Ron Carlivati

Proving you can’t believe everything you read or see tweeted, earlier this evening a Twitter posting said to be by John Reilly, who portrayed Shawn — on ABC’s “General Hospital” from — , stated the actor would be returning to the soap after nearly a 20 year absence. The tweet raised the hopes of many fans of the soap only to have those hopes get dashed not too longer afterward. A spokesperson for the soap confirms to Soap Opera Network that the tweet was not by Reilly and that the handle is a fake. “Not the real John Reilly,” the spokesperson said.

“General Hospital” Head Writer, Ron Carlivati, chats with Soap Opera Network on his double nominations for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team (both “GH” and “One Life to Live” were nominated), teases what’s to come with Michael (Chad Duell), Kiki (Kristen Alderson) and Morgan (Bryan Craig), and much more.

With no original episode of “General Hospital” airing on Monday, May 27 (a re-run of the Tuesday, April 2 50th anniversary episode will air instead), the soaps executive producer and head writer, Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati, respectively, are teasing multiple surprises in store next week on the soap beginning with the Tuesday, May 28 episode.

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When “One Life to Live” went off the air just over a year ago it was my favorite daily drama and it had been for quite some time. So, while the show’s ratings were rising, it was quite a shock to learn it had been canceled in 2011. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous with the series coming back, but this time without executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati.

With the ABC version of “One Life to Live” now a thing of the past, and with it airing only 9 episodes during the 2012 eligibility year, one would think that the show would not have received any Daytime Emmy Award love. While the show only received 3 nominations for its ABC incarnation, 3 noms is just great.

As previously reported, tomorrow, April 12, The Paley Center for Media will present a panel discussion with the cast of ABC’s “General Hospital” in honor of the soaps 50th anniversary. Also scheduled to join in are executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati.

While tickets have already sold out quickly, fans of ABC’s “General Hospital” won’t have to miss out on their favorite actors as they take a chair with Will Keck, Senior Editor & Columnist, TV Guide Magazine, during an interactive panel conversation that will be streamed live at PaleyCenter.org on Friday, April 12 at 7:00 PM PT at The Paley Center for Media John H. Mitchell Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA.

In a report by Variety, Michael Maloney talks with “General Hospital’s” leading man, Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer), who explains that the renewed success of the soap can be directly credited to its head writer and executive producer.

As “General Hospital’s” 50th anniversary celebration kicks into high gear this week with a very special episode airing Tuesday, April 2 (episode was originally scheduled to air on Monday, April 1 as the 50th anniversary celebratory episode), fans will have no chance of avoiding the cast of the series as they grace your TV screens in more ways than one. In addition to the upcoming Special Edition of “20/20″ with Katie Couric,” wherein ABC News will feature “General Hospital” in a “Real Soap Dish” episode airing Saturday, April 6 from 9:00 – 10:00 PM ET on ABC, the daytime talk show newbie will host the series in a special edition of “Katie” airing on Thursday, April 4. Stars scheduled to appear in the episode include Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer), Genie Francis (Laura Spencer), Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin), Finola Hughes (Anna Devanne), and Kelly Monaco, with a special performance by Rick Springfield (Noah Drake).