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Former Miss Alabama USA, Jesica Ahlberg Joins General Hospital In New Role!

Courtesy/JesicaAhlberg.com

Courtesy/JesicaAhlberg.com

More casting news out of ABC’s General Hospital. Former Miss Alabama USA 2014, Jesica Ahlberg, has landed the new role of Darby who will be arriving on the scene in Port Charles.  Ahlberg makes her debut on the Monday October 19th episode of the long-running daytime drama series.

According to ABC Soaps In Depth, all that is known at the moment is Darby is a friend of TJ (Tequan Richmond) and Molly’s (Haley Pullos).

The actress/model took to Twitter to share her excitement on her first daytime soap role on Tuesday.  Jesica tweeted: “Thanks for all the love! I’m thrilled to be playing Darby on General Hospital! I hope you all enjoy her as much as I do.”

Ahlberg’s previous credits have included roles on primetime TV series such as: Necessary Roughness and Banshee, and work in some feature films including: Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Roap Chip.

So, what do you think of GH’s new casting addition?  Who will Darby ultimately be mixed-up with in story?  Share your theories in the comment section below!

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How old is she to be hangin’ with Molly and TJ??
She looks much older .

Ummm my thoughts exactly.

I hope she performs her scenes in a swimsuit high heels and tiara.

Pray her talent is acting. Or I fear GH Will get their very own Summer Newman

At least Hunter king, can act. She is a wonderful actress and has won 2 emmys, back to back. Torqumada who sound bitter of Summer Newman lol

Josh, I kind of think Hunter King is getting a bad rap.
Sure, I have no use for the character because she is written as a whiny, self absorbed narcissist with a sense of entitlement. But every now and then, when Summer is allowed to show some concern for other people, something shines through.
They just need to give the girl a story which doesn’t revolve around The Newmans and The Abbotts. I mean, what is this young girl doing with her life? Is she even going to college?

Let’s give this girl a chance. You must admit, Torqumada, gorgeous women have always been caricatured or given less respect than a plain Jane or an average looking woman ever has. That’s the story since ALWAYS…..until one opens her mouth. Looks do not always run parallel to one’s intelligence. Trust me. It is always taken for granted that a beautiful woman lacks wit/ wisdom/a brain. I suppose this is the way said women are portrayed, even in this, the 21st Century. That fact is perpetuated, without fail.
My question is, why hire more characters? There must be a reason.. As long as there is a purpose and/or consequence, then okay. But, if it’s to ‘vamp’ the set, well, I don’t know…..

GH already has a bloated cast. The last thing they need is another newbie much less a teen. Some long time characters already go missing for weeks.

Darby becomes the new wuv interest for Morgan only to learn they are half siblings-Brenda is her momma and Sonny her pappa!…he already has kids all over the place so why not…ok, she cant be…i just cant care for another newbie in an already bloated cast with several characters they dont even care to write for but yet bring in a newbie and can write for her?

Exactly, Jimmy. What happened to the Brad/Lucas/Rosalie storyline? I know that was so dumb to have Brad and Rosalie married….still, the storyline was just left hanging.

i already forgot that storyline but then again it was forgettable when i watched it..lol

@jimh.
Exactly my point, Jimh. Forgettable. Why? ….because ‘they’ are all over the map; yet, more characters are introduced.

Why can’t they work with the people that they have and write decent storylines for them? TJ and Molly are barely on anymore and when they are it’s lame. Not looking forward to this at all.

Amen! I want to see Felicia, Mac, Scotty, Lucy, “Doc”, Laura, Bobbie, etc. what hole did these characters fall through?

If you need to add someone, how about Jasper Jacks?

I believe the new writers said that the cast will be trimmed down (a bit).

How is adding trimming down? Is Ben Weston on his way to Port Charles?

i hope so…lol

Sigh!!! Nothing against Jesica but since when is the T.J./Molly story, if you even consider it a “story,” of big interest. I realize GH wants to attact the “preferred” demos, but so far they don’t have a great track record of giving the younger actors interesting storylines anyway. Sometimes you hear they go to school, but mainly they go to Kelly’s, and don’t appear to do anything except have parent and boyfriend/girlfriend problems.

