General Hospital
Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo on her exit, a triangle with Jason/Sonny, and if GH were to end!
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
Today was General Hospital’s Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo (Brenda Corinthos) day on the internet. First, the actress tweeted her final tape date is this week on June 9th, and then her previously announced interview with TV Guide’s Michael Logan was posted.
In the interview, VMG discusses her thoughts on how her recent return played out on air, Brenda having a long lost child of her own, if Jax and Brenda will exit the canvas together, and if and when she were to return next, who else besides Sonny might she see in Brenda’s romantic future. Plus, she weighs in on if GH were to be canceled, how she would like to see it end for Brenda! Here are a few excerpts:
VMG on if Jax and Brenda will leave together in July: “I don’t know. My final tape date is June 9 and I’ll probably get the script the night before, but I do know there’s a big twist when Brenda leaves. They have a surprise up their sleeves. I will say there’s still unfinished business for me. I still want a storyline with Tony Geary [Luke] and Jonathan Jackson [Lucky]. And I’d love to do a triangle with Maurice and me and Steve Burton. Steve got me through my first few months when I joined GH and I’ll never forget that. I was having some very serious health problems, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, there was all kinds of drama, and Steve was my rock. Can you imagine if Brenda goes and sleeps with Jason? That would cause so many problems.”
VMG if she were to come back should GH get canceled: “I know it’s a reality but I prefer to stay delusional. No matter what other things I do in my career, I had every intention of eventually coming back to GH and growing old on the show and becoming Anna Lee [the late actress who played Lila Quartermaine]. To sit down and have all the young characters come talk to me and get some great wisdom about life — the kind of thing you can only do on soaps — would be so wonderful! I miss Anna Lee so much. I can’t even think about Stuart Damon [Alan] without bursting into tears. Where are the Quartermaines? I do believe it was a mistake to get rid of all that history. Aaaauuurgh! It’s so hard to think about cancellation. It’s such a tough thing to talk about, but [GH exec producer] Jill Phelps and I did discuss it the other day. If GH were to end, I want to be there. If God forbid this show is cancelled, I guarantee Sonny and Brenda will be riding off together into the sunset! That doesn’t mean Sonny may not find love with somebody else and have a great relationship between now and then.”
Are you looking forward to Brenda’s story wrapping up? Or, do you wish Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo would stick around for a longer stay? And, what do you think is the surprise twist?
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
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Great interview as usual. It’s settling to know that Vanessa wasn’t happy with what was given to her.. that was given in her decoy responses. She’ll always find the best in things, it’s just who she is.
I love Vanessa, I love Brenda, but I HATE what they did to her this return. I couldn’t even stomach to watch. I’m excited for her to leave, but only so they don’t ruin this character that I’ve spent more than half my life loving anymore.
I could not agree with you more!! What they did to the memory of the character of Brenda, is a CRIME!!!! She was my ultimate favorite character EVER on any soap (and I’ve watched several) All I wanted the past 10 years was for her to come back and I feel like I am still waiting, because who the hell was this chick this past year? It certainly wasn’t the Brenda Barrett I knew and worshipped! It was all I could do to not FF through her scenes. I hope that if GH does get cancelled B & S do ride off into the sunset together but until then, I’m kinda happy to see her go.
I agree almost completely! I love Brenda, and have since the beginning. She’s hands down the most compelling character ever in daytime television, not least because of the immeasurable talent of Ms. Marcil (wire scene, anyone?). I HATED her return in terms of storyline and writing and even production. It literally couldn’t be worse. But I’ve waited so long for Sonny and Brenda to get back together and marry. So it was worth it to me — and the wedding scenes were spectacular. Also, Vanessa and Maurice are great actors and I enjoyed watching them, even if it was clear they, like us, were not happy with their scripts. [Maurice has looked bored on GH for years; Vanessa acted well, but it was hard to overlook her horrific lines!]
Ultimately, I understand why she is leaving. I wouldn’t stay either and I’m not convinced the new head writer can drastically bring back the GH of the glory days.
Also, I think it’s very classy of Vanessa to never speak ill of her colleagues. Very classy. We still all understood that she wasn’t happy 🙂
I wish her all the best!
I”M hoping that GH won’t be involved in the Katie Couric new talk program. Do we really need one more talk show? I think whoever is running ABC is an idiot. I have been a GH fan a very long time and have seen it all. Sometimes Brenda really gets on my nerves. I don’t have any feeling about her but I do care about Sonny and his happiness. So far, he has done a great job keeping Brenda in tow. What ever will happen, I hope some PTB will step up to the plate and give Couric a different time slot and keep GH where it has always been 2:0’clock central time……C’mon guys!……
Brenda this goe around was so timid i think it could have been better.. Yeah i’d say that GH will be the next soap to go since abc got rid of it’s best soap OLTL. I’d say the fall of 2012 it will be canceled.
i really want brenda to back to general hospital because i like brenda and sonny know why brenda and sonny really love each other and good couples. they need to back together bec it will be cancled on general hospital. i really hope she could back on general hospital at anytime. i want to see that sonny could shock that brenda will back for him because she alway had feeling and love him in her hears. it will good for her to see sonny that sonny alway love her in his life. i can’t wait to see her on general hospital 2012. i love them for real.