[2] Christopher once again reprised the role on a recurring basis in honor of the soaps' fiftieth anniversary; he was later upgraded to a series regular.

Created by head-writers Robert Guza, Jr. and Karen Harris and introduced by executive producer Wendy Riche in 1996 as the illegitimate son of Laura Spencer, the character was immediately popular with audiences.

Hailed by Soap Opera Digest as the "Best New Male Character" in 1996,[3] Nikolas's arrival immediately implodes the happy life of supercouple Luke and Laura.

At the same time, Christopher also became available and it was an opportunity the series couldn't pass up, revealed executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps.

[10][11] In November 2005, Tyler Christopher underwent surgery for a broken arm and Chris Beetem served as a temporary recast starting on December 6 and lasting five episodes.

[12] In March 2011, Soap Opera Digest reported that Christopher had been let go from the series as he would soon appear on ABC Family's The Lying Game produced by former GH head writer Charles Pratt, Jr.[13] Christopher confirmed the news to Soaps in Depth that he had been released from his contract on Friday March 18, 2011, and the character of Nikolas was to be written out.

While Christopher had previously admitted he was unsure about renewing his contract, he was open to working both shows and thought it was a likely possibility considering they were both under ABC.

[16] In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Tyler Christopher made it very clear that he was fired from the series and that his recurring role on The Lying Game did not factor into the decision.

While the manner in which the situation was handled gave Christopher a "bad taste in my mouth," the actor had already agreed to a three episode return stint under newly appointed head writer Garin Wolf by the time his final scenes aired.

[18] In January 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini revealed he had met with Christopher about potentially reprising the role of Nikolas in celebration of show's 50th anniversary.

Valentini told Christopher his return would be open ended while the actor awaited news on production for The Lying Game.

[24] In the summer of 2014, Christopher revealed that he would be going on a four-month-long road trip with his family leading to immediate speculation that he would be off screen for the duration and would not affect his airtime.

[25] Head writer Ron Carlivati quickly clarified that Christopher's trip would occur during the weeks in which the show went on hiatus.

[26] In May 2016, actor Nick Stabile was temporarily cast in the role of Nikolas, with Christopher being unavailable, for an undisclosed amount of time.

While the writers intended for Nikolas to be "stern, hardnosed" and unwilling to allow anyone in, Christopher made the choice to throw in some vulnerability for the character, whether he puts it on display or not.

"[49] Robert Schork of Soap Opera Weekly describe Nikolas an "adolescent wise beyond his years" and an "old soul whose sophistication and maturity belie his youthful facade."

Not only does it further complicate his relationship with Laura, but Christopher said Nikolas could be "angry" or "grateful to discover that he has a father after all these years of thinking he didn't."

[5] Though described by Soap Opera Digest as an "Unwitting Cassa-Nova,"[46] Nikolas has trouble trusting others because he has lived such a sheltered life and even dumps his girlfriend, Sarah Webber (Jennifer Sky) when they get too close.

He and his half brother Lucky Spencer often face the crossfire of the long-standing war between them, often at the hands of Nikolas' grandmother, Helena Cassadine.

In 1983, Nikolas' presumed-dead mother Laura is revealed to be alive and to have been held captive by Stavros as an act of revenge against Luke Spencer for the events leading to the death of his grandfather Mikkos Cassadine.

Fifteen-year-old Nikolas comes to Port Charles to donate his bone marrow to his sister Lulu Spencer.

After the crisis, the hostage taker, still using the alias James Craig, injects Nikolas with an experimental poison to blackmail him into financing a new life.

Nikolas participates in a forced intervention meant to coax Luke into rehab for his alleged alcoholism after Jake's death.

Nikolas returns to town in March 2013 when Lulu is abducted and is about to provide information on her whereabouts when he is shot and rendered comatose.

As Nikolas welcomes Spencer home, he befriends the pregnant Britt Westbourne who has been rejected by her child's supposed father, Patrick Drake.

However, Nikolas discovers Hayden is actually Rachel Berlin, the daughter of a businessman in prison for a massive Ponzi scheme.

As the group prepares to leave the island, Theo returns wielding a gun and reveals himself to be Nikolas' bastard uncle Valentin Cassadine.

[59] In 2023, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Nikolas 28th on his ranked list of General Hospital’s 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time, commenting that "No one ever need wonder what an individual would be like if they possessed in equal measure both light (thanks to mom Laura Collins) and dark (courtesy of father Stavros); they need only meet the Cassadines' dark prince.

They missed the character's regular portrayer, of course, but couldn't help but notice that that Huss guy… he had something, an intensity, maybe, a gravitas that made him an unusually good sub.

So although it was a bummer when, in 2023, Coloma bowed out at the end of Nikolas' storyline, it was also a treat to see Huss dive into those especially explosive final episodes.