General Hospital
GH’s Brook Kerr on Portia/Stella Scenes Over Esme Targeting Trina, Shares: “Overwhelmed with All the Love and Support … My Heart Jumped When I Read That Material”
If you caught last Friday’s episode of General Hospital, you saw, and heard, how the writing team at the ABC daytime drama series wove into the fabric of the upcoming Trina courtroom drama, race relations in our country and the justice system.
The words were spoken by Trina’s (Tabyana Ali) mother, Portia (Brook Kerr), who is beside-herself with worry now that Trina’s court date is here. She shares how she believes Trina was targeted by Esme (Avery Pohl), when Esme decided to plant the phone that made it ‘appear’ that Trina was the person who taped Cameron (William Lipton) and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) having sex and had it go viral.
Courtesy/ABC
In key scenes, Portia shares her worries with Stella (Vernee Watson). She expresses that Esme knew Trina would have a more difficult time facing the justice system, because she is black. Portia voices that members of the jury may fail to realize Trina’s innocence and as a mother, feels she has failed Trina, because she never prepared her for the harsh realities of the world. Portia goes on to say that Trina grew up with a very sheltered life, and now she realizes that may have been a terrible error on her part.
Stella, always the voice of reason, disagrees. She tells Portia that she knows that Trina understands the world, and most importantly, try as she may, she can’t shield her daughter from everything that life throws at her. She also shares that she knows the justice system isn’t always fair to people who look like Trina, but that she has to believe that in 2022 things are changing, and that Trina will be acquitted. As Portia is in tears, Stella hugs her and assures her that Trina is a fighter. Throughout the scenes, Brook Kerr definitely delivered and now has material to submit for next year’s Emmys!
Over the weekend, Brook Kerr took to Twitter after seeing the reaction to the scenes. Kerr shared: “I’m overwhelmed with all the love and support I’ve received from yesterday’s episode… My heart jumped when I read that material. And to be able to do it with @VerneeWJohnson_. I’m catching up and y’all got me crying now… Thank you to the whole #gh family”
So, what did you think of Brook Kerr’s performance in the key scenes? Glad that GH touched on racial injustice? Comment below.
I’m overwhelmed with all the love and support I’ve received from yesterday’s episode… My heart jumped when I read that material. And to be able to do it with @VerneeWJohnson_ 🙏🏽
I’m catching up and y’all got me crying now…🥺Thank you to the whole #gh family ♥️
— Brook Kerr (@brookkerr) July 17, 2022
Was so impressed that GH “went there”. An important element of the story to address. I rewound that scene a few times as both the acting and writing were stellar. Come on MF – give Kerr the “Power Performance” recognition.
Esme, I will say, is an equal opportunity conniving witch. This is something that we, the audience, have seen, but Portia witnessed only the direct impact on her daughter. Kudos to the GH writing team for finally taking a deep dive into Portia’s POV in her daughter’s story (well with the wait)!
I really liked it, too, Steve, and admit it took me by surprise. I didn’t expect that much depth and insight in this endless story. It also shed a light I hadn’t considered which evil Esme probably would have — that Trina would sadly be treated differently from, say, Josslyn in the same predicament. I’ve always liked the Portia character and didn’t mind the annoying Stella this time. I just wish it was Ava who’ll bring down Esme… and cheating Nikolas as well!
Soaphound
Everything you said is true but your last sentence,be careful what you wish for because I’ve read Ava might end up with Nick’s uncle and nothing is worse than that!
Right on, Soaphound!! I want to revel in the satisfacion of watching Ava bring Esme to her knees–Literally!!
Aside–By the same token, I must give credit and praise to Avery Kristen Pohl’s.
Her talent is undisputed, albeit we all despise this little manipulative hussy—a true Saccubus. I would love to see the actress in a more positive role.
So right, Celia. She’s a tremendous actress who I’m sure we’ll see more of. Esme…not so much.
Soaphound…I wonder if actors who play the villains can paint their careers into a corner when trying to get other type of roles? The one who has surprised me a little is the actor playing Victor Cassidine (sp?). He’s growing on me. But he’s done such a reversal from playing Fran’s boss in The Nanny.
