General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour serial, its running time was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and again to a full hour on January 16, 1978.
Set in a hospital in the city of Port Charles, New York, General Hospital originally starred John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin; both actors stayed with the show until their deaths in 1996 and 1991, respectively. They were joined a year later by Rachel Ames who made her most recent appearance in 2015. The show is taped at the Prospect Studios in Los Angeles, California. General Hospital was the second soap to air on ABC after the short-lived Road to Reality. 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 and the primetime spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift.
In the late 1970s, storylines began to shift focus around the Spencer and Quartermaine families. 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. 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. On April 23, 2009, General Hospital began broadcasting in high-definition television, making it the first ABC soap opera to make such a transition.
General Hospital is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light. 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. It is also the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. General Hospital became the oldest ongoing American soap opera on September 17, 2010, following the final broadcast of CBS' 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. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013, and its 15,000th episode on June 22, 2022. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins. In 2007, the show was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".
Show history
Origins
General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley and premiered on April 1, 1963, replacing the canceled game show Yours for a Song. The first stories were mainly set on the seventh floor of General Hospital, in an unnamed midsize Eastern city. "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 later reflected to Entertainment Weekly in 1994.History
Launched in 1963, the first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in an unnamed midsized Eastern city. Storylines revolved around Steve Hardy and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer. Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Phil Brewer was the center of many early storylines. In 1964 Audrey Hardy, a flight attendant and sister of Nurse Lucille, 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. 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, 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 in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones. Shortly afterwards, Monica Quartermaine 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 and Robin Scorpio. 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 a 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. 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. 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. 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. The serial celebrated 13,000 episodes on February 24, 2014, and marked its 51st anniversary several weeks later on April 1. Also in January 2014, ABC renewed Carlivati's contract with the soap. The series marked its 52nd anniversary on April 1, 2015, with a special episode revolving around the Spencer family.
In July 2015, it was revealed Carlivati was fired as head writer; Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante were hired as his successors. On September 16, 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that Valentini, Passanante and Altman re-signed with the show. On June 6, 2017, Passanante announced her decision to retire from the serial. 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. On February 23, 2018, the serial aired its 14,000th episode. On July 30, 2019, Altman announced her retirement; breakdown writer Dan O'Connor was named as her successor, joining Van Etten as co-head writer. On June 22, 2022, the soap aired its 15,000 episode; in celebration, the episode focused on Francis' Laura Spencer.
On January 22, 2024, it was announced Van Etten and O'Connor had been dismissed from their positions as co-head writers; former associate head writer Patrick Mulcahey and present script editor Elizabeth Korte were named as their replacements. Per reports, material from the former regime aired into March 2024. Five months later, it was announced Mulcahey had been dismissed from his position as head writer. Mulcahey's final credited episode aired on August 6; the following day, it was announced Van Etten would resume the role of co-head writer credit, with Cathy LePard named as associate head writer.
Production
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 in 1986 to Capital Cities/ABC, which was formed after the acquisition of ABC by a smaller media concern, Capital Cities Communications. The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996, and Disney has held ownership of the soap since then.
Production of General Hospital was suspended in March 2020, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Production resumed on July 22 of the same year; new episodes began airing on August 3, 2020. General Hospital was Disney's first series to go back into production during the pandemic.