60 SIZZLING YEARS

Love triangles! Curses! Car bombs! The endless thrills of General Hospital.

-  JIM HALTERMAN

A STUNNING BRIDE marries her love, hops in a limo and is blown to smithereens. Joy, scandal, tragedy-and returning from the dead, of course-have kept General Hospital fans tuned in since its 1963 debut.

Today, ABC's GH is one of four soaps still standing with CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and Days of Our Lives on Peacock and remains a perfect shot of afternoon intrigue. It even grabbed a record 15th Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 2022. "General Hospital always explored stories not told in primetime," executive producer Frank Valentini says.

What's the secret serum that's made GH a winner? We visited with show VIPs to find out.

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY During the 1976-77 season, GH ranked a lowly No. 10 out of 15 daytime dramas. (CBS's As the World Turns dominated for nearly two decades.) That changed when exec producer Gloria Monty threw worldly Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and ingenue Laura Webber (Genie Francis) together. They fell hard for each other. Viewers went crazy, and the term super couple was born. By the 1979-80 season, GH was No. 1, a spot it would hold for nearly a decade.