Plans to spin off General Hospital were announced in December 1996. ABC had previously passed on the idea of a GH spin off proposed by former head Writer, Claire Labine. Tentatively titled GH2, the series was set to revolve around interns at the medical school across from General Hospital. Wendy Riche, executive Producer of General Hospital, was hired to fill the same role for the new series. Riche said of the new show, "This will be a multigenerational show, which is the kind of drama we've always done at GH". It was later announced that the series would be titled Port Charles, after the fictional city where the series are set, and it would star Jon Lindstrom and Lynn Herring, playing their roles from GH.