'General Hospital' Star Set for Hiatus From ABC Soap Opera

A beloved character is leaving Port Charles. Nicholas Chavez, who has portrayed Spencer Cassadine on General Hospital since 2021, is taking a hiatus from the long-running ABC soap opera, with his final episode set to air later this month. TVLine reported Friday that Chavez's final episode before he temporarily steps away from the show will air Wednesday, Jan. 31. It is unclear how his character will be written off or when Chavez is set to return.

Chavez has been a General Hospital staple since 2021, taking on the role of Spencer Cassadine, the son of Prince Nikolas Cassadine and his late mistress/fiancée, Courtney Matthews. The character was previously played by Caden & Nicholas Laughlin (2006), Nathan and Spencer Casamassima (2006-2007), Lance Doven (2008), Rami Yousef (2009), Davin Ransom (2009-2011), and Nicolas Bechtel (2013-2020). Currently on the show, Spencer is involved in a romance with Trina (Tabyana Ali), who is set to head to Paris for a semester. Michael Fairman theorized that Spencer may follow Trina to Paris, though Ali is not set to take a leave of absence from the show and will continue on General Hospital while Chavez is off the series. It's possible that the character could be recast during Chavez's absence, though that hasn't been confirmed.

The actor's upcoming absence from the soap was first confirmed in June when TVLine reported Chavez would be stepping away from General Hospital to join Season 2 of Ryan Murphy's Netflix anthology Monster. The upcoming season is titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story and, as reported by Deadline, is set to tell "the story of the real-life brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez. Although the siblings eventually confessed to parricide, they have long sustained that the reason for their actions was due to physical, emotional and sexual abuse." Chavez is set to portray one of the Menendez brothers, Erik and Lyle, opposite Cooper Koch. The upcoming season will also star Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as the siblings' parents, Jose and Kitty Menéndez.

Filming on Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story began last month. The season is from co-creator and co-showrunner Ian Brennan. It does not yet have a premiere date at Netflix. Chavez's final General Hospital episode is set for Jan. 30, and it is unclear when he will return to his Daytime Emmy-winning role.