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W to drop General Hospital

It's been a bad week for General Hospital. Aussie actor Ingo Rademacher is fired after 10 years and Foxtel will pull the plug in June.

Long-running US soap General Hospital will vanish from Australian screens once again when it ends its run on the W channel on Friday, June 17.

From June 20, W has scheduled Canadian crime series The Border at 12.50pm weekdays, although the series ended in August.

Foxtel advises it has been screening the show since last July but its audience has not been building, despite having The Young and the Restless as its lead-in in the weekday afternoon schedule.

In a statement, Foxtel says, “Prior to its return in 2010, General Hospital had been off air in Australia for several years and during this time the show’s storylines were shifting away from the hospital base to focus more on the drama and intrigue of its crime families.

“Over the past year, W has also aired the show in additional timeslots to provide opportunities for sampling the program but viewers have not engaged with the series with anywhere near the same enthusiasm as they have for the channel’s other dramas.”

Meanwhile after more than 10 years, Australian actor Ingo Rademacher was let go from the soap ealier this week. He told ABC Soaps in Depth: “Yes, I know that’s sounds bad but sometimes little birds need a shove out of the nest to find their wings… better late then never? I’m trying to find some humor in all this. Even though this was not my call, I think my GH days were almost up anyway…. I would like to thank everyone at GH, the producers, directors, crew, my fellow actors and ABC/Disney for making my 15 years enjoyable and fun. It was always a great place for me to work and I will have fantastic memories. I would again like to thank my fans and especially my ‘Jax Angels’ who have been there for me, supporting me in every way, from Day One. Thank you!”

After ABC cancelled All My Children and One Life to Live, General Hospital will become its only daytime soap from January.

The Young and the Restless remains at 12pm weekdays on W.

56 Responses

  1. Take the cricket Off channel 9, put it on Foxtel. Leave Days Of Our LIves alone as millions of women and pensioners watch it.
    cricket sux – get lost. Full Stop.

  2. I am sick of foxtel serving up the same shows over and over, that ratings excuse is rubbish, I am sure that they have one time slot available on one of their channels for a 1 hour timeslot to accommodate General Hospital. They lose viewers because they constantly change shows channels and time slots without notice. Instead of repeating the same shows 5 times a day put General Hospital on just once a day. Not asking for much.

  3. No, Paul. That is not the point of wanting it to be on W.

    W & W2 are rather pathetic anyway with all its repeats. Once you’ve watched them, you’ve watched them – the good shows. Why axe GH? I do not get it.

    Paul, why do you want DOOL on W following Y&R? Remember, some pensioners and others do not have PayTV. At least they have DOOL even with the cricket breaks, etc it would still be appreciated .

    All I want is for GH to be back, either on Foxtel or FTA [we have no other, do we?], and ended only when it has ended filming. Why so ‘ratings’ driven, Foxtel!. Okay, put it on late at night, if must be. GH fans will be sure to record it and we might not think you were sooooo bad after all! Here is your chance to redeem yourself!

    I would not waste my time watching the show now following Y&R . There goes their ratings. The dumb shows being repeated on all the Foxtel channels is amazing and it makes no sense for GH to be axed, I say, again. Soapie episodes are new everyday and have a loyal band of fans for years to come.

    I truly do not understand their thinking. It seems they do not care which is a sad state of affairs. Shame, shame on you Foxtel!

    Our requests/pleas seem to be ignored and of no consequence to the Foxies!

  4. 9 should’ve dropped Days in order for it to air weekdays at 12:50pm, from June 20 to replace General Hospital, but instead W idiotically scheduled The Border from Series 1 to screen at that time, so now, it’s The Young and the Restless on W, The Bold and the Beautiful on Channel 10 and Days of Our Lives on Channel 9, instead of how things clearly should be: The Young and the Restless (Y&R) and Days of Our Lives (DOOL) on W and The Bold and the Beautiful (B&B) on Channel 10. On W, encore screenings of The Young and the Restless should air on W weekdays at 7am, followed by Days of Our Lives at 7:50am!

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