ABC is revealing the first stage of how they will handle running out of pre-taped episodes of General Hospital later this month. The first few weeks after all of the new shows have aired will focus on revisiting prior years of the infamous Nurses Ball.
Production of General Hospital was halted in mid-March due to the novel coronavirus, and it is not yet known when the cast and crew can return to work.
The network had previously indicated that they had enough pre-taped episodes to take them through Friday, May 22. Viewers have seen a lot of flashbacks incorporated into recent episodes, seemingly done in an effort to stretch out the shows that have been filmed. In addition, ABC has been airing repeats each Friday.
According to Soap Opera Digest , ABC now has a plan for what they will do beginning on Monday, May 25. During the week of May 25, viewers will see episodes that originally aired in 2014 and 2015. All of the shows will be from the iconic, annual Nurses Ball events, so these should be fun ones for viewers to revisit.
The shows airing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that week will be from the 2014 Nurses Ball. These episodes will include Tracy Quartermaine and Luke Spencer getting married, a performance by Dr. Liesl Obrecht, and a memorable tribute to the Magic Mike movies.
Happy Friday, Magic Milo fans! ?? #FlashbackFriday #FBF #GH pic.twitter.com/hUx5h68iwD
— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) April 28, 2017
The encore episodes of General Hospital that air on Thursday and Friday of that week will be from the 2015 Nurses Ball. These shows will include Duke Lavery throwing himself into danger and Carly Corinthos unveiling Hayden Barnes and Ric Lansing’s scheme regarding “Jake Doe.” These encore episodes also include Brad Cooper’s proposal to Lucas Jones.
At this point, ABC is seemingly planning to focus on classic Nurses Ball episodes through June 12. Specifics regarding which episodes have been chosen don’t seem to be detailed beyond the week of May 25 yet though.
These Nurses Ball shows should be great entertainment for both new and long-term fans of the show. There will be many characters and cast members shown who are no longer with GH along with numerous storyline developments that have impacted what’s going on in Port Charles now.
Both The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful have already shifted to encore episodes airing every weekday. Both shows have created themes for each week, and it appears that General Hospital is following suit.
Despite the fun throwbacks that ABC has scheduled, fans are anxious to get back to a regular schedule with entirely new shows. For now, everybody will have to stay tuned for news regarding when the cast and crew can start filming again and when ABC can flip back to new daily episodes.