Kimberly McCullough Unless you've been locked in a closet by your evil twin sister for the past few months, then you've heard that General Hospital is trying its hand at nighttime television. On July 12 at 11 p.m., SOAPnet will be airing 13original episodes of General Hospital: Night Shift, which will follow the lives and loves of the hospital's after-hours personnel.
Many fan favourites will be participating in the project, such as Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio), Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake), Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones), Julie Marie Berman (Lulu Spencer), Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), Natalia Livingston (Emily Quartermaine), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Spencer), Kent King (Lainey Winters), Jason Gerhardt (Coop Barrett), Josh Duhon (Logan Hayes) and many more. A new face to GH, but not to the audience, will be the addition of veteran actor Billy Dee Williams.
The actors are more than excited about the new project, and Kimberly McCullough is not an exception. Kimberly has played Robin Scorpio since 1985, and has remained a fan favourite since.
Something new
When she was first told about Night Shift, Kimberly says, "I didn't really know what it was going to be, but I was excited to be doing something new."
The actors had to pull extra duty for a few weeks to bring us these nighttime tales. As Kimberly told me: "Normally we shoot Monday through Thursday, and in the summer we have our Fridays off. So we've been shooting Night Shift on Fridays."
The new schedule took some time getting used to. "The first day of shooting was crazy! I got there at 6:30 a.m. and didn't get out of there until 4:00 the next morning. Everything is so new, and people are trying to figure stuff out."
Kimberly is excited about the difference between the daytime and nighttime versions of GH. She explains: "The biggest difference is the writing. The story moves a lot quicker, and it's not so sentimental. I mean, no one cried in the first episode. I get fed up with all the drama, drama, drama all the time. It's liberating to do something different. Maybe even add in some comedy."
New venture
The folks at GH are hoping to reel in some new viewers with this new venture, and you don't have to be a longtime GH fan to get into the story. "It does help to watch GH and to know the characters and what's going on, but the stories completely stand on their own. (Once the Night Shift shooting) is finished, we might bring some of the story lines to the daytime version on GH."
Kimberly's character, Robin, has been living with HIV for many years now, and she shows that it is possible to maintain a healthy, normal life while living with the disease. Her character is inspiring to many people. But Kimberly wants to make one thing clear: "Kimberly McCullough is not a role model; Robin Scorpio is a role model."
One thing that has remained constant for Kimberly and her many years on GH is that "the writing has always been really good, and the acting follows suit, with realistic dialogue. I would like to think that our show is on the realistic side. Some soaps are a bit more on the fantasy side, like Passions and Days of Our Lives - not that one is better than the other. I just think that it's tough on a day-to-day basis to write an hour-long soap that is entertaining, good and juicy for 45 years now."
Kimberly adds, "At GH, we are reaching for excellence when there isn't time for it."
- Cindy Elavsky
