soap operas – News Stories About soap operas - Page 2

ABC Cancels
All My Children,
One Life to Live

Apr 14, 2011 3:10 PM CDT

ABC Cancels All My Children, One Life to Live

Long-running soaps go off the air in September and January

(Newser) - Oh, the indignity for Erica Kane: Not only is ABC pulling the plug on All My Children, it's replacing it with something called The Chew. The network also is canceling One Life to Live, though General Hospital survives for now. Exact dates aren't set, but AMC—which first aired in...

Chavez Whines About 'Little Hugo' Dog in Colombia Soap

Chavez Whines About 'Little Hugo' Dog in Colombian Soap

Jan 17, 2011 4:02 AM CST

Chavez Whines About 'Little Hugo' Dog in Colombian Soap

TV company ordered to yank 'shameless' program

(Newser) - A diplomatic battle is brewing over the unlikeliest of things: a Colombian soap opera. Chepe Fortune features a dog named Little Hugo that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is convinced represents him. It also features a character called Colombia and her little sister, Venezuela, who owns the annoying dog. Venezuela (the...

What Killed the
Soap Opera

Aug 9, 2010 6:48 PM CDT

What Killed the Soap Opera

Working women, reality TV, and 24-hour news, among other things

(Newser) - With the Sept. 17 finale of As the World Turns looming—and View clone The Talk ready to replace it—only six soap operas are still on the air. The genre is weak and possibly headed for extinction, largely because ad spending is in freefall. Advertising Age tries to figure...

'As the World Turns' legend Helen Wagner dies - The Dish Rag - Zap2it

Helen
Wagner
Dead at 91

longest-running soap star

May 3, 2010 8:39 AM CDT

Helen Wagner Dead at 91

She spoke the first lines on 'As the World Turns'

(Newser) - Helen Wagner, a 54-year veteran of As the World Turns, died Saturday at age 91. Wagner spoke the first line (“Good morning, dear”) on ATWT’s 1956 premiere episode and appeared on the show for the last time April 5. Her role as Nancy Hughes earned her the...

Soap Operas Are Dying Because Everything's a Soap

Dec 9, 2009 1:13 PM CST

Soap Operas Are Dying Because Everything's a Soap

Jon & Kate are the new As the World Turns

(Newser) - There are lots of reasons why As the World Turns, and with it the entire soap opera genre, is dying. But the one that trumps them all is that these days, everything’s a soap opera. Once, soaps had the market cornered on salacious, serialized drama, particularly for women, particularly...

CBS Axes As the World Turns

Dec 8, 2009 2:02 PM CST

CBS Axes As the World Turns

Soap ends 54-year run in September

(Newser) - CBS is canceling As the World Turns, ending a soap saga that has run for more than half a century. The last episode will air in September. The network's move, coming 3 months after the cancellation of Guiding Light, will leave just six soap operas on the air—and ABC's...

James Franco:
Soap Role Is
Performance Art

JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

Dec 4, 2009 9:28 AM CST

James Franco: Soap Role Is Performance Art

Guest stint on General Hospital will go down in art history

(Newser) - Finally, James Franco explains to us what in the world he’s doing guest starring on General Hospital: Performance art. In a look at the genre with which he is “obsessed,” Franco writes about its history—and his newfound spot in said history—for the Wall Street Journal...

Best Soap Opera Cameos

Nov 24, 2009 10:19 AM CST

Best Soap Opera Cameos

James Franco follows in the footsteps of Rosanne, Snoop Dog

(Newser) - James Franco’s much-hyped General Hospital guest stint began Friday, but can he live up to the true classics of the celebrity cameo genre? Many other luminaries have guested on daytime TV, and “they almost always shake things up like a schizophrenic with a fake pregnancy interrupting a wedding...

General Hospital
More Sopranos
Than Soap Opera

why, james franco, why?

Nov 19, 2009 12:05 PM CST

General Hospital More Sopranos Than Soap Opera

James Franco's guest stint highlights shows thuggery

(Newser) - Sure, it’s weird that James Franco is guest starring on General Hospital—but what’s weirder is that the soap is one of the small screen’s most violent creations, even by daytime television’s dubious standards. It stopped being a show about a hospital long ago, writes Willa...

Franco
Joining Cast
of General
Hospital

Oct 1, 2009 5:05 PM CDT

Franco Joining Cast of General Hospital

Actor asked for, got part on long-running soap

(Newser) - James Franco—yes, that James Franco—is joining the cast of General Hospital in November for at least a few weeks. In fact, Franco—whose movie credits include Pineapple Express, Milk, and all three Spider-Man flicks—asked the soap’s producers for a role, reports Soapnet. They were only too...

Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad

TV Review

Sep 8, 2009 12:31 PM CDT

Melrose Still Fun, Still Bad

Relaunch as trashy as ever, critics agree

(Newser) - Horrible and dramatic people once again fill the halls of Melrose Place, this time with a glossier look and a whodunit plot. Here’s what the critics are saying:

Reluctant longtime fan Linda Stasi of the New York Post was surprised that “the new tenants actually made me forget

...

Sesame Street, View Among Daytime Emmy Winners

Aug 31, 2009 9:58 AM CDT

Sesame Street, View Among Daytime Emmy Winners

Susan Haskell, Christian Leblanc, Darin Brooks take home honors

(Newser) - The ladies of The View unseated Ellen Degeneres as Best Talk Show Host at yesterday's Daytime Emmy Awards, though they weren't at the ceremony, E! reports. Other big winners included Rachael Ray for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show and Tyra Banks for Outstanding Informative Talk Show, while The Bold and the ...

Guiding Light's Lesbian Couple Finally Gets
to Kiss

Aug 25, 2009 10:53 AM CDT

Guiding Light's Lesbian Couple Finally Gets to Kiss

No, not during soap's last days...online

(Newser) - Thanks to the Internet, a popular lesbian soap opera couple will finally get their long-awaited kiss. Crystal Chappell, Guiding Light’s Olivia, is bringing friends and fans together to create a Web series after the soap goes off the air next month. And though never allowed to make out with...

After 72 Years, CBS
Axes Guiding Light

Apr 1, 2009 1:44 PM CDT

After 72 Years, CBS Axes Guiding Light

After 72 years, show canceled for ratings decline

(Newser) - Guiding Light, the CBS soap that began on radio 72 years ago, will air for the last time Sept. 18, the New York Post reports. Like many daytime serials, Guiding Light has been battling falling ratings. It has been on the chopping block since last year, when its revamp as...

Prognosis Isn't Good
for Soap Operas

Jan 10, 2009 1:11 PM CST

Prognosis Isn't Good for Soap Operas

Things look bad

(Newser) - There’s reason for the young to be restless, because the days of their lives may not last much longer. The economic downturn is driving soap operas to the brink of extinction, Portfolio reports. Not long ago there were 16 network soaps; now, just eight remain, and with ad revenue...

Soaps Slip on Auto Ad Woes;
Even Lucci Takes Pay Cut

Nov 28, 2008 12:20 PM CST

Soaps Slip on Auto Ad Woes; Even Lucci Takes Pay Cut

Dramas cut budgets amid fears of lost advertising

(Newser) - Trouble in the auto industry is causing drama for daytime TV as soaps lose big advertising dollars, Advertising Age reports. Local dealerships are key backers of the shows, which have been in a ratings decline for years. The upshot: trimmed budgets, fewer sets, and dropped actors, including a pair of...

WB Favorites Survive Online

Sep 2, 2008 2:53 PM CDT

WB Favorites Survive Online

Fresh content, networking tools also in the mix

(Newser) - Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer can rejoice: The defunct WB network relaunched last week as an interactive website. TheWB.com features on-demand episodes of its classic teen shows, alongside original programming aimed at the 16- to-34-year-old market, Advertising Age reports. The site also sports "sharing features," including...

'Tudors': Flashy Fiction Is Far From Fact

Mar 30, 2008 7:00 PM CDT

'Tudors': Flashy Fiction Is Far From Fact

Historians balk at steamy soap, but fans aren't deterred

(Newser) - In the battle of fact versus flair, it’s pretty obvious which side “The Tudors” comes down on. Showtime’s steamy period soap opera, which premiers its second season tonight, trades a chubby, tight-wearing Henry VIII for slim, sexy Jonathan Rhys Meyers. “It’s sloppy filmmaking,” one...

Warren Buffett: Soap Star

Mar 19, 2008 8:07 PM CDT

Warren Buffett: Soap Star

Billionaire investing guru will make a cameo on "All My Children"

(Newser) - Well, sure, he can make a billion at the drop of a hat. But can the man act? We'll see. Warren Buffett, he who sits atop the list of wealthiest people, with $62 billion, will make a cameo on the soap "All My Children" during May sweeps week, Reuters...

Writers' Strike Could Send Soaps Down the Drain

Nov 12, 2007 4:31 AM CST

Writers' Strike Could Send Soaps Down the Drain

Strike threatens an already troubled genre

(Newser) - The strike by the Writers Guild of America could leave an entire genre hanging by a bubble. Daytime soaps operas won't be sent into reruns immediately, like late-night talk shows, because producers have scripts stockpiled. But the soaps have been hemorraghing viewers for years, reports the Los Angeles Times, and...