General Hospital
Jeff Kober To Play General Hospital’s Latest Villain, Cyrus Renault
A very fine actor who is known for his many roles on primetime has been swooped up by General Hospital. Enter Jeff Kober who is about to play Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) newest nemesis, and who knows who else in Port Charles, when Cyrus Renault hits the canvas of the ABC daytime drama series.
If Kober look familiar to you his TV credits include: Falcon Crest, China Beach, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, and many more.
According to ABC Soaps In Depth: Cyrus is a Pentonville prison inmate who is challenging the territory and authority of mob boss, Sonny Corinthos. In recent episodes, there gunfire upon Sonny, Carly and Michael, and more that made Sonny realize he was under attack. Later, after Jason interrogated one of the gunman (after he found himself embroiled in yet another shoot-out with said gunman) as the guy was dying, he revealed to Jason that he was working for “Cyrus”.
What does Cyrus have planned for Sonny? Why does he have an axe to grind? Who else could he be connected to? Stay tuned.
So, excited to see Jeff Kober stir up the drama for the residents of Port Charles as Cyrus? Comment below.
IDK if I’m “excited” for another new character. We’ll have to wait and see. Due to the preemption of the show for so many days and not being able to catch it until today, I am well behind on some of the finer points of what’s happened. That being said, I was hoping the rival trying to push Sonny out was tied to Brando and Gladys. We’ll see.
i would had him played Liz’s father Jeff Webber and still play him dark as Sonny’s nemesis….Jeff could have gone bad-why not…this would tie him to Liz, Monica and Hayden and be part of the show’s long history@@
Just when I was enjoying GH again, now we return to Sonny, Jason, and mob wars. So boring. NuNick and Ava are great together, Nelle at the Quartermaines has great potential….she is the queen of snark! Why are the writers returning their focus on the mob?
Turn the channel brother, GH will always have a mob story to some degree. Sonny and Jason are main characters connected to everyone!
Davy, you are spot on! The powers that be at GH will never understand or realize the harm they have done by their incessant focus on Sonny, Jason, and the Mob. It’s not only boring, it’s dark and it misguidedly glorifies that element. This brother turned the channel many years ago because of all that. I am not alone…
Oh, Jamesj75, how sad is this? ANOTHER MASSIVE story arc for Sonny & Co., featuring self-righteous Carly and Miss Mumbles Sam. Plus, that mob beating scene on Feb. 5 was WAY too violent for Daytime. Very distasteful. So, let’s take inventory of which tales the Corinthos clan have their hooks in: the Lucas/Brad/Wiley endless debacle; the Shiloh fallout due to Nelle’s involvement; the Nina/Valentin story has links to Sasha, hence Michael; Anna and Peter link to JaSam hence Sonny; Elizabeth & Franco… heck now even Elizabeth takes Cameron to SONNY for counsel!! And of course, Ava & Nikolas will become Carly’s new cause for indignation! Why doesn’t she do something useful like check in on Donna or get rid of that hideous mossy eyesore in the kitchen!
Hey Soaphound! Thanks for your reply! And thanks for delineating recent storyline developments regarding the annointed one and his ilk. Never has one show (daytime, nighttime) exerted so much effort (over decades) in propping up such an irredeemable, despicable, abusive character.
I think ABC has a real dilemma, though I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for it, because it’s of their own making. I’m in the camp that thinks the mob long ago overstayed its welcome–but there’s another sizable group that loves Sonny, Carly, Jason, and that whole part of the show. That group is still responsible for a significant chunk of ratings–and the ABC brass apparently pee in their pants at the thought of losing them. I think there was a period four or five years ago when the show was taking tentative steps to move away from the mob focus, but then the ratings must have dipped and they got cold feet. If ABC execs were smart, they’d find a way to integrate Sonny et al. into the rest of the canvas and get them out of the mob–because it wrecks the show, and it’s not sustainable.
But they’re not smart.
