Beloved Hallmark Star Makes Surprising Jump to 'General Hospital'
A fan favorite Hallmark star is adding a new project to his plate, and it's a somewhat surprising one. Jonathan Bennett, who has led numerous Hallmark projects such as Finding Mr. Christmas and The Groomsmen trilogy, is joining General Hospital.
On April 16, Deadline revealed that Bennett was joining General Hospital. He will play a character named Joe Fitzpatrick, although little is known about who Fitzpatrick is.
Bennett's first scenes on General Hospital will air in May.
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini shared in a statement, "We're so excited to have Jonathan joining our cast. He's a tremendous talent and will be a fantastic addition to GH."
This is hardly Bennett's first project outside of Hallmark in recent years. Long before Hallmark, he played the iconic Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, which also starred Hallmark's Lacey Chabert. He also has been on soaps before, playing JR Chandler on All My Children years ago.
As Hallmark fans know, Bennett is not the first to do double duty with roles on soaps and the feel-good network at the same time. For example, Alison Sweeney has popped up in her on-and-off role of Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives while starring in numerous Hallmark movies.
In addition, Cameron Mathison, who used to appear regularly on the Hallmark Channel, has been playing Drew Cain on General Hospital for several years. Ryan Paevey is following a similar path, recently rejoining the soap. Both Mathison and Paevey are working with Great American Family for movie projects these days rather than Hallmark, however.
After Deadline announced Bennett's General Hospital gig, the actor shared it via his Instagram page, as well. His Hallmark colleagues and fans went wild over the news.
Chabert gushed, "Congratulations!!"
Sarah Drewadded, "Sooo excited for you!!!!!"
Janel Parrishcommented, "Yessss congrats baby."
Tyler Hynes, one of Bennett's Groomsmen co-stars and his good friend, commented with a crown emoji. BJ Britt, the third of the Three Groomsmen stars, wrote, "Oooooh yeah!!!!! I'm already in front of the TV waiting patiently!!!"
One person commented, "This is fantastic! You keep striving checking off all your goals and then some!"
Details regarding Bennett's character and how long he'll be sticking around Port Charles on General Hospital should emerge soon. Luckily for Hallmark fans, it doesn't appear there are any signs he's leaving the network. For now, everybody will have to stay tuned.
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 1:43 PM.