If you tuned into the Monday, September 16 or Tuesday, September 17 episodes of ABC’s “General Hospital,” you will have seen a different but familiar face appearing as Sam McCall on the daytime drama series with Lindsay Hartley once again filling in for Kelly Monaco.
ABC via Screengrab
According to Soap Opera Digest, Hartley is set to appear in multiple episodes this week with the outlet noting Hartley’s scenes were taped around the same time she taped the funeral scenes that aired in August where Sam (Hartley) stood in support of her dueling sisters, Molly (Kristen Vaganos) and Kristina (Kate Mansi) as they grieved the loss of their child, fathered by T.J. (Tajh Bellow).
“Because ‘GH’ often shoots segments of episodes out of order, there was a lag time of several weeks before Hartley’s work made it to air,” Digest pointed out in its report.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
At press time, no reason was given for why Hartley stepped in for Monaco, which is something she has done on several occasions dating back to August 2020 when Monaco was unavailable after she reportedly was forced into a 14-day quarantine following a breathing problem related to a mask on the first day back shooting after the show got the green light from Los Angeles County during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hartley has since filled in for Monaco on several other occasions, including in 2022 and earlier this year.
Last month, Soap Opera Network was the first to report that Monaco had been let go after nearly 21 years on the show, with the Sam McCall character set to be killed off this fall. While ABC has not formally commented on Monaco’s departure, the network did inform the media that her exit is “storyline dictated,” something sources tell us “blindsided” the actress.
On Sunday, September 15, while honoring the first anniversary of the death of her friend and former “General Hospital” co-star, the late Billy Miller (ex-Drew Cain), Monaco revealed that she “took the cut” in response to a post regurgitating an unsubstantiated rumor that she was allegedly the only cast member who opted against taking a cut, either in salary or episode guarantee after the show saw its budget slashed following a Disney mandate to cut costs across its media networks before the end of the company’s fiscal year on September 30. The cuts also impacted “Good Morning America,” the New York Post reported.
A final air date for Monaco on “General Hospital” has not been announced.