This is a fascinating question Rose. I remember actor Steve Railsback had trouble getting good roles after his terrifyingly real portrayal of Charles Manson in “HELTER SKELTER” in 1976. On the other hand, Anthony Hopkins’ career skyrocketed after playing a cannibal! People were skeptical of Barbra Streisand doing a straight dramatic film until “THE WAY WE WERE” proved studio heads are mostly clueless. There doesn’t seem to be a sure pattern but I certainly applaud actors with the courage to explore outside of others’ expectations.
rose
I kind of think Victor acts more like Shane Donovan, the ISA agent he’s played on Days for years. This thing he’s doing by keeping Charlotte hostage from Val is pretty low down and wanting Laura killed? Are we talking about the same person? You said he’s growing on you, not in a good way, I hope.
Violet…OMGoodness, No! I was talking about the actor growing on me having to play Victor. It’s a bit of a transition for me to get used to to see him go from Fran’s lighthearted Mr Sheffield to evil Victor Cassadine. Hope you are keeping cool in this hot weather.
rose
Thanks for clarifying that, you had me scared for a minute. Also, Thanks for asking, I never leave my AC apt. unless it’s for a Dr. appointment. I’ve even been ordering my groceries from Amazon for delivery. What a life saver those people are, spend $35, free delivery. No, I don’t own shares, wish I did.
Definitely… or if not Shane, then maybe Shane’s evil twin Andrew Donovan who appeared on Days decades ago, but came back for brief appearance on the first season of “Beyond Salem”.
Shane & Andrew didn’t always get along, but ironically Shane did name his son after his brother… and Andrew “jr” finally made an appearance in Beyond Salem 2 (after being oddly absent from the screen since he was a baby)
Interesting, did not know any of this
When will that irritating Esme get her due?!!!!!!!
Lew S
To put it crudely, hopefully Ava will beat the crap out of her tomorrow.
What would really be good is if she could somehow hold her down or tie her up and cut that long hair off up to her ears.
Very well written scenes, and a strong performance from Brook Kerr, as well as the always stellar Vernee Watson. I love when GH ties real life issues into their storylines. They’ve always done that well, dating back to the days of Wendy Riche and Claire Labine.
I just hope they’re finally moving along with the Esme story. That as well as a number of the storylines on GH lately have been dragging along at a snails pace. It’s really very frustrating at times as a viewer. I know the nature of storytelling on soaps when you have to fill 5 episodes a week 52 weeks a year, but you have to s-word or get off the pot at some point, as my grandma used to say.
I really like Portia and Stella in any of their scenes. As for GH or other soaps, finally addressing possible real life race considerations, I‘m just surprised it took them so long. As far as Esme considering this in her plans to bring down Trina out of jealousy it’s possible, but she’s an equal opportunity villain considering Ava, Joss and Cameron have been her targets or used as well. The final bringing down of Esme will be sweet.
rose
Hi again. I’ve been wondering again if Curtis is truly Trina’s birth dad. Portia seems very intent on researching Curtis’s dads mental problem, be it hereditary? Well, I’ve been wondering if he was ever correctly diagnosed, they are so vague about the Whole thing. Why do I care? I don’t know, it’s that they are spending a lot of dialog on it.
Curtis being Trina’s dad was “hinted” at a long time ago when Jordan & Portia were trapped in a basement with a gas leak , and neither one of them was completely coherent at the time Because Jordan went through the whole kidney transplant thing and months (or years??) of recovery, she hasn’t shown any signs yet as to whether or not she remembers that conversation…. but she may not have to, because Portia’s getting kinda sloppy with her questions about mental illness, and specifically the hereditary implications of it. I could start to see the wheels turning in Marshall’s head as if he was beginning to clue in as to why she might be asking such a question…. though since she & Curtis are a couple now, Portia could always deflect that question by claiming she was concerned about any children she & Curtis might have in the future. Not the one they had 20 years ago!
I was a well done scene, and I recall a similar scene 6 months or so(?) Between Portia and Jordan discussing the racial perspective of police treatment during arrests. Neither was heavy handed or preachy, but was frank and came across as genuine conversations character driven.
I enjoyed Brook as Whitney on Passions ( during my College days) and I am truly appreciating her on GH. It took me a while–but, she is amazing and has found her niche at GH.
I also thought the court scenes to be realistic and compelling—suspenseful.
