It’s official! The Soap Opera, All My Children, is being cancelled! ABC announced that the 41 year run of “All My Children” would end in September with “One Life to Live” ending in January (Bellafante, 2011). All My Children started filming in 1970 however, with ratings in 2009-2010 that declined to 2.0, ABC needed to make a change in programming (Goldberg, 2011).
I must admit I tried getting into Soaps while in high school, but the story line seemed too over the top for me along with intense acting. However, for every television show I didn’t prefer someone else did. And I vividly remember going to my friend’s house and always finding her mother staking out on her couch as she intensely watched the show everyday.
Kelly Ripa, an old cast member on the show, recently commented on the cancellation stating "All My Children was more than a job. It was my family. It was there that I met my husband; it was there when my first two children were born; it was there where I met many of my life-long friends (Ward, 2011)."
It is sad to see long running television shows disappear and be replaced with reality based shows in their time slot. Even with the expansion of various new networks and cable stations, Soap Operas, could still play on. However, with high production expenses I guess they will only be playing on in re-runs.
With the last of the Soap Operas ending, I wonder if years later they will come back in a different form. As much as I would like to be hopeful in this situation, I truly just don’t know. Looking back at old shows that did go off the air like Love Boat, they have yet to come back in a different television format. However, I remember my days as a film student at New York Film Academy where my instructor mentioned “We must learn from the old to create the new.” And in this situation we must take that advice to continue great programming for viewers.
Bellafante, Giana. (Apr 15, 2011).Young, Restless and Glued to Soaps. The New York Times. Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/arts/television/all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live-life-lessons.html
Goldberg, Lesley. (Mar 22, 2011). ABC Downplays 'All My Children' Cancellation Reports. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/abc-all-my-children-canceled-170076
Ward, Kate. (Apr 14, 2011).Kelly Ripa on 'All My Children' cancellation: 'This is like losing a member of your family.' Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from: http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/14/kelly-ripa-all-my-children-cancellation/
