General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sean Donely’s Funeral Brings Unexpected & Emotional Moments for His Friends and Loved Ones
If you caught Friday’s emotional episode of General Hospital, it was the airing of the highly-anticipated tribute episode to the late John Reilly with an homage to his beloved character, Sean Donely.
What made this such a well-conceived hour of television was it truly harkened back to the 80’s hey day of GH, had a built-in story that brought Reilly’s real-life daughter, Caitlin Reilly, into the fold, found ways to integrate classic clips of Sean and his spy friends and colleagues, and viewers even got to hear the voice of the one and only Sharon Wyatt as Tiffany Hill Donely.
Photo: ABC
The episode starts in Ireland where Sean’s gravesite service has concluded and things are icy between Anna (Finola Hughes) and Felicia (Kristina Wagner). As Anna tries to reach out to Felicia she is not having it, but Mac (John J. York) hopes the two longtime best friends will find a way to work this out.
Meanwhile, Annie (Caitlin Reilly) points Sean’s friends (who have traveled all the way from Port Charles to Ireland to be there for the funeral) to the Inn where they will be staying. Robert talks to Annie about applying to the bureau. She says she went through the training program, took the oath, but was never called for the final test. She just assumed she didn’t make the cut. Robert also explains they need access to some of Sean’s old files on another matter of dire consequences, but Annie won’t give up the code.
Photo: ABC
As Laura (Genie Francis) goes outside to call Tiffany, we hear the voice of Sharon Wyatt talk to her dear friend, the Mayor of Port Charles, and Laura tells Tiffany how much she misses her old friend, as Tiffany recall her life with Sean and viewers see a montage of Sean and Tiffany scenes through the years. Next, Laura is grabbed and a clue is left behind in her room – a Mexican flag and a toy gun as a remembrance of when Sean ran illegal arms and was on the wrong side of the law. Next, Monica (Leslie Charleson) is seemingly grabbed, and a clue is left behind, a trinket from Mount Rushmore.
Courtesy/ABC
Later, Felicia rips into Anna for allowing Peter into their lives and not protecting Maxie. Anna promises Felicia she’s trying to put Peter behind bars for good and to find justice for Maxie. As Felicia and Anna flashback through moments in their lives with Sean, Felicia tells Anna that he would not have wanted them to be at odds and so she forgives Anna, and the two women hug as Mac looks on.
Photo: ABC
Mac is the next friend of Sean’s to apparently get kidnapped. That is followed by Robert (Tristan Rogers) getting conked over the head. Annie finds Robert’s phone, and she finds a magnet in Anna’s purse which wiped out the computer earlier that Anna and Robin (Kimberly McCullough) were trying to access to check the security footage at the Inn.
Annie now believes Anna and Robert are in on what’s happening. Anna again says she wants access to Sean’s file, but Annie refuses to grant access to her. She says she’s loyal to the WSB. It is then Anna tells Annie that this was her final test for the WSB and she passed it! As all of Sean’s friends who ‘disappeared’ return to watch, Robert gives Annie her dad’s WSB badge number and they congratulate her in a very hankie-inducing moment.
Later, everyone gathers to toast Sean, as they raise their glass it is Tristan Rogers, who broke our hearts when he says there will never be another one like Sean. In real life, Tristan was close to John Reilly and publicly had admitted how devastated he was by his former castmates passing.
Photo: ABC
In Port Charles, it was nice to see Bobbie (Jackie Zeman) and Maxie (Kirsten Storms) part of the tribute episode to, and in a touching scene BJ’s heart that beats inside Maxie was brought up reminding everyone of that emotional story as well.
Photo:A BC
The episode was filled with several hankie moments and how wonderful was Caitlin Reilly as Annie! Her dad would be so proud. And as for Finola Hughes, Kristina Wagner, Tristan Rogers, Kimberly McCullough, Leslie Charleson, Genie Francis, Sharon Wyatt by audio, how touching it was for longtime viewers to see all of these GH veterans together to remind us all of what brought us into GH in the first place.
Kudos to head writers, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor and their team for a clever way to honor Sean Donely with the passage of his daughter into the WSB.
Photo: ABC
So, what did you think of the John Reilly tribute episode, the performances, and the story? Comment below. But first, watch some moments from the beginning of the episode where Laura calls Tiffany.
WATCH: Sean’s family and friends are about to get much more than they bargained for when they left Port Charles. #GH pic.twitter.com/JA2zCSogx6
— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) May 22, 2021
John Reilly was fantastic as Sean and I remember him a bit with Tiffany and I’m sorry to hear of his passing. And, I’m sorry but I was heavily disappointed in this tribute, the only thing I truly enjoyed the most was the various flashbacks especially at the end with Sean & Tiffany’s wedding! That was a hoot and a holler.
