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Wikipedia

General Hospital

General Hospital (often abbreviated as GH) is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light.[2][3] Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. General Hospital is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins.

General Hospital
Also known asGH
GenreSoap opera
Created byFrank & Doris Hursley
Written by
Directed bySee below
Starring
Theme music composer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes15,000[1]
Production
Executive producers
ProducerSee below
Production locations
Camera setupMultiple-camera setup
Running time
  • 30 minutes (1963–1976)
  • 45 minutes (1976–1978)
  • 60 minutes (1978–present)
Production companies
DistributorDisney Platform Distribution
Release
Original networkABC
Picture format
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseApril 1, 1963 (1963-04-01) –
present (present)
Chronology
Followed by
Related

The show was created by husband-and-wife soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a hospital, in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. From its beginning, General Hospital starred John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin, and both actors stayed with the show until their deaths in 1996 and 1991, respectively. They were joined a year later by Rachel Ames who remains to date the longest serving actress on an ABC soap opera, having been continuously on the show from 1964 to 2007. General Hospital was the second soap to air on ABC (after the short-lived Road to Reality, which aired for several months during the 1960–61 season). In 1964, a sister soap was created for General Hospital, The Young Marrieds; it ran for two years, and was canceled because of low ratings. General Hospital also spawned the daytime series Port Charles (1997–2003) and the primetime spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift (2007–2008). Taped at The Prospect Studios, General Hospital aired for a half-hour until July 23, 1976. The series was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and then to a full hour on January 16, 1978.[4]

Ever since the late 1970s, most of the storylines have revolved around the Quartermaine family and the Spencer family. From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital had more viewers than any other daytime soap opera. It rose to the top of the ratings in the early 1980s in part thanks to the monumentally popular "supercouple" Luke and Laura, whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.[5][6] The soap opera is also known for its high-profile celebrity guest stars who have included, among others, Roseanne Barr, James Franco and Elizabeth Taylor. In 2007, the program was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".[7] On April 23, 2009, General Hospital began broadcasting in high-definition television, making it the first ABC soap opera to make such a transition.[8]

General Hospital became the oldest American soap opera on September 17, 2010, following the final broadcast of CBS's As the World Turns. On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live, leaving General Hospital as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13, 2012.[9] The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013, and its 15,000th episode on June 22, 2022.

Show history

Origins

General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsize Eastern city (the name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until the late 1970s). "They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel – the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital", John Beradino (Steve Hardy) later reflected to Entertainment Weekly in 1994.[10]

History

Launched in 1963, the first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in an unnamed midsized Eastern city. The name of the city, Port Charles, would not be mentioned until 1976 by headwriters Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock.[11] Storylines revolved around Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Phil Brewer (originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes; lastly by Martin West) was the center of many early storylines. In 1964 Audrey Hardy (Rachel Ames), a flight attendant and sister of Nurse Lucille (Lucille Wall), came to town, and was the woman who won Steve's heart.

By the end of the 1970s, General Hospital was facing dire ratings when executive producer Gloria Monty was brought in to turn the show around. Monty is credited with creation of the first supercouple, Luke and Laura, played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis. The end of their hour wedding on November 17, 1981, was the most-watched event in daytime serial history.[6] During the 1980s, the series featured several high-profile action, adventure, and some science fiction-based storylines. Location shooting at sites including Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; Niagara Falls; Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Big Bear and Avalon (Catalina Island), California; and San Antonio, Texas are some that propelled the story.

After Gloria Monty first left the series in 1987, General Hospital entered into a transitional phase that lasted until Wendy Riche took the position of executive producer in 1992. Under Riche, the show gained critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of social issues. In 1994, Riche started an annual Nurses' Ball, a fundraiser and HIV/AIDS awareness event both on the show and in real life. Later that year, a heart transplantation storyline involves the death of eight-year-old B. J. Jones (daughter of Dr. Tony Jones and Bobbie Spencer) in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones. Shortly afterwards, Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) begins a long battle with breast cancer, which leads to her adopting Emily Quartermaine, the orphaned young daughter of Monica's friend from treatment. General Hospital was also praised for the love story of teenagers Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) and Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough). After a struggle that lasted throughout most of 1995, Stone dies from AIDS at the age of 19 and his death is followed by 17-year-old Robin having to deal with being HIV-positive as a result of their relationship. Sutton received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and McCullough won an Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series award. ABC featured an Afterschool Special "Positive: A Journey Into AIDS" revolving around the AIDS story as well as The New York Times best selling novel Robin's Diary.

On Saturday, December 14, 1996, General Hospital aired its one of three primetime episodes, General Hospital: Twist of Fate, which picked up where that Friday's episode had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine. In 1997, the show's long-rumored spin-off materialized into the half-hour serial, Port Charles. The series' 11,000th episode aired on February 20, 2006.[12] On April 23, 2009, General Hospital became ABC's first regular daytime drama to be taped and broadcast in High-definition television, though the 2008 season of its primetime spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift was in high definition. This is the second daytime drama to move to high definition after CBS's The Young and the Restless. On February 23, 2010, the series aired its 12,000th episode.[13] On December 1, 2011, ABC confirmed that former One Life to Live executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati would replace longtime executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and Garin Wolf respectively, though Wolf would remain on as a regular writer. The change took effect on January 9, 2012.[14] The first episode under the direction of Valentini aired on February 1, 2012, with Carlivati's material beginning on February 21. Several storylines reminiscent of iconic story arcs of the past were created and popular characters returned to the show in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series in 2013.[15] The serial celebrated 13,000 episodes on February 24, 2014,[16] and marked its 51st anniversary several weeks later on April 1.[17] Also in January 2014, ABC renewed Carlivati's contract with the soap.[18][19] The series marked its 52nd anniversary on April 1, 2015, with a special episode revolving around the Spencer family.[20][21][22][23]

In July 2015, it was revealed Carlivati was fired as head writer; Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante were hired as his successors.[24] On September 16, 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that Valentini, Passanante and Altman re-signed with the show.[25] On June 6, 2017, Passanante announced her decision to retire from the serial.[26] On July 29, 2017, it was revealed through Passanante that breakdown writer Chris Van Etten would be promoted to co-head writer as her successor.[27] On February 23, 2018, the serial aired its 14,000th episode.[28] On July 30, 2019, it was announced Altman would retire; breakdown writer Dan O'Connor was announced as her successor, joining Van Etten as co-head writer.[29] On June 22, 2022, the soap aired its 15,000 episode; in celebration, the episode focused on Francis' Laura Spencer.[1]

Production

 
John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the show in 1973.

General Hospital has aired on the ABC television network and has been filmed in Hollywood since its inception. The show was filmed in the Sunset Gower Studios from 1963 to the mid-1980s. It relocated in the 1980s to The Prospect Studios.

