General Hospital
Jean Passanante Rejoins The Writing Team Of General Hospital!

Photo Credit: Getty Images
Veteran daytime drama scribe Jean Passanante, who recently revealed her departure from the writing team at The Young and the Restless, is heading back to her former digs on the writing team at ABC’s General Hospital!
Passanante confirmed the news via Twitter last evening tweeting: “Heading back to Port Charles! I hear there’s one nutty hospital there. @carlivatiron”
The last time Jean was writing for the characters of GH was back in November of 2013, prior to her taking the co-head writing position at The Young and the Restless.
As soap fans know, Jean has written for a myriad of other soap operas including: Another World, All My Children, As the World Turns, and One Life to Live. The move reunites her with her longtime colleague, GH head writer Ron Carlivati.
So, happy to hear the news that Jean is coming back to work at General Hospital? Comment below!
so glad that she will be back writing for general hospital.
Bring Steve back with you! Talk about ratings!!!! Thru the roof!!!!
Yuck! Steve is a horrible one note actor…Y&R can keep him!
It’s great news. I hope she can focus on families and bring some love and romance to GH! NO mob.
I agree–sick of the mob storylines, especially Sonny, Carly, and Franco. But that’s what fast-forward on my DVR is for.
I luv the mob stuff as do many fans..
GH IS mob stuff mixed with a variety of stories,,
GH is not just mob lol there much variety on GH..
The mobsters will never leave Port Charles, they rock !!
long live the mob !!!!
And GH does focus on families..
they just happen to be mob families lol Michael and Sonny have been great,,
Always there is something going on in the families..
All is well and as it should be with GH … 🙂
(GH is not as the other 3 soap nor is it supposed to be as them)
Yes seems like good news. It is interesting when you look at other recent developments. The show has had problems for a while and it is obvious that the network is stepping in to try and right the ship.
The ratings have not been good and the first week of sweeps, with the Nurses Ball and heavy promotion did not move the needle. The network ordered the live shows to try and get some buzz and they are bringing back Genie Francis. Now,
after the Fluke disaster and the Jake story just dragging, a new writer is coming on board, one that has Head Writer experience.
This is a good sign if for nothing else, it shows that the network is taking steps to try and improve the show. It’s nice to see a commitment and hopefully the show will get on the right track.
The Fluke “disaster”? I know some very vocal fans didn’t like it, but as far as I know they’re the only ones. Geary got at least one Emmy out of it, among other things. I have yet to hear any reports of network or cast, crew, or show dissatisfaction with that story.
Erick, aside from the vocal fans, who do you hear from? The silent one’s? The Fluke story was riddled with holes and inconsistencies that were talked about, all over the place, by many fans on many different sites and forums as well soap writers; many of them as well. The story dragged for way too long, regardless of TG’s absence and was then completely changed in a way that sealed the deal on the inconsistencies and holes.
TG getting an Emmy for a ten minute reel of performances is no indication of the story and its success.
As for hearing reports of the network’s dissatisfaction, where would you expect that to appear and is that how you think they would handle it? Broadcasting it so that you could hear about it?
Follow the events. Ratings are at best stagnant, not doing well, demos are down and hitting lows. The network ordered the Live Shows. RC said that they were the idea of the network and ordered. So right there we have an instance of the Network stepping in, inserting their control and demanding an event designed to boost ratings, something they care about. Something they’re not getting.
Then Genie Francis is coming back. She has been gone for two years and Frank’s statement was very telling. He said the door was always open if the story and timing were right. He made a point to show that he was in charge and that her absence was based on the show’s direction and story. So why now when we saw that FV had no use for her previously? Why give a qualifying statement about her return? You wouldn’t. He didn’t because It’s obviously not his choice. It’s about ratings and that’s the network. We also got reports that Genie demanded a contract and a story. It is clear this was done at the network level, especially given these other steps, including a new writer being added.
The network has an investment here. They’ve given Cartini three years. They’ve had some ups, but many downs and that’s what they are experiencing now. They get only so long on their own before the network comes in to try and protect their investment. That is obviously what is happening.
