BY DANA JACKSON
Q:I recently started watching “General Hospital” again. What happened to Jax? He was my favorite character. -- K.A.
A:Actor Ingo Rademacher, who played Jax on and off since 1996, was fired by ABC in 2021 for refusing to adhere to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. His character bid goodbye to Port Charles to conduct business in Sydney and hasn’t been seen since. Rademacher recently posted on Instagram about his mental health struggles since being fired. So far, no one from “General Hospital” or ABC has asked him to return, but that might be due to the fact that he attempted to sue ABC over its mandate. A Los Angeles judge ended up ruling in favor of ABC.
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Is the original “Law & Order” series returning anytime soon? I’ve always liked it more than the spin-offs, but I miss the original cast. -- K.J.
Q:A: “Law & Order” debuted on NBC in the fall of 1990 and lasted a whopping 20 seasons. The late Jerry Orbach is probably the most fondly remembered actor from the show, but he didn’t debut as Detective Lennie Briscoe until the third season. The first season featured Chris Noth, Steven Hill and Michael Moriarty, but these core actors eventually departed the show. It endured two decades with a changing cast, but always had creator Dick Wolf’s input and that signature “dun dun” theme song in the background.
“Law & Order” returned in 2022 after an 11-year hiatus with former cast members Sam Waterston and Anthony Anderson. Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”), Hugh Dancy (“Hannibal”) and Camryn Manheim (“The Practice”) rounded out the solid cast, but the revolving door kept swinging. Anderson departed after one season, and Mehcad Brooks (“Supergirl”) joined in his place.
“Law & Order” will return with 13 new episodes sometime in 2024, but Donovan won’t be on the set. According to Entertainment Weekly, he has exited due to “creative reasons,” and casting is on the hunt for his replacement. Be sure to visit NBC.com/lawand-order for more updates about the show as it gets closer to its season 23 premiere.
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