Just as General Hospital was celebrating its three-part wedding special with Brook Lynn and Chase tying the knot, the show’s writers room was in turmoil.
Patrick Mulcahey, who was named as the new co-head-writer alongside Elizabeth Korte in January, has left the show, according to The Buzz.
That report claimed that Chris Van Etten – who along with Dan O’Connor was the head writer before his ouster in January – had returned to serve as co-head-writer with Korte.
However, a report from Deadline stated that Korte would be the sole head writer for the time being.
The news has many fans divided, with many taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to both praise and bash the move.
Just as General Hospital was celebrating its three-part wedding special with Brook Lynn and Chase tying the knot, the show’s writers room was in turmoil
Patrick Mulcahey, who was named as the new co-head-writer alongside Elizabeth Korte in January, has left the show, according to The Buzz
Given that Mulcahey and Korte just started as head writers in January, some think that the show didn’t give them enough time to make their mark.
‘This is too bad. I think he could have injected some new ideas into this show,’ said X user @bjtripp2.
@ChristianJKeyz addd, ‘Wrong move entirely. How sad. What a mess,’ along with a GIF of a character saying, ‘You’re fired.’
@JLMoonlight92 added, ‘I’m confused. If the General Hospital head writers wanted the show to be good and win back lapsed viewers, why did they do everything that would ensure they wouldn’t do that? Also why did they hir Patrick Mulcahey if he was not gonna do anything? Was he just their fall guy?’
Still, others welcomed the movie like @mikefehn, who simply stated,’ Good riddance. Do better.’
@Ronanglojr added, ‘If he’s responsible for the Heather redemption tour that Laura’s on then good riddance.’
Another X user – @376shannon thought the move was concocted by Korte and longtime GH executive producer Frank Valentini to ‘kill’ the show.
‘How big of a bonus do Korte and Franky get for killing GH? It’s only a matter of time before you’re telling us it’s canceled. The end is here.’
‘This is too bad. I think he could have injected some new ideas into this show,’ said X user @bjtripp2
@ChristianJKeyz addd, ‘Wrong move entirely. How sad. What a mess,’ along with a GIF of a character saying, ‘You’re fired’
@JLMoonlight92 added, ‘I’m confused. If the General Hospital head writers wanted the show to be good and win back lapsed viewers, why did they do everything that would ensure they wouldn’t do that? Also why did they hir Patrick Mulcahey if he was not gonna do anything? Was he just their fall guy?’
Still, others welcomed the movie like @mikefehn, who simply stated,’ Good riddance. Do better.’
@Ronanglojr added, ‘If he’s responsible for the Heather redemption tour that Laura’s on then good riddance.’
Another X user – @376shannon thought the move was concocted by Korte and longtime GH executive producer Frank Valentini to ‘kill’ the show.
@ellenzradio even suggested the writers aren’t needed, adding, ‘There’s barely a script.. it’s all fill.. stories are so limited. Actors barely have lines.’
@Ledmondson39 suggested, ‘It doesn’t matter who is writing this show, as long as Frank, Nathan & EK are still there. It is obvious they don’t give a damn about the fans & what we want, they only care about what they want. They will try and lay the record low ratings on PM when they are the problem.’
@knixtixmemes suggested, ‘The ones that should be OUTTA HERE are @ValentiFrank, (actor @MauriceBernard and @WatrosWatros (star Cynthia Watros)!!! They are responsible for the downward trajectory @GeneralHospital has been on for the last 3-4 yrs.’
@spfkeith added, ‘This is not good news. Too many changes in head writers is never a good thing. That became the problem at Another World and contributed to that show’s cancellation.’
@aem906 stated, ‘I am absolutely heartbroken. He was who we needed! They are just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic at this point. He was our “breath of fresh air,” that we needed. They need to CLEAN HOUSE, and not Patrick!’
@LadyBookworm117 stated, ‘This is NOT good news! Korte doesn’t care about history or what fans want to see and she plays favorites like Valenti and (ABC executive Nathan) Varni. Ratings for GH are way down… I’m guessing Patrick threw out ideas to do better and Korte threw Patrick under the bus to save herself.’
@Books_R_Better added, ‘Not to mention Elizabeth, @RebeccaLHerbst completely disappeared. Not sure they can get me back at this point.
@bjpsgyal said, ‘Very telling that all of the story lines are still Chris’ (e.g. Heather hip redemption and breaking up all the couples), and yet they expect different results, but keep the same people around as writers. As I keep saying, this is a masterclass in failing up as the ratings bottom out.’
@ellenzradio even suggested the writers aren’t needed, adding, ‘There’s barely a script.. it’s all fill.. stories are so limited. Actors barely have lines.’
@Ledmondson39 suggested, ‘It doesn’t matter who is writing this show, as long as Frank, Nathan & EK are still there. It is obvious they don’t give a damn about the fans & what we want, they only care about what they want. They will try and lay the record low ratings on PM when they are the problem.’
@spfkeith added, ‘This is not good news. Too many changes in head writers is never a good thing. That became the problem at Another World and contributed to that show’s cancellation.’
@aem906 stated, ‘I am absolutely heartbroken. He was who we needed! They are just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic at this point. He was our “breath of fresh air,” that we needed. They need to CLEAN HOUSE, and not Patrick!’
@LadyBookworm117 stated, ‘This is NOT good news! Korte doesn’t care about history or what fans want to see and she plays favorites like Valenti and (ABC executive Nathan) Varni. Ratings for GH are way down… I’m guessing Patrick threw out ideas to do better and Korte threw Patrick under the bus to save herself.’
@Books_R_Better added, ‘Not to mention Elizabeth, @RebeccaLHerbst completely disappeared. Not sure they can get me back at this point.
@bjpsgyal said, ‘Very telling that all of the story lines are still Chris’ (e.g. Heather hip redemption and breaking up all the couples), and yet they expect different results, but keep the same people around as writers. As I keep saying, this is a masterclass in failing up as the ratings bottom out.’
Episodes crafted by the Mulcahey/Korte team will continue to air through mid-summer, a source told Soap Opera Digest.
The source adds, There will be more news to share at a later date as to the composition of the new writing team.’
They also confirmed that Van Etten is back on the GH writing staff, though working as a breakdown writer, not serving as co-head writer as once reported.
Mulcahey had been involved with General Hospital multiple times throughout his career, starting in 1996 as a script writer.