General Hospital has had a number of different distributors throughout the show's history. From its beginning until 1968, it was a co-production of Plitt Theatres and Selmur Productions. ABC bought the series outright in 1968 and its ownership passed from Selmur to American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC's old separate conglomerate. Ownership of the soap was then passed when the original ABC, Inc. merged with Capital Cities/ABC Inc. in 1985 and it became Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. The show would change hands again when The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996 and Disney began to program the network and the soap in September 1997 where it remains today.

Production of General Hospital was suspended in March 2020, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[30] Production resumed on July 22 of the same year; new episodes began airing on August 3, 2020.[31] General Hospital was Disney's first series to go back into production during the pandemic.[32]

Cast

Characters

Though the series originally focused on solely the medical staff at Port Charles' General Hospital, and starred John Beradino as Dr. Steve Hardy and Emily McLaughlin as Nurse Jessie Brewer, the series branched out and began to focus more on the people and families of the town of Port Charles rather than those solely in the hospital.[34]

Port Charles is full of "dysfunctional family dynamics ... and family drama remains the focal point of this town."[35] The current families on the show include the quarreling and wealthy Quartermaine family, the mobster crime Corinthos family, the middle class Scorpio/Jones family, the aristocratic Cassadine family, and the adventurous Spencer family.

Main crew members

Notable former crew members include Gloria Monty,[36] Jill Farren Phelps, Robert Guza Jr., Charles Pratt Jr., John William Corrington, Lewis Arlt, Lynda Myles, Alan Pultz, Judith Pinsker, Joseph Behar, Stephanie Braxton, Norma Monty, Frank South, Ralph Ellis, Shelley Curtis, Jean Passanante, Hope Harmel Smith, Michael Conforti, Michele Val Jean and Ron Carlivati.[24][26][37]

Executive producers

General Hospital executive producers
Name Years
Selig J. Seligman 1963
James Young 1963–75
Tom Donovan 1975–77
Gloria Monty 1978–87, 1991–92
H. Wesley Kenney 1987–89
Joseph Hardy 1989–91
Wendy Riche 1992–2001
Jill Farren Phelps 2001–12
Frank Valentini 2012–present

Setting

Since the series began in 1963, Port Charles, New York, has been the setting for the show. The town exists in the same fictional universe as other soap opera settings such as Llanview (One Life to Live), Pine Valley (All My Children), New York City (Ryan's Hope), and Corinth (Loving). The same setting was also used for General Hospital's spinoff, Port Charles.

  • General Hospital is founded by Dr. Steve Hardy. It is a major employer in the city, and one of the largest medical facilities on the East Coast. In the 1990s, Sonny Corinthos donates an extra wing dedicated to AIDS research, and in the 2000s, Carly Corinthos donates a pediatric center for head neurology. In 2009, a fire destroys the hospital, which is rebuilt with money from the Quartermaine family.
  • The Metro Court is a prominent hotel in Port Charles, built by Jasper Jacks on the site of the Port Charles Hotel after it is destroyed in a fire in 2004, and named in honor of Courtney Matthews, who Jax was pursuing romantically. Carly Corinthos soon becomes his business partner, and later co-owns with Kate Howard when Jax sells his portion to her. The hotel boasts a skyline restaurant, spa, penthouse suites, and business offices. The current owners are Carly and Olivia Falconeri.
  • Kelly's Diner is founded by Joe "Paddy" Kelly, and becomes a vintage restaurant in the heart of Port Charles. It features boarding rooms upstairs which become homes to many Port Charles residents and guests over the years. The restaurant is operated by Paddy's wife Rose Kelly after his death, who later sells it to Ruby Anderson when Rose leaves town. When Ruby dies, she leaves the diner to her niece Bobbie Spencer and nephew Luke Spencer.
  • The Haunted Star is a yacht first owned by Luke Spencer, who receives the vessel as a wedding present in 1981. In 2003, the ship is turned into a casino by Luke and investors Skye Chandler and Tracy Quartermaine. In 2011, Luke's daughter Lulu Spencer purchases the boat, and in 2012 Johnny Zacchara invests to become co-owner. Together they turn the ship into a nightclub.
  • The Floating Rib is a bar located in downtown Port Charles, just a block away from General Hospital. Originally named Jake's, the bar has been a hotspot for the local nightlife since the early 1990s. Coleman Ratcliffe becomes the owner in 2002, and Mac Scorpio takes over in 2012. There was also a popular fine dining restaurant in Port Charles with the same name in the late 1970s/early 1980s. In 2020, a bomb destroys the restaurant and kills multiple patrons.

Accolades and recognition

General Hospital's cast and crew have won many awards since 1974 when the Daytime Emmy Awards were created. In 2012, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards were created. General Hospital has won 14 Daytime Emmys for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.[38]

In June 2009, TV Guide ranked "Luke and Laura's Wedding" #45 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[39]

Broadcast

During the 1960s, General Hospital earned decent ratings against the likes of To Tell the Truth and The Secret Storm on CBS, but there was a decline as the 1970s came, especially when NBC's Another World became highly popular. For two years, it also faced CBS's The Price Is Right, already a major hit. After continued mediocrity in the Nielsen ratings, ABC was prepared to cancel General Hospital, but decided to give it a second chance in 1978 when it expanded the show from an experimental 45 minutes to a full hour. However, the expansion came with an ultimatum to the producers that they had six months to improve the show's ratings. Gloria Monty was hired as the new executive producer, and on her first day, she spent an extra $100,000 re-taping four episodes. A miracle occurred thanks to Monty and head writer Douglas Marland; the show became the most-watched daytime drama by 1979, marking a rare instance of a daytime serial's comeback from near-extinction. During the wedding of Luke and Laura on November 17, 1981, about 30 million people tuned in to watch them exchange vows and be cursed by Elizabeth Taylor's Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers).

From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital remained number one in the ratings, competing against two game shows and two low-rated soaps on NBCTexas and Santa Barbara—and Guiding Light on CBS (although Guiding Light experienced a renaissance for a brief period in the middle of 1984, and became the #1-rated soap, briefly dethroning General Hospital from the top ratings spot). For the most part, however, General Hospital continued to triumph, even after the departure of popular actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in the mid-1980s. Although The Young and the Restless took General Hospital's place as the highest-rated serial in 1989, General Hospital continued to maintain excellent ratings.

Even at its peak in the 1980s, General Hospital had been pre-empted in at least two markets in the United States. With the show still number one in the Nielsens, WDTN in Dayton, Ohio preempted the series upon joining ABC in January 1980 in favor of Woody Woodpecker and Super Friends cartoons. Later, the station would air such shows as Hour Magazine, Geraldo and Maury in the show's timeslot until September 2000, when the station's new owners, Sunrise Broadcasting (which purchased the station from Hearst Television two years prior), pulled Maury from the station's schedule, due to what it called "community standards", and brought General Hospital back to Dayton. In Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York, WVNY dropped General Hospital from the schedule in the 1980s and would only bring it back in 1995. During that hiatus, General Hospital still aired on Montreal's CFCF-DT, whose signal was decently available in Vermont and Plattsburgh.

