On a belated note, DA Sidwell's Wife posing her way through these cop shop scenes was not a wise choice opposite Cynthia Watros.

Is there actual proof of the ratings dipping when the focus isn’t on Sonny and Carly?

Someone wrote elsewhere,"I'm getting tired of useless scenes with Anna doing nothing but recapping everything we already know". 

I was wondering why I'm compelled to hit FF a lot of the time when she's on. 

She did look nice in the last episode though. 

 

13 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Is there actual proof of the ratings dipping when the focus isn’t on Sonny and Carly?

I don't think there is.

 

8 hours ago, MontyB said:

Someone wrote elsewhere,"I'm getting tired of useless scenes with Anna doing nothing but recapping everything we already know". 

I was wondering why I'm compelled to hit FF a lot of the time when she's on. 

Yeah, recently Anna has been more of a pest than anything else. It also makes me dwell on the incompetence of her entire department.

13 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Is there actual proof of the ratings dipping when the focus isn’t on Sonny and Carly?

I admit. I was wondering that as well. I have always heard the OPPOSITE. At least in the past. 

 

How is it looking now? 

3 hours ago, Taoboi said:

I admit. I was wondering that as well. I have always heard the OPPOSITE. At least in the past. 

 

How is it looking now? 

It was a special circumstance, but the ratings growth during the 50th year anniversary was on the back of the OLTL audience that came for the crossover, the return of many popular vets not seen since JFP’s reign of terror, the big umbrella water poison story, and Robin Scorpio. They rested a lot of the driving story on Finola Hughes, from Faison in a mask, Duke, and Robin. While Sonny and Carly were there, they were not the center of the show like they used to be.

Who knows how soap audiences, especially the Nielsen households react anymore. Sonny is still very popular, even if I have tired of him ages ago. But much like Reva leaving GL in the early 90’s, I think if the rest of the show is strong enough, people will stay tuned in. But right now they are both pretty marginalized. Jason has more going on, but it’s because they made his circle larger.

I don't believe the ratings dipped in the early '10s because there wasn't enough Sonny and Carly. They were woven into plenty of story.

I think RC's stories in 2013 and '14 got very messy and some were very unpopular, and that perhaps Benard and the network capitalized on this to push for an adjustment. Later, many actors at the show complained to the network about RC's stories (and were branded as traitors by the hysterical Jamey Giddens and Daytime Confidential) across the board, and I think those actors' complaints were largely valid. This was in '14 and '15, around the time of Ava posing as "Denise," etc. And it did lead to Ron's firing, which he's still angry about lol.

Edited October 19Oct 19 by Vee

The linear ratings for GH have been consistent. It's behind Y&R and B&B in total viewers, but it's RIGHTTHERE in the 18-49 demo.

Just as importantly these days, GH has been streaming really well.

In the weeks before the new primetime season began, GH was finishing in the streaming chart Top 5 almost every day of the week, sometimes at #1. I thought it would disappear from the chart once the new TV season began, but that hasn't happened, and GH is still finishing in the Top 10 on every weekday. ABC has to be pleased.

Edited October 19Oct 19 by ranger1rg

38 minutes ago, Vee said:

And it did lead to Ron's firing, which he's still angry about lol.

He thought Frank was going to be loyal and Frank is only really loyal to Frank.

5 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

He thought Frank was going to be loyal and Frank is only really loyal to Frank.

And I knew Frank would do it too, if it came down to him or them. That's how he rolls. But Jamey and the DC gang were so shocked and enraged.

I'll never forget their 'emergency podcast' where Jamey shrieked and howled at the top of his lungs, quoting liberally from the infamous Gloria Monty profile in either '91 or '92 about the embattled show and repeating over and over 'the actors are revolting (against Ron/Monty)!' It didn't seem to register at all for Jamey that the article painted Monty in a very bad light and as a paranoid control freak during one of the major low points in GH history. He simply seemed to see it as history repeating, with ungrateful actors turning on a visionary creative.

Jamey seems to have matured somewhat since then as he's built an actual career off those connections and I'm genuinely glad for him if so. But I have a long memory.

Edited October 19Oct 19 by Vee

39 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

The linear ratings for GH have been consistent. It's behind Y&R and B&B in total viewers, but it's RIGHTTHERE in the 18-49 demo.

Just as importantly these days, GH has been streaming really well.

In the weeks before the new primetime season began, GH was finishing in the streaming chart Top 5 almost every day of the week, sometimes at #1. I thought it would disappear from the chart once the new TV season began, but that hasn't happened, and GH is still finishing in the Top 10 on every weekday. ABC has to be pleased.

Which is why I've said Frank is likely bulletproof, for better or worse.

17 minutes ago, Vee said:

And I knew Frank would do it too, if it came down to him or them. That's how he rolls. But Jamey and the DC gang were so shocked and enraged.

