General Hospital May Be The Only Show To Gain From The Writers’ Strike

When the WGA announced the strikes, many people didn't realize the impact it would have on the industry. However, a few months later, many were rooting for the strikes to end. While there are long lists of shows that have been both delayed and canceled due to the ongoing strikes, there are a few that continue.

These are, of course, soap operas. Though in theory the strike rules apply to their writers as well, in reality they remain supported by temporary writers who are not union members and don't have to strictly abide by the rules. While the morality behind such a decision is questionable, the help of these writers was the only way for the soaps to survive.

Considering that soap episodes are aired daily, and there are only 4 of them still running on major U.S. television networks, they have to be creative if they want to stay afloat. With steadily declining ratings and pretty average reviews, the hiatus and reruns could be the last nail in the soap's coffin. So the soap went on.

Despite being cautious about what the new writers would bring to the table, General Hospital fans were quite impressed with the work they'd done. Now that several weeks have passed and viewers have seen enough episodes written by the temporary writers, it's safe to say that they won't ruin the show's 60th anniversary.

In fact, some viewers feel that the show needed a breath of fresh air, and at this point, the temporary writers are doing a better job than the regular writers.

One of the biggest differences viewers have noticed is the pacing of the episodes. With much more dynamic, event-packed episodes, people were more excited to tune in to ABC every day.

Though there were a few blips here and there, the vast majority of the storylines transitioned seamlessly into the hands of the new writers, who began to cater more to the audience.

All that's left for General Hospital viewers is to hope that once the strikes are resolved, at least some of the writers will be able to stay with the show and continue. For now, however, the production team is doing a great job of hiding the identities of the writers to make sure they don't become targets of harassment.

To judge how the quality of General Hospital has changed in the hands of the new writers' room, you can tune in to new episodes Monday through Friday on ABC.