I truly believe there is more potential with things that can happen in their lives. There were a couple of promising stories where writers dropped the ball…Molly writing her book and then having Connie steal what became a best seller (with a little editorial embellishment from Connie). And TJ’s run-in at Wyndoms Dept store.

And as other commenters point out, don’t forget the stable of great fan favorites who aren’t criminals and barely appear anymore. Life doesn’t stand still for them either.

Oh dear Lord, why? This sinking ship needed to get rid of excess baggage NOT add to it and certainly not introduce new characters. Stupid, stupid move and she is not even an actress, she’s a beauty contestant. Great, just great.

Not only that, Harry; but, there is a ten year difference between Jesica ( what happened to the other ‘S’ in her name, anyway?????) and Haley/Molly. Are they supposed to be school friends? Even Tequan /TJ is older (22)….but, at least he could pass as a teen. This girl looks like she’s been around the block a few times. She is gorgeous, though. I just hope her acting is as outstanding as her looks.

Cee Cee:

It reminds me of all those movie from the 80’s when they had thirty year olds playing teenagers.
In the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite there is a blond man with a receding hairline playing a school bully who is supposed to be sixteen years old. I am sure he’s forty if he’s a day. Perhaps that was part of the joke?
In any case, Vote for Summer!

@Harry.
Yeah, Harry. What about 90210. I caught a few episodes of that show….most of the characters were in their late twenties or early thirties playing teen-agers.

I agree so much on this! why, why, why yet another character when there are so many we need to unload on this show?!

lol!
it’s about money..
the creator of the character get money, money for the character as long as it lives!
but-
stupid to create a young one..
c’mon, teens do not watch soaps. it’s the 21st century and what interests teens/younger people have in media are not their grandma stories/soaps. LOL

Damn, Su000, we are agreeing wayyyyyy too much these days.

teens are glued to their phones not watching soaps and adults aren’t interested in teens. agree!

I second that Harry! Just what we don’t need, a beauty contestant playing an actress. Lordie.

I’ll withhold judgment until we see where this is going as I have high hopes that Ms. Passanante and Ms. Altman will deliver the goods.

While I’m here I’d like to renew my plea to Mr. Valentini to drop the actress who plays Kiki. Actually, go ahead and drop the character, too. I’d have much preferred that she was killed off versus Silas (or Duke, for that matter). In all of the years that I’ve watched this wonderful program I struggle to recall when I’ve fast forwarded through scenes but I fast forward through most of hers. They’re painful to watch and are tantamount to nails on the chalkboard. How about a return to Nina carrying around her revenge list (to which she recently referred) with Kiki on the top line? She needs to go.

Finally, regarding Maura West and Michelle Stafford…

Welcome back, Ava! We’ve missed you terribly. I’m surely not the only fan who believes that, along with the snooze-fest that was the pointless (and lifeless) takeover of ELQ storyline, the rise of Denise Dimuccio was the nail in the coffin for Ron Carlivati. I’m looking forward to Ava locking horns with Carly and, of course, Nina. Speaking of Nina…

Michelle Stafford is quite simply fabulous. She looks fantastic (especially so on Tuesday’s episode) and is a splendidly gifted actress. Her chemistry with Roger Howarth has the makings of a super couple. I’m hopeful that she’ll be given good stuff to play by the new writers. She’s a gem.

Agree with you on Kiki 100% and to have this troll living with Franco & Nina is absurd. Wish Kiki would go away; neither actress has done much with the character but the current one really grates my every last nerve! Michelle Stafford deserves a better story than having this brat hanging around.

She seems too old to be hanging with TJ and Molly? Okay, now that I got that out of the way, its time to be shallow! Can I please get a walk on role at GH and play her coffee mug! She is beautiful!

I like your humor, Timmm. She is striking, isn’t she?

My god!

I think she’s a female version of Nathan–all looks and no talent or substance. Nathan is so bad he manages to make the usually exciting Maxie seem dull.
I swear, it seems like Frank and the ABC suites are trying to sabotage GH.