Ever since the 1991–1992 season of General Hospital, the show has had a steady decline in ratings. On and off, it would rank between third and fifth place in the Nielsen ratings, with CBS's The Young And The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful coming in first and second place, respectively. General Hospital remained in between third and fifth place in the ratings during that time, and from late 1991 to 1996 All My Children held the title of ABC's highest-rated soap.

After months of speculation and cancellation rumors, Deadline Hollywood reported on April 11, 2012, that ABC quietly made the decision to keep General Hospital on the air and to cancel instead the lower-rated talk show The Revolution.[40] On June 26, 2012, ABC officially announced that General Hospital would move to the 2 p.m. ET/PT timeslot starting on September 10, 2012, and that the network would give the 3:00 p.m. hour back to its affiliates, as it was the recommended time slot for Katie Couric's new, ABC-syndicated talk show, Katie.[41]

Encore episodes were shown every weeknight on the former cable channel Soapnet, with a marathon on Saturday and classic episodes at 4 a.m. EST and 5 a.m. (3 a.m. and 4 a.m. CST).

Production of General Hospital was suspended in March 2020 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[30] The show had banked roughly two months' worth of episodes at that time.[30] By airing repeats on "Flashback Fridays", General Hospital was able to air original episodes through the end of May 21, 2020.[42] This will be followed by several weeks of vintage episode repeats.[42] Production resumed on July 22, 2020, and new episodes began airing on August 3, 2020.[43]

Schedule

General Hospital broadcast history
Start date End date Time slot
(ET)
Run time
(minutes)
April 1, 1963 December 27, 1963 1:00 pm 30
December 30, 1963 July 23, 1976 3:00 pm
July 26, 1976 January 13, 1978 3:15 pm 45
January 16, 1978 September 7, 2012 3:00 pm 60
September 10, 2012 present 2:00 pm1

Notes

ABC stations in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones, and in Alaska and Hawaii follow a Central Time Zone schedule for daytime programming; thus, General Hospital is scheduled by the network to air at 1:00 p.m. in these areas.

  1. ^ In September 2014, General Hospital reclaimed its former time slot of 3:00 p.m. Eastern/2:00 Central and Pacific on ABC owned-and-operated stations in New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh–Durham, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles; and affiliate KSAT-TV in San Antonio.[44][45][46]

Ratings history

For historical ratings information, see List of U.S. daytime soap opera ratings

Years as #1 series
General Hospital ratings history
Year(s) Household Rating
1979–1980 9.9
1980–1981 11.4
1981–1982 11.2
1982–1983 9.8
1983–1984 10.0
1984–1985 9.1
1985–1986 9.2
1986–1987 8.3
1987–1988 8.1 (Tied with The Young and the Restless)
Highest-rated week in daytime history (November 16–20, 1981)
(Household ratings, Nielsen Media Research)
General Hospital ratings history
Serial Household rating (Time slot) network Millions of households
1. General Hospital 16.0 (3-4pm) ABC 13,040,000
2. All My Children 10.2 (1-2pm) ABC 8,313,000
3. One Life to Live 10.2 (2-3pm) ABC 8,313,000
4. Guiding Light 7.9 (3-4pm) CBS 6,438,500

Parodies and references in other media

The popularity of General Hospital has gained it many parodies and references in other mainstream programs. For example:

Spin-offs and specials

The success of the long-running soap opera has had one sister serial, one spinoff in the United States, and two primetime spinoffs in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Young Marrieds was ABC's first attempt at a sister serial for General Hospital. It ran for only two years, racking up a total of 380 episodes. Despite its moderate popularity, it was aired against CBS's top-rated The Edge of Night, which it could not compete against. The series finale aired on March 25, 1966, with the show's main protagonist contemplating suicide. It ended in a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wondering if the man had killed himself or not. The Young Marrieds was set in the fictional suburb of Queen's Point, which was considered by the writers to be a suburb of Port Charles.

The British television series General Hospital did not feature any characters from the American show, but was modeled after its format. It started as a half-hour program broadcast in the afternoons, which was unusual for British serials that normally aired in prime time. In 1975, it was expanded to an hour-long format and moved to Friday evenings.

Port Charles was a daytime drama that initially featured interns in a competitive medical school program,[51] and was known for having more action actually in the hospital than General Hospital itself. It also included the characters of Scott Baldwin, Serena Baldwin, Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, and Karen Wexler, all of whom originally appeared as characters on General Hospital.[51] As the show evolved, it tended more towards gothic intrigue, including supernatural elements such as vampires and afterlife. It also switched formats from an open-ended daytime serial to 13-week story arcs known as "books", similar to Spanish language telenovelas.

General Hospital: Night Shift is the second American prime time spinoff of a daytime drama (the first being Our Private World, a spinoff of As the World Turns). Its first season aired from July 12, 2007, to October 4, 2007, on Soapnet, a cable channel owned by ABC.[52] The series follows the nighttime adventures of familiar and new characters around the hospital. As of March 2008, the first season of the series was "Soapnet's most-watched series ever", with ABC Daytime and Soapnet President Brian Frons noting that Night Shift drew more than 1 million new viewers to the channel during its first season.[53]

General Hospital: Twist of Fate was a primetime special that aired on Saturday, December 14, 1996. The episode picked up where that Friday's show had left off. The special centered on Laura's supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine.[54]

On April 2, 1998, General Hospital aired a primetime special in celebration of the program's 35th anniversary. Hosted by Anthony Geary, the show focused and recapped on many popular storylines including Monica Quartermaine's breast cancer, BJ's death, and Stone Cates' battle with HIV. This was the first anniversary special that was broadcast in primetime and that didn't include any of the current storyline.[55][56]

On April 6, 2013, as part of the show's 50th anniversary commemoration, ABC's newsmagazine 20/20 aired General Hospital: The Real Soap Dish—a retrospective and behind-the-scenes special hosted by Katie Couric.[57]

On September 5, 2014, it was announced that cast member Nancy Lee Grahn would begin to host a companion web series for ABC.com in January 2015, General Hospital Now!, which would feature behind-the-scenes interviews with fellow cast members, as well as panel discussions with comedians who are fans of the show.[58][59][60]

On May 15 and 18, 2015, General Hospital aired two live episodes as part of its 52nd anniversary celebration, using the hashtag #GHLive to promote the broadcast on social media.[61]

References

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    • SOD (June 16, 2022). "National B&B and GH Preemptions". Soap Opera Digest. United States: American Media, Inc. Retrieved June 16, 2022. As a result, GH's show's 15,000th episode, which was originally slated to air on Friday, June 17, and due to a previous preemption was going to air on Monday, June 20, is now scheduled to air on Tuesday, June 21.
    • Eades, Chris (June 21, 2022). "GH Is Preempted Today". Soaps In Depth. United States: Bauer Media Group. Retrieved June 22, 2022. Unfortunately, as was expected, General Hospital is preempted on June 21 for ongoing news coverage of the hearings on the attack on the Capitol Building.
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    • Fairman, Michael (February 23, 2018). . On-Air On-Soaps. United States: Michael Fairman Soaps, Inc. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
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Bibliography

