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Jeff Kober To Play General Hospital’s Latest Villain, Cyrus Renault

Photo: IMDB

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”.

Kober’s debut as Renault was going to be in late January, but due to the President Donald Trump impeachment hearings and episodes getting pushed back, his arrival was delayed. We expect to see his debut sometime during February Sweeps.

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.

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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

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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