General Hospital Could've Been Canceled Decades Ago But Was Miraculously Saved

There are not many TV shows that can boast the length of General Hospital. Even among soap operas, which are usually distinguished by the number of seasons and episodes, it is one of the longest-running.

Today, fans have years and years of content from different eras of the show to choose from.

But it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows. In fact, there were times so much darker for General Hospital that the show was on the verge of being canceled by the network.

If you look at any General Hospital discussion on the Internet, you will notice how many people share their fond memories and favorite moments from the 80s or 90s episodes, but almost no one talks about anything that happened in the 70s. There is a simple reason for this: no one liked what they saw.

Threats of cancellation grew throughout the decade but peaked in 1978 when ABC changed the show's executive producer.

Gloria Monty, who had stepped up to the plate for General Hospital and ultimately saved the entire series, was given only 13 weeks to do so and improve the ratings.

One of the things Monty did to get General Hospital back on the air was to add an adventurous subplot.

It was a bold move, but a smart one, as it helped speed up the pace of the episodes and made General Hospital fun to watch again.

General Hospital not only broke its own rating record but also became the highest-rated American soap opera, a title it held until 1988.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible to bring Gloria Monty back to General Hospital today, as she passed away in 2006 at the age of 84.

However, the show could certainly use another miracle like this to revive the ratings and give it a chance to go another 60 years.

Until then, you can keep up with what's going on in Charles Port by tuning in to ABC Monday through Friday.