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For Father's Day: Is GH's Patrick Drake The Best Soap Dad Ever?

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

Father’s Day is Sunday and as children get prepared to shower their dads with phone calls, emails, cards and presents, soap opera father’s are also very integral to storylines with their offspring!

Some soap dads actually bring a tear to our eye, or a smile to our face as they help teach their young children life lessons, help them persevere through challenging times, guide them, and love them.

On General Hospital, no father has become more endearing a single parent raising his child then Dr. Patrick Drake played by Jason Thompson.   Patrick’s scenes with his daughter Emma Drake played by Brooklyn Rae Silzer have continued to be audience crowd-pleasers.

ABC.com posted a few special Patrick and Emma moments to illustrate just what kind of great dad the good doc truly is!  You can watch a few selection after the jump as well!  After that let us know, is Patrick the best soap dad ever? Or, would you nominate another dad from another show? Let us know!

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Tom Horton in history

Tom Horton played by the late great McDonald Carey will always be the number one most loving, loyal and dedicated father and faithful husband in soap opera history!!!

Yes! I think he’s been an exceptional Dad considering everything he’s been through the last few years. Jason and Brooklyn have great chemistry and work really well together as a father and daughter duo. I always love their conversations. And Patrick actually takes the time to teach her things. I hope we’re able to see Emma grow up on the show like Kimberly did.

He is the best daytime father ever.

I like Nikolas and Spencer .. 🙂

Nikolas and Spencer are a joke . The kid runs the household/relationship, he’s very spoiled. Patrick is o’k but he’s more involved w/his love life. My favorite soap dad is Abe Carver on Days.

That is Prince Spencer ..
He is perfect for being of wealth and a prince..
Nik and Spencer 🙂

Emma is a phony, she is like a robot, a PSA from Leave it to Beaver era lol ..

In all honesty Patrick spends the most time with his child on GH. I think Nikolas would come in a close second with Spencer. The show doesn’t seem to have the time to really show the parent/child relationships much right now and it shows since thinking on it it’s been a bit of time since any father interacted with their young child.

GH does father relationships pretty well, I think. Patrick and Nicolas are great dads to their kids. Even Scotty had a tough time resisting being a dad to Franco.

I love GH and all, but I think One Life portrayed father relationships better. Beau Buchanan was a great dad. Asa, well, he was a bit misguided but he loved his boys.

Still miss that show!

Seriously? Mac is by far the BEST father in the history of GH.

Yes, I totally agree with you. Mac is the best. Nicholas, ya gotta be kidding me!

You are so correct! How could i forget Mac scorpio!! He devoted his life to Maxie and Goergie… I am getting teared eyed just thinking of some of their special moments.

Well, you have a good point. Mac is fabulous.

Mac is the man [dad]

The best soap father was Roman Brady when Drake Hogestyn was playing him. His relationship with Carrie is by far my favorite father/daughter relationshp of all time.

Fathers on soaps are only as good as the writer who pens their relationships with their kids. I find most soap writers aren’t interested in the parent child relationship unless there is some conflict involved or as needed, whether in be mothers or fathers. Out of the remaining four soaps I find the better written fathers for soaps at least are Patrick from GH- Billy Abbott on Y&R, Daniel on Days and sorry B&B- there isn’t one father on this show written that passes muster. Every father from Bill, Eric, Ridge to Deacon, are all written self absorb egomaniacs and I pity any one in real life who has a father remotely like them.
In all of soap history, well I agree Tom Horton was most likely the best written dad. I used to like how they wrote Jake McKinnion’s relationship with his stepchildren on Another World. And the Hughes family patriarch on ATWT, his name escapes me I want to say Bob, was it Bob or Tom? Him too, I thought he was written well as a dad.
Well to all the real fathers out there I wish all of you a Happy Father’s Day.

I like Patrick, Mac, and Nik, even though he should be driving Spencer to school, and setting some limits on the “littlest prince.” But then Nik probably didn’t have many hugs like he at least gives to Spencer. And even Michael. I think he’s doing a great job “parenting” AJ/Avery.

I forgot, but did MF have the same kind of best GH mom on Mother’s Day? Because the Dad’s storylines seem to spend more quality time with their kids than the moms. Carly comes to mind, sometimes Maxi…not always her fault because of the Spinelli arrangement. I guess the writers don’t want to show the mothering side of Sam or Elizabeth that much, but even when they do it doesn’t seem as involved as the dads I mentioned. And even though Alexis made questionable mating choices, she tries to be involved in her girls lives.

Best father ever is Dr. Joe Martin @ AMC

Worst father is Victor Lord @ OLTL

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing

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Stacy Keach and Cynthia Watros

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!

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Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

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.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

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.”

Jack Sabato

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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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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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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