Due to ABC News coverage of the House Select Committee’s public hearings on the January 6th Capitol Assault on Thursday, June 16, “General Hospital” did not air. As a result, the regularly scheduled episode of the daytime drama series will now air on Friday, June 17, which shifts episodes by a day for the foreseeable future, including the now two-time delayed special standalone episode which celebrates the show’s 15,000th episode.
Originally scheduled to air on Friday, June 17 before being pushed back due to coverage of the Uvalde shooting last month in Texas, the episode was rescheduled to air on Monday, June 20. However, considering the next scheduled public hearing is set to take place on Tuesday, June 21 it’s very likely that the episode will air on Wednesday, June 22 instead. Currently, an ABC rep has confirmed that the episode is slotted to air on Tuesday, June 21. Soap Opera Network will continue monitoring the situation for any scheduling changes as they become available.
In an episode description released by the network for the 15,000th show, the town of Port Charles comes together when an unknown political force takes aim at beloved Mayor Laura Collins (Genie Francis). On the day of the taping, actor Jeff Kober was spotted in a cast photo which immediately had fans wondering if they could expect to see the return of Cyrus Renault, Laura’s brother, in Port Charles. Kober most recently appeared on the soap in December 2021 as the notorious drug runner who had numerous enemies in town, including Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard).
“It’ll be happy, sad, dark, scary, fun, thrilling [and] exciting, but most importantly it has almost every single cast member in it,” teased executive producer, Frank Valentini, of what viewers can expect during an interview with ABC7 (KABC) entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, who was on set for the taping.
In place of today’s previously scheduled all-new episode, a repeat of episode #14872, which originally aired on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, aired in markets not impacted by the preemption. A description of the episode had Chase and Finn talking in the steam room after a workout while the Davis daughters worked to help Alexis readjust to life outside Spring Ridge, and Willow and Olivia’s holiday shopping going awry. Meanwhile, Elizabeth talked to Portia and Terry about matters of the heart, and Michael was shocked by what he saw.
Another hearing by the House Select Committee is set for Thursday, June 23, and could cause additional preemptions for the series. The first hearing, aired in primetime, garnered an estimated 20 million viewers across 12 networks on Thursday, June 9.