General Hospital
Ian Buchanan Returns To General Hospital For A Few Key Episodes!

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com
Many General Hospital fans have loved Ian Buchanan’s portrayal of Duke Lavery. And after a shocking story exit in May of 2015, when the character was gunned-down in cold blood, it left Duke’s on-screen lady love, Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) in a terrible place grieving him and thinking she murdered his assailant, Carlos Rivera (Jeffrey Vincent Parise). That however proved not exactly to be true, since Carlos survived and alive.
Now Ian is on his way back to GH for several episodes where he will play an apparation of Duke in scenes with Finola Hughes beginning next week, Ian shared his enthusiasm on coming back to GH for some episodes with Soap Opera Digest in this week’s issue on newsstands everywhere by Friday.
Buchanan shared: “I wasn’t quite sure what it meant when I was told that I would be an apparition, but I felt like, ‘Well, that’s fine. I can do that! I can be apparitious!’ And it was great; I had a great time, but it was bittersweet, of course.”‘
The actor also weighed-in on the reveal that Matt Cohen’s Dr. Griffin Munro is actually Duke’s son. Buchanan said, “I saw the scenes he did with Finola when it was revealed he was Duke’s son and I think it’s a really nicely told story. They’re great together.”
Are you looking forward to seeing Ian and Finola as Anna and Duke share scenes beginning next week on General Hospital? Comment below,
The ghost of Duke returning to comfort Anna, at least until they decide to resurrect Duke (again) and rehire Ian long-term. Good to see him back though.
We will take Duke ANYWAY we can get him! He was either let go nicely last year or he is letting bygones be bygones? Either way, love Ian!
I completely agree Timmm!
Better than nothing…
“I can be apparitious”… lol jimh sounds like you
This whole Anna grieving story is horrible and they need to move her on from this. They have really brought the character of Anna down to a really bad level over a mobster who was ordering hits on woman feds. Anna never even mourned her own daughter like this or went after the people who kidnapped and tortured her for years. Dr O was COS and is still allowed to walk around free after also nearly killing Duke and Robert. If ghost Duke is the last we ever see or hear of him, Im all for it.I found the character boring when he was on and I find the constant mentioning of him even more boring if possible.
Let the stone throwing begin! You are speaking ill of two beloved characters!
Oh Carlee, thanks for saying it so well. I know I’m in a minority, but I never understood the magical appeal of Mr. Lavery and I also hate that he dragged Anna down as well. Finola is doing some of her best work ever recently and I’d like to see it used with other characters, especially Griffin. A very small dose of Duke will suffice for me.
WHAT SHOW WERE YOU WATCHING?
The same show I have been watching. Duke was a character that was barely acknowledged for 20+ years prior to 2012. Came back and the Duke and Anna pairing bombed because the actors have ZERO sexual chemistry. So much so that they broke up this pair 7 months and 3 minutes before they killed off the character. Then they finally kill him off because they realized the character is an abysmal bore, and to finally give Anna story after 3 years of being saddled with the character. New writers come in and decide that canonizing Duke is necessary in justifying her plugging an unarmed man 4 times and to integrate the newbie ab model of the month. In the process they have reduced Anna to a criminal hypocrite over a mobster who was ordering hits on people including a woman fed with a son who was also a close friend and partner of Anna’s. Now she goes around seeking “justice for Duke” so much so she should just wear a t-shirt to save on dialogue, crying in every scene and has accepted this “son” of Duke’s without any questions, concerns or hello an investigators eye/ear that maybe something is not right with him providing the DNA test results or even asking who his mother was.
This is not Anna Devane
Maria – Anna DID get DNA proof before accepting Munroe as Duke’s son, and he willingly provided it. We watched the scene where she offered him tea or water and took the cup, of which he saw and encouraged, feeling confident it would show the truth. He bears a striking resemblance to the younger Ian Buchannon and the casting was excellent, though would have been nicer to bring him on when Duke was still alive. Ah well….
I personally don’t care for characters who are dead reappearing as ghosts or apparitions. I say either bring them back to life (this has been done many times on all soaps) or just let them stay six feet under. I like the character of Duke but not in this context.
I vote for leaving them 6 feet underf. Dead is dead!!
Duke is alive, locked up with Alan Quartermaine and Emily. They are all well and alive. Helena is alive too. Stavros has the hostages locked up in a basement.
Love me some Duke and Ian Buchanan! I was just watching some Anna and Duke scenes from 1986 on YouTube!