Thank you for your reply and analysis, Michael. I think you’re onto something. Admittedly, I’m just resentful of all the actors/characters/storylines that were given short shrift (or eliminated completely) because of the constant focus on Sonny and the Mob. To me, General Hospital sold out long ago, and they continue on that track out of stubbornness, laziness, and thoughtlessness…
For me, it’s worse than that, James. The whole mob-is-good-not-bad motif that they’ve had to employ to make the show workable with Sonny et al. has tainted the entire show’s moral and ethical fabric: Port Charles is a warped place that bears no relationship to any place I’d like to live or work or socialize. Soaps have traditionally depicted places like Oakdale and Springfield where you’d like to live, because there were people worth knowing, but you couldn’t pay me enough to live in Port Charles. So you end up with characters like Ava and Julian, who have to be 30 times worse than Sonny and his gang in order to make Sonny and his gang look not-so-bad-after-all by comparison. It’s a dark, sick show in a lot of ways, and there’s no way to fix it as long as one of the key characters is a mobster. They’ve had to alter the construction of the rest of the show to make it work, and they rode that pretty successfully for a number of years, but they’ve reached the end of the road and won’t acknowledge it, largely because of the stubbornness, laziness, and thoughtlessness you mention (though I’ll also add visionlessness to the list, and cluelessness).
Hey Michael! Despite our agreement on the lengthy sad state of affairs at GH, I am pleased to read your insightful analysis. You make some great points to wit:
“Port Charles is a warped place that bears no relationship to any place I’d like to live or work or socialize.”
I wish that the powers that be could read, and learn from, your commentary.
Once Sonny became front and center, I knew I didn’t like the direction the show took: that is, to the dark side. And they have continued to glorify this abusive murderer. I personally just got tired of all the yelling, let alone the bullets flying… Any moral compass the show achieved with the likes of Jessie Brewer, Steve Hardy, Audrey Hardy, Diana Taylor, and Peter Taylor (probably before your time, Michael) or, as you mention, the moral compass in places, such as “Oakdale and Springfield,” has been completely thrown out the window, akin to hazardous waste bin of a hospital. Whenever the end comes for this once great show, it will be a bittersweet time for me, remembering the wonderful years I spent as a viewer combined with the sad, dark, vapid cesspool it would later become and within which it would willfully, wantonly wallow…
Michael…I was just updating on the Cyrus actor and started re-reading the comments. Couldn’t agree with you more. However it’s getting harder to know where your “any place to live” is anymore. But the violence (not for grandkid viewing for sure) just keeps spreading on GH…Nelle slitting Brocklyn’s throat, Brando getting beat up in his shop, the Taggert shoot out. All when we are going through probably the worse pandemic in real time. We need something more uplifting and fun, not writers who compete with awful crime headlines for stories.
Davy…I am so with you on this. There’s enough gun shooting as if it’s normal going on in real life (thanks NRA and “responsible gun owners and enthusiast and chicken politicians), now we have to see Jason and others doing the same and Sonny wanting payback. Wonder if some viewers who worry about other sensitive content that they won’t let their kids/grandchildren watch also turn off the tv with the mob wars on GH.
Two things this show doesn’t need – a return to mob violence and anymore focus on the Peter character.
The shootouts can’t be filmed properly with set size limitations and budgets. The “badder” guys are at point blank range and could reach out and touch Jason yet miss him with every bullet. Not that long ago, they would rent a real warehouse for these scenes.
It’s just rinse, lather and repeat with Sonny, Carly and Jason. I am intrigued by Gladys and Brando.
On the subject of Peter, what did Finola Hughes do to be saddled with this storyline? Always one of THE strongest woman characters in daytime, she is being dragged down by a character that doesn’t work -no matter what they throw at him. At this point, I look at Peter as “the male Courtney”, another character that long overstayed her purpose.
Now it’s Violet’s job to promote and prop-up Putrid Peter the Parking Lot Poet. All that scene did was glorify how terrible Ramsey’s acting is, compared to a child actor. He is horrific. #shameless
LOL, DMRR. The guy is an instant downer. Even my 86-year-old mother, upon seeing Peter, decries, “Oh, hell no!” And now he clearly wants to eliminate Jason, and probably Spinelli too. Haven’t we suffered enough?
