A couple of weeks ago we heard that long running ABC daytime soap All My Children was potentially on the chopping block for low ratings. It was sad news, and ABC issued a non-denial denial, simply stating that there had been rumors about the show ending for for some time and that “there is no change for the current ABC daytime schedule.” Now we know that the future ABC schedule will change, though. ABC issued a statement that both All My Children and the soap that follows, One Life to Live, will be canceled. AMC’s lights will go out in September, and One Life To Live will be done in January, 2012. Some “lifestyle” programs will take their place. Both soaps have been on the air over 40 years.
All My Children and One Life To Live — have been canceled, RadarOnline.com is reporting.
ABC made the announcement Thursday. Both shows will be replaced by lifestyle programs The Chew and The Revolution – the popular soaps will end in September 2010 and January 2011 respectively.
All My Children premiered on January 5, 1970 while One Life To Live first aired on July 15, 1968.
Disney ABC Television President Brian Frons said: “We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days.
“They are telling us there is room for informative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable and offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on `real life’ takeaways.”
[From Radar Online]
This seems so sad to me, but kind of inevitable. Like soaps are a product of an earlier, non-DVR time when we had to watch what was on in the afternoon while we were taking care of babies and waiting for our kids to get home. Now there are so many more options with shows on demand, the Internet and Tivo. There are also so many more channels competing for our time. Plus there’s that whole “reality” phenomenon where the drama seems somewhat “real” even though a lot of it is just as scripted as the soaps.
I asked my mom for a comment on this, because she watched One Life To Live and All My Children for about 20 years, from the time they started in 1968 and 1970 respectively. She hasn’t seen either of those soaps for years, though, and was surprised that they were ending but just said “I guess it’s time.” I’m sure there are plenty of people who still watch those shows and don’t agree with her at all.
Susan Lucci photos credit: PRPhotos
THANK GOD it is is not GH! I have watched since I was 5, about 31 years!!!
Oh, my mother loves One Life to Live. She’s going to be heartbroken.
I guess what we’ll now see is some switch up on other network soaps as they scramble to sign actors departing the cancelled soaps. Lousy actors could be replaced or even long termers given the boot and replaced with better actors or well known and/or popular characters.
I inherited the soap addiction from my belated grandmom and have watched soaps my entire life, as do both of my sisters. I remember back in the 80’s and early 90’s everyone watched soaps but the internet, and cable has vastly reduced the audience. It’s really sad as a fan eventhough I don’t currently watch either AMC or OLTL(I used to watch it back when the original Todd was on) and now I only watch Days. I do think that within the next 5 to 10 years all soaps will be off air. It’s so sad to see these shows go.
I started watching All My Children with my grandma when I was a little girl. Although I can’t watch during the day now seeing how I work, I still kept up on the story lines. My grandma has been gone for almost 15 years now and when I’d watch AMC, I still felt I was watching it with her. I’m very sad that they are ending it 🙁
@Dorothy#1
I’m with you. GH for 31 years. Isn’t that crazy?!
Look at the difference in ratings from the heyday & now. Today’s #1 has LESS viewers than then’s LOWEST rated show.
1980–1981 Season
1. General Hospital 11.4 (14 million viewers)
2. All My Children 9.1
2. One Life To Live 9.1
4. Guiding Light 8.2
5. As The World Turns 7.9
6. The Young & The Restless 7.8
7. Ryan’s Hope 6.7
8. Search For Tomorrow 6.3
9. Days Of Our Lives 5.6
10. Another World 5.1
11. The Edge Of Night 5.0
12. The Doctors 3.8
12. Texas 3.8 (Debut)
April 4-8, 2011
1. The Young & The Restless 3.3 (4.5 million viewers)
2. The Bold & The Beautiful 2.0
2. General Hospital 2.0
4. One Life To Live 1.9
5. All My Children 1.7
5. Days Of Our Lives 1.7
How long before the remaining 4 are gone?
@Dorothy#1: I KNOW! GH is the only soap I watch. I can watch it in 20 min as I fast forward alot but still. I LOVE GH. That’s right I said it.
Oh where can I still see my Todd Manning <3 in the future? LOL I havent seen OLTL since like 97-98, when I watched it as a teen. But I liked the characters…. at least its more classy than reality tv but just as much suspense and twists…. but I can see how it may be too “mature” and “civil” for today’s audiences 😛
Oh shows you how long its been– Todd has been replaced with some other actor. I like the original Todd pre-03 🙂
@teehee I heard they were actually doing a storyline where the original Todd was coming back and everyone had to figure out who was the ‘real’ Todd. Gotta love soaps right 🙂
WOW, that makes me sad. In college, I remember trying to schedule my classes so I wouldn’t miss All My Children. I guess Susan Lucci will finally be forced to get a new gig.
