General Hospital
RATINGS: GH hits new lows, while OLTL holds strong again at #3!
The ratings are out for the week of May 30th-June 3rd, and it was an abysmal week for General Hospital! The only ABC soap that will remain in the ABC Daytime line-up come 2012, hit rock bottom of all the soaps and landed in 6th place. Several things are most concerning for this legacy soap with the ratings stats: 1) It hit a new all time low in total viewers 2) It hit new lows in key female demographic age groups.
Obviously, the powers-that-be at GH and ABC have felt for awhile that the show was needing somewhat of a creative redirect and thus named Garin Wolf to head write the show, and are bringing in to the fold just announced OLTL headwriter, Ron Carlivati come next year. On the converse, the canceled OLTL remains again firmly at number #3, and has been consistently performing well, even through the decision of its axing from the ABC Daytime lineup.
So this begs the question that soapers have been pondering, did ABC cancel the wrong soap? And, coudn’t the network have allowed just one soap to be canceled ( if there had to be one) to see if one of their new reality shows would fly instead of decimating the line-up?
Check out the numbers courtesy of Soap Opera Network and the total viewership ratings after the jump!
Ratings Report for the Week of May 30 – June 3, 2011
(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)
Total Viewers
1. Y&R 4,696,000 (+49,000/-276,000)
2. B&B 2,778,000 (-54,000/-202,000)
3. OLTL 2,456,000 (-44,000/+68,000)
4. AMC 2,344,000 (-59,000/-15,000)
5. DAYS 2,340,000 (-1,000/-210,000)
6. GH 2,252,000 (-196,000/-160,000) <—- new low *
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!
In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?
Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!
Courtesy/ABC
FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS
The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!
Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?
Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).
On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..
In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”
GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW
So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!
FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD
As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”
Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.
So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’
In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.
The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.
Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”
Photo: CDuellIG
SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL
Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.
The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.
In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have, but what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened. On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”
So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.
Christel Khalil Reveals She Almost Quit Acting After ‘That’s So Raven’ Audition, But Then Came ‘The Young and the Restless’
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Marlena Looks Back at 50 Years in Salem
‘WWE: Unreal’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Cast of Superstars, Announced by Netflix
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
Deidre Hall Marks 50 Years as ‘Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Marlena Evans
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
‘General Hospital’s’ Controversial Luke and Laura Rape Episode: Writer Sheri Anderson Reveals Behind the Scenes Decisions and Admits ‘I Was Wrong’ to Defend It (Exclusive)
‘Days of Our Lives’ Eric Martsolf Recalls Moment He Learned He Was Cast as Brady Black, and Last Scenes with Drake Hogestyn (SOAPY Exclusive Preview)
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Weighs-In on Dante and Elizabeth Pairing and Sharing Scenes with Rebecca Herbst (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL Promo: Rocco’s in a Panic as Britt’s Health Takes a Turn, Chase is Called to the Carpet
Christel Khalil Reveals She Almost Quit Acting After ‘That’s So Raven’ Audition, But Then Came ‘The Young and the Restless’
‘WWE: Unreal’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Cast of Superstars, Announced by Netflix
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
Deidre Hall Marks 50 Years as ‘Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Marlena Evans
Y&R Preview: Matt Clark Asks Phyllis on a Date, Would You Be Down for the Pairing? Roger Howarth & Michelle Previously in GH’s Franco/Nina Romance
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General Hospital2 days agoMaurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
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General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Controversial Luke and Laura Rape Episode: Writer Sheri Anderson Reveals Behind the Scenes Decisions and Admits ‘I Was Wrong’ to Defend It (Exclusive)
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Days Of Our Lives1 week ago‘Days of Our Lives’ Eric Martsolf Recalls Moment He Learned He Was Cast as Brady Black, and Last Scenes with Drake Hogestyn (SOAPY Exclusive Preview)
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General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Weighs-In on Dante and Elizabeth Pairing and Sharing Scenes with Rebecca Herbst (Exclusive)
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OLTL is the only show up from last year…..the rest are declining. The ratings are still not great, but it shows where there is at least interest. I am loving the tale of the 2 Todds. I can’t wait to see how it plays out. Also, the Clint/Matthew storyline is giving Hillary B Smith some great material. I’m so happy the show is going to go out stronger than ever, but it will make it all the harder to take. Congrats to RC for getting hired at GH. OLTL is the best show in daytime and finally someone is recognizing that.
whose rc?
