From Llanview to Port Charles: Erika Slezak Still Has General Hospital's Chris McKenna’s Back

It’s been quite some time since General Hospital’s Chris McKenna played little Joey Buchanan from 1990 to 1993 on the now-defunct soap opera, One Life to Live. There, his mother was Viki, who was played by veteran soap star Erika Slezak. Now that she’s joining the cast of GH, fans wonder if she’ll bring Viki over to Port Charles. Whether she plays Viki or a new character, McKenna revealed his excitement at being reunited with his former castmate.

They never lost contact

McKenna had a conversation with Michael Fairman TV, and discussed Slezak’s return to daytime. He remarked that everyone knew him as Joey, even Frank Valentini, the GH executive producer who served as the OLTL executive producer from 1986 to 2012. “I’m glad, I’m finally changing some of that perception,” he remarked. He took over the part of Jack Brennan after Charles Mesure left the role, and has enjoyed “making the character my own.” He noted that he finds great satisfaction in being able to appear in scenes starring other cast members.

With regards to Slezak joining the show, McKenna explained that they have never lost contact since their OLTL days, and are actually still very close. He recalled his first day on the canceled soap where Slezak, “Pulled my mother aside, and said, ‘That kid … he’s something.’ That meant a lot to me to hear that from her.” He appreciated the support the actress gave him over the years, as well as protecting him while at work. She had lovingly told him to trust his own acting instincts and pay no mind to what the directors were telling him.

He would love to work with her again

“As soon as I got this role on GH, she reached out to me,” he remarked, illustrating the actors’ longtime friendship. “Erika Slezak means so much to me,” the General Hospital star noted. He explained that she had continued to call him her son over the years, but one day noted that he’s all grown up now. McKenna stated that he would always be Slezak’s son and fondly contemplated the possibilities, stating, “What I wouldn’t do to work with her for one day again.”

McKenna also explained how much fun he’s having playing Jack on General Hospital, and gushed that, “Laura Wright and Eden McCoy are amazing to work with, so it felt like home very quickly.” Wright plays Jack’s current love interest Carly, who’s got her own decades-long history on the show, and McCoy is her daughter Josslyn. Jack has secretly recruited her to be a spy, and it’s been highly entertaining watching that story play out.

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Now, with Slezak joining the General Hospital cast, fans have wondered who she would play. Considering GH and OLTL take place in the same shared universe, and Slezak’s Viki has a rich history, it wouldn’t make sense that she’d be playing a different character. There has been a lot of mention of Llanview and Erika Kane (Susan Lucci), both major parts of the old soap, so it seems like they’ve already been paving the way for Slezak to set foot in Port Charles.

You can watch new episodes of General Hospital on ABC and Hulu.

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