General Hospital
Prospect Park's Jeff Kwatinetz Is Co-EP Of New Drama On ABC Fall Line-Up, NOTORIOUS!
Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos
In a very interesting item coming out of the ABC Upfronts today is that the former head of Prospect Park, now CEO of The Firm, Jeff Kwatinetz, the man who revived One Life to Live and All My Children for one season online is one of the executive producers on ABC’s new drama, Notorious.
Add that to the fact that Kwatinetz has been involved for some time in a lawsuit with the network over the drama surrounding the reboot of One Life to Live, and the use of those branded characters on General Hospital make this all the more noteworthy. Notorious is debuting this fall and is inspired by the true-life stories of famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and cable news producer Wendy Walker, who serve as executive producers.
The series is a provocative look at the unique, sexy and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media. Josh Berman (“Blacklist,” “Bones,” “CSI”) is writer and executive producer, and Allie Hagan (“Suri’s Burn Book”) is writer and co-executive producer. Notorious stars Piper Perabo (“Covert Affairs”) as Julia George, Daniel Sunjata (“Graceland”) as Jake Gregorian, Sepideh Moafi as Megan Byrd, Kate Jennings Grant as Louise Herrick, Ryan Guzman as Ryan, Kevin Zegers as Oscar Keaton, J. August Richards as Bradley Gregorian and Aimee Teegarden as Ella Benjamin.
The series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios. Michael Engler, Kenny Meiselas, Jeff Kwatinetz and Josh Barry are also executive producers. Michael Engler directed the pilot.
In addition, Notorius has been put in a very enticing timeslot holding the spot held by Scandal on Thursday night’s at 9PM. According to Variety: “Scandal will return in its familiar slot later in the year when its series star, Kerry Washington is ready to resume production following the birth of her child. The fall scheduling amounts to a big vote of confidence in Notorious as it will benefit from the lead-in from a resurgent Grey’s Anatomy.”
What do you think about Jeff and ABC in a joint venture? What do you think of the log lines of Notorious? Does it pique your interest? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I hope the people he shafted monetarily can garnish his salary from this.
Agreed. Except for the fact that real human beings turned down other jobs while waiting and waiting for PP to announce when they were going back to work, then lost their jobs when both online shows were cancelled, and were/are still owed money from PP under their now-worthless contracts, I have no reason to remember that there ever was an online version of either show.
How and why can they work together if there is a lawsuit pending?
Because it is business. Lawsuit is business.
Executives rarely take anything personally, it’s about profit.
It’s for the network..
As Trump. Most all is demolished candidates are now supporting him..
It’s for the Party ..
I wasn’t talking personally, I was asking professionally. I thought you could not work with “company A” if you were with “company B” and the companies were embroiled in a lawsuit. But I guess, legally, there isn’t a conflict.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. What is this; a day to release news stories that boggle my mind? How can he work on something with ABC when they are in a tussle over PP’s role in the OLTL and AMC revivals? Did they settle this matter and I didn’t see anything on it? Can someone please explain? Thanks.
Oh, and, NO, I have no intention of watching the new show.
Agreed. How you hire the person who is suing you is beyond me. As grateful as I was for the reboot of OLTL and AMC, I don’t think they did it very well. The writing was really messy, and the swearing and sex was over the top for me, meant more to provoke than advance plot or character. So I have no faith this will be a good show. The premise certainly doesn’t interest me. And they cancelled Nashville and Castle to make room for this? A head scratcher indeed.
The lawsuit is between companies – Prospect Park & ABC. If you notice, this new series is made by Sony & ABC, & produced by at least 5 different people, of whom Jeff K. is just one. Production companies often pool their money together to create one project. So, if there were several projects Jeff K. was developing, and some of them got the green light from ABC, he’s not going to pull out of one project just because another one ends up in a lawsuit. This is how he makes a living. He can’t stop producing just because he sues someone. Producing projects is the only way to continue his income. If he ever hopes to produce bigger & better projects, he can’t leave his current partners high & dry regardless of where their productions end up.
Now that makes sense to me. Thanks.
So, what is the status of the lawsuit over One Life to Live? That’s the only thing I want to know.
I don’t watch much TV anymore and this is one of the reasons why.
Mark 2016 as the year of the absurd. There is so much going on that makes no sense. I could care less about the premise of this new series, and even less for PP. Except that they so bungled OLTL and AMC reboot, and along with ABC, have totally screwed the fans, actors, etc. of these shows. And it’s still ongoing. It’s ironic the series is about the law, albeit criminal, while PP and ABC are in the middle of a law suit making lawyers richer.
Tune out! We dont matter! If there is money involved these snakes will slither with anyone!
