On April 1, General Hospital celebrated its 63rd anniversary on the air. It’s no small feat to still be going strong after over six decades on TV, and Executive Producer Frank Valentini took the time to thank fans and to promise more soapy goodness to come.
Taking to X, Valentini expressed his gratitude to the show’s devoted audience. But he also made clear that the sudser isn’t slowing down as it heads into the next season.
Valentini wrote:
We have big plans going into this new season. Stay tuned.
What drama could be in store for General Hospital Season 64? You’ll have to tune in to find out!
This story was originally published by Daytime Confidential on Apr 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the General Hospital section. Add Daytime Confidential as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
On This Day in 1963, ‘General Hospital’ Officially Debuts on ABC
Every genre of television has a specific program attached to it that most people instantly think of.
Just as viewers tend to quickly remember The Simpsonswhen they hear the words “adult animated TV show” or The Twilight Zone for “sci-fi fantasy horror series,” most audience members might instantly think of General Hospital when thinking about the most famous soap operas currently on television.
The longest-running daytime serial program on TV today, General Hospital officially celebrates its historic anniversary this April 1, marking 63 long years of romance, betrayals and other tantalizing secrets inside the fictional community of Port Charles, New York.
In its earliest inception, General Hospital focused on the lives and careers of Port Charles’ General Hospital, a bustling medical facility in upstate New York. Over time, the program began to focus more and more on the series’ various adjacent properties and businesses, including the first-rate hotel, approachable diner and shady waterfront populated by various criminal figures.
Debuting on ABC back on April 1, 1963, General Hospital was created by husband-and-wife screenwriting duo Frank and Doris Hursley, quickly becoming their most successful TV series together after their earlier work on Have Gun, Will Travel and Search for Tomorrow.
Spanning over 15,000 episodes and dozens of recognizable cast members, including John Stamos, Demi Moore, Eva Longoria, Ricky Martin, Mark Hamill and Elizabeth Taylor, among many others.
Today, General Hospital holds the record for the most Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, having won a total of 14 since the series began in the early 1960s.
In addition to being listed as one of Time magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-Time,” it also remains one of the last mainstream soap operas still in production at ABC, following the cancellation of One Life to Live and All My Children in the early 2010s.
