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Jonathan Jackson Reveals the Reason Behind His Exit from ‘General Hospital’: “We Gave It Our Best Shot”

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

If you think the quick exit by Jonathan Jackson following the five-time Daytime Emmy-winner’s return to General Hospital was planned way in advance, you can scrap that notion after Jonathan opened up about his decision to exit the ABC daytime drama series as Lucky Spencer sooner than he had hoped.

According to Jackson in a discussion with TV Insider, he revealed that the distance between his home in Tennessee and taping GH in Los Angeles, and being away from his family played a large part in his early departure.

As Jonathan explained it was never his intention to exit his iconic GH role as Luke and Laura’s son only nine months after his heralded and heavily-publicized return in August of 2024. He shared, “It was more of a real, sincere attempt from myself and from General Hospital to make it work for a longer period of time. The hope was to be able to stay on longer.”

Photo: ABC

However, he seemed to allude to that it was always on the table as an ‘bit of an experiment” when he came back to the soap opera. Jackson said, “There was always that possibility because it was a bit of an experiment on my part to see if I could make it work with the family dynamic.” Jonathan has three young children and is married to former GH star, Lisa Vultaggio (ex-Hannah).

He continued, “There were moments where I thought, ‘I think I can find this balance with the family and time back and forth,’ and then you just have to pray about it and try to do what you feel is right. We gave it our best shot, but we weren’t able to keep it going.”

As viewers are seeing an abrupt exit on the airshows, when after Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) turned down Lucky’s marriage proposal, he decides its time to leave Port Charles. Jackson admitted it was sort of sudden when he made his final decision.

Photo: ABC

“I was trying to stay in the moment as much as possible,” explained the actor/singer/writer.  That’s really where my mindset was, taking it one day at a time, but also one month at a time, and just seeing how it was feeling. I have to say that none of this would have happened at all if Frank Valentini (EP, GH) wasn’t so open and helpful to even get it this far. So that’s definitely something I’ve been extremely blessed by.”

Photo: JJacksonIG

Now gone from GH (as viewers will see Lucky’s latest exit on the canvas this week), Jonathan said he plans to concentrate on his music where he will be releasing a solo album later this year, the release of a new book of poems, called Anthology of Longing, while leaving the door open for other outside projects. Jackson also plans on touring in 2026 in the UK, and throughout Europe and in the U.S. and performing in the Nashville concert series as well. Jonathan starred as Avery Barkley in the canceled ABC music city drama series.

So, what do you think about the reason behind Jonathan Jackson’s exit? On top of the travel issues, do you think GH missed a huge opportunity to capitalize on his acting prowess, by not having him land in a storyline that might be more enticing for him to rethink his decision? Comment below.

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I accept him for his words and feelings… but if the traveling back and forth is the reason.. wasn’t the travel understood before agreeing?

I wish him well nonetheless.

Maybe he should’ve been recurring. Rick Hearst commutes from NJ and John York from Tennessee. They likely have a bit more control on their schedules than a contract performer who has to be available every weekday for shooting.

Right? Yet he’s going to tour with his music, so…. you’re still away from the family. I feel life has a non-committal as his character

Don’t get me wrong, I love Jonathan Jackson, and his portrayal of Lucky is great. But it’s become too unreliable and inconsistent to keep him in the role. Lucky should be front-and-center, driving story regularly. He’s Luke and Laura’s son, has tons of connections to the canvas, and should be a leading man. GH should really consider finding a suitable recast (which they’ve been excellent at recently) and keep Lucky on long-term.

I agree with you Jimmy. They definitely should recast Lucky.

Greg Vaughn

Greg Vaughn can’t even commit to doing Days of Our Lives full time, so it’s not likely he would do that for GH either.

Nothing against Greg’s version of Lucky – though he did seem like a different character entirely. It would be really weird to see that version come back after the real Lucky was around for a while.

