Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: General Hospital, John Oliver

Yes, John Oliver Absolutely Needs to Return to ABC's General Hospital

We watched all three episodes of John Oliver's cameo on General Hospital, and after making sense of the story, we could use more Vitamin "Z."

After a lot of hype last week for John Oliver making a cameo appearance on General Hospital, we just had to check it out and see how he did. If you didn't already know, Oliver put out the call to all daytime soap operas that he'd like to make a cameo in the most soap opera ways possible, and two shows came calling: ABC's General Hospital and NBC/Peacock's Days of Our Lives. The first of the two appearances hit the airwaves over the past few days, as his appearance was both fun and jarring. We tend to check in on soap opera stories from time to time to see where they're at, but this time we had to sit down to see how it went and make sense of the story.

John Oliver Rocks General Hospital With The Introduction of "Z"

Okay, so… bear with us. In a show about a hospital, there's a secret agency called World Security Bureau (WSB) that operates like a global CIA. That agency recruited a woman named Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), the daughter of a long-running character, Carly Spencer (Laura Wright), who has been trying to get her out of the agency. In a recent turn of events, Josslyn helped stop a double agent and other corrupt agents under him from getting away with a project involving cold fusion (which isn't realistically possible, but let's suspend disbelief for now). She got shot in the process, and as she was fading, Oliver's character "Z" swooped in with a helicopter, shot a guy on the ground reaching for a gun, crouched over Jacks and her know, "I'm here to help."

It Was a Slap For All Time…

In the next episode, Z chats with Josslyn about what happened and discovers several rather unfortunate and uncomfortable truths about what's been going on with the WSB lately. (We'll keep it all spoiler-free in case you want to find out.) The two reach an agreement as she recovers in the hospital (yes, that hospital), which will have some very specific effects on multiple characters in the show moving forward. With that taken care of, Z drops by the local HQ to sort out the mess left behind, when he gets a visit from Carly demanding he fire her daughter from the agency. The two have a bit of a back-and-forth, eventually leading to Carly slapping the hell out of Z. After she leaves, Z makes a surprise visit to another character that ends on a cliffhanger.

We Need More Vitamin Z in Our Diet

It's only been three episodes, but honestly, we need Oliver back on the show as soon as possible. We watched a bit of Stephen A. Smith's performances as Brick on the show ahead of this for comparison, which was the catalyst for all of this. And while we get the appeal of his character popping in from time to time, Oliver's character is on another level, and it's only been three episodes. He got a lot of what he asked for, too! He got a juicy storyline, he got a ridiculous name, he got slapped, and he got more than his fair share of dramatic close-ups. Aside from having a long-lost twin and a romance doomed from the start, he basically got soap opera bingo. Which, we might add, Nancy Lee Grahn posted her own pitch for Oliver coming on General Hospital on Instagram, which would have been just as thrilling.

And that's why we need to see more of him. While all the major soaps still on the air have dedicated audiences, they're all still fighting for ratings and attention in a media landscape that has changed significantly in just the last decade. What was once a popular regimen of daily dramas flanked by game shows, talk shows, and courts for the people is now fighting against 300 cable channels of nothing but syndication and streaming media. Having people like John Oliver make an appearance to spice things up is exactly what some of these shows need to snag people's attention and get them to check out the hard work still going into producing five hours of original scripted TV per show every week. (Except for The Bold & The Beautiful, we see you with your 30-minute glimpse into the world of fashion and passion!)

We're not saying you need a celebrity every week, but these shows (and us) could use more Vitamin "Z" these days.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!