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One Life to Live Aired Its Last ABC Episode Five Years Ago Today!

By Michael Fairman

Published

10 years ago

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Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

It is hard to fathom that five years ago on this date in 2012, the beloved One Life to Live aired its final episode on ABC after being cancelled by the network along with All My Children in 2011.  One Life debuted on ABC in 1968, a creation of the late and iconic Agnes Nixon who passed away late in 2016.

After over 43 years, when the series was canned along with AMC, that sweeping move still today has shaken the soap genre to its core. Then after stalled attempts at an online rebirth, One Life was given a new life to live online on April 29, 2013 via one season on Hulu via Prospect Park. Now after a long litigation, the rights to the series are back with ABC.

The final episode of ABC’s One Life to Live ended with a rousing cliffhanger between Alison Perkins (Barbara Garrick) revealing she had tied up and kidnapped Victor Lord Jr. (Trevor St. John) who is very much alive, just as his brother Todd (Roger Howarth) is arrested for his “murder”.   The amazing final run and final episodes were brilliantly executed and written by then OLTL head writer Ron Carlivati and his stellar writing team.

After the jump, watch the final ABC episode of One Life to Live that originally aired five years ago today.  Then share your thoughts and memories of the soap in the comment section below.

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Among the most boneheaded decisions by ABC, cancelling OLTL and AMC. The Alphabet net once owned daytime and had a brand envied by all in the game. These were quality programs that deserved better than what they received in their final years.

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OLTL was in an upswing in its final year…it got so good-better than what is currently going on in our 4 remaing soaps!

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it was better than the material we are seeing now. OLTL’s demos were higher than what the current soaps are doing

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The ratings were not good and although The Chews ratings may not be as good its close enough and much cheaper to produce. Im sad OLTL is gone but from a business standpoint I get why ABC did what it did.

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Yeah, Iakovos.That’s what I call a SOAP….. Drama. Suspense. Gorgeous characters. Supreme acting. Oh, yeah….watching these clips was an incredibly out-of-body experience for me. Be still mine heart…it’s all a’twitter! So bittersweet.
I wanted to dive right in there, head first. I love these people….every single one of them.
Victor ( fake Todd) is alive? I do not remember that scene.

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I encourage you to watch The Sopranos, The West Wing, and Breaking Bad. Those are quality programs. For you to put One Life To Live in the “quality” category is simply absurd.

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Hey, Mollie,
I am trying to understand your post. How is it relevant? We are speaking of soaps not defunct primetime shows.
We, as viewers are a diverse lot. Different strokes for different folks.
What may seem “quality” to you, may be trash to another. My intellect must be impaired because I never found any interest in those shows. I am sorry, but that is such a blatant remark.
I do not appreciate violence, no matter the “high” quality. ‘Tis a choice. How can one compare soaps to primetime programming? Apples and Oranges.
OLTL, as far as I am concerned, was one of THE best soaps ever created. Still watching, after twenty-seven years. My first memory, at the age of three, was Rachel talking to Ava (ANOTHER WORLD, in her kitchen, with a dish cloth swung over her shoulder. Constance Ford, I believe died just a few years later.
So, you see, Mollie, what counts is what makes an impression. To me, that’s “quality”.
Furthermore, Iakovos is right. The soaps of yore brought something to the table. They had heart….something to which we all related; even to those of us who started watching as toddlers.
Iakovos was not comparing, you are. He is strictly talking about soaps, THEIR merits and how their ‘richness’ is getting poorer and poorer. To those of us who are avid soap watchers, Mollie, this “regression” hurts. I take it, you don’t really like soaps? Later.

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i have to agree so strongly with Celia.. and somehow i feel that you may not understand what soaps gave to people. Imagine being a gay teenage in my world of 1981 and 1982 and my 2 final years of high bulling being now played 10 years later by Ryan Phillipe. the dialogue, the visualization of what Billy Douglas suffered bridges so much understand of what i went thru for my mother to see on this soap. I mean no offense to you in any way, but i felt strongly to give voice to my experience. there were days in those years when it would be easier for to have gone to bed and hoped not to awake..but it was wanting to watch OLTL the next day that calmed those thoughts. And with regard to Breaking Bad , which at the time it aired, i too enjoyed watching..please do some viewing of the documentary movie “Chemsex” and see what crystal meth has done to the gay community 10 years later on.