  • Gary Warner, General Hospital: The Complete Scrapbook, Stoddart (November 1995), ISBN 1-881649-40-7
  • Gerard J. Waggett, The Official General Hospital Trivia Book, ABC (October 1997), ISBN 0-7868-8275-1

External links


general, hospital, this, article, about, american, soap, opera, type, medical, facility, hospital, general, acute, care, other, uses, general, hospital, disambiguation, often, abbreviated, american, daytime, television, soap, opera, listed, guinness, world, re. This article is about the American soap opera For the type of medical facility see Hospital General and acute care For other uses see General hospital disambiguation General Hospital often abbreviated as GH is an American daytime television soap opera It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest running American soap opera in production and the second in American history after Guiding Light 2 3 Concurrently it is the world s third longest running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street as well as the world s second longest running televised soap opera still in production General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1 1963 General Hospital is the longest running serial produced in Hollywood and the longest running entertainment program in ABC television history It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series with 14 wins General HospitalAlso known asGHGenreSoap operaCreated byFrank amp Doris HursleyWritten byDan O Connor Chris Van EttenDirected bySee belowStarringPresent cast Past castTheme music composerJack Urbont Paul Glass Steve HopkinsCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of episodes15 000 1 ProductionExecutive producersFrank Valentini 2012 present and others ProducerSee belowProduction locationsThe Prospect Studios Los Angeles CaliforniaCamera setupMultiple camera setupRunning time30 minutes 1963 1976 45 minutes 1976 1978 60 minutes 1978 present Production companiesSelmur Productions 1963 1968 ABC Signature 1968 present DistributorDisney Platform DistributionReleaseOriginal networkABCPicture formatNTSC 1963 2009 HDTV 720p 2009 present Audio formatStereoOriginal releaseApril 1 1963 1963 04 01 present present ChronologyFollowed byGeneral Hospital Night Shift Port Charles The Young MarriedsRelatedAll My Children The City Loving One Life to Live Ryan s Hope What If The show was created by husband and wife soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley who originally set it in a hospital in an unnamed fictional city In the 1970s the city was named Port Charles New York From its beginning General Hospital starred John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin and both actors stayed with the show until their deaths in 1996 and 1991 respectively They were joined a year later by Rachel Ames who remains to date the longest serving actress on an ABC soap opera having been continuously on the show from 1964 to 2007 General Hospital was the second soap to air on ABC after the short lived Road to Reality which aired for several months during the 1960 61 season In 1964 a sister soap was created for General Hospital The Young Marrieds it ran for two years and was canceled because of low ratings General Hospital also spawned the daytime series Port Charles 1997 2003 and the primetime spin off General Hospital Night Shift 2007 2008 Taped at The Prospect Studios General Hospital aired for a half hour until July 23 1976 The series was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26 1976 and then to a full hour on January 16 1978 4 Ever since the late 1970s most of the storylines have revolved around the Quartermaine family and the Spencer family From 1979 to 1988 General Hospital had more viewers than any other daytime soap opera It rose to the top of the ratings in the early 1980s in part thanks to the monumentally popular supercouple Luke and Laura whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest rated hour in American soap opera history 5 6 The soap opera is also known for its high profile celebrity guest stars who have included among others Roseanne Barr James Franco and Elizabeth Taylor In 2007 the program was listed as one of Time magazine s 100 Best TV Shows of All Time 7 On April 23 2009 General Hospital began broadcasting in high definition television making it the first ABC soap opera to make such a transition 8 General Hospital became the oldest American soap opera on September 17 2010 following the final broadcast of CBS s As the World Turns On April 14 2011 ABC announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live leaving General Hospital as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13 2012 9 The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1 2013 and its 15 000th episode on June 22 2022 Contents 1 Show history 1 1 Origins 1 2 History 1 3 Production 2 Cast 2 1 Characters 3 Main crew members 3 1 Executive producers 4 Setting 5 Accolades and recognition 6 Broadcast 6 1 Schedule 6 1 1 Notes 6 2 Ratings history 7 Parodies and references in other media 8 Spin offs and specials 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External linksShow historyOrigins General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1 1963 The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital in an unnamed midsize Eastern city the name of the city Port Charles would not be mentioned until the late 1970s They had this concept of the show that it was like a big wagon wheel the spokes would be the characters and the hub would be the hospital John Beradino Steve Hardy later reflected to Entertainment Weekly in 1994 10 History Main article History of General Hospital Launched in 1963 the first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in an unnamed midsized Eastern city The name of the city Port Charles would not be mentioned until 1976 by headwriters Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock 11 Storylines revolved around Steve Hardy John Beradino and his friend Nurse Jessie Brewer Emily McLaughlin Jessie s turbulent marriage to the much younger Phil Brewer originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes lastly by Martin West was the center of many early storylines In 1964 Audrey Hardy Rachel Ames a flight attendant and sister of Nurse Lucille Lucille Wall came to town and was the woman who won Steve s heart By the end of the 1970s General Hospital was facing dire ratings when executive producer Gloria Monty was brought in to turn the show around Monty is credited with creation of the first supercouple Luke and Laura played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis The end of their hour wedding on November 17 1981 was the most watched event in daytime serial history 6 During the 1980s the series featured several high profile action adventure and some science fiction based storylines Location shooting at sites including Mount Rushmore in South Dakota Niagara Falls Grand Ole Opry in Nashville Tennessee Atlantic City New Jersey Big Bear and Avalon Catalina Island California and San Antonio Texas are some that propelled the story After Gloria Monty first left the series in 1987 General Hospital entered into a transitional phase that lasted until Wendy Riche took the position of executive producer in 1992 Under Riche the show gained critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of social issues In 1994 Riche started an annual Nurses Ball a fundraiser and HIV AIDS awareness event both on the show and in real life Later that year a heart transplantation storyline involves the death of eight year old B J Jones daughter of Dr Tony Jones and Bobbie Spencer in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones Shortly afterwards Monica Quartermaine Leslie Charleson begins a long battle with breast cancer which leads to her adopting Emily Quartermaine the orphaned young daughter of Monica s friend from treatment General Hospital was also praised for the love story of teenagers Stone Cates Michael Sutton and Robin Scorpio Kimberly McCullough After a struggle that