‘General Hospital’ Faces Even More Shakeups After Cast Exits and Surprise Returns

General Hospital has more changes coming its way following past shakeups.

Fans noticed during the Wednesday, August 7, episode of the soap opera that former head writer Chris Van Etten returned to cowrite alongside Elizabeth Korte . The end credits for the show featured Van Etten’s name, and General Hospital script and breakdown writer Cathy LePard was promoted to associate head writer.

The shifts came at an interesting time as General Hospital continues to blow viewers away with some out-of-the-box story lines, from Sonny Corinthos ( Maurice Benard ) dealing with his deteriorating mental health to Ric Lansing ( Rick Hearst ) and Morgan Corinthos ( Bryan Craig ) returning to Port Charles and now Lulu becoming conscious again after being comatose for years.

Emme Rylan , who played Lulu for seven years, announced her departure on Tuesday, August 6, writing via her Instagram Story, “Yes it is true. GH has decided to recast Lulu. Although I am very disappointed with their choice, I am glad to finally have closure. (And thank goodness GH brought all of you fabulous people into my life! Love you guys!).”

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The actress, 43, last appeared on the show in a 2020 episode that showed Lulu entering a coma following an explosion at the Floating Rib. Before Rylan took over, Julie Marie Berman brought Lulu to life from 2005 to 2013. A recent casting call alerted fans that Lulu could be played by a new person in the near future.

Rylan, for her part, previously reflected on getting the opportunity to play Lulu.

“Getting to play the daughter of Luke and Laura was the most amazing opportunity,” she told Soap Opera Digest in 2023. “No matter what the internet says, I have made it very clear to General Hospital that I am always available to play Lulu should she ever want to wake up."

She continued: "It is my understanding that when they choose to wake her up, they would be calling me. That could always change. Who knows? But that is my understanding. When they want to wake her up, they will call me. That’s as much as I know and I have not heard from them.”

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As for the behind-the-scenes changes , Van Etten served as a head writer in 2017. He was let go in January after collaborating with Shelly Altman and later Dan O’Connor .

“No one knows General Hospital and its history more than Elizabeth and Chris,” executive producer Frank Valentini said in a statement at the time. “Cathy joined the show in 2023, and her talent and love for the genre has been a tremendous asset to this team. We look forward to this dynamic writing combination continuing the legacy of the show and giving our fans much to look forward to.”