General Hospital
General Hospital’s Steve Burton on Kelly Monaco’s Exit, “It’s Sad … It’s Sad Anyway You Slice It”
Fans of General Hospital have been deeply saddened at the storyline where Sam McCall died after a sudden heart attack following liver transplant surgery, where she donated her liver to save the life of Lulu Spencer.
As the episodes played out after her passing, it afforded the soap opera to showcase its stars with one heartbreaking moment after the other as Sam’s family, friends and loved ones found out she was gone.
One of the more outstanding and gut-wrenching performances has come from two-time Daytime Emmy-winner, Steve Burton (Jason). In story, Jason came to Sam’s hospital bedside to say goodbye, and thus officially ending the love story of the once couple known as “JaSam.”

Courtesy/ABC
On the latest episode of his Daily Drama podcast with co-host and GH castmate, Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), the two spoke on the loss of Kelly Monaco to the show and the impact playing out Sam’s death had on them.
On Kelly’s exit, Burton shared, “It’s sad … it’s sad anyone you slice it.” As viewers know, GH made the decision to write-off Sam in what was said to be a “storyline-dictated” move ending Kelly’s 21-year run on the show. It was not Monaco’s decision to leave.
Steve expres the podcast, “It was very sad because obviously Kelly was leaving and then the emotion of the characters and all these things. I thought everybody just really did a wonderful job.”
One of the more difficult scenes for Steve to tape was that of Jason saying goodbye to Sam, “From the acting standpoint, I had the monologues, but I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was really at a loss in the sense that I wasn’t sure how to play this. Obviously, we have a huge history. Obviously, we’ve worked together for a long time. So, there’s all these things going on, but I didn’t have a clear vision of how the scene should go and going into a room where there is essentially a dead body to say goodbye.”

Photo: ABC
Burton enlisted his longtime mentor, Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) for advice, before he shot the emotional moments. “I did go to Maurice and I said, ‘I’m not sure as an actor where I’m supposed to be in this,’ and he said, “You’re fine. It’s going to be fine. Whatever happens is supposed to happen.'” Steve added, “It was a very interesting process. It was heartbreaking. And then I (Jason) ended up having to be the one to tell multiple people, which is never great. And to tell the kids, too (Danny and Scout), that was heartbreaking.

Courtesy/ABC
Bradford and Steve also talked about the moments where Jason came to tell Spinelli and Maxie (Kirsten Storms) that Sam passed, “It’s been awhile since you and I and Kirsten have been able to play anything that deep,” Steve recalled to Bradford. He added, “I think it felt good also because we were together. There was trust there. We’ve worked together for years all of us. So, there was the freedom there to feel what I was feeling, obviously not make it self-indulgent…but also let you guys do what you do.”
What did you think of Steve’s comments on trying to figure out the best approach for Jason to say goodbye to Sam in those heartbreaking scenes? Comment below.
Class ACT!!!!!
Will be listening to this episode ASAP!!!!!
JaSam FOREVER!!!!!!
Steve has done beautiful work in these episodes.
A little confused by his comment that as an actor he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to play the scene. Isn’t the director’s job to tell him how to play the scene? I can appreciate getting advice from Maurice as they have worked together a long time, but shouldn’t Steve have just asked the director “what is your vision for this scene?” Or why would he have to ask? Shouldn’t the director have said, “this is what we’re going for here…” That’s what a director does, and that’s how it would work in most cases, maybe soaps run differently?
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Valentini regime has been so overtly hostile to the “JaSam” pairing since the moment they took over the show in February 2012?
You might have noticed in that flashback reel of Jason’s memories shown while he was at Sam’s bedside, the only one from the last decade was when Jason saved the drowning & drugged Sam from Faison’s thugs when he first returned in 2017.
So here you have an outpouring of emotion from Jason, towards somebody he hasn’t been allowed to feel anything about for 12 years. That might confuse anybody.
Sure it was hard for Jason to say goodbye to Sam. When Jason acts he.put his heart and soul in acting his part. I am sure Jason had pure heartfelt feelings for Sam and he will miss her alot. I wish Sam all the happiness in her new adventure in acting. I know whatever he said and felt for Sam was real
Wonder how many times we will see Kelly in flashbacks… doesn’t she get paid for those screens airing?
She actually dies get paid a full day’s salary for any episodes featuring flashbacks. They can show her still picture for free.
It’s not meant that a director tells his actors what to do all the time.There has to be the emotion of the actors to make it real, and they have to find where & how to approach that. You want the emotions in the portrayal to be genuine, not solely dictated. Directors can’t be that tight-fisted in guidance – they trust their actors. It’s a collaboration. These scenes happen to be difficult, especially given the time Steve and Kelly have been together. That’s deep set emotion & you want it true, not maudlin, insincere, campy. Steve did what an actor does… find the place inside to express his character’s feelings. Also, don’t forget he’s Jason… tough guy, “stone-cold.” It’s a tough situation for an actor and it’s right to seek other’s thoughts, whether his director or fellow performers. Whatever Steve did to get himself into the frame of mind – it worked.
I was so happy to see Alexis & Sonny together on Thursday. I just wish Sonny had mentioned his baby girl that he & Sam lost before Alexis & Sam knew they were mother & daughter. And the fact that that baby girl’s stem cells saved baby Christina. At that time Alexis was pretending that Ned was Christina’s father. Point being Sam let her little baby who was dying save Christina who Sam had no clue was her 1/2 sister! Does anyone else remember this?
Yes, but because Sam was in a long term relationship and engaged to Dante, the writers don’t necessarily want newer viewers to be confused by that.
I remember the story but considering how the current writers seem so clueless about GH history I wouldn’t be so shocked to find out they didn’t know at all about the circumstances of how Sam found out Alexis was her mama.
I’m so sad about Sam’s firing on gh I’m not watching show no more whoever did this to her needs fired to they even deftly don’t know a good actress when they see one an rating r declined wonder why think about it bring her back as real not ghost she’s important to the show
Bring Sam back to Gh I have been watching GH since 1968 with. My moma which she is 98 yrs old
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Kelly Monaco Reveals She’s Six Months Sober