lasted throughout most of 1995 Stone dies from AIDS at the age of 19 and his death is followed by 17 year old Robin having to deal with being HIV positive as a result of their relationship Sutton received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and McCullough won an Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series award ABC featured an Afterschool Special Positive A Journey Into AIDS revolving around the AIDS story as well as The New York Times best selling novel Robin s Diary On Saturday December 14 1996 General Hospital aired its one of three primetime episodes General Hospital Twist of Fate which picked up where that Friday s episode had left off The special centered on Laura s supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine In 1997 the show s long rumored spin off materialized into the half hour serial Port Charles The series 11 000th episode aired on February 20 2006 12 On April 23 2009 General Hospital became ABC s first regular daytime drama to be taped and broadcast in High definition television though the 2008 season of its primetime spinoff General Hospital Night Shift was in high definition This is the second daytime drama to move to high definition after CBS s The Young and the Restless On February 23 2010 the series aired its 12 000th episode 13 On December 1 2011 ABC confirmed that former One Life to Live executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati would replace longtime executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and Garin Wolf respectively though Wolf would remain on as a regular writer The change took effect on January 9 2012 14 The first episode under the direction of Valentini aired on February 1 2012 with Carlivati s material beginning on February 21 Several storylines reminiscent of iconic story arcs of the past were created and popular characters returned to the show in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series in 2013 15 The serial celebrated 13 000 episodes on February 24 2014 16 and marked its 51st anniversary several weeks later on April 1 17 Also in January 2014 ABC renewed Carlivati s contract with the soap 18 19 The series marked its 52nd anniversary on April 1 2015 with a special episode revolving around the Spencer family 20 21 22 23 In July 2015 it was revealed Carlivati was fired as head writer Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante were hired as his successors 24 On September 16 2016 Daytime Confidential reported that Valentini Passanante and Altman re signed with the show 25 On June 6 2017 Passanante announced her decision to retire from the serial 26 On July 29 2017 it was revealed through Passanante that breakdown writer Chris Van Etten would be promoted to co head writer as her successor 27 On February 23 2018 the serial aired its 14 000th episode 28 On July 30 2019 it was announced Altman would retire breakdown writer Dan O Connor was announced as her successor joining Van Etten as co head writer 29 On June 22 2022 the soap aired its 15 000 episode in celebration the episode focused on Francis Laura Spencer 1 Production John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the show in 1973 General Hospital has aired on the ABC television network and has been filmed in Hollywood since its inception The show was filmed in the Sunset Gower Studios from 1963 to the mid 1980s It relocated in the 1980s to The Prospect Studios General Hospital has had a number of different distributors throughout the show s history From its beginning until 1968 it was a co production of Plitt Theatres and Selmur Productions ABC bought the series outright in 1968 and its ownership passed from Selmur to American Broadcasting Companies Inc ABC s old separate conglomerate Ownership of the soap was then passed when the original ABC Inc merged with Capital Cities ABC Inc in 1985 and it became Capital Cities ABC Inc The show would change hands again when The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities ABC in 1996 and Disney began to program the network and the soap in September 1997 where it remains today Production of General Hospital was suspended in March 2020 as a direct result of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States 30 Production resumed on July 22 of the same year new episodes began airing on August 3 2020 31 General Hospital was Disney s first series to go back into production during the pandemic 32 Cast The 50th anniversary 2012 13 official cast photo of General Hospital Front row Anthony GearySecond row l r Vanessa Marcil Maurice Benard Kelly Sullivan Leslie Charleson Laura Wright Jane Elliot Brooklyn Rae Silzer Jason Thompson Kelly Monaco Nancy Lee Grahn Genie Francis Kin Shriner Finola HughesThird row Kirsten Storms Bradford AndersonFourth row Teresa Castillo Marc Anthony Samuel Robin Mattson Jacklyn Zeman Sean Kanan Lisa LoCicero John J York Kristina Wagner Rebecca Herbst Dominic Zamprogna Emme Rylan Emily Wilson Chad Duell Sonya Eddy Ian Buchanan Lynn HerringBack row Jimmy Deshler Haley Pullos Drew Cheetwood Sean Blakemore Tyler Christopher Derk Cheetwood Kelly Thiebaud Main article List of General Hospital cast members Original cast 33 Character ActorCynthia Allison Carolyn CraigJessie Brewer Emily McLaughlinDr Phil Brewer Roy ThinnesAngie Costello Jana TaylorMike Costello Ralph ManzaFred Fleming Simon ScottJanet Fleming Ruth PhillipsDr Steve Hardy John BeradinoRoy Lansing Robert ClarkePriscilla Longworth Allison HayesDr Ken Martin Hunt PowersPeggy Mercer K T StevensPhilip Mercer Neil HamiltonMrs Weeks Lenore KingstonAl Weeks Tom BrownEddie Weeks Craig CurtisCharacters Main article List of General Hospital characters See also List of General Hospital characters 1960s List of General Hospital characters 1970s List of General Hospital characters 1980s List of General Hospital characters 1990s List of General Hospital characters 2000s List of General Hospital characters 2010s List of General Hospital characters 2020s Children of General Hospital Cassadine family Corinthos family Jerome family Quartermaine family Scorpio Jones family and Spencer family General Hospital Though the series originally focused on solely the medical staff at Port Charles General Hospital and starred John Beradino as Dr Steve Hardy and Emily McLaughlin as Nurse Jessie Brewer the series branched out and began to focus more on the people and families of the town of Port Charles rather than those solely in the hospital 34 Port Charles is full of dysfunctional family dynamics and family drama remains the focal point of this town 35 The current families on the show include the quarreling and wealthy Quartermaine family the mobster crime Corinthos family the middle class Scorpio Jones family the aristocratic Cassadine family and the adventurous Spencer family Main crew membersMain article List of General Hospital crew Executive producer Frank Valentini Producers Michelle Henry senior producer Mary Kelly Weir senior producer Jennifer Whittaker Brogdon producer Nneka Garland coordinating producer Jeffrey Sierks associate producer Directors Larry Carpenter Tina Keller William Ludel Gary Tomlin Frank Valentini Denise Van Cleave Phideaux Xavier Head writers Dan O Connor and Chris Van Etten 29 Associate head writer Anna Theresa Cascio Breakdown writers Ashley D Cook Suzanne Flynn Lloyd Gold Shannon Peace Elizabeth Korte Script writers Charlotte Gibson Kate Hall Lisa Seidman Dave Rupel Scott Sickles Casting director Mark Teschner Lisa Booth casting associate Lighting directors Bob Bessoir Melanie Mohr Vincent SteibNotable former crew members include Gloria Monty 36 Jill Farren Phelps Robert Guza Jr Charles Pratt Jr John William Corrington Lewis Arlt Lynda Myles Alan Pultz Judith Pinsker Joseph Behar Stephanie Braxton Norma Monty Frank South Ralph Ellis Shelley Curtis Jean Passanante Hope Harmel Smith Michael Conforti Michele Val Jean and Ron Carlivati 24 26 37 Executive producers General Hospital executive producers Name YearsSelig J Seligman 1963James Young 1963 75Tom Donovan 1975 77Gloria Monty 1978 