Yes. The Fluke disaster. Covered with a Emmy- a Daytime one.
Erick, cast and crew are not going to complain about a story because they value their jobs. You ever see that episode of Friends in which Joey, who played Dr Drake Amore on Days of Our Lives complains about the writers? Joey’s character ends up stepping into an empty elevator shaft and ends up dying. Funny and fictional? Yes, but it’s predicated upon a reality–if you value your job you don’t bitch about the writing. Tony Geary strongly hinted that the writing was ridiculous but he vowed to play the hell out o fit anyway. The Fluke debacle was made up it went along and it showed.
Where in the world do you get any of this information?? Ratings have not been going down, and the network didn’t order the live shows. The rating have fluctuated but over all the numbers are up – overall. The Fluke story was anything BUT a disaster. GH hasn’t had this much buzz about in decades. Period.
The Fluke disaster is almost an understatement. It was like a train wreck in slow motion. Now that Geary’s emotional self-love storyline is done, maybe Show can actually tell a story instead of a year-long testimonial to a hasbeen who was never much to begin with.
Dotty,,
I agree with your words…
Some people are just grumpy when stories are not the way they want them to be- written just for them .. lol
I thought the Luke story was awe grand/awesome.. I really like the journey..
The Luke story did not start until after the Fluke ride ended and that is when Luke went on his journey to face his demons, not before..
First there was Fluke story stuff.. after was the Luke story, and it was great ..
Dotty, I get my information from various sources, much of it, from Michael Fairman.
I saw in a couple of places that it was at the network level that the live shows were conceived and ordered. Here is a clip from Michael Fairman’s interview with RC, where RC says that the Live shows were the brain child of Paul Lee. Paul Lee is the President of ABC Entertainment Group, he runs the network.
https://e98.637.mwp.accessdomain.com/general-hospital/ron-carlivati-interview-general-hospital-42nd-annual-daytime-emmys-red-carpet/2015/04/30/
As for the ratings. The ratings are not great. They are up in total viewers from other times and down from other’s, yes they fluctuate. But the overall numbers are not great. The fact that Paul Lee, the guy who runs the entire entertainment group, the network and the studio, is involved should tell us something. For him to get involved in the GH process and to try and devise a way to boost ratings and generate interest for a soap opera, given all his responsibilities, is telling.
But the ratings are actually down, the one’s that count, the demos. Here is another link to Michael Fairman’s story on the current ratings. He points out that although there was a small gain from the previous week, GH “unfortunately hit their all-time low in the demo rating share for the third week in a row.” And the fact is that GH is down over 100,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo, close to 20%, from this time last year.
So yes, The Live Shows were the network’s call and the ratings, the demo ratings, are down and hitting an all-time low.
AJQ..
GH ratings are not down they holding in the line of steady..
And-
GH has via RC and FV have brought in approximately a million, a million viewers, and that is greatly upping cancellation ratings it once had..
No other soap has brought in millionish new viewers during the past 2 years..
(ratings are up and down.. GH is doing well..:)
Su0000-
FV & RC have not brought in a million viewers. If GH is averaging approximately 2.8 million viewers, that would mean that it was averaging only 1.8 million viewers prior to Cartini and that is absolutely false.
But this is about demo ratings and GH is down in 18-49 from the numbers prior to Cartini. That is a fact, as reported by Michael Fairman, GH is at an all time low in the 18-49 demo. Here is the link, so you can now tell Michael Fairman that he is wrong. https://e98.637.mwp.accessdomain.com/news/ratings-all-soaps-gain-in-total-viewers-except-days-down-but-expectations-are-high-nbc-soap-will-rebound-for-50th/2015/05/15/
ALQ, HI..
My comment was about GH’s numbers rising ..
2012– Jan. (avarage)
One Life to Live 2.1 (Final ABC Season; ended January 13, 2012)
Days of our Lives and General Hospital 2.0 (tied)
GH since RC and FV took over GH has gained a millionish/there abouts, new viewers..
