All The Reasons Molly's Recast On General Hospital Is A Total Mess

Recasts on soap operas can be tricky, especially if the actor being replaced has occupied the role for several years. Sometimes, it's only temporary, whether the actor simply needs some time off, or has some personal issues in their real life. Tyler Christopher was fired from both "Days of Our Lives" and "General Hospital," because of his acknowledged alcohol abuse. Christopher's "GH" character, Nikolas Cassadine, was recast in 2019 with Marcus Coloma, and it took a little bit for fans to warm up to him. 

Then, the show abruptly recast the part again with Adam Huss in 2022, when Coloma's three-year contract was up, even though he would have preferred to stay on. Needless to say, fans were in an uproar. The same goes for Haley Pullos who began playing Molly Lansing-Davis on "GH" in 2009 but was replaced when she was arrested on DUI charges after a scary accident on April 29, 2023. Pullos wasn't fired, and the part was temporarily recast with Holiday Mia Kriegel. 

Sure, she's a full head taller than Pullos, but that didn't matter because she sounded, acted, and even somewhat resembled Pullos' Molly. And besides, fans knew it was only temporary, and they were willing to give her a shot. However, in another inexplicable move, "GH" abruptly replaced Molly yet again with Brooke Anne Smith in July 2023. Similar to Coloma's situation, no official reason has been given for this change in actor, and "GH" keeps mishandling things.

Considering that Haley Pullos' recast is temporary, the first mistake "General Hospital" made was starting up a brand new, major storyline for Molly. She and T.J. Ashford (Taj Bellow) wanted to have a child, but those hopes disappeared when she learned that her eggs weren't viable. Had Pullos been working as usual, this would have been a juicy plot for her to dive into, but now she can't take part. While the actor has not yet made any public statements about missing out on this story, it's reminiscent of "GH" alum Vinessa Antoine, who recently reflected on the years she played police commissioner Jordan Ashford. 

When Antoine tried to take some time off from the show to work on another project, she was permanently recast without any explanation and missed out on her character marrying Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner). Fans suffered a double whammy with this current Molly storyline because star Lexi Ainsworth chose to leave the part of Molly's sister, Kristina Davis, and was recast with "Days of Our Lives" alum Kate Mansi. 

Kristina is super busy at the moment too, trying to start up a homeless shelter. She also wants to be a surrogate for Molly, but Molly feels like Kristina is making the pregnancy issue all about herself. It's very offputting to see two recasts, in such quick succession, embroiled in a major storyline, especially knowing that Pullos will eventually return. They should have just put Molly on the back burner until she came back. 

On the hit '60s sitcom "Bewitched," Dick York, who played Darrin Stevens from 1964 until 1969, couldn't work anymore due to seizures and was famously recast with Dick Sargent. While fans still think of York as the only true Darrin, their resemblance was extremely close. But "GH" raised the ire of viewers by recasting the 25-year-old Molly character with 39-year-old actor Brooke Anne Smith, who clearly looks older than Kate Mansi's Kristina — Molly's older sister. Smith's acting is top-notch, especially abruptly jumping into a major storyline, but that's not the issue here. 

The show wasn't paying attention to important character details and had a good thing going with Holiday Mia Kriegel, who was instantly believable as Molly. Fans have been fighting on social media over Smith's age but many defended her casting, including her brother, Scott Smith, who posted on Facebook, "The only reason age is an 'issue' is because it's known. She looks extremely young in real life it's quite freaky actually. Routinely gets carded almost every time. On the show 'Awkward' she played [a] 16-year-old high school student at 30!" 

He also claimed that Smith was a "permanent recast" for Molly, although ABC hasn't officially commented on that at the time of writing. One defender posted on Twitter, "Give her a freaking chance before y'all start going after her because she's 'too old' to play Molly." As a result, "GH" is causing fans to fight even more than they already do.