UPDATE (August 14, 2020): General Hospital fans can look forward to the upcoming return of Kelly Monaco, who is back in the shoes of Sam McCall and set to air in the very near future. GH star Bradford Anderson (ex-Damian Spinelli) spilled the news of Monaco’s return during a Facebook Live chat with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan).
“She is already filming, so she will be on your screens soon,” Anderson reported, to which Burton responded, “She’s good, she’s healthy, and she’s back.”
As Soap Central previously reported, Monaco was forced to temporarily stop working following a breathing problem that happened her first day back on set when GH resumed production. While she quarantined and did several COVID-19 tests (which all came back negative), GH temporarily recast the character with daytime alum Lindsay Korman-Hartley (ex-Cara Castillo, All My Children; ex-Arianna Hernandez, Days of our Lives; ex-Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, Passions), who played the role for a couple of weeks.
Says Korman-Hartley about having had the opportunity to briefly take over for Monaco, “Thank you @generalhospitalabc for the fortunate experience to play Sam, and especially during this moment in time. It was a fun ride.”
Our original article on Monaco being temporarily sidelined appears below.
General Hospital will be back on-screen with new episodes this Monday, August 3, but the upcoming material isn't the only new thing in store for fans. The character of Sam McCall will have a totally new face when she makes her way back to television screens next month.
Due to a breathing problem that happened her first day back on set at GH, Kelly Monaco, who has been playing the role of Sam since 2003, had to quarantine and test for possible COVID-19. As the show must go on, GH temporarily recast the character with daytime alum Lindsay Korman-Hartley (ex-Cara Castillo, All My Children; ex-Arianna Hernandez, Days of our Lives; ex-Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, Passions), who will be playing the role for a couple of weeks.
Says Hartley, "Some big shoes to fill... precious too. I hope you enjoy watching Sam as much as I have enjoyed playing her, temporarily."
Some big shoes to fill...precious too. I hope you enjoy watching Sam as much as I have enjoyed playing her, temporarily ❤️🙏🏻 https://t.co/o7aTNni5dN
- Lindsay Korman-Hartley (@L_Hartley) July 31, 2020
As for Monaco, her mother, Carmina, took to Twitter to assure fans that the actress is doing well and will be back to work as soon as possible.
"Kelly is great and should be back on set Monday," she shared. "14 day quarantine after a breathing problem with mask 1st day back. 3 negative Covid test, I'd say she is better than great. Thank you for all of the love."
Kelly is great and should be back on set Monday. 14 day quarantine after a breathing problem with mask 1st day back. 3 negative Covid test, I'd say she is better than great. Thank you for all of the love 💕
- Carmina Monaco (@kellysmom1) July 31, 2020
Temporary recasts aren't new to the soap genre, and GH has had to resort to short-term fill-ins a few times in recent years. Soap alum Nick Stabile (ex-Mark, Sunset Beach) stepped in for Tyler Christopher in the role of Nikolas Cassadine back in 2016, while Days of our Lives alums Molly Burnett (ex-Melanie Jonas) and Jen Lilley (ex-Theresa Donovan) briefly took over for Kirsten Storms in the role of Maxie Jones in 2016 and 2011, respectively.
What do you think about Lindsay Hartley temporarily stepping into the role of GH's Sam? Do you think she'll be a good short-term recast for Kelly Monaco? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