You would think we have suffered enough!
& it’s now Emma’s job to prop-up “The Poet?” I am disgusted with this show. He’s a Juilliard Flunkie!
Oh Steve, every time they’re on, I say, “Poor Anna and poor us”. Peter is like a biblical millstone, dragging down everyone in sight. Where is wonderful Drew? I HATE that he is gloating over even Drew’s hopefully temporary absence. WR isn’t even a shadow of Billy Miller. And now ANOTHER creepy enemy for Sonny? Hand me the remote!
YUP! & have you seen that the shameless boyfriend is now doing events by himself? WHO would pay to see him? The blatant nepotism is astonishing. He can’t act!
Finola is way too smart to abide this dumbing down of her once-savvy character.
Poor Finola & Kirsten, their characters and storylines are now fast-forward material with this dead weight “actor.”
Best thing about the last week of GH??
NO FRODD!!
Keep up the good work, writers!
NElle should be banished forever–has stayed too long and just become tiresome. I’ve said many times that is one of GH’s flaws; they don’t know when to let go of a character, most especially after they taken them as far as they can go down the “bad” road. 🙂
nancy dillingham,
Hopefully we’ll see the end of Nelle soon, if what I just read is true. Another “who dunnit” for us.Gosh, I’d do it myself, for free even!
I know what you mean, Violet! 🙂 And I read the same thing. A lot of possibilities re who might “do” it to Nelle. But guess poor Michael will be the likely suspect, don’t you?
Well, if you don’t like the focus on the mob watch something else. Sonny and Jason are forever.
anne
This is something I could never understand. With GH having such a big fan base, how is it so many people hate the Corinthos family and Jason, when they are foremost and have such integral SL’s on the show. In fact a lot of key players are disliked. These people are not just here today and gone tomorrow. So my question is, what is it that hold the viewers? I wish someone would honestly answer this for me. What keeps you watching a show, when you hate so many of the characters?
This is a great question, Violet, and one I’ve been trying to resolve also. When Drew/Billy Miller left, I vowed to give up the show. Then, inevitably, I retracted because I liked the Shiloh story (well, I liked sexy Coby McLaughlin). Recently, I got fed up again when Dev came on because I realized another major Sonny story was afoot, not to mention the repulsive Peter character hogging so much airtime. But… then they dangled the return of Nikolas and Nelle, which have held my interest. I guess this means that, for me, there’s USUALLY enough good to offset the bad/repetitive. I just wish (and Y&R is guilty here too) that more “secondary” characters were featured more. It’s called balance and we desperately need it now.
I guess the viewers are eternally hopeful that the most capable large cast will FINALLY get a chance at a story that is uplifting or interesting or intriguing, or SOMETHING they can sink their teeth into.
he’s totally Gladys’ ex husband.
Hope this new “super villain” doesn’t turn out to be another cartoonish trainwreck like Teddy Balkan.
Or a cartoonish train wreck like Trevor Lansing father of Rick Lansing. The writers had a really good actor in Stephen Macht and they blew it big time
Trevor Lansing was alright when he started out, but he did get fairly pathetic towards the end, with the bioweapon stored in the ping pong balls or whatever that was. Ironically he ended up as a recurring character on Suits, playing opposite his real life son Gabriel Macht… but NOT as Harvey’s father.
Another interesting trivial note about Stephen…. he was actually Gene Roddenberry’s first choice to play Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek TNG. Can’t imagine anybody other than Patrick Stewart in that role, but who knows??
Oh, Great!!!!! It’s all about Sonny’s swelled head again—-the war of the roaches.
And, about the holier-than-thou women who stay with them….no matter the danger. O-K.
Then there’s Peter—-a cross between Brute and Van Gogh.
One redemption for me is Nina. I did not give her the credit she deserved at first. I suppose I resented her replacing Stafford. Shame on me. I love her in the role. She has given Nina a whole new life—-a new persona. Kudos!! I hope her relationship with Jax ‘expands’ —romantically. Love the ease of camaraderie and witty repartee.
