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RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Only Soaps to Gain Total Viewers Week-Over-Week

By Michael Fairman

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Photos: JPI and ABC

The latest ratings are out for the week of August 17- 21, 2026. Two daytime dramas showed an uptick in total viewers week-over-week, while two did not, and General Hospital moved back into 3rd place over Beyond the Gates in the key women’s 18-49 ratings share, and tied with the CBS soap for 3rd place for the key women’s 25-54 ratings share.

According to Soap Opera Network via data supplied via Nielsen’s Live+Same Day, Big Date +Panel model, CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful showed the most gains in total viewers adding +12,000 and bringing its year-over-year tally to +262,000. For the week of August 17, B&B had an average audience of 2,688,000 tuning-in.

The central story focused on Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) bonding over their crumbling marriages while eachwas on drunken bender, they slept together. Meanwhile, Finn (Tanner Novlan) rushed back to Los Angeles from Monaco to salvage his relationship with his wife, and Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) turned around and headed back from the airport to reconcile with Carter after walking out on their marriage.

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital, the ABC soap opera added +8,000 total viewers for the week with an average of 1,856,000 tuning-in from August 17 to 21. The series is still under the 2 million mark for the last few consecutive weeks. Year-over-year at this time, GH is -35,000 off the pace from 2025.

In story, there was drama across Port Charles with shifting alliances, explosive confrontations, and shocking revelations including: Jason (Steve Burton) quitting the mob and informing Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Ric (Rick Hearst) getting jealous of Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) closeness, and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Tracy (Jane Elliot) finding out Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) moved back into the Quartermaine gatehouse.

Photo: JPI

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

As for the top-rated The Young and the Restless, they remained the most-watched soap opera of all losing -14,000 for the week, but still up +90,000 year-over-year and averaging 3,027,000 viewers for the ratings week.

The Y&R drama centered around stories including; Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) causing chaos by declaring that Chancellor Industries belongs to the Abbotts, while the aftermath of Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Marie (Jade Harlow) night together in a seedy hotel which landed them both in rehab continues to haunt Nick.

Beyond the Gates

Photo: CBS

BEYOND THE GATES

Finally at Beyond the Gates, the newest soap in the line-up lost only -1,000 in total audience for the week, with 1,647,000 tuning in and the series is considerably up year-over-year with +132,000.

Beyond the Gates featured a series of showdowns and explosive secrets coming to light including: Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis) confronting a hospitalized Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) about his intentions toward Dani (Karla Mosley), while Andre’s (Sean Freeman) dark past with Heather Armstrong (Ashley Jones) came to light.

So, what do you think of the latest ratings picture and performance of your favorite soap? Which daytime drama from broadcast television is piquing your interest the most? Which is not? Let us know via the comment section.

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Still a good week for Beyond the Gates. Proud of them for maintaining and keeping their audience faithfully tuning in. So, so proud!

Love me some GH and Bold but my baby is Y and R! Good job to the top three soaps!

With the stupid “other driver story”,Trina’s annoying singing, the awful, incestuous teen love stories, Jack’s unnecessary death, Ava acting stupid, Anna being a pathetic mess, Carly& Joss being smugly self- righteously obnoxious;GH has been literally unwatchable for the last 4 weeks.

Just wait until annoying Trina blames BLQ for Curtis being sent to prison. Curtis, who persecuted and harassed Isaiah with no proof. Curtis, who cannot control his anger. Somehow, he will come out as the victim of this non crime and I wonder if he will ever apologize to Isaiah.

Danny and Charlotte are second cousins once removed, so while yeah, a romantic relationship between them might be sketchy, it’s not incestuous. They seem to have backed off from the romantic part of their story, anyway. Rocco and Scout are not related, so also not incestuous.

I was using the word in the figurative sense. It’s even worse with Rocco and Scout. I am old enough to remember when he said he thought of Scout as his baby sister. Then Rocco was a teenager and Scout was ten or eleven. Now they’ve SORS’d her and she is the same age as Rocco. It’s kind of icky.

