It was shocking when news broke about Kelly Monaco being fired from General Hospital.
She has been a staple on the ABC soap for two decades, and before joining GH, she appeared on the spin-off series Port Charles.
When she arrived in Port Charles in 2003, Sam McCall was a force to be reckoned with, but lately, watching the character lose everything she was has been frustrating.
The spark in Sam has been dimming since Billy Miller left the show, and it has been challenging to watch for the last year or so.
Sam morphed into an overprotective mom, paired with Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which was weird. No shade to Dominic, as we love him as Dante, but a Sante pairing was not what we wanted.
Kelly has always given her all, even with the terrible storylines. Unfortunately, the material she has been given over the last several months (maybe even longer) has been a slap in the face to Sam fans.
Sam dying to save Lulu is trash
If firing Kelly Monaco was an absolute must (which it was not), the writers could have done a much better job with the storyline.
However, we know better. This storyline was thrown together. It was very obvious that Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) was brought back to be the one who saved Lulu (Alexa Havins) until the network opted to ax Kelly.
The idea that Sam’s death culminates in the revival of Lulu is insulting — not only to Kelly but also to her legion of fans who have rocked with her since the beginning.
Something could have been done to honor the time Kelly put in and to the character’s more adventurous side.
The history with Sam and Jason (Steve Burton) has greatly impacted General Hospital viewers, especially millennials who have watched since Kelly joined the show. JaSam was the hottest thing for some, and something to tie it together should have been done.
We aren’t too mad about the lack of a Drew (Cameron Mathison) connection because it isn’t the same. Billy Miller was Drew, and while some like Cameron in the role, having him connected in a big way would have been wrong.
Using Sam to prop up the return of Lulu just feels gross. There were so many other ways the writers could have honored Kelly’s tenure with ABC (24 years to be exact), but choosing to kill her to save a recasted Lulu is just not it.
Kelly Monaco was a massive part of ABC
Not only did Kelly Monaco give her all to her roles on Port Charles and General Hospital, but she also appeared on Dancing With the Stars multiple times throughout its 33 seasons.
She won the mirrorball trophy during Season 1, which garnered the attention of soap viewers. Reality TV competitions were newer then, and she brought a new demographic into it.
Her first run was in 2005, and she was brought back to compete again in 2012 to compete for a second chance at winning in 2012. Kelly was partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, who has appeared on General Hospital with her.
After everything she has done and the time she put into being Sam, General Hospital owed her more than she got.
Kelly promised to speak out, and while we are waiting to hear what she has to say, the actress hinted her firing was “retaliation,” which begs the question of what happened behind the scenes.
We are and will always be for Kelly Monaco. She will be missed on General Hospital, and we hope either Days of our Lives or The Young and the Restless will pick her up as long as she wants to remain in the business.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
Love the character ter of Sam and I loved her as livie on portcharles. Sam has been in portcharles as livie and when it was cancelled she signed with gh for a total of 25+ yrs. JASAM WAS BORN AND SHE WAS AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL QUEEN 👸 to have her do this to a recasted character ter is wrong. I would rather have Sam who has been with gh for 24+ yrs instead of a recasted lulu and l these people i don’t care about and we haven’t seen in years. Shame on you all
I have watched GH since 1992, now I am done. So unfair.. loved Sam! Kelly go for prime time now or the big screen!
Good Bye General Hospital! Once again you have shown lifelong viewers that you have no loyalty to the actors who have been outstanding throughout the years! Can’t wait to see Kelly Monaco in her next endeavor!
Kelly was a professional beautiful and permanent actress who was with abc for 24+ yrs as she played livie with Michael Easton as Caleb. When cancelled she signed with gh and SAM McCall had arrived. Her and Jason became JaSam and it was a beautiful thing. I think it was gross what u did to her by killing a permanent beautiful actress for a recast. What is it with all the recast which we haven’t seen in years and don’t care about them and fire a beautiful Queen. Thank u Kelly for keeping me entertained.love u and I will .i
Miss seeing u
Watching her last scenes where her family and friends watched her prepare for the transplant surgery was sad cause she won’t b waking up and her kids as well as her mom ,sisters Dante everyone will b devastated. Kelly is an awesome actress and I wish her well in her future roles. She rocked as Sam Mccall!
Brandon Barash was just fired from DOOL. Wouldn’t he and Kelly make a hot couple on Y&R?
People watching this will think twice before donating organs if you kill her off. Dum move.
I am cured of my addiction to General Hospital. The firing of Kelly Monaco and the lame storyline to get rid of Sam have ended it for me. Thanks.
Can’t believe how much General Hospital is cleaning house. Why are you bringing back past characters and getting rid of current good ones? It’s hard to get characters straight because when they are different actors. If you would have brought back the same ones to play the original cast, then it would be ok but new actors is hard to place them with the part they are playing.