Connect with us

General Hospital

Is Frank Valentini about to be named new General Hospital EP and Jill Farren Phelps OUT?

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Courtesy/ABC

There is a brand new tweet out tonight from ABC Soaps In Depth via their twitter page that is saying that they heard from sources at ABC/Disney that One Life to Live’s, executive producer, Frank Valentini is the new executive producer at General Hospital and that Jill Farren Phelps had been let go!  The tweet also says the actors will find out in the AM!

We will stay on top of this developing story in the next 24 hours to see if these sources are correct, and this move has been made to re-schuffle and shake up things in Port Charles, or if this is just a plain rumor.

Valentini was scheduled to become the VP Serial Dramas for Prospect Park following the end of his run as EP on One Life to Live.  But since Prospect Park bowed out of bringing the show online, that has freed up Valentini for other opportunties.

Click to comment

0 Comments
oldest
newest

Will Ron C. be that far behind????

I only hope that if this is true, that Mr. Valentini, will take into account, GH rich history, that he will be smart enough to take into consideration what fans have been asking for, we don’t want someone coming in and thinking they have to populate the show w/ all new characters. I think oltl was a fun show w/ great history, but i don’t want GH to become a copy of oltl, cause i don’t think that would work for the show. It would also be a mistake to populate the show w/ the oltl cast, although i wouldn’t mind seeing a few of the actors on GH, thats not what we want now. we need the show fixed w/ its current cast intact. GH biggest problem right now is storyline an the pacing. Its not the cast, so please don’t mess w/ that. I think the mistake of anyone who comes in, is thinking that they have to completly overhaul the show, and one of the reasons Garin Wolf is failing is because he’s awful at pacing the show, and hardly did anything storyline wise, he’s basically still telling Bob Guza s storylines.

MAYBE THEN I’D WATCH AGAIN IF BOTH FRANK N RON WERE THERE.

If Frank is EP can he do whatever he wants? Can he integrate OLTL characters and storylines into GH? What about just dumping GH and replacing it with OLTL? OLTL beats GH in every category of the ratings, except for tying in the women 18-49 rating:
https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/ratings/ratings-good-week-for-daysoltlgh

Oh wait, most of the New York actors from OLTL don’t want to go to LA. If Frank stays in New York, moves GH there, and transforms it into OLTL, the world would be better off (in my dreams).

yes thats right in your very bad dream, dream on about oltl being better then GH.

Well, if that is the case, my guess is that Disney is doing everything it can to keep Valentini on the pa

(oops, let me finish it now)
Well, if that is the case, my guess is that Disney is doing everything it can to keep Valentini on the payroll and quiet about the OLTL/Prospect Park debacle. I am sure FV would/could have a LOT to say…

Don’t do it frank. I think its an evil plan by abc to say that even the talents of valentini couldn’t save gh and abc will feel justified in their decisions to cancel amc, my beloved oltl, and gh. I feel gh fate has already been decided by abc. They haven’t publicly announced the cancellation yet because oltl is still on until jan. But its coming. If fv did go to gh, I do not want to see any oltl characters on that show. Oltl deserves there own time to live in llanview not port charles.

they should get some OLTL actors while they are at it a lot of people are complaining about the newbies they are bringing on, with some established talent new characters will be easier to accept for some.

Why are they even Bothering As Gh Is being cancelled will be off the air by next yr.Abc/disney WILL announce it by end of JAN. Katie Couric Is Having Her Own Show In GH time slot That was Announced MONTH’S AGO.

