Chris Van Etten Replaces Jean Passanante As General Hospital Head Writer

It looks like Shelly Altman has a new partner! Right after Jean Passanante announced that she was leaving the show’s writing team, many General Hospital fans couldn’t help but wonder who would replace her. Well, now we’ve got the answer: Chris Van Etten will be joining the writing team as a head co-writer alongside Shelly.

In fact, Jean herself announced the news on Twitter. When asked who her replacement will be, Jean told one of her social media followers, “Shelly will have Chris Van Etten as co-head, a lifelong fan and brilliant writer.”

Chris is no stranger to the world of daytime drama television. He started his career as a Breakdown Writer and Associate Writer for several years on One Life to Live. He’s worked as a Breakdown Writer on General Hospital since 2012. He’s also received plenty of awards and nominations, including a win for Best Writing for his work on One Life to Live at the 2008 Daytime Emmy Awards.

If that weren’t enough, he’s also collaborated on several young adult novel series with his writing partners, David Ozanich and David Levithan. Some of his titles have included “Likely Story,” “All That Glitters” and “Red Carpet Riot.”

So far Chris himself hasn’t made any comments about his new position. What’s more, General Hospital producers are yet to make an official announcement about Jean Passanante’s replacement. So far Shelly Altman has been the lone head writer during this week’s General Hospital episodes. Viewers will be interested to see what changes lie ahead now that Chris will be in charge.

Tell us, what do you think of the new General Hospital writing team? Do you think Chris has what it takes to be just as good as Jean? Let us know by dropping us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below.

Also, don’t forget to check back with Celebrating the Soaps for all the latest news, updates and spoilers on General Hospital right here!