Aside (of couse, that’s what I do)—as previously stated, I do believe that we all think Willow has some kind of blood disorder where only Nina ( who has the same rare blood type) will be able to save her. Watch out Carly, you know—the one who calls the kettle black.
I’m so ready for this teen scene to be over with. Why do they have to drag every darn SL on forever? I could care less who Trina ends up with, but we all know she won’t end up in prison. Good riddance to Esme, they keep saying but then how does that involve Felicia if she’s her mother? Wouldn’t that fact keep her in PC indefinitely? I like Joss, but she’s got some mouth on her, maybe worse than her mother’s, gets tiresome. Now that Portia knows about Curtis dads medical problem, she won’t leave it alone until she finds out for sure because it might be hereditary, and could effect Trina, if Curtis is her bio dad. Sorry, just spouting off!
I’m inclined to agree now, Violet. I don’t think we’re NEAR done with Miss Esme. And this initially intriguing story has worn out its welcome. Rory is so much nicer than Spencer but I’m sure Trina will forgive and forget his earlier duplicity. And this awful Cody tale…the horses must smell better! That wacko Dex is on Michael’s payroll, and now Austin is involved in something shady, too? Are there any NICE people moving into Port Charles?
Soaphound
Bite your tongue. Iam so over Esme, Iam ALMOST ready to welcome back Peter August, at least he was more honest with his intentions. I was also hoping that when she goes so would Ryan. Are any nice people moving to P.C, now what fun is that? I have heard a rumor that Austin may be involved with Dawn Of Day and they are trying to draw him back in. Boy, I hope that is just someone’s pipe dream.
Violet…I watch GH, Y&R, and B&B. I can’t say I like any of the storylines on any of the three right now, except Ally and Noah on Y&R. But they will probably find a way to ruin them as well. So I go back to something I asked myself before. Why watch soaps? They sure aren’t a mix of love in the afternoon, adventure, filmed in cool locations.
Speaking of lousy storylines, Rose, how about Ashland’s “is he or isn’t he dead” tale. Now where have I seen that before? Oh yeah, 3 or 4 years ago at Victoria’s house (apparently quite a dangerous place) with J. T. attacking her. She sure can pick ’em.
rose
To answer your question,why watch soaps? My answer has always been the same, because most times their problems are worse than our own. Also years when younger their ” love in the afternoon” sure beat my excitement of what to make for dinner and a cranky husband coming home to start my exciting evening. OMG,bring on the Soaps!
There was never any doubt that in watching the riveting and emotional scenes on General Hospital which featured Finola Hughes as a PTSD-driven and mentally tortured Anna Devane, that when the climatic moments in Anna’s story aired, that we would not be singing the praises of Hughes. Once again, Finola showcased why she is one of the soap opera genres greatest assets and actresses.
In the key scenes, Anna has had a complete breakdown as she has lured and cornered Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) on Mount Emerson, and even thought through how she would kill her and cover it up, all thanks to hearing the voice and seeing a dead man, Peter August (Wes Ramsey). It’s visions of Peter that keeps egging Anna on to pull the trigger on Britt while in her delusional state.
Before Britt realizes that Anna trapped her in meeting her in Mount Emerson, she is very confused as to why she was all the way out in the boondocks to talk about what happened to her brother, Cassius Faison. However, Britt soon learned that what Anna was about to do is personal, and not professional, as she pulls the gun on her.
Courtesy/ABC
ANNA FIRES HER GUN IN GAME-CHANGING MOMENT
When Jason (Steve Burton) shows up to save the say, he tries to talk Anna off the ledge, begging her to not shoot Britt and make one of the greatest mistakes of his life. When Jason figured out Anna felt she needed to kill anyone related to Cesar Faison, he made her think twice, because that would mean, she also would need to end the lives of two of Maxie’s children, James and Bailey Lu.
Anna can’t stop seeing hallucinations of Peter pushing her to shoot Britt. Suddenly and completely overcome, Anna fires bullets straight in the direction of where she sees Peter as she declares this all must end tonight.
After the shots are fired, Anna realized what she had done and just sobbed and shook. It was a devastating and heartbreaking moment for longtime General Hospital fans to see the beloved Anna Devane, super spy, so lost. Anna explained to Jason, after he was able to disarm her, how she was being pushed to kill Britt by her visions of Peter.