Longtime General Hospital favorite, Kelly Monaco (ex-Sam McCall), took to her Instagram on Tuesday, September 15 and shared that she is six months, seven days sober from alcohol. Monaco played Sam for 21 years on the ABC soap opera.
Accompanied by a screenshot from the I Am Sober app that tracks the progress of anyone struggling with or trying to not drink, Monaco wrote, “Now the whole 6/7 thing makes sense! #duces.”
Monaco has kept a very low profile since her final episode on General Hospital aired back on October 30, 2024, when Sam had a shocking heart attack and died. It was later revealed that Daytime Emmy nominee, Jeff Kober (ex-Cyrus Renault) injected Sam’s IV with a fatal dose of digitalis.

Photo: JPI
KELLY MONACO HAS KEPT MORE TO HERSELF SINCE LEAVING GH
This year, Kelly has posted on her Instagram account a total of four times, most recently to celebrate her mother, Carmina’s birthday, who turned 70 just four days ago.
Jumping into the comment thread on Kelly announcing her sobriety were several of her former GH co-stars including Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny, GH) who shared, “Love this. Congrats! 👏👏👏,” Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jax, GH) who just posted the hands up and heart emojis, and Lexi Ainsworth (ex-Kristina, GH) who wrote, “So proud of you 👏 badass.”

Photo: ABC
DANCING WITH THE STARS BEGINS NEW SEASON; KELLY WAS THE SEASON ONE CHAMP
With this season’s Dancing with the Stars about to kick-off tonight, in which Kelly was the first-ever celebrity winner in season one and returned for an All-Star version, might we hear from her on her picks or thoughts on this year’s batch of contestants?
One thing has remained a constant with Kelly’s unwavering fan base, they want her back on General Hospital, because as we know in the soaps, many characters somehow come back from the dead, so why couldn’t Sam?
Share your thoughts for Kelly and her six months of sobriety via the comment section below and if you would still like to see her back on General Hospital or even another soap opera within the next few years.
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Breaking News
Soap Alums Remembered During In Memoriam Segment at 78th Emmy Awards; Patrick Muldoon Omitted

During last night’s 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, as it does every year, the television academy paid tribute to those in the industry that they’ve lost over the last year; since the previous Emmys held each year in September.
Starting with an emotional tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara by three of her co-stars, Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy and Dan Levy and Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin, the segment then dovetailed into Noah Kahan performing “Bridge over Troubled Water” as the faces and the names of those being remembered were shown on the screen.
Daytime soap alums, who either stayed in the genre for the majority of their career, or went on to primetime success as well, were honored including: Anthony Geary (Luke, GH), Hayden Panettiere (Sarah, OLTL, Lizzie, GL, Juliette, Nashville), James Van Der Beek, (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek, and Stephen, ATWT), Gil Gerard (Alan, The Doctors), June Lockhart (Mariah, GH), Patricia Crowley (Mary, Port Charles and GH), Randolph Mantooth (Clay/Alex, Loving and The City, and Richard, GH) and Jon Cypher (Alex, ATWT and Arthur, Santa Barbara).

