The world will no longer be turning for the CBS soap, As The World Turns after September of 2010. The show that has been on the air for 54 years was given 9 months to say goodbye today. Although the news is very sad that another soap, one of the last two to be based in NY, will be going off the air, the news was not unexpected. Rumors had been around since Guiding Light went dark that ATWT was next. I guess sadly the game show Let’s Make a Deal did well enough that CBS thought it could live without another soap.
Here is a little history about the show, “Created by Irna Phillips, As The World Turns premiered on April 2, 1956 as a 30-minute live television show, unprecedented at the time for a soap opera. Top-rated from 1959 to 1971, it was the first daytime serial with its own spin-off, Our Private World, which aired in prime-time. The show switched to color on 1967, and expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour in 1975. Over the years, ATWT has been awarded numerous accolades, including 58 Daytime Emmy awards.”
I know I am repeating myself, but this is really sad news. With this show ending its run it means that ABC’s One Life to Live will be the only daytime drama still taping in NY (and rumor has it they might be next to get the ax) and that the only CBS soaps left are The Young and the Restless and The Bold and The Beautiful. To think 6 months ago CBS had 3 and half hours of soap operas on their air and in 9 months they will only have 90 minutes really saddens me.
When it comes to As The World Turns, I used to watch it but for some reason I gave it up. Even though I no longer watch it, I still feel as though something good will be missing from my TV. Thanks for everything As The World Turns, I will make sure to watch you a few times over the next nine months.
xoxo Michael!!!
UPDATE: Here is is CBS’s mea culpa about cancelling As The World Turns:
“It’s extremely difficult to say good-bye to a long-running series that’s been close to our hearts for so long,” said Barbara Bloom, Senior Vice President, Daytime Programming. “The almanacs will show AS THE WORLD TURNS as a pioneer of the format, a hallmark for quality with its numerous Emmy’s, the launching pad for many television and film stars and a daytime ratings powerhouse for parts of three decades. But, the true legacy of AS THE WORLD TURNS will be the fictional characters and stories of a small Midwest town that resonated every day with millions of viewers over multiple generations, becoming a treasured daytime institution in the process. We thank our partners at Procter & Gamble for the privilege of hosting this beloved series…the actors, writers, producers and crew who worked so hard and shared their amazing talents to bring this series to life…and, of course, the viewers who shared the journey on our network for so many years.”