EMMY-WORTHY SCENES FOR 2027
In another hankie-inducing moment, Anna just grabs Jason and breaks down in his arms. If these weren’t Emmy-worthy scenes, we don’t know what is, and it must be remembered by Hughes, General Hospital, and hopefully the voting body of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) when Emmy submissions and voting get underway in 2027 for the 54th annual Daytime Emmys.
From everything we noted above, to the sheer brilliance of her work, Michael Fairman TV names Finola Hughes, this week’s Power Performance of the Week.
Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Finola? Were you moved to tears during the gut-wrenching scenes? Should Finola include these scenes in an Emmy submission in 2027, should she decide to compete for Lead Actress gold? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
The ratings are out for the week of August 24-28 for your favorite broadcast television soaps, and it was ABC’s General Hospital which added the most total viewers and planted itself firmly in third place in its battle with Beyond the Gates in the key demos of women 18-49 and 25-54.
According to Soap Opera Network, all daytime dramas were up year-over-year, and General Hospital was joined by The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with gains in their total audience viewership, while Beyond the Gates was only slightly off pace for the ratings week.
Let’s take a look at what had viewers tuning-in, starting with General Hospital, who added +79,000 viewers. While still under the 2 million viewers mark (which they can hopefully return in the coming weeks) their overall tally was an average of 1, 935,000 tuning-in, while still up year-to-year +136,000.
GENERAL HOSPITAL
In addition, GH while actually down from the previous week in the 18-49 ratings share, they still out performed Beyond the Gates for third place. However, GH was firmly in third place for the 25-54 ratings share.
The stories that were featured for the week included: Anna’s (Finola Hughes) PTSD and struggle with painful memories tied to Cesar Faison, and her concocting a plan to get rid of Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) recording Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) threatening her, and later running into a severe threat from Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) regarding Kai (Jens Austin Astrup) and Drew’s (Cameron Mathison) shooting, and Drew enlisting Ava (Maura West) to gain leverage over Jack, which resulted in Ava drugging him, while Drew went snooping for the evidence Brennan had against him.
Photo: JPI
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Y&R remained in the top spot amongst all the soaps once again with 3,062,000 tuning in, and up +35,000 for the week, while year-to-year still showing strong gains at +231,000 viewers. However, while Y&R remained #1 for the 25-54 ratings share, it fell to #2 in the 18-49 ratings share behind The Bold and the Beautiful.
In story for the week, Nick’s (Joshua Morrow) sobriety in rehab was a focus, as was Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) hitting the Jabot office couch and having sex for the first time, and Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy (Jason Thompson) battling over control and ownership of Chancellor Industries.
Photo: JPI
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
B&B is continuing to be inch closer to Y&R for the top spot, separated by a little more than 300,000 viewers. For the ratings week, the series posted a total audience of 2,719,000 adding +31,000 eyeballs overall, and like Y&R, is up year-to-year in its performance.
The CBS soap now , now in its 40th season is +217,000 from the same time last year. In the key demos, The Bold and the Beautiful was in the top spot for the women 18-49 ratings share and number two for women 25-54.
In story, the major threat to Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Daphne’s (Murielle Hilaire) marriages continued as Steffy and Carter swore they would not tell their spouses that the two had a drunken hook-up. But as viewers know now, Steffy is pregnant!
Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES
Beyond the Gates tallied an average of 1,611,000 total viewers for the week, up +72.000 year-over-year and down slightly in tune-in for the week losing just -36,000 viewers. The CBS soap came in fourth place in the key demos for the week behind General Hospital, with whom they are often trading places for the third spot.
In story, after Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) was released from the hospital, Hayley (Marquita Goings) stuck to her plan, doubling down on poisoning him and even getting caught in a major lie or meeting with Randy (Maurice P. Kerry), as Vernon (Clifton Davis) may be on to her machinations.
The ratings report is generated from Nielsen (Live+Same Day Big Data + Panel) for the week of August 24-28, 2026
So, what did you think of the performance of General Hospital for the ratings period? Which daytime drama has you most likely to tune-in each day? Which has you tuning-out? Let us know what’s working, or not working for you in story, via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
It was just over 13 years ago on General Hospital when Ava Jerome (Maura West) shot and killed Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) in an effort to keep her quiet from revealing that Derek Wells was actually Ava’s back-from-the-dead brother, Julian Jerome (William deVry). It’s a crime that somehow Ava never has quite paid for either.
