General Hospital
Tristan Rogers reflects on Bob Guza's reign as GH head writer & daytime's demise!
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
The talented and outspoken, Tristan Rogers (Colin, Y&R & formerly, Scorpio on GH & GH: Night Shift) posted a thought-provoking and compelling blog post on his website TristanRogers.com. Titled, “The Going of Guza” Tristan takes a look at the tenure of recently fired long-time General Hospital head writer, Bob Guza, and how it impacted the direction of the series. Next, Rogers reflects on how the soap genre was in deep trouble years ago, and how changes were not made soon enough to fix the model of daytime dramas so they could have staying power in today’s times. Here are a few riveting excerpts below!
Tristan on Guza’s time as head writer on GH: “Many things have been said regarding Bob’s writing some of them fair and some of them less so. Let’s have a look at what will probably be regarded as his legacy. We have a “mob influenced storyline” and the fact that he had little respect for women. And then there’s the systematic dismantling of most of General Hospital’s legacy, including that of Luke and Laura, to be replaced by the noble deeds and example set by a bunch of “bargain basement criminals”. I am sure I will get some flack for that statement but the fact remains that whatever thoughts, you the fan harbor in your mind and heart about this relationship the show itself has done everything possible to trash and disassemble it. I don’t think there’s any legacy or standard on GH that has been untouched, in some way, by this wholesale “story slaughter”.
Makes you look back on the eighties and wonder if they ever happened at all. Now the general consensus is that Guza’s to blame for this and no one else. The fact is that Guza was just one of those involved. I mean, come on, does anyone think for one second that Guza could have single-handedly changed the direction of the show without the permission and cooperation of other significant people? As to who the others are I remain “mum”, but think of the endless hours you’ll all have exchanging views on who else could be involved!”
Tristan on the demise of daytime: “I have commented before that the demise of ABC Daytime has been on the table since the eighties. It was never a case of “if” but always “when”. And now it’s happening. What will happen and can it be reversed? IMO not at a Network level. The shows could/might be picked up by someone else and re-engineered. Cost is a major factor to be addressed and so is the overall way the shows are structured and managed. Daytime has been stuck in a time warp since the early eighties and needs to be completely re-invented. It needs to look at how prime soaps have evolved and try to grasp why Reality shows are so strong and learn something from them.”
Make sure to read Tristan’s entire blog post here.
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.
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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
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Tristan has always had his finger on the pulse of daytime, and his comments are spot-on. He can call it as he sees it because he was there for what I call the honeymoon period of soaps. The perfect storm of writing, acting, and producing was in effect and the viewers were the happy recipients of great television. How sad for Tristan, and for us, to have to watch it disappear.
The main reasons I watch the show is Sonny, Carly, Jason, Sam, Alexis and her girls, Maxie, Matt, Robin and Patrick. It is the only soap that I watch the same day I record it. GH has the good mob guys (Sonny, Jason) and the bad mob guys (Johnny and Anthony). According to the good mob guys they don’t deal in drugs, pornography or prostitution. (OK, a little poetic license here) 😉
My leas favorite storyline was the Laura and Luke “rape me, I’ll marry you” …..I stopped watching when pitiful Laura was enamored of her rapist….what a sad message to send to to young girls and women.
Just recently, Luke – driving drunk – killed Liz’s and Jason’s son, raised by Luke’s son, Lucky. Again, GH writers are sending the wrong message…Luke should have been charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence…GH decided to send him to rehab instead of having him serve prison time for a year or two and then do community service. Geary likes long vacations.
One of Mr. Guza’s biggest blunders was bringing Brenda back…there is no chemistry between Sonny and Brenda. If another male PC resident would have proclaimed his love for Brenda or she would have giggled once more; I would have shot my TV set. That entire storyline was a snoozefest.
I loved the “spy” era….same as the “mob” with badges….
The Sonny, Jason and Carly show is what has helped destroy GH. Check the viewer ratings if you don’t believe me. Please explain to me what kind of msg is being sent to young girls and women when a Mob Boss, Hitman and the town TRAMP are the main focus of a soap opera where the criminals and a mean, vindictive, ruthless whore are ALL glorified?