Words from the wise; my husband. “You’re so smart, babe…but, with your looks, you don’t need smarts”. LOL. Nathan is good for my eyes and soul….very soothing, Harry.
Seriously speaking, I will not pass judgement on this most beautiful girl. I can appreciate your temerity concerning her acting ability, but one can be as beautiful as she is talented. My concern is, how will the male cast members be able to flawlessly go through their lines. They will surely stumble over them. And, speaking of stumbling, do you think Sonny will try to bed her? I mean, he has sampled most women in PC and beyond!

Harry – way to judge a book by its cover. “No talent or substance.” Wow. I hope people don’t judge you based on your looks. And by the way, it’s “suits” unless you’re talking about large rooms at the ABC offices.

Yes, AJ, I did mean to write suits. Thank you for correcting my minor typo with such angry, self-righteous indignation. (this blog site does not allow us to correct our mistakes after posting them).
However, I stand by the thematic thrust of my comment. I have seen this actress in the shows mentioned above and her acting is barely sub par. In fact, she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. Moreover, she is a decade too old to be hanging out with the teenagers as if she were a peer. Finally, we do not need new characters right now when there is not decent writing being afforded to the characters we have on the canvas right now.
And sorry Miss Cee Cee, I know you like him but Nathan is played by a horrible actor, and the actor does not seem to grow better with time. The last thing GH needs is more superficial eye candy.

Harry, Nathan and Kiki had a scene on Wednesday and it was so bad I was hoping Chloe would hop over from Y&R and mistake me for Adam and put me out of my misery!

First let me say she could be the worst character ever on GH. Or she can be the best character ever on GH. Who knows. Exactly! Who knows? You people are bashing this poor girl, even mocking the spelling of her name (CeeCee – I don’t know where the other “S” is, but maybe you can loan her a C or an E). Last I checked, GH was a soap. You know what soaps do? They add and subtract characters. A lot. There are also 2 new writers. There’s going to be upheaval. No doubt about it. There will be changes. This girl may be on the canvas for 2 months. Or she could be on for 20 years and be so beloved. Again, we don’t know that, but give the poor girl a chance and give the new writers a chance. Don’t you all want GH to succeed? It doesn’t seem like it from reading these comments.

AJ,you are taking our comments way too personally. In fact, your responses seems rather shrill and hysterical.
The fact is GH does not need new characters–they need to get rid of the excess baggage. The timing could not be worst and you must understand this.
Folks are feeling that GH is guilty of self-sabotage and this idiotic casting choice is yet another example of this.. It’s nothing personal against Miss Alabama. It’s not about her but what she represents.
I am sure she can twirl a baton just brilliantly.

Yes, subject verb disagreement. I am guilty as charged.
So sue me.

Nope, not taking it personally and no hysterics either. I just hate to see such negative attitudes about a show that we all devote a great deal of time to and that we all supposedly love.

But as I said above, and maybe I missed it somewhere, but no where is there an indication that this is a contract role or even a “heavy recurring” role. She could be on for a few weeks and that’s it. Maybe she serves as a plot device for Tequan to leave the show to film his pilot.

I will try again, since the moderators did not like my response to you; nonetheless they have allowed your very offensive words to appear. Why? Why does my nickname bother you? My sibling has called me that as a small child. …..could not say Cecelia; so it stuck. Why are you bombarding me and Harry? I said nothing untoward about ‘Jesica’ whose name, I assumed was misspelled……it happens all the time. My question was rhetorical. She is gorgeous and I will wait to see if she WOWS us. I will not put the cart before the horse, per se.
Additionally, this site is dedicated to positives and negatives. It is intended for us to give opinions ….what and how we feel . I don’t know how many times I have said this. Our comments cannot please everyone. But, as Harry pointed out, you seem to take it personally. Did anyone direct a comment to you? No one has. But, you took it upon yourself to target me and my name.
I cannot comment on this girl’s acting. And, I haven’t. How could I? I never even heard of her until now. I do not know her work. I can only judge her physical assets, at this point. She is, by far, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. And, I’m a girl!!! Women are the best judge of other women.
Also, LOAN in a noun, not a verb. If you are to correct people’s grammar, then sobeit. At least Harry made a typo, not a grammar error. That’s the difference. There is no reason for you to poke fun at my moniker.

