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Patty McCormack Steps In As Temporary Recast As GH’s Monica!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

There will be a new Monica Quartermaine on General Hospital for a bit.  That is because beloved portrayer, Leslie Charleson injured her leg, and the character of Monica was scheduled to appear in some upcoming episodes of the ABC daytime drama Series.

Thus, none other than Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed, 1956) has been tapped as Charleson’s temporary replacement.

The official GH Twitter account announced the news by stating: “Leslie Charleson beloved dog, Riley Rose, was a little too eager for her morning walk and tripped Leslie – injuring her leg. Unfortunately, she will need to be replaced in shows already written. She sends all her love and will be back as soon as she recovers. We wish her a speedy recovery and all the best.”

Look for McCormack to appear in episodes come mid-May.

So, what do you think of Patty as temporary Monica Q? Comment below.

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This should be very, very interesting……….

Much love to Leslie, hoping for a speedy recovery. When I heard she had injured herself and would be replaced in some episodes, I thought maybe Luke or Tracy would step in for her. I recognized Patty’s name-but was not sure for what- then Google came up with all those lovely pics of the evil pigtailed blonde girl-they are delightful. All eyes will be on Patty, so I wish her the very best-hard for an actor to step into such an established and beloved character’s shoes, I am sure she will do a fine job and appreciate her stepping in while Leslie heals.

And I meant step into her role.

Patty also appeared in a short lived daytime soap back in the 60s but i forget the title at the moment!!!…i wonder if they will find a stolen medal on her-lol

Patty McCormack is a wonderful actress with an Academy Award nomination to her credit. More recently, she delivered a memorable turn as Patricia Nixon in the modern classic FROST/NIXON. I look forward to seeing her temporarily replacing the divine Leslie Charleson and wish Leslie a speedy recovery. Love her scenes with Drew; she and Billy Miller have a great rapport and I love that Monica is the only person besides Curtis who didn’t turn on Drew when the JaDrew drama was revealed.

OMG! “Rhoda, what have you done!!!?”

Little Rhoda from the “Bad Seed.”

Over-the-top sweet little angel who, in reality is a serial killer.

Speaking of the “Bad Seed,” someone at Y&R needs to “rip off” that movie and write a plot where the “oh so mature but still darling” Faith Newman kills off some of the unsuspecting folks. (I’d let her take out Cane, followed by Tessa, maybe Phyllis could wind up in a coma).

The movie is being remade. The girl who has played Faith, not Alyvia, is playing Rhoda. I think she will do a good job.

Vicious Barbara from Atlanta! Delicious! Remember Bloody Babs- portrayed by Susan Hayward in “I want to Live”? Darling Rhoda/Faith? I am up for it, though I have enjoyed Troubled Tessa’s Tunes. I want Kelly to return with her mom and brother and his evil spawn-that kid was flawless as the bad seed. Love to see that twisted family return to plot evil deeds in Genoa City.

Phyllis, a girl after my own heart. “I Want to Live!” is a movie I saw on the telly when I was a very young tot being cared for by a very mean babysitter. This babysitter also forced me to watch,”Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” Somehow, the two aforementioned factors kind of merged in my mind.
Now, Soaphound, yes, Kyle is Vile. Let’s call him Vile from now on. However, that actor is growing on me. He’s quite funny and kind of charming. The other day when Dina once again mistook Ashely as the maid and started complaining about her, Kyle smiled and said,”You know, you just can’t find good help now days.” I think Vile could turn out to be fun. And it occurred to me that back in the day, ole smiling Jack also had a sense of entitlement and he lacked a moral compass. Jack evolved in time but could it be that Vile is a young Jack?

I’m with you, Barbara, but my candidate is that repulsive, whining, conniving Kyle. Maybe it takes courage for a young actor to take on such a repulsive character, but it can be a double-edged sword if he or she is TOO convincing. I’m afraid Michael Mealor may be prematurely typecast.

Barbara—I have thought the same thing! Great minds think alike and all that jazz. Faith would make an excellent Bad Seed.
About a year and a half ago there was one of those family scenes at the Newman Ranch. Victor was there in all his glory surrounded by his wife, his children and grandchildren. One of Victoria’s darling toddlers was sitting on his adoring Grampapa’s knee. I caught Faith just glaring squint eyed at that small and innocent boy. It was her Rhoda moment.

Love those older movies, Harry!

Get well soon, Leslie—you’ll always be Monica to me!!! I am sure the temp recast will do very well but you’ll still be missed all the same!!!

That will be different, and fun..
McCormack stepping in is Temporary.
I like something different it kills the monotony.

Sure hope GH picks up the pace-sweeps is coming and the Nurses Ball. Y&R has been most entertaining every day for me. Happy 4/20 day!

I am sooo lost, her, Phyllis, LOL. The only familiar name to me is Susan Hayward in the 1958 movie, I WANT TO LIVE. My grandparents have an infinite amount of the old, classic movies.
I do think I have watched all of them since I was a little girl.
My best to Leslie….speedy recovery….come back soon.

I agree, su000. If the actor does well, it could lead to a longer role on this or another show. Or, if we don’t care for them, we appreciate our regular actor more. It’s a win/win for the viewer.

I don’t mind any temporary recast, but please get well Leslie Charleson. GH needs The Real Monica Quartermaine!

Absolutely love Ms. McCormack from way back. I know she will fill L.C shoes very well. It will be so nice to see P.M again. Wish I could say the same for another newcomer to arrive on GH. Can’t stand this obnoxious person, but thank God for DVRs and FF.

Love it! She’s a brilliant actress!

