When one door closes, another one opens. Soap star Steve Burton announced he will be leaving Days of Our Lives after joining the ABC series in 2023. But his announcement coincided directly with the news that he will be returning to General Hospital later this year to reprise his role as Jason Morgan.
Burton announced his departure yesterday in a video, which was later reposted across social media.
“I just shot my final scenes here at Days of Our Lives and I just want to say thank you so much to the cast, to the crew, to Days, everybody,” he says in the clip. “It’s been amazing. I can’t believe it’s been a year already, so thank you so much to the fans. I’m always so full of gratitude, so thank you. Stay tuned.”
What he failed to mention in his announcement is that he will also be returning to General Hospital, the same series he was forced to leave in 2021 after he refused to comply with the show’s vaccine mandate, per Variety.
In a new promo titled “When One Door Closes” that was aired at the end of General Hospital‘s 60th anniversary special on Thursday (Jan. 4), Burton announced he’ll be returning to the show later this year.
“Happy anniversary, General Hospital,” he says in the promo. “Stay tuned. Big things are coming to Port Charles.”
Burton has starred in over 2,000 episodes of the series since he first joined in 1991. He won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1998 for Outstanding Supporting Actor.
Before the news of his GH return broke, Burton addressed his departure from the show in an interview with Deadline in 2022.
“Look, the circumstance [of his GH departure] was tough and you know, that’s just the way it is,” he said at the time. “I’ll always be grateful for my time there. It was my family for so long. I grew up there and the fans have always been awesome to me.”