General Hospital
General Hospital Celebrates its 61st Anniversary
Today on April 1st, marks the 61st anniversary of the juggernaut television series, General Hospital. Now in its sixth decade of drama, the series continues to break milestones.
Having premiered on this day back in 1962, the soap opera went up against another new drama, The Doctors. That show lasted 19 years on NBC, while GH survived and has served up memorable supercouples, social issues of our time, complex and interwoven interpersonal and familial relationships of the lives of the people in the town of Port Charles.
When the series debuted back in 1963, it featured legacy stars, the late John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin, as Dr. Steve Hardy and Nurse Jessie Brewer. Back in 2015, Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) portrayed the character of Jessie in a flashback for the show’s 52nd anniversary.
Photo: JPI
While GH found itself on life-support before iconic executive producer, Gloria Monty flipped the switch in 1978, it eventually became a massive ratings winner culminating with the 1981 wedding of Luke (Tony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis).
In the early 90s under EP Wendy Riche, topical stories such as the HIV/AIDS crisis, the Nurses’ Ball and BJ’s heart transplant storyline became synonymous within the history of the soap.
Photo: ABC
As General Hospital firmly moves into its sixth decade, fans have Jason (Steve Burton) back on their screens, Sonny (Maurice Benard) in a precarious situation with his mental health, new alliances and betrayals, and love stories featuring many fan favorites being served up to keep them coming back for more of their favorite soap.
Photo: ABC
Heading into its 61st season, Frank Valentini remains the executive producer, while Patrick Mulcahey and Elizabeth Korte are the series head writers.
Share your congratulations to General Hospital on its anniversary, and let us know what story first got you hooked to the ABC daytime drama series via the comment section below.
I watched the premiere of General Hospital on April 1, 1963. I was young at the time. I was immediately hooked by Jessie Brewer RN, Dr Steve Hardy and Lucille March RN and remained a regular viewer until 2005. Happy anniversary GH.
What happened in 2005? Do you watch one of the other 3 soaps? Just always curious about the “non viewers” that always post.
Myself, watching since 1978 thanks to the Betamax.
I started watching in summerof1970. In 75 went to Days of our life until 94. I retired in Jan 2016 and been hooked on GH ever since I love all the characters except Nina.(yuck)
OMG, love “the non viewers that always post” So true, they’ve always got to get their 2cents in, right?
Thanks Violet. By their own admission… it would appear to be 19 years since last tuning in. I would suggest they come back and see what’s been happening. GH is doing well in my opinion… and good, bad or good enough.. I appreciate that it has been with many viewers since the start, and happy they have stuck with it…
You spoken words of truth about non-viewers. It happens to all the soaps. I’m a non-viewer but I don’t go to sites “rip” soaps by reading spoilers because in today’s climate and rise of social media it’s a cesspool of haters and non-viewers opinions. I’m respectful because every person has their favorites. I grew up in CBS household and I’m 63 still am a viewer except BB isn’t must see for me. I so agree with what was stated.
Llanviewer717, your GH history is similar to mine. Yet I started watching a few years later (in 1969). I, too, liked Steve, Jessie, Lucille, as well Audrey and especially Diana and Peter.
I also quit watching in 2005, largely because I had had enough of Sonny, Carly and the Mob — never dreamed that mess would last this long. I only return for special episodes. But I will always think fondly of those early years…
In response to GH fan and Jamesj75: I loved GH from day 1. I got my grandmother hooked (she hated television) on the Jessie and Phil story and then Steve and Audrey. During the school year, she watched and kept me updated. After she died, I watched when I could and kept up with the soap magazines. I also got hooked on the very first day of One Life to Live and stayed with them until the last episode from Prospect Park. As you can see, I’m very loyal. I watched All My Children off and on.
I stopped watching GH in 2005 because by then it had become Mob Hospital. With all due respect to the talents and hard work of Maurice Benard, Sarah Joy Brown, Tamara Braun (whom I loved), Jennifer Bransford (who, IMHO, wasn’t given a fair chance) Laura Wright (who does a bang up job), and Steve Burton, I just couldn’t take it anymore. All shows grow and evolve. But, GH changed so much that it is unrecognizable and no longer of interest to me.
Like you Jamesj75, I stop by for special episodes – when Nora Buchanan or Blair Cramer came to town. The Bobbie Spencer memorial episodes were absolutely excellent.
