General Hospital premiered on ABC daytime television in 1963. The show was based around a group of doctors and nurses at a hospital in Port Charles, a small harbor town in upstate New York. The show originally focused on main characters such as Doctor Steve Hardy, Audrey Harty and Jessie Brewer. Over the course of the show's run, hundreds of characters have been introduced along with several prominant families. The show's signature families include the Spencers, Quartermaines, Cassadines, Webbers and Hardy's.
Contributing to the popularity of General Hospital is the compelling stories and characters. Several actors have won fans over with their roles on GH, including Richard Dean Anderson, John Stamos, Demi Moore, Janine Turner, Rick Springfield, Ricky Martin and Elizabeth Taylor. By far the most popular characters are Luke and Laura, played to this day by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis. Millions of viewers tuned in to their 1981 wedding, making it one of the largest television moments in history and certainly the largest in daytime.
Success of the show continues into 2002, and this time the General Hospital family is growing. In 1997, ABC daytime launched a spin-off of the popular soap, titled Port Charles. The new half-hour serial followed a group of young medical interns at the hospital, as well as many veterans and familiar faces. Some of General Hospital's popular characters including Lucy and Kevin jumped over to the sister show. This has led to wonderful crossovers between the two soaps as storylines and characters go back and forth.
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