Breaking News
General Hospital Tapes 15,000th Episode; Featuring Genie Francis with Almost Every Single Cast Member Appearing in It
On Thursday, ABC’s General Hospital reached yet another milestone in its illustrious history. The daytime drama taped its 15,000 episode.
During the tape day, the cast, crew and creatives posed for a photo on set to mark the occasion with cake.
GH’s 15,000 episode will air next month on June 17th.
ABC 7’s entertainment guru, George Pennacchio was on set with a first-hand report, interviewing the likes of Genie Francis (Laura), Maurice Benard (Sonny) and the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini.
From the sounds of it, the 15K episode will center around the character of Laura, and according to Valentini, “It will be happy, it will be sad, it will be dark, it will be scary, it will be fun, it will be thrilling and it will be exciting, but most importantly it will have almost every single cast member in it.”
Check out the segment and on set report from Pennacchio below.
Now, let us know if you are excited to see the 15K episode of GH via the comment below and congratulate the long-running soap for another historic milestone.
#GH celebrating ep 15,000. Will air June 17 and focus on Laura featuring almost all the cast pic.twitter.com/CG3JhyptyC
— Fe. (@moiraswigs) May 12, 2022
Fantastic. Look forward to watching it.
Will Anthony Geary show up?
It would be great if he did, but I wouldn’t bet your soul on it.
Now on the other horn, her kids really should be there.
I’d way rather see her hubby, Jonathan Frakes, of StarTrek beam down to surprise her.
He might be busy working. Word here in Hell is that the third & final season of “Star Trek:Picard” is actually going to look more like the 8th season of Star Trek TNG with Riker & the rest of the Enterprise crew on board. Not sure if they’re done filming that or not.
Satan…I’m loving the Picard series. It was fun seeing Riker on it with other Star Trek people…like Seven Of Nine. And Q. Sorry his name has been confiscated by some in-namable group. The recast of the Borg Queen was okay Fairly complicated so will have to watch several times I think. Sorry, I could go on and on.
That’s a fun idea, Rose! And yes, I don’t need to see Luke again.
Genie has to be over the top that she is relevant again and that GH is paying homage to her incredible character. June 17th is marked on my calendar!
Chuckling at the mental slip… I think you mean Genie would be “over the moon.” There is plenty of “over the top” nonsense on GH, but thankfully Genie is usually well clear of it! I’m also looking forward to June 17. And Nancy Lee Grahn is in the photo, so she must be recovered from her surgery, or at least recovered enough to return to work. So good news for her.
100 percent “Over the Moon!” Thank you. “Over the Top” would be the whole Esme story! I do like her with Ryan and I’m sure they will wreak havoc soon! “Over the Hill” would be that who Curtis story and his dad, the worst actor I’ve ever seen on GH! Move on!
Wow! An episode not centered on the Corinthos Crime Clan? Great! I love that Genie is back in a major way. Every time she enters a scene, I find myself smiling and happy. Just like Chase & Brooklyn, Britt, Spinelli, and Diane. Not so much with Michael and Willow, whom he predictably has drained all happiness and empathy from. He’s turned her into a cranky shrew, similar to his mother. I imagine Willow will soon start wearing the clumpy shoes, too.
I agree about Carly , Michael and Willow! I’m not a fan of theirs! I totally , agree about the Corinthos Crime Family!!
It’s wonderful that they’re devoting an episode to the legend and icon Genie Francis to celebrate 15,000 episodes, which is an incredible milestone for GH. I look forward to seeing it.
But it’s a shame that they have to advertise a special show for Genie to be featured. She should be featured on a regular basis, not a background player for the Spencer/Esme/Nikolas/Ava circus. GH has so many legendary beloved characters that don’t get nearly enough screen time, and instead of writing for those characters, all they keep doing is adding more and more new characters that will inevitably be shoved down our throats. It’s extremely annoying and frustrating as a 30+ year fan of the show.
I watch and I always will watch, for hopefully many more years to come, god willing. I just know that with the amazingly talented cast they have, the most talented cast from top to bottom in daytime today in my humble view, an embarrassment of riches really, General Hospital could be so much better than it is.
