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James Franco returning to GH just as Jason & Sam are set to wed!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

Breaking news this morning out of TV Guide! It appears that James Franco is on his way back to General Hospital, yet again!  This time the Oscar nominated motion picture star will be returning to Port Charles as serial killer, “Franco” starting on the September 20th episode, which will coincide with just about the time Jason and Sam are set to finally wed!

Will “Franco” be so jealous of Sam (since he is beyond obsessed with Jason Morgan) that he will do finally do away with one of the lovebirds?

Well, according to TVG, this time Franco’s return is “longterm”! And that means soap fans can see the character on through the fall and possibly longer.   As for James himself, we all know he loves to multi-task and take on so many projects that he can’t even count on two hands.  God knows where he will find the time to do it all,  especially in lieu of the fact that in addition to appearing on GH, he will be debuting on Broadway this fall in Sweet Birth of Youth. But with the magic of soaps, he could tape a week’s worth of episodes and they could be strung out for months!

An ABC rep stated to TVG, “This is the baddie’s “most twisted plan yet” and that he’ll likely be pulling other characters into his web, including ditzy heroine Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and bitch queen Carly Jacks (Laura Wright) and her baby Josslyn.

This will be Franco’s fourth trip to Port Charles.  So what do you think of this storyline development? Are you clamoring for more Franco, or no? Let us know.

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I’m okay with Franco coming back but hoping he won’t do anything until after the wedding, Jason and Sam deserve a little time to be happy. Really not sure about “longterm”. So many of the storylines have gone on way too long and become stale and I can’t wait for them to end but maybe with Mr. Wolf now writing it will be different.

I hope Mr. Wolf will write that jason witness sam’s death. Just like Sonny did with Lilly. that will make jason change his life around the lost of his only son and his wife..

I am not looking forward to Franco, I think GH has enough “baddies” with Anthony Z, I was hoping with new writers GH would get back to “love in the afternoon” rather than focusing on the violence that seems to be the show’s focus point for last 10 years

i’m hoping he tries to go after jason’s othr love, Liz, how can franco not know about Liz? so i’m hoping its spread out more, instead of the usual people, so tire of every single plot revolving around Carly. A real good villian would stuff her in a basement somewhere not to be heard for , for months. now thats a real story there, lol

would of been a better plot if franco would reveal that claudia was alive, i miss sarah brown, she made claudia a complex villian who wasn’t appreciated till she was gone. but it wont happen since ms brown is heading to days. which sucks. she belongs at gh .

F’n Franco… Just keeps getting in the way of my Valentin Cassadine character ever showing up…

So.OVER.Franco.

Are they trying to get cancelled?

i hope he kills Jason and Sam. I think they are the worst 2 characters on the show.

Welcome back, James Franco, I love it when you hit Port Charles. You always shake things up a lot and make General Hospital very exciting for the short time you are on the show. Can’t wait to see you – and those evil eyes of yours – always letting us know that you are getting ready to do something really evil!!! See you soon, my friend!!!!!

Please don’t bring him back! He is such a terrible actor. Did you not see his Oscars hosting???????

The last time he did anything good was on Freaks and Geeks and that was only good because of Linda Cardelini.

Please let this bastard die. Please, oh please. Let-Him-Die.

Or at the very least, let Anthony Zacchara kill him!!!

Bad decision GH, you already have enough bad actors on the show.

I’m ok with it seeing that Garin Wolf is in and Guza is out. I expect much better SL and material this go round. I don’t find a problem with Franco. James is a great actor. Love everything he’s been in. Past GH? Not so much. I am expecting good stuff from GW and the whole cast!

James Franco can do no harm, however bad. Just because he plays a baddie does not deter me from watchimg him spin his webs so brillliantly. He is fascinating to watch. So bring him on. I’ve been waiting to find out how his story plays out in the end.. Go Franco!…

Kill samatha Mcall off she’s boring.

dont like sam

I don’t like sam. Carly needs to make up with liz to plot something on sam…..THEY NEED TO KILL SAM THE DAY OF HER WEDDING JUST LIKE SONNY AND LIILY

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

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.

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General Hospital

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

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

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.”

Jack Sabato

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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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos

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Ayla Bullington

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.’” 

Josslyn

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

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