General Hospital
General Hospital Confirms Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte as New Co-Head Writers; Cathy LePard as Associate Head Writer
Beginning with Thursday’s August 9th episode of General Hospital, viewers will see scripts and stories from the newest writing team of the ABC daytime drama series which includes: Chris Van Etten, who is back co-head writing the show, alongside Elizabeth Korte.
As GH fans know, back in May it was revealed that Patrick Mulcahey was out as co-head writer, a position which he began only in January of this year with Korte. At that time, no official announcement was made by GH of who would be replacing Mulcahey, although reports had surfaced that Van Etten had returned to the series.
Chris began his GH co-head writing journey back in 2017, when after Jean Passanante retired, he was paired alongside Shelly Altman. Later, when Altman retired in 2019, Dan O’Connor took over for her, and it had been Chris and Dan’s GH tenure until January of 2024, when they were let go.
Photo: ABC
Now, the iconic series confirmed to Soap Opera Digest that Chris Van Etten is indeed co-head writing GH, along with Elizabeth Korte. Additionally, GH script and breakdown writer, Cathy LePard, has been promoted to associate head writer. LePard has a strong primetime background having written for The Fix, Seventh Heaven and Safe Harbor, to name but a few.
In a statement, General Hospital’s executive producer, Frank Valentini shared: “No one knows General Hospital and its history more than Elizabeth and Chris. Cathy joined the show in 2023, and her talent and love for the genre has been a tremendous asset to this team. We look forward to this dynamic writing combination continuing the legacy of the show and giving our fans much to look forward to.”
Courtesy/ABC
Korte has been a longtime and valuable member of the General Hospital writing team dating back to 1994. Throughout her career, she has held various writing positions with different GH writing regimes including as co-head writer multiple times.
It will be intriguing to see if this version of the GH writing team can help move the needle of some of its audience erosion. They are coming into the story at a time where Sonny’s world and mental stability is crumbling around him, Kristina, TJ and Molly just lost their baby, and everyone is furious at Ava.
So, are you looking forward to seeing stories and scripts under this latest GH writing regime? Comment below. Michael Fairman TV spoke briefly with Chris Van Etten back in June after GH took home the gold for Outstanding Writing in a Daytime Drama Series, you can check it out below.
Someone write something the show is a snooze fest
GH is no longer budgeted for the action and location shoots which gave us the dramatic punch we all seem to crave. From the podcasts with the cast I’ve been on the actors indicate there is no time to do much action – everything is shot so quickly. For instance – to have an explosion rock the PCPD and create a good sweeps story involving the entire cast would mean creating a new set.
I am afraid that scenes like Kristina falling out the window (that was actually pretty good) are all we may get from now on.
I’m very sad to see Patrick Mulcahey off the show. I thought that he brought very strong character focused scenes to the show. Scenes were longer and allowed for greater depth. I wish the show had kept him.
He was doing some solid work… but was totally not allowed to do what needed to be done (a.k.a. he was over-ridden).
This is… baffling. Out of the two former co-head writers, it was Dan O’Connor that had better scripts. But, at this point, my attention to this soap is waning, due to Elizabeth Korte’s clear favouristism, and the poor decisions being made at this soap behind-the-scenes.
Scott, been meaning to tell you that I agree with all of your posts. Korte professes to be a great GH historian but she certainly doesn’t pay fidelity to it. For example, trying to pretend that Heather suddenly turned into a sociopath from cobalt poisoning is ridiculous. Heather has been a danger to society since the 70s long before her hip replacement surgery terrorizing romantic rivals such as Nurse Annie Logan and Susan Moore. I could go on and on. I understand Frank is great friends with Ally Mills and so he may be pushing for this redemption storyline. But no one wants this. Laura deserves a better storyline as do viewers. I fast forward through Heather scenes. Her voice and mannerisms are as grating as nails on a blackboard.
Harry, thanks so much for your response!
Korte, both at her own word and at the insistence of Frank Valentini, is the self-proclaimed historian of General Hospital, but she has worked under three executive producer and multiple head writing teams, and that’s where the problem is: multiple head writing regimes. However, her hold on the character of Carly is troubling; she was not including in the creation of that role… Bob Guza & Karen Harris were (with the persistent inclusion of now out-head writer Patrick Mulcahey) and I think that bothers her. Under Mulcahey’s pen, we were beginning to see the character of Carly be reigned in and now, she’s unraveling again and it’s so disappointing to witness.
The redemption arch of certain characters is really troubling; it seems, since winning the Emmy, TPTB want Alley Mills to stick around and I wouldn’t blame them… if it did not mean for this ridiculous cobalt poisoning storyline that just… rings as try-hard, tired and already done. Korte is a “yes girl” (a.k.a. pick me) and it’s going to show in these storylines coming up. I have yee of little faith in this new regime.
Scott & Harry
Your assessment of Heather is spot on. While cobalt poisoning may explain away what Heather has done since Frank took over in 2012, it doesn’t address the decades of hijinks prior to that. Heck, it’s even immortalized in a line from “General Hospi-tale” … Heather’s having an INSANE attack.