87 1991 92H Wesley Kenney 1987 89Joseph Hardy 1989 91Wendy Riche 1992 2001Jill Farren Phelps 2001 12Frank Valentini 2012 presentSettingSince the series began in 1963 Port Charles New York has been the setting for the show The town exists in the same fictional universe as other soap opera settings such as Llanview One Life to Live Pine Valley All My Children New York City Ryan s Hope and Corinth Loving The same setting was also used for General Hospital s spinoff Port Charles General Hospital is founded by Dr Steve Hardy It is a major employer in the city and one of the largest medical facilities on the East Coast In the 1990s Sonny Corinthos donates an extra wing dedicated to AIDS research and in the 2000s Carly Corinthos donates a pediatric center for head neurology In 2009 a fire destroys the hospital which is rebuilt with money from the Quartermaine family The Metro Court is a prominent hotel in Port Charles built by Jasper Jacks on the site of the Port Charles Hotel after it is destroyed in a fire in 2004 and named in honor of Courtney Matthews who Jax was pursuing romantically Carly Corinthos soon becomes his business partner and later co owns with Kate Howard when Jax sells his portion to her The hotel boasts a skyline restaurant spa penthouse suites and business offices The current owners are Carly and Olivia Falconeri Kelly s Diner is founded by Joe Paddy Kelly and becomes a vintage restaurant in the heart of Port Charles It features boarding rooms upstairs which become homes to many Port Charles residents and guests over the years The restaurant is operated by Paddy s wife Rose Kelly after his death who later sells it to Ruby Anderson when Rose leaves town When Ruby dies she leaves the diner to her niece Bobbie Spencer and nephew Luke Spencer The Haunted Star is a yacht first owned by Luke Spencer who receives the vessel as a wedding present in 1981 In 2003 the ship is turned into a casino by Luke and investors Skye Chandler and Tracy Quartermaine In 2011 Luke s daughter Lulu Spencer purchases the boat and in 2012 Johnny Zacchara invests to become co owner Together they turn the ship into a nightclub The Floating Rib is a bar located in downtown Port Charles just a block away from General Hospital Originally named Jake s the bar has been a hotspot for the local nightlife since the early 1990s Coleman Ratcliffe becomes the owner in 2002 and Mac Scorpio takes over in 2012 There was also a popular fine dining restaurant in Port Charles with the same name in the late 1970s early 1980s In 2020 a bomb destroys the restaurant and kills multiple patrons Accolades and recognitionMain article List of General Hospital awards General Hospital s cast and crew have won many awards since 1974 when the Daytime Emmy Awards were created In 2012 the Creative Arts Emmy Awards were created General Hospital has won 14 Daytime Emmys for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series 38 In June 2009 TV Guide ranked Luke and Laura s Wedding 45 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes 39 BroadcastDuring the 1960s General Hospital earned decent ratings against the likes of To Tell the Truth and The Secret Storm on CBS but there was a decline as the 1970s came especially when NBC s Another World became highly popular For two years it also faced CBS s The Price Is Right already a major hit After continued mediocrity in the Nielsen ratings ABC was prepared to cancel General Hospital but decided to give it a second chance in 1978 when it expanded the show from an experimental 45 minutes to a full hour However the expansion came with an ultimatum to the producers that they had six months to improve the show s ratings Gloria Monty was hired as the new executive producer and on her first day she spent an extra 100 000 re taping four episodes A miracle occurred thanks to Monty and head writer Douglas Marland the show became the most watched daytime drama by 1979 marking a rare instance of a daytime serial s comeback from near extinction During the wedding of Luke and Laura on November 17 1981 about 30 million people tuned in to watch them exchange vows and be cursed by Elizabeth Taylor s Helena Cassadine Constance Towers From 1979 to 1988 General Hospital remained number one in the ratings competing against two game shows and two low rated soaps on NBC Texas and Santa Barbara and Guiding Light on CBS although Guiding Light experienced a renaissance for a brief period in the middle of 1984 and became the 1 rated soap briefly dethroning General Hospital from the top ratings spot For the most part however General Hospital continued to triumph even after the departure of popular actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis in the mid 1980s Although The Young and the Restless took General Hospital s place as the highest rated serial in 1989 General Hospital continued to maintain excellent ratings Even at its peak in the 1980s General Hospital had been pre empted in at least two markets in the United States With the show still number one in the Nielsens WDTN in Dayton Ohio preempted the series upon joining ABC in January 1980 in favor of Woody Woodpecker and Super Friends cartoons Later the station would air such shows as Hour Magazine Geraldo and Maury in the show s timeslot until September 2000 when the station s new owners Sunrise Broadcasting which purchased the station from Hearst Television two years prior pulled Maury from the station s schedule due to what it called community standards and brought General Hospital back to Dayton In Vermont and Plattsburgh New York WVNY dropped General Hospital from the schedule in the 1980s and would only bring it back in 1995 During that hiatus General Hospital still aired on Montreal s CFCF DT whose signal was decently available in Vermont and Plattsburgh Ever since the 1991 1992 season of General Hospital the show has had a steady decline in ratings On and off it would rank between third and fifth place in the Nielsen ratings with CBS s The Young And The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful coming in first and second place respectively General Hospital remained in between third and fifth place in the ratings during that time and from late 1991 to 1996 All My Children held the title of ABC s highest rated soap After months of speculation and cancellation rumors Deadline Hollywood reported on April 11 2012 that ABC quietly made the decision to keep General Hospital on the air and to cancel instead the lower rated talk show The Revolution 40 On June 26 2012 ABC officially announced that General Hospital would move to the 2 p m ET PT timeslot starting on September 10 2012 and that the network would give the 3 00 p m hour back to its affiliates as it was the recommended time slot for Katie Couric s new ABC syndicated talk show Katie 41 Encore episodes were shown every weeknight on the former cable channel Soapnet with a marathon on Saturday and classic episodes at 4 a m EST and 5 a m 3 a m and 4 a m CST Production of General Hospital was suspended in March 2020 as a direct result of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States 30 The show had banked roughly two months worth of episodes at that time 30 By airing repeats on Flashback Fridays General Hospital was able to air original episodes through the end of May 21 2020 42 This will be followed by several weeks of vintage episode repeats 42 Production resumed on July 22 2020 and new episodes began airing on August 3 2020 43 Schedule General Hospital broadcast history Start date End date Time slot ET Run time minutes April 1 1963 December 27 1963 1 00 pm 30December 30 1963 July 23 1976 3 00 pmJuly 26 1976 January 13 1978 3 15 pm 45January 16 1978 September 7 2012 3 00 pm 60September 10 2012 present 2 00 pm1Notes ABC stations in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones and in Alaska and Hawaii follow a Central Time Zone schedule for daytime programming thus General Hospital is scheduled by the network to air at 1 00 p m in these areas In September 2014 General Hospital reclaimed