GH is going through a slump right now but a bright spot is Ric. Rick Hearst is am incredibly talented actor who manages to be sympathetic no matter how dark his character becomes. And he looks even more handsome with his white hair. Why is it his older brother still has jet black hair?

At this point even Dante appears to have more gray hair than his father. But now that Sonny is retiring from the “coffee business” this might change soon. I know Maurice has mentioned before on “State of Mind” that he would rather go “natural” with his hair color.

Soap operas leaking my interest is Beyond The Gates and Bold and the Beautiful

I’m not trying to be a wise guy but do you mean piquing your interest? “Leaking” makes me think that those shows are losing your interest.

The writing on GH is an absolute shit show I have gone back to the days when I didn’t give a rat’s ass about soap operas.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Talks On Where Joe Fitzpatrick is Headed and Soap Opera Shirtless Scenes

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Jonathan Bennett

It had become abundantly clear that roomies Dr. Lucas Jones (Van Hansis) and PCPD detective Joe Fitzpatrick (Jonathan Bennett) seem destined towards a romance on General Hospital.

In fact, to get Lucas all hot and bothered (although he does fully let on), during the Friday, October 16 episode, the good doctor helps Joe pick out something less stuffy to wear to a bar to meet people.

However, the moment is met with Joe taking off his shirt in front of Lucas and doing a quick change from sport coat and button down shirt to a more relaxed casual button down shirt. In fact, the ABC soap opera even called out the moment as their clip of the day (see below).

Lucas and Joe

Courtesy/ABC

MAJOR STORY TEASE FOR JOE

Bennett spoke with OUT in a new feature about what may be on the horizon for the by-the-book Joe and the moral Lucas, and how he learned that once the producers and writers on a soap script in a shirtless scene, if it goes over well, said actor, can expect many more in the months to come!

“I’m so excited for the audience to see where my character goes on General Hospital. It’s going to be monumental and I think people are going to love it,” teased Bennett. “I was shirtless in an episode and so petrified to shoot it,” he added. “I wanted to look my best and feel good. I really worked hard to get my body to a good place and I did it.”

STAYING CAMERA READY

However as Jonathan points out, now he is finding himself half-naked in upcoming scenes as officer Joe! “I think I shot myself in the foot! Now that I did it once and it turned out well, every few weeks I read a script and I’m coming out of the shower, changing my shirt, or in the bathtub,” revealed Jonathan.

So, how does he keep camera ready? “I’m in the gym more, I have a better diet,” pointed out Bennett. “You have to stay healthy if you’re going to be shirtless every few weeks! I’m gay, an only child, and an actor. Of course I love the attention!”

While Bennett’s Port Charles story is going to reveal itself in the coming months, you can also see Jonathan back as the host of The Food Network’s Halloween Wars 16th season which concludes on Sunday, October 25.

Now below. check out the scene in question from Friday’s GH entitled, “Lose the Shirt.”

Weigh-in: What do you think will be “monumental” that Jonathan has teased that viewers will find out about Joe in the coming weeks? Are you feeling the on-screen chemistry between Joe and Lucas? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Wil Traval Talks His ‘General Hospital’ Debut and Being Paired with Kelly Thiebaud

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Wil Traval

The Friday, October 16 episode of General Hospital marked the on-screen debut of the mysterious Jude, played by primetime vet and Australian-born Wil Traval.

While not much has been revealed just yet, Traval spoke to TV Insider in his first conversation since joining the iconic ABC soap opera in a new interview out today.

As GH fans witnessed, Jude was introduced in scenes at a bar with Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud), and it would seem this may be her new leading man after things went south between Britt and Jason (Steve Burton). Traval said of working with the Daytime Emmy-winning Thiebaud, “I can’t speak more highly of her. I think she’s fantastic. It’s the biggest delight in my life to be working with her.”