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While I loathe the cancellation of soaps – I still miss my beloved Santa Barbara – I can’t agree that it was “among the most boneheaded decisions by ABC.” Soaps are quite expensive to produce and just don’t have the ratings they once did, especially the ABC ones. The Chew averages almost 3M viewers and costs much less than OLTL to produce. It’s simple business. Yes, the Revolution failed, but now that hour is back at the affiliates and that makes them happier than having any network programming!

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OLTL was at the top of its game during its last few years. It’s sad that a show that was never afraid to take creative chances with its storytelling was cancelled in favor of GH and its singular worship of all things Corinthos.

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It’s pretty simple, GH was the higher rated show at the time, and brought in higher ad revenue. It also had the history and the track record. Not to mention, OLTL was cost ineffective being taped in New York where production costs are much higher. There’s a reason none of the New York based soaps ever lasted. It came down to dollars and cents, which is all ABC cared about. I don’t like that it happened, but from working in the TV business, I can understand why it did.

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I enjoyed the finale better this time around. I think no commercials helped. I least favorite character in this episode was Tomas. Now that ABC owns the rights of characters again I wonder if some characters will once again appear on GH. Even if they resurrect OLTL on a smaller scale to stream online. We know there is an audience.

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Wow time flies, ABC made a huge mistake in cancelling OLTL. ABC will never admit there mistake, I hope they choke on it. OLTL will never come back to ABC, way too late now.

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I agree with you Claudio. Even if they tried to re-boot it’s hard to catch the magic again…like David Vickers, Dorian, Blair. And then there seems to be problems finding good writers for the soaps we have left.

It’s said it costs more to do a soap than the other shows they’ve tried as replacements for our soaps. But I also have to think it has cost a lot in loyalty and the revolving door of shows that have come and gone.

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I miss Guiding Light of all the cancelled shows… wish they would find a way to bring it back on the air, but sadly we will never see another daytime soap premiere!

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I thought about OLTL several times today and still recall 5 years ago. I was at work and looked at the clock at the time it was airing its final moments. A heartbreaking moment. Went home, watched the episode and cried like a baby. I’ll never forget the series–it was a part of 40 years of my life–and in fact got a OLTL tattoo (the abbreviations) last year!

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I felt the exact same way, it was so heart wrenching I was devastated

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I cried from the opening credits on. I was hoping that OLTL would be my afternoon companion as it was for my mom and aunts. GH is too hit and miss.

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It COULD come back though it is highly unlikely – the viewers would have to accept new cast members intermingled with existing Cast members such as Erika Slezak as Victoria ~ add in some new players – there’s no reason why it can’t be done – the only problem is, ABC probably won’t do it.

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OLTL was must watch daytime drama, funny, poignant, sexy, with the best cast and couples . The acting was superb and the writing was at the top of its game. I miss my beloved soap I miss my favorite couple Jolie, as well as other favorites Cicki and Clint, David and Dorian, Todd and Blair, Victor and Tea, Jess and Nash, Bo and Nora and oh the tears when it ended.

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Miss oltl to much, bring it back and other character from and
And other soaps it will do great, daytime right now sucks
Except for a few shows.

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Wow. Five years already! So miss all the soaps that were cancelled last: OLTL, ATWT, and of course GL. The reasons can be many why they were cancelled from expenses to different demographics and viewing habits, etc. I just find it ironic that the execs who proclaimed that viewers don’t want to watch serial dramas anymore. And now what is the primetime landscapes littered with: Serialized dramas! Makes me crazy!!

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I still mourn the loss of our beloved One Life to Live. All this week, I’ve watched episodes from 2009-2010 online and am thoroughly entertained. The quality of the acting, story weaving and production is superb. There were half a dozen different story lines going on at the same time and nothing got lost in the shuffle. I miss those rich, multi-layered characters and complex stories with all the twists and turns. I offer my sincere thanks to the entire cast and crew for entertaining me from July 15, 1968 to January 13, 2012.

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Prospect Park’s OLTL was also really good. It got better and better as it went on, I wish it had continued1

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Now maybe GH can have Dr Finn go off into the sunset with Hayden or his not-so dead wife and bring back John McBain. They can do the same with Franco/Todd. Or better yet have some other actors take the role of Dr. Finn and Franco and return Michael Easton to the role of McBain and Roger Howard to Todd. That would be a hoot.

