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Robin Riker Joins The Cast Of GH As Rebecca Budig's On-Screen Mom!

Photo: RobinRiker.com

Photo: RobinRiker.com

Robin Riker, who played Beth Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful, will be returning to the world of daytime drama in her new role on ABC’s General Hospital!

According to Soap Opera Digest, Riker has been hired to play the on-screen mother of Rebecca Budig’s Hayden AKA Rachel.

In her new role as the talked about Naomi Dreyfus, look for the disgraced mom to cause trouble for Budig’s on-screen alter ego and more.

Riker has appeared in numerous films, and primetime series as well as the stage.   Look for her first appearance on GH come June 3rd.

What do you think about the casting of Riker as Budig’s on-screen mom? How will Naomi figure into the storyline equation? Share your thoughts below!

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Not excited about any more new characters being brought to the canvas. I would like to see GH write more stories and provide more airtime for the cast they already have.

I echo your sentiments, Marie.

i’m disgusted with this cat and mouse game… the blame game… the blackmail… the lust isn’t even interesting any more…

I mean really.. what’s the point… now that Nicholas doesn’t really have a story outside of this love hate relationship… since ELQ is not his to fight for.

I do wonder… about those diamonds… is Rebecca really hiding… all the moneys her family “stole” and Nicholas gets in deeper …. this isn’t right

Nicholas stole the show last year… these writers have totally lost his character.

unless Rebecca does have … sigh… MORE secrets and till GH gives Laura STORY with power

argh! how frustrating

it’s all about the Sonny and Carly and Jason and Sam show… how uneventful

I miss all the other characters

I forgot… Nicholas may have planted those diamonds so he can have equal footing on the blackmail

still dull

Rachel … who is a character without “connection” till now… was so close to making it on her own… because… like Liz and Jake… showed lots of promise… and love and romance was in the air

now it stinks

I agree with all of you. This issilly

And someone PLEASE tell me what was that get-up Nickolas was dressed in today (Fri.)? Egads!

I totally agree! The cast is so bloated that you can barely follow s/l as it is.

Me too!

Agree! It’s like they are stuck in the same story lines so they add more characters.

With all due respect, Hayden is not so new anymore and if you want to tell her story, its essential to cast her family. Whether you like Hayden or not she is signed and fully committed so you might as well write her and make he more than ONE dimensional.

Exactly–looks like GH going the route of the newly-cancelled Nashville–a sprawling list of characters that no one care anything about. 🙁

Donald Trump…will you please build a wall around PC-too many newbies getting in!!!

Lol and of all the actresses those two hacks could write for why her…

have to gavel @Harry

you are a welcomed clever post… humor is so needed

I just can’t imagine that the behind the scenes production… have to know… right… that fan outcry do not want… GH to be the

Sonny and Carly w/ Jason and Sam show

who’s gonna pay for it? lol

The Quartimaines, Corinthos and Jeromes…most of the people in PC…they all seem to be doing well!!!-lol

TPTB have lost their collective minds. GH’s cast is already bloated with storylines coming & going and characters missing for days & weeks.
We don’t need anymore cast and we certainly don’t need family brought in for a failed newbie character like Hayden.

Hayden’s on her third backstory & we still don’t care.GH needs to cut so many newbie characters & concentrate on characters we know, love and are invested in.

Lucas & Brad are getting married & their entire relationship has happened off camera. How do they expect us to invest when TPTB don’t invest themselves?
Why hire Nurse Amy when viewers would rather see nurses we’re already invested in? Give Elizabeth, Epiphany,Felix the airtime not newbie Amy.

Laura’s promised story is always backburnered. Genie Friggin’ Francis! Instead Hayden gets a family, another backstory and airtime.

TPTB are trying to drive viewers away.

Amen to no new nurses!! Ephiphany and Felix YAY!

Epiphany was so funny during Sonny rehab

get this… I actually liked Sonny…. “he can” show human emotion… not that he was full of words… but it lent Maurice Benard , himself… a chance to act

this end all or be all… for his kids… is tiresome… plus the cutesy cutesy way … Carly and Sonny are threshholding themselves… drinking champagne and heralding themselves king and queen of port Charles

I think not

I have to agree. Soaps want more viewers yet it is difficult to invest with so many characters and stop-start storylines. I like following closely, seeing favorites day to day, not here and there.

