Full-time writers of the beloved soap General Hospital will no longer have control of their characters soon.
All of the episodes that the show’s writers completed before the writers’ strike have been aired. This means that soon, episodes will air that were penned by temporary scribes. It’s a heartbreaking moment for the writers who have become invested in their stories and characters over the years. Read on to hear what one General Hospital writer had to say about the difficult experience as the Hollywood strikes continue.
Hollywood Strike Tears Writers From The Stories They’ve Created
The rise of streaming services has led to friction between Hollywood executives and the artists who create their content. For the first time in over sixty years, writers and actors have joined together to strike for better pay and working conditions. This has led to an upending of timetables and plans in Hollywood. Movies in the writing stage are being put on pause indefinitely. Television shows filming with actors are waiting for the strikes to end so they can continue.
And the strikes aren’t just affecting big-screen projects. Small-screen shows like late-night comedies have felt the impact as well. Now, that impact is spreading to people’s beloved daily soap operas. While soap actors can keep filming, writers for soap operas are caught up in the strikes. One General Hospital writer took to social media to talk about just how deeply the strike is impacting them. Beyond their finances, writers are now keenly feeling separation from their beloved characters and stories.
General Hospital‘s Full-Time Writers Lose Control Of Their Beloved Stories
General Hospital writer Shannon Peace posted her thoughts about the show’s continuation on Instagram. Shannon has been a breakdown writer for the show since 2021 and has come to love the work she does. She wrote, “Daytime writers face a unique conflict during strikes.” She added that the writers hate to see their characters and storylines handed over to writers who cross the picket line. But they simultaneously acknowledge that shutting down production for the strikes could end the era of soap operas as we know it.
On Thursday, July 20, the last episode written by the show’s full-time writers aired. So starting today and moving forward, all of the current episodes will have been written by fill-in writers. Shannon said on Instagram, “… for the sake of the fans, I hope the show is in capable writing hands.” But she also acknowledged, “the pain of knowing that characters we’ve developed, relationships we built and stories we planned are being handled by others.”
She added that her hope is that fans who love the show keep watching. The striking writer concluded, “You can morally support the writers AND keep the show [on] the air!”
Do you think it would be hard to watch other artists take over your work during a strike? Or do you think Shannon Peace and the other striking writers are dealing with the consequences of their own actions? Sound off in the comments. And catch General Hospital on ABC weekdays at 2 PM EST.
