Previously on General Hospital, Esme Prince caused so much trouble for Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) until the character went overboard and was presumed dead back in January of 2024.

Esme’s portrayer, Avery Pohl was heralded by GH fans as one of the great young baddies in recent memory. And now, Pohl is taking her talents to the new Netflix series, and joining the Scooby-Doo universe in an undisclosed role in the upcoming show, Scooby-Doo Orgins!

News of Pohl’s casting came via Deadline when they revealed 12 actors joining the upcoming live-action series which also includes notables: Sara Gilbert (ex-The Talk and The Connors), and Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), plus previously announced, MacKenna Grace (ex-Faith, The Young and the Restless) who plays the central role of Daphne Blake. Tanner Hagen takes on Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson plays Velma Dinkley, Maxwell Jenkins  is Fred Jones, and even Paul Walter Hauser also appears in a secret role, and not to be left out, Scooby-Doo himself.

Courtesy/ABC

ZOINKS, RUH-RO AND JEEPERS!

Avery Pohl took to her Instagram upon the reveal of her new project and said, “Dog’s outta the bag. So grateful to work with so many talented and kind individuals.” Immediately many of her former GH castmates congratulated the actress including: Tabyana Ali and her predecessor in the role of Trina, Sydney Mikalya and Eden McCoy (Josslyn).

According to the official loglines for Scooby-Doo Origins, its a, “Modern reimagining of the iconic mystery-solving group of teens and their very special dog. During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.”

The series, which introduced supernatural mystery-solving teens Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers and their talking Great Dane Scooby-Doo, originally aired on CBS from 1969-76. It then moved to ABC, where various versions of the show aired until 1986. The Scooby-Doo franchise has also released three movies more than adozen animated series, and over 40 animated home entertainment movies.

WILL ESME PRINCE RETURN TO GH?

Pohl received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2025, in the Outstanding Guest Performer category and initially debuted on GH back in 2021.

In case you missed it, Avery participated in a livestream chat last year along with GH’s Katelyn MacMullen (Willow) and their acting coach and soap alum Holly Gagnier (ex-Days, GH, and OLTL) on the Michael Fairman Channel. You can check it out below.

Now, share your congrats for Avery on landing her upcoming role in ‘Scooby-Doo Origins’ Let us know, if you hope GH brings back Esme one day and Spencer Cassadine via the comment section.

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On the Wednesday, June 10 episode of General Hospital, after Sidwell (Carlo Rota) shoots Lucas (Van Hansis) three times, he is surrounded by PCPD commissioner Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), Joe (Jonathan Bennett) and other uniformed cops. Laura (Genie Francis) and Sonny (Maurice Benard) show up and the mayor runs to Lucas as Joe checks his vitals.

Lucas comes to and reveals (as we all predicted) that he was wearing a bulletproof vest. That reveal sets Sidwell off that he was played as Dante says there is evidence enough to arrest him for attempted murder.

Sidwell though, tells Dante that he needs to arrest Laura and his father, the mobster Sonny Corinthos, for Professor Dalton’s murder, but admits he no longer has the proof because Lucas broke into his safe and stole the evidence.

Courtesy/ABC

LUCAS GETS BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS

Just then, “Nathan” (Ryan Paevey) shows up wondering what he missed. Sidwell says his lawyer will get the charges thrown out since Dante, Laura, Sonny and Lucas conspired against him. However, Dante mistakenly allows “Nathan” aka Cassius to be in charge of taking Sidwell to the PCPD and to book him.

Lucas is still uneasy. Laura wants him to go to GH to be checked out. Dante asks Laura and Sonny and Sonny about Dalton’s death, but they play dumb as if they know nothing about it, which is not lost on Dante that they are lying.

Later, none other than Joe takes Lucas to the hospital, and for the first time we see the two characters truly in a one-on-one moment together. Lucas talks about Marco and Joe waits around till the nurse comes to get Lucas to get checked out. Do you get a sense that Joe likes Lucas, or is that all in our minds?

Courtesy/ABC

SIDWELL GETS AWAY

Taking a side road, Cassius gets Sidwell out of his vehicle, and tells him he cannot protect him from an attempted murder charge, so the only thing Jenz can do is to get out of the country and disappear for good. Sidwell says he has many contingency plans in place, and also warns Cassius that he will expose him if he does not comply with what he needs him to do.

To make it look good, Sidwell asks for Cassius’ gun. In the final moments of the show, Cassius is seen with a gash on his head calling Dante, and informing him that Sidwell’s thugs jumped him and Jenz got away!

Courtesy/ABC

THE PLAN TO BLACKMAIL DREW BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE

Elsewhere, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) is freaked out that Jack (Chris McKenna) is able to grab her arm and talk! Just then, Nina (Cynthia Watros) shows up. Willow learns her mother hasn’t been injecting Brennan with the paralytic drug. Jack says he can stop Sidwell and Cullum from coming after her and has evidence she can leverage against Drew.

Willow learns, that according to Brennan, Drew misappropriated federal funds and he has the proof, and if that should come to light, Drew would be sent to prison. Nina says Drew won’t risk being sent to prison again, so Willow can stop drugging him.

However, Jack has a plan. He says he’s the only one with the information on Drew. He thinks they should continue to let Cullum and Sidwell believe he’s still in a locked-in state to give him cover. Willow is told as much as she hates continuing to drug Drew, she will only need to do it 1 or 2 more times, to give Jack time to set everything in motion.

