General Hospital
GH’s Braedyn Bruner Talks on Giovanni Mazza’s Powerhouse Performance, and If Emma Can Get the Goods on Professor Dalton
Last week on General Hospital, viewers watched the devastating fallout after Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza) overheard Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Lois (Rena Sofer) in an argument at the Nurses’ Ball; stating that Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) are his actual biological parents; shattering everything that the young man believed.
The one constant who has not left his side since that time is Emma Drake (Braedyn Bruner). Trying to process everything that has happened, Emma has been a sounding board for Gio and is supporting him in his time of need, as their bond continues to grow.
Michael Fairman TV caught up with soap newcomer Braedyn Bruner at the red carpet of the Daytime at Night – Benefit for St. Jude concert and fundraiser at the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. The event was put together by The Young and the Restless’ Lily Brooks O’Briant (Lucy) and was attended by many in the daytime community and several of Bruner’s GH co-stars.
Photo: ABC
Since December of 2024, Braedyn has taken over the role of Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Patrick’s (Jason Thompson) daughter on-screen replacing Brooklyn Rae Silzer in the part. now well on her way to putting her own stamp on Emma, as the character has evolved and grown-up.
We asked her about GH scene partner, Giovanni Mazza, her co-stars, Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine) and Finola Hughes (Anna Devane), Emma’s new attitude and if she thinks Emma can be the one to ultimately bring down the sketchy PCU professor, Henry Dalton (Daniel Goddard). Here’s what she shared below.
Photo: ABC
GIO AND EMMA SCENES – GIOVANNI MAZZA
Braedyn spoke on being in the scenes with Giovanni Mazza as Gio struggles with the shocking news of his birth parents: “He is one of my best friends in real life and on the show. I think that just makes our job a lot easier. He gave so much this week during his performances, as he always does. But this was different. It was our (the cast) first time seeing him so upset and not his usual happy-go-lucky self and that really affected me, not only as the character, but me seeing him like that as a friend in real life. It just made the scenes that much more real and honest.”
In a throwback to her on-screen mom, Robin, Emma takes Gio to the famous Port Charles bridge which over the years has been a place of many emotional moments: “The scenes at the bridge were so much fun to do. I love to do my research. I think everyone knows this about me. So, I sent Giovanni multiple clips of Robin and Jason (Steve Morgan) at the bridge that I found on You Tube, and we watched them together. It’s funny, I think our bridge scenes are getting compared a lot to that (by the audience), but it’s been a great week (of shows).”
FINOLA HUGHES AND KIMBERLY MCCULLOUGH
Since debuting on GH, Braedyn has shared much of her screen time with Finola Hughes, where Emma’s behavior has been at odds with her grandmother’s expectations. Bruner shared on Hughes, “She’s amazing. Not only does she play my grandmother on the show, but she’s more like a mom to me, to be honest, in real life. Finola is the funniest, most hardworking person I think I’ve ever met. She’s just been a great mentor and is always there for me, if I have a question, or if I want to run lines.”
Photo: JPI
Will we eventually see a mother/daughter reunion played by longtime GH favorite Kimberly McCullough as Bruner’s on-screen mom? “I am hoping one day I’ll get to meet her,” expressed Braedyn. “I’ve heard nothing but incredible things about her, particularly from Finola Hughes with whom I work with all the time.”
EMMA’S ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
GH fans were in for a shock when the character came back on to the canvas in the form of Braedyn Bruner in the part. This version of Emma seemed to be written, at first, with a whole lot of attitude that could have made her unlikeable. The actress explained, “I try to find ways to humanize her in my scenes. First (by the powers that be) it was, ‘We want Emma to come back, sort of like she owns Port Charles,” which was a lot of the notes I was getting. I was like, ‘I see that, but I want to find the pockets of her that are still Emma because she does have a good heart.’ I don’t think she’s ever mean to just be mean. I think in scenes with Josslyn (Eden McCoy) I think that’s motivated a bit by jealousy. I think it’s the childhood stuff that she’s bringing up, but also I think she desires to have a friendship with Joss. I’m hoping we’ll be friends again, but I think she’s just a little hurt about things right now.”
JANE ELLIOT
Who doesn’t love the one and only Jane Elliot? Braedyn has gotten the opportunity to work with the GH icon, and revealed what it was like to step on the set with the dynamo: “Oh, my Gosh! She’s so fun to work with. I think the first day I was intimidated a bit, but how can you not be, she’s the queen! Jane has just been yet another person on General Hospital that is just open to helping me, and if I ever have a question I’ll ask her.”
Photo: ABC
PROFESSOR HENRY DALTON – DANIEL GODDARD
GH has another major storyline brewing which is pitting rivals Josslyn and Emma against one another. Emma is unaware that Joss is now a WSB agent working undercover to get the goods on Professor Henry Dalton. In a conversation between Emma and Joss, it was revealed that the reason Emma got expelled from Berkeley was because she broke into Dalton’s lab to prove he was doing his research on animals, and she was forced to sign an NDA to avoid jail time. Now, Emma is intent on exposing Dalton and stopping him from whatever he is planning on doing which is why she followed him to Port Charles.