As for Korte, she needs to realize what might have worked for Carly 25 years ago doesn’t play well with a grandmother. While it annoyed me that they put Bobbie out to pasture shortly after Carly arrived, it might be time for Joss to return the favor.
So then what was the point of firing Van Etten and bringing in Patrick Mulcahey if it was only going to be for a few months? It seems like the confusion on-screen is a result of all the confusion behind-the-scenes, because GH seems like a mess both on and off camera.
Come on writers show needs so cpr stat. Bring back the Cassadines. Send Drew away.
General Hospital is in trouble, ABC wants out of the soap business. I fear General Hospital, gets cancelled sooner than later.
There’s no proof ABC wants out of soaps. Why would they just 6 months ago give GH a primetime special?
Even if, Hulu or Disney+ would likely pick up the series.
General hospital not going anywhere
You havd NO idea what you’re talking about, si please be quiet. With akk the awards GH is getting for everything from writing, to directing to acting, just to name a few, they’re obviously in it for the long haul.
Same old, same old crap! This constant shuffling of recycled HWs is an absolute joke. Nothing will ever change until ABC/Disney execs start at the top and dump Valentini. TPTB there are so out of touch with their decisions and are killing this once iconic show little by little. It’s very sad.
If not for Frank Valentini, GH would’ve been cancelled 12 years ago. Are there issues with some storylines, or some actors being favored, yes. However, before Frank took over, Laura, Anna, Felicia, Lucy, Scott, Ned and Kevin were nowhere to be found. He brought in industry vets to play new characters Ava, Valentin, Nina.
And despite budget cuts, the sets are frequently updated and we occasionally get outdoor shots.
Is everything anywhere near perfect – no, but Frank is not the problem.
Well… it could be worse. I was afraid they were thinking about bringing ReRon back!
Oh, please no!!
Yet no explanation of why if Chris is the right choice to lead the show into the future, he was fired just a few months ago as head writer. This show is a foundering mess.
So the horrifically bad writing will go on and by extension, the abysmal bad ratings will continue to plummet.
Well, one can only hope, right? I just keep hoping and thinking, it can’t get any worse, so it’s got to get better, just like Sonny.
Cat is pictured front and center with an awful, aggressive smirk on her face. A picture tells a 1,000 stories.
Cat? Who dat Cat?
Ha!” I thought I saw a pudee cat.” I think they meant Carly.
No more cast change keep the cast that on the show now. Need more action and adventures
Great choice for a…writer. Korte has to go, NOW. This is nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
What a terrible decision! Chris should have stayed fired and Korte who seems fixated on Carly, Jason and Sonny should also be fired ASAP!!
Why bring on a writer the calibre of Patrick Mulcahey who is one of the last great soap writers left and run roughshod over him by Korte.
What brought me to the show were all the action adventure and real on location shoots. I was watching the Scorpio/Donnelly scenes on the tram last night complete with an exciting shootout et al last night. My partner who watches GH with me could not believe it was even the same show! Too bad the budget is now so low that we will never see what had become the show’s trademark again.
This show is just a mess behind the scenes and I am afraid the future for it does not look bright.
Only in daytime! The constant merry-go-round of new again-old head writers replacing their replacements astonishes me. It would be nice to have head writers with vision, consistency and continuity. It would be even nicer if the writers and network execs would follow the late, great head writer Douglas Marland’s advice to not make any quick changes too soon and to listen to the fan’s feedback!
Between November 2021 & March of this year, there seemed to be a conscious effort to make Nina the central character of the show, and it failed. Miserably. And when the writers who created that situation were fired, I assumed that had something to do with it.
Mulcahey comes in at the exact time Jason comes back, but for some reason, his focus seemed to be all about the extreme character assassination of Sonny Corinthos. Turning everybody against him including his own family members, and those who had been his friends for decades. Obviously that was a mind numbingly stupid move as well, and Patrick didn’t last long.
Now it seems the extreme anti-Sonny chaos is over, his friendship with Jason seems to already be back on the right track, and his kids will obviously be back on his side now that they know Sonny was the victim of medication tampering, just as Morgan was before his supposed “death” (trust me, he ain’t dead). In addition, we have the impending returns of Lucky Spencer & Ric Lansing, and at least some version of Lulu Spencer that is not a vegetable.
So these are good signs that General Hospital might start looking like General Hospital again. If Chris VanEtten is involved in that, and actually capable of writing it, then I guess that’s a good thing? And apparently the Nina cult business was all Dan O’Connor’s doing?
Let’s hope it’s all up hill from here….
Regardless of who they are, one of the refreshing things when new writers take over is how quickly some stories wrap or pivot. Not sure that the highly panned surrogscy story was Chris or Dan’s doing, but our long nightmare is moving to a new phase.
We’re seeing the hospital staff used properly. Sonny going to Kevin the return of Felicia as patient advocate being key examples.
