On the same night “General Hospital” took home its 16th Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, Nathan Varni, the ABC Current Series Executive in charge of production for the daytime drama series, hopes to bring back lapsed viewers.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Varni congratulated everyone at the series for their wins and thanked the fans for tuning in. However, it was his 2024 goal that was most noteworthy to followers.
In his post, Varni said, “Congrats to the hardest working crew, producers and talent, it’s a pleasure to be back with my #gh family. To our fans, thank you for sticking with us!” He added, “My 2024 goal is to win back our lapsed viewers, we have a lot of work to do but we’re all ready to work hard for YOU!”
Since it was published on Friday, the post has garnered over 131,000 views on X at press time. Comments were turned off on the post, but the hashtag “Why I Quit GH” was trending on Monday, with supposed former viewers of the show pointing out why they quit watching.
Some comments pointed out their dislike for current characters or their favorite character being killed off. Some also pointed out how certain characters weren’t getting enough airtime while others commanded too much screen time. Meanwhile, a post by X user @JBernardJones in response to Varni’s tweet was even more noteworthy in highlighting the show’s good parts and why they continue watching.
“I have many complaints about the show, but there is much to enjoy. I don’t like every decision, but these people work extremely hard to bring us over 200 shows a year under tons of pressure,” said the poster. “In the grand scheme & in light of how we’ve only 4 soaps (w/ only 3 on network tv), I’m rooting FOR #GeneralHospital & the rest in this climate, not against them.”
According to Nielsen’s most recent ratings data, “General Hospital” is slightly down from its season average among Total Viewers (Live+Same Day).
During the week of December 4-8, 2023, the most recent week in which ratings are available, the show averaged just 1.991 million viewers, down -6,000 viewers from one week prior and marking the third time this season the show has been below the two million viewer mark. The show was down -140,000 viewers over the comparable week in 2021, down -199,000 viewers over the comparable week in 2020 and down -49,000 viewers over the comparable week in 2019.
Note: Numbers compared to the same week in 2022 were unavailable to Soap Opera Network at press time.
In January, ABC will air a primetime special to honor the 60th anniversary of “General Hospital,” featuring several of the show’s current and former stars talking about their time working in Port Charles. The special will air following the highly anticipated LIVE wedding between Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, titled “The Golden Wedding,” on Thursday, January 4.
In addition to winning Outstanding Daytime Drama Series during Friday’s Daytime Emmys telecast, “General Hospital” also took home four acting awards for its stars, including a posthumous win for Sonya Eddy, and the Emmy for Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series. On Saturday afternoon, during the Creative Arts Ceremony, the show’s legendary casting director, Mark Teschner, took home his tenth Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Drama Series. Overall, “General Hospital” won seven Daytime Emmy Awards this year.
As for Varni, in addition to overseeing “General Hospital,” he also oversees “The Conners,” “Will Trent,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19” for the network.