Yes Ladies it is crazy!!!! I watch it in about 30 minutes LOL! Lets hope for 30 more years of GH!!!!
This is sad news. My mom’s months behind on All My Children and is probably glad for that now; she’s got some shows left to watch before they’re gone for good. She’s probably been watching for 25-30 years. Soaps have launched so many acting and entertainment careers (too many to list) that I wonder if it’s going to be harder now for actors to break into the business.
I am gutted that they cancelled my 2 favorite soaps. I just can not watch G.H. since Brenda came back from the dead again, the story lines are crap. Thelocal news just anounced the replacement shows ABC/Disney will fill the time slots with. Mario Batali in a show called “Chew” Tim Gun on some style show (cant remember the name) I won’t watch Goopy’s fat red faced chef sweating into some pasta dish or Tim Gun telling us what to wear.
Great post messanger of truth; remember when luke and laura’s wedding, I beleive, made the cover of time in the early 80s.The entire entertainment world (tv, movies, music) is so balkanized into categories that pop culture doesn’t give us something in common to talk about anymore- immersion in facebook, for example, isn’t the same.
TRAVESTY I TELL YA!! I’ve actually been over OLTL but ALL MY CHILDREN??!
I wonder is NBC will pick up AMC, it would be a good fit with Days, but it really depends on how much money these shows cost to produce. A chat fest is so much less expensive to make. Although it seems like daytime tv is filled with talking heads now. One show blends into the next. it’s like the 14 hours of Today.
I was SO sad when I heard this news yesterday!! I am 28 and have such good memories of watching these shows every day with my mom after school. The woman LOVED her soaps : ) This loss with that of Oprah is almost to much to bear (why are all the daytime shows being killed off??)! Oh well, at least I still have GH for now…
My mom started watching these shows when they first came out and Pine Valley and Llanview became part of my childhood… Then, when my first son was born, Mom visited and got me back into All My Children and I watched for a few years. LOVE LOVE LOVE that bad girl Erica Kane – am reading Susan Lucci’s memoir now – what a dynamo! Also loved the old Vicki/Niki storyline on OLTL. To Agnes Nixon and all the truly fine actors who made it happen: Thanks for the Memories!
I also started watching soaps because of my grandma and mother. It’s really sad to see them decline and disappear.
I look forward to the day every single one of those silly unrealistic soap operas are finally cancelled by their networks. Soap operas are so out of place in today’s society, and they never take the opportunity for teachable moments with regard to today’s youth. The current trend of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancies, and immense bed-hopping among the same characters juxtapositioned with unbelievable plots like crashing on an island, being buried alive, and babies being rapidly aged to age 20 in the space of two years, etc., made all soap operas doomed as time went by.
So sad.
In case any of you old Todd fans are still interested in this dying breed. Roger Howarth (old Todd) has indeed signed on to return to OLTL. He starts taping in May and will remain thru it’s cancellation in Jan 2012.
I have watched BOTH AMC and OLTL but it’s OLTL I watch more, I was watching when Victor Lord was a decent caring parent and Victoria had only one sister named Meredith
I HOPE MEREDITH either returns or they at least mentions her one last time !
I am so sick of Reality and Talk Shows. I use to turn on the TV as soon as I was up. Now it is off until the 2 soaps I watch come on. Guess after January it will be off until evening news. All I need is one more giddy talk show host or hostess telling me how to cook or be healthy. You are missing the boat here just like NBC and the Today show and CBS with The Early Show.
Couldn’t the shows be moved over to SoapNet. It might work b/c all that channel does is show rebroadcasts of day’s episodes. Late night they even rerun vintage shows like “Ryan’s Hope” and “Knot’s Landing”.
” The CHEW”???!!! Ewwwww
My life is over if AMC is canceled………………………………
A lot of people are whatching the shows on the soap Channel and the internet and on the weekends so did the idiot on ABC count total number of including the internet and the soap channel ?
i hope they don’t take off the soaps is anyone going to watch no cook show
oh no not all my children
all my children going off for a boring food show is a load and for them to say they dont have many viewers is no true at all everyone in my family watches all my children im 21 and love it. Im probably not the only one either. And another things if they end AMC in suspense im going to throw my tv out the window and i will be back on here to leave another comment. 🙁
i love the soaps but for a cook show oh no i just want watch tv
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