ABC Daytime Wiki
Advertisement

Port Charles is a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. The new show featured longtime General Hospital characters Lucy Coe, Kevin Collins, Scott Baldwin and Karen Wexler, along with several new characters, most of whom were interns in a competitive medical school program. In the first episode, tenured nurse Audrey Hardy (General Hospital's longest-running character, portrayed by Rachel Ames) was injured and an intern had to operate on her with a power drill to save her life.

In the first few years, Port Charles got a reputation for focusing most of its energies on the medical school program, setting more of its main action at Port Charles's General Hospital than was seen on the parent show, General Hospital. As it evolved, it turned its focus to stories with gothic intrigue that included themes such as forbidden love, vampires, and life after death. It also abandoned the basic open-ended writing style used on all other daytime dramas in December 2000, instead creating thirteen-week story arcs (which were also referred to as "books"). This type of storytelling is a staple of latin telenovelas. It also allowed the cast, crew, and writing staff to only work six months out of the year.

Port Charles never attracted strong ratings. Since it taped for only six months out of the year, the remaining episodes were aired with the cast not allowed to return to tape resolutions to storylines. This left the final episode as a cliffhanger; Caleb told Olivia that Alison (Erin Hershey Presley) was pregnant with his baby because of the wish that she (Olivia) made on his ring and it was revealed that Imani was a werewolf.

After Port Charles, the characters of Scott Baldwin and Audrey Hardy returned to General Hospital, and many of the other actors from Port Charles moved on to play roles on other dramas, including a few who took on new roles in General Hospital, such as actors Kelly Monaco, Kiko Ellsworth, Eddie Matos, Kent King and Jay Pickett.

Story arcs[]

13 Week Arcs (“Books”)

  • Port Charles: Fate (12/04/00 – 03/02/01)
  • Port Charles: Time In A Bottle (03/05/01 – 06/01/01)
  • Port Charles: Tainted Love (06/04/01 – 08/31/01)
  • Port Charles: Tempted (09/03/01 – 11/30/01)
  • Port Charles: Miracles Happen (12/03/01 – 12/31/01)
  • Port Charles: Secrets (01/02/02 – 03/29/02)
  • Port Charles: Superstition (04/01/02 – 06/28/02)
  • Port Charles: Torn (07/01/02 – 09/27/02)
  • Port Charles: Naked Eyes (09/30/02 – 12/27/02)
  • Port Charles: Surrender (12/30/02 – 04/01/03)
  • Port Charles: Desire (04/02/03 – 07/04/03)
  • Port Charles: The Gift (07/07/03 – 10/03/03)

Cast of characters[]

Actor Role Status
Susan Brown Gail Baldwin 1997–1999, 2003 (recurring)
Peter Hansen Lee Baldwin 1997–2003 (recurring)
Lynn Herring Lucy Coe 1997–2003 (entire run)
Jon Lindstrom Kevin Collins 1997–2003 (entire run)
Kin Shriner Scott Baldwin 1997–2000, 2001
Rachel Ames Audrey Hardy 1997–2000
Jay Pickett Frank Scanlon 1997–2003 (entire run)
Nolan North Chris Ramsey 1997–2003 (entire run)
Nicholas Pryor Victor Collins 1997–2003 (recurring)
Julie Pinson Eve Lambert Collins Thornhart 1997–2002
Lisa Ann Hadley Julie Devlin 1997–2000, 2001
Mitch Longley Matt Harmon 1997–2000
Jennifer Hammon
Marie Wilson
Karen Wexler (#2)
Karen Wexler (#3)
1997–1999
1999–2003
Patricia Crowley Mary Scanlon Collins 1997–2003 (recurring)
Anastasia Horne Lark Madison-Scanlon 1997–1999 (recurring)
Michael Dietz
David Gail
Alex Mendoza
Joe Scanlon (#1)
Joe Scanlon(#2)
Joe Scanlon (#3)
1997–1999
1999–2000
2000–2001, 2002
Debbi Morgan
Marie-Alise Recasner
Ellen Burgess (#1)
Ellen Morgan Burgess (#2)
1997–1998
1998–1999
Renee Griffin Danielle Ashley 1997–1998
Rib Hillis Jake Marshak 1997–1998
Carly Schroeder Serena Baldwin 1997–2003
Sarah Aldrich Courtney Kanelos 1998–2000
Colton James Neil Kanelos 1998–2000
Kelly Monaco Olivia "Livvie" Locke Morley
Tess Ramsey
1999–2003
2002–2003
Kimberlin Brown Rachel Locke 1999–2000, 2001
Kiko Ellsworth Jamal Woods 2000–2003
Erin Hershey Presley Alison Barrington 2000–2003
Thorsten Kaye Ian Thornhart 2000–2003
Ion Overman Gabriela Garza 2000–2002
Brian Presley Jack Ramsey 2000–2003
Michael Easton Caleb Morley
Michael Morley
Stephen Clay
2001, 2002–2003
2001
2002–2003
Brian Gaskill Rafe Kovich 2001–2003
Jed Allan Ed Grant 2001–2003 (recurring)
Eddie Matos Ricky Garza 2001–2003
Joy Bisco Casey Leong
Marissa Leong
2002, 2003
2002–2003
Rebecca Staab Elizabeth Barrington 2002–2003
Dan Deublein Victor Collins 1999–2000 (recurring)
Ian Buchanan Joshua Temple 2002–2003
Shannon Sturges Kate Reynolds 2002–2003 (recurring)
George Alvarez
Eddie Velez
Alex Garcia (#1)
Alex Garcia (#2)
1997–1999
1999–2001
Matt Amshey Michael Pomerantz 1999-2000 (recurring)
Vanessa Branch Paige Barrington Smith
Rebecca Barrington
2002
1999–2001
Opal Anchel Arianna Shapour 2001 (recurring)
Sally Spaide Dr. Doreen Luccio 2002-2003 (recurring)
Laura Nevell Brenda Madison 2002-2003 (recurring)

See also[]

  • General Hospital: Night Shift - 2007/2008 General Hospital spin-off

External links[]

Template:Port Charles

Advertisement