General Hospital News: Kelly Monaco Speaks Out On GH Break

It was a shock when General Hospital returned with new episodes and we learned Kelly Monaco would not be playing Sam for the first time in nearly two decades. Instead, Lindsay Hartley would be subbing for her temporarily.

Kelly Monaco Is Back

According to Monaco’s mother, the actress had some trouble wearing a mask when she returned to the set, and although she tested negative for COVID-19, she was told to take two weeks off and quarantine.

GH did an emergency recast with Hartley, known best for her role as Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald on the defunct NBC soap Passions.

Monaco seamlessly stepped back into the role that made her a daytime household name two weeks ago and finally appeared on screen this past Monday, but she now has a few words to say about her break… while also giving gratitude.

“I must thank the amazing #GH fans for all of the love and support they have shown me in the past couple of weeks. It’s been a crazy year and I feel so blessed, grateful and humbled to be able to continue to do what I love… 20yrs and counting with @ABC… what an honor!!!” Monaco tweeted late Tuesday.

She also had a shoutout for her temporary replacement. “I also wanna give a huge shout out to @lindsayhartley for stepping in and doing a beautiful job playing Sam. Girl.. you kicked ass. Way to go. Star-struck stay tuned…@GeneralHospital is just heating up!”

Sam did a desperate thing when Monaco was on her break, signing her children’s ELQ voting proxy over to Valentin Cassadine, which will have lasting consequences. She was desperate to be with Jason, and Valentin offered her that freedom by giving her a new parole officer. But how will her actions play out in the long term? Stay tuned to find out. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.