General Hospital fans are one step closer to getting new episodes again, according to a report that emerged on Friday afternoon. The show shut down production in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic and it sounds as if the cast and crew may finally be able to get back to work in July.
According to Deadline , the soap opera cast and crew are aiming to begin filming again at some point in mid-July. Unfortunately, at this point, an exact return date has not been made available.
Sources also indicate that the plans could change in the days or weeks ahead, depending on what happens with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A couple of weeks ago, Los Angeles County officially released guidelines that detailed what production teams would need to do in order to resume filming. Both The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless have already taken steps to begin taping again and it sounds as if General Hospital producers are doing so as well.
Despite halting production in the middle of March, ABC was able to air mostly new episodes until May 21. Since then, the network has been airing “encore” episodes, typically with a theme for each week.
“I’ll love you forever.” #GH pic.twitter.com/cqJ8tj8jMY
— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) June 22, 2020
Viewers were left hanging in May when the pre-taped shows ran out, as there were a number of big developments playing out in Port Charles. Michael and Nelle were in the middle of their court battle over Wiley and Maxie seemingly realized she might be pregnant.
Fans had been looking forward to significant moments involving Nina and Nelle, Mike, Elizabeth and Franco, and a number of others. Given the long hiatus that everybody has endured with the coronavirus pandemic, viewers will be curious to see if the writers change course on anything, given the opportunity to take a step back and gauge the reactions from fans before moving forward.
For now, ABC will continue to run encore shows. According to SheKnows Soaps , the week of June 29 will focus on big moments that have played out for Sonny Corinthos over the years. It appears that the week of July 7 will bring back key episodes focusing on Michael Corinthos, along with some significant developments regarding Kristina Davis, too.
Additional details regarding how and when the General Hospital cast and crew will start filming again will surely emerge over the next couple of weeks. It is expected that ABC will be able to start airing new shows around three to four weeks after filming resumes. Fans may not be able to start counting down to a specific return date yet, but this is good news for those anxious to get back to the present-day action in Port Charles.