I'll never forget their 'emergency podcast' where Jamey shrieked and howled at the top of his lungs, quoting liberally from the infamous Gloria Monty profile in either '91 or '92 about the embattled show and repeating over and over 'the actors are revolting (against Ron/Monty)!' It didn't seem to register at all for Jamey that the article painted Monty in a very bad light and as a paranoid control freak during one of the major low points in GH history. He simply seemed to see it as history repeating, with ungrateful actors turning on a visionary creative.

Jamey seems to have matured somewhat since then as he's built an actual career off those connections and I'm genuinely glad for him if so. But I have a long memory.

Diva behavior from writers can be handwaved, sometimes, if they are talented. If they're Ron or Jamey...

28 minutes ago, Vee said:

Which is why I've said Frank is likely bulletproof, for better or worse.

Just makes it all the more remarkable he was seemingly willing to wreck the show in whatever went on with Mulcahey. 

I do wonder if that period is another reason for an idea of Sonny misuse hurting ratings. Ultimately, I think that story was going to exonerate Sonny, due to the med switching, but I know some still vocally hate the idea of him being morally questioned by other characters.

14 hours ago, MontyB said:

Someone wrote elsewhere,"I'm getting tired of useless scenes with Anna doing nothing but recapping everything we already know". 

I was wondering why I'm compelled to hit FF a lot of the time when she's on. 

She did look nice in the last episode though. 

Finola deserves better, but this is the end result of being defined by the "Vanna" pairing. She could have more with Emma, but the show doesn't have a great deal of interest in Emma.

16 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I do wonder if that period is another reason for an idea of Sonny misuse hurting ratings. Ultimately, I think that story was going to exonerate Sonny, due to the med switching, but I know some still vocally hate the idea of him being morally questioned by other characters.

I don't think the ratings mess last year was about Sonny. I think the entire show seemed jammed up and at cross purposes BTS for months and it showed everyday, even when good stuff or dialogue made it to air. The Sonny/Carly Facebook fans freaking out was just a small part of the reaction.

I do think it's an unfortunate coincidence that Maurice apparently had another minor IRL meltdown over the alleged emotional or psychological pressures of the meds story, and that was another thing that made them reset in addition to just throwing out a lot of what Mulcahey was doing - it was easy for them to look at it all as a whole and then say 'turning on Sonny was bad for the show.' But I don't go to a place that says Mo intentionally leverages his illness to get preferable story, I don't believe he's really capable of that if he ever was. Nonetheless, I do think that confluence of events has sometimes happened in and of itself.

I don't think Anna or Finola are defined by the "Vanna" fanbase, but I do think it's the only semi-popular pairing she's had since Ian Buchanan (whose return was messy and not his fault) and I think she likes working with JPS, who Frank clearly adores. I just think they've got to move her on because he's so lame.

12 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

Finola deserves better, but this is the end result of being defined by the "Vanna" pairing. She could have more with Emma, but the show doesn't have a great deal of interest in Emma.

It really appears they don't. 

On 10/17/2025 at 4:22 PM, DRW50 said:

My issue with Valentin is one of my issues with the Cassadines as a whole - in order for them to stay on the show long-term they have to lose their edge. Stefan had a quiet menace initially, a fist in a velvet glove, but by about 1997 we were in Patch/Kayla and then Lasha Fever mode and he was never the same. Alexis has her moments but that isn't generally who she is. Nik - well that was a whole mess. Helena and Stavros were maybe the most menacing, and that's down to neither staying on for long (Helena was there for many years but often just in stretches). 

 

I think Cameron lacks the warmth or vulnerability that AJ often had alongside his darker edges. I think of Drew as who all the self-righteous figures in Port Charles saw AJ as being. He flipped so fast from being a "good" person to being fully malevolent it was a potent commentary, even if not intended, on how shallow many of the moral voices of town are now.

But did Stefan lose his edge, or was he only expanding on another side of himself, making him more complex? I remember him being so dashing, the thinking man's bad boy, as a teen. I know I live for Natasha popping out. But I agree that Val...after hearing about how he came on the show since I was not watching then...has been so miltuqtoast that now I don't look forward to him at all being on screen. They could have easily had times when he made decisive moves that would bite him in the tail...and he did...but his soft side come out with Charlotte and Anna. The issue for me...especially with his rep per Helena...has been it comes across as propping to get him out of what he on screen did or a case of man pain. Say what you want about the other Cassadines, but there was never any prop. 

 

I don't think I would call Drew's dark shift fast as much as I would say abrupt. The potential for it has always been there since the start of PM's run when he dropped Carly like a hot potato with the knowledge of Jason being back. I felt this side of him grew organically over time. But he (well the writers) leaned into it this past year and it's done wonders for that character and gave the show a villain who is powerful BUT is not over the top. But going back to Cameron...yeah, he's really not playing vulnerability well at all as Drew so he probably couldn't do it if he was AJ which the actors who came before did very well.

 

On 10/17/2025 at 4:27 PM, Planet Soap said:

I can't see him betraying Michael with Willow after everything he went through to get his son though.

I agree. Outside of that plot idea, AJ could easily be put in Drew's place and it not interrupt story flow.