I STOPPED WATCHING;

Love to see One Life to Live, come back!!!

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would be a Christmas miracle 🙂 !!!

Talk about Drama….This shows the research arm of ABC, the focus groups and anyone else who had the opinion that Daytime Dramas were no longer viable really didn’t know what they were talking about. Had ABC left their daytime dramas intact and simply brought in capable writers the shows would have flourished, both financially and in the ratings. ABC has found out the hard way–at the expense of fan loyalty and several millions of dollars that cheaper/less expensive programming via talk shows obviously do not hold a candle to daytime dramas.

I couldn’t agree more! whoever is making these daytime programming decisions should join Brian Frons on the unemployment line.

I read the Erika Slezak was told by the then president of daytime that the audience wants information, not entertainment. Well, two of the information shows have tanked. Looks like that executive didn’t have a clue. Of course, we viewer already knew that.

Katie was syndicated, locally it was on NBC. From what I read the ratings were decent but the production cost was very high due to the ridiculous contract Katie was given. Ratings not high enough to justify the cost of the show. I’m not a Katie fan but I watched her show here and there if she had a good guest. It was decent but not great.
However people need to stop thinking their soaps are coming back. It ain’t happening folks. Meredith Viera will be the next show on the syndicated circuit and local stations will pick up her show in many markets.
Katie keeps coming up like a rose but maybe the jig is up as far as big money goes.

Gee~ I have a great idea how about reviving the 2 soaps that you dumped like hot potatoes, big big mistake ABC!!!

Replace her with All My Children or One Life to Live

Y-A-Y!!!!! I am so ecstatic!!!!! I’m sorry but (to me) that Katie Couric is N-O-T talk-show material at all. No. No Thank You. Next………..

Katie wasn’t really good at being a talk show host so I’m not surprised it got cancelled. I would not be mad if old episodes of any of the abc soaps got replayed!!!

It is not a shocker: Katie’ s cancellation. Now, we will see who prevails with rights to #OLTL #AMC. I think folks are ready to move on after PP debacle. In my heart, I would like to SEE #OLTL have a fair chance.

No matter what comes – no more chat fests, game shows or reality angst. We. Continue to wait it out.

BRING BACK RYAN’S HOPE!!!!!!!

Theirs So Much You Can Do With It!!!

Now That Delia Has Another Kid

BRING BACK RYANS HOPE

Just Don’t Let JILL FARREN PHELPS WHO KILLED Santa Barbara, Guiding Light, Another World, One Life To Live, General Hospital & Now The Young And The Restless;

And If The NEW HEAD OF ABC DAYTIME DOES SO, She Can Bring Back

The WONDERFUL, CONSUMATE, CREATIVE & TALENTED

Creator, Head Writer & Executive Producer Of RH: CLAIRE LABINE.

She Did A —- Of A Wonderful Job On Ryan’s Hope But Also On General Hospital;

Brining Back The Hospital Format FRONT & CENTER
Stone & Robin Love Story
Monica’s Cancer
BJ’s Accident
Maxine’s Heart Transplant

Remember Those???

No no no ryans hope will never come back. i hated that soap.. General hospital and days of our lives are the best shows right now to see

Sorry Left Something Out:

Just Don’t Let JILL FARREN PHELPS WHO KILLED

Santa Barbara, Guiding Light, Another World, One Life To Live,
General Hospital & Now The Young And The Restless;

Be Involved With Ryan’s Hope If That Happened, God Knows What Would Happen To A Woman Who Has Done NOTHING But Destroy.

Guess Disney/ABC has to eat crow… as the old saying goes… “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Bring back AMC , OLTL to their old time slots, give them good writers and appease those loyal soap opera fans.

Not going to happen.

Finally! She should have never been put on in the first place! Now the Mouse is moving her over to their other partner Yahoo – can’t wait for her to go down in flames there! Cha- ching Cha-ching, she still gets a paycheck as the Mouse is still picking up the tab! Glad they are loosing a bundle! Hope they STOP throwing good money after bad & bring back OLTL & AMC. Return GH to its 3PM slot along with its iconic theme song & opening montage with Luke walk off! No more beep beep beep & lame photographs!

Give us back our soaps!

I really don’t understand why The Chew is still on. That is a horrible show! Glad to see Katie gone. Want ABC to fail at everything. Bring back our soaps!

The chew is a huge hit. people love the chew, I love carla and mario. gh is the soap to watch now. gh ratings are getting higher and higher, that’s great news.

The U.S. is the fattest country in the world. The fact that a show exists that is called The Chew is so sad. It is not a huge hit. It is just cheaper to produce.

It is a shame Katie has been cancelled. She provided one of the most intelligent talk shows on the air. I am a huge soap fan and would love to see AMC and/or OLTL come back, even if they could do only half hour shows. Katie spent more time on topics, allowing a more in-depth discussion of important issues. I will be sad to see her go.

TO BE HONEST THERE ARE TO MANY TALK SHOWS ON THE NETWORKS RIGHT NOW WHAT THE DISNEY/ABC NETWORK SHOULD DO IS WAKE UP AND REALIZE THAT HE FANS ARE MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WITH OUT THE FANS RATINGS ARE GOING TO FALL SO I’M BEGING THE NETWORK PLEASE BRING OUR SOAP FAMILY BACK HOME WHERE THEY BELONG

Awesome Christmas present for us AMC/OLTL fans. The news of her tanking. Any chance of them getting smart and putting OLTL back on air. Unfortunately AMC cast have moved on but I bet they can get some of the cast back from OLTL. Some AMC cast can be moved to OLTL. Get smart ABC/Disney. They pulled Soapnet already, I thought that was suppose to air until 12/31/13.