Thanks for sharing. I too watched OLTL from 1978 til the very end. I do wish ABC could do something more with OLTL.
I loved OLTL but so many years have passed since its end. And, unfortunately, the actors who played Asa, Rene, Clint (both actors), Antonio, Tina, have passed. I’m not sure it could ever recapture what it once was….
With Vickie, her children and grandchildren, and Dorian and the Kramer girls.. I am certain ABC would be off to a good start. No reason real life and time couldn’t be accounted for, much the same was as life has happened to us viewers. I loved watching OLTL and GH with my mom who passed in 2009, and there are moments in GH, such a Jaclyn Zemans memorial episodes…I could almost see my mother out the corner of my eye, sitting there, watching it with me
Nothing like warm memories and things that evoke them; certain scents, sounds, holiday and yes, soaps or other shared experiences. But; dunno. I literally hated the attempted online version of OLTL after its’demise, even with some of the ABC OLTL characters coming aboard. They had already changed the show so much. And now? I guess if they could bring it back to network TV it could be an interesting attempt and I’d definitely tune in, but I have to admit I just can’t see it working; more than half the cast would be new characters, and thus it’s not the same show. It’s kind of how I feel about GH now; the vets are hanging on by a thread and more and more new characters, many non-related to the legacy families, are being introduced. That’s a departure from what has typically been the soap genre; core multi-generational families…
Without the aforementioned characters (and the actors who played them): Clint, Asa, Rene, Tina, Antonio…basically all the Buchanans gone but for Bo, even the best villain on the show (in my opinion) Mitch Lawrence played by Rosco Born (sp?) passed in real life, it would just be a different show…
Sigh. Nothing stays the same.
You are correct “nothing stays the same” … but I still read a recluctiance to understand life happens everywhere and time passes.
OLTL did represent many diverse ethnic families.. and hopefully your request for this could happen in a new version of OLTL v3.
I actually only started watching GH in 2008/9/10? after both Guiding Light and As The World Turns ended for I was a loyal CBS soap fan, but many of my favorite actors made their way over to GH. I appreciate the storytelling so that I am kept in the loop of the long standing history of characters, family ties, and storylines. I very much hope that GH goes further than 62 years. Nothing can replace Daytime Soaps (even though I DVR all of them and watch sporadically throughout the week).
Been watching since day 1 !! After school! Than when VHS came about i recorded it everyday!!
Congratulations GH !!!
I loved GH in the 1970s and 1990s best.
You know if their is negativity it’s not because no one cares I think older viewer s just are disappointed they does not make anyone cruel I am in my 50 ‘s and yes I want my show back if that makes me a ass then bring it on .
Congrats to GH on 61 years, here’s to many more years!!
Been watching since 1993. I was home from school sick, I had a crush on Jonathan Jackson who played Lucky (I was 13 at the time), so I decided to tune in one day. The Luke and Laura return storyline was just beginning. It was the episode that had the fire at the Triple L diner, and the rest is history, been hooked ever since. Haven’t missed a show in 31 years. Used to record it on my VCR every day, now I watch on Hulu, how times have changed, lol.
I hope GH is on for many more years to come. Contrary to some people that post on soap websites and social media that need to get a life, that seemingly get their jollies from wishing and hoping to see the show get canceled, as long as there is a General Hospital on the air, I’ll always be watching!
I became a fan in the ‘80s during the “Luke and Laura” era. I also applaud the soap for addressing relevant life issues such as HIV/AIDS and, more recently, same sex relationships.
I drifted away from the soap but was reeled back in eventually——mainly because of my crush on Steve Burton who plays Jason Morgan.
I love all of them so exciting to watch every day keep up the amazing work
I’ve watched GH off and on since the Luke and Laura era. My favorite characters were Lucky, Liz, Nicholas and Emily. I also love the era and cast from 2005 through 2010. The sweeps crisis episodes were all so good, especially the Metro Court hostage crisis, epidemic crisis and the black and white ball. I do miss the medical cast featured during that era.
And as odd as this may seem, I miss the GH opening theme song and montage video featuring the cast in the opening credits. I don’t watch other soaps but I did recently see Y&R still uses the shows traditional opening theme song (with beautiful cast photos) and so does Days. I wish GH would bring back a revised version of the original theme song.
