General Hospital Scenes That Are Eerily Similar To Grey's Anatomy
There's no question that "General Hospital" and "Grey's Anatomy" have a lot of similarities — both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. First, both are ABC hospital shows. One airs during the day, five days a week, and all year long, while the other airs on primetime once a week for about six months out of the year. They also film in studios right next to one another.
In fact, when "Grey's" star Ellen Pompeo came under fire for having an altercation with guest director Denzel Washington in 2015, "General Hospital" star Nancy Lee Grahn offered her own first-hand knowledge about Pompeo from working in such close proximity. "#GH films right next door to Grey's," Grahn tweeted. "I'm witness to #EllenPompeo being gracious, kind, fair, fierce & a take no s*** boss woman. My kinda gal." But there's more to the relationship between "General Hospital" and "Grey's Anatomy" than just where they film. There are also strangely close plotlines and even cross-over guest appearances that make the two shows seem eerily similar at times.
Chandra Wilson visits Port Charles -- three times
Portraying Miranda Bailey on "Grey's Anatomy" since the show premiered in 2005, Chandra Wilson plays a take-no-prisoners doctor. But Bailey isn't a unique character. Wilson has worked on the other set at ABC's Prospect Studios, portraying similar roles. In 2014, Wilson made her first guest appearance on "General Hospital" as a patient of Dr. Kevin Collins, Tina Estrada, who had that Bailey attitude, according to TV Insider.
Then, in 2018, Wilson returned to "General Hospital" to play a hard-nosed family therapist trying to solve problems between Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner), Jordan Ashford (Vinessa Antoine), and Stella Henry (Vernee Watson). But Wilson wasn't done. In 2019, she made yet another Port Charles appearance as Sydney Val Jean, the flamboyant East Coast editor of the fictional Crimson magazine, according to People. Wilson joined Michelle Stafford's Nina Reeves on the red carpet at the soap's annual Nurses Ball.
Hospital affairs abound on both General Hospital and Grey's Anatomy
The scenes and plotlines on both shows can sometimes make you feel like you're watching the same drama at night as you do during the day. "Grey's Anatomy" began with Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) sleeping together before they ever found out they would be working together. But being co-workers didn't stop them from entering into a relationship. In the decade-and-a-half since Meredith got together with McSteamy, we have witnessed affairs and marriages between April (Sarah Drew) and Jackson (Jesse Williams), Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and Alex (Justin Chambers), and Callie (Sarah Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw), as per Screen Rant. We have seen steamy locker room shower scenes as well as stolen moments in utility closets and break rooms.
"General Hospital" has equally entangled co-workers. Dr. Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) and nurse Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) have shared some stolen kisses of late (via Soap Hub). Then at one point, Dr. Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) and Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson), a couple known to fans as 'Scrubs,' steamed up areas of Port Charles nobody would think of (via Soaps In Depth). And back in the 1980s, Drake's father, Dr. Noah Drake (Rick Springfield), could have been considered ABC's original McSteamy-type character (via IMDb).
Patients gone wild and weird medical emergencies bond Grey's Anatomy and General Hospital
The doctors on both "General Hospital" and "Grey's Anatomy" have certainly had their fair share of weird medical cases. While the physicians at "General Hospital" never had to encounter people who became attached via a pole after a train wreck like the docs at Grey-Sloane Memorial (via Entertainment Weekly), they did have to deal with a serial killer who committed his crimes thanks to a brain tumor. That was the original Franco Baldwin, played by James Franco. A few years later, Franco Baldwin had to have brain surgery again when the memories that belonged to Drew Cain had to be erased from his noggin.
Dr. Hamilton Finn has also dealt with some odd cases. From the worms in Tracy Quartermaine's to a poison that left his brother, Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard), almost dead and then paralyzed, the infectious disease doc has seen it all (via Soaps). The two shows have also had dangerous patients, as well. In 2021, "Grey's Anatomy" re-aired its famous 2006 episode when Meredith had to dislodge a bomb from a patient's abdomen (via E! Online). While "General Hospital" didn't go that far in 2021, it did feature a drunk Alexis Davis taking a syringe and plunging it right into Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) when she thought he was going to hurt her daughter, Sam (Kelly Monaco) (via Soap Hub).