Duke needs to stay dead, but if he has to come back for a few episodes for Anna to stop crying, let it be. Worst Anna story ever!!
Instead of bringing Duke back as a ghost, how about undoing the terrible writing of Ron Carlivati, and bringing him back permanently? I’m over the back from the dead stories in most cases, but this is one instance where I would make an exception to that opinion.
It’s not a coincidence that the ratings plummeted after they killed Duke. They should have never killed off a beloved legacy character like that. I don’t care if Ian asked off the show, or whether they fired him, whatever the real story is, no one here knows, send Duke out of town, into hiding because of the mob stuff, back to prison, something, anything other than killing off the character.
The story that followed certainly wasn’t worth getting rid of a character with ties to the show dating back 30 years. Especially now that they decided to give him a son. I would love to see Duke get to meet Matt, and see Anna have some happiness for the first time in a year.
Hey, Dan! I’m with you1 Undo the terrible writing!
Yes, undo the horrible writing of RC and Duke is still dead from 1990
It wasn’t Ian fault he was killed off RC was the culprit there like hes done to other actors
If they can resurrect CARRRRRRRLOS why not Duke? I cannot stand Carlos and I love Duke. He has his dry spots BUT with his “Son” coming forward now Duke would have something to do besides Tango with Anna.
Timm they need to kill Carrrlosssss off already . Sabrina needs to get with Michael already
No one stays dead in daytime, Duke is alive and next year he will be back on contract.
STOP THE DUKE CRAP!!
I can not take one more Anna freaking out over duke..
Anna’s character has been destroyed.
Anna was a very in control smart woman, on top of the heap.. Now she is crazy weak and unwatchable. What a shame..
Anyway.. this Duke crap has gone on and on and is a total empty story.
((I do not care about a Duke return, I no longer care about Anna.. I am more than done with the Duke junk.
ZZZzzzzZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ !
First of all, blame your idol Ron for killing off Duke, which resulted in this story. Second of all, have you ever lost anyone close to you? It’s not something you just snap your fingers and get over. What they’re portraying with Anna is a very true and very realistic way that most people cope with the loss of their true love. Sorry that they’re trying to tell a story with genuine heart and emotion, instead of having characters unmask like a Scooby Doo cartoon, or people having sex in a mausoleum.
Amen Dan AND Finola should have won an Emmy THIS year and better get one in 2017! She is great!
well if u don’t like them bringing people back from the dead then stop watch it. or you can watch it and stop complaining.
I’m looking forward to it. I also wish there was some way to bring Duke back; yet I’m not a fan of returning from the dead. Hopefully, the scenes will be sweet and provide Anna with some closure.
Bringing Duke back would be easy– Carlos shot an imposter in a Duke mask- the real Duke was imprisoned again, finally escapes and is alive and well–so the question isn’t how they could bring him back but whether they should. Characters are only interesting if the writers give them a story and while Ian was portraying Faison in a Duke mask he had something to do, but when it was just Duke, the writers left him on the back burner for most of the time that he wasn’t on much anyway. So unless the writers have a long term plan then the character should remain dead-
PLEASE BRING HIM BACK …HE ADDS SO MUCH TO THE SHOW!
I think Anna needs to move on. Frankly, yesterday’s long boring talk eith Duke’s BORING son was excruciating to watch. I love Finola and she is fab at what she does but all this crying? Make it stop.
I have loved Duke and Anna together since they first met decades ago. Nothing would make me happier than to see him come back from the dead. It was criminal that he was killed off.
I think Finola Hughes has done an outstanding job portraying her grief. Anyone who has lost someone they love that much knows that grief knows no timetable and rationality goes out the window. She’s been brilliant. I’ve been on the edge of me seat watching her, such a powerful actress. She blows me away. The writing is good again and my 30+ love affair with GH continues. I can’t wait to see Duke. I’ll take him any way I can get him!
I think the honesty of Anna’s grief over Duke has been well played. Grief is a scary monster. We all process it deeply and Anna has NEVER been just a surface character and her scenes dealing with the loss of Duke have been honest and sometimes really raw. Finola Hughes takes standard material and brings it to a higher level. Who else in daytime has that power? Very few. I know this seems like a long time to mourn but she is coming around and starting to live her life again. I will never condemn GH for the storylines as long as they are well acted and well written. I can’t wait for what’s next. They so deserved that Emmy and they have my attention for what is about to come. Go Anna!