I started watching GH during the spring of ‘78. .Leslie was taking the blame for killing David Hamilton to protect Laura.Been hooked ever since!
Is anyone old enough to remember Howie Dawson and his wife? Oh, the troubles this man got in to.
I most certainly do remember Howie and his long suffering wife, Jane. He put that poor woman through hell with his constant lies and infidelity. Howie and Jane were very entertaining and went on for several years. Oh the good old days.
Sadly, Ray Girardin died in 2019. As far as I can find, Shelby Hiatt is still among the living.
GH has always been the comfort we need at the end of a long day. My escape into the town of Port Charles has been a constant since I was 10 years old. Now, 30 years later, I feel so grateful that it is still on the air, entertaining a loyal fan base decade after decade. Congrats to GH!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Tabyana Ali on a Potential Kai/Trina/Gio/Emma Quadrangle, ‘I Don’t Think That’s Impossible, But That Would Be Messy’
On recent episodes of General Hospital, music executive Simon Craft (Grady Eldridge) has been pushing and demanding that Trina (Tabyana Ali) and Gio (Giovanni Mazza) play up a faux relationship when they are onstage, or in front of the camera, to add to their allure as new recording artists to his label.
Simon knows full well that Gio is dating Emma (Braedyn Bruner), and Trina is with Kai (Jens Austin Astrup). It was apparent from the start, that Kai seemed a bit more comfortable with the “arrangement” understanding this was for business, and not pleasure, while Emma initially didn’t like the idea.
Now with Trina’s stalker story in full gear, and as fans eventually find out who is completely obsessed with the budding young singer, while initially seeming to be Simon that would seem to be too easy of a choice. But is GH toying with the idea that somehow Gio and Trina get stuck in a situation and one thing leads to another and they develop feelings one another, too?
Photo: ABC
SIMON’S MANUEVERS
In addition, after Curtis (Donnell Turner) and Sidwell’s (Carlo Rota) beatdown at Pentonville, where everyone is accusing Sonny (Maurice Benard) of ordering the deed, will this find Gio and Trina on the same side, believing it’s Sonny, or will Gio end up sticking by his grandfather when by week’s end he was also questioning if he was telling the truth?
During a new conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel, Tabyana Ali shared her thoughts that if Gio and Trina were pushed closer together, what that would mean for their relationships with Emma and Kai, respectively.
Photo: ABC
MUSICAL CHAIRS?
Pondering the soap staple, Tabyana exclaimed, “Oh, my goodness. Who knows? I mean, quite honestly, I don’t think it’s it’s impossible, but, oh, wow! That would be messy!” Ali added that its something that could be quite intriguing to play. “There’s a part of me that wants it to happen just to see, how does it play out? Right? Then, there’s another part of me that’s like, “You can’t do that to Emma and Kai.” That’s so wrong,” believed Ali.
However, Tabyana did admit a complicated love story wasn’t far from her mind. “Originally, I wanted something like a quadrangle. I really wanted that to happen. And if this is a moment where it could happen, I think that would be fun too.”
When asked to tease what’s coming up for Trina in the next several weeks, she offered up three words. Things for her will “(get) Suspicious, (be ) spontaneous, (and) very dangerous.”
So, do you think the GH writing team is teeing up a situation where Trina and Gio become more than friends and musical artists together? Would you be down for it, or be against it? do you like Emma with Gio and Kai with Trina? Share your thoughts via the comment section, nd in case you missed it, check our chat with Tabyana below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair
On the Thursday, October 1 episode of General Hospital, both Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) had some things to say and what they had to say didn’t go over well with whom they were talking to!
Sonny had a confrontation with his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), while Michael leveled with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) over Chase (Josh Swickard).
GH is setting up a scenario where everyone is going to make it look like Sonny was responsible for having Sidwell (Carlo Rota) beat up in Pentonville; while viewers already know Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) were behind it.
Courtesy/ABC
A VISIT WITH DAD
Now, Dante comes to Sonny’s house. He wants to know straight up from his dad if he ordered the attack at Pentonville. Sonny flatly denies any culpability or responsibility, but Dante refuses to believe him.
Dante informs Sonny he has video footage of Sully and Vito at the prison. Sonny explains to Dante he doesn’t know why Sully beat up both Curtis and Dante. Things escalated when Sonny was deeply hurt that Dante refused to believe him. Dante says he was disappointed that his father didn’t respect him enough to be truthful with him!
