We Love Soaps has learned that 72 year television and radio institution, GUIDING LIGHT, the longest running program in broadcast history, has been canceled by CBS. The cast and crew were notified this morning.The show has drastically improved over the past several months and fans, myself included, were hoping CBS would give the show another year to try and raise the ratings.
GUIDING LIGHT has proved in the past few months that story trumps budget on a daytime soap. Despite having the lowest budget of the eight daytime serials, GL has been one of the best soaps on the air. The Olivia and Natalia story has created buzz like the show has not seen in many years, and the return of Grant Aleksander as Phillip Spaulding has been a creative success.
The cancellation by CBS does not have to mean the show is dead. Procter & Gamble can shop the series to other networks or create an alternative method for keeping it alive. I'll post my thoughts on this later.
"No show in daytime or primetime, or anytime, has touched so many millions of viewers across so many years," said CBS daytime exec Barbara Bloom. "We thank the cast, crew and producers--past and present--who delivered this entertainment institution..."
GUIDING LIGHT began life in 1937 as a 15-minute radio serial, before switching to a 15-minute soap on CBS in 1952 (while continuing to air on radio until 1956). The series moved to a 30-minute format in 1968 and expanded to an hour in 1977.
The show will last air on CBS on September 18.
9 comments:
The fact that this was announced on April 1st leaves me skeptical to its veracity.
even tho i didnt watch this show, i am so sad for all of us.
roger, you do realize that now i am going to have to hunt you down, in your sleep and punch you in the face.
there better be a retraction associated with this post tomorrow once this crazy AFD crap is over with...
Yes, we can cross our fingers and hope that this is an April Fools day joke.
well, it appears i owe you an apology. i don't know whether to cry or...cry harder.
nice column... delivering sad new
I cannot believe that CBS could actually cancel a show with the history and great shows that GL has produced. I know once GL leaves the air on 9/18 I will boycott CBS. Margie LaSala
When I found out about Guiding Light cancelling I was sad to see the show go off the air. They should find another solution and leave it on the air.
I'm so sad to learn that CBS is cancelling this wonderful show.
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