One thing I do know…. the temp hire who unfortunately filled in on the day Cyrus the Virus shot “Lucky” with digitalis. That would be a huge NO. Still can’t forgive that guy for what he did to the character of Will Horton on Days. I’ll even give Ben Weston a pass for taking him out with a necktie.

While I agree that it’s highly unlikely that GV would ever return to GH, isn’t it DAYS tight budget that can’t afford him on contract?

We survived 10 years without Lucky. It’ll be a while before we see him again. Not this year, but if Laura has a son return, it’s probably gonna be Nikolas (a recast).

Hey, family comes first.

But yet the article says he’ll be touring for his music in Europe in 2026. Can’t get much further from home and family than that, now can you. GH should recast him.

Making a living to support that family is right up there, too!

I think even though he’s too polite to say, its the terrible storyline he was given upon his return just terrible.No screen time.I don’t blame him a bit.I hope the Hallmark Channel or Great.American Family channel will use him to do some movies. Some GAC shows film in TN.

That would be amazing to her him on Hallmark or GAC

I agree that the writing afforded to him was lackluster and disappointing but those adjectives also perfectly describe JJ’s acting this time around. Just like Lucky didn’t want to stay put in Port Charles, JJ clearly didn’t want to be on the set of GH— he just wanted a paycheck. The picture of him above says it all; he looks bored and passive. It didn’t help that they had his big story centering around covering up for that feckless, insipid, awful Kristina.

Jonathan’s return was a bust from the word go. They had no story for him once we got past the Sidwell stuff in Africa. It was a woefully terrible job by Frank and the writers. Why bother bringing a legacy character like Lucky Spencer back if you’re not gonna write a story for him? This has to go down as one of the worst, most botched big name returns in soap history.

From Johnathan’s end, in my personal opinion, it never seemed like his heart was in it. I’ve seen his career on GH from the start, and he’s not a 5-time Emmy winner for no reason. I know what it looks like when he’s putting his heart and soul into a story, and when someone is phoning it in, and unfortunately, phoning it in is the vibe I got from him during this entire return, aside from a couple moments here and there, such as when he worked with Genie Francis, and she could act opposite a potted plant and make it compelling, and the scenes with Aiden coming out to Lucky. I think they had exactly two scenes together after that, which is another indictment of the writing on this show.

Such a wasted opportunity, Very unfortunate that it came to this. But if the show isn’t gonna write for the character, and if his heart isn’t in it, then it’s best to call it a day, and move on.

This was my first intro to the Lucky character and I haven’t been impressed. I thought the facial fuzz was because of the mess that he had been in, but he never cleaned up. He looks weak and unkempt, like a boy not a man. There’s no chemistry with Elizabeth, she vibes him in the friend zone. So … bye boy

Yes they could have done alot with him. He was an open canvas.

It sounds like it wouldn’t have mattered if they scripted a bigger storyline for him. I do think the writers had bigger plans for a Liz and Lucky reunion but had to change course when it became too difficult for JJ to continue. It sounds like they worked around his schedule as best they could, which may have also added to why it didn’t seem like he had much of a story. Still, I wish he could have made it work. I was excited and looking forward to see what the writers had planned for Liz and Lucky’s love story I tuned in daily. So I was extremely disappointed when Liz turn down Lucky’s proposal and Lucky decided to leave.
As much as I love JJ as Lucky, and the chemistry and relationship he has with Becky Herbst, I wish GH would have made the decision to recast the role of Lucky. I would even welcome Greg Vaughan back as Lucky. I know Frank is leaving the door open for JJ to return, but today’s goodbye seemed so final.

I think Lucky Spencer is an important GH legacy character so he should remain on the canvas even as a recast. Is it really too much to ask that they chemistry test prospective candidates with Becky and Genie to find the right fit? I wish they would.