Me too, Celia. It took a few weeks, but Ms. Watros has really made Nina her own. And when she is at her best, like on GUIDING LIGHT, watch out! She’s as good as they come. Nina and Ava would be great BFFs.
I like Cynthia too, she’s really grown into the character, made it her own.
liked her on Guiding Light and she works well with Jax…sorry but i never really warmed up to Stafford!!! but why is Nina hiding the truth-that Sasha is her daughter after all…and later will learn Sasha has a fraternal twin-Willow???
Ahh, Jimmy—if they would only listen to us!! But, this too shall fizzle. LOL.
UGh…this is why I stopped watching GH years ago…all the mafia stuff. ENOUGH! THe writers are getting SO lazy! I mean, they can drag a story out for months into years. IE: Wiley. They finally ended the ridiculous Nelle story/character who’s SOLE motivation for her EVERY ONE OF HER actions is she gave up a kidney without her consent. Seriously? Now they bring her back? It’s all getting far fetched again. As much as I hated Shiloh and that stupid story, at least it had a ring of reality to it. It also reminded me of Mitch and the mission/OLTL. But, enough is enough. Stop mafia stories, stop sociopath brat storylines, end the Wiley story and lets FINNALY reveal that Blue eyed teacher is Nina’s daughter..AGAIN, rehash the Alexis/Sam storyline. HERE’S a novel idea…ABC, start bringing on some other canceled show characters. Bring Dorian Lord in to take over ELQ and put her up against Jane Elliot. Erica Kane to take over Crimson. Bring back the one who was the surrogate for Charlotte and have it revealed she was another alter of Jessica Buchanan/Tess.
And PLEASE make Michael Knight Tad who’s just been scamming everyone as a southern lawyer. THIS is what the audience loves…the GOOD OLD DAYS! Mafia be gone…it’s done!
So you want to take off core characters who have been part of General Hospital for 27 years and literally replace them with OLTL & AMC castoffs??
Nope. That’s what Valentini & his little dog Toto… er ReRon tried to do in 2012. Real GH fans didn’t want it then, and we don’t want it now.
And they can run the mob stories 666 days in a row if it keeps Frodd off the screen.
You do have a point about Nelle & dragging out the whole Wiley thing though. That dragonshit should have been resolved a year ago.
Joe,
You say you stopped watching GH years ago.Well, great, good for you! Then why do you think we are interested in all the stones you are throwing, and why you are apparently still interested enough to comment on ongoing SL’s, and not ones that happened “years ago”. Using an old saying, you sound like someone who talks out of two sides of your mouth, or is it all those sour grapes?
Spot on Violet!
Absolutely! General Hospital is one great drama and adding characters into the mix like Cyrus Renault makes GH worthy of prime time status.
He’s an exciting actor. Wish he could have come in as a “good,” but complicated character rather than just another mob boss.
Nope, this will make me stop watching.
I will stop watching if this guy is permanent!
Take your medicine!
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘The Young and the Restless,’ ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Remain No #1 and # 2, ‘General Hospital’ Only Soap to Lose Viewers
The latest Nielsen ratings data is out for the week of April 27-May 1, and three out of the four network daytime dramas posted gains in total viewers, while one showed a loss in audience numbers, which may come as a surprise.
Let’s take a look at the ratings period with data from Soap Opera Network and then provide some context. The Young and the Restless remained as per usual in the top spot coming in at 3,14,000 on average total viewers slightly up +20,000 more eyeballs for the week.
In story, Y&R served up Matt’s plot to blow up the Newmans inside the abandoned gas station on the outskirts of Vegas, Sienna believing she killed Matt, only for him to be revealed alive with a severe contusion on his head by week’s end, Nick going on a bad drug trip thanks to the fentanyl laced with something else via Matt, and Cane and the Winters family learning that he is a donor match to save Malcolm’s life, while Sally got engaged to Billy.

