After nearly a month of speculation, General Hospital viewers finally know who will play Lulu Spencer.
Emme Rylan spoke about not being asked to return after her 2020 departure. Lulu was in a coma due to an injury when The Floating Rib exploded.
Several names were tossed around on Soap Twitter, but TVLine officially confirmed it.
Former All My Children fan favorite Alexa Havins will be the new Lulu on General Hospital.
ABC soap viewers will remember her as Babe Chandler, who was one-half of the supercouple with Jacob Young’s JR Chandler.
She fits the bill, but will viewers accept her in the role after it’s being brought back four years later?
Lulu Spencer’s General Hospital storyline
Lulu is currently comatose at General Hospital following her transfer back to Port Charles from her long-term care facility.
Her liver is failing, and the search for Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) is on. He could be her only hope of survival.
Laura (Genie Francis) and Kevin (Jon Lindstrom) are out looking for him because Nikolas (Adam Huss) was not a candidate to save her this time.
The storyline hints that Lulu will have residual feelings for Dante (Dominic Zamprogna). Maxie (Kirsten Storms) talked to the comatose Lulu about remembering their conversation.
Dante is currently paired with Sam (Kelly Monaco), but with her exit from the show, the door is open for a recoupling.
Some viewers will take a while to warm up to Alexa in the role of Lulu. Emme received an icy reception when she stepped in after Julie Marie Berman exited the role.
Casting changes are hard, especially with no reason why Emme wasn’t asked to return.
Alexa Havins’s soap experience
Alexa Havins originated the role of Babe Chander in 2003 and took it to One Life to Live with a baby switch storyline.
She stayed in the role for four years before deciding to exit. However, she returned to reprise it on a recurring basis in 2011, as the network had canceled All My Children in favor of replacing the time slot with The Chew.
During her time on the show, Alexa met her now-husband, Justin Bruening. They were romantically paired on the ABC soap, and when Jamie Martin proposed to Babe, Justin proposed to Alexa. They married in 2005 and will celebrate 20 years of marriage next year.
No first airdate for Alexa as Lulu has been confirmed, but given recent developments, we believe she will appear on screen at the end of September or the beginning of October.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.