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General HospitalComings & Goings
If you want to know more about which actors are coming and which actors are on their way out at GH, and which have changed their contract status, we've got you covered for all soap operas including General Hospital.
Amanda Setton will be resuming her role as Brook Lynn Quartermaine on General Hospital very soon, as reported by Soap Opera Digest. The actress has been on maternity leave and gave birth to her third child. She first appeared on the ABC soap opera in November 2019, eight years after a two-year stint on sister soap One Life to Live as Kimberly Andrews.
In August, it was announced that Briana Lane would temporarily fill in for Setton, who last appeared on Tuesday, August 4. Lane turned up as Port Charles’ recast two days later and exited the role on Monday, November 16, when Brook Lynn returned to Bensonhurst with a huge secret.
Buzz began about what this secret could be, considering she had a one-night stand with Valentin, and many wondered if Brook Lynn could be pregnant. This led us to hope that another storyline could emerge from Brook Lynn’s return. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but who wouldn’t love to see Brook Lynn’s mother Lois Cerullo come back to town with her!? Oh, the drama that would ignite, and could you imagine the tense encounters between Lois and Olivia? Never say never when it comes to our soaps!
In the meantime, look through our massive gallery of rare General Hospital photos and precious Port Charles memories throughout the years.
— Amy Mistretta
Friday, February 26th, 2021
Sometimes actors are like boomerangs: They come back. Case in point: Chad Brannon is returning to General Hospital, where he played Mob flunky Zander Smith from 2000-04.
But even EW.com, which broke the news, couldn’t say whether he’d be resurrecting his old character, who you may recall went out in a hail of bullets. (As if that ever stopped anybody in Port Charles from rising from the grave!)
Before volunteering to be a SWAT team’s target, the baby-faced ne’er-do-well had been married to ill-fated Emily Quartermaine and had had a fling with Elizabeth Webber that was brief, sure, but not so brief that it didn’t leave her expecting son Cameron (named for Zander’s father. by the way).
Were Brannon to be reprising his former role, there would certainly be a lot of storyline for him, what with Cam now being a teenager and Liz being worried sick that her latest husband might turn back into a serial killer. Not only that, but she’s fast coming to a crossroads with both better half Franco and ex-lover Jason.
Of course, there is another option…
Brannon could be playing Aaron, the Zander lookalike that Emily’s twin sister, Rebecca Shaw, met on her way out of Port Charles in 20009. (And we do know that her portrayer, Natalia Livingston, wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to giving Emily a new lease on life. Remember our interview?)
On the other hand — wait, is that our third hand — the Emmy winner could just be playing Zander as a ghost or a vision. General Hospital does like those, after all. (Right, Duke Lavery?) Whoever he’s playing, the website reports that he begins taping on February 12 and will first air the following month.
While you’re here, contemplating the comings and goings from General Hospital, perhaps you might be keen on a photographic tour of all of the show’s recent exits.
Wednesday, February 10th, 2021
Fans were alerted back in December that the character of Marcus Taggert would be appearing with a new face for a brief time. Asante Jones stepped in for Real Andrews, who’s played the role on and off since 1996, after it was announced the actor needed to take a temporary leave of absence. Though there was no explanation, Andrews had undergone surgery in December while fighting cancer. Soap Opera Digest has now confirmed that Jones has wrapped up his time at the ABC soap opera and Andrews is back in the studio taping scenes.
Currently, Taggert is embroiled in the storyline surrounding the ongoing attempt — by many — to take down Cyrus. It’s no secret that Taggert and Cyrus are rivals, but in real-life things couldn’t be further from the truth. On January 31, Andrews celebrated his birthday and posted a fun video message that he received from co-workers Maurice Bernard (Sonny) and, yes, Jeff Kober (Cyrus). Watch the guys sing their version of the birthday song to Andrews.
So, what’s next for the storyline involving half of Port Charles working to take down Cyrus once and for all? The writers gave us an exclusive General Hospital February Sweeps preview, including how one person just might be the key to Cyrus’ downfall.
Have you been keeping up with all of the show’s casting notes? We can help! Look through our photo gallery featuring a comprehensive guide to recent General Hospital exits.
– Amy Mistretta
Friday, February 5th, 2021
General Hospital viewers expect shocks when they tune in, but nobody saw this one coming: In the January 26 episode of ABC’s one and only daytime drama, it was announced that the role of Jordan Ashford was being played not by Briana Nicole Henry but by Tiffany Daniels.