So ABC cancels Castle, Nashville and does not renew The Family, which, by far, has been the BEST show that ABC has had on in a long time for this nonsense dribble…..I hope the new in charge of network doesn’t get to comfortable in her job, doesn’t seem like she’ll be around long to enjoy it…sad that the faithful viewers are the ones getting shafted in all this Merry Go Round crap…..also, not sure why they keep renewing Shonda’s Thursday night shows, Scandal, Grey’s Anat and How to get Away, plus The Catch or Thief, whatever it’s called…they all pretty much suck now….Not sure how much longer ABC is going to be around…..
So do the people who they own $$ to from Amc & OLTL get their $$ if when this show makes it .They should .
There was never any doubt that in watching the riveting and emotional scenes on General Hospital which featured Finola Hughes as a PTSD-driven and mentally tortured Anna Devane, that when the climatic moments in Anna’s story aired, that we would not be singing the praises of Hughes. Once again, Finola showcased why she is one of the soap opera genres greatest assets and actresses.
In the key scenes, Anna has had a complete breakdown as she has lured and cornered Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) on Mount Emerson, and even thought through how she would kill her and cover it up, all thanks to hearing the voice and seeing a dead man, Peter August (Wes Ramsey). It’s visions of Peter that keeps egging Anna on to pull the trigger on Britt while in her delusional state.
Before Britt realizes that Anna trapped her in meeting her in Mount Emerson, she is very confused as to why she was all the way out in the boondocks to talk about what happened to her brother, Cassius Faison. However, Britt soon learned that what Anna was about to do is personal, and not professional, as she pulls the gun on her.
Courtesy/ABC
ANNA FIRES HER GUN IN GAME-CHANGING MOMENT
When Jason (Steve Burton) shows up to save the say, he tries to talk Anna off the ledge, begging her to not shoot Britt and make one of the greatest mistakes of his life. When Jason figured out Anna felt she needed to kill anyone related to Cesar Faison, he made her think twice, because that would mean, she also would need to end the lives of two of Maxie’s children, James and Bailey Lu.
Anna can’t stop seeing hallucinations of Peter pushing her to shoot Britt. Suddenly and completely overcome, Anna fires bullets straight in the direction of where she sees Peter as she declares this all must end tonight.
After the shots are fired, Anna realized what she had done and just sobbed and shook. It was a devastating and heartbreaking moment for longtime General Hospital fans to see the beloved Anna Devane, super spy, so lost. Anna explained to Jason, after he was able to disarm her, how she was being pushed to kill Britt by her visions of Peter.
EMMY-WORTHY SCENES FOR 2027
In another hankie-inducing moment, Anna just grabs Jason and breaks down in his arms. If these weren’t Emmy-worthy scenes, we don’t know what is, and it must be remembered by Hughes, General Hospital, and hopefully the voting body of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) when Emmy submissions and voting get underway in 2027 for the 54th annual Daytime Emmys.
From everything we noted above, to the sheer brilliance of her work, Michael Fairman TV names Finola Hughes, this week’s Power Performance of the Week.
Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Finola? Were you moved to tears during the gut-wrenching scenes? Should Finola include these scenes in an Emmy submission in 2027, should she decide to compete for Lead Actress gold? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
The ratings are out for the week of August 24-28 for your favorite broadcast television soaps, and it was ABC’s General Hospital which added the most total viewers and planted itself firmly in third place in its battle with Beyond the Gates in the key demos of women 18-49 and 25-54.
According to Soap Opera Network, all daytime dramas were up year-over-year, and General Hospital was joined by The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with gains in their total audience viewership, while Beyond the Gates was only slightly off pace for the ratings week.
Let’s take a look at what had viewers tuning-in, starting with General Hospital, who added +79,000 viewers. While still under the 2 million viewers mark (which they can hopefully return in the coming weeks) their overall tally was an average of 1, 935,000 tuning-in, while still up year-to-year +136,000.
GENERAL HOSPITAL
In addition, GH while actually down from the previous week in the 18-49 ratings share, they still out performed Beyond the Gates for third place. However, GH was firmly in third place for the 25-54 ratings share.
The stories that were featured for the week included: Anna’s (Finola Hughes) PTSD and struggle with painful memories tied to Cesar Faison, and her concocting a plan to get rid of Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) recording Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) threatening her, and later running into a severe threat from Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) regarding Kai (Jens Austin Astrup) and Drew’s (Cameron Mathison) shooting, and Drew enlisting Ava (Maura West) to gain leverage over Jack, which resulted in Ava drugging him, while Drew went snooping for the evidence Brennan had against him.
Photo: JPI
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Y&R remained in the top spot amongst all the soaps once again with 3,062,000 tuning in, and up +35,000 for the week, while year-to-year still showing strong gains at +231,000 viewers. However, while Y&R remained #1 for the 25-54 ratings share, it fell to #2 in the 18-49 ratings share behind The Bold and the Beautiful.
