General Hospital
Maura West Confirmed In New Role on General Hospital!

Photo Credit: Hutchins Photo
Fan favorite and two-time Daytime Emmy Winner Maura West has joined the cast of General Hospital in the new role of Ava Jerome! Soap Opera Digest confirmed the news today exclusively!
“I’m thrilled! Happy actress!” West responded on Twitter after the news was revealed. Maura West is already on set taping and will debut in May.
The big question is that last name of “Jerome”. That is certainly a name from Duke and Anna’s past! Remember Olivia Jerome played by Tonja Walker? There was also Julian Jerome and Victor Jerome too! Just sayin! So is Ava Jerome a member of this mob family? Weigh-in!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.
Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC
HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT
Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”
Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”
Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Photo: ABC
DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES
In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”
Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”
You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.
Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.
Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.
Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Photo: ABC
WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON
Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”
Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC
Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”
When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC
MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES
One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”
“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good. I was working with Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.
A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?
As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”
Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.
You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.
Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.
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Please tell me Olivia is alive & this is her daughter! Duke and Anna need a storyline.
Welcome back maura. i loved you as carly on as the world turns. maura is a classy wonderful actress. i hope they put maura on contract. give her a great storyline. I’m so happy that maura is back on daytime. elizabeth hubbard who played lucinda walsh on as the world turns can be the new helena cassadine. recast the role now please. elizabeth hubbard i miss her so much.
Michael park who played jack snyder on as the world turns can play a new role on general hospital. he can reunite with maura west. they had great chemistry together. they are great friends in real life. michael park is a great actor. by the way i love the new lulu. emme rylan is doing a wonderful job as lulu. i loved her as lizzie on guiding light. she is so pretty.
Totally agree! I so hope they are revisiting the mob family made famous before Corinthos. I could totally see Catherine Hickland coming on as a recast Olivia St. John Jerome who turns out to be alive (she is older than Tonja Walker and could totally pass as Maura’s mother). Also they could easily say that Julian survived too. Excited to see where this goes!
I didn’t like this news at first because I couldn’t help but hold a grudge against Maura West after she beat my girl Sarah Brown at the Emmys (who in my opinion was beyond epic as Claudia Zacharra) but I know that’s unfair, so I’ll do my best to give Maura a chance and she better not disappoint in proving to me why she deserved that award lol!
omg wouldn”t it be great if sarah brown came back too? i loved her as Claudia Zachara, hope she comes back . for crying out loud, they brought back every other dead person why not bring back her? just saying!
Sarah Brown could play Carly’s sister from her adopted family, and ala “All About Eve” fashion try to take Carly’s life for her own – again! LOL…
Could not agree more Aria! Sarah belongs on GH even if it’s to play a 3rd role. As long as the character is a bitch I’ll be happy because NO ONE can chew up scenery like Sarah Brown! We should start a campaign to bring her back!
I’m down for anything that would bring Sarah brown Back heck she could come back as Claudia’s twin whatever it takes just bring her on period .
You guys think she could be one of the future comebacks that we’ve been teased about?! RC would have so much fun writing for her and we need a new fire cracker with Connie and Kate being integrated.
I am SO excited Maura West has signed with GH!! She’s one of the most talented, mesmerizing, exciting actresses on daytime TV!!! RC and FV will definitely utilize her talents!!!!!!
i just hope maura west is treated better than she was on y&r……….
Maybe a new love interest for Sonny?
YES!!! Exactly what I was thinking. That would be awesome and would give MB some much needed talent to work off of.
That is the first thing I though of when I heard the news. Awesome casting news. Y&R’s loss is definitely GH’s gain. Just like Emme Rylan and Genie Francis.
Great… love her!!! Ava Jerome… interesting… have to think of all the possibilities! Can’t wait to see her!
Im sorry im not thrilled. it seems that canceled soap stars does not work well on other soaps. Look at what maria bell did to y and r with geniecfrancis debbie morgan darnell maura steven nichols
The issue with her run on Y&R was Maria’s close-minded antics and her inability to write for the talents of Ms. West and other actors/actresses she took from other cancelled series.
