'General Hospital' Mainstay Is Leaving Soap After 21 Years
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'General Hospital' Mainstay Is Leaving Soap After 21 Years

General Hospital has been one of the longest-running soap operas of all time! Existing for over half a century, the show has gone through a roster of actors with beautifully convoluted backstories, character arcs, and other such soap opera tropes! Well, Kelly Monaco has had enough. Monaco has been on the show since 2003, and finally, she's making a timely exit.

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Per the Soap Opera Network, Sam McCall, Monaco's character, is destined to be killed off before the end of the year. ...Oh, did I say Monaco "had enough"? What I meant to say was "The network allegedly blindsided her!" Further, it's unknown exactly when McCall will be making her final curtain call on the show.

Ah, but the network didn't count on one thing: the internet! Fans were as blindsided as Monaco was, and they're making themselves heard. An online petition has already seen over 1,500 signatures, demanding to keep Monaco on General Hospital.

"I will never understand why GH would let Kelly Monaco go. I've always felt this soap underutilized the Sam character. Kelly Monaco is a great actress. I hope she'll move on to something truly great. Until then, perhaps Y&R can use her as Audra's little sister who's into Kyle," one X (formerly known as Twitter) user suggests.

A 'General Hospital' Star Is Leaving The Show And People Aren't Happy

"Jane Elliot has been bringing Emmy-worthy performances in every scene she's in. Hope the academy sees these next year and that she wins... Oh btw, BIG mistake letting Kelly Monaco go. You will lose viewers over this iconic character and the actress who portrayed her for 21 yrs."

Tastefully, the reactions online have been a soap opera all on their own! "[at] General Hospital writing the character of Sam off would be bad enough. Killing the character off is just cruel. Not only to Kelly, to the fans that have watched & in my case grown up with the character. It's just wrong. please fix this!"

Don't you love it when a plan backfires? Who knows, maybe ABC will buckle to the demands! ...Or they'll do what studios typically do: ignore the fans and press onward. Either way, it makes for quality entertainment!