General Hospital

General Hospital is the longest running American serial produced in Hollywood as well as the longest running entertainment show on the ABC networks. General Hospital is a daytime soap opera on ABC that focuses on the personal and professional lives of different families in the medicine field. The show was first based around Dr. Steve Hardy & his nurse Jessie Brewer. General Hospital debuted on the ABC network on April 1, 1963, and was created by husband and wife team Frank and Doris Hursley. The show was set in fictional Port Charles, NY that heavily resembled upstate New York of Buffalo and Rochester. General Hospital first targeted stay at home mothers who did not work. However due to underperforming ratings and progressing times, the decision was made to increase the time slot in 1976 from its 30-minute format to and hour-long segment. The show also introduced new younger characters and controversial story lines so that it could compete in the ever changing and evolving daytime soap opera market. In the 70’s, General Hospital took on some new tactics trying to attain a wider audience through the use of new characters and adventurous plot lines. These plot lines are what ultimately allowed General Hospital to attain intense viewer loyalty throughout the years. General Hospital has had tremendous success with a couple different story lines that seemed to save the show one time or another. The character lines of Luke and Laura were tremendously successful, as their relationship seemed to captivate audience members day in and day out. The love triangle of Luke, Laura, and Scott seemed to resurrect the show in the late 70’s and early 80’s which managed to evolve into a long tenured plot line that keeps avid viewers to turn in every day. Other super couples followed including Robert and Holly, Frisco and Felicia, Duke and Anna, and Stone and Robin. These relationships seemed to dominate General Hospital well into the 1990’s. However, once the 90’s rolled around the show was looking for new direction as many of the popular starts left the show. General Hospital then got into addressing controversial, trendy, and apparent issues that viewers could relate to including AIDS, rape, addiction to alcohol and other substances, as well as homosexuality, and breast cancer. General Hospital’s strong character base and story lines is what ultimately allowed them to continue enjoying success and attain tremendous loyal retention. Overall, General Hospital has proved itself time and time again that it is able to adapt to the ever changing times and establish itself as one of the main’s in the daytime soap opera spots. There is no telling where General Hospital will go in the future, but it is able to rely on its characters and plot lines that are able to relate to viewers in a very natural way. General Hospital has been able to achieve a premium status on the ABC networks as it is ABC’s longest running entertainment program to date.

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