General Hospital set to kill off Sam McCall: Kelly Monaco ‘blindsided’ by decision

Port Charles is about to say goodbye to one of its longtime residents… and this breakup is not exactly an amicable one. 

As first reported by Soap Opera Network, Kelly Monaco’s time playing Sam McCall on ABC’s daytime drama is about to come to a shocking end. Monaco’s character is set to be killed off the long-running series sometime this fall and this is apparently not going to be a fake-out death that is undone within a few weeks time. No, this one is going to stick and with it will come the end of Monaco’s 21 years on the show. 

ABC has yet to comment on the decision, but TVLine has confirmed Monaco will indeed depart the series later this year and it does not sound like the departure is an amicable one. In fact, it seems that Monaco was completely “blindsided” by the decision as Soap Opera Network indicates this exit was not Monaco’s decision and was one made by the show’s writers that Monaco did not see coming. 

Kelly Monaco joined General Hospital in 2003

The decision to write off Sam is a shocking one as the character has been a mainstay on General Hospital since her debut on the show back in 2003. 

When we first met Sam, she was introduced as a con artist who went on to become one of the show’s most beloved and central characters. Her relationship with Jason Morgan remains one of the show’s most iconic and beloved romantic pairings on the series, even though the pair did not end up together in the end. Most recently, she’s been involved with Dante Falconeri. 

Like with most soaps, Sam’s family tree might have started small but as the years went by the show worked to give her strong family connections to the Port Charles community. Three years after her debut, it was revealed that Sam was the long-lost daughter of attorney Alexis Davis, giving her two half-sisters in Kristina Davis-Corinthos and Molly Lansing. In 2013, it was revealed that mob boss Julian Jerome was her biological father, a move that made Lucas Jones and Leo Quartermaine her half-brothers, and Ava Jerome her aunt. 

She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2006 Daytime Emmys, and her role on the show landed her a place in the cast of the inaugural season of Dancing with the Stars which she went on to win. 

With 21 years on the show, Monaco has appeared in over 2,200 episodes of the series making her one of the show’s most veteran performers which is why her sudden exit is so shocking. 

An exact airdate for Monaco’s final episode has not yet been revealed, but it’s said to be coming this fall.