My wife watches GH, so I've seen a scene or two. It seems like a series of interconnected short series, where each scene is a few minutes in length. If Franco's arc is sufficiently separate from the others, he could easily have shot numerous episodes worth of content in a matter of days.

For those who know how soaps work ... how do they work? Do they shoot the bits roughly in sequence, or do weeks or months of shots for a storyline at once, then take a break?

I interned at "Bold & the Beautiful" back in college and found that they shot an episode a day. There may be a little extra here and there to afford a day off but I don't have any recollection of them shooting multiple shows worth of scenes at any given time. I'm sure every show is different and the James Franco situation could have been worked out in an entirely different manner.

That's interesting, thanks. Did the actors spend most of their time waiting and rehearsing, or just show up for their scenes, or ... ?

There was definitely a lot of waiting around. The talent would show up a couple hours before their scenes began and there were quite a few breaks in between.
I brought Lorenzo Lamos his pants once...that was the highlight of my internship.

A lot of times, too, the actors are given their script pages that day. So I'm sure a lot of the downtime is spent studying their lines.

GH, and all the other dramas, shoot one show a day. To accomodate Franco's schedule, for his first arc they shot all of his scenes on three Fridays in a row. These scenes then aired in about 10 episodes over a period of two months. His subsequent appearances have been handled similarly.

James Franco returns for 'long-term' arc on 'General Hospital'
July 25, 2011, 4:26 PM EST
Mikey O'Connell
Zap2it

Port Charles is the only burg in the ABC daytime-verse not heading to the sprawling void of the Internet -- probably thanks in some small part to the love of one Oscar-nominated actor.

TVGuide reports that James Franco will return to "General Hospital" for his fourth stint as a guest since first heading to the series in fall 2009.

Franco, who plays artist and serial killer Robert "Franco" Frank, returns to the series on Sept. 20 for what is being described as a "long-term" arc.

But what does he have planned? Well, though Jason (Steve Burton) did swear to kill Franco on sight upon their next encounter, Franco cannot get enough of playing with the hit man. And Jason's upcoming nuptials to Sam (Kelly Monaco) won't likely go by unspoiled.

Also: James Franco: Don't blame me for the Oscars
Other details leaked by ABC include that Franco's return marks his "most twisted plan yet" and that it will likely involve Maxie (Kirsten Storms) and Carly (Laura Wright).

Crap. I was hoping this stupid story would disappear along with Guza.