I am very glad that they finally got rid of Katie. Next they need to get rid of The View and the Chew. They both are bad. There are to many talk shows on. Now on to the soaps. ABC should bring back AMC and OLTL. They can buy back the rights from PP use 2 different studios make them both half hour shows. That way it would save ABC money. It might bring up their ratings for daytime. Also, I am not happy about Soapnet being taking off for good. Disney has just thrown us under the bus. There are other things out there for kids. Maybe we should bocott Disney and see how they like it. The soap fans are strong and maybe ABC should start to listen to the soap fans instead of the suits in New York.

I want my AMC/OLTL back now

Hey ABC… wise up ! Give the people what they want ! AMC & OLTL !

Why did they cancel All My Children and One Life To Live for this stupid talk show, it was so totally boring, glad its been canceled!

I loved katie couric, her talk show was terrific. oltl and amc will never come back. and that’s a good thing. gh is the best soap right now.

Isn’t it obvious….. no talk show created or distributed by ABC/Disney will succedd in this timeslot. And we all know it. Soap fans have a lifelong loyalty to their stories and the tv families that theyhave embraced.

We will not be told that talk shows or local news shows are what we want….

The olny thing that wll bring back the viewers is SOAPS – daytime drama (scripted – not phony reality nonsense).

Here is my plan – start repeating highlights from AMC and OLTL durng the summer and plan to roll out brandnew shows in September or January 2015.

Make it a hybrid of both shows – you will see the fans flock back to ABC – and everyone will behappy. ABC – you can use this idea – I will not even charge you for this advice – just give me a week long pass for my family to visit DisneyWorld.

GOOD JOB, MGB!!! I hope they are reading all of these posts on all of the sites, which is pretty much the same on all of them. We Soap fans are VERY dedicated.

Finally, Katie is finally off the air, I have no problem with King of Soap Opera,GH The Doctor and Dr. OZ show on ABC station..we,I’m happy that ABC axes Katie.

Well, it seems to be unanimous, her boring talk show is cancelled and no one gives a rat’s tail about it.
ABC-TV ought to settle things with Prospect Park and put back ALL MY CHILDREN combined with ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Have the residents of Pine Valley and nearby Landview intermingle. They don’t have to have two full hour soaps, in addition to
Gen. Hospital, but they could trim them down for budget reasons…It will work, fans will watch – but unfortunately it probably won’t happen anytime soon. We could all write to ABC-TV and suggest it, it wouldn’t hurt.

thank goodness. She was horrible in this format. Bring back AMC and OLTL!!!!1

Simple solution Bring back One life to live. Forget the lawsuit with Prospect Park and give the people what they want.

I AGREE WITH YOU. BRING BACK ONE LIFE TO LIVE. AMC NO WAY, I WAS FED UP WITH THE STUPID STORY LINES. AMC CAN STAY DEAD.

Good riddance!

I don’t know which is worse

sugary sweet Katie or Sappy Meridith Viera… both phony up

I dread the next year.. when her show starts

Meredith will do very well, when her talk show debuts in the fall. katie couric failed, nobody likes katie couric. She is very annoying and boring to watch. I’m so happy, that her talk show is cancelled. Meredith will be a huge hit. I will watch her new talk show.

Gee, I don’t know what they could ever get to fill that empty hour? I mean, it’s not like they have two soaps that some jerk-wads cancelled and the daytime community has been clamoring to get back on the air, even if only thirty minutes each. No, it’s not like they could just payoff the folks at PP and get the rights to AMC and OLTL back. That might require actual work and then, God forbid if those shows have a healthy life span. I say that unless they work out the details and bring back OLTL and AMC in thirty-minute formats, (because I’d hate to have fans of either show miss out even though I’m a OLTL fan), they should leave the screen dark for that hour. That’s the best use of their money IMHO. LOL!

That serves ABC right for cancelling OLTL and AMC. I don’t watch Katie very much as I am sick of all these talk shows. However it is better than that asinine, stupid and silly Chew that needs to be cancelled.

I love the chew, the ratings are way higher this year. bring back one life to live, but i know I’m dreaming.

I agree with Laura. The Chew is a great show and so is One Life to Live. They should have both shows on the ABC lineup along with General Hospital. It used to be like that for a brief time but I didn’t watch The Chew back then.

All My Children should not be revived. It doesn’t deserve to. Its final years on ABC were so bad to the point that it literally became an embarrassment for the show to still be on. Prospect Park’s version of All My Children was slightly better but I still wasn’t impressed. Bring back One Life to Live on ABC and keep The Chew.

So glad she leaving !!!!!!!! I miss my soaps. Sorry Katie but CEEYA ! I boycotted u because they took my soaps off.and changed time slot of GH Fo HER. Thank God she’s going

SO HAPPY KATIE IS OFF THE AIR!!! Love mgb357’s idea for a replacement.

I watched “Katie” very little, maybe if at home at lunch. I’m not a big fan. Nothing ground-breaking like Oprah. Miss my daytime “lunch time” tv. Sad, I remember cliff-hanger Fridays, supercouples, ground-breaking storylines. Just not the same anymore. I’m not a fan of The Chew, either. I can’t “get into” it. Oh, well. Happy General Hospital is still on-air!

was the show cancelled or did she quit. I read for a while now that she was leaving to go work for Yahoo….

either way, it took too long.

now if a judge could just dismiss this ABC/prospect deal so we could get our shows back on ABC…. that would be a Christmas miracle!

Good! Yet another failure, ABC/Disney!!!! Get it yet?

Interesting esp following news of GH’s successful ratings the past couple months…. and GH has been hitting their key demos several times lately. That’s what the suits in charge care most about.

However, would the suits ever be able to say “hey, we made a mistake”?

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

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Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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