The problem there was Maria Bell, not the stars themselves. When you have that many uber-talented people and NONE of the characters works, the problem clearly isn’t the actors (and you forgot a few: Eden Riegel and Jennifer Landon).
In this case, if the writing is there and the character is well integrated into the storylines and existing characters, it should work fine; Maura is extremely talented. If not, then it will fail–for exactly the same reasons it did on Y&R, and not because of anything to do with Maura.
It’s not as though taking popular stars from one show and giving them roles on other shows has never, ever worked–but it does fail sometimes too, and when it does, it’s usually because TPTB assume that star power is enough and that they don’t have to support it with good writing and a viable character, which is exactly the mistake that Maria Bell made (over and over and over and over again).
West as Diane didn’t work from the start. West was entirely too young to play Diane and the whole thing was doomed. I like West and she is very talented. I also like Diane Jenkins very much (particularly when Alex Donnelly played her). However, I LOATHED West as Diane.
I am NOT a viewer who thinks you can simply recast an established part with any talented actor. It has to be the right “match.” West as Diane definitely was NOT that.
Marie Bell (and the casting personnel) deserve their share of blame for deciding to put West into the part of an established, 50-something female part. (Why the heck West wasn’t cast as Phyllis’ sister, Avery, is beyond me. Michelle Stafford and West would have been great as sisters and very age appropriate).
All of that being said, if West KNEW she was going to be cast as Diane when she was offered the job, I also put some blame on her for taking it. A very quick research of that character’s history would have informed even Helen Keller that West was at least 10 years too young to play Diane. It was ghastly to watch West’s Diane as the love interest of Victor.
West as Diane was a complete waste of the actress’ talents due to poor choices by Bell and West both. Also, it was a complete waste of Diane as the writers solved the issue by killing this great character.
Frankly, after watching Y&R for its entire 40 year run, I’d rank this entire situation as one of the worst decisions every made by the show. There have been some other lousy ones over the years but this one had permanent damage — Diane and her rich history are gone for good.
OMG OMG OMG !!!!!!!
The BEST news since Maura was let go from Y&R !!!!! Totally awesome to have one of my fellow High School classmates on my absolute favorite soap!!! I’m doing cartwheels !!!! VERY excited to see her on TV again. Please, please, please put her on contract so we won’t need to worry if she’ll only be on for a few episodes.
Maura West is one of the most talented actresses to come along in quite a looong time.
CONGRATS Maura !!!! You still look so beautiful !!!! I honestly can’t say enough on how awesome this news is!!! Wishing you all the best in your new (and hopefully VERY looooooooooooong) adventure !!! Wow!!
Wouldn’t she look great with Nicholas? This is very exciting.
I’m so glad Maura West is on the best series on daytime. Before Ron and Frank took over GH, I’d hoped she would go to ONE LIFE TO LIVE, but Y&R had her move all the way to LA just to waste her amazing talent. Some of the great writers from AS THE WORLD TURNS now work for GH, so they know her strengths! I adore this actress and I’m glad she’ll be well taken care of.
If Ava is from that Jerome family — and the show has been incorporating its own history too well to think otherwise — she could pave the way for a decent storyline for Bobbie’s son Lucas, who was written out after coming out. Lucas is biologically a Jerome, the son of Julian Jerome and Tiffany’s sister Cheryl. Lucas might have a right to some of the Jerome family business. This would also bring Carly (Lucas’ sister) back into the mob storyline.
Exactly what I was thinking … Bobbie’s son Lucas is a Jerome by blood. The son of one of Duke and Anna’s greatest villians … with Olivia Jerome (his aunt) being probably their biggest adversary. Lucas would be entitled to whatever fortunes or shares of the Jerome family that may still exist and be of great interest to any surviving Jerome members. It would tie Luke, Laura, Carly, and Bobbie into the stryline as well. And the show needs Bobbie as this last month as proven. Bobbie is a great sounding board for Carly (who has no friends), a good friend for Scott (who has no friends except for Lucy), and is Luke’s friend/partner in crime as well (he’s got relationships with Laura and Tracy and a quasi friendship with Sonny, but it’s been Bobbie all these years who has been his trusted companion and best friend). Also remember … Lucy Coe was involved with Victor Jerome and her invovlement led indirectly to his death which caused her to marry Alan Quartermaine all those years ago. So she’s roped into the Jerome family as well.
