News
OLTL Says Farewell to its ABC Studios – Exclusive Photos from last tape day via EW.com!

Courtesy/ABC
This just becomes even more real, when you see these newly posted exclusive photos at EW.com from today’s final tape day of One Life to Live at its ABC Studios in New York! In the emotional images featuring Erika Slezak (Viki) Jerry verDorn (Clint), Melissa Archer (Natalie) and the series longtime executive producer, Frank Valentini, the tears were flowing and hugs were all around.
Here is an excerpt of the publications and online platforms first hand report from the set:
“A day filled with tears, laughter, and hugs erupted into applause when the last scene of One Life to Live finished taping in its ABC studio Friday. Today saw scenes moving along at the famously whiplash-like speed common for daytime soaps, but with increasing fanfare and emotion. Then the studio quietly began to fill up in the late afternoon as Erika Slezak (Viki Buchanan) and Jerry vern Dorn (Clint Buchanan, right) started to shoot that last scene (which is not the last one that will be seen on the show’s finale in January) in Viki’s Llanfair living room.
Ever the pro, Slezak was determined not to break down and cry as the time approached, but even as she blinked back the tears, she had hugs for everyone who wanted one, such as Melissa Archer, who played her daughter Natalie and who went straight in for this embrace as soon as the scene was wrapped. “Why bother say goodbye?” said Slezak, who sees this as just closing a chapter. “We will see each other again, someplace, somehow, somewhere.”
“You were all a part of something so extraordinary,” said exec producer Frank Valentini to the cast and crew gathered around when the applause died down after that final scene. He’s also signed on for the online show. “I count us all so lucky and so blessed to be a part of this.”
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.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.
According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.
Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene, Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.
WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?
Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”
The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”
MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE
In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.
Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.
So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
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.
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This should not be happening. Thanks OLTL for years of memories and entertainment.
I agree, ABC/Frons/Sweeney are just idiots in charge. Iditotic to cancel their #1 soap that has gained hundreds of thousand viewers over last year!
So sad to see those pictures. Imagine being there.
This is truly, awfully upsetting to me!
Yet another BAD move on the part of ABC Daytime. I will never watch the Chew, nor will I watch the lame show that is going to replace the wonderful OLTL. Those shows will NEVER make it, even though the powers that be will do all they can to prove all of us wrong and keep the these shows (that belong on cable) on the air. On a much nicer note, I want to thank all of the wonderful cast and crew of OLTL for many, many years of wonderful television, as I too have been watching since day one. I wish all of you much success in your future endeavors, and hope that you all join Prospect Park online, as I will definitely be watching!!!! Good Luck to Prospect Park in bringing OLTL to fruition online, and I hope you can do the same with AMC at some point. I hope ABC is not foolish enough to nix GH for Katie Couric, but IMO, by the time she gets on the air, one or both of the other shows replacing AMC and OLTL will have already bombed, and GH can just take one of their spots.
Very sad about hearing of the last tape day. I read Michael’s previous post about the actor’s twitter and facebook remarks before I went to bed last night and I was so upset I could not fall asleep. I kept thinking about all of the wonderful actors, characters and storylines that have been on OLTL since I began watching over 40 years ago. I am 54 now and it is heartbreaking to think that a TV show I got involved with when I was about 13 is now being thrown aside. It is like losing an old friend.
Long live “One Life To Live”!
MY HEART IS BREAKING AND TEARS E GOING DOWN MY EYES RIGHT NOW !!!! IVE BEEN WATCHING FOR 41 YEARS AND SPENT MANY MANY FUN DAYS AT THE OLTL STUDIO MEETING ALL OF THEM INCLUDING THIS PAST SUMMER. THIS IS TERRIBLE !!!!!!!!
I can’t believe OLTL has finished taping. It does not seem real. Thank you OLTL for 25 years of intrigue and suspense. I hope you will be able to continue online. The daytime community is losing the best daytime drama on the air. Its a sad, sad day.
I read that the ABC people were at the OLTL farewell party. Can’t believe those a**holes did that. I can’t wait til karma bites them in the ass, and that ABC daytime will not have any passion or controversy anymore and no one will care about it like The Talk and that game show that took over Guiding Light’s spot on CBS.
With OLTL now gone, ABC has lost its last vestige of class. Not that class matters to the likes of Frons and Co. – but it matters to us, the viewers that ABC has no respect for. I wonder if they’ll finally be surprised to find out that the daytime viewers they evidently both take for granted, and despise, are deserting them and their network in large numbers, never to return.
We have loyalty, and we’ll take that loyalty to PP if they come through with OLTL. And the AMC folks will do the same, if AMC is resurrected. (I’m in both camps.)
But a lot of us are DONE with ABC and Disney. They can rot for all I care.
why is oltl gone and not gh.im not dishing gh.but can you tell me why is it all newyork taped soaps being cancelled.gl,atwt,amc i know they moved to la .but that was a scam of some sort. maybe thinging ratings would pass oltl.but oltl beat amc and gh in the ratings. it may be cheaper to do the chew but know won is watching.so no one in there right mined would want to put there product as a comercial in that time slot.
Up until early 2011, General Hospital had higher ratings than One Life to Live. It’s only after the cancellation annoucement in April that One Life to Live (and eventually All My Children as well) started to beat General Hospital in the ratings. Of course some problems within General Hospital itself (eg: bad writting, poor storylines, etc) contributed in General Hospital being surpassed by the two other ABC soaps.
So to answer your question: “Why One Life to Live was cancelled instead General Hospital?”. The answer is simple: General Hospital had higher ratings than the two other soaps at the time of the cancellation notice.
Ratings are not the reason that GH was selected to remain on the air over the other two that were canceled.
Michael – just asking – then what was the reason that GH remained on and the others were cancelled? Time slot?
Frons said he kept General Hospital because its was the highest rated soap. And if you look at the Nielsen ratings, it’s true that GH was indeed the highest rated ABC soap at the time. Things would change the next couple of weeks after,
Michael, if you knows something that the rest of us don’t, please let us know. Otherwise, it’s your word against the word of Brian Frons.
I give GH less than a year and the ABC soap hackers will have it cancelled too. I say boycott all advertising products for the replacement shows. More than one way to skin a soap hacker.
Sad day indeed. There have been too many since GL shut down in 2009. I loved OLTL and was a rabid fan during the days of the Craigs and Woleks. The Karen/Marco pairing was so strong, their plots so riveting. I loved Dorian Cramer as she rose from doctor (remember the Mark Toland murder?) to society grande dame. And Viki! From her torment between loves Steve and Joe at The Banner. The arrival of the Buchanans! I could do without all the multiple “lost children” and the silliness of Eterna, and the heavy reliance of multiple personalities, but more than most soaps, OLTL has remained true. Maybe thie Prospect Park thing will allow another life to live after all.
This SOOOOOO SUCKS!!! Wth has ABC loosing all my fav soaps???
This should not be happening Oltl by far was ABC best soap it should have been the last one standing at least Oltl cares about there audience GH doesn’t and I for one don’t understand why its still on and Oltl is gone. Thank you Oltl for your suspense and intrigue that you gave to the viewers daytime is loosing one of the best daytime dramas on the air. Daytime will never be the same ever again.
Because at the time of the cancellation, General Hospital had higher rating than One Life to Live (although this is no longer the case today).