Over the weekend, the loved ones of Hayden Panettiere (ex-Sarah, One Life to Live, ex-Lizzie, Guiding Light and ex-Juliette Barnes, Nashville et al) gathered in Malibu, California on Saturday, September 19 to honor and celebrate the late actress’ life in what has been reported by TMZ as an extremely moving memorial service just one month after her tragic death.

Attending the funeral were several of Panettiere’s Nashville co-stars and closest friends including: six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Jonathan Jackson (ex-Lucky Spencer, General Hospital, ex-Avery Barclay, Nashville), Connie Britton (ex-Rayna James), Claire Bowen (ex-Scarlett O’Connor), Lennon Stella (ex-Maddie Conrad) and Charles Esten (ex-Deacon Claybourne) who performed one of Hayden’s song from the series with a band set up at the church.

In addition to Panettiere’s Nashville co-stars, her dear friends, Evan Ross, Paris Hilton and Ruby Rose were among the 150 or so guests, and the celebration of life was organized by Hayden’s family, including her father, Skip Panettiere.

Photo: ABC

INSIDE HAYDEN PANETTIERE’S CELEBRATION OF LIFE

The report shared that Connie Britton and Charles Esten made speeches about their late friend and colleague, and it appears guests watched as doves were released outside the church before moving inside for the ceremony in tribute to the 36-year-old star.

Hayden’s mother, Leslie Vogel was reportedly not invited to the memorial. However, she denies this according to TMZ, and shared that she had a family emergency which precluded her from making her daughter’s funeral. In addition, Hayden’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were also not  invited to the memorial. It was Zach who first found Hayden unresponsive in an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina.

Recent reports have also indicated that Hayden’s cause of death is related to her taking a fentanyl-laced oxycodone pill. According to TMZ, multiple law enforcement sources connected to the case believe she took one fatal oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl the morning of her death, Sources with direct knowledge allege that Panettiere had a “long time drug dealer” in Los Angeles who provided her with several black-market prescription drugs, including oxycodone.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.

So, are you glad to know Hayden was given a memorial service and that so many of the main cast of Nashville showed up for it? Are you saddened to hear the most updated reports on how the extremely talented actress may have died? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

Sometimes not overplaying moments within two-person scenes, carry the weight and the gravitas of the situation and tug at our heartstrings. That’s exactly what General Hospital’s James Patrick Stuart (Valentin Cassadine) was able to do on last week’s Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 16 episodes of the ABC daytime drama series in scenes with Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) and Laura Wright (Carly Spencer).

We know last week saw many emotional turns from the likes of the aforementioned Hughes, plus her GH co-stars, Kelly Thiebaud (Britt) and Cynthia Watros (Nina), plus The Bold and the Beautiful’s Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy). All the actresses delivered noteworthy performances. However, for us, James Patrick Stuart’s Valentin, showed his deep love and care for a woman torn to pieces by the WSB and the sadness he felt seeing this great love of his in so much turmoil, while also trying to hold on to the new woman in his life, which pulled us in.

In story, Valentin hightails it to Anna where she explains how she almost killed Britt Westbourne, and how she faked her recover at the clinic in France, when all along she was seeing visions of Peter August (Wes Ramsey). Anna is in such a state that Valentin offers to run away with her. Carly shows up at Anna’s door and sees Valentin is there and makes a quick exit.

Courtesy/ABC

VALENTIN IS HEARTBROKEN FOR ANNA

Anna tells Valentin that he needs to go after Carly and explain to her that he was just visiting her to check in and to take care of an old friend. Valentin says share so much more than that, which Anna says she knows. After Felicia (Kristina Wagner) comes to watch over Anna, Valentin leaves, but is heartbroken over Anna.

