Kelly Monaco’s Shock General Hospital Exit Has Fans Calling Out Hallmark’s Cameron Mathison

It’s not unusual for long-running shows to kill off main characters, but Kelly Monaco’s recently announced exit from “General Hospital” has shocked many fans. Although fellow actress Lindsay Hartley briefly replaced her as Sam McCall on a few occasions in the past, Monaco has played her signature character for over two decades. Sources told Soap Opera Network that Monaco was equally shocked by the surprise announcement and wasn’t part of the decision to nix McCall from the series.

Monaco has a very loyal fan base among “General Hospital” viewers, and many have come to her defense. One particularly passionate fan even started a Change.org petition to keep Monaco and her character in the series. According to the petition description: “Her departure would strip the show of its core, disorienting many longtime viewers who have followed her storylines for years.” Fans being upset by this sudden change is no surprise, but some have directed their ire at a seemingly unlikely target: former Hallmark star Cameron Mathison. For example, one fan tweeted about the injustice (in their opinion) of Mathison still being part of the series in the wake of Monaco’s exit.

It may seem strange for fans to compare Mathison and Monaco, but it appears that the issue comes down to perceived chemistry; many fans haven’t connected with Mathison’s rendition of Drew Cain, which had led some to conclude that he doesn’t deserve his spot in the series as much as Monaco.

Some fans think Cameron Mathison is a poor fit for General Hosptial

There’s plenty of praise to go around for “General Hospital” star Kelly Monaco’s longtime portrayal of Sam McCall, but many fans are singing a different tune about Cameron Mathison’s performance in the series. For example, one “General Hospital” fan didn’t pull any punches when sharing their opinion in a Reddit thread dedicated to critiquing Mathison:

Unfortunately for Mathison, unpopular, sweeping changes to his character are at least partially to blame. As Hope Campbell of SoapHub explains, the series went too far with these changes, making Cain almost unrecognizable when Mathison took over the role from Billy Miller in 2021. According to Campbell: “Recasts are part and parcel of soaps. Changing every single aspect of a character is not.” Mathison had big shoes to fill when replacing Miller, and it seems that these changes made his job more complicated. Campbell also explains that the changes have had a negative impact on the character’s dimension: ” He shows none of the brooding angst we got from Miller, and we see none of the emotional damage he should be feeling after being locked up for two years.”

Regardless of whether you love or hate Mathison’s version of Cain, it ultimately isn’t his fault that Monaco is leaving the series. Networks sometimes make decisions that are unpopular with fans to serve a larger vision for the future of a particular series, and we can only hope that ABC plans to take “General Hospital” in a positive direction from here.

The Hallmark Channel is known for its magical holiday movies, made even more magical with its stellar cast of actors and actresses, who come back each year to spread holiday cheer. While there are many reasons actors leave a network, we finally know why these Hallmark Channel stars left. From diversity issues (per USA Today) to the new holiday network in town, GAC Family (via The Wall Street Journal), many actors have left Hallmark for new opportunities.

Per The Wall Street Journal, nearly 100% of the lead actors that starred in GAC Family movies, which aired during the 2021 holiday season, had previously starred in Hallmark films. The person behind GAC Media is Bill Abbott, former president of Hallmark. He told the outlet that the network isn’t “actively going out and poaching from Hallmark,” and that he has been approached by Hallmark actors more often than not.

Here are the former Hallmark actors who’ve left and why.

Hilarie Burton was penalized for speaking out about diversity

Following her six-year stint on “One Tree Hill,” actress Hilarie Burton became one of the many faces of Hallmark, starring in several network movies since 2015, like “Surprised by Love” and “Summer Villa,” according to her IMDb page. Burton left Hallmark in 2019 after a reported disagreement about casting. After Hallmark, Burton appeared in “The Walking Dead” TV series in 2021 alongside her actor hubby, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Notably, the year before, in 2020, Hallmark released “Wedding Every Weekend,” which featured a same-sex marriage, and “The Christmas House,” starring the first same-sex couple on Hallmark.