The story where most of GH’s veterans hop-skip and jump to County Kerry, Ireland from New York in less than a day… really? (well, it is a 7+hour flight)… But, wouldn’t it have made more sense for the memorial to take place in Port Charles where stories with Sean, Anna, Felicia, Frisco, etc, etc. took place? The daughter Annie, could’ve flown out to lay Sean’s ashes somewhere important in Port Charles. Don’t get me started on the foolish writing just to test Annie – who became a WSB agent in the “test” of vanishing characters. Silliness! I expected more from GH.
However, I will say, that all I could think about besides the passing of John Reilly… was… why didn’t GH casting cast Caitlin Reilly (Annie), as the new-LULU! I kept watching her and thought she’d be perfect for a LULU recast. In my opinion, I think GH missed it big-time with the tribute. And, there were scenes with Peter (in Port Charles with Maxie – so gross). I look forward to read what others felt about this so-called “tribute”.
I’m sure the reality of losing a beloved friend was the biggest reason for the captivating and convincing scenes that played out onscreen. That being said, the writing and the acting are superb on GH right now also. I’m an avid DAYS fan, but have to say GH is by far the best soap on the air right now.
I absolutely loved it — hearing Sharon‘s voice again was so moving, knowing all that she has gone through over the past decade. Hats off to the writers and the actors…a fitting tribute to a beloved cast member. Well done!
The piece de resistance was Sharon Wyatt as Tiffany Hill Donely! Everything else was icing on the cake!
Overall, we’ll done. The right cast members were there (knowing Jack Wagner wouldn’t return, which would’ve been awkward anyway). This had to take place in “Ireland” to explain why other characters (not necessarily key to story) couldn’t be there. Each of the characters featured had meaning interaction with Sean and/or Tiffany back in the day.
Always a treat when Robin makes an appearance. And the year-plus absence of Felicia on screen was handled well by giving Kristina Wagner some meaty material. Hopefully, she’s back on a semi-regular basis.
I even understand why Peter was in the episode. For lapsed viewers returning for this “very special episode” something needed to be shown as to why Felicia was so mad at Anna. Luckily, his appearance was short and Bobbie showed him who’s still in charge after 40+ years.
Would I have liked more clips, sure, however I know it’s difficult finding scenes that were airable. Any scenes featuring Sean that had a character not on Friday’s episode (i.e. Frisco) would’ve meant paying the actor for a flashback. Was the Anna & Felicia talking pizza scene riveting? No, but it was still fun to remind us of their 30+ year bond. Best flashback was the fight on the gondola.
Kudos to the writers and producers for giving longtime viewers (and John Reilly) a darn good episode.
I think it was a hit and miss for me, as viewers we always want more more more, but overall I liked the episode, I was confuse in the beginning with Laura and Monica first disappearing and everything that was taking place but then In the end when it was explained it made more sense and the episode enjoyable, I wish they would bring in the Annie character into the fold w/ her now being a WSB agent it would be great if some international plot would take place in port Charles. She is after all the daughter of two legacy characters and goddaughter of Anna.
Still waiting for Jessie Brewer’s tribute episode … 30 years later.
Absolutely fantastic point, Kian! Emily McLaughlin’s Jessie Brewer was an iconic character and should have been given a tribute. I meant to reply to you sooner…
Plus, if memory serves, I think Bobbie and/or Steve Hardy made a comment, years after the fact, that Jessie had passed away.
I didn’t watch GH back in those days but was well aware of Mr. Reilly’s work there. I thought the hour was well written and gave the vets I love to watch, some really good material. I mean, how great was Ms. Wagner’s Felicia ripping into Ms. Hughes’ Anna? Miss that lady on GH. And Caitlin Reilly was wonderful as Annie. She really held her own against such power performers. It was also nice to see Mr. York back in action as Mac, Ms. Charleson back as Monica, Ms. Zeman back as Bobbie and Ms. McCullough as Robin again. I don’t know why Ms. Wyatt couldn’t be on but it was so wonderful to hear her voice.
Like I said, I didn’t watch GH back when these actors were at the forefront, but I really appreciate any soap that pays homage to their vets.
Great job to all!
Enjoyed the episode so much! A throwback to the 80s GH adventure/mystery storylines, tied up neatly in an hour, lol; a worthy tribute to the Sean Donnelly character. The actor’s daughter did a phenomenal job jumping into the storyline and holding her own, I thought. Glad that Tiffany had a part to play – it wouldn’t have been as satifying if she had been absent from the show, and I’m glad the writers found a way to include her which was acceptable to the actress!
Hooray for the vets and showcasing their loyalty and talents! Bring back Felicia and Mac more regularly; what a waste of characters that should be enriching the storylines and character interactions across the canvas!
Thank you writers and all who gifted longtime fans (and actors) with this fun hour. Kudos to all!
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.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
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
DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
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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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