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I miss it a lot! And AMC too. I watched them both from the time I was a little girl staying with my Grandma. She’d stop for a break to watch her “stories” then she’d go back to cooking and cleaning. Lol

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What I loved most about OLTL is that Ron Carlivati was in charge of the writing and Frank Valentini was the head honcho. Ron gave us a surprise every day which had me tuning in because I knew if I missed a day I missed alot. He also waited until a big payoff came on a story and I remember swearing at my TV so many times because I wanted the ending to come but of course making me wait was half the fun with the show. The last time i had that anticipation was when TEXAS was on the air. Soaps that have something exciting happen every day are the most fun for me to watch and I miss both those shows so very much.

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hi James,
yes, Ron gave us a surprise every day and always an ending pay-off to the story.
Ron Carlivati is the best of the best.
I am awaiting Ron Carlivati’s return to GH.

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Is Ron coming back to GH? I didn’t hear anything about that but I was disappointed when he was let go because I felt that Frank and Ron were the Dynamic Duo of Daytime. OLTL was my favorite soap when they were the captains there and when they went to GH, they were still the best team anywhere. I hope this is true!!

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BRING BACK THESE TWO SOAPS!!

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I also loved The Guiding Light and Santa Barbara among many other favorites over the years that gave been cancelled.

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Still miss one life to live everyday. It was part of me growing up. I wish it was still on the air in some capacity.

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Through highs & lows I watched OLTL from beginning to end and it had a talented cast, was fearless in highlighting social issues way before some other shows – even prime time – would touch them, was not afraid to be silly and incorporate humor and those musical numbers into it and created some of daytime’s most loyal fans.

While I doubt it will happen again, I would love to see the show revived, even in a 30 minute format.

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Do you have to remind us? I’m still not over this. OLTL was the best soap at this time and I enjoyed watching every episode. ABC was stupid to cancel it and they never recovered for it thankfully.

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Still miss it like crazy.

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I miss that show every single weekday to this day.

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They were family… and everyday they are thought of fondly.

OLTL – hopefully Another Life To Live….

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On RC’s twitter..
he posted a link to a video of–
OLTL: Viki’s Heartbreaking Last Speech About Soaps (2012)
She tells it !

you OLTL fans might want to view it, get your hankies out !

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In my opinion, the final days/episodes were dreadful-focused on Destiny, her family, and Matthew-all lackluster actors in lackluster storylines. OLTL was filler for me, airing before General Hospital; although, I always enjoyed Viki when she was altered as Niki Smith and I loved Dorian and the Cramer “girls.”

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Unless it’s coming back I don’t want to say anything but this.

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it was a stupid decision to end it. over it’s last year,it had really improved. the quality was much better than what we are currently getting with the four remaining soaps. all of it’s replacement flops showed they made a mistake

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Wow it’s been over 5 years since ABC-TV made the biggest mistake in the history of television ~ now they have CRAP on in the afternoon, I really hope the Execs are happy ~

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Steve Burton Shares Reaction to His Lead Actor Daytime Emmy Nomination, ‘It Was to Honor Leslie Charleson’

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2 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Award nominations kicked-off on Monday with the announcements of four major categories including, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series — Actor, and among the nominees is General Hospital’s Steve Burton (Jason Morgan).

Burton is already a two-time Daytime Emmy winner in the Supporting Actor category for his roles as GH’s Jason and his turn as Dylan McAvoy on Y&R. However, Steve is yet to win in the Lead Actor category and he has received 11 nominations along the way in his daytime career.

Following the reveal that he is a 2026 Daytime Emmy nominee, he and his GH co-star, podcast co-host and comedy show partner, Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) taped a special edition of their That’s Awesome podcast just featuring Burton’s reaction to the news.

Photo: JPI

FOR LESLIE CHARLESON

Steve expressed, “I know it’s such a cliche to say, ‘I’m just so honored to be nominated.’ But truly, I’m so grateful to be nominated, so grateful to just be on the show off and on for 30 plus years and to be nominated with the guys in my category. Just to get the opportunity. Frank (Valentini, executive producer, GH) texted me right away. I was just like, ‘Thank you for the opportunity to get to do what I do.'”

Taking in the moment, Burton thanked those who helped him select the material for his nominated reel. “Unless you win, you don’t get to say things. So. I’m going just say a few things: Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) helped me a lot with the material, (as did) Michelle Henry, who’s a producer on the show, Laura Wright (Carly, GH), and then my wife Michelle (Lundstrom). I believe it was Jill Phelps who told me that when A Martinez felt like he had a great show or great scenes, he would mark it down. So, when Emmy time comes, you have all the show numbers written down, and you don’t have to think about it, because that’s half the battle (finding the material).