Now, Lucky and Lulu will be contract roles, so whose screen time will they be taking away from? (I volunteer Carly).
If a Spencer family reboot is in progress with Lucky and Lulu returning then it wouldn’t make sense to cut their cousin Carly.
Now on the other horn… Ava and Nina are not Spencers. And recent events suggest Ava might be joining the rest of her family soon.
We could certainly use a break from “ Carly’s World.”
“ Nina cult business”? The only cult business, if there is such a thing, would belong to Carly. And Nina is not an abject failure because she’s played by a brilliant actress who can emote with nuance and subtlety. She has a huge fan base. I’d say Cynthia Watros and Maura West are the best actresses on GH.
Ok, color me confuse, I have no idea whose writing the show, whose responsible for who gets let go and who gets to stay, I was content with the prior two head writers and then they were switch, and yes I was the first to complain, the stuff that aired after the new writers took over was boring but then their stuff started getting good like really good, and now another head writer switch, regardless it doesn’t matter whose the head writer because they must all have the same mandate, to make the whole show revolved around sonny Carly and Jason, and everyone else is second or supporting, look what they’re doing to Ava, love seeing her getting more airtime, but is it to set up her getting killed off? look what they did to Finn, his dad died and his storyline picked up, it was good and it was all a set up just to send him off. So lets see if this new duo can keep things moving but now sway it to just make sonny Carly and Jason look good and get away with everything.
Arranging the chairs on the Titanic. The same people who were unable to resuscitate their shows ratings after being in charge for years are still being allowed to keep their jobs because it just easier for all concerned to not try anything different. There are untapped options out there that need to be looked at. Why not hire former actors for instance to write for their shows or hire some long-term fans or Podcast hosts to write the shows. Legendary soap scribe Pam Long was a former beauty queen and supporting actress on the daytime soap Texas when her then producer became intrigued with some of her storyline suggestions and hired her as a writer. Hogan Sheffer was not a daytime person when he was hired as a daytime scribe. I have recently discovered fanfiction and some of it very original and quite good. I would scour the fanfiction sites and give some of the authors a try out. The genre does not have to keep settling for average when it could do a lot better.
First of all, I am a big fan of the show. But lately, it is has been wildly uneven. I have had to stop and question of I have missed an episode because things change so quickly. The fans need stability with so many career changes on the show, great actors leaving quickly (Finn, Valentine) and a bloated cast that seems to keep getting bigger.
QUESTIONS: If Sonny is so protective of his children’s mothers, why does he want to take down Ava? When Ava and Avery were living with Sonny, why was Ava not afraid of Sonny’s wild mood swings when here daughter was ling with him? Why did Jason and Sonny become BFFs again without a discussion? Where is Cyrus? Why did Blaze stay and Natalia leave? Is there any fans really loving Eva LaRue’s character? Why does Lois not have a storyline? Why has Chase and Brook Lynn barely been on the show since Finn left? How will Finn not coming back to GH play out with Violet? Who killed Austin? Who sent Ava the notes? Why is Emme Rylan not coming back as Lulu since it has been reported she wanted to come back? Why is Cody and Sasha on every two weeks and seem so boring when they had more chemistry as friends? I love anything Jane Elliott does as Tracy, but can we see her in a storyline that shows her vulnerable side with someone her age? Why bring Mac back to not have him on the show for weeks? Resolve the Cody/Mac storyline. Why do we hardly see Dex? Wouldn’t the show have gotten more story out of Kristina having amnesia and not wanting to give up the baby instead of killing another unborn child? Where is Olivia? Why do some characters that are so wildly UN-popular continue to be on the show (Drew, Nina)
POSITIVES: Maura West is a force of nature. The show needs to keep her at all costs. If Sasha is staying, but back Celia Quartermaine to be her mother. Sasha needs to be in the Q mix, I’d like to see Lucky with Elizabeth or Sam. Dante needs to be with Lulu. Jack Brennon is a great addition to the cast. Now, let’s see him and Carly in a storyline that does not involve Jason and Sonny. Anna is too beautiful and vivacious to not have men chasing her instead all the men chasing Carly.
Thank God you got the other written out. He totally sucked and Im thrilled to see our old folks in the show return to us. I was 1 click away from boycotting that idiot. When he fired the access who plays Sam. I was hot and there were too many others as well. Yes, please bring them all back if possible. I Love our Britt charecature and now we have her back as well. You keep up the great work and dont ever let that moron come back to our show. You guys are the best. Tell the owner to stay out of your day to day stuff. Hate the ego on him. Don’t like him at all. He can just go away. Us Gals hate egotistical men. Right????!!!!
You didn’t like my comment so you delete it t. Not OK, so now I’m posting on my Twitter site which has over 22,000 followers with thier own followers as well. My opinion matters and you dont have to agree but please know, I am telling everyone how you deleted mine cause you didn’t like it. The only true GH gurus, are all of us. I’ve been watching for over 40 years now. You not so much. Lol see you on Twitter now.
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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