The General Hospital writers have been on strike since May 2 with the WGA, and with no end in sight, viewers are wondering when the stand-in writers’ scripts will begin airing.
This isn’t the first time soap operas have endured a writers’ strike, but some writing was off the wall last time. One example was from One Life to Live when a teenage Starr (Kristen Alderson) got pregnant. It was incredibly random and didn’t sit well with some viewers.
Soap writers are often weeks ahead in script writing as viewers see the storylines play out. General Hospital has several hot-button storylines, and there is some concern about when those scripts would run out.
There is good and bad news here. The good news is that there won’t be any interruptions with the ABC soap. It will continue to air as usual despite the WGA strike still happening. The bad news is that the pre-written scripts are over, and the scab writers’ ideas will begin airing today.
It will likely take some adjusting, especially with such heavy storylines. But the fact that someone is writing them to keep them going is better than nothing — right?
Here’s what we know about the WGA strike affecting General Hospital.
General Hospital writer speaks out
Shannon Peace, one of the General Hospital writers, took to Instagram to reveal that the last episode she wrote before the May 2 strike aired on July 20.
She wrote, “Starting Tuesday, the writing team of GH will be watching alongside fans to see what happens… for the sake of the fans, I hope the show is in capable writing hands.”
The capable part may be debatable, depending on who you ask. Viewers will have opinions; some may prefer the scabs to the writers they complained about tirelessly on social media.
There is also concern about what will happen to the characters they have spent so much time developing, which Shannon acknowledged in her post.
Continued viewing is important for General Hospital’s future
While viewers and writers may not be thrilled that the scabs are stepping in to write the ABC soap, General Hospital fans must keep watching to ensure the future of their favorite soap.
It will be interesting to see where the new writers go with Ava (Maura West) confiding in Sonny (Maurice Benard), which seemed off to begin with. There’s also some curiosity about where things will head with Sasha (Sofia Mattsson) and her situation with Gladys (Bonnie Burroughs).
As the WGA strike approaches almost three months in, there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight. There were rumblings about it possibly lasting through the end of the year, but no one knows for sure.
In the meantime, continue watching General Hospital so that it will continue to air when the writers return to their jobs.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
Maybe the new writers will get rid is Nina! 🙏🙏🙏😃😂😁