General Hospital
General Hospital’s Executive Producer Frank Valentini Previews, “There’s More Tribute to Come For Monica”
The cast and crew and behind the scenes creatives were deeply saddened when General Hospital’s longest tenured cast member, Leslie Charleson (Monica Quartermaine) passed away back on January 12th of this year.
While we have previously reported GH’s plans for its 62nd anniversary episode airing on Tuesday, April 1, which will include honoring Charleson when her character of Dr. Monica Quartermaine get a new cardiac wing named after her at the hospital, the soap’s executive producer, Frank Valentini shared with Variety, that even after that, there is more in store the.
Valentini teased, “There’s more tribute to come for Monica. But the opportunity presented itself that we would have the anniversary of the hospital be on the anniversary of the show. So it’s a little meta, but I think it’s great. And then to give the hospital a reason to celebrate, that’s how we came up with the the new wing for Monica, which is a really beautiful set. It’s pretty incredible.”
Photo: ABC
The ABC daytime drama will address the death of Monica Quartermaine and the passing of Charleson at a later date, as this anniversary episode was said to be written before the news of the fan favorite’s death.
During the April 1 anniversary episode, Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Laura (Genie Francis) remember those who have come and gone and been a vital part of the hospital including: Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon), Epiphany Johnson (Sonya Eddy), Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) and more.
“As much as we always want to go boldly into the future, I think you can’t go into the future without understanding where you’ve come from, or what the past has taught you,” shared Valentini. “And if there’s anything that it’s taught us, it’s that the hospital is a very interesting and exciting place for story to be told, and the lives and the stakes in the hospital are so much bigger.”
So, glad to hear that there are more plans to honor Leslie Charleson and her contributions for 47 years as Monica Quartermaine down the line? Comment below.
Happy to hear… but not looking forward to all the tears it will bring. GH tributes always are very touching and emotionally well done in honouring the passing of a cast member.
I most enjoyed the time Monica came to visit Tracy in the hospital, Tracy thinking she would die & be completely honest, told Monica, ” I Love you more than than anyone else in the world!” & began crying.. shortly after, Monica left the room..she had a hard time processing it, because she knew it was true..
After all there fights
Monica was great in that episode
I sure hope they show ample footage of the Alan and Monica wild make out sessions on the heels of one of their infamous marital fights. They were really a super soap couple without actually being called a super soap couple. They were classic!
I loved watching them. They were the most entertaining couple on daytime.
It would bring the house down! So to speak…
love that they honor the history of the show and remember all the departed cast members
Everything they do for Leslie (and Monica) will be beautiful but we’re always going to miss her.
She will be so miss Just don’t understand what took so long
This was written prior to Leslie Charleson’s passing. It’s not like she passed and they just pushed out scripts. That’s not how it works… even at this soap.
Leslie deserves to be honored immensely and forever! I will always remember Monica and Alan fighting!
They were an ideal couple, perfectly made for each other!
Been watching since day one. Saddened we lost Lesley but her tribute will be beautiful. Naming a wing after her is so appropriate and will keep her memory alive to all her fans. Rest in peace, Lesley, you are missed already.
I’ve been wondering when they were gonna honor her! I know it’s going to be a tear jerker. I’ll be sure to grab my box of tissues.
This was written prior to Leslie’s passing.
I have been a faithful fan of General Hospital since 1978. So many characters and storylines have come and gone since then. My mother’s favorite characters, besides Luke and Laura, were definitely Monica and Alan Quartermaine. In both of our opinions, they are central to what General Hospital is today. I am VERY happy to see that Dr. Monica Quartermaine will have a hospital wing named after her, definitely that episode (the 62nd anniversary show), and the episode where the entire cast will honor her in what will probably be the most saddest of episodes (those memorial episodes usually are as they should be). Leslie Charleson was a phenomenal actress. The name Monica Quartermaine will never be forgotten and neither will Leslie Charleson. RIP Leslie.
Wonderful news. A suggestion is to include Sasha Gilmore’s deceased husband’s name somewhere (Johnny ?” who sadly passed at a young age.
Ehh, the context here is legendary characters who were actually employed by the hospital itself. What happened to Johhny Wactor IRL was tragic, but “Brando Corbin” doesn’t fit in this context.
She’s been gone since January
I’m very happy that Monica will be honored in this way. She deserves this tribute. Condolences to her family friends and fans. Condolences as well for all who have passed. I really love GH Stars. God bless their souls and spirits to be protected as they transition to that Paradise where they will sleep for now. Until Jesus returns. In Jesus’s Mighty name I pray. Amen, Amen and Amen. ✝️❤️️➕➕➕⭐⭐
I think it’s ridiculous that they haven’t addressed her death yet. Monica is just up in a room dying all this time? Leslie has been the longest person on the show. The least they could do is address the fact that she is dead. They could then name the wing after her. That would make more sense and honor her life.
They don’t just snap their fingers and bam there’s a script. This episode was written before she passed. Then they tape 6 weeks in advance. When a cast member dies it takes time and planning. They have to see who they’d like to bring back and who could be available. With Monica for example they would want Ned there. But Wally Kurth also works on Days of our lives. So they’d have to be sure he’s available. Once they know that then it’s the planning and writing. Then the taping and editing. We dont want these rush. I don’t mind that Monica is still alive currently even though Leslie is not.
Did you read the story you’re commenting on? This is directly addressed:
The ABC daytime drama will address the death of Monica Quartermaine and the passing of Charleson at a later date, as this anniversary episode was said to be written before the news of the fan favorite’s death.
My mom started watching General Hospital when it was in black and white. I’ve only been watching for 30 something years. We love it, the story lines just keep drawing you in. We love all the actors. Let me tell you we shed some tears when the actors passed away. The best way to sum up GH is they feel like our family. I hope it never goes off air in my life time.
It would be nice if the character of Lesley Webber came back.
I would hope Denise Alexander as Lesley Webber would be included in a tribute to her longtime co-star Leslie Charleson and nemesis Dr. Monica Quartermaine. Those years with Alan and the Webber brothers were so well done. Soaps work best when past characters are remembered and included in current stories. As the World Turns was very good about that. GH remembers at anniversaries, but I wish some of the old guard would be featured more.
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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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
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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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