and Hope Campbell
It's been a long time since General Hospital's writing team has been recognized with a Daytime Emmy trophy. The ABC soap has picked up oodles of directing honors -- as you'll read below -- and it's racked up a series of wins for Drama Series, but its Outstanding Writing Team drought had lasted 15 years until this year.
Accepting the win was Dan O'Connor, credited as co-head writer with Chris Van Etten for the episodes that were submitted for consideration.
"Thank you to NATAS. This is GH's first writing win in 15 years," O'Connor remarked. "This honor is a testament to the hard work and creativity of our team. And we have to thank Frank and all the producers, the directors, the cast and crew, and artists who make the impossible possible 260 times a year -- but most of all to the fans. Because two million of you tuned in every day, we were able to tell stories about everybody in Port Charles, and we are so lucky to be a part of your lives. Thank you."
The win capped a turbulent year in the GH writers' room. Earlier this year, General Hospital removed O'Connor and Van Etten from their positions as co-head writers. In March, breakdown writer Shannon Peace was dropped from the show. Last month, it was revealed that Van Etten was still a part of the show's writing team.
In a post on Facebook, GH script writer Scott Sickles borrowed a legendary Emmys phrase to describe how it felt for him to finally win after twelve nominations. "The streak is over!" Sickles wrote, using the phrase Shemar Moore exclaimed the year that All My Children star Susan Lucci finally won a Daytime Emmy.
In case you are wondering what propelled GH to its win back in 2009, the episode selected for Emmy consideration involved the shooting and near death of young Michael Corinthos.
The full list of GH's winning writing team included:
Head Writers
Dan O'Connor, Chris Van Etten
Writer
Elizabeth Korte
Breakdown Writers
Ashley D. Cook, Emily Culliton, Suzanne Flynn, Lucky Gold, Shannon Peace
Script Writers
Charlotte Gibson, Kate Hall, Stacey Pulwer, Dave Rupel, Lisa Seidman, Scott Sickles
General Hospital and The Young and the Restless have combined for more than half of the total wins in the directing category. And when they've won, they've won. Y&R has won four consecutive times twice -- a feat that seemed unbreakable. But, as they say, records are meant to be broken.
General Hospital's directing team scored its record-breaking fifth consecutive Emmy win in the category this year. It was the show's 15th win in the category.
Accepting for GH was director Robert Markham.
"We want to send our thoughts and prayers to Johnny Wactor's family and friends," Markham said upon taking the stage. "We were blessed to have known him."
Wactor, who played Brando Corbin on the ABC soap, was murdered last month in Los Angeles after happening upon someone trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car.
Markham also thanked "ABC/Disney for the continued support. To our writers for the beautiful stories. To our talented cast for bringing those stories to life. To our hard-working crew, we are amazed daily by your dedication, talent, and skill and especially to our producers and [executive producer] Frank Valentini for always leading, inspiring, and pushing us to our best every day. We would not be here without you."
The GH director also gave a shout-out to the "fans who have loved Port Charles for 60-plus years."
The full list of winners for GH this year included:
Directors
Tina Keller, Robert Markham, Allison Reames Smith, Gary Tomlin, Frank Valentini, Denise Van Cleave, Phideaux Xavier
Associate Directors
Teresa Cicala, Jillian Dedote, Peter Fillmore, Paul Glass, Marika Kushel, Dave MacLeod, Christine Magarian Ucar
Stage Managers
Kyle Bell, Craig McManus
Production Associates
Nate Hapke, Kelli Kuschman
