General Hospital
Does Head Writer Ron Carlivati Want James Franco To Play Himself On General Hospital?

Courtesy/L.A.Times
According to an item from Showbiz 411.com’s Roger Friedman, General Hospital’s head writer, Ron Carlivati may be interested in bringing back the original “Franco”, motion picture star James Franco, back to the ABC soap opera, but this time not as the fictitious Franco who is now played by Roger Howarth … but as himself! Got that?
Friedman reports that he had a conversation with the WGA nominated head writer of the town of Port Charles over the weekend during the WGA Award ceremonies. The item says: “Ron told me he wants the real Franco to make one more return. I think the idea is that the multi-tasking actor would play himself, and I guess confront the fictitious Franco. Anyway, the soap is now the hip show that Franco wanted it to be when he was on it.”
So, what would you think if James Franco returned to General Hospital but this time as himself? Can you imagine what the scenes would be like having a “Franco” showdown between Roger Howarth’s Franco and the real James Franco? Comment below!
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair

On the Thursday, October 1 episode of General Hospital, both Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) had some things to say and what they had to say didn’t go over well with whom they were talking to!
Sonny had a confrontation with his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), while Michael leveled with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) over Chase (Josh Swickard).
GH is setting up a scenario where everyone is going to make it look like Sonny was responsible for having Sidwell (Carlo Rota) beat up in Pentonville; while viewers already know Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) were behind it.

Courtesy/ABC
A VISIT WITH DAD
Now, Dante comes to Sonny’s house. He wants to know straight up from his dad if he ordered the attack at Pentonville. Sonny flatly denies any culpability or responsibility, but Dante refuses to believe him.
Dante informs Sonny he has video footage of Sully and Vito at the prison. Sonny explains to Dante he doesn’t know why Sully beat up both Curtis and Dante. Things escalated when Sonny was deeply hurt that Dante refused to believe him. Dante says he was disappointed that his father didn’t respect him enough to be truthful with him!
Sonny asks Dante to consider that he was being set up. He says all he did was to tell Vito to instruct Sully to keep a watchful eye on Sidwell, not to harm him. No matter what Sonny said, Dante continued hammering him with how he knew deep down, even though he said he left the mob, he had to finish off Sidwell for himself.
Next, Sonny explains everything he has ever done was to provide for and to protect his family. Dante fired back that he doesn’t want to deal anymore with Sonny’s half-baked truths. As the two men argue, Gio (Giovanni Mazza) shows up at Sonny’s front door and overhears Sonny losing his temper and shouting at Dante, “Get out of my house! I don’t want a son like you!” The scenes featured an excellent performance by Maurice Benard.

Courtesy/ABC
MICHAEL THE MANIPULATOR
While this is going down, outside the Quartermaine boathouse, Brook Lynn opens up to Michael about living at the Q’s with Chase being there, since he only came back due to legal advice from his lawyer, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard).
Brook Lynn questioned whether they should get legally separate. Michael insisted that would be a big mistake. When she asks why, Michael tells Brook Lynn to bide her time until Chase and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) have an affair; then she’d have full custody of Phoebe.
An angered Brook Lynn pushed Michael into the water and accuses him of moving Willow back into the gatehouse with intent on putting Chase and Willow in closer proximity and sacrificing Brook Lynn’s family in the process. As the two cousins bicker, Chase shows up asking Brook Lynn if she is OK. Michael punctuates their talk with “You know, I’m right.”
CURTIS FIGURES OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF THE SLAMMER
At GH, Willow visits Curtis (Donnell Turner) in his hospital room. Curtis wants Willow to get him pardoned and keep him out of jail, and in return, he will help her nail Sonny.
Next, Willow tells Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) she wants Curtis held for observation for three more days. He agrees to do so under one condition, that she understands that he may need to call in a favor from a congresswoman.
So, what did you think of how Dante accused his father and refused to believe Sonny’s answers? Is this the end of their father and son relationship for good? Is Michael the most manipulative person of all, except for Willow? Do the two deserve each other? Do you want Chase and Willow to have an affair? And what of Curtis? Does he have many redeeming qualities left? Share your thoughts via the comment section, but first check out the talk Michael had with Brook Lynn.
General Hospital
GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof

Two soap opera alums very familiar to fans of General Hospital and The Young and the Restless are paired together in a new short-form digital series from none other than Issa Rae’s production entity HOORAE Digital.
Look for Tajh Bellow (ex-TJ Ashford, GH)) and Loren Lott (ex-Ana Hamilton, Y&R) as part of the cast of The Compatibility Experiment, premiering on October 14, 2026, exclusively on TikTok and its companion microdrama platform, PineDrama.
In the video teaser, it appears that Bellow and Lott play a couple, Kelvin and Camila, set in a Love Island reality show-esque environment trying to win the one million dollar cash prize, only what could go wrong?

