General Hospital
Genie Francis Previews Her Return To General Hospital & Luke and Laura's Relationship! – Watch Access Hollywood's Segment!
Courtesy/AccessHollywood
Monday marks the return of Genie Francis (Laura) to General Hospital! And in this preview of her homecoming with Access Hollywood, Francis has never looked better … check out her new darker hair color!
But it’s Francis coming home to GH for the shows 50th Anniversary that has everyone thrilled with excitement as it was Genie and her longtime scene partner, Anthony Geary (Luke), along with Gloria Monty (former executive producer, GH), who rose GH from the ashes of cancellation and it made it an iconic staple of the 80’s!
Genie tells Access Hollywood that the chemistry on-screen between her and Tony Geary that is so palpable to fans worldwide is something she wish she could just easily explain stating: “Some of it is just our chemistry as people… There’s a tremendous amount of history, both personal and professional between the two of us, so all of that comes to the stage with us. We don’t have to work for it. It’s just coming with us… Also, part of it is what we created as Luke and Laura is really important to both of us so when we come together on the stage, we both have a very high bar.”
When teasing if this time Luke and Laura will reconcile, Genie revealed, “I think that we should always hope for reconciliation between these two people. I hope it doesn’t happen overnight, ‘cause that sort of skips the story and the complicated nature of [what’s happened between them]… So, no matter… even if they are apart, they are together. You realize that? I mean, if they are in the same room, there’s always going to be a little tension and a little, you know, maybe they are in denial but it’s always going to be there.”
After the jump, watch the Access Hollywood on-set interview and segment with Genie complete with some clips for a stroll down memory lane! What was your favorite Luke and Laura moment of all-time? Was it the classic wedding? Saving the world from becoming a Tasty Freeze? Luke marrying Laura before she went back into a catatonic state? Do you hope Luke and Laura will get together for the 50th anniversary episode? Let us know!
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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Love that she’s coming back as for my fave Luke and Laura storyline, well who can forget the wedding, and i’m hoping she’s there for a long time. The previous regime was disrespectful to her and the prove of that was recently evident when JFP took over Y&R and was quick to fire her. Well she did us GH fan a favor(by accident) So welcome back Genie.
I love the color she never looked better! No chemistry was ever better for TG then with GF they just had it. It was not forced and they never had to even say a word! Watch the 15th wedding anniversary episode GH at it’s finest.
Love her!!! I am so excited to have her back!!! Let’s get Laura and Luke back together again no matter how long it takes!!! They are the GH super couple and always have been! This is hoing to be sooooooooo much fun!!!
I can’t wait for this! Monday just can’t come soon enough for me. Thank you to Genie and Cartini for making this happen.
I hope they eventually do get back together but not too soon. And when they do i hope they duplicate the classic wedding by doing it at the same place like the first one and once again Scotty catches the bridal flowers like b4 but this time its all in good fun. And like i just in a previous post, hearing about Lauras return is like wishing on a magical lamp and having a Genie(Francis) pop out and making that wish come true. Welcome back Genie Francis.
Genie is awesome- so glad that she is back on GH!
Ooh I wanna see how Luke is gonna handle this and Anna wow this is gonna be a whopper and I can’t wait
She has great laugh lines around her eyes–she has kept herself a real person–how beautiful is that!
Luke and Laura for me, love them.
I love Genie Fancis and I like Tony Geary but I for one am hoping that they don’t unite Luke and Laura. I would love for her to come back married to Scott Baldwin. I would love to see that relationship explored since Scott and Laura fans were cheated of it so many years ago. Believe it or not there are still a lot of us Scott and Laura fans still out there!
I love her and am glad the first person she goes to see is Lulu.Great to see those 2 together in scenes again.
Love her new hair color. She looks great!! I can’t wait for L&L to reunite but I don’t want them to rush into it .. just want to see lots & lots of scenes with her and Tony!!! 🙂
Welcome back Genie. Watched their love story from day one; favorite couple of all time next to Bo & Hope on (Days).
She has never done a thing for me, but she seems like a lovely person, and I am happy that Cartini is really mining the depths of the amazing GH history in order to bring the show back to what it was and drive story for the future. The transformation has been breathtaking and for the Genie Francis fans, I am genuinely thrilled. Personally, my cup of happiness overflowed when I saw the photo Jon Lindstrom tweeted yesterday of him, Kin and Lynn. Those three represent some of the best times GH has ever had.
Genie looks as beautiful as ever. Hard to believe she’s 50 years old. It’s amazing how fast time flies. Her portrayal of Laura has always been one of my favorite characters to watch, so I’m beyond thrilled that she’s back, and I hope they have a worthwhile story for her. Which it sounds like they do. No more comatose, women with blonde hair sitting in the chair nonsense. Can’t wait for Monday!
So glad there is finally an EP that wants her and Laura back where she should be! Glad Laura is back. I prefer Genie with blond hair, JMO.
Where is Denise Alezander. You can’t have Laura without Leslie
I am beyond thrilled to have Genie back on GH. I also hope they don’t reconcile Luke and Laura for a good while. I love Luke’s interaction with the other ladies. Not saying I don’t want them together, but, I agree, they need the story to draw out. WELCOME BACK GENIE and Laura.
Ah Carol, so true. Please bring back Denise Alexander as Lesley Webber. There is no one better, she has always been my favorite character. And she and Genie, they are so terrific together. A little Lesley and Monica bickering can only be good for the show.
I think they should recreate the Wyndham’s department store scene/dance-of course in an updated way. Genie and Tony can dress to the nines. They can dance and dine to “Fascination” again. When I view that scene today, it is just as fresh, timely, lush, sensual, and romantic as it was then. So, I, too, hope Luke has to woo and win Laura all over again. Can’t beat those scenes for sheer enjoyment, entertainment, and timeless storytelling in the great romantic tradition that Gloria Monty followed when she set up the story of Luke and Laura. Simply a classic. I’m waiting, Genie and Tony (and writers)!
Yes I watch all of the older luke and laura and they were so great together and I really hope it does happen again
As Genie said, even if L&L aren’t together their always together. I think that’s absolutely true. L&L were my 1st official super couple when I was a kid. Their connection is dear to me. As long as L&L exist I will always wish them a happily ever after. I sincerely hope the new writing team understands the importance of L&L in the world of entertainment and fully respects the iconic nature of L&L. I hope the writers mission is to remain focus and committed to bringing back some of that exciting magic of the 80’s for American’s most iconic daytime super couple and fans once again. It’s all about love in the afternoon right? 😉
hope they reunite luke and laura and have a wonderful and loving storyline for them to show how deep their love goes foe each other even not being together all this time. i hope they make it explosive for luke and laura !!!!
I just that they do get luke and laura together again because they just fit, and watching laura with Scott is creepy
I agree…. Laura’s characture only seems to be effective as an actress, when she is with Luke. It’s like, ‘they don’t fit’ feeling, or ‘something don’t seem right’, if her companion is anyone BUT Luke….
I saw the one that they called the epic goodbye of luke and laura but seeing laura and luke kissing then all I can say is ugh
What I meant to say in my comment, seeing the so called epic of luke and laura saying good bye to each other was horrible and the whole luke and laura was a ripoff to fans. But then when they had laura marring Scott and luke kissing Tracy there is only one word UGH
I knows,this,was a while back but I hope Gh will reunite Luke and Laura! They belong together and always,will. They are epic and legendary and deserve one,more chapter. Endgame can’t be Tracey and Luke and Laura and Scotty! Luke and Laura are the #1 supercouple and if it can’t work for them then it can’t work for anybody! Fans still want a reunion. Luke and Laura rule and are still the golden couple!