General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Drew Cain is Shot Twice; Judge Heran’s Body Recovered in the Pier
Whodunit? That is the question on General Hospital fans minds after the airing of the Tuesday, September 2 episode of the ABC daytime drama series.
As it starts out, Sonny arrives at the pier at the request of Danny (Asher Antonyzyn). He and Rocco (Finn Carr) tell Sonny (Maurice Benard) about the body floating in the water, which turns out to be Judge Heran.
When Anna (Finola Hughes) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) arrive on the scene, they see that it looks like the judge was strangled to death from the marks on her neck and then deposited in the pier. Sonny plans on lawyering up if Anna calls him in from questioning. Later, he tells his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) that this must all be the handy work of the man who lives over on Spoon Island, Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota).
Courtesy/ABC
Drew is pleased as punched that Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) overheard Carly’s (Laura Wright) death threat against him. Next, Drew tells Carly that he and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) are back together, which sends Carly into orbit! Elizabeth explains to Carly that Willow is going back to Drew because she and Michael (Rory Gibson) are forcing her to do so, by not working out visitation rights or joint custody for her with her children. Elizabeth tells Carly that Willow is making a deal with the devil to get her kids back.
Chase (Josh Swickard) finds Willow at the hospital and tells her his about his conversation with Judge Heran. He tells his ex-wife she doesn’t need Drew and can prove herself to be stable all on her own. When Drew shows up, he goes in on Chase, who tells the congressman, that Willow doesn’t need him because he’s saying he can get her kids back foshe can be dependent on him.
Courtesy/ABC
When Drew warns Willow about Chase, Willow tells him that he’s the only person she believes can help her get her kids back. When Drew goes to kiss Willow on the cheek, she looks like she wants to throw up!
Meanwhile, Curtis (Donnell Turner) and Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) commiserate over how Drew has ruined their lives, in particular, Curtis’ Aunt Stella (Vernee Watson) being targeted for insurance fraud, blackmailing Portia, and now the end of his marriage, while Alexis will not tolerate Drew giving her and her daughters plus Danny restraining orders to not be able to see her granddaughter, Scout.
Courtesy/ABC
Trina (Tabyana Ali) visits Kai (Jens Austin Astrup) at Drew’s office and explains that Drew has been blackmailing her mom, and she needs to find the lab results and the evidence. She is concerned she can’t trust Kai, but he assures her his eyes are now wide open about Congressman Cain, and believes that the evidence is at Drew’s house in a safe, not at his office, so they head out.
Photo: ABC
Elsewhere, Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Portia (Brook Kerr) commiserate at a bar and sit in a booth, and discuss how Portia’s life with Curtis has fallen apart, and how Nina didn’t open her mouth soon enough about her sleeping with Drew and how it hurt her daughter. The two look at each other and realize Drew must be stopped and they head out of the bar without paying their bill.
At Aurora, Michael is telling Kristina (Kate Mansi) about the bribe that Judge Heran took and her ruling, which now he thinks was odd that a mother would not be granted any visitation rights. Next, Michael gets a call from Carly telling him that Willow went back to Drew, and he gets a call from Sonny that the judge was murdered. Michael has had it with Drew!
Photo: ABC
At the end of the episode, Chase tells Willow that Judge Heran was found dead. This sets her into an emotional state. Chase gets a hold of Anna and tells her he thinks he knows who could have killed the judge.
Trina and Kai break into Drew’s safe, but Drew has just arrived home so they hide in the dark. Drew pours himself a drink. Then, he goes to the safe and takes out Lila’s ring and flashes back to the scene with Willow in his car. In the present, he puts it on the mantle alongside their photo in a picture frame. Suddenly, a shot is fired and Drew goes down. Next, the shooter fires a second bullet into Drew’s back. We fade to black.
Photo: ABC
So, knowing where some of the suspects were at the time Drew was shot, who do you now think will be revealed as the assailant? With Judge Heran strangled and thrown in the pier, do you believe it was Jenz Sidwell or someone else who ended her lif? Share your theories via the comment section. In addition, you can check out the key scenes between Trina and Kai below.
Willow SHOULD have made a deal with the Devil. My terms would have been far more reasonable than what Hallmark Drew was offering her.
Hopefully his next negotiations will be with my dragons, over which one gets to eat each part of him.
I guess the old show biz saying,” Always leave them wanting more,” eludes some folks.
Please stop.
At long last, we finally have a whodunnit on this show. After passing up opportunities with Shiloh, Ryan, and Peter – Drew’s the unlucky one.
It has been so long, I can’t remember the last time GH did a whodunnit. Heather’s hook and the character assassination of Paul (suddenly a serial killer) Hornsby don’t count. Do we have to go all the way back to Lisa Niles?
Kudos to the writers on the setup and the clever decision to have Trina and Kai in the other room.
We’ll save the suspect list for a future episode recap.
I think the question is more “will they follow through in a satisfactory manner?” I can’t remember the last time GH followed through on a *good*, well-built-up whodunnit. See also: The [lame] Hook.
I agree. It’s been an excellent build up of suspense. I appreciated the sight of Drew fondling Grandma Lila’s wedding ring while he flash-backed to the time he took it from Willow. Clearly, there lies the secret to his motivation. And again, I must say Cameron Matheson is doing a great job at playing villainous Drew. I never liked his interpretation of heroic Drew and never quite bought his act. But villainous Drew? I not only buy it, I think it makes for compelling entertainment.
Really good mystery who did it. Hope writers keep us guessing for awhile. I think the real Drew is a detective who recently broke up with baker Hannah Swenson and ran off to DC lol.
Marcos had the judge killed. Why would Sonny? They were in the winning side! And Marcos just co fessed to Sidwell that he had taken care of things about Sonny.
Marcos meant he told Drew about the judge being paid off to favor Michael in the custody trial. Marcos believes Sonny killed his mother and wants him to pay. He would not have the judge killed, however, his father would.
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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RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
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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