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GH's Bob Guza on the reveal that Michael was brutally raped!

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

The moment is finally here when on Monday’s January 31st episode of General Hospital is it revealed that Michael was indeed raped in prison, and what everyone had thought all along was indeed true. (Well, sort of)  

The head scribe of GH, Bob Guza spoke in detail with TV Guide in this exclusive look into why the decision to have Michael raped, and how the revelation will come about and how the parents and mentors in Michael’s life, Jason, Sonny, and Carly will deal with Michael’s moment of truth.   Here are a few excerpts!

Guza on if he delayed the reveal due to the uproar that the audience did not want to see rape-plot: ” Not at all, though we at the show felt the same way the audience did. I remember the day we sat down and I was pitching this idea to [ABC Daytime chief] Brian Frons, and we were all going, “We love Michael! Why would we do this to him?” But that was the very reason to do it — because it’s real, because it would happen to a character like him under those circumstances. It’s almost a fantasy to think it wouldn’t! Uproar from the audience was to be expected, but the only honest way for us to tell the story is to really deal with the reality of prison life. We’re doing all the proper research and handling the aftermath as responsibly as possible. We’ve been working closely with the organization RAINN [the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network] and we will be doing a PSA at the end of the January 31 episode.”

Guza on what event is the catalyst to Michael spilling the beans of his rape: “Michael will see Abby (Adnrea Bogart) about to be raped by her ex-boyfriend and he flashes back to what happened to him in prison and goes berserk. In that flashback, we’ll see Michael’s assault in more detail, though nothing gratuitous or titillating. We wanted to make it clear the assault on Abby has visual and physical parallels to the assault on Michael. The incident with Abby — Michael does save her before she’s actually raped — will serve as a kind of catharsis for Michael, and he is finally able to admit to Jason (Steve Burton)  that he was indeed raped. He then tells his parents, Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Carly (Laura Wright).

Looks like this will be must-see February sweeps soap viewing and the reactions and performances from Duell, Benard, Burton, Bogart and Wright could be five hankie time.  Stay tuned!

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Can’t wait to see this! Will Michael be tested for HIV or have discussions about it with Robin/Jason/Sonny? I think it’d be really interesting to see Carly face her past issues with HIV+ people when her son has HIV.

Also I know this wouldn’t happen but getting Liz and Lucky involved would be great. They could share their insights as Liz’s rape was one of the best stories that GH has ever done. It’d be nice if they had a nod of history towards that!

Thanks for the scoop!

Been waiting for this since June. Emmy-worthy no doubt!

Lets make one thing clear to Guza & Frons. You love Michael. I WAS forced to deal with him over & over & over & over again. Not to take away from the actor(s) but I had MORE than enough of Michael.
Therefore, I could really give a cruddola what happened to him in prison. I was over the prison story the day it started & I certainly did not want to revisit it.
That all being said. I am not watching General Hospital any longer. I stopped watching January 18, 2011 when the announcement of Rebecca Herbst & Elizabeth Webber’s “storyline dictated” departure came across. Would I come back… sure if Rebecca Herbst & Elizabeth Webber remained on the show & if the stories became more balanced with all characters & revolved less around the show eaters.
I wish the best to Rebecca Herbst & all employees of General Hospital. Cant say the same for Brian Frons or Bob Guza.
Peace. O

If General Hospital actually wanted to do the responsible thing in the telling of this story they wouldn’t sleaze it up with strippers and hookers. There is only ONE other rape survivor left on this show and that is Elizabeth Webber. But they did the irresponsible thing and fired the very talented, very popular, Rebecca Herbst. If they had included Elizabeth Webber in this story, I MIGHT have thought this offensive, sleazy story could be redeemed but without Elizabeth Webber on General Hospital, my long time loyal viewership to this show is OVER.

I hate this storyline but to a point I understand it. My problem is that the one person that has been brutally raped on the show should be the one involved with it. She understands what he is going through and has had to pick herself back up and go on with her life. I think the fact of how this storyline has played out is what makes me hate it the most. In order to help an 18 year boy through this first we have someone get him someone to sleep with. Then you set him down the course of talking to a stripper/hooker to get over his rape. What about therapy? What about his family and friends getting him to the one person that they all know went through this and can give him the help he needs? This is where the “story line dictated” falls short. WHY HASN’T JASON CALLED ELIZABETH! Not only to help Michael but to help Jason understand what Michael is going through. Welcome to the new GH!! More sleaze less logic and less common sense!

As a mother of a son around the age of Michael I am appalled and will continue to not watch this garbage!

Guza and Frons don’t have a clue what their audience wants-that is very clear! I have not doubt Guza will mess up this storyline just like he does every other one!

I Hate the idea. I Hate Abby, she’s too old for Michael, she should ride off into the sunset with her loser ex-boyfriend.

Love Michael & Abby & this entire story is why I watch GH right now!
Chad & Andrea are fabulous together & cannot wait for his scenes with Laura, Steve, Maurice, to play out.

This is one of GH’s stronger stories. Chad Duell should be very proud his performances lately. Great young actor. 🙂 I, too, would like to see some scenes between Robin and Michael.