UGH!!! I don’t want to bash anyone who’s just trying to earn a living, but I really don’t want any more new characters or returning characters for a long while. GH is so full of characters I like and only get to see once a month. There are so many story lines that are played the same way or left waiting in the wings forever.

I am hopeful that his new writing regime ties up all those loose ends before moving into new stories. I’d like to know what’s going on with Brad/Lucas/Rosealee. What’s happening with Monica and the judge? How about Epiphany and Milo? Whatever happened with Molly’s writing career; her published book? What about Shawn being TJ’s daddy? How Helena able to keep Robin away when Nicolas seems to have neutralized her? I’m sure I’m missing a few, but who’s going to care? How are we, the audience supposed to care about any of the story lines if they are constantly dropped all the time or only played once a month?

I love GH despite all these comments and even though I think it’s a train wreck of late. There’s so much good and so much bad. I hope they can get it together before I start thinking it’s more bad than good. I think they can.

If you look @ her long enough she could pass for a long lost Corinthos’

I think that Darby is Sonny and Sam’s daughter that died at birth why not they all end up dead and yet come back!!

I did some research on that back story, Ashleigh. How different was Sam back in the day?
That’s a very good assumption on your part……or, any of the other women Sonny ‘touched’; hither and yon.
I am very much looking forward to make Darby’s acquaintance. Take care of yourself, Ash.

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nina Confronts Ava for Sabotaging Her Relationship With Sonny and Signs the Divorce Papers

Looks like Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Ava (Maura West) are back to be each other’s sworn enemy number one. By the end of the Monday, April 22nd episode of General Hospital, the women know where they stand with each other after Nina goes in on Ava accusing her of wanting Sonny (Maurice Benard) all to herself, while her marriage has been on the rocks.

In story, at Nina’s office, Ava shows up to see Nina and says she is sorry about what happened with Sonny and that he reacted the way he did, acknowledging that is was over the top, even for Sonny. Ava says she’ll smooth things over, but Nina says she now understands how manipulative and transparent Ava really is.

Given their horrible history, Nina goes in on Ava and how she should never have trusted her. Nina wants to know how long has Ava had this agenda dating all the way back to telling Nina to turn Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) into the SEC. Ava says she never told her do to that, but Nina wants to know how long Ava has been playing her for a fool.

Courtesy/ABC

Ava says she moved in with Sonny to keep Avery safe and she wants to be on good terms with Avery’s father, Sonny. Nina thinks she likes being in Sonny’s inner circle. Ava tells Nina if she goes to him about her advising Nina to call the SEC on Carly and Drew, it won’t work.  Sonny still considers Nina a traitor and he will think she’s lying because she’s so desperate to win him back. Ava says if Nina would stop blaming everyone else that maybe Sonny would respect her.  Nina says “like he does you?” Ava says Sonny not only respects her, but he also counts on her.

From there, Ava launches into why she and Sonny understand each other, after all, Sonny is a powerful, turbulent, and sometimes violent man. She goes so far to say if Nina wanted someone to just sit by the fire with and play with their grandchildren, she’s got the wrong guy.  Ava then talks about Mike from Nixon Falls (Sonny with amnesia) and how Sonny hid the darkest parts of himself from Nina back then, whereas with Ava they are the same similar creatures, so he doesn’t have to hide anything.

Courtesy/ABC

Nina wants to know just what Ava wants with Sonny? What is her end game? Ava responds that they understand each other, in ways she can’t with Sonny. Nina tells Ava she can go ahead and have it all and signs Sonny’s divorce papers. Ava walks out with the documents, while Nina in tears at her desk, takes off her wedding rings and has her assistant come in so she can messenger the rings back to Sonny’s address.

The episode and these scenes featured great performances by Cynthia Watros and Maura West. You can check some of the scenes below.

Now, let us know, what is Ava’s next move? Is she going to become Mrs. Sonny Corinthos? Do you like Ava and Nina as enemies? Comment below.