its former time slot of 3 00 p m Eastern 2 00 Central and Pacific on ABC owned and operated stations in New York City Philadelphia Raleigh Durham Chicago Houston San Francisco and Los Angeles and affiliate KSAT TV in San Antonio 44 45 46 Ratings history For historical ratings information see List of U S daytime soap opera ratings Years as 1 seriesGeneral Hospital ratings history Year s Household Rating1979 1980 9 91980 1981 11 41981 1982 11 21982 1983 9 81983 1984 10 01984 1985 9 11985 1986 9 21986 1987 8 31987 1988 8 1 Tied with The Young and the Restless Highest rated week in daytime history November 16 20 1981 Household ratings Nielsen Media Research General Hospital ratings history Serial Household rating Time slot network Millions of households1 General Hospital 16 0 3 4pm ABC 13 040 0002 All My Children 10 2 1 2pm ABC 8 313 0003 One Life to Live 10 2 2 3pm ABC 8 313 0004 Guiding Light 7 9 3 4pm CBS 6 438 500Parodies and references in other mediaThe popularity of General Hospital has gained it many parodies and references in other mainstream programs For example In the early 1990s some episodes of General Hospital were featured as shorts during the fourth season of the parody show Mystery Science Theater 3000 The series was also parodied homaged in the song General Hospi Tale by The Afternoon Delights 47 and in the film Tootsie which took place among the cast and crew of a fictional soap opera program In the Fox medical drama House Gregory House enjoys Prescription Passion which is an over the top parody of General Hospital that he watches constantly In the season three episode Half Wit House hides his blood test results under the name Luke N Laura referring to General Hospital s popular couple Mad TV did a sketch on the series with actors Jacklyn Zeman Rebecca Herbst and Jacob Young The 1982 comedy film Young Doctors in Love featured a large part of General Hospital s cast from 1982 The February 23 2000 episode of Late Show with David Letterman covers a faux segment of the program with regards to David Letterman s heart surgery 48 In a 2010 episode of The Colbert Report comedian Stephen Colbert poked fun at the show responding to a clip of Maurice Benard s Sonny Corinthos shooting Dominic Zamprogna s Dante Falconeri satirically screaming Sonny shot Dante No 49 In the ABC comedy The Goldbergs Erica and Adam frequently watch General Hospital together In the book series Virgin River by Robyn Carr Mel mentions watching General Hospital in nursing school 50 Spin offs and specialsThe success of the long running soap opera has had one sister serial one spinoff in the United States and two primetime spinoffs in the United States and the United Kingdom The Young Marrieds was ABC s first attempt at a sister serial for General Hospital It ran for only two years racking up a total of 380 episodes Despite its moderate popularity it was aired against CBS s top rated The Edge of Night which it could not compete against The series finale aired on March 25 1966 with the show s main protagonist contemplating suicide It ended in a cliffhanger leaving the audience wondering if the man had killed himself or not The Young Marrieds was set in the fictional suburb of Queen s Point which was considered by the writers to be a suburb of Port Charles The British television series General Hospital did not feature any characters from the American show but was modeled after its format It started as a half hour program broadcast in the afternoons which was unusual for British serials that normally aired in prime time In 1975 it was expanded to an hour long format and moved to Friday evenings Port Charles was a daytime drama that initially featured interns in a competitive medical school program 51 and was known for having more action actually in the hospital than General Hospital itself It also included the characters of Scott Baldwin Serena Baldwin Lucy Coe Kevin Collins and Karen Wexler all of whom originally appeared as characters on General Hospital 51 As the show evolved it tended more towards gothic intrigue including supernatural elements such as vampires and afterlife It also switched formats from an open ended daytime serial to 13 week story arcs known as books similar to Spanish language telenovelas General Hospital Night Shift is the second American prime time spinoff of a daytime drama the first being Our Private World a spinoff of As the World Turns Its first season aired from July 12 2007 to October 4 2007 on Soapnet a cable channel owned by ABC 52 The series follows the nighttime adventures of familiar and new characters around the hospital As of March 2008 the first season of the series was Soapnet s most watched series ever with ABC Daytime and Soapnet President Brian Frons noting that Night Shift drew more than 1 million new viewers to the channel during its first season 53 General Hospital Twist of Fate was a primetime special that aired on Saturday December 14 1996 The episode picked up where that Friday s show had left off The special centered on Laura s supposed death at the hands of Stefan Cassadine 54 On April 2 1998 General Hospital aired a primetime special in celebration of the program s 35th anniversary Hosted by Anthony Geary the show focused and recapped on many popular storylines including Monica Quartermaine s breast cancer BJ s death and Stone Cates battle with HIV This was the first anniversary special that was broadcast in primetime and that didn t include any of the current storyline 55 56 On April 6 2013 as part of the show s 50th anniversary commemoration ABC s newsmagazine 20 20 aired General Hospital The Real Soap Dish a retrospective and behind the scenes special hosted by Katie Couric 57 On September 5 2014 it was announced that cast member Nancy Lee Grahn would begin to host a companion web series for ABC com in January 2015 General Hospital Now which would feature behind the scenes interviews with fellow cast members as well as panel discussions with comedians who are fans of the show 58 59 60 On May 15 and 18 2015 General Hospital aired two live episodes as part of its 52nd anniversary celebration using the hashtag GHLive to promote the broadcast on social media 61 References a b Various citations concerning the 15 000 episode of General Hospital Pennacchio George May 12 2022 Daytime drama General Hospital celebrates a major television milestone 15 000 episodes KABC TV United States ABC Owned Television Stations Archived from the original on May 13 2022 Retrieved May 13 2022 SOD June 16 2022 National B amp B and GH Preemptions Soap Opera Digest United States American Media Inc Retrieved June 16 2022 As a result GH s show s 15 000th episode which was originally slated to air on Friday June 17 and due to a previous preemption was going to air on Monday June 20 is now scheduled to air on Tuesday June 21 Eades Chris June 21 2022 GH Is Preempted Today Soaps In Depth United States Bauer Media Group Retrieved June 22 2022 Unfortunately as was expected General Hospital is preempted on June 21 for ongoing news coverage of the hearings on the attack on the Capitol Building Longest Running TV Drama Arts amp Media Guinness World Records 2009 Archived from the original on April 19 2011 Retrieved October 7 2012 Longest running TV medical drama Archived from the original on November 10 2013 Retrieved June 27 2012 Boca Raton News January 13 1978 via Google News archive General Hospital expands to an hour Archived from the original on November 5 2015 Retrieved September 20 2016 Wolf Buck November 16 2006 Luke and Laura Still the Ultimate TV Wedding ABC News Archived from the original on August 8 2009 a b West Abby Luke and Laura 17 Great Soap Supercouples Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on February 1 2008 Retrieved January 29 2008 Poniewozik James September 6 2007 The 100 Best TV Shows of All Time Time Archived from the original on January 19 2011 Retrieved March 4 2010 Mitovich Matt April 6 2009 GH in HD Soap Will Look Sharp for May Sweeps TV Guide tvguide com Archived from the original on October 