Sly, I watched GH when Greg Vaughan played Lucky and I loved his portrayal of Lucky the adult. I’d love to have Greg back. That’s unlikely because of his commitment to DOOL. Also, Greg might be hesitant to trust TPTB at GH again. After all, they dumped him to bring back Jonathan Jackson all those years ago. Jackson only managed to stay a brief period then too.

I’m with you. It’s time for permanent Lucky recast.

Funny, I thought Steve Burton lived in Tennessee. Somehow he manages to stay in canvas while traveling back and forth. Just saying. Anyway, good luck to Jonathan in his career and his family. May he have nothing but success, happiness and peace.

To TPTB: Lucky is a very important character to the history of GH and should be a regular, ongoing part of the show. It is time to recast the role.

Steve Burton used to live in Tenessee.

Wish nothing but the best for Jonathan. But GH owed it to the fans to keep Lucky Spencer up front and center. They could of done a recast. Wouldn’t be the first time. I’m very disappointed. I’ve been watching GH 62yrs.

The show clearly dropped the ball from the start when he returned to the show, but that’s a whole different long discussion that I don’t have the patience to get into, I will say, I at least like the fact that even though things are ending for him and Liz, it feels like at least they ended things as friends and He is going away with Aiden and spend quality time with his son, and since he’s not coming back anytime soon, I hope the show still keeps their relationship as co parent and that he won’t be a deadbeat dad with his son. And it is possible to be good friends with an ex, so hopefully we hear liz visits him even if it offscreen . Now the only thing I hope the show does is not ignore Elisabeth and now that Britt is coming back not take advantage of mixing it up with Jason .

I don’t understand why they didn’t just replace a lucky with somebody else so that there’s something good in the show that could happen instead of always terribly bad things. And I all I also believe that Willow should not get custody. It’s about time that she sees what Drew has done this has been carried out so long. So I’m praying that this will happen within the next couple of weeks or next this week would be great.

Well, now the budget has room to bring back Evan Hofer’s DEX! Wooh Hooh!

Maybe you should start a Go Fund Me for your cause.

Dex is dead.

Did you search for Mr. Fairman’s interview that I recommended? Just hit the search icon above and type in ” Evan Hofer opens up on Dex’s deathbed scene”. Again, Evan himself understood Dex’s death was storyline driven.

And mostly, he doesn’t have a magical Aunt Lesil to reanimate him like Britt does.

Family first❣️

I hate it!!! I was so happy to see Lucky return! Please bring him back!!!!

I absolutely loved having him back! But, I’m also a huge fan of his music. He has to do what is best for him and his family. I love that he is taking being a father as a priority! I had a horrible father. So I believe this is a priority for all men and women as mothers. I am proud of him! So long as they do not kill him off he can always come back from time to time.

Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 16

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The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the full list of nominees for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and it was CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and broadcast television newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates that racked up the most nominations with 18 and 16, respectively.

The full reveal on Tuesday follows the announcement of several major categories including Lead Actor and Actress on Monday via Extra and Entertainment Tonight and The View today revealing Daytime Drama Series and more.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys ceremony is set to take place on Friday, October 30 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

Photo: CBS

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS expressed, “We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television, As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

“Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Rachel Schwartz, Head of the Daytime Emmy Awards. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of genres, including daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Gold & Silver Circle Inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

Now below, check out the nominees in the daytime drama, talk show, entertainment news series and creative arts categories and congratulations to all!

