General Hospital
Lane Davies and Nancy Lee Grahn Talk Stories They Loved (and Hated) as ‘Santa Barbara’s’ Mason & Julia, and Reuniting on General Hospital
Santa Barbara is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month. The soap opera that premiered back on July 30,1984 and was canceled after nine seasons, remains an all-time favorite for television fans around the globe.
Two of its most popular stars, Lane Davies (ex-Mason) and Nancy Lee Grahn (ex-Julia), chatted live on the Michael Fairman Channel, were they reminisced about the ups and downs of their on-screen and off-screen relationship during their time as a soap supercouple, and getting the opportunity not once, but twice, to act with each other on General Hospital – most recently in scenes as Fergus Byrne and Alexis Davis.
Lane and Nancy participated in the livestream event ahead of the upcoming Santa Barbara 40th reunion event that will bring together cast and creatives on Friday night, August 2nd in Burbank, California. Participants include: A Martinez, Marcy Walker, Robin Mattson, Judith McConnell and more. The gathering will also serve to honor the late, great Santa Barbara co-creator, Bridget Dobson who passed away at the age of 85, as well as offer up a meet and greet opportunity.

Courtesy/NBC
On Santa Barbara, Mason and Julia certainly had a combustible and passionate relationship. Grahn shared of the pairing, “The setup for us was really fun. It was classic in that he was a conservative. Julia was a liberal. She wanted a baby. She was a single mother. At that time, that was 40 years ago, she employed him to get impregnated.”
Back in the hey day of Santa Barbara, Nancy recalled, “It took the characters a really long time for us to get together. They did journeys back then. Now (on soaps), it’s quicker. Now, I’m not comparing us by any means to Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, but it was the classic, these two are going to fight all the time, and be incredibly attracted to one another.”
Davies added, “I think it was kind of accidental and kind of manipulated by Nancy and myself, at least the way I remember it. We were both in storylines that we didn’t really love and they were putting us together for these little banter scenes. We liked the chemistry. So, we started just kind of punching up the chemistry and the writers picked up on that and we just ran with it.”

Photo: NBC
It is no question to Nancy, that one of her all-time favorite roles was Julia Wainwright Capwell. “I loved playing Julia. I loved what it brought out in me and what it taught me, and how it changed me and grew me,” she shared. However, when Santa Barbara was canceled, Nancy was still with the soap, and she recalled where the state of the show was at at that time, “The writing and the heads of the show changed pretty significantly toward the end. There were changes that happened. I felt complete when it ended, but I was scared to be out there again. You get used to that very nice steady work and paycheck.”
It was after Santa Barbara was canceled, that Nancy began her journey to Port Charles, “I called General Hospital. It was Wendy Riche at the time (as EP) and Michele Val Jean (writer) who’s now created The Gates. She was a beautiful writer on Santa Barbara. I said (to her), ‘So I wanna have a baby, anybody interested in me in General Hospital?’ She called Wendy Riche, and they said, ‘Come on over.’ So, that’s what happened.”
As for Lane, he left Santa Barbara earlier on during its run and explained his reasons for his departure. “I left before it was over. I’d done the show for five years.I, I did it as much for my own mental health as anything else. I was kind of at the end of my rope just in terms of burnout, and either Nancy would be dead or I would be in jail, or both if I’d stayed on the show because we were about to kill each other. Not really. By that point, we were getting along again.” Grahn replied to Davies, “I could easily not talk to you all day long and then act with you. I loved acting with you.”

Photo: JPI
One of the major plot point issues where Nancy and Lane reached an impasse, was when they both shared different core views for Julia and Mason. Grahn explained, “My character (Julia) spent way too much time after a certain point just wanting to marry Mason, or putting up with him, or making excuses for him. He wanted to be this manly guy just sort of galavanting about town. Lane thought if Mason got married, and was a father to a baby, it would make him weak. This was a thing with our characters and what we were arguing for. And finally I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore because I am representing women out there, and they cannot see this. They have to see Julia either move on, or there has to be some sort of meeting of the minds, and some equality in this male/female relationship.”
Nancy added, “Lane did not want his character to get married or become domestcized because he thought it would make him uninteresting. We fought about that to the point where we didn’t speak to each other for eight months.” Lane shared, “That was the biggest problem I had. I went from a guy who would change his stepmother’s pregnancy test so that she would sleep with him, to a guy that was folding diapers. I thought, ‘I’m never gonna keep my demographic folding diapers!”‘
Lane and Nancy also had differing opinions on the Sonny Sprocket storyline, where after Mason was presumed dead, he developed an alternate personality who was a sort of cowboy. “It was fun. I don’t think I ever was quite as country as Sonny Sprocket. He was so much looser than Mason that he was fun to play, Davies explained. However, Grahn added, “He looked exactly like Mason. He sounds exactly like Mason. And I’m supposed to not believe that’s Mason?”