I’m totally excited about this. I was just saying to a friend that Duke needs a storyline that doesn’t involve around Anna. I love that RC has involved Duke a bit with AJ & Michael at ELQ, but I would love to see him work with Spinelli on finding the missing Quartermaine heir. And the show has yet to explore how Duke ended up in that Turkish prison for 20 odd years. Did the Jerome family have something to do with it? Is Ava a sister of Olivia and Julian that we didn’t know about? And don’t forget Lucas, Bobbie and Tony’s adopted son is the biological son of Julian and Cheryl Stansbury. I have a feeling that they will test Maura with Maurice now that they are moving Connie away from him into other storylines.
THIS IS BRILLIANT!!!
Maura West (ex-Carly, ATWT; ex-Diane, Y&R) is a fantastic actress, and I know that the character of Ava Jerome is really going to be a fantastic addition to the cast! She’s really going to be great acting against some of the show’s already amazing ensemble cast!! I’m dying for Maura to really excel in a role!
is she going to threaten Morgan? I assume shes Sonnys new love interest
Hoping it is a fresh mob tie-in, will be nice to bring a little of that back. I trust Frank and Ron to do it right and not go the Guza route. Although when I read this, my first thought was how amazing a return this could facilitate for Johnny Z down the road. Tie the Jarome and Zacharra families together and really give Sonny a strong antagonist.
Very exciting!!!. What a phenomenal actress she is!!! I have Watched her on ATWT and Y&R (Note to Y&R): You let her get away.. major mistake!!! I will be tuning in to GH more often now. Welcome back Maura!!!
Y&R eat ur heart out!!! Awesome news for GH!!!
Maura West’s early portrayal of Carly on As the World Turns (1995-96) was sheer acting brilliance. One of the best bitches the soap world has ever seen.
Then they turned her into a goody two shoes and I lost interest in watching her for the next 14 years.
I just hope they start her off as an evil vixen … and don’t change that for crying out loud. We need more bad girls on this show. Britt isn’t enough.
I wish I could get back into GH especially since Maura West has been cast, but there’s not enough diversity for me. They keep hiring the same look.
Okay! This is going to be brilliant for about a million different reasons.
1 – Maura West – West truly is a brilliant actress and can do soap bad girl with the best of them.
2 – Ava Jerome – There are no accidents. Especially in Carlivati’s world. I have no doubt that Ava is the beginning of a story returning focus to the Jerome crime family of the 80s. I don’t think this will mean Olivia or Julian or Victor will rise from the dead, I think this will be a new generation, a new era, harkening back to history, but with a fresh take.
3 – Refocus on the mob – I’m actually curious to see Carlivati’s take on the mob, just because I know it’ll probably be more balanced, and possibly darker and more psychological and strategic than anything Guza ever gave us. I always like the concept of Sonny going up against a female adversary, because he claims to have such an honor code and doesn’t condone violence against women. I think that gave the Faith Rosco story much longer legs than it could have if her husband Rosco was the main adversary.
4 – West as a mafia princess – Does it get better than that? West just brings such life and personality to her work that I am itching to see what she does on GH. She’s also in a unique age bracket where she could skew older toward Duke, or she could relate to Sonny, or she could relate to AJ or Nikolas. There are a lot of eligible men who could create chemistry with West.
5 – Duke/Anna – Given Duke’s history with the Jeromes and particularly Anna’s history with Olivia, however Ava is connected should give them a good jolt of storyline. And with Ava being newly created, Duke’s history with the Jerome family could help inform the audience on who she is, if the writers want to catch the audience up quickly.
6 – Lucas Jones… Jerome? – With Bobbie’s recent return and update on Lucas dating around and not finding the right guy… and then the scene cuts to Felix bemoaning how he always goes for unattainable men and will never find the right one, that screamed of a setup for future story and the return of Lucas. So with a Jerome resurfacing, how long until Lucas is cast and returns to explore his biological Jerome ties? The Gay Mafia in Port Charles?! Exciting! As mentioned earlier in the replies, it could also rope Carly back into the mob storyline via her brother, and could give a concerned Bobbie more of a reason to stick around Port Charles and protect her son. Carly’s mob-related brother placed in opposition to Carly’s ex Sonny? Uh oh.
