General Hospital
GH's Jonathan Jackson speaks on Jake Tearjerker & the toll it took on him!

Courtesy/ABC
If you have watched the last several episodes of General Hospital, Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) has delivered gut-wrenching, raw, and emotional moments seldom seen on daytime. And, to the viewers it may all seem so effortless. But with every great performance by an actor of his caliber, there is so much that goes into playing those types of scenes that can be emotionally demanding and exhausting.
Jonathan opens up to Entertainment Weekly’s Lynette Rice about those five hankie days of GH, and the future of Lucky/Liz. Here are a few excerpts below!
Jonathan when EW’s Rice informed him she cried twice! “I sort of want to apologize but I’m not sure I should. It was kind of what we were going for,”
Jonathan on shooting Lucky’s major scenes after finding out Jake is brain-dead: “There was absolutely insane amounts of intensity that day. Everyone was feeling it. It was a very heavy feeling on the set. It was filmed in one day, from morning til late afternoon. The filming of it went on and on. We had to go there, to that [emotional] place, and keep coming back to it after breaks. In terms of sustaining the emotion, it was probably the hardest day I ever had. I was pretty wiped out by the end of it. We all were.”
Jackson on if Lucky will soon find out he is the daddy to baby Aiden: “I have no idea the time frame or what they’re doing with that. That’s sort of an inevitable thing to come out. It’ll be interesting to see how that changes things in terms of Lucky’s relationship with Elizabeth and whether it has that sort of emotional impact. There’s a lot of potential there, with the triangle between Lucky, his girlfriend Siobhan (Erin Chambers), and Elizabeth”
So, what did you think of JJ’s performances? And, who do you want to ultimately see Lucky with Siobhan or Elizabeth?
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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.
View this post on Instagram
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos

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.
-

News2 days agoY&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
-

Previews3 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
-
General Hospital2 days ago‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
-

Days Of Our Lives6 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
-

Days Of Our Lives4 days ago‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
-

General Hospital6 days agoGENERAL HOSPITAL: Tracy Leaves Port Charles to Help Dillon; Paving the Way for Jane Elliot’s Temporary Exit
-
News5 days agoB&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor to Guest Star on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
-
Interviews1 week agoRoger Howarth Reflects on Daytime Emmy Win, 32-Year Record Gap, and Embracing Matt Clark on ‘The Young and the Restless’ (Exclusive)












I have always thought Jonathan Jackson is the best actor on GH. Gh has great actors but have loved JJ ever since he first played Lucky. I was very happy to see him return to the role.
I felt JJ did an emmy winning performance over the last several days, as dis LW, SB, RH, CD amongst others. It was daytime TV like I’ve never experienced. WOW!!!! What great writing, directing and acting. Watch out Bold and Beautiful here comes GH.
he is just an awesome actor & always have been – his scenes were just riveting – i was in tears the entire time!
I think the story had holes in it but JJ Steve and becky were phenomenal !! all 3 of them deserve emmy for their scenes in the past week..
Wow, JJ is back better than ever. I was so so sad when he left GH years ago and to be honest it was never the same without him. Like someone said he is top notch, one of the best actors in daytime. He definitely deserves an Emmy. I love me some Steve Burton, but JJ is still more Emmy deserving. I’d love to see them all win one though. I’m mad they killed off Jake (especially since he was Jason/Liz baby) but boy did the storylines and acting out of it end up being epic. I hope JJ is here to stay for the long haul. His performance with AG is just amazing to watch.
So beautiful. Here’s the thing, Jonathan Jackson is an amazing actor and he’s stuck on a soap opera. It sucks that Hollywood is too stupid to realize how wonderful he is. He should be starring in major big budget films but sadly, no. But you know? It’s probably what he wants to do because he has a wife and three children. He can go home each night and spend time with his family. Hell, I’d even take that if I had a family.
Jonathan Jackson is an amazing actor and singer. He needs to be recognized more. Love to him and his family. God bless to everyone.
I love Jonathan Jackson. He is great as Lucky Spencer, and I want to see Liz and Lucky reunited.