General Hospital Fans’ Worst Fears Are Coming True, and It’s Not a Good Look

Summary:

• Since the change in General Hospital 's head writers, viewers have been waiting for a change in the storylines.
• In some cases, it did, helping to restore the balance of power in Port Charles. In others, however, the changes have encouraged a dangerous trend.
• Fans are concerned about the number of black characters, who have made very few appearances of late.

One of the things that needs to be carefully monitored in any type of television show, including popular soap operas, is inclusivity within the cast. The viewers who make up the core audience for these shows may be predominantly female, but they are also made up of many people from different cultural backgrounds who want to see diversity on screen.

So far, General Hospital has done relatively well in this department. However, with the sudden death of Spencer Cassadine, fans noticed a disappointing decrease in the screen time of his girlfriend, Trina Robinson. Unfortunately, she's not the only character to suffer.

What Happened to Trina on General Hospital?

To say that Spencer's death has affected Trina greatly would be an understatement. Up until that point, Trina had become the show's youngest supercouple, and fans would have preferred it to stay that way. However, with Nicholas Chavez working on another project, his character had to be written off. And that's where the problems began.

Fans noticed the lack of Trina right away, but it took some time to notice the lack of other black characters on screen. So far, Trina has made 4 appearances in the last 7 weeks, with TJ making his third appearance in two months. Portia, Trina's mother, has also been off-screen for a few months.

Unfortunately for viewers rooting for diversity of characters and stories, none of the black actors in the General Hospital cast were given more than 5 episodes to develop their stories in March. Considering that this was the month of the new headwriters' takeover, this left a good half of the fandom disappointed and prepared for the worst.

One of the reasons why ABC should take this issue seriously, general humanity aside, is the profitability of the soap. While right now General Hospital remains one of the most prominent and stable daytime series on television, they risk losing a good chunk of their audience to CBS' newly greenlit all-black series, The Gates.

Of course, there is still time for General Hospital to rethink its long-standing strategy and pay more attention to diverse stories and move away from the Carly/Jason/Sonny/Nina madness that has taken over the show as of late. But until viewers see actual episodes that delve into some of the black-led storylines, they won't be satisfied.

To see how General Hospital handles its cast in April, tune in to the soap Monday through Friday on ABC. And keep an eye out for more updates on CBS' newly announced daytime drama, The Gates.