I maintain my request that General Hospital writers strengthen the characters in the show so that they will confront Carly and stop her in her tracks : Ava and Nina , especially. Nina has been written a tad stronger ; however , Ava is weak. Give these characters more backbone! Plus, if Sonny had grabbed my child as he did Nicholas , that dude wouldn’t have an arm!! Also , why wasn’t Nicholas allowed to protect himself? Let’s do real writing on this show!!!!
Wish Steve Burton was on this. Jason is missed.
No Roger Howarth in pic.
He wasn’t on set that day.
I’m so glad to see Laura getting more screen time. I’m really ready for Esme and Ryan’s storyline to by done, it’s dragging on too long. As for Roger Howarth, he’s had way too many characters on one show, and I’m over that too. I love the actor, just not so many characters on the same show. GH is my favorite soap, I’ve been watching for over 40 years,and I think it’s time they bring back some main characters. Get rid of the boring story lines. Stop making Michael, the nice one, so hateful and bitter. Bring Sonny back to his family, and make him realize how much Nina hurt his family. I could never forgive someone that hurt my family like that. And yes, I agree with someone’s comment above, Britt should have slapped Spencer! I wish he would confide in Ava, and they’d be the ones to find the dirt on Esme.
Carol Garbrough
Thanks for agreeing with my comment about the slap. Spencer is so jealous of Ava he can’t see straight, even his mouthing off to Brett was uncalled for. Another one I’d like to slap is Michael whose turned into a real jerk. He’s done some things that his family didn’t like or approve of, i.e his association with Nelle and they didn’t disown HIM!
Genie is GH not Maurice, Cynthia or the SMike stuff.
Yes, Thule, I agree. Enough of Sonny, Mike, Smike, and that silly Cheshire Cat grin he’s been using lately which is supposed to be charming. Clueless is more like it! Genie is such a class act and always a joy to watch.
There wasn’t a storyline today to put my comment on, but since it includes Genie, and even Frank plays a part, I’ll put it here.
Today I was so upset to see Ava with her gun at the shooting range as the opener, Why does she need to carry a handgun? This followed by Laura who also came to practice her “marksmanship” with her gun. Why? Especially Laura as the mayor and a role model. B&B has Sheila with her large handgun in her purse with possible intent to kill. Anna had her gun when after Peter August, but at least she was working with the WSB law enforcement. Even crooks in Nixon Falls. Then there’s Jason as informer, etc.
There have been so many comments how soaps have been part of many lives from some watching with Grandma when younger to accoladtes for how soaps sensitively handle and inform health situations from by-polar, cancer, to altzeimers (sp?) and others. They do have influence even though stories can be wacky at times.
So WHY even have guns as part of any stories? They sure aren’t positive as any way to solve problems. And especially gun range scenes right after Texas and Buffalo. What are the writers and Frank thinking? Where is the sensitivity? Aren’t there too many in real life and the news? And copy cats?
Yeah… it is odd that the gun range is now the “random meeting place” where characters run into each other. Before that it was the bar where you get drunk and throw hatchets at the wall, which could be equally unsafe. They also did a couple scenes with the rooms where you smash the unholy shit out of various objects with sledgehammers.
All of the above seem like odd choices for sets where mortals just have random conversations. But it’s June now, so maybe now they’ll all be hanging around the Metro Court pool instead of using various weapons?
Satan…More of the gun stuff today with Anna and Valentin. Soooo disappointed in the writers. Again, with all of the reasons any type guns as props shouldn’t be part of GH or any soap IMO. Or as anything in real life except military and law enforcement. And with Esme and Nick finally doing the predicable I’m going to take an indefinite time out on GH. If not forever. I haven’t liked any of the stories in a long time anyway. Except Nixon Falls. I’m I may be in the minority here.
Satan…P.S….I’ve been following Amber and Johnny Depp trial. Heard the verdict today about the time Nina lost out to Willow/Michael on GH. Now Amber lost to Depp. But interesting entertainment for real life, courtroom drama.
Breaking News
George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”
March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.
However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture
Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.
Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory, when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”
Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”
The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean, and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”
When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”
The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.
So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.
Breaking News
Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64
Breaking News
51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.
This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.
The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.
Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.
In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.
So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.
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