SMOOTHING THINGS OVER WITH CARLY

When Valentin arrives back at Carly’s he wants to explain to her what has happened to Anna, but Carly says she wants to respect Anna’s privacy. In a very adult conversation, Valentin tells Carly he believes Anna will come back from this and land on her feet as she always does. He adds that he hopes that one day she can find some peace, just like he has now with Carly. Valentin realizes how good Carly has been for him, his outlook and happiness. The two share a hug.

Throughout all of these beats, James Patrick Stuart was able to shift from gut-wrenching concern, caring, and panic, to self-awareness, and hope for the future. It certainly touched us and we hope many viewers felt it too.

It does go to show that sometimes on the soaps, the big histrionic performances are not always the most memorable ones. Sometimes it’s the quiet ones that sneak up on us. All you needed to do was watch Valentin’s eyes in the scenes and you knew exactly how he was feeling.

So, for all the reasons stated above, Michael Fairman TV names General Hospital’s James Patrick Stuart, as our pick for the Power Performance of the Week.

So, do you agree with our choice of James Patrick Stuart, or do you think someone else should have been gotten our recognition? If so, share your picks and thoughts via the comment section below.

When Jack Brennan was found dead and floating in the Metro Court pool on the September 1 episode of General Hospital, it unfortunately meant the end of the road for Chris L. McKenna, who had returned to the soaps to play the WSB Port Charles Bureau Chief.

As with any death on the soaps, and a litany of subjects in this whodunit, Brennan’s death opened the door to more story, as fans are still grappling with the decision to kill off the character.

The bittersweet exit was not the first time Chris had been written out of a soap. On The Young and the Restless, Chris played detective Mark Harding from 2014-2015, who ended up dead, and guess who was in that scene? None other than GH’s Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) when he was over at the CBS soap opera taking on the role of Dylan McAvoy.

Now. on an all-new episode of the That’s Awesome podcast with Burton and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli, GH) released on Friday, September 18, the duo welcomed Chris McKenna direct from Clearwater, Florida.

Courtesy/ABC

MAKING SURE PAIGE HERSCHELL WAS OK

During the conversation, Chris explained how his last day went and how he went about lifting the spirits of the GH cast and crew with very special attention to Paige Herschell (ex-Jacinda Bracken).

McKenna shared how he knew for a bit about his departure, before the rest of the cast knew he was exiting the show, explaining. “I had time to process it. It had been a surprise to many, to me, and to many people in the building when it first happened. But by this point, Paige Herschell found out at the same time that she wasn’t going to be coming back. She had her last day, the day before mine.”

“Paige hadn’t been through this before. I had,” shared the soap vet. “I had a show that was on the air and it was in primetime, and then it got canceled. I thought it was devastating, and that I was never going to work again. So, this has happened so many times to me (throughout my career), that I don’t get rattled anymore by it.”

Photo: ABC

WHEN YOU GET BAD NEWS …

McKenna said he wanted to go out on a high note: “It was important to me to make sure, first of all, everybody else felt comfortable because everybody felt bad and felt sad and felt upset. I was like, ‘It’s fine. We’re okay. I’m going to be fine. So, let’s make sure everyone’s okay.'”

Out of concern for his exiting co-star, Chris recalled, “I wanted to make sure that Paige got her flowers, and she had her attention and got her send off appropriately. I wanted to make sure I hugged her and told her to finish strong. It it was important to me, and also I was working with the kids (Scarlett, Danny). I try to be a mentor to some of the younger actors as well.”

LEAVING PORT CHARLES

The message Chris wanted to impart before he left the GH studios for the last time was, “I’ve been doing this so long, so I wanted to show them how to handle it. When you get bad news, it doesn’t have to devastate you, and it’s not the end of the world, and to make sure everybody’s laughing and having fun. I tried to make the the last day fun for everybody else, so that everybody could enjoy it with me.”

You can check out the full discussion with Chris with Steve and Bradford below.

Now let us know, are you still sad over the departures of Chris McKenna and Paige Herschell? What do you think about Chris’ motivational message to “finish strong?” Share your thoughts via the comment section.