Su0000-
Your numbers are wrong, you are confusing the rating with the raw number. 2.0 would be a rating, it doesn’t mean 2 million viewers.
The average in total viewers for Jan 2012, was 2,340,000 not 2,000,000.
And again, it is about the 18-49 demo, the demo that a majority of advertisers care about, the audience number they use to determine the price they will pay for commercials, the number that Paul Lee cares about and why the network has now gotten involved.
GH has lost over 100,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo in the last year, that is almost 20% of the audience. The number is even down from the time period that you have used as an example, Jan 2012, the last month before FV and RC took over. The Jan 2012 18-49 avg was 584,000. It is currently 530,000.
They had increased, now they are back to all time lows.
Those are the facts. The 18-49 demo is down significantly in the last year, it is at an all time low for three weeks and GH does not currently have a million more total viewers since Jan 2012, not even close.
AJ, your posts are always long and filled with information that backs up MOST of your statements BUT to say the Fluke story was a disaster dismisses some of our credibility. If you study EVERYTHING that was written and televised you can find loopholes BUT if your a fan who watches GH for entertainment purposes and not so much with a critical eye, you would see that the story wasnt so bad and its not done. Your writing a review before it ends. Tony will be around the rest of the summer and he vowed to clean up some of the holes. He did say that he is less interested in the twilight of his career in the direction of his story and letting the writers write and he acts. Genie needed to be back a year ago but she will be here now. As far as these rating stunts, GH FANS will watch regardless. A “Live” show is really what we see everyday anyway since there are no time for rehearsals or two and three takes. Lastly, the ratings may not have reached the peak they expected so far for sweeps but GH is healthy. Genie may bring back a couple old fans back to the show or a couple new ones but she is not a ratings blockbuster. If you want to see a soap struggling and looking for any angle to keep its head above water, tune into NBC, Days is flat lining. I wish them luck. GH doesnt need it. They are healthy.
You all need to get a room.
People bitch about the mob issues on GH. I got news for you, its been around for 33 years and its not going away. It creates drama. They try and focus on the hospital but people come and go in a hospital and they end up there one way or another. What do you want to happen, someone cut their finger at a bakery and come to the hospital looking for stitches?
Me, too!
I am glad to have her back on GH…
Clearly some fans know about her writing but I’m not familiar, all I know about is that RC is the head writer and FV runs the show, pass that when things are great I praise RC/FV and when it’s bad same thing, so beyond that how would I know what she’s responsible for writing if she’s part of a writing team? But welcome back I guess..
Her work is a plus to the show! Very good news!
I am not overly familiar with the writing of Jean Passanante..
I do know; while she was with Y&R the terrible writing of the- music box story among other snores) well I hope she doesn’t bring that stuff to GH..
I hope she is good and doesn’t mess up my GH .. lol
Her resume looks good.. And the comments here look good in her favor..
She wrote for GH before she came to YR.
People started leaving because of the Gay scenes. Many have said they’re good byes on blogs. I look forward to more story lines. Bring A new rich guy.
I am happy they are featuring gay story lines on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.. I enjoyed the ones on All My Children, As the World Turns, and One Life to LIve. It broke new ground and gave a chance for people to understand love between people of same sexes. I wish on Days, they would let Sonny and Will enjoy their marriage alittle before bringing in another gay male to upset the apple cart. I am sad to see Freddie Smith leave, i hope they recast his character. Luke, Noah, Reid, Oliver and Fish were all great on their respective s oaps. I think it is great the daytime dramas are willing to feature new groundbreaking stories involving gay couples.
WORD!
Jean, seems like you went from the outhouse to the penthouse! Yes Y&R is #1 but so were they Patriots and we see what happened with their “Balls!” GH’s PSI’s are legally inflated and ready for you to pick up the ball and throw a couple touchdowns! Welcome back!
Nathan West and Maxie Jones are headed to Cassadine Island. [Touchdown!]
We need more Scotty and Franco moments in their robes eating steak. [Touchdown!]
Agent Sloan is recasted. Third times a charm. [Touchdown!]