It seems that ABC has cut of it’s nose to spite it’s face as the old saying goes–OLTL is doing very well and for a good reason someone there knows how to write and how to integrate a cast.
If TPTB at Gh can’t tell that what they are doing right now–pushing the mob and Michael 24/7 –isn’t working then they will continue to see those types of ratings. I’ll withhold a total judgment until I see how GW writes the current cast if he continues shoving the mob in our face the ratings will stay the same–it is boring and repetitive. Sonny, jm, carly, michael–all non-starters currently and they brought that lovely 1.6 in the last batch of ratings. Get over them they aren’t working.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Brian Frons used these ratings as a reason to dump GH too!
These ratings just further prove that ABC made the right decision in dumping Guza.
I wonder how much the Casey Anthony trial is affecting GH’s ratings? Some stations are bumping GH til the wee hours of the morning, and airing the trial when GH shoud be on in the afternoon.
I’m not surprised by the low ratings, the story lines are horrible, same old crap. Why in the heck would michael want to be part of the mob when he has seen the results it causes? He’s not a freakin tough guy! Pairing him with an older woman was also a big mistake, it didn’t make him seem more mature to me. Now they are doing the same thing with Kristina and pairing her with Ethan, that just screams disgust! she’s a good actress but there’s zero chemistry because she looks like she 12 years old.
I disagree about Kristina and Ethan. They remind me of Luke and Laura of many years ago.
Um, lets not forget luke raped laura many years ago and now she’s in a mental institution.
I agree. GH is giving off a pedophile vibe that I find truly disgusting. K looks like a tarted up prepubescent glomming on to her oldest brother’s OLDEST friend. It’s ICKY. They creep me out in the worst way not to mention they have no chemistry at all. It makes Ethan creepy rather than sexy or hot. I tune out the show if I know that they are on it. Michael and the stripper leave me with a similar feeling. They remind me of the news stories about the teachers having ‘relations’ with their students. I keep waiting to see Chris Hansen from Dateline. It’s one of the reasons that I’ve tuned out.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I think ABC did indeed cancel the wrong show. One Life to Live is superior to GH in almost every way. OLTL can be over the top sometimes, but it is pure soapy melodramatic fun. Also, it is character based, so I buy into the sometimes outrageous stories. The characters and their plots collide in such a way that mixes everyone and everything up, no matter how old or what color; and character interactions and reactions are, for the most part, based in history and have a broader context. With GH, everything seems so plot driven and mob-hero-centric. I even feel like they killed off Jake and had a subsequent transplant story just for the sake of it. Meanwhile, One Life to Live looks like it is going in a similar direction of sacrificing one character to give Clint a new heart, BUT this story makes sense as there has been a well-constructed cross-layering of plots to build up to this point, so it is more believable, and I actually care about every character involved (even Clint). Just look at the stories going on with both shows right now, and the clear quality winner is One Life to Live. GH just doesn’t have it anymore. My suggestion: when Ron Carlivati takes over GH, Franco should kill off every character; meanwhile, a natural disaster in Llanview will force everyone in Llanview to relocate to Port Charles, and we can continue enjoying the best cast and most enjoyable characters on daytime.
Why are fans fighting each other? We should support ALL three soaps to the bitter end.
You do have a point, Brooke, but it’s just so hard to know we have to say goodbye to OLTL come next January. I may tune back in to GH once Ron Carlivati is writing for it.
I’m not fighting with other fans. I’m a fan of One Life to Live, so I watch and support One Life to Live. That’s because I watch and support television programming that I personally deem quality entertainment, and I vote with my remote and my cable box. I simply do not like GH, and I feel that I have given that show too much of my valuable time, hoping that it would improve, so I tuned out. Therefore, I’m not going to support GH or ABC after OLTL goes off the air. It would literally take the producers turning GH into One Life to LIve in virtually every way before I would even entertain the idea of tuning in again. That is my freedom, and that is my choice, as an American with my own personal, individual tastes.