Burton explained how meaningful this nomination is for him, because of playing the scenes of Jason losing Monica, and his closeness with the late, great Leslie Charleson.

“The nomination’s an amazing thing, and it’s beautiful, but really it’s to honor Leslie Charleson. A lot of my material was because of her, and how I started on the show as a Quartermaine, it just means a ton,” shared Burton. “Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) has obviously has been instrumental, and I’ve said it from day one and I’ll shout it from the rooftops. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here, and to be working with the people that we work with is incredible.”

Photo: JPI

SHOULD JOHN OLIVER BE NAMED HOST OF THE DAYTIME EMMYS?

During the end of his conversation with Anderson, Steve suggested that the host of the Daytime Emmy should be Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver, who recently guest starred as the head of the WSB named Z on General Hospital, and is soon to show up on Days of Our Lives in a mystery role in August.

Thus far, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has not revealed their host for the upcoming ceremony to be held on October 30 in a venue to be named in Hollywood, California.

You can watch Steve sharing his reaction to receiving his 2026 Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination below on a special segment on the That’s Awesome podcast.

Now let us know, are you glad that Steve chose scenes surrounding Jason mourning the loss of the woman that raised him, Monica Quartermaine for his Emmy reel? What do you think of John Oliver as a suggestion to host the Daytime Emmys? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

Published

17 hours ago

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July 13, 2026

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Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.

ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.

Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS

THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …

The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.

This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.

Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.

Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC

DAYTIME TALK SERIES

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.

So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Marks Unprecedented 16,000th Episode Milestone with New Cast Photo

Published

1 day ago

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July 13, 2026

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Today’s Monday, July 13 episode of General Hospital marks it 16,000 episode to air on the ABC television network. It is a remarkable milestone. The previous television record was held by Guiding Light which clocked in at 15,762 episodes before it went off the air on CBS in 2009.

To mark the occasion, the cast, crew and creative team of General Hospital celebrated with a cake-cutting ceremony on the Prospect Studios lot in Los Angeles back on Monday, June 1, 2026.

In addition, GH has released a new cast photo taken the day of the on set celebration. Pictured in the photo are front row: Rory Gibson, Finn Carr, Kayden Brenna Tokarski, Asher Antonyzyn, Giovanni Mazza, Braedyn Bruner, Dean Geyer and Nathan Dean.

Featured in the back row are: Tabyana Ali, Eden McCoy, Josh Swickard, Kristen Vaganos, Rebecca Herbst, Dominic Zamprogna, Alexa Havins, Cameron Mathison, Brooke Kerr, Cynthia Watros, Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Jane Elliot, Maurice Benard, Laura Wright, Maura West, Donnell Turner, Nancy Lee Grahn, Tanisha Harper, Kelly Thiebaud, Kristina Wagner, Lynn Herring, Chris McKenna, Katelyn MacMullen and Sawandi Wilson.

In addition, the official GH social media handles shared these sentiments along with some other photos from the cake cutting: “Today’s episode of General Hospital is the 16,000th produced since the show’s inception in 1963. It’s a milestone we couldn’t let pass by without taking some time to celebrate as a family (and, of course… eating some cake). 🍰 We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE 16,000th Episode?

The 16,000th episode will feature Jason Morgan returning to the town of Port Charles, Anna and Valentin (James Patrick Stewart) reuniting, and a new surgeon, Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) joining the staff of ‘General Hospital.’

GENERAL HOSPITAL HOLDS SEVERAL RECORDS

Now in its 64th year, Emmy Award-winning daytime drama General Hospital is currently both the longest-running scripted American drama and the longest-running American soap opera currently in production.

General Hospital holds the record for the most Outstanding Daytime Drama award wins, taking home the prestigious Daytime Emmy Award a record 18 times. Will they do it again and make it 19 in 2026? Stay tuned for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations tomorrow on Tuesday, July 14 to find out if GH will be going for gold in the category, once again.

The ABC daytime drama series was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered back on April 1, 1963. Frank Valentini is the current executive producer with Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten are the show’s co-head writers.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC and streams on Hulu.

What do you think of the new cast photo marking General Hospital’s 16000th episode? What do you think of the accomplishment to have that many episodes of a television show and its still thriving and kicking? Share your thoughts and congrats for everyone in front of the camera and behind the scenes on this milestone airing.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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