General Hospital

Set in a hospital in the city of Port Charles, New York, General Hospital originally starred John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin; both actors stayed with the show until their deaths in 1996 and 1991, respectively. They were joined a year later by Rachel Ames who made her most recent appearance in 2015. The show is taped at the Prospect Studios in Los Angeles, California. General Hospital was the second soap to air on ABC after the short-lived Road to Reality (1960–1961). In 1964, a sister soap was created for General Hospital, The Young Marrieds; it ran for two years and was canceled because of low ratings. General Hospital also spawned the daytime series Port Charles (1997–2003) and the primetime spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift (2007–2008).

In the late 1970s, storylines began to shift focus around the Spencer and Quartermaine families. From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital had more viewers than any other daytime soap opera. It rose to the top of the ratings in the early 1980s in part thanks to the monumentally popular "supercouple" Luke and Laura, whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history. The soap opera is also known for its high-profile celebrity guest stars who have included, among others, Roseanne Barr, James Franco and Elizabeth Taylor. On April 23, 2009, General Hospital began broadcasting in high-definition television, making it the first ABC soap opera to make such a transition.

General Hospital is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light. Concurrently, it is the world's third-longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. It is also the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. General Hospital became the oldest ongoing American soap opera on September 17, 2010, following the final broadcast of CBS' As the World Turns. On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live, leaving General Hospital as the last remaining soap opera airing on the network after January 13, 2012. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013, and its 16,000th episode on July 13, 2026. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins. In 2007, the show was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".