ABC General Hospital
If you’re tuning in to watch General Hospital today, then you might notice something surprising. A rerun is airing rather than a new episode. Why? Although new episodes will return next week, today’s is a rerun because of changes set in place due to the coronavirus outbreak.
‘General Hospital’ Is Airing Flashback Fridays Because of the Coronavirus Outbreak
General Hospital typically airs Monday-Friday on ABC for an hour starting at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central.) But if you tune in at that time today or watch later on your DVR, you’ll realize that this episode looks really familiar. It’s because it’s a rerun, which is pretty rare in the world of soap operas.
Interestingly, TV Guide lists the episode as being new (Season 57 Episode 248). The description reads: “Laura and Robert face Cyrus down. Jason wants to put a little distance between himself and Sam for a while. Jordan is conflicted.”
But the new episode designation (which may also show up on your DVR if you’re watching later today) is actually incorrect. Deadline reported that starting today (Friday, April 3), General Hospital was going to start making every Friday a “Flashback Friday.” The show will still air new episodes every Monday-Thursday, but Fridays will be reruns starting April 3 through at least May 22.
This is because production has temporarily stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak. General Hospital only has a limited amount of new episodes left to air, so by showing a rerun every Friday, they can make the new episodes last longer.
Each flashback episode will also feature an actor who talks about the episode’s highlights.
News for @GeneralHospital fans:
The show will start airing encore
“Flashback Friday” from April 3 to May 22. Each episode will feature a “General Hospital” actor highlighting the episode. This Friday, it’s @lldubs. The flashbacks begin with the 56th anniversary episode.
Unfortunately, if production hasn’t started up by May 22, then General Hospital will have to switch to airing all reruns until production can resume.
But until then, tune in Monday for the latest all-new episode. There’s a lot going on that you won’t want to miss.
WATCH: Sonny is taking the role reversal with Mike really hard. #GH
Carly, for example, is still skeptical of Brando’s intentions for her and her family.
The episode airing today originally aired a year ago on April 3, 2019. That also just happened to be the 56th Anniversary episode. The description reads: “a loving tribute to the hospital’s past, present and future, providing a pivotal moment for some of Port Charles’ most memorable characters.”
Although it might be fun to see a rerun, some fans might enjoy seeing classic episodes even more. General Hospital has been around for a long time. We don’t know yet what’s in store for the next week’s “Flashback Friday” however. The show’s been around since 1963, so it would be a lot of fun to see a true Flashback Friday one of these days.
#OnThisDay in 1963, @GeneralHospital premiered on @ABC. Please join us in wishing the show a Happy Birthday! 🎂🎁🥳
The show just celebrated its 57th anniversary on April 1.
Happy 57th Anniversary, @GeneralHospital! Proud to have been a part of this legacy… #gh
Still, fans are bound to be a bit disappointed that they don’t get to see a new episode today, especially if they’re quarantining at home and hoping to watch live as it airs.
Not every daytime show will have to start showing reruns right away. Days of Our Lives has enough shows to air through October, Deadline reported.
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