ABC’s ‘General Hospital’ is just two steps away from completing another one of its many decades. The popular American soap had to shut down its production mid-season this year because of the pandemic. Is ABC going to revive ‘General Hospital’ for season 59?
The new age binge content is still far away from reaching the popularity of soap operas and we get why. American daytime soap operas have been playing the game fair and square and are here to stay. Listed in the “Guinness World Records” as the longest-running American soap opera in production, ‘General Hospital’ still rules the hearts of so many people. Although faced with a minor delay during the pandemic, will ‘General Hospital’ work its way into season 59?
Highlights —
- ‘General Hospital’ shut down production
- ‘General Hospital’ has resumed production
- How likely is a season 59 for ‘General Hospital’?
‘General Hospital’ shut down production
ABC’s ‘General Hospital’ is the third longest-running drama still in production after the British dramas ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘The Archers’. Also marked as the second longest-running soap opera on television after ‘Guiding Light’, ‘General Hospital’ premiered in 1963 on ABC network. Creators Frank and Doris Hursley had set the show initially in the hospital of a fictional city. The wide popularity of this classic of a soap opera has earned it many awards including 13 “Daytime Emmys“. From 1963 to this day, ‘General Hospital’ has woven an intricate web of stories surrounding the lives, love, and deaths of the folks of Port Charles, a fictional city in New York.
Although going strong, ‘General Hospital’ was already mid-production for season 58 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world hard. Just like the rest of Hollywood, ‘General Hospital’ too had to hit the pause button on its production. Needless to say, this created a dent in the show’s stock of original episodes. In order to keep up with the pre-shot stock of new episodes, ABC decided to cut down on their airing schedule. For the new original episodes to last until the lifting of the shutdown, ABC strategized to air 4 new episodes and one old episode each week. However, the fresh episodes ran out of stock by May 21 leaving ABC to rerun the classic ‘General Hospital’ episodes, but hey, nostalgia is a sweet feeling!
‘General Hospital’ has resumed production
The pandemic has handed out some tough challenges, especially to the entertainment industry. Nevertheless, as most of Hollywood is gradually returning to their normal schedules, ‘General Hospital’ too has got back up on its feet. After the brief hiatus, ‘General Hospital’ has resumed production work and new episodes have started appearing on television screens since August. ‘General Hospital’ had put a pause on production mid-March but, in June, one of the cast members had teased recommencement of the production work.
Tristan Rogers, the actor who plays Robert Scorpio in ‘General Hospital’ said on “Twitter”, “OK I think I’m lighting a fire here but I tend to do that. Production has been ok’d for June 12. And awwwaaaayyyywwweeee go”. Naturally, the news had fans jumping with joy.
However, resuming production and the airing of fresh episodes were entirely different things. Shooting for the new episodes of season 58 began in July and the original airing of these episodes began on August 3. Now that people are assured that ‘General Hospital’ Season 58 is thriving, the question is if season 59 is on the cards for this American classic.
How likely is a season 59 for ‘General Hospital’?
It’s difficult to say a firm yes or no on whether season 59 of ‘General Hospital’ is on the cards. However, there’s definitely a chance of ‘General Hospital’ coming back with season 59 next session. That’s because ABC has neither given a go for season 59 nor did the network cancel the show. Moreover, the show is pretty much in demand still and fans would hate for it to be cancelled.
A fan said,
“I love this show. I have been watching since I was 5 with my grandmother. I have seen the coming and goings. But that’s the show. This is my therapy I record it every day and watch at night before bed. Please don’t take it away”.
There are also fans who would love for ‘General Hospital’ to stay but are not blind towards its flaws and potential. A fan suggested, “I have watched GH since the early 70s and have enjoyed every minute of it; I would not like to see the show be cancelled I would love for it to be renewed; I would love to see more of the unexpected instead of the predictable; it would be very nice to see the show and think “Wow I didn’t see that coming. For sure, please renew the show, I think it has really great potential going forward”.
What suggestions do you have if ‘General Hospital’ is renewed for season 59? Let us know in the comments below!
