Back in August, we reported that Kelly Monaco was shockingly fired from General Hospital after playing Samantha (Sam) McCall on the iconic soap opera for 21 years. Now, fans are getting their first look at her final episodes.
Monaco’s Final General Hospital Episodes
This week on General Hospital, Sam will be undergoing surgery to donate part of her liver to Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins), the ex-wife of her boyfriend Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna). If Sam survives this surgery, however, she won’t be sticking around on the iconic soap opera for long.
Photos from the upcoming episodes show Sam spending time with her mother Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and daughter Scout (Cosette Abinante) before she goes in for surgery. Sam looks to be emotional as she sits in the hospital with her mother and daughter.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that the villainous Cyrus (Jeff Kober) is going to inject digitalis into Sam’s IV. Indeed, this would kill Sam, removing Monaco’s character from the show.
Related: Kelly Monaco ‘Blindsided’ After She’s Fired From ‘General Hospital’ After 21 Years On The Soap Opera
Monaco ‘Blindsided’ By Her Firing
Fans were stunned back in August when it was announced that Monaco, 48, would be leaving General Hospital because ABC executives killed off her character. Sources said at the time that Monaco was “blindsided” by her firing. Since joining General Hospital back in 2003, Monaco has shot over 2,200 episodes of the show.
No reason has been given as to why Monaco was fired. Some fans speculated that she had refused to take a cut in pay or guaranteed number of episodes that was being implemented by parent company Disney across all soap operas. Earlier this month, however, Monaco spoke out to shut these rumors down.
“I took the cut,” she told the Soap Opera Network.
Monaco also took to Instagram to link her exit to that of the late Billy Miller as Drew Cain in 2019. After he “was fired,” according to Monaco, “Sam’s storyline stopped. Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had. Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience.”
Monaco then hinted at ulterior motives behind the scenes!
“Call it what you will… retaliation at it[s] finest,” she continued. “I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”
Monaco Films Final General Hospital Scenes
Two weeks ago, Monaco took to Instagram to share a solemn post about saying goodbye to the soap opera that she’s worked on for decades.
“Last scene with the Davis girls,” she wrote alongside a photo with her character’s half sisters: Kristina Davis and Molly Lansling-Davis (played by Kate Mansi and Kristen Veragos, respectively) as well as her TV mom, Alexis Davis.
“Still doesn’t make any sense to me,” she added.
Monaco has been nominated for one Daytime Emmy for playing Sam, earning this distinction back in 2006. She is also known for winning the very first season of Dancing With The Stars in 2005. Monaco later returned to the ABC reality dance competition for the “All-Star” season in 2012. She and her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, ended up coming in third place.
Fans of General Hospital are just as perplexed by Monaco’s filing as she is. Indeed, a petition demanding that Monaco be kept on General Hospital has garnered over 17,000 signatures at the time of this writing. Only time will tell if executives made the right decision in letting her go.
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