Photo: ABC
Braedyn previewed Emma’s agenda: “There’s some stuff about to come out really soon where we’re going further into the Professor Dalton storyline. I think she’s beyond on to him. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t break the case wide open before anyone else does.”
Now let us know, are you rooting for Emma and Gio to be the next young super couple of General Hospital? Do you think Emma will crack the case on Dalton, or will that end up being Josslyn, or will the two nemesis end up working together? Share your thoughts via the comment section below, but first check out the scenes between Braedyn and Giovanni Mazza from last Friday’s episode of GH.
Gio and Emma are GH’s new power couple.
But to get rid of dex for them was the worst decision ever
I don’t think they are the reason they discontinued the Dex storyline. From what I understand GH is under a strict budget. There are others there that they would have to make allowances for.
Dex was gone before they both arrived. It is unfair to believe both these actors had anything to do with Dex being written off the show.
Wrong dex was still there when gio arrived dex it just not fair that they gave gio the parent storyline he didn’t deserve it he has been on the show only a year compared to dex three years
No he wasn’t dex was still at gh when gio arrived it was only when Emma got there when they let dex go
Everyone has their favorites, but this exaggeration is almost comical. Evan Hofer seems like a nice guy, but both Gio & Braedyn have impressed with their acting capabilities.
Dex could of done the same thing but wasn’t given the chance by frank
I agree a iyh what you said. Loved the Dex character a d he dhld have stayed on.u could have gotten Rid of Drew,Ric ,portia
But that’s not what happened
I think they’re great together! Both of them are great actors and their storyline is moving slowly enough to build a believable arc.
But to get rid of dex for both of them worst decision ever
Total supposition at best.
No it’s not it totally true dex was there three years no parents gio on the show a year parents
It’s true dex was on three years no parents gio only one the show one year parents
No it’s not
I can understand you are missing the character Dex Heller, but please, it is not anyone’s fault other than the storyline went in a different direction. Did you watch Mr. Fairman’s interview with him after he left the show? Evan Hofer isn’t blaming anyone.
Bjt you can’t give a major storyline to someone who’s only been on the show a year compared to three years you just cant
Well.. again, I can understand your feelings of losing a character you like… but GH and other shows do it all the time. If Evan Hofer himself bears no hard feelings and was admirable in his understand… fans should be too. His interview is in Mr. Fairman’s video interviews tab.. it is a great interview. It might help in your disappointment of his being written out.
It doesn’t matter dex was on three years no parents gio barely a year gets parents that makes no sense
Evan Hofer states he was grateful for his character lasting three years. Search for his interview with Mr. Fairman.
It absolutely makes sense when the character of Gio was created with the main intent of linking him to two core families. There are plenty of long term characters for whom we never met their parents:
Monica (adopted) and Jordan (no idea what her maiden name is) are 2 prime examples.
They have nothing to do with Dex being killed off the show. Emma was already a character on the canvas and Gio’s story has nothing to do with Joss’s. He’s not Dex’s romantic replacement. I’m sorry you’re sad about losing Dex but these two are not the a result of the law of cause and effect.
Yes gio’s story has plenty to do with joss because that should of been. Dex storyline with different parents and joss comforting him
We’ve respectfully tried to reason with you on this topic. The character of Gio was created with the direct intent of creating a Quartermaine-Corinthos offspring.
Dex was initially introduced as a non-contract henchman hired by Michael to infiltrate Sonny’s organization. To Evan Hofer’s credit, he made an initial impact to warrant a contract. Once Dex was exposed as a mole, there was little to do with him story wise.
We all have favorite characters, but soap history dictates that some characters are more valuable dead than alive.
They could of made him Jason sons they didn’t have to kill him
But then why replace him with a clone like Vaughn when you could of had dex in the wsb
No one other than Joslyn and Brennan know who Vaughan is. Just how would Dex fit into the role being played by Vaughan when everyone in Port Charles knew who Dex was.. meaning he could not slip into an undercover role like Vaughan has. Your disappointment over the loss of Dex is unfounded and just plain silly.
I think Emma is also an WSB agent.
To be honest, I wasn’t sold on Braedyn when she first started as Emma. I missed Brooklyn Rae Silzer, who we literally watched grow up on the show. I understand they wanted to age Emma, which happens on soaps.
The biggest difference was Emma’a sudden change in attitude, which was the polar opposite of the Emma we knew for so many years. That was on the writing more than anything else, with such a jarring change out of nowhere.
But I have to give Braedyn her props, she’s won me over and then some. She’s grown into the character and made Emma her own. She impressed me when she more than held her own in scenes with the legend herself Jane Elliot.
I like Gio and Emma together. She has good chemistry with Giovanni Mazza, who proved over the past two weeks with some heavy material that he’s got some solid acting talent. I think GH might have a potential new superstar couple on their hands, if they don’t screw it up.
I think it’s a bit early to declare anyone a supercouple but they’re at least taking their time with them. They’re gonna need actual obstacles and a good story arc to be supercouple level.
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.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
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B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
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