For six decades and counting, ABC‘s only remaining soap opera General Hospital has graced the television screens of millions, from Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura’s (Genie Francis) iconic wedding to the most recent takedown of villain Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom). And on April 1st, 2023, GH will celebrate a milestone not many daytime dramas have achieved.
With the 60th anniversary of General Hospital fast approaching, spoilers have begun trickling from the soap about just what to expect during the festivities that kick off on March 29th, 2023, starting with a special tribute to a real-life loss and ending with the possible return of a GH legend.
10. Tribute To Epiphany
It was in December 2022 that the news broke about the sudden passing of actor Sonya Eddy, who played Nurse Epiphany Johnson on GH for 17 years, including starring on the soap’s spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift. Eddy was also well-known for her memorable role as Rebecca DeMornay on Seinfeld.
GH will honor the late actor and her unforgettable character in a tribute episode airing on March 29th, 2023, which will simultaneously kick off the 60th anniversary and feature celebrity guest stars who were close to the actor.
9. Nurses Ball
It wouldn’t be a special occasion for the hospital without a Nurses Ball, and after the COVID-19 pandemic put the annual event on hold for a few years, it’s finally back and expected to be bigger than ever with Maxie (Kirsten Storms) taking the reigns from a presumed dead-but-may-return Lucy (Lynn Herring).
The Nurses Ball is expected to honor those Port Charles has lost, including Epiphany and Dr. Britt Westborne (Kelly Thiebaud), while others like Chase (Josh Swickard) and Eddie Maine (Wally Kurth) will lend their musical talents to the ball that always raises awareness for HIV and AIDS in honor of legacy character Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough).
8. Icons Unite
Aside from the Nurses Ball, the 60th anniversary has been pegged by the show as a moment when “icons of Port Charles unite to stop a legendary threat from the past,” as reported by TV Line. It’s unknown just what threat it will be, but it can only be assumed it’s a Cassadine.
Badass soap opera icons like Laura Collins, Anna Devane (Finolas Hughes) and Felicia Scorpio (Kristina Wagner) have already been plotting their revenge on Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) for all the havoc he’s wreaked on the city since he returned, but with Sonny (Maurice Benard) receiving new deadly threats from a foe, anyone past villain could show up for the anniversary episodes.
7. Celebrity Guest Stars
From Mario Lopez to ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith to rockstar Rick Springfield, GH has been welcoming celebrity guest stars to Port Charles since the 80s when Elizabeth Taylor originated the role of Helena Cassadine for a three-episode stint, and the 60th anniversary is expected to be star-studded.
Chandra Wilson – who has appeared on the soap three times as three different characters since 2014 – will be returning for the Nurses Ball as her fashion editor character Sydney Val Jean, while Yvette Nicole Brown will make her GH debut for the tribute to her real-life friend Sonya Eddy.
6. Legends Return
When GH celebrated its 50th anniversary back in 2013, the episodes were filled with legendary characters returning, and the soap has already confirmed some of the vets fans can expect to see pop up on their screens in celebration of the 60th.
Jane Elliot was the first vet to be announced, reprising her role of Tracy Quartermaine, a character she’s appeared as off and on since her retirement in 2017. Emma Samms and Drew Cheetwood will also reprise their roles as Holly Sutton and Milo Giambetti, respectively, and rumors swirled around the internet that Brenda Barrett will grace Port Charles once again when her portrayer Vanessa Marcil appeared on Maurice Benard’s Instagram in early March.
5. Magic Milo
Over the years, some Nurses Ball acts became running traditions, like the nurses kicking off the ball with a song and Ned Quartermaine rocking the stage as his musical persona Eddie Maine. But there’s one act fans adored that they haven’t seen in years.
Milo Giambetti was known for his intense workouts when he wasn’t working as Sonny’s bodyguard, and once led an act called Magic Milo and the Magic Wands, a Magic Mike parody starring GH’s hottest hunks. With Milo’s return to grieve the loss of his ex-girlfriend Epiphany, the return of Magic Milo is also in sight.
4. Willow’s Life-Saving Transplant
The soap is going on nearly a year of Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) declining health condition, revealed to be leukemia over the summer at the same time she learned she was pregnant. But after several attempts at getting a bone marrow donor, it’s looking like Willow’s life will be saved just in time for the anniversary.
Now that Willow’s long-lost aunt Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) was revealed to be a match, Willow is expected to receive her bone marrow transplant any day while her husband Michael (Chad Duell) has been enlisted to help with the planning of the Nurses Ball.
3. Molly and TJ’s Pregnancy
Molly (Haley Pullos) and TJ (Tajh Bellow) have only recently returned to the surface to attend Curtis and Portia’s wedding, and later celebrate their one-year anniversary as domestic partners. But the celebration quickly turned to uncertainty when Molly wondered if she was pregnant.
After receiving a negative test result, Molly and TJ debated the pros and cons of having a baby sooner than they planned, and settled on the realization that they were ready to become parents. A pregnancy announcement is expected from the beloved General Hospital couple at any moment, and could easily coincide with the show’s anniversary.
2. Robert’s New Love Interest
Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) has had a few love interests over the years – most notably Anna Devane and Holly Sutton – and after Holly’s recent return from the dead-ended in tragedy when Robert learned of Holly’s betrayal, the former WSB agent seems to have his eye on someone else in Port Charles.
Robert has been getting noticeably closer to Port Charles’ most renowned lawyer Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy), visiting her in the hospital after she became a victim of GH‘s latest serial killer and later taking her on a breakfast date. But with Holly’s impending return, fans wonder just who will be on Robert’s arm as he walks down that Nurses Ball red carpet.
1. Luke’s Possible Return
After playing the iconic Luke Spencer for nearly 30 years, Anthony Geary retired from the soap in 2015, and has since only made one return appearance for the retirement of his on-screen lover Jane Elliot in 2017. But since it was announced that Luke died in a cable car accident at the hands of Victor Cassadine, fans have wondered if the legacy character is truly dead.
It wouldn’t be the first time a character returned from the dead, and is a reasonable assumption considering the last two people Victor supposedly killed – Holly Sutton and Lucy Coe – were both revealed to be alive and held captive by the villain. Luke’s return would not only relieve the citizens of Port Charles from their grief, but act as the perfect way to top off the show’s 60th anniversary.
