Nicole Paggi (“Hope & Faith”) was back in Port Charles as Maxie Jones on the Thursday, July 3 episode of “General Hospital.”

Reportedly, Paggi is stepping in for the character’s regular portrayer, Kirsten Storms, for at least three episodes due to the actress having a scheduling conflict, according to TV Insider, citing a show spokesperson who confirms the casting change is only temporary.

The outlet also notes that, due to the show’s taping schedule, which involves filming multiple episodes a day and sometimes out of order, the next episodes featuring Paggi as Maxie are set to air on Wednesday, July 30 and Wednesday, August 13. Storms will be back in the role sometime during the week of August 18-22, 2025.

The last time viewers saw Paggi on the show was in January 2024, when she filled in for Storms for two episodes, the first of which aired December 27, 2023 and the second airing January 5, 2024. Incidentally, confusion ensued during that time as Storms appeared in at least one episode in between

In a post on Instagram at the time, Paggi commented on her debut on the series, saying, “So fun playing Maxie Jones on ‘General Hospital!’” In addition to her post, she also shared several screenshots of her appearance on her Instagram Stories timeline.

Paggi is the third actress to temporarily play Maxie Jones on the daytime drama series while Storms was unavailable. Jen Lilley (“Days of our Lives”) stepped in for several months from 2011-2012, and Molly Burnett (“Days of our Lives”) filled in for a couple of episodes in July 2016 and again in June 2018.

For those wondering where they might have seen Paggi before, the actress had roles on such shows as “Pasadena,” “Providence,” “Fastlane” and “Judging Amy” before making a name for herself in 2003 as the first Sydney Shanoweski on the Kell Ripa/Faith Ford starring sitcom “Hope & Faith.”

Starting with season two of the series, the role of Sydney was recast with relative newcomer Megan Fox taking over the role as the family’s eldest daughter. In 2005, Paggi booked a series regular role in the fifth and final season of UPN’s “One on One.” Since then, Paggi has appeared in episodes of “90210,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “9-1-1,” and more recently, “The Rookie: Feds.”

-----

This article first appeared on Soap Opera Network.

Michael and Maxi sure had a lot of chemistry in their scene this week.  I don't know if it's the new actor playing Michael that's making the acting choice himself (if so, kudos to him for having chemistry with every scene partner!) or if there was written direction in the script testing out future romances for Michael.  He also had some chemistry with the Molly character this week, too, but the show's probably not going to go that route since Molly is half-sisters with his half-sister.  What an incestuous canvas!

I loved Jen Lilley as Maxie. I wish they got her again.

Edited July 7Jul 7 by DemetriKane