CBS will retire the long-running soap opera As the World Turns with its last episode to air next September. The announcement was made after the show broadcast its 13,661st episode. This marks the second daytime drama that the network has canceled in a year. CBS also cancelled Guiding Light. Both soaps were the last two dramas produced by a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the company for which the term “soap operas” was created because it used the shows to hawk products like Ivory soap and Duz laundry detergent. The cancellation of As the World Turns ends Procter & Gamble’s involvement in daytime drama after a 76-year run.
According to reports, soap operas have been fading in recent years thanks in part for its traditional audience of women joining the work force along with an increased number of alternative offerings like the Internet, reality TV and 24-hour news channels. Due to economic instability, the cost of paying casts, producers and a stable of writers has been proved prohibitive.
Topics: General |