So, were you annoyed that Cassius freed Sidwell when he was caught shooting Lucas Jones? Where do you think Sidwell will go? Do you think Joe and Lucas might be potential boyfriends, and what do you think of Jack’s plan? Did Drew really misappropriate federal funds? Weigh-in via the comment section below. But first, check out the scenes between, Nina, Willow and Jack.

If there is a story or script from one of your favorite soaps over the last three and a half decades that is most memorable to you, it’s probably because veteran soap writer, Michele Val Jean had something to do with it.

The current creator, head writer and executive producer of CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates has been razzle dazzling us with some impressive cliffhangers in the infancy of the newest soap opera on the block which debuted back on February 24, 2025. Already in its second season, and recently renewed in a tremendous show of confidence by CBS for seasons three and four, this week its spotlighting the highly-anticipated crossover event when characters from The Young and the Restless arrive at Fairmont Crest airing now through June 12.

Val Jean has tenured history in daytime from: being a script writer for Santa Barbara (and breakdown writer), Port Charles, Generations, and lengthy run a few times at General Hospital where she served as script writer, breakdown writer, and at one time co-head writer of the ABC soap, to being a long-running script writer at The Bold and the Beautiful, to finally landing her very own show as its head writer with Beyond the Gates.

Photo: CBS

Earlier this week, Michael Fairman TV chatted with Michele at the Toast to Black Excellence event in Los Angeles, featuring cast members of Beyond the Gates and The Young and the Restless as a precursor to their multi-arc crossover event and asked Val Jean what has been her favorite story in soaps she has ever written for. She responded that she had a top three and they all happened to be from her time on General Hospital and in the 90’s.

GENERAL HOSPITAL CLASSIC STORYLINES

Michele revealed her top picks, “Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) rape, because that was personal, Kevin and Ryan (dual roles played by Jon Lindstrom), and Stone’s (Michael Sutton) death.”

When speaking of getting the opportunity to write for mild-mannered Dr. Kevin Collins and his psycho killer twin, Ryan Chamberlain, Michele explained, “I was always like a true crime person and Claire Labine (ex-head writer, GH) loved the vibe Jon Lindstrom and I has as writing and acting were concerned. Claire said, ‘Go with it. So, she basically let us work out who these characters were and I was like, ‘I finally have my own serial killer!'”

Courtesy/ABC

DOUBLE TROUBLE

“One of the first scenes I wrote for Ryan was in the police interrogation room and Mac Scorpio (John J. York) and Sean Donely (John Reilly) were standing behind him. He was sitting at this table and in his jumpsuit and there was a light shining on him and he started confessing to all these murders. It was like a 7-minute monologue and it went on and on. He had so many murders (piled up). and then at one point, he goes, ‘Wait, a minute!” He got confused about all the women he had murdered and I said ‘I love this character!'”

GH fans will recall Ryan debuted first in 1992, and then Kevin joined the main characters in 1993. Val Jean recalled, “When Kevin came onto the canvas, he was so arrogant. He thought, ‘Oh, I’ll go fix my brother.’ It took Ryan about five minutes to figure out who Kevin was. The next thing you know, Kevin’s in the middle of a mental institution going, ‘I’m not Ryan!’ And, Ryan’s out on a date with Felicia (Kristina Wagner) I think we must have killed Ryan off six times. That was fun!”

Photo: ABC

PERSONAL VANTAGE POINT

In 1998, Val Jean wrote Elizabeth Webber’s rape storyline. She notably based the controversial and critically acclaimed storyline on her own personal experience with sexual assault.

Michele reflected, “Elizabeth’s rape was really important to me because I was watching the Campus Disco in 1979 (when Luke raped Laura), and I was raped when I was 12-years-old. I know what rape looks like. I wanted to win Tony Geary (Luke) an Emmy because he hadn’t had one since 1983. I also wanted to call a rape a “rape,” and I wanted to heal myself, because back when I grew up on the south side of Chicago in the sixties, you didn’t go to therapy. You pulled yourself up by your bootstraps, and you went on. There was a trial and my rapist went to jail. Once that was over, there was no more talking about it. So, those were my three reasons for doing that story. I managed to do all three, and that was the most personally satisfying.”

Courtesy/ABC

STONE AND ROBIN

Perhaps, there is nothing more iconic and important, than the death of Stone Cates, who tragically dies of AIDS. The episode where he passes away with his girlfriend, a young Robin (Kimberly McCullough) who now has contracted HIV by his side, aired on November 29, 1995. Val Jean had noted on social media that it was both an honor and a heartbreak to write this episode.

BEYOND THE GATES EARLY FAVORITES

Now, Michele is setting new favorites in her repertoire with Beyond the Gates. She revealed that so far, there have been two standouts. The first, the violent altercation on a deserted country road where Martin (Brandon Claybon) fatally struck one of two racist white men with a tire iron to save his grandfather, Vernon Dupree’s (Clifton Davis) life and his own.

“I am most proud of Martin by the side of the road (story), because I didn’t think the CBS network would let me do it, but the network has been so supportive. I took a lot of personal satisfaction from that. I’ve never experienced anything like that! ” Another top pick?  I loved the anniversary party when Nicole’s (Daphnée Duplaix) marriage got all blown up!

So, are some of your all-time favorite storylines the ones Michele Val Jean chose? Elizabeth’s Rape, early Kevin/Ryan and Stone’s death on General Hospital? What about the racism storyline centering around Martin Richardson and the bombshell reveal on Beyond the Gates that Ted had an affair with Leslie and a child, which came to light at the anniversary party of Ted and Nicole? Let us know via the comment section below.