What I don’t get is why ABC is so quick to try and snatch up Frank & Ron from OLTL when they are canceling that show. So, they’re good enough to be with GH, but not OLTL? These decisions make no sense. OLTL is kicking GH’s butt in the ratings, and obviously ABC believes that the people in charge over at OLTL know what they are doing…..so why are they canceling OLTL again?

while its true that oltl is currently kicking GH in the ratings, when you stack up both shows towgether, and compare their history, its clear that GH is more of a gem then oltl could ever dream of being. GH, afterall has 10 emmy’s as best show, its made history thanks to LUKE AND LAURA, and if thats not enough to convince you, then just go to any soap opera magazine stand and you will see that GH, gets more covers then oltl. what does that mean? clearly that GH, even w/ lover ratings still is more popular as are their stars when it comes to sellin magazines. and i’m also pretty sure, that in the history books, GH outshines OLTL. Now my biggest hope is that Mr. Valentini, and Mr. Calveriti not try to make GH into OLTL. Both shows clearly have rich history, so heres hoping that they take that into account and respect that. I don’t want to tune in to GH and see a bunch of OLTL actors, I don’t mind a few, especially if they replace the current new characters, but, GH doesn’t need a cast overhaul, now, since OLTL isn’t going online, i wouldn’t mind seeing some characters cross over. The possibilities could be endless, so heres hoping for the best.

well, we will have to agree to disagree because OLTL as a show outshines GH any day. I don’t care how many awards GH has managed to pick up….it’s not all about the awards, it’s the quality of the show….and watching hour after hour, day after day of the Jason/Sonny hour doesn’t quantify a great soap, in my opinion. And furthermore, the awards they have received are all based on a system that no one in the industry is happy with. The nomination selection is finally being addressed this year, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m sure Ron & Frank will do their best, but if I were you I wouldn’t get my hopes up, because ABC will undoubtedly cancel GH.

I hope this is true. Jill Farren Phelps ruined GH with the help of Bob Guza, and unfortunately, it hasn’t been much better with Garin Wolf. This could be the shake up that GH needs, to help return it back to what it once was, the best soap on television.

I also think this is a positive sign that ABC is at least trying to save GH. If they didn’t care, and just wanted to see it die, then they could have left the current regime in place. So I’m cautiously optimistic about this news, if it does turn out to be true.

Just like the AMC move to California was suppose to be a positive one and show the fans how much ABC was behind its soaps, I wouldn’t put too much optimism behind this announcement. This is all smoke and mirrors from ABC….we all know that Katie Couric is lined up for her new show to begin next fall, so I can already read the writing on the wall.

I agree with you Torrey. After putting our hopes in Prospect Park and being let down, it’s good for us not to get our hopes up about anything, yet still not to give up the fight either.

This has GOT to be an improvement! I’ve never been a fan of Jill Farren Phelps. Hopefully, she will restore the Quartermaines (which at first looked promising with the return of Robin Christopher, who was promptly written out again — at least we get to see Leslie Charleson more often) and tone-down the stupid, tiresome mob storylines. American soap execs need to take a look at the UK’s “Coronation Street” and “EastEnders,” whose characters are wonderfully Dickens-like and whose storylines center on real, plausible events affecting a canvas of real, working-class people.

Yes !! I am Canadian and watch Coronation Street… prehaps I will just dump all American soaps once my beloved One Life To Live ends… Coronation Street will be enough for me…

But hey… just so everyone knows how the Brits do it.. Coronation Street airs on Itv, Monday nights for 30 mins, then breaks for 30 mins, and the second half airs after that, then a 30 min episode on Thurdays, and the same schedule on Friday as on Mondays. When they have a major story arc happening, it airs every night during the week and sometimes on Sundays as well. It always airs after the 7pm time slot, and always in the evening, never during the day… Yes, I used to live in the UK.

Good for Ron and Frank finding work again, they deserve it! Hopefully this will make GH watchable until it ends. I hope they bring some OLTL actors and their characters to GH. Get rid of the useless and newbies, plus they are loosing two vets. Maybe this will keep actors from quitting now.
I won’t watch GH unless it’s really good or unless they bring OLTL characters there.

I am just so absolutely dissapointed that they couldn’t do something to save our soaps. I like some talk shows but not a staedy diet of them all day long. Why can’t we have a station that is just a soap channel? Like the Soap Newtork, air only soaps on this channel and those of us who want to watch soaps will, those who want to watch all of those stupid talk shows will, but do not try to force us into watching them by putting them on during the day on the local channels. It will not work. We will find movies to watch.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

Published

on

By

Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

Published

on

By

Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

Published

on

By

Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x