These two Actors Tyler and Rebecca deserve better writing then this.I agree for the most half.

You said it! And well!

She’ll be a good addition to the cast. My reservation is that they are expanding the family of a poorly written and ill-defined character, Rachel / Hayden / whoever / whatever. Maybe this will ground the character and not just muddy the already murky waters.

I totally agree with all the above posters. There is not enough depth to the current s/l’s and way too many in the current cast. The revolving door approach is definitely not working for me — what a disappointment to see yet another newbie.

Totally agree….cast WAY TOO LARGE! Characters disappear for too long, stories, lag, or occur off screen or are dropped all together. TPTB seem to have favorites and could care less about fans. Current characters & couples who are proven popular are cast aside, or decimated in order to prop the favorites. History and story lines being rewritten to fit someone’s selfish agenda. Bye GH, I’m out!

Unless her mother has some secret past with someone already on canvas whose character is deeply connected to the history of the show, why bother. Creating characters just to create story line instead of creating story lines for character already there has always been problematic for any soap. Viewers aren’t interested in new characters unless they are anchored to main characters– If JK Rowling created new main characters for every Harry Potter book no one would have read the series, they kept reading the books because there were following a certain set of characters. Sure new characters might have been introduced in each new book, but the books were never about the new characters. Soap writers need to heed that lesson. If you can’t figure out stories for characters you got, maybe you need to find yourself a new career other than soap writer.

Mary SF…Good points!

Mary, love the Harry Potter comparison!

I agree with everyone. I’m sure she’s a nice lady but GH doesn’t need any more new people. It’s already ridiculous. I could care less about Hayden so I sure don’t care about her parents.

Or Ponzi schemes.

This Nancy agrees. I could care less about Hayden or Rachel or whoever–her character started out one way (pretending to be Jason’s husband) then, when they signed her for a 2 or 3 or 4 (!) year contract, they changed the story; now they’ve changed it again. Don’t care! And the idea that she and Nikolas are going to make each other’s life “hell,” to use Nikolas’s words–who wants to see THAT? What a dismal concept–and how can that be entertaining in any way?

These are the same writers who gave AMC’s Greenlee an entire family while making the stories on AMC orbit around her sun. While Rebecca Budig is a perfectly decent actress, I have never understood the fascination with her. She’s just okay and borderline boring.
It’s hard to get excited about an entire family moving into Port Charles when characters we really care about are largely ignored. Two weeks ago we got to see Laura have lunch with Kevin and she has not been seen since.
The cast is over saturated as it is. Moreover, from reading the story summary above, it looks like Hayden’s family dynamics will replicate Greenlee’s family dynamics. I am sure Hayden’s Bernie Maddoff-like father will be trotting in soon and probably a brother or sister or two.
Slow down with the rapid introduction of new characters, GH.

Rebecca Buddig’s Greenlee never worked for me as a heroine. The only time I enjoyed the character was when she tormented Bianca after she saw her at The Blue Note and threatened to expose her as a lesbian.

Ron Carlivati’s vision for Hayden as the fun bad girl has been undone by Jean and Shelly’s desire to make the character a sympathetic victim. Big mistake. GH — like every other soap these days — is hellbent on declawing their strong female characters and making them dreary milquetoasts who are defined by their men.

Alan…it’s also hard in real life to find strong females that someone isn’t trying to “declaw.”

Alan, good point, why would two female writers remove Hayden’s claws?

BUT you may get less Sonny!

Yes, Harry!

And, like you, I wonder where is Laura’s story? Poor Genie! She can act circles around all of the new-cast members.

It’s surprising to me when I read the comments that are on here before mine and I agree with 99, if not 100% of them. So what’s left to say, but DITTO.

Most likely she Sonny’s sister;Hayden/Rachel’s uncle….WHO CARES….

Welcome! Looking forward to the story unfold

And yet…and yet…After almost twenty years on canvas, we STILL do not even know the name of Liz’s mother. If ever a character needed family, it is Elizabeth Webber, not this dud Rachel whatever.