GH biggest problem was Bob Guza jr, and now he’s gone, He was simply allowed to live in this bubble he created for far to long, he was completely oblivious to how bad he had turned GH into. I also feel like Jill phelps bares the other half of the blame along w/ BRIAN FRONS. You take them out of the equation and put anyone w/ common sense and GH can completely be saved. First of all if you put GH 40 PLUS year history next to any other soap, theres simply no comparison. I hate that both amc and oltl got cancelled, i believe abc will live to regret that, but honestly not to be mean, no network executive on any network would have picked amc or oltl over gh. Just look at GH rich history, 10 emmy as best show, more then any other soap, its record breaking luke and laura wedding (30 million)that no other show has broken. its much duplicated bj and maxie heart transplant story, duplicated but not even close to equaled, its outstanding cast, and yes other shows have great cast too, but still, its bittersweet that oltl is doing good now yet in the long run i don’t feel it can beat GH at anything, sorry but thats the truth, it will never match
gh rich history, its record emmy’s or its PORTFOLIO. So, heres what i’m hoping, i’m hoping that mr. carlivati doesn’t turned gh to cartoonish, or to soapoperish, what made gh stand out from other soaps to begin with was that it didn’ have that awful organ piano like music like YR does, or overkill on plots like oltl, example, how many people from the same family can one hospital admitt, natalie,clint, and mathew. and yet barely any family members visit, or every ford brother taking turns being naked, can you say cheeeeeeeese, and now two todds, and not one crazy, jessa, or two, moma vicki an their alter egos, but 3 with marty. and i could go on but then that would be overkill on my part.
OLTL zannieness is a big part of its appeal.
The various comments on this soap board just show that GH either cancelled the wrong soap or cancelled one too many soaps. It’s interesting how people see things so differently, which goes to show you that different people enjoy different things and different kinds of entertainment, because our brains are wired so differently, and THAT is OKAY! 🙂 The people who vote on Emmy winners obviously felt 10 times that GH’s singular good episode submissions each year entitled that show to its Emmy wins. I personally feel Y&R and OLTL were robbed many times, due to stunt episodes submitted by GH. I think most people understand the Emmy process to be a joke, but I digress. It is a shame this is happening, and I empathize with those stalwart GH fans who want their show saved. Hopefully, Ron Carlivati can make something of that show again, and it can be saved for a couple or few more years. I just won’t be watching.
OLTL is a great soap. If I catch any of the three soaps it’s OLTL. OLTL has excellent actors and great storylines.
Yes they canceled the wrong soap GH sucks in my book…
GH is absolutely horrible but it looks good…delve deeper in the story you will see misogyny personified…personally I’ve pretty much dumped this show. I’m willing to try it again under the new head writer hopefully he will be “allowed to do his job” without interference from the meddlers…clearly the vision that Guza (along with Frons he is as much to blame) is EPIC fail.
I tune in sparingly how can you have a storyline where in a previous eppy Diane said point blank that Morgan’s adoption went through; Jax application was not denied then because (I guess Ingo is leaving) they backtracked yesterday. Because its a soap is no longer an excuse for sloppy storytelling. How can you have a father lose one son he totally ignored and gave away who was recently killed be the so heavily involved in the story (the mother should have been driving it but oh.well) and to compound the horribleness have him on the screen all giddy about having another baby and the storyline runs at the same time? What kind of mess is this? They change “what has already taken place) to accommodate an agenda weekly its a whole website dedicated to sloppy storytelling.
Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey Network crashes and burns. Ratings not great? Can’t get more than 300,000 viewers in prime time? People have had enough of reality shows about people and their problems and that’s all OWN offers. OWN should have picked up One Life to Live and it would have at least 2 million viewers for one hour. Viewers of OWN are complaining about repeats. With OLTL everyday there is a new episode–that’s what keeps people watching and coming back. It’s been working and making money for over 40 years. I would subscribe to OWN if it had OLTL, but it doesn’t and I won’t.
Yes they did indeed cancel the wrong soap. GH has absolutely abysmal writing and has been that way for many years with the focus being on characters who haven’t even been on canvas half the time of the people they’ve replaced. I haven’t enjoyed Sonny or Jason since they were involved in storylines with Robin, and Carly can just go die any day now.
She sucks in every way imaginable (the character, not Laura Wright who is the only factor making Carly bearable.) GH is notorious for completely eradicating its history in order to fit in with the writer/EPs vision of what the show should be now, even if it means directly contradicting itself and things we’ve come to accept as truth over the years. OLTL while there have been times over the years where they beat a subject to death and drag out storylines too long, I love the fact that they respect the history and showcase it when it would have impact. If I have something to do that means missing one of my soaps that day I always go with skipping GH. I wouldn’t dream of missing OLTL right now!