General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Lucas and Brad Call It Quits After Realizing Love Cannot Conquer All
Any hope of a reconciliation between Dr. Lucas Jones (Van Hansis) and Brad Cooper (Parry Shen) has now been dashed following the airing of the Tuesday, March 5, episode of General Hospital. As viewers know, Brad Cooper always falls into predictable patterns of behavior much to the chagrin of Lucas.
When the former husbands were headed for a steamy moment between them, things took a drastic turn while in Lucas’ hotel room in Miami. Lucas followed Brad to Miami because Brad got a trip to sunny Florida, courtesy of Dr. Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr) to attend a symposium.
Fessing up to Lucas, Brad admits the reason he’s here is that he made Portia invite him. Lucas says, “Define made?” Brad explains he did a favor for Portia. Lucas fires back, if the favors are something he would do for Britt Westbourne. Brad says it’s nothing like that. Dr. Robinson needed something kept private, so he kept the intel to himself.
Photo: ABC
At that point, a disillusioned Lucas say he doesn’t want to hear how he blackmailed Portia and that getting together with him in the hotel room was a giant mistake. Brad admits he knows what he did was wrong, but he was trying to be honest. Lucas tells Brad that he hasn’t changed and that he’s never going to.
Brad confesses that he used the the trip in hopes of getting back together with Lucas, because he still loves him. Lucas cries that he loves Brad too, but to them, love means two different things. Flaws and all, Brad counterpoints that no matter what mistakes he made and even if he owns up to them, in the end Lucas still rejects him.
Courtesy/ABC
In that moment, Lucas puts his foot down. He won’t allow himself to accept any more lies. Brad says Lucas is right. He’ll just break his heart again, so better for him to make his exit now before things get serious between them. However, Brad has some choice words for Lucas. He says Lucas may find that a person he can trust, and one who has no shades of grey or dark edges, but that he’ll always love him. With that, Brad walks out. Lucas and Brad are officially done, and not a moment too soon, because as previewed by GH co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten, there is a new love interest just around the corner for Lucas.
Speaking of Portia Robinson, a very ominous and dangerous Drew Quartermaine (Cameron Mathison) showed up at her office at the hospital. Drew wants Portia to fix his relationship with her husband, Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner). Portia stands up to Drew over how his machinations hurt her husband, and his friendship with him.
Next thing you know, Drew pulls out Heather Webber’s test results and tells Portia he knows she tampered with the blood tests to send a patient at the hospital back to prison and that is unethical. Looks like Drew is about to do some blackmailing of his own to Portia, especially since Curtis called in a favor to get the Esplanade project to move forward in Port Charles, which is against Drew’s interests.
So, are you glad that Lucas and Brad are officially over? With Drew continuing to be play so dirty pool with the lives of the people of Port Charles, is he unknowingly setting himself up for one of his growing list of enemies to take him out … for good? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, take a look at some of the key moments between Lucas and Brad that let to the end of their reconciliation.
I want Lucas in a hot new romance!
I’m glad that’s over. I’m sorry it went as far as is did. Brad is an obsessive liar and manipulator. Too bad Brad didn’t tell Lucas the rest of the story of how he traded the information on the doctor to this hoodlum aunt to pay a debt. Lucas seems like a very nice, honest person. He deserves someone much, much. I hope TPTB will bring in a reasonable love interest for Lucas.
So, that’s how he got his aunt off his back! TY for paying attention! I don’t know how I missed that!
Miss Linda – Now the aunt has given/sold the damaging info to the horrible Drew guy. Brad’s treachery just keeps on giving.
Let this be the true end to this pairing.
Kudos to Parry Shen who has taken what could have been a one note character into one that has been a part of the canvas for 12 years. Brad is the type of supporting character that can go and return in little spurts. I know he gets on many viewers nerves, which in hindsight, is a sign he’s doing something right acting wise.
That said, it’s time for another break period for Brad and let’s see who’s new for Lucas? Perhaps the Joss’ new WSB operative or the much hinted offspring of Natalia (& Sidwell)????
I love Brad; he’s in on way just a “supporting character.” He’s had quite few story l ones and I wish he’d have more. He’s actually a good guy; and certainly no worse than Carly, Sonny, Drew, Holly, Ava, etc. Many characters have done way worse than Brad.
