General Hospital
(WATCH) GH’s Genie Francis Shares: “I Just Have a Hard Time Believing, In My Heart, That The Great Luke Spencer Died in an Accident”
Today’s Friday episode of General Hospital, is set to feature the funeral of the iconic Luke Spencer (Tony Geary).
While family and friends will gather on the Haunted Star to memorialize him, what been teased by the ABC daytime drama is it will also set a whole storyline in motion.
ABC7 entertainment guru, George Pennacchio, spoke to several of the GH cast, who are involved in the episode including: Luke Spencer’s long-time love, Laura played by Genie Francis.
Francis exclaimed on the whole story: “I just have a hard time believing, in my heart, that the great Luke Spencer died in an accident. No one stays dead on a soap. I don’t know how many times I’ve been dead. Really!”
Genie added: “I feel like they’re setting the stage, really, for a wonderful comeback and I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for that.”
Luke’s longtime friend played by Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) shared: “And has it actually happened? I mean, frankly, we have a little urn about this big that’s supposed to contain him and that’s it.”
And Luke’s sister, Bobbie, played by Jackie Zeman, also weighed-in if Luke is really a-goner: “Sometimes you get these little red herrings so, as you know, George, you know, you never really know.”
Watch Pennacchio chat with the GH stars below.
Now weigh-in, do you believe Luke is very much alive and well? Held captive, or “dead” dead? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Luke is alive, they would only kill him off if he died in real life. It’s all story related
First we had Julian’s demise, then Sonny’s “death”, then Jason, then Liam, now Luke? Is this the only way they hope to keep our attention? The death of Liam should have proven that there are great stories to be mined among “supporting” players like Sasha & Brando, Chase, Olivia. We don’t need Sonny and Clumping Carly in on every story and I’m sure Carly will make Luke’s death all about her. Unless there’s a big reveal here, I’m not looking forward to it. Yet.
Soaphound,
Hi, I know I forget things, but am I now imagining things as well? I could have sworn that old Uncle Victor told someone on the phone, brazenly that he had neutralized Luke.
He did
Exactly, Soaphound—I said Luke’s death is a fabrication when Traci first announced it.
Just one thing—-whose ashes were “blowing in the wind” off that makeshift ship?
I also, did not miss the “neutralization” part. This is a tease which only tells me that, as usual, the writers develop the plot as they go along. They don’t even know which way this storyline will go.
And, Shaughnessy? He su€ks in the role of Victor. Not a Greek hair on his head—everything about him is British—-mannerisms and all. My brother-in-law is a native of Greece—-he has a distinct quality which inherently adheres to the typical Greek. The same applies to any other person from any another country. GH messed up here.
Another thing which truly drives me up the wall? “Clumping” (LOL) Carly, and mini-me Sonny visiting Morgan’s ‘grave’—-correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t his sneaker buried there? Morgan is not there!! What is the point? They can just go in his room, kneel and adore his picture!!
No I think he’s coming back
I agree that it is possible Tony Geary will return to GH for a short time.
I believe Luke Spencer is way too big of an icon & hero to have died in such a random accident. I think Victor Cassadine has him locked up on the Cassadine estate in greece along with Jason Morgan, Holly Sutton and hopefully Morgan Corinthos. And somehow in the near future Luke and Jason will figure out a way to escape & bring all of them home to Port Charles at least briefly for some of them.
Why would Morgan Corinthos be on Cassadine Island??
Yeah, he’s probably out there somewhere (he’s definitely not in Hell) but it wouldn’t make any sense for him to be held prisoner by the Cassadines.
I’m not even sure why they would have Holly, really, but she is the most likely candidate for the woman whom Drew heard screaming from a nearby cell while he was there. I suppose they could have used her as bait to draw Luke into a trap.
Jason, of course. The island was his last known location, so it’s completely reasonable that he’s still there.
I like your story outline. Let’s see Luke and Holly… but i am still ok without the other two for now, then it will be the Carly / Sonny show, I am on team Nina.
Luke Spencer may be an icon but he’s no hero. Even this character/writers were self-aware enough to have Tracy say at the memorial that he didn’t want to be called a hero. I know it won’t happen but I hope the rapist stays dead.
As long as Anthony Geary is alive Luke Spencer will not stay dead! Even if Anthony Geary does not return to the GH canvas the writers will come up with a story line where Tracy finds Luke alive.
No. Not really dead. Just the “soap opera death.” We all know no one’s really dead on a soap. Two Cassadines–Victor and Queen C, and now a Smith!? And Holly’s held captive? Oh sooo many plots could come from this!! I can see Tony Geary making a brief comeback. Can’t wait!
Helena is still in Hell. That video taped message was recorded years ago, because she figured she would probably be down here long before Luke shuffled off his own mortal coil.
Of course, Laura probably pulled the plug on the message too soon, as Helena probably had some sort of nefarious plot she had arranged to kick off upon the release of this video. Eventually somebody’s going to watch the whole thing. Probably Spencer, as the return of his not so dead Uncle Victor has given him a whole new interest in Cassadine family history.
GH would never kill Luke Spencer permanently. The long time fans would be outraged. GH and Disney would never hear the end of it. I think the producers are working on persuading Anthony Geary to return to the GH canvas for as long as he is willing to stay.
If Geary were to return, it would almost assuredly be for a limited story arc lasting weeks – not months.
The more likely outcome is some sort of scene filmed in Amsterdam showing Luke alive just bring Luke.
Luke is not dead. Long time fans and his fellow actors know this to be true. They’ll be a future storyline where he is resurrected. Hope lives eternal.
I think this death of Luke Spencer is a red herring sort of thing. Just something to throw us off what Uncle Victor has been up to and is continuing to do.
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.
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