Photo: TVAcademy
THOSE HONORED AND THOSE WHO WERE NOT
However, in a glaring omission, the producers of the In Memoriam failed to include Days of our Lives beloved star, Patrick Muldoon who played the OG Austin Reed and also Richard Hart on Melrose Place. Muldoon passed away in April of this year at 57.
After Kahan concluded his performance, a special tribute to Rob Reiner began with Jamie Lee Curtis taking to the stage to share some warm words about her late friend.
In a ironic and sad twist, Curtis shared ,“Last week, Robbie won an Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series for his beautiful work on The Bear, and he now holds the record of 48 years for the longest gap between acting Emmys, which was previously held by his father Carl Reiner, at 37 years.”
Reiner, who along with his wife, Michele Reiner were killed by their son, Nick Reiner, is currently awaiting a decision if he will stand trial. Prosecutors on Tuesday, shared they will not seek the death penalty if he is convicted at trial, but instead life in prison. Curtis said of Rob, “He was generous and kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all. We all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.” The Emmys then faded to black and went to commercial break.
So, were you happy to see those who you know from their work in soap operas included in the 2026 In Memoriam tribute at the Primetime Emmys? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, in case you missed it, you can watch it below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Break Up After Realizing They Can’t Trust Each Other

Trust issues were cited as the reason for the break-up of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) on the Monday, September 14 episode of General Hospital, ending the their complicated romance once and for all.
The episode began with the pick-up of Jason and Britt’s argument over Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) at the Quartermaine boathouse. Britt is in disbelief that Jason continues to take Anna’s side, and that he will not back her up as her witness, as she wants to report Anna’s attempted murder of her to the PCPD.
Jason tells Britt that Anna had been pushed to the brink through the mental torture she’d endured while held captive at Wyndemere, and accused Britt of doing nothing to save her, when she knew exactly what was going on as she was at Wyndemere as well. Britt told Jason that she’d been a victim of Sidwell and Cullum too, and by the time she figured out what was happening to Anna, they had moved her somewhere else.

Courtesy/ABC
BELIEF SYSTEM BROKEN
Then, Jason clearly lets Britt know he doesn’t believe her version of what transpired. An enraged Britt fires back at Jason in disbelief, that he is siding with Anna instead of her, when he was on Mount Emerson and saw for himself how Anna was planning to kill her. Suddenly, Britt wants to know if Jason would have helped Anna cover her tracks, if Anna had killed her.
Next, Jason argued that Britt seemingly needs to believe Anna would have killed her when he knows deep down Anna would never have murdered her. Jason thinks Britt is trying to absolve herself of her own guilt and complicity in keeping Anna locked up.
Britt shouts “You need to believe that! Otherwise, you’d have to admit that your friend is unhinged and dangerous. And she would have killed someone you say you love!” Now at a complete impasse, Britt walks out on Jason realizing they don’t trust each other and calls it quits.

Courtesy/ABC
PICKING UP THE PIECES
Later, Jason finds Carly (Laura Wright) at the Metro Court, and while in an elevator fills her in that he doesn’t trust Britt, and that as much as he loves her, he doesn’t trust her like he does Carly. Britt is back at the hospital.
A concerned Tristan (Dean Geyer) tries to talk to her about what transpired with Anna. However, Britt clams up and walks away from any discussion.
Now in the General Hospital teaser video for the action on Tuesday, September 15, Jason ask Carly (over beers and a game of pool) “When you lie for a living, how long before you start lying to yourself? Take a look at that below.
Let us know, are you glad that Jason and Britt finally called it quits? What about the reason that the couple broke-up, over Britt knowing about Anna being locked-up at Wyndemere and Jason not willing to back Britt about Anna trying to kill her? Is Tristan the next man for Britt? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.
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