Brad’s character is not dependent of Lucas; he’s not Lucas’s sidekick. If they’re not together he should still be on the show with a new romance. No need to write him off again. He’s not on the show FOR Lucas; or at least he shouldn’t be.
Hope Lucas and Brad are really finally over for good. Enough with trying to make something happen between them and resurrect the past, just because they happen to be the only gay adult men in Port Charles. Which sounds like that’s about to change soon, and I say, it’s about time! Time to give Lucas his own story.
I’m actually starting to enjoy villain Drew. If you’re gonna go asshole, might as well embrace it, and go full asshole.
Parry Shen is the best. He plays Brad so well… I hope he is in for a good major storyline
Totally agree; I adore Brad. I can’t believe some here think he should be written off if he and Lucas are done, as if his only purpose on the show was/is as a love interest for Lucas.
Another couple on GH bites the dust. Granted, this one needed too, but
why do these writers break everyone up or kill off partners?
Really would like an answer to that question. These writers are ruining this show.
Forgive me, but please have Drew fall off the roof of the Metro Court!
The conversation that transpired between Ava and Portia certainly indicated that there a who-killed-Drew storyline is coming up.
I thought so too, Harry, but moreso when Carly said something to Nina about Drew; something like the only way to stop him is if he was killed. Something like that..
Make my day! I do hope you are correct and GH does a major “who did us the favor by taking out Drew” story.. the rating would sore…
Sorry Cameron, but Drew has to go!
Every time they tease us with a whodunnit, they take it away (Cyrus, Peter, Shiloh are examples). I’ll avoid getting my hopes up for now.
LOL; he is beyond obnoxious and that’s an understatement. But he does create story. I think by now the writers are well aware that Billy Miller/Drew fans are “ferklempt,” 😉 at how they ruined the character. I think he would have been a great “bad guy” if he was a new character. But, unless Cameron wants out, I wouldn’t mind him staying on the show, but only if they can extricate him from the corner they dug him into. We find out he was brainwashed when he was held in Russia (or wherever he was held when that cave collapsed) or the beating he took in prison messed with his prior brain programming…or once again someone, maybe Shiloh (that theory’s been floated around) has been incorporated into Drew. Dunno. The Qs need a family punching bag and he fits the bill. I wasn’t a fan when it was AJ; loved AJ. At this point I’m hating Willow as much or more. I’m a Nina fan so I haven’t liked Willow for a few years now…
Wondering if Drew will someday be diagnosed with a brain tumor like his twin, Jason, was to explain his change in personality.
I hope not; Franco had two, Oscar died of one, and if I remember correctly Jason had one decades ago (or something in his head that could have killed him; I think it was Robin who saved him). I’m not a big fan of disease stories and thankfully GH has let up on that. Chris Van Etten seemed to think when he came aboard that because the world “hospital” was in the title of the show he had to come up with one fatal disease after another; thoroughly depressing. So I’m hoping Drew is either being programmed (I don’t mind another mind control story), or is a doppelganger impostor, or had his head banged around one too many times in prison and it reactivated some kind of whackadoodle mode, lol. I think Cameron’s doing a great job at being obnoxious/ruthless, but at some point if he’s going to stay with the show they’ll probably have to come up with something, unless we all adapt to the fact he’s forever not such a great guy anymore and work from there.
No; I love Lucas and Brad together. It’s too hypocritical, as so many of these characters are. Lucas can overlook everything his beloved “sister” Carly does, but he can’t overlook what Brad does. The Wiley debacle may have been wrong, but Brad was manipulated by Nelle and then fell in love with Wiley; he truly loved Lucas and didn’t want either himself or Lucas to have to let go of Wiley. Again…nothing Carly hasn’t done in one way or another ten times over. And Portia’s no saint; she lied to Curtis, Trina, and Taggert, about Trina’s true father, she basically swooped in on Curtis before Jordan was even able to accept her marriage was over, and she DID switch Heather’s test results. Curtis forgave her for everything, but Lucas can’t forgive Brad?
Brad and Nina. They both pay for confessing their deeds, but characters like Carly, Portia, and others get a pass on everything…
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)
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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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