I love the story. I think it will definately bring depth to all invovled. Chad is a great actor and is doing this story very well. For all those who feel that Liz should be involved is just crazy. Why? I feel bad she is leaving the show, but this is about Michael, not Liz. And for all those who are not going to watch anymore because she is leaving, and feel that this soap will be nothing without her? Really? what does that say for all the others on the show. Come on Liz has never really been a forefront acctress on this show. and she is not the saint you all think she is. So if she is leaving I hope that they totally screw her character over just as they did Sam’s character to put a couple together that was never gonna work.
The Rape story is a great story and one that can move the show further for a lot of characters.

I think the General Hospital rape story was one of the greats. It just goes to show you we should always pay attention to our children and whats going on with them by talking!!! Oh by the way i think the Elizabeth story lines are out of gas, I think she will find something else real soon.

General Hospital

More of the Story on ‘General Hospital’ Star Josh Kelly’s Latest Film Role in ‘The Workout’

We had previously shared that General Hospital’s Josh Kelly was taking three weeks away from his role of Cody Bell to a shoot a role in an upcoming movie entitled The Workout.

Josh originally revealed his role in the film during an episode of GH castmates, Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson’s (Spinelli) podcast.

Now Deadline has filled in some of the blanks, and shared some intriguing intel on the premise of the film and its back-story.  The film stars Kelly along with Peter Jae, and UFC Fighter, Ashlee Evans-Smith. Other cast members include The Bay’s Kristos Andrews.

Photo: ABC

In The Workout, two army rangers set out to create a workout video, but their plans are abruptly halted when a mob hit interrupts their filming. Tragically, one of the rangers loses his wife in the attack, sending him on a relentless mission to take down the mob and anyone who stands in his way.

The film from James Cullen Bressack, almost did not get financed.  Apparently, ten days before his birthday, Bressack made a post on Instagram about the feature and production, casting, and financing came from the post … illustrating the power of social media. After the post gained traction, a producer provided financing and actors expressed interest in joining the project, leading to a quick production.

Photo: ABC

In a statement, Bressack shared, “As artists a painter paints, a musician makes music, a writer writes, but as filmmakers we have to ask permission to create. It’s time to change that narrative. This film spawned from a necessity to create. We create. We tell stories. We play pretend. I’m excited to take this journey. This is the truest form of collaboration and a community of friends coming together to make something fun. While our industry has had a rough time recently with strikes and a possible strike looming in the future, it’s nice to remind ourselves why we got into film to begin with. To have fun telling stories.”

No word yet on when The Workout will be released.

So, looking forward to seeing this collaborative effort featuring GH’s Josh Kelly? Comment below.

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Breaking News

51st Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Set to Be Announced

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences revealed on Wednesday via X, that this year’s 51st annual Daytime Emmy Nominations are set to be announced in full on Friday, April 19th at 12 pm ET/9 am PT.

However, four of the top award category nominations will be revealed on Thursday, April 18th across four entertainment news programs to kick things off.

Those include this Thursday episodes of Access Hollywood, E! News, Entertainment Tonight and Extra. Over the past few years, NATAS has often let the syndicated entertainment news program handle the duties of revealing the top actor and actress in a daytime drama series, but we shall see which categories the shows unveil this year.

Photo/AP

As previously announced, the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be presented in ceremonies on Friday night, June 7th on CBS (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.

The awards will be back at The Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where (the delayed due to the actors and writers strike) 50th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held back in December of 2023.

Look for the full nominations to be posted right here at Michael Fairman TV and you can follow along on Friday on the Daytime Emmys social platforms as well.

Photo: AP

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 Daytime Emmy Nominations will honor the work and achievement from the calendar year of 2023.

So, who would you like to see in the running for gold when the Daytime Emmy nominations in the key acting and show categories are revealed? Share your thoughts below.

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General Hospital

General Hospital’s Adam J. Harrington Weighs-in On John and Carly, and How it’s ‘Starting to Get Very Complicated”

On recent episodes of General Hospital, Carly (Laura Wright) came to John “Jagger” Cates (Adam Harrington) rescue as he was beaten down in an assault. Carly put on her “nurses cap,” sort of speak, and got John to his hotel room and watched over to him, to make sure he didn’t lose consciousness.

GH fans also got their first glimpse of what may be a new romance for Carly, if she and John continue to bond.  If John and Carly were to have a relationship, it would certainly have a ripple effect with Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny (Maurice Benard).

Adam J. Harrington shared his view on the scenes and what might be next between the two. Speaking to Soap Opera Digest, Harrington shared, “I thought it was written in a way where there’s an understanding and a respect between them both. I don’t think there was any moment where she was not aware that he’s an FBI agent, and there was no moment that he wasn’t aware of her history and relationship to other people in the town. I really liked it. I was really looking forward to shooting it with Laura and we had a really nice time shooting it.”

Photo: ABC

When Carly and John part ways, it seems there were some romantic sparks, as Harrington puts it, “Isn’t that interesting that sometimes with people, the one moment they actually show how they feel is when they know there’s an escape hatch. They know they’re about to walk away. So, it’s almost safe in that moment to do it. I thought that was really special about how (the writers) handled John and Carly. Even the music in that scene was beautifully done.”

Where is this all heading? Conflict! Internally and professionally, and as Adam explains, “Who Carly was to John on paper as just a tool to be used as bait is starting to get very complicated.”

What would you think of a John and Carly pairing? Would you prefer him with Anna, or neither of them? Let us know via the comment section and take our poll below.

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