She was great in The Bad Seed. She was also in The Ropers.

I think that the biggest surprise is that the show is actually going to use the character enough the part had to be recast.

Thanks, Justin. You gave me a good chuckle. How right you are!

Sorry to hear about Leslie’s misstep, and hoping she gets well soon. I’m sure Leslie had a nice little talk with Riley Rose.

Based on Patty’s role in The Bad Seed, Nelle might even get some tips from her. :))

Nelle needs pigtails!!

Nelle’s baby is Rosemary???

Yes, Rose. Who knows, maybe lightning will strike twice?

the one thing that is SOOO FUNNNY – THANK YOU NELLE ! YES !

watching “Carly” scared…

when does that happen ? and she’s so bad it’s laugh out loud

I hope this at least continues …. or is the joke on us.. to help her save face.. as Sonny asks her to see a neurosurgeon… so she goes to see Dr. Griffin

nevertheless… for those wanting to see Laura Wright act

MORE PLEASE

bring it Nelle

poor leslie, hope she recovers quickly, as for the actress replacing her, i don’t know anything about her, hope she does a good job, its good that monica is being written for its always good to have the vets appearing regularly.

Just happened to my mother in law. Not bueno!

Get better soon Ms. Leslie!

They should have checked in with Patsy Rahn…

That would admittedly have been a hoot, James!

Thanks, Michael! I generally like the hoot factor! 🙂

@Patrick.
Hi, Patrick,
Yes!!!!! I derive so much joy and mirth by Carly’s desperarate attempt of trying to convince everyone she’s not crazy. She is sooo crestfallen when she realizes Sonny looks at her weird. Even he is patronizing her.
Serendipity, in a very twisted, macabre way, my Patrick!! Can’t help myself. LOL. Put this in poetry-mode.
Poor Carly is fraught with fright. Ha!!
Nonetheless, Nelle better not push her luck too far near the edge…..the view may be beautifully awe-inspring, yet the precipice is not a friend.

You have the most lovely way with words. Seriously. Love reading your posts-most especially when they are to me!

Thank you, Phyllis….so sweet. You’re not so shabby yourself!! LOL.
…..aren’t you getting a kick out of Nelle? I just want her to stop, though….I’m afraid she’ll get in soooo deep, she’ll be found out and carted off to jail and off the show.
Then, guess what?? Another baby gone to Carly. I could scream and pull my hair out simultaneously…..
I would die if my little girl called another woman, ‘Mommy’…. I don’t care how evil or good Ava is, she loves Avery, her baby; not Carly’s.
And, it’s not as if Carly is an exemplar mother….or Mother of the Year.
It is sickening to watch how the writers are sooooo using Mike’s illness to bolster THE redemption-cause to elicit some Sonny-pity……I still do not feel sorry for him. Furthermore, Griffin tries to justify the unholy alliance between these sewer rats ( Sonny and Carly—-no Mickey and Minnie, they) as he admonishes Ava. Admonishes her!!!!!!
Ok….now for the baguette pizza. My mother-in-law makes Italian bread your way, LOL. I have had the baguette cut up into chunks as bruschetta ( pronounced brusketta).
I love it best with anchovies. Any kind of seafood is a feast for me. I know, I know, Phyllis….most do not find this appetizing—-can’t understand why…really!!

Sonny has not impregnated anyone for several years now and is past due. Today was pretty good-I really like Nina and Val, am wanting the Nelle story to some to some sort of-something-and the Kiki and Dr. Bensch story to move along-not really interested in a lot of the other goings on right now and am rather blah about the Nurses Ball. I need to step away from the tv and get on with my own life. Though I did watch The Resident again and it was excellent-lots of scheming hospital drama.
Love bruschetta, with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil and garlic. Love taking elephant garlic, bake the whole bulb with a little olive oil and then the cloves pull right out of the skin and spread delightfully on bread. Smashed many an anchovy making Caesar salads-they are full of flavor, but I don’t really care for them if I can see them. If they are invisible, ok. What about curry? Love curry. Make a great vegetable one.

How about Bagna Cauda, Celia? Had it once, decades ago and your mention of anchovies reminded me. The version I had of “the hot bath” was a creamy one-made with added cream and parmesan-it was luxurious and so good on vegetables. I’ve looked up recipes for both tradtional and creamy but have not seen one with added cheese. They all sound good though. I think there is anchovy in puttanesca-which is also one of my favorites. Ok no more food talk.

I remember Patty filling in for Kathryn Hays on As the World Turns in late 1975-1976. She did an admirable job, considering all that was going on: Kim’s sister Jennifer had just died and Kim still had amnesia from a blow to the head during a tornado, forgetting her love for Dan Stewart (then John Reilly) and resuming her marriage to John Dixon, from whom she had been estranged before the tornado/amnesia storyline. Kim and Dan were never the same after Hays returned, however. Shortly thereafter, John Colenback resumed playing Dan (he didn’t have the same chemistry with Hays as Reilly had), and somewhere in between Susan Stewart kept the two apart by intercepting a phone answering machine message Kim left for Dan after she regained her memory. Ahhhh… those were the days!

I don’t think she is right for the role. She lacks the empathy that Leslie always let show through Monica. I don’t find her to be credible in the part.

It’s strange to me that the character of Monica is receiving much more air-time, now that a temporary recast is filling in. Why now? Before, any update to Monica’s “story” was done off-air. As usual, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos

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Ayla Bullington

Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.

In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.

She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’” 

Josslyn

Photo: ABC

THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH

Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’

The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.” 

The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.

As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”

So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.

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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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