The episode back aired on August 13, 2013 and viewers had to say goodbye to Kelly Sullivan who played Kate and her alter, Connie. In the story, just before she died, Kate/Connie scrawled the letters AJ in her own blood, initially making the PCPD and Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) think that it was AJ Quatermaine (Sean Kanan) who did the deed.
Now, Sullivan recalled sharing scenes with the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning West, during a live conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel. Kelly was the special guest talking about her recent return to the soaps in her new role as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Darcy Dylan.
Photo: JPI
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MAURA WEST
Speaking of her final GH scenes and working with Maura West, Sullivan gave her then GH co-star major props. “If you’re going to be shot by somebody (on the soaps), you want to be shot by Maura West, c’mon!”
Maura West debuted back in May 2013 as Ava, and Sullivan remembered when the As the World Turns favorite began on GH. “I remember when Maura West first arrived at GH. She walked in with this cute little bob (hairdo) and she’s just delicious,” shared Sullivan.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Kelly revealed more about Maura, adding “I think she’s amazing! I remember right before I left the show, someone suggested, and I would still love to do this with her, if she ever want to, but someone suggested that they wanted to direct the stage play A Streetcar Named Desire with Maura and I, where I would play Stella and she would play Blanche! Wouldn’t that be great?”
Speaking of the Ava/Connie showdown scenes, Sullivan expressed, “On television and on General Hospital specifically, Maura West is able to play a character who does the most horrendous things and you still care about her and that’s the mark of a really great actor. In other words, you’re able to be liked in the midst of the most horrendous things, and as a performer not shying away from that, and to just have the courage to do what’s on the page (in the script).”
Photo: JPI
KELLY SULLIVAN PARTING THOUGHTS AS SHE LEFT GENERAL HOSPITAL
Kelly also shared her sentiments when she walked off the set of General Hospital after her run back in August of 2013. “I really was honored. Every day I would go to work and I would say a little prayer, which is I want to do justice for my character, explained Kelly. “It’s between me and my character. I get to walk this path with her and to leave the show on that note, which is, I left every out there. I just gave it my all and again what an honor it was to play Kate/Connie.”
You can catch the full conversation with Kelly where she talks about her time on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless where she played Sage Warner and now The Bold and the Beautiful below.
So, do you remember the Ava and Connie scenes where Ava shot and killed her? What did you think of Kelly Sullivan’s sentiments about Maura West? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, watch the reveal where Ava recalls murdering Connie below!
‘General Hospital’s’ Finola Hughes Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
Steve Burton Reportedly Signs Three-Year Contract with ‘General Hospital’
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
‘General Hospital’ to Rebroadcast Special Episode in Tribute to Anthony Geary
Vivica A. Fox Exits ‘The Young and the Restless’ For Now to Film Netflix’s ‘Women Like Us’
Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027
‘General Hospital’s’ Braedyn Bruner Reveals Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and How Emma is Getting Her ‘Edge’ Back
‘General Hospital’s’ Bluesy Burke Marks 1 Year as Charlotte Cassadine: ‘It’s The Best Gift I’ve Ever Received’
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
‘Beyond the Gates’ vs. ‘The Young and the Restless’ in a Soap Opera Showdown on ‘Flip Side’ Season 3 Premiere
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Talks Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and What’s Behind Katie’s Deep-Seated Issues with Dylan (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Did Brook Lynn Deserve Chase Walking Out on Her?
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General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’ to Rebroadcast Special Episode in Tribute to Anthony Geary
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News1 week agoVivica A. Fox Exits ‘The Young and the Restless’ For Now to Film Netflix’s ‘Women Like Us’
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News2 days agoJess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027
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General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Braedyn Bruner Reveals Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and How Emma is Getting Her ‘Edge’ Back
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General Hospital5 days ago‘General Hospital’s’ Bluesy Burke Marks 1 Year as Charlotte Cassadine: ‘It’s The Best Gift I’ve Ever Received’
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News5 days ago‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Drops First Look 40th Anniversary Opening Title Sequence
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Interviews6 days ago‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Kelly Sullivan Talks Becoming Darcy Dylan, Who’s Melissa’s Dad, and Future Love Interest (Exclusive)
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