Jude and Britt

Courtesy/ABC

FROM BROKEN BACK TO PORT CHARLES

As it turns out, Wil was supposed to be on board for a very short visit to Port Charles. However, as he revealed, things didn’t go the way he planned and his stay got extended!

“Originally, it was going to be a short guest role, I believe, and at the end of the week I got a call saying they might want to offer me a contract on the show, which was a real surprise and delight.” the actors shared.  “And the rest is history from there.”

The road to General Hospital was not an easy one in some other respects. Traval was in the middle of recovering from a car accident that broke his back when he got the call to submit a self-tape for the role of the mysterious stranger back in June. Suddenly, he found himself getting a callback which in turn led to a chemistry read with Kelly Thiebaud.

WHO IS JUDE?

In the week to come, General Hospital viewers will learn Jude’s connections to the residents of Port Charles and his true identity.

With an Australian contingent on the canvas, and its tentacles throughout GH history including: Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer); Robert Scorpio (the late Tristan Rogers); and Josslyn’s father Jax (last played by Ingo Rademacher), and Jerry Jacks (last played by Sebastian Roche), one would think Jude HAS to be tied to these characters from down under, or does he?

So, what did you think of Wil Traval’s on-screen debut as Jude? Who do you think he will be revealed to be connected to? Do you think Jude will make a solid leading man for Kelly Thiebaud’s Britt Westbourne in story? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.

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‘General Hospital’s’ Josh Swickard Stars in Faith-Based ‘The Space Between Us’ as The Man Who Has an Affair with a Married Woman

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Josh Swickard

While General Hospital’s Harrison Chase’s (Josh Swickard) marriage to Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) has seemingly come to an end based on trust issues, and his unrelenting believe of the innocence of his ex-wife Willow Cain (Katelyn MacMullen) when she has committed heinous crimes, Josh Swickard is also being featured in another story on another platform in the new faith-based movie, The Space Between Us.

In the streaming feature now on the Angel platform, Swickard is playing Levi Boone, a handsome young solider, who finds himself attracted to a married woman played by Jennifer Taylor. The two have an affair. The movie made it’s debut last week on October 8.

According to the loglines, “The Space Between Us dives deep into modern relationships, following marriages straining under the heavy weight of busyness, unmet expectations, and spiritual disconnection. Described as a story of grace in the mess, the film takes a grounded, deeply relatable look at how even the best intentions can fall apart—and how faith, strong community, and honest vulnerability can bring true healing.”

Josh Swickard

Photo: Angel

In a cast interview, which features Swickard, Taylor and Kristoffer Poloha, the trio discussed their thoughts on betrayal in marriage, and who’s right and who’s wrong and more.

Josh Swickard explains, “The audience can get it from a lot of sides too where we can show it, and if you have crossed that line in your marriage. it doesn’t have to be over. And when two people are willing to work, anything’s possible. Not giving the end away. I’m just saying. It could happen. It could happen. People can end up together.”

Meanwhile, Kristoffer Poloha added, “Like, wait a minute, but this other guy steps in and I think passion takes over. I think what you see is how easy it is to stumble. Whether it’s adultery or whether it’s another type of sin, you can basically burn your house down in many different ways and how quickly it is to light that fire.”

The Space Between Us is from Canyon Productions. The company delivers faiith-based media designed to encourage, inspire, and uplift viewers along their spiritual journeys. By showcasing the genuine struggles and eventual triumphs of relatable characters facing tough real-world challenges, Canyon aims to create projects that point audiences directly toward hope and perseverance.

You can check out the discussion between Josh, Kristoffer snd Jennifer Taylor on what happens with their characters in the film below, followed by the scene where Swickard’s Levi meets Taylor’s Mona  … and her husband!

So, will you be checking out Josh Swickard in The Space Between Us? What do you think about GH’s Chase, portraying the man that ignites passion in a woman who previously had been faithful to her marriage? Let us know via the comment section.

 

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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