Photo: HOORAE
The Compatibility Experiment loglines share that it brings a fast-paced, relationship-focused reality check—much like Love Island with a twist. The show takes a participant’s current relationship, introduces them to a potentially more compatible partner, and forces them to navigate the differences with life-changing money on the line.
The new series is part of a groundbreaking content deal between HOORAE Digital and TikTok to develop premium short-form storytelling. The ensemble cast also features; Ayona, Reggie Luck, JaNa Craig, Tosin Morohunfola, Jessica Jacoby, Georgia Warner, and Nick Cassidy.
General Hospital fans know Tajh Bellow for his performances as TJ Ashford, and who earned two Daytime Emmy nominations along the way during his run. Bellow took over the role in 2018 and last appeared on the ABC daytime drama series in December of 2024.
Loren Lott first appeared as Devon’s (Bryton James) sister Ana Hamilton on The Young and the Restless from 2018 to 2019; making a brief return in 2024. She has continued to perform on the stage and screen with recent credits including: Bel-Air, Cherish the Day, and All American: Homecoming.
Check out the trailer for The Compatibility Experiment below and let us know what you think of its concept and if you are glad to see Tajh and Loren again? Hoping they might return to daytime in their GH and Y&R roles at some point in the future? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown

If you thought that the person responsible for the Pentonville brawl that saw Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) taken to General Hospital was Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) or even Sidwell himself, you were dead wrong! On the Wednesday, September 30 episode of GH, it turned out that the culprits were actually Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison).
In story, Drew apparently bankrolled the attack on Sidwell and framing Sonny. He told Ava their planned worked (she came up with it!) but was horrified when Drew informed her that Curtis got caught in the crosshairs. Ava is visibly upset because of her longtime friendship with Curtis’ daughter, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali). Drew tried to make Ava see the bright side. Curtis was witness to it and his presence will cast doubt on Sonny’s claims to that he had gotten out of the mob and gone legit.
Later, Vito shows up at Drew’s. They informed him that his guy on the inside of the slammer made a big mistake by hurting their friend and ordered him to leave town.

Courtesy/ABC
BOATHOUSE BRAWL
In other major developments, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Rocco (Finn Carr) have a blow out fight as Danny blames his “brother” for the reason Charlotte was sent off to boarding school.
Rocco told off Danny for Charlotte’s (Bluesy Burke) reckless behavior and he explains he had to protect his sister. He went in on Danny saying that his mother Lulu (Alexa Havins) has been right to send Charlotte to boarding school and far away from Danny.
However, Rocco went a bit too far when he shouted, “And if your mom was alive, she would send you away too!” Next, Danny punched out Rocco, leading to a terrible brawl. An angered Danny yells at Rocco to, “Stay away from me and everyone in my family. And don’t you ever mention my mom again!” Danny storms off.

