There has been no official statement from General Hospital, but it now seems that Emmy winner Nicholas Alexander Chavez's (Spencer Cassadine) temporary exit from the ABC soap will be permanent.
Chavez made his last GH appearance on January 31, 2024, when Esme injected Spencer with a drug and he and Esme both fell overboard to their alleged death. The storyline twist was developed so that Chavez could have time off to star in the second season of Ryan Murphy's Netflix anthology series Monster. The second season of Monster, officially titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story, tells the story of the infamous Beverly Hills brothers who were convicted in 1996 for shooting and killing their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez. Chavez will be portraying Lyle Menéndez.
Show sources hinted to Soap Central that there had been an interest on both sides to having Chavez return, and negotiations were ongoing to reach an agreement. However, citing "multiple sources," TVLine reports that the plans for Chavez to return have been scrapped. The TVLine report did not elaborate on the reasons why Chavez would not be returning.
If true, the news isn't entirely unexpected, as fans noted back in March that Chavez's name was removed from the show's credits. Around the same time, Chavez unfollowed all but three accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter: Ryan Murphy Productions, Netflix, and GH executive producer Frank Valentini.
Chavez assumed the role of Spencer Cassadine in 2021. In an interview with Soap Central the following year, Chavez spoke highly of his time on General Hospital. "It's certainly been a whirlwind! The show did me a lot of favors by trusting me to play a legacy character from a legacy family, and I think the fan base was pretty eager to see what a new take on the role would look like. I'm very, very thankful to the fans for being open to my interpretation, and I'm thankful and so grateful for the love and support that I receive on a daily basis from the fans of this incredible show," he said at the time.
The actor quickly became part of one of daytime's most popular couples: Sprina, the smooshed name of Spencer and Trina Robinson. In fact, the pair was popular even before they became an actual couple.
In 2022, Chavez won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Performer. In 2023, Chavez received a nomination for Supporting Actor.
A GH spokesperson declined to comment on Chavez's status with the show. It is unclear if the show will opt to recast the role at this time.
UPDATE (May 3, 2024): Nicholas Alexander Chavez has broken his silence about his future at General Hospital. You can read his statement here.
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