“General Hospital” has undergone several casting changes in recent weeks, including the exits of Bradford Anderson as Damian Spinelli, Kirsten Storms as Maxie Jones and Nathan Dean as Ethan Lovett, though newcomer Christian Howard took over the role as of the Monday, July 27 episode, and quickly exited Port Charles by Tuesday, August 4. Another actor said to be exiting the soap in the near future is Chris L. McKenna, who has played Jack Brennan on the soap since February 2025.
While a final air date has not been announced, sources tell Soap Opera Network that the character will be killed off in the fall as the show leans heavily into storylines surrounding the World Security Bureau (WSB), the fictional organization in which his character serves as director of operations in Port Charles.
McKenna, who began his soap opera career in 1990 playing Joey Buchanan on “One Life to Live,” took over the role of Jack Brennan following the exit of original portrayer Charles Mesure. The actor beat out several soap veterans who reportedly auditioned for the role, including Daniel Goddard, who later landed a limited run on the show playing Professor Henry Dalton, and Daniel Cosgrove, who appeared in the recurring role of Ezra Boyle.
In August 2025, it was announced McKenna had been upped to contract status with the show. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) at the time, the actor said, “The overwhelming support from you beautiful people helped make it happen.” He added, “Appreciate you all so much. I’d love to give a big old (CLASSIFIED) kiss to each one of you!”
Though they didn’t share scenes together on-screen, last fall, McKenna had a behind-the-scenes reunion with his former “One Life to Live” co-star Erika Slezak, who played his on-screen mother, Viki Buchanan, during his three-year run on the since-canceled ABC soap opera. On “General Hospital,” to honor the late Leslie Charleson, one of the show’s longest-running cast members, Slezak was cast as Ronnie Bard, the newly discovered sister of Charleson’s character, Monica Quartermaine, who in-story had passed away.
In recent months, Brennan’s romance with Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) ended in a blaze of glory, with the character coming to terms with the fact that his lady love was now entangled with Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) and her inability to forgive him for getting her daughter, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), involved with the WSB as an agent, a job that has put her life in danger on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, Brennan has been having an on-again/off-again flirtation with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros), a nemesis of Carly’s, which has seen the pairing go from locking lips earlier this year to taking it all the way to the sheets last month.
McKenna’s other credits include roles on “The Young and the Restless,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS,” “Major Crimes,” “Lucifer,” “S.W.A.T.,” “SEAL Team,” “Grimm,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” and “Castle,” among others. “Castle” starred Nathan Fillion, who, incidentally, would later take over the role of Joey Buchanan on “One Life to Live” after McKenna.
