Soap star Kelly Monaco will be exiting "General Hospital" after more than two decades on the ABC show, according to Variety.
Monaco joined the cast of "General Hospital" in 2003 as Sam McCall. She is set to make her last appearance in Port Charles, New York, this fall as part of the storyline.
Prior to joining the show, Monaco rose to prominence for her portrayal of Livvie Locke in the spinoff series "Port Charles" from 2000 to 2003. In "General Hospital," her character is a con artist trying to turn her family's fortune around. McCall’s backstory reveals her as the biological daughter of mobster Julian Jerome (William deVry) and lawyer Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), as well as the illegally adopted daughter of Cody McCall (Stanley Kamel) and Evelyn Bass.
Monaco has appeared in over 2,200 episodes of "General Hospital." The role earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006.
In August 2020, Lindsay Hartley temporarily took over the role of Sam McCall, and Hartley returned to the character in February 2020. She also made appearances in January and earlier this month.
Tragedy has plagued the show, with several key stars having died. Most recently, Johnny Wactor, known for his role as Brando Corbin from 2020-22, died May 25 at age 37 in Los Angeles after being shot during a suspected robbery. Recently it emerged that two suspects were charged with murder in his killing.
Earlier this month, police arrested four suspects identified as Robert Barceleau, 18; Sergio Estrada, 18; Leonel Gutierrez, 18; and Frank Olano, 22, according to The Guardian. Their charges were revealed last week.
Barceleau and Estrada were both charged with murder as well as grand theft and attempted robbery. Gutierrez was charged with grand theft and attempted robbery, and Olano was charged with being an accessory after the fact.