23 2012 Retrieved September 9 2012 Andreeva Nellie April 14 2011 ABC Daytime Shakeup Network Cancels Both All My Children amp One Life To Live Replaces Them With Lifestyle Series Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on April 15 2011 Retrieved April 15 2011 Shaw Jessica April 1 1994 Hospital Birth Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on May 27 2013 Retrieved September 2 2012 Reed Jon Michael November 14 1976 Soap Life Isn t Easy For Serial Writer Either Ocala Star Banner Archived from the original on June 10 2022 Retrieved December 29 2012 Wheat Alynda February 17 2006 What to Watch Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on April 27 2009 Retrieved June 13 2009 Watch GH s New Opening Credits SOAPnet Sn soapnet go com Archived from the original on May 25 2010 Retrieved June 1 2010 Valentini and Carlivati to Take the Reins at General Hospital ABC abc com Archived from the original on February 7 2012 Logan Michael March 19 2013 General Hospital s Nostalgic 50th Anniversary Plans TV Guide Archived from the original on April 9 2013 Retrieved April 7 2013 Logan Michael February 15 2014 Exclusive Sneak Peek at General Hospital s 13 000th Episode TV Guide Archived from the original on February 28 2014 Retrieved February 27 2014 Fairman Michael April 1 2014 General Hospital Brings Returns Trips Down Memory Lane amp A Death To Its 51st Anniversary Episode Michael Fairman On Air On Soaps United States Michael Fairman Soaps Inc Archived from the original on July 31 2014 Retrieved July 28 2014 Kroll Dan J January 23 2014 General Hospital to continue for another year United States Soapcentral com Archived from the original on August 14 2017 Retrieved September 16 2016 Fairman Michael January 23 2014 GH Head Writer Ron Carlivati Signs New Contract With The ABC Soap Michael Fairman On Air On Soaps Archived from the original on September 17 2016 Retrieved September 16 2016 Pennacchio George April 1 2015 General Hospital Goes Retro for 52nd Anniversary KABC TV Disney ABC Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved April 2 2015 ABC s General Hospital Marks 52nd Anniversary Today broadwayworld com Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved April 2 2015 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Archived from the original on July 30 2017 Retrieved July 29 2017 Various citations concerning the 14 000th episode of General Hospital GH Airs 14 000th Episode Soap Opera Digest United States American Media Inc Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc February 23 2018 Archived from the original on February 23 2018 Retrieved February 23 2018 Eades Chris February 23 2018 General Hospital Celebrates Its 14 000th Episode See the Fun Backstage Pics ABC Soaps In Depth United States Bauer Media Group Archived from the original on February 23 2018 Retrieved February 23 2018 Fairman Michael February 23 2018 TODAY General Hospital Airs Its 14 000 Episode On Air On Soaps United States Michael Fairman Soaps Inc Archived from the original on February 23 2018 Retrieved February 23 2018 a b Maloney Michael July 30 2019 General Hospital Top Scribe Shelly Altman Retires New Co Head Writer Announced TV Insider United States TVGM Holdings LLC Archived from the original on July 30 2019 Retrieved July 30 2019 a b c Ausiello Michael March 18 2020 Coronavirus Shuts Down Soaps When Will Bold amp Beautiful Days GH and Young amp Restless Run Out of Episodes TVLine Archived from the original on May 13 2020 Retrieved May 12 2020 Rice Lynette August 3 2020 See Dominic Zamprogna back on General Hospital Entertainment Weekly United States Meredith Corporation Archived from the original on August 3 2020 Retrieved August 3 2020 Littleton Cynthia February 7 2021 Dana Walden Says Disney Productions Are Among L A s Safest Places with Low COVID Rates Variety Archived from the original on February 7 2021 Retrieved February 8 2021 Kearney Patricia Buchanan Betty January 1976 The Story of ABC TV s General Hospital First Installment We Love Soaps United States Blogger pp 17 24 53 55 Archived from the original on November 10 2013 Retrieved March 17 2013 General Hospital beta abc go com Archived from the original on May 4 2013 Retrieved August 8 2016 General Hospital beta abc go com Archived from the 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from the original on October 10 2018 Retrieved October 10 2018 a b Ausiello Michael May 11 2020 General Hospital Is About to Run Out of Original Episodes Here s How ABC Will Fill the Daytime Void TVLine Archived from the original on May 11 2020 Retrieved May 12 2020 See Dominic Zamprogna back on General Hospital EW com Archived from the original on August 3 2020 Retrieved August 4 2020 Lewis Errol August 19 2014 General Hospital Time Slot Switch The Affected Stations Fall Afternoon Lineups Soap Opera Network United States Manti Inc Archived from the original on August 21 2014 Retrieved April 6 2015 Fairman Michael September 5 2014 Monday General Hospital Is On The Move With Its Timeslot Change In 8 Major Markets Michael Fairman On Air On Soaps United States Archived from the original on September 8 2014 Retrieved April 6 2015 GH S Time Slot Change Takes Place Today Soap Opera Digest American Media September 8 2014 Archived from the original on April 13 2015 Retrieved April 6 2015 At a Ripe 25 Hospital Is Healthy The New York Times Associated Press April 2 1988 Archived from the original on November 14 2013 Retrieved December 19 2012 How the media covered Dave s surgery on YouTube Stephen Colbert July 6 2012 Latest Soap Opera News The Colbert Report 0 00 50 minutes in Comedy Central Archived from the original on July 12 2010 Retrieved July 8 2010 Carr Robyn 2007 Virgin River ISBN 978 0778314158 a b Tribune Media Services June 1 1997 GH spawns spinoff Port Charles Reading Eagle Retrieved December 31 2012 GH Spinoff Planned For SOAPnet Soap Central February 12 2007 Archived from the original on December 2 2008 Nordyke Kimberly May 27 2008 SoapNet renews Night Shift The Hollywood Reporter hollywoodreporter com Archived from the original on September 7 2010 Retrieved March 8 2013 Tenillypo September 3 2009 The Best of S amp B Twist of Fate despairintheafternoon Archived from the original on October 19 2016 Retrieved December 5 2014 General Hospital buddytv com Archived from the original on December 9 2014 Retrieved December 5 2014 General Hospital 35th Anniversary Show The New York Times Archived from the original on December 11 2014 Retrieved December 5 2014 Katie Couric special goes behind the scenes of General Hospital Channel Guide Magazine March 22 2013 Archived from the original on January 10 2019 Retrieved January 10 2019 Nancy Lee Grahn Hosted General Hospital Now Hits ABC com Beginning January 2015 Soap Opera Network December 2 2014 Archived from the original on June 13 2017 Retrieved January 10 2019 Lewis Errol October 1 2014 COMING SOON General Hospital Now Hosted by Nancy Lee Grahn Soap Opera Network Archived from the original on December 17 2014 Retrieved December 5 2014 General Hospital s Nancy Lee Grahn s General Hospital Now soaps sheknows com December 1 2014 Archived from the original on December 11 2014 Retrieved December 5 2014 You Won t Believe What General Hospital Has Planned For May people com April 2 2015 Archived from the original on April 9 2016 Retrieved October 1 2016 BibliographyGary Warner General Hospital The Complete Scrapbook Stoddart November 1995 ISBN 1 881649 40 7 Gerard J Waggett The Official General Hospital Trivia Book ABC October 1997 ISBN 0 7868 8275 1External linksOfficial website General Hospital at IMDb General Hospital at The Interviews An Oral History of Television Fielden Farrington scripts at the University of Maryland libraries Contains scripts for General Hospital from 1975 to 1976 Portals Television United States Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title General Hospital amp oldid 1118534506, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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