Hey GH fans,
Well, we all knew it was coming, but Kelly Monaco is officially done at the ABC soap, and Sam McCall’s death scene is airing sooner rather than later.
It’s Belinda from DrinkFood, and let’s dig into what’s ahead in Sam’s final days before we see how the writers killed off her long-running character. So, it was actually Kelly Monaco’s mother, Carina Monaco, who confirmed that Kelly filmed her last day at General Hospital. She taped her final episode as Sam on Friday, September 27th.
Of course, there was a lot of effort expended by fans trying to get the powers that be at General Hospital and ABC daytime to change their minds and keep Kelly Monaco. From constant posts on social media tagging the showrunners and ABC executives, to a petition on Change.org, and most recently, fans leased billboard space in Times Square appealing to GH and ABC to keep her.
The bright red billboard was put up exactly 7 days before Kelly taped her final episode. It read #IStandWithKelly, and below it, the words “Rehire Kelly Monaco on ABC’s General Hospital.” The digital billboard message appeared for 30 seconds, twice an hour for the entire day. The price tag for that runs about $600 or so, give or take.
Fans trying to change GH’s mind about killing off Sam also rented a truck with a digital message on it that ran from ABC to Prospect Park Studios, where the soap opera tapes. The message on that was again “Rehire Kelly Monaco,” this time with a photo of Jason and Sam in an embrace, reminding the powers that be that Jasam was a super couple that was wildly popular.
But I’m guessing fans could have hired a skywriter, a custom fireworks show, or a graffiti campaign, and Frank Valentini still wouldn’t have changed his mind.
So here’s what Kelly’s mom, Carina, said about her daughter’s last day on the soap: she said that she was reaching out to Kelly’s incredible fans to express her deep gratitude for their unwavering love, loyalty, and support they’ve shown her throughout her time on General Hospital.
Her mom reminded fans that GH had Kelly film her last episode ever just 4 days short of what would have been her 21st anniversary on the soap. If you don’t remember, Kelly first appeared as Sam McCall on October 1st, 2003. Her mom went on to say that on Friday the 27th, Kelly closed the door of her dressing room for the last time.
Carina also said, “This moment is a difficult one, but knowing Kelly has such an incredible, devoted fan base has given her strength.” Kelly’s mother said that fans stood by her daughter through every twist and turn, celebrating her achievements and providing comfort in the hard times. She said, “Your love and dedication have meant more than words can express—not only to Kelly but to all of us who care so deeply for her.”
Carina Monaco wrapped up her message saying, “Thank you for being there, for believing in her, and for reminding her of the impact she’s made. We will always be grateful for you standing with her through it all.”
So, with this confirmation that Kelly Monaco’s done at GH officially, what’s next?
Well, the actress has not personally acknowledged that she’s wrapped her run on the ABC soap, but she did retweet one of her mom’s messages about fan support and some messages from Billy Miller’s mother criticizing showrunner Frank Valentini for his treatment of both her son and Kelly.
There are a lot of allegations there, but I’m not going to get into it in this video.
We know that General Hospital tapes four to six weeks ahead, depending on how much of a stockpile of episodes they have and whether they just came back from a dark week or something like that when they shuttered the studio.
So with Kelly taping last on September 27th, then her final episode air date could be anywhere between the end of October up until around, say, mid-November. November sweeps, as a reminder, starts October 31st and runs through November 27th.
So GH is clearly looking to get a ratings spike out of killing off Sam McCall. I suspect it’ll be early November when we say goodbye to Kelly’s character through a shocking death that should touch on at least one or two other front-burner storylines.
General Hospital, of course, tried to blame killing Sam saying it was storyline-driven, but you know that’s an excuse to justify a firing, in my humble opinion.
We’ll know more about her fate once we see where the other storylines move this coming week when we only have three episodes due to two days of preemptions for sports.
I would absolutely expect Sam’s death to tie back into Lulu Spencer’s life-and-death ordeal. This Monday’s episode has Jason delivering Lucky Spencer to General Hospital to be tested to see if he’s a match as a live liver donor for his sister, Lulu.
I expect that Lucky will either not be a match, or his liver is damaged or not testing well, or a rapid deterioration of Lulu’s condition means only a full transplant of a cadaver liver from a deceased donor will save her. Plus, we have Sam’s mom, Alexis Davis, in prison awaiting trial for murdering Jagger, a crime that Sonny Corinthos committed.
Sam already told Dante Falconeri she plans to grab her scuba gear and do a river dive to find the gun that Alexis tossed when she thought Kristina Corinthos might have used it to kill John Kates.
So those two storylines could easily overlap and result in Sam’s death from a diving accident, and her liver going to save Lulu. But we also have Crazy Sidwell on his way to Port Charles to get his diamonds back from Holly Sutton, and he’s a dangerous loose cannon.
So Sam could be killed as collateral damage in that Sidwell storyline, but that seems a longer shot to me, given that Dante lives with and loves Sam, and he’s torn apart watching the other big love of his life, Lulu, dying.
You know, Sam’s death saving Lulu would be the soapy outcome for certain, and it would torment Dante for years to come.
I did another video here about a week ago saying Sam McCall may die a hero, saving two lives: her mom, Alexis, from life in prison, and Lulu from outright dying from cirrhosis caused by medication used to keep her sustained while she’s in that coma.
We’re going to have a much better idea of what fate has in store for Sam McCall in her final days and hours after we find out Lulu’s test results, Lulu’s status, the rate that she’s deteriorating, how Alexis’s case moves forward, and other events coming the week ahead.
But for now, it is official: Kelly Monaco has wrapped filming at GH forever, packed her dressing room up, and went home.
We can only wish her the best after more than two decades of dedication to the role of Sam McCall. Hopefully, another show will scoop her up soon, whether it’s a soap or a primetime series.
We’ll see. We wish you very well, Kelly.
It’s Belinda from DrinkFood. Please drop your comments, and please subscribe if you haven’t. Definitely come back soon; we are talking General Hospital 7 days a week. Thank you for being a loyal listener!
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