'General Hospital' Loses Another Major Star: Nicholas Alexander Chavez Exits

Another bites the dust at General Hospital. After taking a hiatus from the long-running soap opera to film Ryan Murphy's Monsters on Netflix, Nicholas Alexander Chavez has officially exited, sources tell TVLine. Chavez joined General Hospital in 2021 as Spencer Cassadine and won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series the following year.

While it seemed like Chavez was still planning on coming back to soap after wrapping Season 2 of Monster, things took a turn for the worse when Spencer presumably died after being injected with a drug and falling into a river. Viewers also noted that Chavez's name was no longer included in the closing credits. While characters have been known to return from the dead before, or actors playing a different character altogether on GH, it doesn't seem like that's in the cards for Chavez, at least not right now.

Chavez is the latest actor on the soap to leave, as Roger Howarth was fired after 11 years last November. Meanwhile, there have been numerous temporary casting replacements this season, but luckily it usually hasn't lasted long. Of course, with a show airing as long as General Hospital, rotating cast members isn't unusual, but it is still hard when it happens. Hopefully, the door is still open for his return in the future, as Spencer is only presumed to be dead, and it's not entirely official.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Alexander Chavez was cast as Lyle Menendez for Monster Season 2, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story in June. Following the controversial success of Season 1's Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Monsters will tell the story of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in Beverly Hills in 1989. They/Them star Cooper Koch will portray Erik. As of now, a premiere date has yet to be announced.

It's a disappointment that Chavez will no longer be on General Hospital, but fingers crossed he makes a return to Port Charles in the future. General Hospital is truly unpredictable even after 60 years, so who knows what will happen next. However, with him no longer on the soap, maybe fans will be able to look forward to many more projects from him aside from Monsters. Whatever he has planned will be worth the wait, as you never know what the future will bring.