‘General Hospital’: Jason Morgan Return Was ‘Whole Different Story’ at First, Steve Burton Says
The Doctor Is In
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Jason Morgan returned to General Hospital on Monday, March 4, but Steve Burton says what fans saw onscreen wasn’t the original plan for his reprise.
Burton first played Jason in GH from 1991 to 2012, then again from 2017 to 2021. He was fired from the series for noncompliance with COVID-19 vaccine mandate on set, but he’s officially back as of March 4, 2024. The episode featured a bloody return for the beloved character, but Burton has revealed that there was a different story before a writers’ room change took place. Burton says it was an exciting change to the creative team behind the hit soap opera.
“There was a head writer switch. So apparently there was a whole different story planned and then the head writer switch happened and then they kind of rebooted [the story],” Burton told Soap Opera Digest, referring to Elizabeth Korte’s promotion to co-head writer alongside newcomer Patrick Mulcahey. Burton said he didn’t know much about his character’s arc leading up to his comeback, but noted that the plot was in good hands with this new team (Korte has long been a member of the GH writing staff).
“There’s no one in the building that loves that show, knows the history of the character, and is invested in it 100 percent than Elizabeth,” he said. “There has never been a more deserved promotion, ever.”
Once Burton knew Korte was helping lead the charge on his comeback, he couldn’t wait to hit the ground running on whatever story the team cooked up. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be good! I cannot wait.’ And it has been exactly that. Everything has been amazing.”
Burton found himself in conversation with an avid GH fan after learning the plot of his return, which was a fun experience for the actor.
“I love how invested people are in this,” he told Digest. “I happened to talk to a fan and she was like, ‘So, this is what it is. You’re doing this, then this happens.’ I go, ‘Hey, guess what? None of that is right! So, watch March 4!’”
What did you think of Jason’s return? Let us know in the comments below.
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