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
Cameron Mathison Previews New Game Show ‘Beat The Bridge’ (Promo)
As previously reported, Cameron Mathison (Drew, General Hospital) will be seen doing double duty this summer when he premieres in June as the host of Game Show Network’s Beat The Bridge.
Now, while Cameron will be the host with the most, that doesn’t mean he will stop playing GH’s Drew. In fact, Mathison taped the game show in 2023, so it will now air for the first time in 2024.
Taking to his Instagram this week, Cameron shared his enthusiasm and some new hosting snaps, sharing, “Our newest game show host reporting for duty😎 Head over to the Game Show Network YouTube channel for your first look at the show and don’t miss Beat The Bridge premiering this June! I can’t wait for you guys to see this!”
Photo: GSN
In Beat The Bridge, an enormous interactive bridge dares players to cross by stepping on the right answers to challenging trivia questions. As they play, each steps forward and puts money in their team’s bank, with bonus money for each successful crossing. Here’s the catch: the team gets to keep the money only if it can “beat the bridge” by returning one of its players back across before time expires.
Photo: ABC
Meanwhile, on GH, Drew and Nina (Cynthia Watros) recently had hate-sex. Do you think its a one-time deal? Where will Drew’s story take him next under new head writers, Patrick Mulcahey and Elizabeth Korte? Stay tuned.
Now below, check out the first promo for Beat The Bridge from the Game Show Network with you host, Cameron Mathison. Then, let us know, will you be checking out the game this summer? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nina Confronts Ava for Sabotaging Her Relationship With Sonny and Signs the Divorce Papers
Looks like Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Ava (Maura West) are back to be each other’s sworn enemy number one. By the end of the Monday, April 22nd episode of General Hospital, the women know where they stand with each other after Nina goes in on Ava accusing her of wanting Sonny (Maurice Benard) all to herself, while her marriage has been on the rocks.
In story, at Nina’s office, Ava shows up to see Nina and says she is sorry about what happened with Sonny and that he reacted the way he did, acknowledging that is was over the top, even for Sonny. Ava says she’ll smooth things over, but Nina says she now understands how manipulative and transparent Ava really is.
Given their horrible history, Nina goes in on Ava and how she should never have trusted her. Nina wants to know how long has Ava had this agenda dating all the way back to telling Nina to turn Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) into the SEC. Ava says she never told her do to that, but Nina wants to know how long Ava has been playing her for a fool.
Courtesy/ABC
Ava says she moved in with Sonny to keep Avery safe and she wants to be on good terms with Avery’s father, Sonny. Nina thinks she likes being in Sonny’s inner circle. Ava tells Nina if she goes to him about her advising Nina to call the SEC on Carly and Drew, it won’t work. Sonny still considers Nina a traitor and he will think she’s lying because she’s so desperate to win him back. Ava says if Nina would stop blaming everyone else that maybe Sonny would respect her. Nina says “like he does you?” Ava says Sonny not only respects her, but he also counts on her.
From there, Ava launches into why she and Sonny understand each other, after all, Sonny is a powerful, turbulent, and sometimes violent man. She goes so far to say if Nina wanted someone to just sit by the fire with and play with their grandchildren, she’s got the wrong guy. Ava then talks about Mike from Nixon Falls (Sonny with amnesia) and how Sonny hid the darkest parts of himself from Nina back then, whereas with Ava they are the same similar creatures, so he doesn’t have to hide anything.
Courtesy/ABC
Nina wants to know just what Ava wants with Sonny? What is her end game? Ava responds that they understand each other, in ways she can’t with Sonny. Nina tells Ava she can go ahead and have it all and signs Sonny’s divorce papers. Ava walks out with the documents, while Nina in tears at her desk, takes off her wedding rings and has her assistant come in so she can messenger the rings back to Sonny’s address.
The episode and these scenes featured great performances by Cynthia Watros and Maura West. You can check some of the scenes below.
Now, let us know, what is Ava’s next move? Is she going to become Mrs. Sonny Corinthos? Do you like Ava and Nina as enemies? Comment below.
General Hospital
Ellen Travolta Makes Another Return to General Hospital
If General Hospital’s Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) nuptials are on, you didn’t think Grandma Gloria Cerullo would miss out on the festivities, now did you?
Casting news from Soap Opera Digest reveals that Ellen Travolta is back taping scenes that will air the week of May 13th on the ABC daytime drama series. When viewers learned that Carmine Cerullo, was also on his way back to Port Charles, now in the face and body of actor George Russo, it only made sense that Grandma Gloria would join Grandpa Cerullo. Look for them both mid-May.
As most people know, Ellen is the older sister to John Travolta. She first make appearances as Gloria back on GH in the mid-90s. Most recently, she returned to the Quartermaine mansion to meet up with daughter, Lois (Rena Sofer) and granddaughter Brook Lynn for Thanksgiving in Port Charles in 2023. Michael Fairman TV interviewed Rena Sofer and Amanda Setton late last year where they shared what it had been liking working with Ellen, who remains very close to Sofer in real-life.
Photo: JPI
Amanda shared: “We fell in love immediately. What’s crazy is my maternal grandmother was Grandma Gloria. I had her till I was 30 and we were so close. She was really like a second mom to me. So, when I got this script and I’m reading “Grandma Gloria”, it was so bizarre. And then in meeting Ellen, she looks like my grandma – same haircut, same high cheekbones. It really did feel like I had a few days with my grandma. It was very, very special for me. Ellen is sweet, prepared, professional, talented and funny to boot. So, it was one of the best weeks I’ve had at work. I hope she comes back. My fingers are crossed.”
Photo: ABC
Now, we can’t imagine Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding day to be smooth sailing, in fact, expect just the opposite, but could it be Grandma Gloria who is ultimately the hero or the calming voice of reason for any pre-wedding jitters? Stay tuned.
So, glad to know that Ellen Travolta will be back for Brook Lynn and Chase’s big day? Comment below.
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GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nina Confronts Ava for Sabotaging Her Relationship With Sonny and Signs the Divorce Papers
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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!