Thursday, March 28, 2024

“General Hospital” Reaches All Time Low in Ratings, Prepares for Wrap Up

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A few months ago I wrote that “General Hospital” would kill off Robin Scorpio, played by Kimberly McCullough she since was a child. Well, they did it. There is a lot of mail on this subject. But last week, “GH” reached an all time low in ratings. This isn’t by happenstance. ABC is getting ready to say goodbye to its last soap in time to debut Katie Couric in September. McCullough says she left to become a director, which may be true. But “GH” and ABC are following the plan laid by Procter and Gamble a couple of years ago. They got rid of the young demographic actors on “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light.” It’s one thing to kill off old characters on a soap. But when you start killing the young female characters with big fan bases, that’s a sign the show is over.

ABC’s big problem is that the two shows they replaced “All My Children” and “One Life to Live”–“The Chew” and “The Revolution”–are unwatchable. So now what? The wheels are in motion to end “General Hospital,” on the air since Lyndon Johnson was president. There will be a lot of mail, but the network doesn’t care. This is cost cutting. Just as with the two other shows, they want “GH” off the air. Maybe they’ll go really retro and bring back The Afternoon Movie, in black and white. Or drag over programming from Lifetime. But Tuesday was the pivotal day for “GH.” Sorry, fans. (Ratings are from tvbythenumbers.com) PS McCullough has directed a new short film, listed on the Internet Movie Data Base, and has appeared in what looks like a direct to video film. But she’s talented, and there’s nowhere to go but up.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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