The Real Reason Jon Lindstrom Is Back as Kevin on General Hospital

If you have been missing Dr. Kevin Collins lurking around Port Charles, good news: Jon Lindstrom is heading back to General Hospital. He explained why he stepped away, what changed, and how the show got him back on set without breaking his schedule.

Quick refresher on Lindstrom and Kevin

Lindstrom first showed up on GH in 1993 as Dr. Kevin Collins and has popped in and out ever since. The character has been most active when the story leans into Kevin’s twin, Ryan Chamberlain, or back in the spinoff days on Port Charles. Outside of that, Kevin’s screen time had dwindled to a couple episodes a month.

Why he left, and why he said yes now

In 2024, Lindstrom stepped away from GH to take a role on CBS’s Beyond the Gates (BTG), playing Joey Armstrong. He was upfront about the calculus: BTG gave him more to do, while Kevin was barely in rotation. On top of that, the two productions shoot about 2,000 miles apart, which made juggling both a logistical headache.

• GH’s executive producer Frank Valentini kept checking in to see if Lindstrom could swing a return, even for a quick appearance.
• Lindstrom was open to it in theory, but distance and time made it tough.
• The GH team finally pitched a workable plan: stack multiple episodes into a tight window so the trip would be worth it.
• That did the trick. He also joked that Genie Francis (Laura Collins) is probably tired of talking to Kevin as a voice on the phone.
• For Lindstrom, the return feels like coming back to see old friends, and slipping back into Kevin’s headspace was like putting on a comfortable old suit.

'What if we stack a bunch of shows up over a couple of days? Will that be worth your while to make the trip out?'

So, when is Kevin back?

Lindstrom returns to the screen in the December 2 episode. If you have been waiting for Kevin to stop being a disembodied voice and actually show up in Port Charles again, this is it.