Connect with us

General Hospital

Frank Valentini Speaks On: Pressure to Save GH, Jill Farren Phelps & Time to Assess Port Charles!

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Courtesy/ABC

As was made official earlier today by ABC, One Life to Live’s former head honcho Frank Valentini will now be taking over the reins from Jill Farren Phelps, at General Hospital  as of January 9th.  Phelps had been GH’s executive producer for the last 10 years.

In an exclusive interview with EW.com, Valentini addressed his quick hiring to General Hospital, coming into the series when there are consistent rumors of its soon-to-be-demise, and what he intends to do with the canvas.  Valentini is quick to point out that becoming GH’s show runner happened over the last 48 hours.  Here are some excerpts below!

Valentini on if he feels his coming on-board GH is to save it from cancellation: “ Any exec producer always has the weight of the world on their shoulders. I’ve always felt a tremendous responsibility. You have the fate of a lot of people’s futures in your hand.   I’m the type of person who takes that very seriously. If I spent any energy worrying about whether we were getting cancelled, it would take away from making the show the best that it could possibly could be. When you’re running, don’t look behind you.”

Valentini on replacing long-time GH executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps: “Jill Phelps is a fantastic producer.  She taught me so much when we worked together She was so generous and so kind. And I can’t say enough good things about her. Jill called me this morning and congratulated me. It’s always tough when someone loses their job. But at the end of the day everyone understands that there are business decisions that get made.”

Valentini on his playbook or plans to help GH: “But I don’t think it will change dramatically. I have to come in and assess what’s working and see what can be made better.  At this point, during the transition, I ask the audience to be patient. Come along for the ride, and enjoy and love their show.”

So what do you think of Valentini’s comments? Let us know your thoughts on the move of bringing the talented Valentini over to Port Charles!

 

Click to comment

0 Comments
oldest
newest

I love Frank! I sure hope he can make some substantial changes to make this show the best it can be.

the writting is bad I can tell the writer has changed. what is going on with the storylines the best one going is carly and sean I feel bad for the actors it has to be hard to go to work and have a stupid script. GH has always been the best soap on but at this point I am about to stop watching and so are my friends please fix it quick and you can send lulu packing.

My piece of advice is please don’t make GH all about the mob. The hospital storylines have some interesting stories left to tell. The characters and character histories to build on if someone pays attention. Please focus on the whole cast. Don’t make it a three person show like past headwriters did. Utilize actors to their maximum potential.

They really should shake it up at GH if they are going to survive… I saw a promising story with Carly and John a bit controversial when she told him his problem with her was because she was white and then it just fizzled out but it was good story.

As much as I love Sonny, I agree!! WE NEED THE HOSPITAL & THE QUARTERMAINES!!
ENOUGH FRANCO CRAPPO!! JASON: KILL HIM AND MOVE IT ALONG!!
ROMANCE:: LUKE & TRACEY, LUCKY & LIZ, SONNY & CARLY, MAC & ALEXIS, JOHNNY OLIVIA STEVE..,,A GREAT TRIANGLE… JASON LIZ SAM LUCKY MATT MAXI SPINELLI…A NICE MIX-UP
WE NEED ROMANCE,,,,,LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON!!
ALSO: HOW ABOUT PP & OPRAH WORK IT OUT AND MAKE A SOAP COMBO OF AMC & OLTL.. USE THE ACTORS/ACTRESSES WHO ARE INTERESTED

OPRAHS NETWORK IS IN BIG TROUBLE, BUT IF PROSPECT PARK INC AND OPRAH WORK TOGETHER, THEY CAN HELP EACHOTHER…AND THE FANS!!
I AM SO SAD ABOUT MY SOAPS AND THE INDUSTRY!!
PLEASE WORK IT OUT..AND LET US HELP. I AM WILLING TO PAY $50 A MONTH…IF YOU TAKE 200,000 FANS…YOU GET A LOT OF HELP RIGHT THERE…PLEASE WORK IT OUT!!

I don’t believe that this was all a sudden thing! Frank and Ron were already slated to go over to GH a few months before the PP thing came along, so I don’t doubt that they had this thing in the works all along! Don’t trust anything that the Mouse tells us!

More Quartermains! The Q’s were a huge part of the show througout the 80’s, 90’s and well into the 00’s. just bringing Monica, Edward and Tracy out every so often throughout the year to bicker isn’t enough. I want storylines. Give Monica happiness.

Love the Sonny and Kate paring, but make it a reality. Get them married and stable. it cuold always be a contest of will between the upscale Kate and mobster Sonny that could bring interesting storylines for years.

Interesting news. Now, I may consider giving GH a chance after January 13th, as long as the following occurs. I propose that all or most of the residents of Llanview relocate to Port Charles and take over. John, Bo and Nora can finally take down the mafia and send Sonny, Jason, Luke and their minions to Pentonville where they belong. Dorian can run General Hospital because currently they have no adults on staff, except for Epiphany. Clint and Viki can run ELQ. Todd can bring the SUN to Port Charles. Blair can open up Capricorn PC. Tea can go head to head with Diane in court. How much fun would that be!? Only if wishes came true! Note to fronsie: if you were going to replace the GH show-runners with the heads of your #1 soap, why didn’t you just cancel GH instead and leave ONE LIFE TO LIVE on the air? Oh, I forgot: this decision was made by a corporate executive; common sense doesn’t exist amongst the decision makers of corporate America. My bad. hehe. Long live ONE LIFE TO LIVE!

I know you’re probably joking with what you wrote, but instead of hijacking GH and basically turning it into OLTL 2.0, how about we hope for a happy medium.