Anna brings a recasted Robin home with her. Sorry Kim. [Touchdown!]
Stefan Cassadine swoops in and steals ELQ from Nicholas! [Touchdown!]
Hayden sticks around in Port Charles. [Touchdown!]
Jason and Sam reunite. [Touchdown!]
Carly and Rick, seriously! [Touchdown!]
Luke walks off into the moonlight and hops on a ship captained by English. [Touchdown]
Recast Dylan and he will be Tracy’s right hand man to recover ELQ [Touchdown!]
Goodbye Sabrina, Carlos, Lucy and Liz! [Touchdown!]
Hurry back Ned! [Touchdown!]
Brenda and Julian? [Touchdown!]
How about they Sabrina, Lucy and Liz and they say goodbye to those Godfather rejects Olivia, Dante, Max, Milo, Diane, and Ric Lansing?
I am all about booting the Godfather rejects!
Jean Passanante is a good writer with a lot of experience behind her. She has worked with the GH landscape before so it won’t be foreign to her. I have to say I love Ron Carlivati’s writing style because in addition to good drama he adds great humor into the mix. Those characters have complexity and it’s refreshing to see. As for the comments mentioned above about leaving GH because of gay storylines, I find those who leave needing some therapy. Two or three characters being gay and being portrayed as part of the fabric of a community is real life. The idea that someone doesn’t like a gay character getting airtime shows a complete lack of humanity. It’s okay to be gay as long as you don’t talk about it or acknowledge it in any way. That line of thinking belongs in the 60’s. Not in current times. Explore more stories with those characters and place the emphasis on the fact that gay or straight we all live the same lives. I love the direction the show is taking. The actors are top notch and with the exception of one or two characters I have to say that I love the entire cast. They obviously work together well. I love GH quite a bit and look forward to what the writing team has to offer.
Beautifully said. When I was 13 years old in 1993 and started watching General Hospital if you told me in 2015 after 23 years of watching the show that there would be a gay couple on it I would have laughed in your face. In 1993 I knew I was gay at 13 years old I knew I was gay at 6 years old I knew that I thought Bo Duke was very cute it wasn’t sexual I just had a crush on him. So for me to see gay characters on General Hospital it helps me identify with a couple.
Wow some of what I’m actually reading here looks correct. Yes, key demos have been at record lows including the first two weeks of Sweeps. Yes the live shows were probably pitched by Cartini to ABC simply as a means to counter the ratings slump in the absence of any stories actually taking place.
Yes Fluke was pretty strongly disliked. I believe the network likely asked for rewrites to wrap it up after it still dragged even after TG’s successful return from surgery rehab. Yes more downs than ups especially lately.
I don’t think hiring back Jean Passanante is incidental at all. I think it’s strategic. Among all the people on twitter connected with ABC and the show that welcomed her back, there was one very glaring omission. There’s a very good reason for that.
Unfortunately, the “live” shows nor the touted Nurses’ Ball added nothing. They were lackluster, and that’s being kind. And the Fluke story did alienate many, many fans because of the total violation of Luke’s character, someone the longtime fans loved and were previously devoted to.
To be blunt, the Fluke storyline (the “climactic” 52nd anniversary show was a real shock and letdown) accounts for the low ratings. And the writing is simply bad.
The current writers care nothing for the legacy of the show and the historical accuracy of it. A real turnoff for the longest, most loyal viewers.
In short, the show is in trouble, ratings wise and the suits at ABC want to shore it up; thus they have hired JP, a writer who is sympathetic to “women’s issues,” probably to write the Laura scenes for Genie Francis–and those she will have with Luke as they attempt to salvage that character so Tony Geary can exit with some shred of dignity after his evil, angry, ego-obsessed portrayal of Fluke, a distasteful character that longtime, loyal fans wanted nothing to do with.
Again, I ask: what is gained if you win an Emmy and lose an audience?
They should keep the Nurses Ball. The whole thing is what keeps Sonny and the mobsters from overrunning the show once again.
I so agree!
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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