‘General Hospital’ Odds and Ends: Beloved Soap Hits a Ratings Low; Is This The End?
General Hospital is a soap opera that has been delighting fans for more than 50 years. However, over the past year, the daytime drama has taken a hit in the ratings. This has led fans to believe that cancelation is on the horizon. Is this the end of the line for the people of Port Charles?
‘General Hospital’ has been one of the lowest-rated soaps over the past year
According to Soap Opera Digest, General Hospital has experienced a rating low over the course of the past 11 months. The outlet also reports that other soap operas — such as Days of Our Lives — have also experienced a rating low. However, The Young and the Restless continues to out-perform other soap operas in the ratings.
“With just 1.951 million viewers tuned in, “GH was down -169,000 viewers week to week and down -101,000 viewers year to year,” reported the outlet. “Compared to the show’s performance in 2019, “GH” was down -151,000 viewers.”
This seems unusual, given that General Hospital won the most Daytime Emmys out of all the soap operas. So, what has been causing the dip in ratings?
Fans are divided over storylines
Part of the reason that General Hospital has suffered a rating slump is due to the fan division over the storylines. According to Soaps @ SheKnows, one of the most popular storylines has to do with Sonny Corinthos (played by veteran actor Maurice Benard). Fans have loved the “Sonny/Mike” storyline, and the announcement of Sonny’s return to Port Charles has made many fans tune in to watch.
Unfortunately, however, the same outlet confirms that the “Jarly” wedding — the marriage of Sonny’s “widow” Carly Corinthos to her longtime BFF Jason Morgan — hasn’t been as well-received. “Some [had] waited years for this to happen, while others outraged that Sonny appeared to have been Carly’s second choice all this time,” reported the outlet. “A second choice she married five times?”
Despite this division, the “Jarly” wedding went off without a hitch. But this obviously begs the question: is this the end of the line for General Hospital?
Is this the end of ‘GH’?
Speculation surrounding the cancelation of General Hospital has been swirling around the show for many years. But according to the Nielsen ratings (via TVSeriesFinale), no announcement of cancelation has been made, yet, by the network. GH‘s rating hovered around a 0.44 rating for the 2019-2020 season. But the ratings for the 2020-2021 season have only been around 0.35 — a sharp decrease, especially considering that the ratings should have been higher due to the pandemic.
“Once again, ABC didn’t announce if General Hospital had been renewed for another year but we know the show wasn’t canceled either,” reported the outlet. “The network just kept it on the air. Will General Hospital survive to see the 59th season for the 2021-22 broadcast season? Could it possibly be canceled mid-year? How will it do in the ratings?”
It remains to be seen if GH is canceled. If the long-running daytime drama does, indeed, get the ax, only three soap operas will remain on daytime.