A show where perhaps some former OLTL characters can be incorporated into the mix, to help freshen things up, which as a GH fan, I would welcome. While also rebuilding and strengthening the core of GH, and honoring its rich history and tradition. which is long overdue. That would be a show that both GH and OLTL fans might be able to enjoy.

Instead of the fans of both shows sniping back and forth, saying this should have happened, or that should have happened, shouldn’t that be what we all hope for?

Long live OLTL Jared! I’ve never watched GH, but only if. Loved you post.

I will be devasted if OLTL takes over GH. I have been watching OLTL since I was 7 years old and I am devasted to see it go but I will be pissed if GH is ruined! OLTL has been exciting the last couple months now that its ending but before that it was so boring, it kinda felt like cornation street ( or whatever that old program is called) GH doesn’t need any help from outside viewers taking over the show… Just keep doing what their doing and ii will at least have one of my guilty pleasures to watch.

I threw up a little when I saw that Brian Frons announced it – that tainted it for me because I won’t ever respect anything he’s involved with ever again – ever again – one more time – EVER.

And, I don’t trust anything that was said because of that, either – I think it’s all B.S.

Sigh……..

yeah, the show is tanked now. Frank and Ron are horrific. This is Frons saying “Hey, here’s my way of sticking it to you fans before I cancel this show, too.”

If Frank Valentini is moving to GH to bring new life to it, as good as he is, won’t that all be in vain? If Katie Couric is taking that time slot , where is GH going to be? None of this makes sense. With all the commotion about OLTL and All My Children travesties, what do the producers think they are going to accomplish in the end? Will we all be in suspension and holding our breath waiting for the final pin to drop. It’s just a matter of time……..

My advice to GH new team is to make sure you don’t try to make GH into OLTL, both of you have a long history w/ OLTL. The worst thing you could do is to start hiring OLTL actors, or start recasting w/ OLTL actors ect. If I was both of them, i would concentrate on on storylines, pacing, and the current cast. Biggest mistake they could make is to start creating new characters or bringing on to many new people. GH has its own unique history, it has a great cast, and even past talent, that would be welcome back, so concentrate on that, and i think its possible to succeed.

The best thing they can do actually is turn GH into ONE LIFE TO LIVE. The ratings don’t lie, and OLTL is the #1 soap on the network that shall remain nameless. They cancelled the wrong soap, period.

Ditch GH and Keep OLTL

The wrong soap was cancelled. OLTL is head and shoulders above GH in every way. And I say that as someone who has been a fan of both shows for years. Unfortunately, GH has turned into the Sonny and Jason hour. And James Franco has done GH no favors. I turned GH off quite some time ago which really bothers me because I know I should be supporting the soaps right now, not tuning out. When OLTL ends, I’ll no longer watch ABC. They have no loyalty to the fans, why should I have any for them?

Im not a GH fan, I loathe mobe related tv shows and movies. If Frank and Ron can do for GH what it did for OLTL then the fans should welcome them both with open arms. I do think that the fate of GH is sealed with Katie Couric’s show taking its time slot in 2012. Hey, worst case is these guys come in and give GH fans a quality final season!

too much reality and talk. hope they can keep our drama going forever. otherwise, sell GH to Sony, a much better organization for drama

I wonder if Frank will get rid of the Franco nonsense, which the audience obviously never cared much for when looking at ratings, and finally bring my Valentin Cassadine character on, which was displaced by the Franco Fiasco, much to the chagrin of most GH loyalists. I am still willing to shake things up in Port Charles, balancing those duties with my producing duties elsewhere.

If this is really you Matt I completely agree. James Franco has been a complete waste of air time. There is no story with him and his performances have been ridiculously inept and over the top.
Maybe the new brass with cease to kiss his derriere and send him packing.

I agree forget franco who cares the storyline is a wast of time and stop making jason look like a wimp get him back to his old self he and sam.

I still believe that Disney has already made the decision to cancel GH. They just want to throw the remaining viewers a bone and usher it out well. And all I would say to Frank V is that if you dont make any drastic changes, I wont watch. GH needs a complete overhaul. But Im not concerned. I cancelled GH off my TV about a yr ago anyway. Que Sera que sera.

Ron C.and Frank V. can work their magic and bring great things to GH as they did to OLTL. However, people fail to recognize that this takes time and that is one factor GH does not have on its side. It doesn’t matter. OLTL has been outstanding and brings in over 400,000 more viewers than GH, but it still got canceled. GH is losing their 3 o’clock time slot in Sept. If OLTL replacement shows produces the same ratings as the Chew, GH doesn’t stand a chance. The end of daytime happened on April 14, 2011 when AMC and OLTL were cancelled. I will be so sad on Jan. 13 when the final episode of OLTL airs.

I’m sorry but I’m not for this AT ALL. I was shocked to see Garin Wolf already replaced as head writer for General and to see Ron Carlivati????? What is this????? Turning into One Life to Live????????????????

I’m sorry, but if General characters are slowly being pushed out, I’m out for good. This has been my show for over 30 years and if it’s being taken over by a show that couldn’t hold its ground, then that’s just ridiculous.

Sorry about you, Garin. You were doing an excellent job as was Jill Pharin Phelps. I was suprised to see you out of the production as well. It’s really sad. I’m also sick of the new credits in the beginning, no match-ups at “half-time”, and FINALLY seeing Jason and Sam after, what, almost two weeks???????????????????????????

Sad. Very sad.

General Hospital

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

Published

on

By

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.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

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

Published

on

By

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.

Continue Reading

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)

Published

on

By

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.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

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

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x