New York Times: Throwing Out the Recipe for Daytime TV

The New York Times published an interesting feature today about the changing daytime landscape. Much of it was about THE CHEW. Here are some interesting tidbits which will surely make soap fans even more frustrated by ABC's decision to cancel ALL MY CHILDREN for this.

Here are a few of those annoying new details:

1. Unfamiliar faces from the start, thrown together show
Months ago, a pilot was cast, shot and discarded when test audiences were unnerved by the lack of familiar faces. Two of the relatively unknown hosts were reassigned as occasional correspondents, and Gordon Elliott's production company went looking for big-name talent, quickly casting Carla Hall, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly. Mario Batali arrived on set for the first time on Sept. 8.

2. Sponsors are lined up
The stakes are high for ABC, which has already invested more than a year of preproduction in the show. Kraft, Campbell’s, Hershey’s and General Mills have all bought advertising on THE CHEW, and the opportunities for product placement and sponsorship built into the format are enormous.

3. Not a step forward for the female audience
“Let’s face it: this is a cliché parade for women,” said Laura Shapiro, a historian of both food and feminism and author of books on “The Joy of Cooking” and Julia Child. After watching previews of the shows that are available online, she noted that its two accomplished chefs were both men; that the two women on the show were presented as giddy and lacking in authority; and that its culinary ambitions were set extremely low. Child, she noted, reached a mass audience for years, appearing on GOOD MORNING AMERICA in the 1970s.

Probably the saddest quote of the entire feature was this: "As of Monday, Susan Lucci’s cheekbones will be out, bone-in chicken will be in." Thanks a lot, ABC Daytime.

RELATED:
- THE COMPLETE LIST: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History
- READER RESULTS: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History