Thus far, there’s been no word on how long the recast will last. But in the meantime, we can at least tell you why Daniels looks so familiar: She’s got a list of credits a mile long, including appearances on Criminal Minds, Grace and Frankie, NCIS, Timeless and The Big Bang Theory.
More: GH star reflects upon a devastating loss
Daniels is also an accomplished dancer who’s shown off her fancy footwork on The Fresh Beat Band, The Goldbergs, Broad City and in The Little Mermaid Live! She was even one of the Los Angelenos traffic-jamming in the euphoric opening number of La La Land.
As for Henry, she shared on December 7 that she and husband Kris Bowers, the composer whose work helped make Netflix’s period piece Bridgerton an exclamation point, had “been recovering from Covid-19 since a few days after Thanksgiving.
“Although some symptoms linger,” she added, “we’re both so grateful that it seems as though, unlike for over a million others, we will make a full and healthy recovery.”
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On her birthday — January 19 — the actress waxed poetic, noting that she’d now spent “29 years with this body, mind and heart navigating my Earth side experience. I wish I could tell the little girl in this photo about the life we will have been fortunate enough to call our own by the age of 29.
More: Honoring ABC legend on anniversary of his death
“The fragility of life is not something to take for granted,” she added. “I realize that more than ever now.”
And she was stoked about the future. “Cheers to my last year in my 20s,” she wrote. “When I was young, it was this decade of life I spent the most time imagining about. Looking forward to savoring every minute of it.”
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Speaking of Jordan, original portrayer Vinessa Antoine’s Diggstown — you remember, the Canadian legal drama for which she left General Hospital — has had its first two seasons picked up by Fox to air in the US; it’s also been renewed for Season 3.
More: Soaps’ best — and worst — temporary recasts [PHOTOS]
Needless to say, we hope that by now Henry and Bowers are fully recovered and she’s back in the saddle at General Hospital. While you’re here, check out a photo gallery of all of the stars that are leaving/have recently left Port Charles.
Tuesday, January 26th, 2021
It seems as though every time there is drama surrounding the Davis and Corinthos family many fans (us as well!) wonder, “Where the heck is Kristina?” We saw the character in Port Charles for her grandfather Mike’s funeral and have heard her sisters discuss her in regards to Alexis. Even though Sam and Molly didn’t invite her to their mother’s intervention, for fear Kristina would blow a gasket, Alexis could clearly use all of her daughters right now.
But what about the rest of the family? You would think, considering her father Sonny has been missing for weeks, we would have heard from her!
Good news, the wait is over… and we can confirm that Lexi Ainsworth will be making another return to General Hospital as Kristina Corinthos-Davis during the week of February 8. Though we recently speculated that Sonny’s amnesia storyline could bring back a certain fan favorite, we’ll take an appearance from Kristina — for now.
Do you think Kristina will be able to get through to her mother upon her return to Port Charles? Will she be able to help support her family over Sonny’s disappearance or be too distraught herself? We will all have to wait and watch together.
Longtime viewers will know, of course, that Ainsworth first played Sonny and Alexis’ daughter from 2009 – 2011. The 100 star Lindsey Morgan (now a regular on Walker) stepped in as a recast in 2012 but was re-recast with Ainsworth in 2015, at which point Kristina’s questioning of her sexuality was answered with a polarizing relationship with her married college professor.
While you count down to Ainsworth’s comeback, perhaps you’d like to kill some time by reviewing our photo gallery of other General Hospital characters we would like to see return.
– Amy Mistretta
Monday, January 25th, 2021
For those wondering about the handsome stranger who rescued Sonny in the woods on General Hospital, that was One Life to Live actor Mikey Jerome as Eddie!
Fans may recall that Jerome was the season three winner of the reality series I Wanna Be a Soap Star, which landed him his One Life to Live role in 2006. The actor played Llanview’s Ted Osbourne, Vincent Jones’ sidekick who helped to rig Cristian Vega’s boxing match. Though Vincent changed his mind and tried to stop the match, Ted wanted to make a quick buck but ended up getting a confession beaten out of him by Cristian, which set him on a path of revenge against Vincent.
Jerome shared a behind the scenes photo on Instagram while on the General Hospital set and expressed wanting to return one day. “If you can send messages to the [show’s] Instagram site. Or email General Hospital at ABC… It could really help my chances of a return.”
He went on to post a photo on Facebook from the January 12 episode and stated, “If you have Twitter, get on the General Hospital page and ask for more of Eddie. Was so cool acting all day w/a Soap Icon. #sonny #mauricebernard.”
