General Hospital
GH’s Laura Wright and Max Gail Along with Maria Shriver Talk The Importance Of The Alzheimer’s Storyline
Courtesy/KTLA
On Monday’s edition of the KTLA Morning News, General Hospital’s Laura Wright (Carly) and Max Gail (Mike) joined Maria Shriver as they chatted about Alzheimer’s disease and the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
As General Hospital viewers know, currently Max Gail is delivering a brilliant performance as Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) dad, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s for which there is no cure.In story, as in life, it is also the caregivers who suffer watching the deterioration of the person they love afflicted with this horrific disease.
Maria Shriver, who has been an activist for Alzheimer’s, notes how women are most affected by Alzheimer’s. During the interview with KTLA, Shriver gives important things to look for, and how to potentially slow the on-set of progression of the disease, while giving kudos to GH for telling this important storyline of our time.
Watch the interview with Laura, Ma, and Maria after the jump. Let us know, if you have lost a loved one, or are dealing with someone in your family who has this disease. What have you thought about the way GH is unraveling Mike’s storyline? Comment below!
Mail Gail is doing an incredible job with this storyline-it certainly tears at your heartstrings. I was not familiar with him or his previous work. I watched the clip last night, and Laura Wright could really use some tips on public speaking. Perhaps she was nervous. She reminds me of a teenager when she speaks..
This was a great interview for the cause and for GH!
Lost my mom in December to vascular disease, which included dementia, in December. These story lines hit close to home (Y & R too). The difference is, the fictional families can afford the care thats required for their loved ones. There must be some sort of lobbying for medicare funding for care for alzheimers and dementia patients. Thanks to Max Gail and Marla Adams (and the actors portraying their children) for their incredible performances. The way Dena has spoken to Ashley had me in tears.
I’m really happy that GH is addressing a problem that affects so many of us in so many ways. The writers are doing a great job showing both the patient’s and caretaker’s point of view. It’s a devastating disease.
Bravo, Max Gail, Maurice Benard and Laura Wright. A brilliant tour de force. Entertainment as vital social and medical information, told with deep and compelling humanity. And great for this longtime “Barney Miller” fan to see Max Gail. Wojo was one of the great sitcom creations.
This could had been a Laura and Leslie storyline…enough said!!!!
Or a highly-emotional storyline with any number of legacy characters of whom we’ve become attached through the decades, Jimh! Lesley would have been an excellent choice, but so would have Monica or even one of the popular cast members from the ‘80’s since this affliction is hitting a younger demographic these days. No matter how moving Max Gail’s talented portrayal of Mike, the mere fact that he is a recast character from a family that engenders very little goodwill or sympathy from most of the viewers makes this scenario ring a bit hollow for me. At the end of the day, I simply don’t care, at least not in the way I would have if the patient had been someone I had grown up with during GH’s glory years!
I agree it should have been a Laura and Leslie story, I am not a fan of the Sonny show and since Mike has been off the canvas for so long it doesn’t make sense to me why they would bring his character back? But I get it The Nathan & Ron company want to make the Sonny show you more of a focal point on GH! But for me personally it would have had a bigger impact if it had been a character that’s been on the canvas all along.
I absolutely couldn’t love (and hate…just because it’s so sad) this story more, jimh, than I do. I would feel this depth of emotion if I met a family I didn’t even know and witnessed the devastation and heartbreak.
As for Sonny’s dad? Unfortunately actors do get replaced. As much as I loved Ron Hale, enough time has passed for me to totally embrace Max in this role. He eased into it so seamlessly it was as if he was part of the family all along. This story could be a standalone vignette; either way, it is just so completely moving and well acted that I have no regret that they didn’t use other characters/family to tell this emotionally-packed tale.
I certainly wouldn’t want the disease to afflict characters that are currently on the canvas, like, Monica, that was mentioned. We finally have her back and I love that she’s still vibrant and a strong presence in the Q family! I tune in to GH to see characters I love that are “always” there. I have no desire to kill them off or watch them deteriorate with something not curable. It’s difficult enough, now that I’m “attached” to “Mike” to think of what’s coming…
What a brilliant idea, Jimh! A missed opportunity…
Alz, is on two soaps and both are doing a phanomal job.
So, what’s next–
Guns ?
AK15- AK17 (Payday 2) weapons..
I can imagine Anna attempting to handle an AK ..
