General Hospital
L.A. Times Looks At The Phenomenon That Is General Hospital As It Turns 50!

Courtesy/ABC
Today, there is a wonderful article in the Los Angeles Times that talks about, that as of this coming Monday, April 1, 2013, when General Hospital turns 50 years young, it ramains is the longest running soap opera currently in production – after 12,776 original episodes! The L.A. Times piece takes a look at the historical successes, near cancellation threats, and how GH is probably the one soap that is the biggest cultural phenomenon of them all!
Here are some excerpts from the Times piece: “A year ago, fans fretted that ABC would cancel General Hospital following the demise of the Walt Disney Co. network’s two other signature soaps, All My Children, and One Life to Live. Show producers, however, accepted the challenge, introduced some younger and more diverse characters and downplayed story lines that revolved around the mob bosses of Port Charles, N.Y., the show’s fictional setting. The result has been a ratings revival. The show, which averages 3 million viewers an episode, is on track to have its best season in five years. It has experienced a 19% boost in viewers compared with last season, and a 44% increase among women ages 18 to 34.
General Hospital was the soap opera that brought young people to daytime television,” said Ed Martin, television columnist for MediaPost Publications. “Other soap operas like ‘Young and the Restless’ and All My Children dabbled in it, but General Hospital was most aggressive.”
General Hospital changed the mold for soap operas. It became one of the first soaps to go on location for shoots, they introduced younger characters and they tackled sensitive issues like cancer, AIDS and rape,” said Karen Herman, director of the Archive of American Television part of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. The archive has collected oral histories of nearly a dozen actors from the show, including Genie Francis (Laura) and Anthony Geary (Luke).
So soap fans, do you think GH is the soap that most impacted our culture? Let us know!
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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well,
There is no doubt that among all the soaps GH is indeed unique
GH is a different breed of soap opera and there is none better than GH, and that includes the humdrum Y&R which rarely changes from its’ theme of ‘business and family problems, little change with Y&R..
At times while watching GH, as last Wed, it looked much like prime-time viewing.
BRAVO!!! to the FV, RC, and ALL the staff at GH..
(GH would not be here today without your great work)
I love the new feel and direction of GH and I believe GH is here to stay.
And i agree…
ITA! GH, the GH of old, is back in all its’ glory. It is must see TV and the respect that RC has for the history of GH is evident. Mentioning Amy Vining this week was incredibly sweet (RIP Shell Kepler) . There have been so many exciting moments in the past year. And so much character development. I’m so glad it is averaging 3M viewers. This show deserves it. And these show runners deserve it. OLTL increased viewership in its last year to what, 2M? I had hoped it would be enough to save the show to no avail. I’m so happy for GH and hope it continues to thrive. I will keep watching! More excitement lies ahead.
Agree completely!!! LOVE GH!!! It is a unique soap in all that it does! I wouldn’t say it is the one that dealt with the most impactful story lines and I would say that is a good thing for it! I like that it has more adventure and intrique and mystery than the others. I also think they do comedy more and better than the others. I think they have the best cast hands down and on most days the most watchable and exciting storylines than the others. There isn’t a day that I am bored or can’t stand all of the story lines. There are a few of course but they are usually balanced with good and great stuff! Congratulations GH!!!
Actually All My Children was the first soap to go on location shooting when they went to St. Croix for Erica and Tom’s honeymoon in 1977.
Sorry, but your also wrong. Hawkins Falls in the 1950s did location shooting years b4 AMC, and so did Dark Shadows in its first year in 1966.
While you are correct that AMC was the first to go on location, GH was the first soap to make it “cool” to do so
well of course it is the best soap . I have been watching for 33+ years . I have watched through the good the bad and the ugly have stayed with general hospital. I can say this past year has been the best. I look forward to watching every day and can not wait for the next day to see what is going to happen. I can honestly say I have not felt like that in years. love general hospital
No doubt about it. GH was the soap that broke the mold. They made watching soaps cool. I remember I watched before Luke & Laura and my friends made fun of me for watching. Then came L&L and they were hooked. It changed alot of people’s perception of daytime tv. Here’s to 50 more!