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General Hospital

Ellen Travolta Makes Another Return to General Hospital

If General Hospital’s Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) nuptials are on, you didn’t think Grandma Gloria Cerullo would miss out on the festivities, now did you?

Casting news from Soap Opera Digest reveals that Ellen Travolta is back taping scenes that will air the week of May 13th on the ABC daytime drama series.  When viewers learned that Carmine Cerullo, was also on his way back to Port Charles, now in the face and body of actor George Russo, it only made sense that Grandma Gloria would join Grandpa Cerullo. Look for them both mid-May.

As most people know, Ellen is the older sister to John Travolta. She first make appearances as Gloria back on GH in the mid-90s. Most recently, she returned to the Quartermaine mansion to meet up with daughter, Lois (Rena Sofer) and granddaughter Brook Lynn for Thanksgiving in Port Charles in 2023.  Michael Fairman TV interviewed Rena Sofer and Amanda Setton late last year where they shared what it had been liking working with Ellen, who remains very close to Sofer in real-life.

Photo: JPI

Amanda shared: “We fell in love immediately. What’s crazy is my maternal grandmother was Grandma Gloria. I had her till I was 30 and we were so close. She was really like a second mom to me. So, when I got this script and I’m reading “Grandma Gloria”, it was so bizarre. And then in meeting Ellen, she looks like my grandma – same haircut, same high cheekbones. It really did feel like I had a few days with my grandma. It was very, very special for me. Ellen is sweet, prepared, professional, talented and funny to boot. So, it was one of the best weeks I’ve had at work. I hope she comes back. My fingers are crossed.”

Photo: ABC

Now, we can’t imagine Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding day to be smooth sailing, in fact, expect just the opposite, but could it be Grandma Gloria who is ultimately the hero or the calming voice of reason for any pre-wedding jitters? Stay tuned.

So, glad to know that Ellen Travolta will be back for Brook Lynn and Chase’s big day? Comment below.

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Breaking News

The Young and the Restless and General Hospital Actress and Writer, Meg Bennett, Passes Away at 75

Meg Bennett, who had played Julia Newman and later became a writer for the top-rated daytime drama, The Young and the Restless has died at the age of 75.  The news comes from her family who shared that she lost her battle to cancer back on April 11th.

Daytime fans remember fondly, Meg’s portrayal of Victor’s (Eric Braeden)first wife. Bennett joined the show in 1980, after her first soap stint for two years in the role of Liza Walton on Search for Tomorrow.

Impressed by her story notes, the late Bill Bell, then head writer of Y&R, had Meg doing double duty acting and writing on the show from 1983-1987. When he decided to write off the character of Julia, he also wanted Meg to stick around as a writer.  Not only did this begin a whole other daytime career for Bennett, but she was not done playing Julia either. Throughout the decades, Julia would still come back to Genoa City for a visit. Most recently, Y&R fans saw Julia in 2018, and again in 2020.

Photo: JPI

Bennett also appeared on Santa Barbara and was a writer on that show as well from 1991-1993. She played the role of Megan Richardson. It was next that Meg had her longest writing stint coming to ABC’s General Hospital. Meg wrote for GH from 1993-2011.

In 1995, Bennett won her first Daytime Emmy for writing and her personal life changed after falling in love with nine-time Daytime Emmy winner, former GH head writer, Bob Guza Jr. In addition, GH also utilized Bennett for her acting skill when she was cast as the villainess Allegra Montenegro.  Meg and Bog Guza were officially married in 2004 and purchased a home once owned by Boris Karloff and Gregory Peck.

Photo: JPI

Additionally, Meg wrote for The Bold and the Beautiful 1987-1989 and later served as a executive story consultant to Brad Bell from 2002-2004.  She also wrote for Sunset Beach, Generations and GH: Night Shift throughout her writing career. She went on to win five WGA Awards for GH and Santa Barbara.

Meg is survived by her husband of 19 years, Robert Guza Jr., two stepdaughters, four grandchildren, a brother and a sister.

Share your remembrances and condolences for Meg Bennett via the comment section below.

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