Anyways, soaps do keep up with the present situations of what’s news hot ..
Yet, no one smokes weed, medical or otherwise or have a military weapon, not even Jason a hitman/killer..
Well, perhaps they are next up.
And– Max is a treasure, he deserves an award, His portrayal of an Alz person/the writing is excellent.(and depressing)
@su0000….Please tell me you haven’t already forgotten the preposterous scenario when Sonny ordered a scared-stiff Spinelli to deliver a bag of ganja to the chemo-stricken Alexis and her subsequent stoner experience with the screaming munchies! That ridiculous example more than sufficed for me when it comes to the so-called notion of “medical marijuana!” I really don’t know what more can be said about it….you’re either for it or against it, and I don’t suppose I need tell you where my views fall on that specific issue! (Hint….I am inveterately anti-drug!) Having said that, I also don’t care to introduce a debate on Second Amendment rights to Port Charles…as far as I’m concerned, the less politically-charged the storylines, the better! GH should be an escape from the daily grind of the deeply divisive state of this country…not a device to fuel more unnecessary dissention amongst our citizenry! On the other hand, kudos to your previous comments regarding “political correctness!” I wasn’t able to respond to them at the time, but I heartily agreed with your sentiments on the subject! See? Miracles do happen! P.S. I have no doubt that the “Divine Devane” would be able to handle an AK with great aplomb….ditto for Ava or Sam! Port Charles has no shortage of bad-@$$ babes who can take care of themselves!!!!
Interesting, su. As for “medical” marijuana, not sure if you were watching GH back when Alexis was battling lung cancer; so glad they haven’t revisited that. I thought it was great that Sonny cared and I love that Alexis found relief in “weed.” In the midst of sorrow, fear and the unknown, with an uncertain future and devoid of hope, if a plant can get you through the nite (and day) more power to it! So glad that a natural option is being made available vs all the synthetic damaging pharmaceuticals out there with their myriad of side effects.
hit send too soon. As I recall it eased Alexis’ pain and nausea; who could ask for more when suffering?
Funny how Y&R didn’t get an invite or shout out. But then, their Alzheimer’s story is just that – funny. No truth, no realness, no foundation or desire to tell an honest portrayal. Just absurd wacky plot points to further already absurd stories. I’ve never in all my years working with the elderly seen a senior with Alzheimer’s recall minute details of their past better than a person with a healthy brain! Long term memory is stronger and dies out later, but Dina’s is photographic!
I digress.
Very impressive to see Maria Shriver, a woman with so much clout and respectability, alongside regular old soap peeps. It gives the story the seal of approval an important topic like this needs as that extra oomph to tell the audience that this is a story and portrayal people can trust and believe (in a made up world).
it’s just as Laura Wright said: Max Gail – IS – the STAR of the show . Bam ! ’nuff said
he; on his OWN … is leading the pack and leading the Corinthos . ALL without Maurice Benard. there is no father/son connect
why wasn’t he their ? doing this show. because he doesn’t know how to emote any more
the mouthpiece of @GH . has to do all the reaching… AND she’s so overkill.
Love .max Gail
Why didn’t they talk to Y&R? They’re actually doing a story on Women’s Alzheimers.
Love Max Gail. He’s as adorable in this interview (though he barely spoke!) as he is in character.
Maria Shriver had some interesting information/statistics though she emphasized that women are much more likely to get alzheimers yet here GH is doing a story on a man getting it. Although it’s stating the obvious that men, too, are afflicted, I think she should have perhaps incorporated that into her facts and added some info as to whether it hits the different sexes at different ages, different symptoms or why it’s more common in women.
On a GH note, Laura also stated the obvious: they wanted to give Sonny a family story so he can be seen outside of his mob persona. I’m thinking that was purposely done to win more fan approval for him. If other sites are as anti-Sonny as this one they needed to do some damage control. Now if he can undo murdering AJ I’d reconsider…
Love Max too! He has those eyes that show such emotion. I just feel like giving him a big hug when he tears up and gets confused. It makes sense they wanted to give Sonny a family story. It is a breath of fresh air seeing him away from the same old mob story. And, his acting has been better, he doesn’t look bored and stumbling over his lines like he would do sometimes. You can see his eyes tearing up in some scenes with Max and they look like real tears.
I know, Debra. So huggable… makes you wish the TV screen allowed us to “reach out.”
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.
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