General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL 15000th Episode: Laura Faces Being Ousted as Mayor as Port Charles Bands Together in Support of Her
Finally, after many preemptions, General Hospital’s 15,000the episode aired on Wednesday. In it and front and center in the standalone episode was GH icon, Genie Francis (Laura).
In story, after a scathing op-ed is run in The Invader from a group of citizens called “The Friend of Port Charles”, they take aim at Mayor Laura Collins and want a recall to replace her. When trying to figure out who was behind the story, Laura’s friends and the citizens of the town, band together to keep her from being ousted and to figure out who would attack her in the press like this.
That sets up a few sentimental flashback clips featuring the three current longest-running members of the cast, Genie, Kin Shriner (Scott) and Jackie Zeman (Bobbie). Viewers get a glimpse of Scotty and Laura’s wedding, and then Bobbie’s contentious and duplicitous side when she fought for the love of Scotty against a teenaged Laura.
As Laura tries to determine who is behind the op-ed, Curtis (Donnell Turner) gets a lead from Ms. Wu (Lydia Look) that Laura’s half-brother, Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) is behind it. Laura then heads to Pentonville to confront Cyrus. She asks if he’s the brains behind “The Friends of Port Charles”.
Cyrus insists he is only an advisor. He goes on to say that this is a group of people who are disillusioned by the way she is running the town. Cyrus gets angry and vengeful, and emotional, when saying the police department is corrupt and how ELQ and Cassadine Industries gets tax breaks at the expense of less fortunate people, etc. Laura can’t figure out if these people in the ‘friends’ group have such high moral value why would they hire a criminal, like him, as an advisor?
Renault goes on to say that it’s up to God and preaches she needs to be less self-righteous. Laura throws back to Cyrus that where was God in that scathing op-ed, that he did filled with such hate? Laura then forgives him and walks out, which stuns Cyrus.
Photo: ABC
Later, Scotty in front of Laura, Bobbie, Anna (Finola Hughes), Felicia (Kristina Wagner) and Lucy (Lynn Herring), proposes to Liesl (Kathleen Gati), but she turns down his marriage proposal. Liesl feels they have a good thing going , so why mess it up with a marriage at this point. The two kiss.
In addition, Laura meets up with Maxie (Kirsten Storms), who are visiting an institutionalized Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst). Maxie brings her some cosmetics from Deception because of the bad lighting in the facility.
The softball game was the throughline of the episode, and at the end, we saw the payoff, when all the characters converged on Charlie’s giving their support to Laura, who says she is ready to write her rebuttal.
Then in a voice-over from Laura, she speaks to the essence of Port Charles and its residents which included: that they have a strong community that she is proud to be a part of it and she speaks to her legacy over generations. Kevin (Jon Lindstrom) proposes a toast to Laura, as she notes that if she loses the recall then so be it, adding that if the person who replaces her is a Port Charles lifer, like she is, then the town will continue to prosper.
So, what did you think of the 15,000 episode milestone episode? Did you enjoy the performance of Genie Francis? Did you like the way much of the cast was utilized, or did you feel otherwise? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Genie is always great, but Kin Shriner was overacting like always.
Was it outstanding? No. Overall, it was pretty good. For the most part, it featured a good use of the cast (here’s hoping all is well with Leslie Charleson).
Would I have loved more flashbacks? Sure, but they are tough to come by. For instance, they’d have to find a scene from the early 80s that featured only Laura & Robert (no Luke, Tiffany or long deceased Cassadine). Or, something from the late 90’s with only Laura & Elizabeth). I’m grateful for two 70s flashbacks- what memories!
Maxie’s presence in the Shaddybrook scenes felt like a contrived way to work her into the episode. Finn and Violet should’ve been replaced by Dante and Rocco. At least Finn or Laura should’ve reminded the audience that Violet is Steve Hardy’s great granddaughter.
The nail salon scenes were great and glad to see Scotty & Liesl don’t need to be married to have a meaningful relationship (although it was fun to see him propose in front of 3 of his ex’s).
Jeff Kober (Cyrus) shined – as always – in the Pentonville scenes. Lydia Look (Selina) continues to steal every scene she’s in.
Kudos to the crew, too, as I can’t remember the last time so many sets were used in one episode. We hopped from the hospital (exterior, hub and board room) to Kelly’s, MC pool, Q den, Sonny’s office, nail salon, Pentonville, Shaddybrook and finally Charlie’s.
While there was definitely room for improvement, I will say it was to see Frank & team think of Laura.
Great review, Steve! I certainly agree with you on all counts, and I like how you ended your post. I was impressed with the focus on Laura, the many sets (as you mentioned), and the large cast used in the episode. We were led to believe that virtually the whole cast would be included, but when the tease for the next day’s show aired, several of those characters were not featured in the 15,000th episode.
Thanks James.
With the exception of Valentin, Dante and Jordan – I could see logical reasons why most cast members not seen on the episode were not there. Most of those not seen have had little interaction with Laura. Based on current story, it might have been awkward to try to squeeze in Nina, Sasha, Marshall or Esme.
That said, it looks like they had 13 recurring characters mixed in with the contract performers. I don’t think the Nurses Ball even gets that many non-contract players in one individual episode:
Epiphany
Violet
Kevin
Scotty
Mac
Robert
Bobbie
Lucy
Liesl
Ned
Olivia
Selina
Cyrus
I liked this episode. Especially how she “neutralized” Cyrus. But I’m sure he is still going to be trouble. Also fun seeing the clip of Laura and Bobbie fighting over Scottie years before. Wow, the hairdos. Nice to see they made up. So now Re-Elect Laura For Mayor!
I really wanted to like this but it was a mess of poor plotting, misuse of good characters, jarring absence of other characters, just didn’t do it for me. But I loved the flashbacks!
I liked it for the most part but Maxie being with Laura was odd. She could have just been with Lucy or Brook Lynn. Also why was Violet tbe only kid in tbe show? Couldn’t Grandma Laura have brought Jake and Aiden?
So, where was Martin Grey? The one brother who’s come to really love and care about Laura. So many unnecessary others, Ava,Maxi who I felt that Liz had to interrupt her time off to just provide a scene for.I guess of all Laura’s grandkids, Spencer was the only important one and surprised he didn’t drag that phony Esme along. Sorry for all the grousing, just not what I expected
Yes. Martin Grey should have been there but instead we get Sam, Maxie and of course, Carly-The mouth who ate Port Charles. And every time I see Ava with Laura, I’m distracted by the fact that these two look to be the same age, but Laura is her mother-in- law.
The damned old January 6th precedings got recorded in place of GH… if they want to talk about the attack on the Capital.. WHY don’t they talk about the NEW ONE that took place on the 16th.. with STEPHEN COLBERT and the 7 Democrats..I keep waiting to hear something about it, but all I heard was they got arrested and turned loose a few hours later.. bet the people who are still in jail from the January 6th would have plenty to say on that subject…
No, you are incorrect. The hearings on the January 6 Attack on our Capitol and on Democracy did NOT pre- exempt the Laura episode. They postponed the Laura episode and aired it the next day when no hearings were taking place. However, I think you know that but were trying to insert your own political agenda into a discussion about soaps. Although your wrong on so much more, I’m not going to take the bait and engage with you. As Lucy would say,” Ta!”
That should be you’re, not your. I have trouble typing in these little boxes.
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.
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.”
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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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
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