Photo: JPI
FASHION HOUSE PROBLEMS
Y&R’s sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful clocked in with 2,795,000 viewers for the week up +38,000 from the previous ratings period. In story, The Bold and the Beautiful gave viewers; the fallout from Katie’s successful fashion show for her new fashion house, Logan. Dylan continuing to be freaked out. This time when doing her work at Forrester Creations, out from the clothing rack comes somebody that scares her enough to have her let out a blood-curdling scream. In addition, Liam suggested to Hope that she consider coming to work for Logan where she will be appreciated, after Steffy tells her that ‘Hope for the Future’ is back-burnered for now.
General Hospital, which many have considered being the most entertaining on a consistent basis with their storylines, most likely lost some viewers for the week because on Monday April 27, the show was preempted for a special report on the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondence dinner. If viewers did not catch it on Hulu, it aired on the network after Nightline on Tuesday at 1am. In total, GH was the only soap to lose viewers for the ratings week. GH tallied -1,809,000 which is down from the previous week by -168,000.

Photo: ABC
PAYBACK AND A SHOCKING REVEAL
In story that week, Carly’s double life with Brennan and Valentin caught up with her, Michael initiated a strategic plot against Willow, and Josslyn found herself in immediate danger after a run-in with Cassius.
Beyond the Gates, while having two days of the week fully preempted for UEFA Champions League soccer games, actually increased its viewership. BTG tallied 1,655,00 total viewers which also boasted the highest audience gains across any soap adding +42,000. In story, the soap opera spotlighted: Ashley stealing antibiotics to keep Grayson alive, Smitty zeroing in on a possible suspect in the plasma ring, Vernon taking over Martin’s debt to Joey Armstrong, while Kate recognized a name tied to Lynette’s finances.
It should also be noted for the ratings week; The Bold and the Beautiful once again topped Y&R for the top spot in the key Womens 18-49 demo and in the Womens 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates once again bested General Hospital for the 3rd spot.
*Nielsen ratings are based on the Live+Same Day Big Data+Panel model.
So, let us know your thoughts on the current ratings picture? Then weigh-in; what soap opera is serving up the best drama right now that is keeping you engaged to catch it every day? Which soap has you the least interested? Drop a comment below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Would You Be Down With a Dante and Elizabeth Romance?
On the Friday, May 15 episode of General Hospital, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) shared a heartfelt talk on trauma. Dante is so concerned for Rocco (Finn Carr), and how it affects someone for the rest of their life, which is something Elizabeth knows all too well, but got through it.
It all begins when Elizabeth shows up at Dante’s office ready for her date with Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst). How beautiful she looked did not go unnoticed by Dante. When the talked turned to how Dante told Rocco that he knew his son shot Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), he admits he is scared for his child, because he lost his innocence with the emotional baggage he now must carry forever of shooting someone.
Dante notices how Rocco is becoming more and more withdrawn and he wants to know how to help him. Elizabeth bring up how she can absolutely relate to trauma at a young age, just like Rocco. However for Elizabeth, her trauma came in the form of a brutal rape by Tom Baker. Speaking from experience, Elizabeth details that it was her friends and family like Lucky and Bobbie who helped pull her through. She encourages Dante to continue to show up and be there as support for his son.

Courtesy/ABC
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Next, an officer delivers to Dante the evidence from the pier shooting, which Dante plans on destroying. Before she leaves for her date with Ric, Liz reassured Dante he is doing the right thing to protect Rocco and she has done the same. She has left no record of Rocco’s hospital visit the night of the shooting. Liz leaves for her date.
THE WRONG SUSPECT
Then, Cullum storm troops in to Dante’s office demanding the evidence that the PCPD must have collected at the site of his shooting. Dante says that the evidence must be misfiled in the warehouse, but they will find it. However, Cullum realizes Dante is stalling and lying. Before heading to Dante’s office, Cullum paid a visit to Carly (Laura Wright) and saw a photo of Danny with Jason, triggering him to now believe that Danny may have been the person who shot him in the back on the pier!

Courtesy/ABC
DINING WITH RIC
At dinner at Café Cherie, Ric handed Elizabeth the folder with the priceless piece of artwork he’d purchased for her through Ava. Elizabeth loved it and went over to Ric and planted a kiss on him.