Courtesy/ABC
Now alone outside the boathouse, Rocco flashes back to his first kiss with Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarksi), hoping that his fight with Danny will not escalate and ruin their budding romance. Meanwhile, a bloodied-mouth Danny heads over to Sonny’s and Jason (Steve Burton) is there at the same time. He then admits that he has a bad fight with Rocco and they are both beaten up.
WILL SCOUT WISE UP?
At the end of the episode, Scout, who had a fight with Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) over Drew, and who keeps telling everyone how good a man her dad truly is, comes upon a suspicious scene.
Scout hides behind the wall outside Drew’s. She sees her dad, Ava and Vito talking. Next, Scout seems to overhear Vito assuring Drew and Ava that their business dealings are done, and he’ll be leaving Port Charles for good.
So, what did you think of the reveal that Ava and Drew were behind framing Sonny for the prison beatdown of Sidwell (and Curtis)? Do you think Danny and Rocco’s relationship can be repaired, or do you think the teenagers will continue to be at each other’s throats? Finally, do you hope Scout gets a clue and stops thinking her dad walks on air? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out how Ava and Drew conspired below.
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Great idea if the writers can make it exciting.. GH is great these days I hope they keep it up.
no, no, no, no, no, no
NO!, NO!, NO!, NO!, NO!
ditto here! had enough of him the first time! and don’t be messing with the ‘franco’ character again. It’s not like Roger can go back to playing Todd… and this idea of one franco confronting the other franco? what is that… Todd 1 vs. Todd 2. (victor), 2.0?
please don’t bring him back!
I agree Joshua! A thousand times NO!!!
The Franco reminder we have now, is too much.l
It sounds idiotic to me.
YES!!!YES!!! YES!!! I Love James Franco and his character. I am sure Ron would write a great script for JF I hope so..
The only reason I would want to see James is if he came back to kill Franco!!! That character needs to go!!!
Amen! That’s a great ideal to get rid of Franco once and for all.
Making Roger “Franco” was the MOST boneheaded idea CarToony has ever come up with. I don’t know what they were smokin’, but it had to be some pretty powerful stuff! 🙁
I agree! Get rid of Franco / Todd! So annoying on OLTL & now on GH!
James franco needs to come back. Todd from OLTL Sucks as franco!!
I’d love to see him come back!
Sounds dumb! JF is a great actor, but his Franco was a mess cause the show was such a mess. GH has finally dug itself out of what the writers created. Why go back?! And if they even bring Jason back, GAG! I have enjoyed the show since he left. I love Steve Burton, & Jason, but it became way to much, It was the Jason show. There is more of a story to tell in PC, so tell it. Use AJ more.
Enough of the stunt casting. Tell some decent, plausible stories, Ron, or step down. For God’s sake! This show is a mess.
GH is not a mess, it is exciting variety..
There is a variety of stories, something for everyone..
I like all the stories..
RC and team is doing a great job!!
(so are the actors)
I think the cast of GH is just way too big , why not write for the characters that were on GH & make the newcomers apart of their storylines , right now the newcomers are getting the storylines & the GH characters are apart of their storylines.And the newcomers keep coming , meanwhile half the cast are invisible & they have to be in order to accommodate all these newcomers. I am all for tuning in to watch GH’s storylines but this is too far away from the GH I have watched through the years & all the credit does indeed go to RC & FV for creating a whole different version of what once was GH.
Jeff, you said it. Thank you.
Bernie, the cast has contracts that guarantee them so much on screen time..
some of the old timers do not want to be on the set everyday and have other irons in the fire..
the new guests rarely stay past their story, which brings variety..
It is not always RC’s fault the actors themselves want what hey want, too .. time off and lighter days..
I hope James Franco returns, it will be a short stay but it would be dangerous fun..
April 1, I will be a 51 year viewer, and GH has returned to its G Monty glory days. It is NOT a mess, ABC has FINALLY got a EP and HW that actually know what they are doing. The terrible part is that One Life To Live’s loss is definately GH’s gain. I have recently even got my sister, who had quit watching a couple of years ago, watching again, and she has said how great GH is once again.
I don’t know how any one can say the show is a mess, it’s awesome, what more do people want?
SU0000, The screen time guarantees in the contracts are decided by and offered by the producer, Frank. It is his decision who gets offered the larger contracts. To suggest that Roger Howarth, Michael Easton, Kristin Alderson, Maura West, Teresa Castillo and William Devry have the largest contracts because they are willing to work and other actors are not is totally without any basis or evidence.
Some actors came back for short stays like Jack Wagner, but to claim that John J York, Kristina Malandro, Jane Elliot, Sean Kanan, and others are not on screen more is because they don;t want to work as much is absurd.
The characters that dominate, the OLTL 3, Sabrina etc, do so because that is the way Frank and Ron want it. Do you really think the actors from their old show and the other newbies they have brought on are the one’s that dominate because other actors don;t want to work as much? How absolutely ridiculous.