Photo: JPI

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Stacy Haiduk (as Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives
Karla Mosley (as Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Michelle Stafford (as Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (as Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful
Tamara Tunie (as Anita Williams Dupree), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Eric Braeden (as Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless
Steve Burton (as Jason Morgan), General Hospital
Scott Clifton (as Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful
Thorsten Kaye (as Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful
Christian Jules Le Blanc (as Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Linsey Godfrey (as Sarah Horton), Days of Our Lives
Camryn Grimes (as Mariah Copeland), The Young and the Restless
Beth Maitland (as Traci Abbott), The Young and the Restless
Trisha Mann-Grant (as Leslie Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Amanda Setton (as Brook Lynn Quartermaine), General Hospital

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Sean Dominic (as Nate Hastings), The Young and the Restless
Timon Kyle Durrett (as Bill Hamilton), Beyond the Gates
Michael Graziadei (as Daniel Romalotti), The Young and the Restless
Roger Howarth (as Matt Clark), The Young and the Restless
Mike Manning (as Bradley “Smitty” Smith), Beyond the Gates
Lawrence Saint-Victor (as Carter Walton), The Bold and the Beautiful

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Braedyn Bruner (as Emma Scorpio-Drake), General Hospital
Al Calderon (as Javier Hernandez), Days of Our Lives
Alice Halsey (as Rachel Black), Days of Our Lives
Giovanni Mazza (as Gio Palmieri), General Hospital
Ambyr Michelle (as Eva Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Arielle Prepetit (as Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Jasmine Burke (as June Hughes), Beyond the Gates
Jeff Kober (as Cyrus Renault), General Hospital
Eva LaRue (as Natalia Rogers-Ramirez), General Hospital
Christopher Sean (as Paul Narita), Days of Our Lives
Ray Wise (as Ian Ward), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital

Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
3rd Hour of TODAY
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Live With Kelly and Mark
TODAY With Jenna & Friends
The View

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri

Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood
Entertainment Tonight
Extra

Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily)
Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough & Terri Seymour, Extra
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood
Star Jones & Corey Jovan, Divorce Court

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood — An Entertainment Tonight Special
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Working In the Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime

Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
Have Guitar Will Travel World
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Let Frankie Cook,” Getting the Band Back Together
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Outstanding Technical Direction and Video for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates, Episode 104
The Bold and the Beautiful,” Episode 9511
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”
The Jennifer Hudson Show, ” Episode 4041
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
General Hospital, Episode 15719
The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Episode 5033
The Young and the Restless,” Episode 13273

So, what do you think of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations? Who are you happy to see receive a nomination and who do you think was snubbed? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

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Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.

ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.

Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS

THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …

The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.

This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.

Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.

Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC

DAYTIME TALK SERIES

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.

So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Breaking News

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor Drama Series

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Monday afternoon, Extra kicked-off the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations with the reveal of two major categories. First, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series — Actor, and second, Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.

Previous Emmy winners all, the men who will be vying for daytime’s most coveted prize are: Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless, Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), General Hospital, Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful, Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Christian Jules Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless.

Let’s take a look at the actors Emmy resumes: Eric Braeden has been nominated nine times for Lead Actor and won once in 1998. Steve Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner, both in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for GH as Jason Morgan and Y&R as Dylan McAvoy. Today’s nomination makes it his 10th overall, and his third time in the the Lead Actor category.

Photo: NATAS

Scott Clifton has won three times previously in 2011, 2013 and 2017 and has the distinction of being the only actor to win in Younger Actor, Supporting and Lead. This is his 8th nomination.

Thorsten Kaye is a two-time Lead Actor winner in 2023 and 2024. Christian LeBlanc has also won three times as Lead Actor in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and this is his first nod in over a decade.

Photo: NBCUniversal

TALK SHOW HOSTS

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host, the nominees are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, The View, Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and Sherri Shepherd, Sherri.

Both The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri have come to their conclusions as Sherri was canceled after 4 seasons and Kelly Clarkson decided to end her talk show after 7 seasons.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are set to be handed out in a ceremony on October 30 in Hollywood with more details forthcoming. The complete list of 2026 Daytime Emmy nominations will be revealed tomorrow on July 14 beginning at 12pm ET/9am PT via The Emmys.TV social channels and website.

So, what do you think of the race for Lead Actor in a Drama Series? Surprised by any of the nominees? Who are you rooting for? What do you think about the the talk show host category? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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