General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Giovanni Mazza Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
There are moments on a soap opera that are captured that just connect with us all, and since the airing of the Friday, December 26 episode of General Hospital, legions of fans (and we can show you the link here to our Michael Fairman TV Facebook page as one example) have been incredibly moved and touched by the outstanding work of Giovanni Mazza in the scenes where Gio is gifted a new violin for the holidays by his grandfathers Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ned (Wally Kurth).
However, the gift did not come off as intended after Leo (Easton Rocket Sweda) got his hands on the violin before he was supposed to as Sonny and Ned wanted to give it to Gio at the right time and when they thought he was ready to play again.
As viewers recall, Gio stopped playing the violin back in May of this year when at the Nurses’ Ball he learned backstage when overhearing Lulu (Alexa Havins Bruening) say that his biological parents are Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), something that was hid from him his entire life.
Courtesy/ABC
After taking to the Nurses Ball stage for his planned performance, Gio instead let out his rage and fury for all the years of lies, and smashed his beloved violin to pieces. Since then, it has been a slow burn as Gio has slowly come around to Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and even slower to Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), who has been particularly hard on him.
Now at the Quartermaine family gathering and holiday party, everything comes full circle for Gio. After Leo brings in the new violin case, an emotional Gio walks over to it after hearing Wiley (Viron Weaver) says that Tracy (Jane Elliot) has been been so sad since Monica died, that she would love to hear him play. Gio says he loved Monica, too. He puts the violin case down on the table and takes out the violin and then the bow. As Gio looks at it, he is overcome, as are we the audience, as he clutches the instrument and heads out into the foyer and weeps.
Brook Lynn follows him and out and remembered what led up to today. She reaches out to her son and puts her hand on his shoulders, telling him it’s going to be OK, and he returns to the Quartermaine living room and performs with so much emotion in his face and in his hands, “Oh, Holy Night.” After he finishes, Tracy walks over to him and hugs him and thanks him for how beautiful that was. At that point, if you weren’t reaching for the hankies before, you were now.
Courtesy/ABC
WHAT WE SAY
It’s a rare occurrence to find such a talent such as Giovanni Mazza, who not only plays the violin so masterfully and so movingly, but can also act and brings us to tears. Even though, this was just a handful of scenes and moments, there is no question that Mazza’s work is what we will remember as we close out 2025.
Kudos also to the GH writing and directing team for giving Gio back his passion before the clock strikes twelve to 2026, which sets him on a course of embracing what he loves, and his new family in the New Year. For all of these reasons mentioned above, Giovanni Mazza is Michael Fairman TV’s pick for the Power Performance of the Week.
WHAT THE VIEWERS SAY
Fan comments also noted, “I thought he was going to cry looking in the case.at the violin. The way he plays its a part of him not an instrument! So beautiful. A very talented young man,” to “This is one of the most talented young men to ever come to GH. The musicality is unbelievable & the acting is golden. I believe he will do great things,” to “Gio is a fantastic musician, but he is also turning out to be a sensational actor. Yesterday’s episode was a heart tugger.when he left the family room with his guitar and got very emotional… you could almost feel his pain. Well done, sir,” to “It was touching. I was teary eyed for sure. I’ve been in that struggle playing music and something bad happens and I stopped playing piano/organ and it was a moment like this when you play again and the emotions from within and you end up blessing others with your gift. Art imitates life.”
Now below, let us know if you were moved by the scenes where Gio is gifted the violin, and works through his sadness, anger, denial and love for the instrument and gives Tracy and the Quartermaines a true holiday present via the comment section below.
It was so magical. I think this young is so talented. General hospital did a GREAT job bringing him to the show/family.
He plays so beautifully. I really enjoy when he does play and look forward to his playing more often
Unbelievable, I cried, so beautiful
From the first time He played the violin…I was so impressed with Him..I went on Utube and have watched every performance when I am having a bad day..
Listening to Gio play makes me feel so much better.. He is an amazing musician
Kudos to General Hospital..I have been a GH fan since day one in 1963 and with the addition of such a talented musician..the show is Golden..
I totally cried.
I cried
I just hope when he leaves the show and makes it big in Hollywood that he won’t undergo such a personality change as we have seen with Nicholas Chavez.I think Chavez was a really nice guy when he was on GH but turned into a completely different person once he hit Hollywood success.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”
Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
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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