General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Genie Francis Talks Bringing Real-Life Trauma Into Laura/Sonny Story and Being Shunned for a Lead Actress Emmy Nomination in Upcoming ‘State of Mind’ with Maurice Benard
In an upcoming two-part episode of Maurice Benard’s (Sonny Corinthos) mental health podcast, State of Mind, the three-time Daytime Emmy winner welcomes for the first time, General Hospital icon and long-running series star, Genie Francis (Laura Collins). The first episode drops this Sunday, November 16, with the second installment premiere the following Sunday on November 23.
Francis, who has played Laura on and off since 1977 and Benard who arrived in 1993, will talk about their current and upcoming storyline, which in a preview with the New York Post, appears to be one of Genie’s all-time favorites. “I love this story that they have given us,” shared Francis. “They asked me one day, ABC asked me what I wanted, and I said I want a story with Maurice Benard. And from that, they put together a brilliant story that I’m loving so much.”
Speaking on the on-screen relationship of Sonny and Laura, Genie added, “There are all kinds of love stories – they’re not all romantic. But you have really close relationships with people, and there’s a chemistry there with us, so I wanted them to write that.”
Photo: ABC
In a scene with Benard, Francis shared how she got to the emotional epicenter of it, which called upon her to recall a certain trauma from her past. “I realized that my way into that scene was about trauma,” she told Maurice. “I’ve had trauma in my life. I’ve relived trauma in my life, and I know what happens. I tried to tell you in that scene about my trauma, and you heard me.”
As for Benard, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 22 and started his own You Tube series back in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Maurice has remained a staunch mental health advocate by informing people on different mental illnesses, how they manifest, and how to survive through it which he has done, but been very open about his struggles in an effort to help others.
The subject of the Emmys will come up on State of Mind and according to the NY Post, Benard tells Francis, “Usually when I predict things, a lot of times they do come true. And I’d love to see you win an Emmy from what I’ve seen in two weeks.”
Photo: ABC
Having been the face of GH for a longtime, sadly, Genie has never won a Lead Actress Daytime Emmy, clarifying, “I have never been nominated for Best Actress, never once. I won once as Best Supporting Actress for a short six-week visit, but as far as Best Actress, it’s been a close-out for 49 years.”
Genie also recalled, “When I was a kid, how do you compare an 18-year-old girl to a 40-year-old woman who are in the same category?” That was a very hard thing for me when Tony (Geary) was nominated when I was a kid and I was not. I was embarrassed.”
So, are you looking forward to seeing Genie and Maurice working more together in the coming weeks on-screen? Do you agree that Genie should have, by now, at least been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, if not have won at least once already? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, check out this teaser featuring Maurice and Genie below.
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First of all – I adore Genie and love whenever Laura is on my screen.
That she wasn’t nominated for Lead Actress the year Lucky was presumed dead in the fire is astonishing.
While she’s justified in pointing out that Geary got nominated early on, she’s wrong to imply he was a kid. His first nomination was in 1981 when he was already 34. He won the following year.
Because she is on so infrequently and is not often driving story, right now, she might best belong in the supporting category. Does she have the presence of a Lead Actress – absolutely- but the story (at least so far this year) isn’t there.
Why don’t we see the struggles of a mature woman raising her toddler grandson? Give her something to do other than being the mayor.
Something was bugging me. Genie must have a poor memory. A simple IMDb check verified she was nominated twice in the Lead category. Once in 1997 and the other in 2021 – just 4 years ago.
Yeah, it was puzzling that she would forget those nominations. The one in 2021, she was nominated for the scenes when Lulu went into the coma. GH had three Best Actress nominees that year, with Finola and Nancy joining Genie. And the one in 1997 I remember, because she was 8 or 9 months pregnant, and couldn’t travel to New York for the ceremony, so she appeared via satellite.
But overall, I think it’s fair to say that she’s been short changed when it comes to the Lead Actress category.over the years. There were a number of other years I thought she easily could have been nominated and wasn’t. But you can say the same thing for a lot of actors and actresses on every show.
There were a few years in the 90s when Genie arguably should’ve been nominated (in addition to 97).
As for the early 80s, there was powerhouse competition from well established industry vets. When Geary hit his first nomination in 1981, the five women up for best Lead Actress were:
Julia Barr, Susan Lucci, Robin Strasser, Helen Gallagher, and Judith Light.
Light, of course, won for her iconic courtroom breakdown.
Had there been a younger actress category in those years, Francis would’ve been a shoe-in.
Maybe she doesn’t give a shit.
Genie Francis is GH legacy and I would love to see her win a Lead Actress trophy. But GH needs to put her front and center and weave her into stories that may not be her primary plotline. I miss seeing favorite characters in and out of homes, hospital, and town hot spots just casually. It nuilds community and continuity. There have been lame Lead Actress winners in many years at the Daytime Emmy Awards. If this GH story is as promised, then let’s give Miss Francis the spotlight and let her talents shine and speak for themselves. She need not turn on tears or histrionics to make us engage in the stories or feel the emotions.
She is quoted in several articles online as saying she hasn’t been nominated for lead actress when she was nominated in that category in 1997 and 2021. I saw some clips of her upcoming interview on State of Mind, but I didn’t see her say the quote about not ever receiving a lead actress nomination. Maybe it was misquoted.
I”ve always been puzzled how GH has literally been shut out of the lead actress category for decades, yes their actress have been nominated and only four have won in that category Finola Hughes, Laura Wright, Maura West and now Nancy Grahn, I find it astonishing especially when you consider the other shows that have had actress win multiple times, and have left me scratching my head. We know who they are, all they do is submit scenes of themselves crying year after year. GH has been shown more respect in the supporting actress category which is just as important, Genie will hopefully be given just plain and simple a steady storyline, yes she’s the heart of GH but she’s treated like a supporting character on the show.
Watching what aired on Sunday’s Part 1…
Not sure if it was an edit or a misinterpretation, but Genie never says she wasn’t nominated in Lead, just she didn’t win in 49 years.
Also, it appears she said “Tony was nominated when I was a kid” (not when Tony was a kid).
I watched it today also and I agree with you 100%. Looking forward to part 2 next week.
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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