But nothing is more important than building up a pet character who, to date, is a major fail!

a 4 year contract…. WOW

Frank Valentini… is far more caustic than Ron Carlivati

that’s becoming so obvious now… the behind the scenes drama that rallied with Valentini and dissed RC

Here, here, Tristan! The Hardy/Webber family has been underrepresented for so long now, it’s not even laughable anymore. Instead, we just see more and more epic fail characters and their families invading Port Charles. Get a clue, GH people…we don’t want Nina, Hayden, Sabs, nor most of their recent fellow newbies who cannot hold a candle to the seasoned vets of Port Charles. Only when there is a truly compelling reason to introduce a character to the canvas should it happen….case in point: Griffin Munro. He has a perfectly logical rhyme and reason for being there, and perhaps the same shall be said for Finn in the near future…..I certainly hope so. But beyond these two fine actors, I cannot see the rationale for any of the others who have been added to the already enormous cast.

Tristan, I actually like Hayden BUT you make a great point, why doesnt any of Liz’s family resurface? We actually know these people and care about them.

So Elizabeth Has been on the show how many years? We know nothing about her Mom. I could give a flying you know what about the character of Hayden! Just keep digging your grave!

Thanks heavens!

If there’s one thing this show was missing it was the heavily anticipated character of Naomi Dreyfuss, mother of Rachel Berlin and wife of Raymond Berlin, master of the off-camera Ponzi scheme. The only way this could get any better is if Naomi is French-Canadian and has a niece named Claudette with a hankerin’ for a green card.

*sigh*

At least no one here is being stupid and getting angry at the actress…just the charater she will play…

As much as I dislike “GH” right now, I do like this news. Hayden is one of the few rays of light on the show, so having her mom around will mean more airtime. I’m cool with that.

I am VERY happy. I love it when networks hire ex-soap stars. She looks like Hayden and can act. This is great. I wanted Hayden’s family to come on board! Next up, Don Johnson as Raymond Berlin!

If they do cast her father, i would like it to be David Selby!!!

Sad to say, I’ve never really bought into the character. I guess I still see her are Greenlee from AMC. If her Mother is there to escort her off the show..then maybe that’s a good thing.
I’m still waiting for ABC to win the Prospect Park battle and get the characters from OLTL and AMC back. I think once that happens…ABC daytime viewers will be in for something special. Here’s to my dreaming. lol. Thanks for the opportunity to post… btw, Rebecca Budding is great…just not as this character.

RB was hired just like any other actress on GH and she does what any actress of her caliber does she takes the material she’s given and brings a character to life. She doesn’t complain or question why the writers do what they do she just does her job and her part as a member of an acting ensemble…..GH should NOT and CANNOT be all about just a few characters and if it were all of them would burn out FROM EXHAUSTION!! Soo, For Gosh Sakes people stop whining about Hayden or any other characters and enjoy watching GH or we might not have it on our screens much longer……I enjoy the balance of seeing most of he cast regularly but unfortunately the last two to three weeks have been GH’s version of The Godfather and all things Mob. I’ve been seeing the rumor mill suggesting Liz and Hayden might be siblings……Hmmmm, the actress who is to play Hayden’s Mom favors both Hayden and Liz so maybe the rumor is true and we’ll get some kind of story to explain the sister-thing…..I actually like the idea and would love to see more of Hayden and Curtis!!!

You MUST be kidding! As Harry says above, these are the same writers who wrote for her on AMC–and, when they came to GH, they gave her the contract–plus the sun and the moon!–WE DON’T CARE. “Takes the material she’s given and brings a character to life.” Question: Just how many “characters” can she be? I DON”T CARE.

Liz’s parents are Doctors without Borders. Not investment Fraud’s without lawyers.

I love everything GH is doing lately. I like the story between Hayden and Nick. It reminds me of the “Taming of the Shrew” play with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I like the variety of stories on and do not need them to give vets anymore time than newcomers. I have been watching since April1, 1963. My memory and attention span are better than the newer viewers who whine if a story is not shown for a week. I will not tell you my age but if I was watching in 1963, I am not 20something.

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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