In story for the week, Nick’s (Joshua Morrow) sobriety in rehab was a focus, as was Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) hitting the Jabot office couch and having sex for the first time, and Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy (Jason Thompson) battling over control and ownership of Chancellor Industries.
Photo: JPI
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
B&B is continuing to be inch closer to Y&R for the top spot, separated by a little more than 300,000 viewers. For the ratings week, the series posted a total audience of 2,719,000 adding +31,000 eyeballs overall, and like Y&R, is up year-to-year in its performance.
The CBS soap now , now in its 40th season is +217,000 from the same time last year. In the key demos, The Bold and the Beautiful was in the top spot for the women 18-49 ratings share and number two for women 25-54.
In story, the major threat to Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Daphne’s (Murielle Hilaire) marriages continued as Steffy and Carter swore they would not tell their spouses that the two had a drunken hook-up. But as viewers know now, Steffy is pregnant!
Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES
Beyond the Gates tallied an average of 1,611,000 total viewers for the week, up +72.000 year-over-year and down slightly in tune-in for the week losing just -36,000 viewers. The CBS soap came in fourth place in the key demos for the week behind General Hospital, with whom they are often trading places for the third spot.
In story, after Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) was released from the hospital, Hayley (Marquita Goings) stuck to her plan, doubling down on poisoning him and even getting caught in a major lie or meeting with Randy (Maurice P. Kerry), as Vernon (Clifton Davis) may be on to her machinations.
The ratings report is generated from Nielsen (Live+Same Day Big Data + Panel) for the week of August 24-28, 2026
So, what did you think of the performance of General Hospital for the ratings period? Which daytime drama has you most likely to tune-in each day? Which has you tuning-out? Let us know what’s working, or not working for you in story, via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
It was just over 13 years ago on General Hospital when Ava Jerome (Maura West) shot and killed Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) in an effort to keep her quiet from revealing that Derek Wells was actually Ava’s back-from-the-dead brother, Julian Jerome (William deVry). It’s a crime that somehow Ava never has quite paid for either.
The episode back aired on August 13, 2013 and viewers had to say goodbye to Kelly Sullivan who played Kate and her alter, Connie. In the story, just before she died, Kate/Connie scrawled the letters AJ in her own blood, initially making the PCPD and Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) think that it was AJ Quatermaine (Sean Kanan) who did the deed.
Now, Sullivan recalled sharing scenes with the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning West, during a live conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel. Kelly was the special guest talking about her recent return to the soaps in her new role as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Darcy Dylan.
Photo: JPI
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MAURA WEST
Speaking of her final GH scenes and working with Maura West, Sullivan gave her then GH co-star major props. “If you’re going to be shot by somebody (on the soaps), you want to be shot by Maura West, c’mon!”
Maura West debuted back in May 2013 as Ava, and Sullivan remembered when the As the World Turns favorite began on GH. “I remember when Maura West first arrived at GH. She walked in with this cute little bob (hairdo) and she’s just delicious,” shared Sullivan.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Kelly revealed more about Maura, adding “I think she’s amazing! I remember right before I left the show, someone suggested, and I would still love to do this with her, if she ever want to, but someone suggested that they wanted to direct the stage play A Streetcar Named Desire with Maura and I, where I would play Stella and she would play Blanche! Wouldn’t that be great?”
Speaking of the Ava/Connie showdown scenes, Sullivan expressed, “On television and on General Hospital specifically, Maura West is able to play a character who does the most horrendous things and you still care about her and that’s the mark of a really great actor. In other words, you’re able to be liked in the midst of the most horrendous things, and as a performer not shying away from that, and to just have the courage to do what’s on the page (in the script).”
Photo: JPI
KELLY SULLIVAN PARTING THOUGHTS AS SHE LEFT GENERAL HOSPITAL
Kelly also shared her sentiments when she walked off the set of General Hospital after her run back in August of 2013. “I really was honored. Every day I would go to work and I would say a little prayer, which is I want to do justice for my character, explained Kelly. “It’s between me and my character. I get to walk this path with her and to leave the show on that note, which is, I left every out there. I just gave it my all and again what an honor it was to play Kate/Connie.”
You can catch the full conversation with Kelly where she talks about her time on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless where she played Sage Warner and now The Bold and the Beautiful below.
So, do you remember the Ava and Connie scenes where Ava shot and killed her? What did you think of Kelly Sullivan’s sentiments about Maura West? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, watch the reveal where Ava recalls murdering Connie below!
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‘General Hospital’s’ Finola Hughes Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
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‘General Hospital’s’ Bluesy Burke Marks 1 Year as Charlotte Cassadine: ‘It’s The Best Gift I’ve Ever Received’
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
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General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Braedyn Bruner Reveals Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and How Emma is Getting Her ‘Edge’ Back
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