Founded in 1963, General Hospital is the longest running soap opera in American television history. The show has a rich legacy of drama, romance and melodrama. It is also credited with introducing a number of innovative techniques to soap operas. Some of these include a major AIDS storyline, Monica Quartermaine’s breast cancer battle and the love story between Stone Cates and Robin Scorpio. The show has a large following and is known for its high-quality cast members, including John Beradino, Rachel Ames, Ron Hale, Genie Francis, Kimberly McCullough, Tristan Rogers and Finola Hughes.
The show is set in Port Charles, a fictional midsized East Coast city. Its plots revolve around the happenings at a local hospital. Initially, most of the storylines focused on the romances of staff members at the hospital. Later, the storylines branched out to encompass relationships between families such as the Webbers, Spencers and Quartermaines.
It has ventured into action-adventure themes, but most stories are related to the hospital and its medical professionals. The show has featured murder, sex and interracial romance, espionage, corporate scandals, exotic locales and a variety of other topics. It has also explored the darker side of psychiatry, with characters battling with psychopaths and maniacs. However, it has also sought to medicalize psychiatry and integrate it with traditional medicine (23).
GH is one of the few soaps that has not been canceled during the past five decades. It has continued to be broadcast, even as it struggled to maintain its ratings against competition from The Price Is Right and NBC’s As the World Turns. It was able to stay on the air through several incarnations, including its expansion from a half-hour to 45 minutes in 1976 and then to a full hour in 1978.
Despite its longevity, GH has seen many of its star players leave the show. It has been a launching pad for the careers of many popular actors, such as Demi Moore, John Stamos, Jack Wagner, Kirsten Storms and Mark Hamill. It has also served as a training ground for writers, launching the career of such notables as Gloria Monty and Wendy Riche.
General Hospital is currently undergoing a massive restructuring and rebranding. It has a new owner, and has trimmed its budgets significantly. It has also moved to a different studio and is looking for ways to cut costs even further. As a result, the show has seen some major shakeups in its cast and crew. In recent weeks, a number of actors have been let go, including Olivia Rose Keegan, Michael Mealor and Laura Wright.