Will GH move Elizabeth into a romance with Dante? Do you think Liz and Dante make a cute couple? After today’s episode, it’s clear they very much like and admire one another. If so, what happens to Liz and Ric’s burgeoning repeat romance? Share your thoughts and picks via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Dante Tells Rocco He Knows He Shot Cullum and Will Protect Son
In well-played scenes on the Thursday, May 14 episode of General Hospital, Dante (Dominic Zampogna) finally had a talk with his son, Rocco (Finn Carr) informing him that he knows the teen shot Cullum (Andrew Hawkes).
Rocco has dreaded his father finding out, because he is the acting police commissioner of the Port Charles PD and feared his dad will have to arrest him for the crime.
Dante asks Rocco in his own words to recount what happened the night on the pier. He assured his son, he is not going to arrest him and noted there are very extenuating circumstances surrounding the crime.

Courtesy/ABC
FATHER AND SON
Rocco explained how he followed Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) to the pier. Then, how Cullum attacked Britt. Jason (Steve Burton) showed up and fought with Cullum and how the gun came loose.He remembers the other weapon Cullum pulled out to kill Jason and that’s when he shot him.
Next, Dante explained that he was proud of his son for saving Jason and Britt’s lives. He also tells Rocco that he is very concerned in Britt’s involvement in all of this stemming all the way back to the Five Poppies, and feels she is still tied into everything that is happening.
Dante tells Rocco that nobody else can know about this involvement in the shooting. He also touchingly said, that he is his father, he will protect him. However, Rocco is worried that if the truth came out that he shot Cullum, his dad would be in serious trouble for covering up a crime. Dante tells Rocco, he should not worry about that right now, but he needs to stay in Port Charles so he and his mom can keep him safe.
A SHOCKING CALL
Suddenly, as father and son hug it out, Dante gets a call from Justine (Nazneen Contractor), alerting him to the fact that she just met with Cullum and he is looking for the evidence and the file from his shooting. Dante rolls his eyes, knowing things are about to go from bad to worse, and how is he going to keep his son safe from the evil WSB Director?
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Dominic Zamprogna always delivers a nice counterbalance to the often histrionics of other characters in Port Charles in his portrayal of Dante Falconeri. So that, when Dante breaks or gets emotional, it counts. Finn Carr has continually shined in the storyline as Rocco continues to teeter on the edge of knowing what he has done and being wracked with guilt. Next up has to be Danny learning his brother is the reason Jason was carted away. Stay tuned!
So, what did you think of the scenes between Dante and Rocco? How on earth will Dante keep Rocco safe? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
-
Breaking News5 days ago‘Santa Barbara’ Alums A Martinez and Marcy Walker: In Conversation; Two-Hour Livestream Event with the Iconic Cruz and Eden Announced
-
Days Of Our Lives2 days ago‘Days of Our Lives’ Dan Feuerriegel Teases the Mystery of Marlena’s Chess Set, and Opens Up About the Departures of His Co-Stars (Exclusive)
-
General Hospital3 days agoAnthony Geary’s Husband, Claudio Gama, Shares Remembrance of How Much the ‘General Hospital’ Legend Loved Working with Erika Slezak
-
General Hospital6 days ago‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Previews His New Role as PCPD Officer Joe Fitzpatrick
-
Breaking News6 days agoJennifer Harmon, ‘One Life to Live’s’ Cathy Craig, and ‘How to Survive a Marriage’ Star, Dead at 82
-
Breaking News1 week agoDAYS Lauren Koslow Temporarily Fills-In for Jess Walton as ‘The Young and the Restless’ Jill Abbott
-
Breaking News1 week ago‘The Price is Right’ Contestant Wins Largest Prize in a Single Pricing Game in the 54-Year history of the Daytime Game Show on CBS
-
News6 days ago‘The Young and the Restless’ Tamara Braun Teases Sienna and Nick Relationship Turn, ‘There is Some Chemistry’