Over the weekend news broke on several soap and
entertain publications that soap opera icon Genie Francis has been dropped to
recurring status on General Hospital. Francis was told the news in late 2017
that she would be dropped to recurring status in 2018. Frank Valentini, the
soap’s Executive Producer wanted Francis to appear in only 12 episodes. It is
reported that Francis was devastated by the decision and refused to agree to
appear so infrequently on the soap.
This decision has also come as a surprise to the writers
at General Hospital who had planned a long-term storyline for Francis’
character Laura Collins with Laura running for mayor of Port Charles. That storyline
has been altered when the decision was made. Genie Francis has played the role
of Laura off and on since 1977 and many soap fans tuned into to Luke and Laura’s
wedding in 1981 which is the most watched episode in soap history and gave the
show 30 Million viewers during that episode. In addition to General Hospital
Francis has also been on other popular soaps such as All My Children, Days of
Our Lives, Loving, and The Young and the Restless. Arthur Toretzky, Genie
Francis’ agent, confirmed to Entertainment weekly that Francis has been dropped
and said “She did not want to leave the show as a series regular, it was not
her choice to leave.” Francis also commented on the news of her GH firing
saying “ I would like to thank all of my wonderful fans for their support. It
has made me feel so much better.”
While I personally have not been a regular viewer of
General Hospital for a few years now, I think Frank’s decision to do this is outrageous
not only to Genie Francis who helped save this well-known soap from cancelation
in the mid 70’s, but also to all of the fans who have watched and supported
this soap and Genie through the years. As a soap fan this really upsets me because
we only have 4 daytime soaps left on the airwaves. General Hospital, Days Of
Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful. If this
is Frank’s idea of helping the show grow he is going about it the wrong way and
this decision in my opinion could cause GH to lose longtime viewers. While it
is too early to tell if Francis’ firing has made an impact on the soap ratings
wise one thing that is clear is that fans are not happy about this decision at
all and in my opinion this isn’t the direction the soap should be headed
especially because General Hospital will be celebrating its 55th Anniversary
in April of this year.
I really hope Frank reconsiders his decision and
places Genie back to a series regular, but if he does not this is the perfect
opportunity for Days or The Young and the Restless to reach out to Francis and
reprise one of her roles. If you would like to contact General Hospital and let
them know your thoughts you can do so by calling the General Hospital comment
line 323-671-4583. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC check your local listings
for air times. What are your thoughts about the decision? Drop a comment below
if you wish.
Thanks for reading
Sincerely,
Tom
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