And SU0000, I forgot about Tristan Rogers. Did he not get a contract from GH because he didn’t want to work as much? He seems pretty excited to have a contract on Y&R. GH thought they could use him at will to draw fans in while their favored actors from OLTL and the newbies are taken care of with contracts and screen time. They were wrong.
ICAM – the show’s become a mess and bringing back Franco is a stunt. They should never have brought Roger back as Franco. It’s a waste of his talent – redeeming a psycho serial killer and rapist is bizarre – Roger would have made a great real Q or Cassadine – not evil.. but not good… Ron should start writing good stories. Carly is a favorite character, but she’s become FF material because of this ridiculous Heather storyline. Heather is a ridiculous character and hasn’t been written well since her return and they silly ‘back to life – escaping prison every other day” stories are repetitive and annoying. Carly and Franco pairing is an embarrassment – Carly w/ AJ as the new Monica and Alan makes way more sense and the actors have real chemistry. Sabrina is as dull as toast. I realize Ron is pushing her on us because he gets royalties for new characters – but please… recast her then. Obrecht on a daily basis – spare me (again royalties for Ron) – But I will give him Britt… love her w/ Nik – nice actress… I could go on for days at the mistakes the show’s making, but I think you get the idea.
I agree Lona. I recall my grandmother watching her “stories” every day at noon. Her stories were filled with people she knew and loved. Where’s the stories? Where’s the characters we know and love? Please, no more stunt casting.
I couldn’t agree more, Jeff. This sounds like the silly season on GH will be permanent. 🙁
Oh thank you GH50 person. I wanted to say what you did but felt too tired and depressed. As usual, you said it much better than I could have.
wow!
James Franco is a ham lol he would jump at the chance to be on GH again in his Franco roll..
IF, it happens and we RH and JF together on screen in a story, it would be incredibly great! A block buster !!
The 2 Franco’s facing off!!! wow & wow!!
((I hope it comes to be!!)
“A Blockbuster!” Sue, you do realize Blockbuster went out of business due to poor micro and macro planning don’t you?
Franco wouldn’t be playing Franco…he’d be playing himeself…James Franco. Still could be fun because James Franco is not only brilliant and great looking…he’s also a bit of a nut! (in a creative way of course…ahem.)
Oh what a brilliant….er, brilliantly STUPID idea. First they decide to cast the very talented Roger as the result of James Franco’s mental masturbation and now they think it would just be so very keen to have the real Franco come in to meet the manifestation of said mental masturbation. Poor Roger.
With making Dr O the chief of staff, Victor Cassadine the head of the WSB, and Sabrina the Disney star of the Perils of Pauline, General Hospital has become a self parody. It’s so campy it makes Beach Blanket Babylon look like King Lear. What about character driven stories? What about drawing back old viewers like me with well written drama involving characters with whom we have invested a lot of time and emotions? Hearing news like this only reinforces my decision to stop watching GH. Ron is so damn tone deaf that he can only not hear the plaintiff wails of disgruntled fans, he can not hear the toll of those bells. And Ron? Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
In the words of SHREK…NO MORE FAIRY TALE CREATURES IN MY SWAMP!!!!
I think that they’re perhaps not hearing THESE posts. On twitter, they get good and bad feedback. In “real life”…they get different feedback on the streets than they do on social media. The bottom line is the ratings are up and they’ve been declared a success and as having saved GH from the chopping block…so I guess they’re good where they are.
For me, personally, I’ve been enjoying it and am so glad that the show is safe at least a year. However, I too am disappointed that they didn’t do more with Frisco, Robert, Sean Donnelly…they don’t utilize Felicia and Mac other than an occasional conversation…it’s like these characters are present living in the neighborhood somewhere…but we just don’t get see them a lot.
I don’t get why they paired Anna and Duke up again if they do nothing with them. They’re barely together…I used to love Anna and Duke. There’s no romance, adventure, banter…I’d almost rather have left their relationship in the past then see it so dull now. And I love Ian Buchanan. And yeah, he’s now involved with Sonny but so far he’s just filler.
Liz. What can we say about Liz. She was fired, rehired…and they still don’t give her a real story. I’d hate to see her go…she’s a familiar face on the canvas who I truly like…they started something with her and AJ and then just dropped it. And AJ…don’t get me started on him! I LOVE AJ…and they put him on the back burner for Robin’s storyline…bring him back already and make it interesting!
I think the problem is that while I like GH and would more than hate to lose it…shudder…there’s no more sense of community or family. It’s like separate vignettes. They used to have groups of friends…Lucky/Liz/Nicolas/Emily…Robin/Stone/Brenda….Jax/Alexis/Ned/Lois…the Q’s…there were just more groups…and somehow these groups intertwined.
I need more intertwining! :/
Oh this I like–“No more fairy tale creatures in my swamp!” Perfect.
Today, a woman tweeted Ron the following, and I think it pretty much sums up the quality of the show.
“My 11 year just told me watching GH is the best hour of her life!!! #Generalhospital #GH @carlivatiron”
Out of the mouths of babes….but of course, Ron would take this as the highest form of flattery.
Isn’t this guy ALREADY in everything already? I SWEAR I saw him in the extra-long commercial during the Superbowl….(and I hope you can hear my sarcasm from here…)
wolfy
And like Franco, I was redundant in my first sentence. (sigh….)
