Here are some “General Hospital” spoilers for all-new shock storylines coming soon thanks to new co-head writers Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman. Ousted head writer Ron Carlivati’s material has run its course and everything from here on out (for the most part) is fresh material from the new duo and things are looking up for characters, fans and ratings.
If you haven’t heard, General Hospital’s ratings have been dismal of late – but that’s history now. Ratings for August 21 showed GH hitting a huge low, down a whopping 63,000 viewers. But as of the most recent ratings, compliments of shows written by Passanante and Altman, the numbers rebounded by 62k which is impressive and a hopeful sign that GH is out of its ratings slump.
So other than higher ratings, what else do we have to look forward to under Passanante and Altman’s reign? The duo spoke with Soaps in Depth on that topic and here are some of the highlights. First, and this is particularly exciting, there will be a lot more of the HOSPITAL on General Hospital. When the show started back in the day, the doctors and nurses got top billing but now, not so much.
Look for a revival of hospital-centric activity which means the sexy doctors and nurses will get more screen time. This is awesome. That means more Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson), Liz Webber (Rebecca Herbst), Brad Cooper (Parry Shen), Lucas Jones (Ryan Carnes) and – wait for it – Dr Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati). GH always shines when Gati is on the screen.
For far too long, the mob has taken center stage, and while it will still figure prominently, it will not be the end all and be all, and neither will ELQ. As the mob war rages on, that means more wounded and beaten bodies at GH, so it’s a natural fit to combine the two. The writers said that the mob and hospital would get some overlapping storyline which is great – and much better than 100% mafia junk.
The lady writers also said that the Corinthos, Jerome, and Quartermaines will be a focus and they will write more to cater to the cast of “quirky heroes and troublemakers” that bless the GH stage. Look for Nina Clay (Michelle Stafford) and Franco (Roger Howarth) to dial back the nutty, amp up the romance and pursue revenge against those who have wronged them all across Port Charles.
Shelly Altman admits that after more than 50 years on the air, “it’s a challenge to surprise the audience with something they’ve never seen before” so they are looking to explore new ideas or explore a plot that’s been done before, but from a new angle and in an all new way. To be fair, after five decades of stories, it’s a challenge to reinvent the wheel, but if they can jazz it up with lights and rims, it can work.
And, very importantly, Altman and Passanante promise character-driven storylines from here on out versus the plot-driven stories so common under Carlivati’s reign. This is a welcome relief. The struggle with a plot-driven story is that character history – which is so rich on General Hospital – can get lost and that aggravates long-time loyal fans who know these characters as if they were family.
The Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig) bipolar storyline, near-fatal shooting of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and revival of Hayden Barnes (Rebecca Budig) are solid examples of exciting new plots that Passanante and Altman are crafting. Now if they can just clean up the long-lingering mess Carlivati left them with the seemingly endless Jake Doe (Billy Miller) amnesia, ratings might rocket! Stay tuned to CDL for all your “General Hospital” spoilers, gossip and more!