The story of Luke and Laura is what made GH number 1 in the 80’s. They have been titled the number 1 super couple of ALL time in daytime. The genius of the writers in those days took a rape story and turned into the most popular love story in the history of daytime. Tony Geary and Genie Francis are daytime royality.
Lastly, bringing Brenda back was the smartest thing GH has done in years simply because of the tremendous fanbase Brenda has and Sonny and Brenda have as a couple. The week of their wedding proved through the ratings how many fans came back to GH for this event. Where TPTB messed up was in the writing for this phenomenal super couple.
Thank you!!!! I couldn’t have said it better myself! Brenda and Sonny’s story has been so full of turmoil there hasn’t been time for the hot romance they are known for. Heck we’ve maybe gotten 4 kisses and they’ve been married for almost 4 months!
Yes! You get it! Bringing back Brenda was the best decision tptb made in years, but the writing for this super couple wasnt there. I think out of the entire year, there were maybe 3-4 scenes that got it right. A total let down.
Sonny and Jason were “good mob”? Are you high? There is no such thing as good mob. They are organized crime. They are mobs. They are thugs. They kill for business. This is what went wrong with this damn soap opera.
Right on Tristan !!!!! At least we get to see you and Genie back on a show that hasn’t turned into a Mob Show!!
I agree with Tristan totally. I don’t accept the notion that Sonny and Jason are “good people” as was mentioned in an earlier comment. GH makes them out to be that way in the storyline……..but everyone is familiar with what actually takes place in the mob, right? How do you think Sonny makes his money……..poker? The truth is the show is too mob-centered and it will become more so without the non-violent characters of Nikolas (Tyler) and Jax (Ingo), who have now both been fired.
Agree 100% with Tristen. the mob was sexy and augmented story when it was a *part* of the show under Claire Labine in the early 90’s. But Guza’s misogynistic rendering of so-called story with a mob obsession spat in the faces of history and characters.
One commenter said bringing Brenda back was a mistake. WRONG. She was the only character I came back to GH to watch — and that because of her history with the show and interaction across the canvass. Vanessa is a fine actress. Maurice was too until he got bored with Guza’s writing and indifferent in his acting. THAT was the reason for the change in Sonny & Brenda’s chemistry. Maurice Benard got back in gear at the phenomenal S&B wedding, however. Brenda’s return was the perfect example of how much Guza could mess up a cash cow. Brenda always, always brought ratings to GH. Even when Guza messed her 1st return in 2002-03 she brought back ratings, but this time in 2010-11 it was just too much. Guza had thoroughly massacred so many characters.
GH will die and soon. Garin Wolf is better because anyone is better than Guza, but he’s not Claire Labine or other great soap writers. He’s on board to end the soap and the genre altogether will soon be a thing of the past.
Kudos, Tristen, for speaking the truth!
I agree 100% Gh fan 35 years. Late 90’s and especially 2000’s was exciting. The viewers were expanded to the males and younger adults. I love soaps, I have to work during the day so most are recordings, soap net or other means. I really think the viewer ratings are off. I nor my family , friends actually stopped watching. I would not ever want to see a time when soaps don’t air. Reality tv sucks and is the reason I don’t watch prime time tv anymore. Guza did destroy all super couples including Jasam. He could not come back from that mistake as far as I am concerned. Mob / action is key and it’s what separates GH from other soaps. Don’t bore me to death. GH is boring right now .
Gh always- reney
Luke and Laura and all the past storylines were good in its time. The show has to continue and move on. They could not possibly be as popular now, just like Brenda triangle. It ran its coarse, time to move on. GH once had variety of storylines, doesn’t anymore. GH also let too many characters go. Missing Jason, Lucky, Jax and the mob. Glad to see Nick back. The mob didn’t have to take over entirely. The mob and bad guys have always been part of GH. All I see now is long drawn out , boring storylines from actors I can care less about and oldies.