If this ends all the Duke Crap and the crying and whining of what once was a formidable kick butt heroine, one who kept me glue to my screen I wouldn’t want to miss a single then so be it. Bring him on as a ghost for a day if that’s what it takes to make her realize she needs to put an end to this obsession of hers and MOVE ON. So sick of what this storyline has done to Anna, the Duke worship, the inability to see him fo who he really was and what she calls “justice for Duke” is destroying her with each passing scene. Sorry Mr. B but Duke is proving to be Anna’s downfall and is better off left dead.
I am over the moon that Duke is coming back even if only as a ghost. I do hope that he can return and stay at some point in the future. He is one of the vets of GH and helped make it a hit for many years. The actor playing his son has enough of Duke’s looks and traits to fulfill the son role very well and I would like to see Duke, Anna and Dr. Griffin try to become the family the writers have hinted at. BRING IT ON.!!!!!
I love that Ian is returning. Anna and Duke are my favorite couple on GH. Look forward to Duke being alive and getting to know his son. Excited to hear about his story. I don’t believe he is just an apparition.
All this nonstop Duke, Duke, Duke and him being a saint everyday has not only made me hate Duke/Anna the couple but now I’m bored with Anna. I’m so over the whole thing, the writers has went overboard with it. I’m tired of hearing about him, tired of Anna weeping and acting like a crazy lady, I’m over Anna and Duke..Bring on another super couple pair, Robert and Holly would be nice and a change of pace.
I am so glad they chose to bring Duke back – even as a ghost.
I can’t wait to see the episodes.
Hey, while they’re at it, why not bring back Tristan Rogers and Robert Scorpio (sans Luke, by the way). HOW painful to say that–and then remember that once-great team. Oh, my!
Can always watch on youtube as someone said above.
They should bring back Genie Francis!
Touche!
where have u been Genie has been back for a while now
Love Ian: please bring him back permantly!
Bring him back permanently! Love him and Anna doing the tango!
It’s about time! Anna has needed Duke’s presence/solace this past year, and I’ve needed to see Ian Buchanan.
So happy to see Ian back if only as an apparition. Would love to see him back full time, but after all of Anna’s emotional scenes, and his already near miss in the clinic (Faison/Dr. O) even I don’t want to see him appear alive on a soap “suspend reality.” Or who knows, maybe I could handle it!
I’m guessing that Duke is back to enlist Anna’s help after lost all his afterlife savings in a Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Raymond Berlin, father of Rachel Berlin…
it used to be that “ghosts’, ‘back from the dead”, identical evil doers, split personality, transplants, and sexual idenities were unusual and perked up a show . Now it is so common not even just on soaps but on the same show with the same characters —-it packs no punch anymore and just seems more and more like nonsense.
FH is a great actress and probably can pull it off, but just think a little more innovation would be nice. I rather see anna look at Griffin have him temporarily morph into Duke and do whatever to move her on.
I have to say that Matt Cohen (Griffin) is an extremely talented young actor with a great future. His scenes with Finola Hughes are exceptional. What a terrific addition to the GH staff and the storyline. As for Ian Buchanan’s death, I think it was outrageously a mistake. There have been far too many wonderful characters with great future story potential killed off for stupid reasons, not only on GH, but other shows as well. Don’t have time enough to list them all.
He needs to be brought back as more than just an apparition. I want to see Duke back permanently! Finola Hughes and Ian Buchanan are magic together, even with an awful writing regime. With Griffin in the mix now the possibilities are endless for story potential.
Me too Lisa .he’s a wonderful actor
Yes, great news, but I truly was hoping they could some way bring Ian back alive again.
YEAH!!!! I would love for him to return for real… but I will take anything we can get.
Yes seeing Ian again will be so great. I think it’s a great idea and hope that he has
one more dance with Anna.
I LOVE DUKE & ANNA & ALWAYS LOVE SEEING THEM TOGETHER!! JUST WISH DUKE WAS BACK FOR GOOD!!1
We can only hope that TPTB are reading all these comments. Duke and Anna are FAR from over. There is so much more story potential for them…on and on.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!
In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?
Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!

Courtesy/ABC
FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS
The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!
Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?
Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).
On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..
In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”
GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW
So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!
FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD
As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”
Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.
So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.
The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.
Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”

Photo: CDuellIG
SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL
Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.
The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.
In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have, but what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened. On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”
So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.
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