This sounds like RC wants to write the tale of two …Franco’s
This is exactly what I think is going on. What a terrible idea — UGH! Enough already….the Franco reincarnation is not working. It didn’t work when RH was just playing Franco, it didn’t work when the brain tumor was the “cause” of Franco’s serial killing, and it isn’t working now that Franco has been given new parents….just cut your losses and move on already!
JF would be wise to stay away from this train wreck!
That’s what I was thinking as well. The tale of two Franco’s, just like the tale of two Todd’s on One Life to Live. I have a good sense this is where he’s headed with this storyline, makes sense. Looking forward to it, GH is on fire, by far the best soap. Good storylines and very entertaining. Wonder if they will bring Steve Burton back, his picture was shown on yesterday’s episode by Victor Cassidine.
I disagree. It’s nothing like The Tale Of Two Todds on OLTL. As OTT as it was at least had the purpose of reinstating the original actor, Roger Howarth, as “the real Todd.” This is…well I don’t really know what it is aside from a really dumb idea.
I’m not a fan of breaking the 4th wall. James Franco is a real person who for a time played the fictional role of Franco on GH which is now being played by Roger Howarth. Where can they go with that? RH is obviously not going to be booted out so James Franco can resume the role so what then? Lame one liners
about how RH’s Franco was always just imitating the real James Franco?
Dumb, dumb dumb. RC needs to learn to write well crafted stories for the cast he has rather than an endless stream of stunts and gags.
wont bff steve burton throw a fit? i don’t see it happening with james franco being tight with steve burton and jill faren phelps, they would prob get him to do “their show”.. plus RC needs to go back to reality and get rid of all the cartoon crap he’s doing lately.
Shhhh– don’t give them any ideas, otherwise before we know it JFP will make James Franco the new Adam Newman on Y&R.
Lol. Dont think she hasnt thought it.
Lets just concentrate on the characters and actors we already got and especially underused like Monica, A.J., and Liz…at least Liz is in more scenes but could still use her own storyline!!!
Batman will next become part of GH…Nikolaus Cassidine will become the superhero…he does have the mansion and a butler named Alfred…Lucky Felix will move into the mansion as his trusty sidekick Robin and together they will fight Victor and Dr.O and their diabolical plots(BAM! POW!) see you next week…same bat time…same bat channel…, lol!!!
Ooh I like the idea of Nicolas as a superhero like batman or green arrow after all he is a billionaire an he got one killer bod!
Great idea JimH!!! Very appropriate!!! Since I can’t get Robert back with Anna… all for it!!!!
Hmmm? Sounds like RH may be leaving the show? Or perhaps he is the real Jason who may come back from the dead?
Good I never liked RH as Franco it does not fit RH.
Sounds to me like they want to de-Franco RH as Franco. I can see that happening, because RH as Franco has not worked! Franco/Todd is so bad it’s embarrassing, and it wastes RH’s talents. And frankly, the character still makes my skin crawl. Franco and Carly do not work! The only hesitation I have is Cartini rarely admits they made a mistake. They made a huge one making RH Franco.
PLEASE NO! I’m sick of James Franco. He is in everything! I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up on Barney yet!
I haven’t been able to accept RH as Franco, and I don’t think I could accept the real JF as any other character.
GREAT IDEA! And he can be the new police commissioner! Seriously????
ONE WORD ; NO
sometimes i wish the internet had been around in the 80s because we could look up how many people would have complained vociferously that those newbies (you know, forgettable characters like Anna or Duke, say) were the producers’ favourite new playthings and they were obscuring the vets that everyone wanted to see and wasn’t it time to get rid of them because nobody wanted them and everyone hated them. and seeing as people seem to hold sabrina’s RRRRs against her (i can assure you when i speak to a fellow italian, i speak differently), i’m sure anna and duke’s accents were being lambasted.
Ron C. is obviously bereft of any good ideas. As if we needed any more proof, considering what’s on screen these days.
And here I thought it couldn’t get worse….
First reaction is no not again. Thanks to Roger, I realize it wasnt the Franco character I hated. The actor Franco crappy appearance was problem. But Im interested to see how the writers would use actor Franco. Roger knows how to act on soap. Both actors together could be amusing.
I love James Franco and the roll Rodger is playing stinks,
Yes
Maybe bring back the real Franco. And then some how Jason?
Recast jason
Ron loves to do crazy stupid crap with GH i hope this never happends it would be so lame and embrassing
GH has become such a jumbled up mess I can’t stand to watch it. It seems like they have new characters every month. What about bringing back the Qs like FV said over a year ago. No more Franco anything. They need to kill off Franco. Next month Donald Trump and Daffy Duck will on the show. Sheesh.
Oh please, no more (James) Franco! His namesake character was such a sick, demented freak that I swore off the show for a good, long year during his reign of terror on Port Charles….only since RoHo’s more comical version erased that awful memory of the original incarnation have I been able to watch the role without revulsion.
YEESSSS! I hate the fact that they have a new Franco actor and it isn’t James Franco himself i think that is dumb. They need James Franco back to play the real Franco at least one more time. I dont like the new Franco at all. He doesn’t fit the role of Franco