General Hospital Takes a Holiday: Why There’s No New Episode Tonight, December 25
General Hospital fans expecting fresh drama tonight will find a holiday detour instead, as ABC benches a new episode on December 25 to make room for seasonal programming.
If you flip on ABC today expecting a fresh 'General Hospital,' heads up: you are not getting one. Christmas messes with daytime TV every year, and Port Charles is taking the day off too.
Is 'General Hospital' new on December 25?
Nope. ABC is not airing a brand-new episode on December 25. The soap is on a quick Christmas break. This is part of ABC's annual holiday scheduling and has nothing to do with production issues or delays in the story.
Why the pause?
- On major holidays like Christmas, networks switch up daytime lineups for seasonal programming, special broadcasts, or reruns.
- Fewer people are watching live TV during the holiday thanks to travel and family plans, so networks avoid premiering new episodes.
- They do not want big plot beats getting lost on a low-viewership day or breaking the flow of ongoing storylines.
What does it mean for the story?
All those cliffhangers and twists are simply on hold for a day. The show has a lot of moving pieces right now, with nearly every character's future up in the air, and the plan is to drop the big developments when most viewers are actually around to see them.
When are new episodes back, and where can you watch?
Regular scheduling picks up after the holiday. Check your local listings for ABC's daytime schedule. You can watch 'General Hospital' on ABC and stream episodes on Hulu.