A seismic change is imminent in Port Charles: Kelly Monaco, who plays Sam McCall, is leaving General hospital.

Deadline has confirmed that Monaco, who first joined the ABC soap opera in 2003, will leave sometime this fall. Monaco has produced more than 2,200 episodes of GH and was nominated twice for a Daytime Emmy for her work. She won the Mirrorball trophy in the first season of Dancing with the stars.

Soap Opera Network was the first network to report the news from Monaco.

Monaco’s surprise departure reflects the events of Rich and beautiful Earlier this year, when executive producer Brad Bell decided to have Sheila Carter, played by the popular Kimberlin Brown, die. Brown told Deadline it was a “huge blow” – especially since the decision to include her in the movie wasn’t made until two months later. back.

There is certainly a change underway at GHEarlier this month, it was announced that co-head writer Patrick Mulcahey was leaving the show, while Chris Van Etten was returning to lead the writing team alongside Elizabeth Korte.

Last week, Deadline announced that Sawandi Wilson (Star Trek: Discovery) will take on the role of Isaiah in the soap opera, who is so far only described as having a “connection” to Jonathan Jackson’s Lucky.

Wilson’s first broadcast date as GH Castmember is on August 26th.