All the ABC soaps weaved big important soaps into there stories.It a shame ABC didn’t get them notice instead of cancelling them.They needed someone in there who knew how to do the soaps right instead of destroying them like Frons did,But that was Anne Sweeney’s dream to get them all cancelled.
I started watching GH in 1963 and am thrilled it has survived Frons and Sweeney’s attempts to get rid of it. Gloria Monty brought GH back to life in the 80’s and Frank and Ron have done the same thing today. Bravo!! No if only Sweeney will leave GH alone!!!!
Hawkins Falls was the first daytime soap( it started in primtime then like a year later moved to daytime) in the 1950s to do location shooting and Dark Shadows also did location shooting its first year in 1966 long b4 GH or any other soap. Dark Shadows also brought alot of young people to daytime long b4 GH, and so did the mystery crime drama The Edge Of Night. Dark Shadows had three movies based on it, 2 failed primetime revival attempts and tons of merchadise connected to the show still being made today. But anyway GH is the current best soap opera on the air and except for a few minor story flaws, im more addicted to it than i ever was. Some fans will criticize the show and complain how horrible the writing is but FV and RC must be doing something right to generate all this publicity and save it from cancellation by improving its ratings which hasnt been this good in years!
I have been watching since 1964 at age 9– I would be lost without it! I have weathered every bump & twist in the road to Port Charles & lost some favorite actors & characters along the way. Some plots I love, some not so much– but I would never give up on watching!!!
GH in mind introduced the SUPERCOUPLE ala Luke & Laura but followed it up with Frisco & Felicia, Robert & Anna, Sonny & Brenda, Jax & Brenda, etc etc. But my personal fav…Sean & Tiffany come back to us please!
GH is simply the best!
Love General Hospital….
The one thing I luv the most about GH since FV&RC took over is;
The fast moving stories, the suspense, excitement and the often surprises.
And, the lighter side , yet deep, twisting love stories..
Put it all together and mix is intriguing ..
GH is the best. Thanks to FV, RC, and the writting team for a superb job. Without you guys, we probably have lost the show. Please keep up the great work!!!
So happy GH is getting the media attention it rightfully deserves! Not only has this soap been woven into television history unlike any other (30 million people watched for ONE episode!), but lately, it has been better than it has in year! Thankfully, ratings are also reflecting how the show has increased in quality! I used to complain about some of Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati’s choices on OLTL, but on GH, they have truly saved this show from certain “death” (aka cancellation) and I give them all of the props they deserve! Some say that “oh they only brought back vets for the anniversary”, but that is not true. The incredible Finola Hughes, only used as a guest from time to time during the past regime’s tenure, was put on contract! Ian Buchannan was brought on for months before the 50th! Actors like Genie Francis or Jack Wagner, who were “tough sells” for the last regime, came back in full force! Not to mention, AJ was brought back from the dead in direction of redemption as the rest of the Quartermaines also were brought back to the front-burner like they deserve! Every day I am excited to watch the show and cannot wait for the next one. Here’s to the 50th and 50 more!
Loving this GH Marathon so far!! Gonna have to pry me away from the tube this weekend. I remember SO much of this stuff (making me old!).. especially always loved Thaao Penghlis as Victor Cassadine. YUM!! Thanks SoapNet! Here’s to many more years …. btw, check out Jaclyn Zeman with a normal face 😉
GH is the best, now as it was in 10 years. That’s how long I watched, General Hospital. I grew up watching Sonny and Carly, but I can’t Explaine it. But I have more memories of watching Luke and Laura. I have my own special 50 years list of my memories of Gh. And at the top are Luke and Laura. Anyway there are more stories, of the current day. To like and to post. There were too many stories, that were my favorites. And my top couples: Nikolas and Emilt, Sonny and Brenda.
I have been watching since 1975 and love this show,I just wish this past year was Patricks bad dream .Come back Robin please.
I am a long time soap watcher. While I am thrilled GH has made it to its 50th, I don’t want to pit one show against the other or say which soap I think affected society the most.
GH always has the most amazing talented actors and actresses!!! LUV GH keep on Rockin another 50!!!