Photo: ABC
Back in May of 2024, Nancy and Lane got to reconnect and share scenes together on General Hospital, when during Alexis’ hearing to get her law license reinstated, her opposing counsel turned out to be Fergus Byrne, the brother of Alexis’ late lover, Neil Byrne.
The two previously worked together on the ABC soap opera back in 2002-2004, when Davies played Cameron Lewis. Now with a new character on GH, Nancy explained how it came about, and if Fergus could return in the future.

Photo: ABC
Nancy shared, “I wanted to recreate Mason and Julia as senior citizens. It was such a satisfying acting experience for me. I also know he (Lane) can give as good as he gets. So you want a (scene) partner that will poke you a little bit, so that’s the fun of it.”
As far as if there is a chance for Fergus to come back to the GH canvas, Nancy added, “I love working with Lane, so I’d be thrilled. I don’t know what they’re going to do. I also think Patrick Mulcahey who wrote most of the Mason and Julia stuff, was at General Hospital briefly. I think that was his idea to bring Lane on. He knew that he could count on Lane to do this thing that was very demanding because it was tremendous amounts of dialogue in just a few days. I think we did six shows in three days. So, he needed someone that he knew could count on. I think if Patrick had stayed on General Hospital, there was probably more room and opportunity for that. I don’t know about now though. I mean, we’ll see.”
Watch the full conversation with Lane and Nancy below.
Now let us know what were your favorite Santa Barbara moments of Mason and Julia? Do you hope GH brings back Lane as Fergus Byrne? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Thank yoand I wish the back of Julia and Mason the most greatest couple of soap opera
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair

On the Thursday, October 1 episode of General Hospital, both Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) had some things to say and what they had to say didn’t go over well with whom they were talking to!
Sonny had a confrontation with his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), while Michael leveled with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) over Chase (Josh Swickard).
GH is setting up a scenario where everyone is going to make it look like Sonny was responsible for having Sidwell (Carlo Rota) beat up in Pentonville; while viewers already know Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) were behind it.

Courtesy/ABC
A VISIT WITH DAD
Now, Dante comes to Sonny’s house. He wants to know straight up from his dad if he ordered the attack at Pentonville. Sonny flatly denies any culpability or responsibility, but Dante refuses to believe him.
Dante informs Sonny he has video footage of Sully and Vito at the prison. Sonny explains to Dante he doesn’t know why Sully beat up both Curtis and Dante. Things escalated when Sonny was deeply hurt that Dante refused to believe him. Dante says he was disappointed that his father didn’t respect him enough to be truthful with him!
Sonny asks Dante to consider that he was being set up. He says all he did was to tell Vito to instruct Sully to keep a watchful eye on Sidwell, not to harm him. No matter what Sonny said, Dante continued hammering him with how he knew deep down, even though he said he left the mob, he had to finish off Sidwell for himself.
Next, Sonny explains everything he has ever done was to provide for and to protect his family. Dante fired back that he doesn’t want to deal anymore with Sonny’s half-baked truths. As the two men argue, Gio (Giovanni Mazza) shows up at Sonny’s front door and overhears Sonny losing his temper and shouting at Dante, “Get out of my house! I don’t want a son like you!” The scenes featured an excellent performance by Maurice Benard.

Courtesy/ABC
MICHAEL THE MANIPULATOR
While this is going down, outside the Quartermaine boathouse, Brook Lynn opens up to Michael about living at the Q’s with Chase being there, since he only came back due to legal advice from his lawyer, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard).
Brook Lynn questioned whether they should get legally separate. Michael insisted that would be a big mistake. When she asks why, Michael tells Brook Lynn to bide her time until Chase and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) have an affair; then she’d have full custody of Phoebe.
An angered Brook Lynn pushed Michael into the water and accuses him of moving Willow back into the gatehouse with intent on putting Chase and Willow in closer proximity and sacrificing Brook Lynn’s family in the process. As the two cousins bicker, Chase shows up asking Brook Lynn if she is OK. Michael punctuates their talk with “You know, I’m right.”
CURTIS FIGURES OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF THE SLAMMER
At GH, Willow visits Curtis (Donnell Turner) in his hospital room. Curtis wants Willow to get him pardoned and keep him out of jail, and in return, he will help her nail Sonny.
Next, Willow tells Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) she wants Curtis held for observation for three more days. He agrees to do so under one condition, that she understands that he may need to call in a favor from a congresswoman.
So, what did you think of how Dante accused his father and refused to believe Sonny’s answers? Is this the end of their father and son relationship for good? Is Michael the most manipulative person of all, except for Willow? Do the two deserve each other? Do you want Chase and Willow to have an affair? And what of Curtis? Does he have many redeeming qualities left? Share your thoughts via the comment section, but first check out the talk Michael had with Brook Lynn.
General Hospital
GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof

Two soap opera alums very familiar to fans of General Hospital and The Young and the Restless are paired together in a new short-form digital series from none other than Issa Rae’s production entity HOORAE Digital.
Look for Tajh Bellow (ex-TJ Ashford, GH)) and Loren Lott (ex-Ana Hamilton, Y&R) as part of the cast of The Compatibility Experiment, premiering on October 14, 2026, exclusively on TikTok and its companion microdrama platform, PineDrama.
In the video teaser, it appears that Bellow and Lott play a couple, Kelvin and Camila, set in a Love Island reality show-esque environment trying to win the one million dollar cash prize, only what could go wrong?

Photo: HOORAE
The Compatibility Experiment loglines share that it brings a fast-paced, relationship-focused reality check—much like Love Island with a twist. The show takes a participant’s current relationship, introduces them to a potentially more compatible partner, and forces them to navigate the differences with life-changing money on the line.
The new series is part of a groundbreaking content deal between HOORAE Digital and TikTok to develop premium short-form storytelling. The ensemble cast also features; Ayona, Reggie Luck, JaNa Craig, Tosin Morohunfola, Jessica Jacoby, Georgia Warner, and Nick Cassidy.
General Hospital fans know Tajh Bellow for his performances as TJ Ashford, and who earned two Daytime Emmy nominations along the way during his run. Bellow took over the role in 2018 and last appeared on the ABC daytime drama series in December of 2024.
Loren Lott first appeared as Devon’s (Bryton James) sister Ana Hamilton on The Young and the Restless from 2018 to 2019; making a brief return in 2024. She has continued to perform on the stage and screen with recent credits including: Bel-Air, Cherish the Day, and All American: Homecoming.
Check out the trailer for The Compatibility Experiment below and let us know what you think of its concept and if you are glad to see Tajh and Loren again? Hoping they might return to daytime in their GH and Y&R roles at some point in the future? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown

If you thought that the person responsible for the Pentonville brawl that saw Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) taken to General Hospital was Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) or even Sidwell himself, you were dead wrong! On the Wednesday, September 30 episode of GH, it turned out that the culprits were actually Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison).
In story, Drew apparently bankrolled the attack on Sidwell and framing Sonny. He told Ava their planned worked (she came up with it!) but was horrified when Drew informed her that Curtis got caught in the crosshairs. Ava is visibly upset because of her longtime friendship with Curtis’ daughter, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali). Drew tried to make Ava see the bright side. Curtis was witness to it and his presence will cast doubt on Sonny’s claims to that he had gotten out of the mob and gone legit.
Later, Vito shows up at Drew’s. They informed him that his guy on the inside of the slammer made a big mistake by hurting their friend and ordered him to leave town.

Courtesy/ABC
BOATHOUSE BRAWL
In other major developments, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Rocco (Finn Carr) have a blow out fight as Danny blames his “brother” for the reason Charlotte was sent off to boarding school.
Rocco told off Danny for Charlotte’s (Bluesy Burke) reckless behavior and he explains he had to protect his sister. He went in on Danny saying that his mother Lulu (Alexa Havins) has been right to send Charlotte to boarding school and far away from Danny.
However, Rocco went a bit too far when he shouted, “And if your mom was alive, she would send you away too!” Next, Danny punched out Rocco, leading to a terrible brawl. An angered Danny yells at Rocco to, “Stay away from me and everyone in my family. And don’t you ever mention my mom again!” Danny storms off.

Courtesy/ABC
Now alone outside the boathouse, Rocco flashes back to his first kiss with Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarksi), hoping that his fight with Danny will not escalate and ruin their budding romance. Meanwhile, a bloodied-mouth Danny heads over to Sonny’s and Jason (Steve Burton) is there at the same time. He then admits that he has a bad fight with Rocco and they are both beaten up.
WILL SCOUT WISE UP?
At the end of the episode, Scout, who had a fight with Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) over Drew, and who keeps telling everyone how good a man her dad truly is, comes upon a suspicious scene.
Scout hides behind the wall outside Drew’s. She sees her dad, Ava and Vito talking. Next, Scout seems to overhear Vito assuring Drew and Ava that their business dealings are done, and he’ll be leaving Port Charles for good.
So, what did you think of the reveal that Ava and Drew were behind framing Sonny for the prison beatdown of Sidwell (and Curtis)? Do you think Danny and Rocco’s relationship can be repaired, or do you think the teenagers will continue to be at each other’s throats? Finally, do you hope Scout gets a clue and stops thinking her dad walks on air? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out how Ava and Drew conspired below.
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