Would you like to see more of Eddie? View a photo gallery of other General Hospital actors we want to see return to Port Charles then view photos of One Life to Live over the years.
– Amy Mistretta
Friday, January 15th, 2021
Denise Alexander is making another trip back to General Hospital beginning Friday, January 8 to play Lesley Webber, the mother of Genie Francis’ Laura, as reported by Soap Opera Digest. With Laura discovering that Martin and Cyrus are her half-brothers, through her biological father Gordon Grey, Laura’s past had been briefly mentioned at their family reunion, including her mother.
Lesley had an affair with Gordon but convinced him not to leave his wife Florence, Martin and Cyrus’ mother, for her. When she wound up pregnant, she was led to believe her child was stillborn, but baby Laura was actually swapped with another child and ended up with the Vining family and raised by Barbara and Jason. Lesley would eventually be reunited with Laura, and her then-husband Rick adopted her.
Alexander has played Lesley on and off from 1975 until 2013. She most recently appeared on the ABC soap for its 56th anniversary in April of 2019, a show which also honored the passing of the character Gail Baldwin. She also appeared at Kevin and Laura’s 2017 wedding.
Browse our gallery of 2020’s year in review for General Hospital.
– Dustin Cushman
Tuesday, January 5th, 2021
Those watching today’s Wednesday, December 16 episode of General Hospital were privy to a few blasts from the past. Not only did Ian Buchanan bring Duke Lavery back to haunt Julian, Megan Ward returned so Port Charles’ late Connie Falconeri could do the same. Julian began losing blood from the gunshot delivered by one of Cyrus’ men and, during a haze, couldn’t fight off the voices haunting him from his past.
Connie was last seen on February 25, 2014 after the character died from a gunshot wound, courtesy of Julian’s sister Ava. Though at the time the character was played by Kelly Sullivan, Ward originated the role in 2007 and appeared until 2010.
While Connie clearly was a figure of Julian’s imagination, that can’t be said for a lot of other haunting encounters in daytime. Take a look at our gallery filled with photos of soap characters who have returned from the dead.
– Amy Mistretta
Wednesday, December 16th, 2020
General Hospital fan favorite Ian Buchanan has let a little secret out of the bag… He’ll be bringing his character Duke Lavery back to Port Charles on Wednesday, December 16. No, Duke’s not coming back from the dead, but much like Max Gail’s recent ghostly appearance, Buchanan’s character will apparently be present in scenes sometime this week. In a cameo video, the actor told a fan, “I’ll let you in on one little secret,” then proceeded to explain that Duke would be “ghosting” in a scene this week and teased, “You may want to watch.”
Elsewhere on Twitter, Shannon shared what appeared to be a promo for the soap featuring Buchanan. “Don’t forget to watch tomorrow’s episode,” he said, adding that “you never know who’s gonna show up.” Not only did Buchanan retweet the post on Twitter but Finola Hughes (Anna) did as well.
Excited about a Duke @KilttripUSA visit this week! Can’t wait to see Ian!!! #DukeLives in our book always! ❤️🍸 @txOLTLfan @RebeccaVenter @deglimuses #ClanLavery @GeneralHospital pic.twitter.com/CntFnTl5uH
— Shannon (@ShannonCol1201) December 14, 2020
Duke met his demise in 2015 just as he and Anna were making plans to leave Port Charles together. However, a bullet from Julian’s crony Carlos Rivera prevented that from happening and Duke died from his injuries.
Are you a fan of soap opera characters making ghostly appearances? Look through our photo gallery of characters who have returned from the dead — some more times than we can count!
– Amy Mistretta
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020
Soap Opera Digest confirmed on November 24 that Réal Andrews would be taking a temporary leave from General Hospital as Marcus Taggert. Primetime actor Asante Jones will step into the role beginning December 17.
Though there has been no explanation released for the ABC soap actor’s leave, or for how long it will be, back in December 2019, Andrews revealed he had undergone surgery for cancer at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. However, he shared a photo on November 21 from inside a gym captioned, “Boom lets go… Getting er done,” looking very healthy and positive.
As for Jones, this is his first big appearance in daytime, aside from a dayplayer role as a tour guide on The Young and the Restless in 2015. And considering Julian recently revealed to Cyrus that Taggert is alive, it will be a race for many not only to protect Taggert, but more importantly for Taggert to protect those he loves in Port Charles from Renault.
We invite readers to take a look at our gallery of soaps’ all-time best and worst temporary recasts, including many General Hospital characters.
– Amy Mistretta
Friday, December 11th, 2020