7 – West’s ATWT ties – West proved to have good chemistry with Jon Lindstrom when he played Craig Montgomery on ATWT. And I wouldn’t mind seeing her in scenes with Lynn Herring. Didn’t Lucy say that she and Kevin would be sticking around Port Charles? Maybe Ava Jerome is a little crazy (likely, given Olivia Jerome’s history) and will have Kevin as her shrink, kind of a gender reversal of HBO’s Tony Soprano and Dr. Melfi?
So those of you worrying that she’ll be on for a handful of episodes, I would relax. You don’t hire an actress of West’s calibre for 3 weeks. You don’t tie her to a family from 25 years ago for a month of storyline. The implications on the canvas are pretty decently reaching, allowing her to figure into story with heavy-hitting long-term characters Sonny, Carly, Bobbie, Lucas, Duke, Anna, AJ, Michael, and it would take a MINIMUM of 6 months just to explore all those possibilities. And they wouldn’t give the character a fierce soap name like Ava and NOT plan to keep her on canvas. West could SAIL through a 3 year contract with a role like this, on a soap like this!
Very interesting…i enjoyed reading this!
This is a great summary and probably close to what they have planned … though after killing Helena and bringing back Stavros from the dead (not to mention having brought AJ and Duke back from the dead)… I wouldn’t pass it by the powers that be to bring back either Olivia or Julian … and I hope one or both do come back. It adds to the drama and history.
As for Lucas, I kind of think it would be funny to have him come back and not necessarily be paired up with Felix, but instead … bring back Tracy’s on Dillon who has been in Hollywood (a famous director, now?) and have Dillon reveal he’s gay and invovle himself with Lucas and see Tracy’s head explode and how her relationship with Luke would be affected (not to mention how Bobbie and Carly would deal with a raging Tracy).
I would have agreed with you before the Y&R mishap. They did everything you state they will not do with Maura. Tie into the Abbot’s. Jack (a huge character) First she was there then she was gone.
maura gets cast bec she has tons of day soap opera acting experience. This is the problem for Asian american actors. There are no Asian american chars who are supporting and leading chars that are created by the writers and showrunners. Asian american actors don’t get a lot of acting experience on night and day soaps bec writers and showrunners refuse to write for Asian american chars. The lack of acting experience becomes a disadvantage for Asian american actors. How can Asian american actors get hired? They don’t have a lot of acting experience on day and night soaps bec writers and showrunners don’t cast Asian american chars. gh has failed as a soap w/ its utter lack of Asian american chars. Fictional town of gh is ny based and around a hospital. There should be Asian american chars that are part of the hospital storylines.
Am very excited. Am NOT automatically assuming that she is here just to give Sonny a jolt. Don’t need to bring her on as a Jerome, with that rich pedigree, simply to do that. Clearly bringing Morgan back is designed to enrich Sonny’s storyline, particularly with Carly. I expect Ava Jerome to be involved heavily with Anna and Duke, which I will love. And bringing Lucas back to tie into this would be one amazing, far-reaching effect of putting the Jeromes back on the canvas. Sonny may be involved, sure, since he is no longer seeking Johnny Z’s “territory,” perhaps Jerome “territory” is what he will attempt to secure. That will be great, but I do not for one minute think Maura West is here solely FOR him. Being a Jerome makes the stakes higher for so many more of the characters than just Sonny!
Could Ava Jerome be Duke’s daughter with Olivia? Or is West too old to play a child of that union?
I don’t believe she’s too old for that storyline, but do I see it happening, I don’t.
This is not a comment regarding Maura. (she is great.love her.)I sincerely hope she has abetter experience than on Y&R. Speaking of Y&R does anyone have any news to share about the Lulu switch on GH. In the morning the actress was Abby on Y&R. Three hours later she is Lulu on GH. She was fired on Y&R , rehired and fired again? THANKS