General Hospital (commonly abbreviated GH) is the longest-running ABC Daytime American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network. It is also the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios).
Set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, General Hospital debuted on April 1, 1963, the same day that rival network NBC launched its own medical daytime drama, The Doctors. The show originally aired for a half-hour until the network expanded it to the unusual length of 45 minutes in 1976, and then to a full hour in 1978. The serial was created by soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, a husband-and-wife team.
General Hospital is credited for starting several trends in the soap opera genre in the 1980s, most notably that of the fast-paced action-adventure plotlines that were remarkably different from the more traditional domestic and social issues that had been the sole focus of most soap operas during the previous decades. In 2003, when GH was celebrating its 40th anniversary, TV Guide named it "The Greatest Soap Opera Of All Time." In addition, GH was also named as one of TIME Magazine's "Top 100 Television Shows of All Time."
Cast
Current cast members
Recurring cast
Upcoming cast changes
Debuting and returning
References
1960s American television series
1963 television series debuts
1960s drama television series
1970s American television series
1970s drama television series
1970s American workplace television series
1980s American drama television series
1980s American workplace television series
1980s soap operas
1980s workplace drama television series
1990s American drama television series
1990s American workplace television series
1990s soap operas
1990s workplace drama television series
2000s American drama television series
2000s American workplace television series
2000s soap operas
2000s workplace drama television series
2010s American drama television series
2010s American workplace television series
2010s soap operas
2010s workplace drama television series
American medical television series
American soap operas
American workplace drama television series
Television series set in New York (state) English-language television programs