General Hospital
James Franco To Be Roasted By Comedy Central! General Hospital-Inspired Francophrenia To Air Immediately Following On Their Digital Platforms!

Courtesy/ABC
Score another new adventure for James Franco! The multi-tasking, multi-talented performer is now being roasted by Comedy Central! Franco will be on the hot seat on an episode that airs on Labor Day for the comedy network’s annual roast.
According to the L.A. Times, “The special, which will tape in Los Angeles in August, will feature stars, comedians and others taking humorous, sharp-edged aim at Franco. “If only James Franco was a more successful, multi-hyphenated incessant creative risk-taker in different media, he’d be the perfect person to roast,” said Kent Alterman, president of content development and original programming for Comedy Central. “Oh well … I suppose we’ll just have to make do.” Said Franco: “I’ve dreamed about this Roast for as long as I can remember.”
However, there is a big perk for General Hospital and soap fans who never got the opportunity to see James Franco’s 90-minute documentary film “Francophrenia”. Now you can get a front row seat to James’ GH experience, immediately following the broadcast of the roast on Comedy Central, when the network makes “Francophrenia” available for viewing on their digital and VOD platforms!
So if someone from GH should roast James, who should that be? Will you be checking out “Francophrenia”? Do you miss James Franco’s portrayal of “Franco” now that he has been recast by Roger Howarth? Share your thoughts below!
Roger Hawthorn is a GREAT actor and love his acting but I still think he would have been better as an Alcazar on GH James Franco made that role and I just don’t believe ANYONE should have taken it over 🙂 Just my opion 🙂
AGREE !
Good opinion! I agree, both are great actors but they shouldn’t imitate the other even if it is flattering!
I spelled Roger’s last name wrong sorry should have been Hawthorne Was thinking of someone else when I was talking about him lol
I agree Roger Hawthorn will always be Todd, and making him blond is soooo stupid.
It’s Roger Howarth. And I agree.
I liked James Franco much better on GH than Roger. Nothing against Roger but it is like night and day. James Franco made him much more darker and freakier
duh .. this Franco is not suppose to be as the old Franco, this is RC’s and RH’s Franco, do not compare them they are not the same and not suppose to be the same as the Franco that was Franco’s.. 🙂
The ‘Q’ Franco does not act like nor do anything the short lived Franco did ..
RH is knocking his Franco out of the park, and much more to come, nobody knows how this Franco will grow and what he will do in the future, nobody knows.. 🙂
i think either Anthony geary or rodger howarth would be candidates to roast james….
LOL I am looking forward to watching it!!!
also; I love RC’s view/creation of Franco played by RH !!!!
The new Franco does not do anything the original did ..
While James Franco put on a great performance as Franco, I hated the character. Not in the sense of “love to hate”…. just simply hate. Wish he never existed, ruined everything kind of hate. He was too dark and too creepy and icky. Roger knows how to make an icky character someone that you want to sorta root for. As in, “Come on dude, you should know better…”
As for who should roast from GH… definitely Steve Burton or Kelly Monaco… maybe even Laura Wright or Chad Duell….
I completely agree with you that I did not like the original Franco character. I love James Franco and think he did an awesome job with what was written but I thought the character was too dark and disturbing, which really is a tribute to James Franco, that he was able to bring that to the screen. The new version of “Franco” played by Roger Howarth is…interesting. I love Roger and think again that he is doing a great job with what he is being given but I am basically looking at them as two different characters, that’s the only way that I can do it without being frustrated.
I enjoy James as Franco, Roger is a great actor, but I miss him as Todd Manning. First person who comes to mind to roast him is whoever plays Carly.
“Todd” is doing a great job as Franco, but I think James Franco originated this role and it would have been even better if he was able to ply Franco!!~ Don’t get me wrong..Roger Howarh is great in any role he plays, but James is “Franco”!!!!
I look forward to seeing this on Comedy Central!! I really, really miss James as Robert Frank on GH… he was such an intriguing mix of dark and creepy and scary and beautiful.. beautiful on the outside, evil on the inside. I thought he died wayyy to easy when Jason shot him.. so I was really hoping he would come back for at least one more really well written round…… when RH took over the role, I had mixed feelings, cause I wanted James back, but I thought maybe they will do something interesting with this character… but THIS isn’t even remotely Franco at all, so I am EXTREMELY disappointed. This isn’t Franco, this is Todd.. and to make it even worste, they are completely re-writing everything and trying to redeem him. I don’t want them to try to redeem Franco.. if RH is going to play Franco, he needs to play FRANCO and RC needs to WRITE Franco.
Want to add I would love for Steve Burton or Kelly Monaco to roast him 🙂
Britt doesnt know him but she was good at roasting a doll…lol
As I have said before, Anyone playing Franco cannot and should not try to be him. Franco is one of a kind. And I do mean James. Roger Howarth is still Todd Manning no matter which way you cut it! Blonde hair and and all does not do it for me! Roger, go back to Lanview where you created an outstanding Todd Manning……
he will probably want his bff steve The liar Burton and JFP.
I think it should be Steve Burton! And I am looking forward to seeing Francophilia!
I am really having trouble with Franco’s return on GH. I love Roger Howarth, but really having trouble accepting him as Franco. Oh well…. I support General Hospital fully and have for the last half century and so as far as the recast of Franco….it’s too late to worry about it now.
Yes, I miss James Franco as Franco, however, Roger Howarth is also doing an amazing job as Franco! They are totally different people and have played this character differently but, I enjoy both! I am hoping to see some of the General Hospital Cast on the Roast.
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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