Sonny asks Dante to consider that he was being set up. He says all he did was to tell Vito to instruct Sully to keep a watchful eye on Sidwell, not to harm him. No matter what Sonny said, Dante continued hammering him with how he knew deep down, even though he said he left the mob, he had to finish off Sidwell for himself.
Next, Sonny explains everything he has ever done was to provide for and to protect his family. Dante fired back that he doesn’t want to deal anymore with Sonny’s half-baked truths. As the two men argue, Gio (Giovanni Mazza) shows up at Sonny’s front door and overhears Sonny losing his temper and shouting at Dante, “Get out of my house! I don’t want a son like you!” The scenes featured an excellent performance by Maurice Benard.
Courtesy/ABC
MICHAEL THE MANIPULATOR
While this is going down, outside the Quartermaine boathouse, Brook Lynn opens up to Michael about living at the Q’s with Chase being there, since he only came back due to legal advice from his lawyer, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard).
Brook Lynn questioned whether they should get legally separate. Michael insisted that would be a big mistake. When she asks why, Michael tells Brook Lynn to bide her time until Chase and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) have an affair; then she’d have full custody of Phoebe.
An angered Brook Lynn pushed Michael into the water and accuses him of moving Willow back into the gatehouse with intent on putting Chase and Willow in closer proximity and sacrificing Brook Lynn’s family in the process. As the two cousins bicker, Chase shows up asking Brook Lynn if she is OK. Michael punctuates their talk with “You know, I’m right.”
CURTIS FIGURES OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF THE SLAMMER
At GH, Willow visits Curtis (Donnell Turner) in his hospital room. Curtis wants Willow to get him pardoned and keep him out of jail, and in return, he will help her nail Sonny.
Next, Willow tells Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) she wants Curtis held for observation for three more days. He agrees to do so under one condition, that she understands that he may need to call in a favor from a congresswoman.
So, what did you think of how Dante accused his father and refused to believe Sonny’s answers? Is this the end of their father and son relationship for good? Is Michael the most manipulative person of all, except for Willow? Do the two deserve each other? Do you want Chase and Willow to have an affair? And what of Curtis? Does he have many redeeming qualities left? Share your thoughts via the comment section, but first check out the talk Michael had with Brook Lynn.
General Hospital
GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof
Two soap opera alums very familiar to fans of General Hospital and The Young and the Restless are paired together in a new short-form digital series from none other than Issa Rae’s production entity HOORAE Digital.
Look for Tajh Bellow (ex-TJ Ashford, GH)) and Loren Lott (ex-Ana Hamilton, Y&R) as part of the cast of The Compatibility Experiment, premiering on October 14, 2026, exclusively on TikTok and its companion microdrama platform, PineDrama.
In the video teaser, it appears that Bellow and Lott play a couple, Kelvin and Camila, set in a Love Island reality show-esque environment trying to win the one million dollar cash prize, only what could go wrong?
Photo: HOORAE
The Compatibility Experiment loglines share that it brings a fast-paced, relationship-focused reality check—much like Love Island with a twist. The show takes a participant’s current relationship, introduces them to a potentially more compatible partner, and forces them to navigate the differences with life-changing money on the line.
The new series is part of a groundbreaking content deal between HOORAE Digital and TikTok to develop premium short-form storytelling. The ensemble cast also features; Ayona, Reggie Luck, JaNa Craig, Tosin Morohunfola, Jessica Jacoby, Georgia Warner, and Nick Cassidy.
General Hospital fans know Tajh Bellow for his performances as TJ Ashford, and who earned two Daytime Emmy nominations along the way during his run. Bellow took over the role in 2018 and last appeared on the ABC daytime drama series in December of 2024.
Loren Lott first appeared as Devon’s (Bryton James) sister Ana Hamilton on The Young and the Restless from 2018 to 2019; making a brief return in 2024. She has continued to perform on the stage and screen with recent credits including: Bel-Air, Cherish the Day, and All American: Homecoming.
Check out the trailer for The Compatibility Experiment below and let us know what you think of its concept and if you are glad to see Tajh and Loren again? Hoping they might return to daytime in their GH and Y&R roles at some point in the future? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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