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  1. #1
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    Soap operas are almost dead

    And I know we say that about game shows sometimes. But there aren't any soaps in syndication. In any case, breaking today, AMC is done in September and OLTL is done in January. There will only be four soaps left: "Young & Restless", "Bold & Beautiful", "Days of our Lives", and "General Hospital".

  2. #2
    I never watched much of AMC or OLTL but after seeing ATWT and GL leave the way they did I feel for the fans of those respective shows.

    And Brian Frons/ABC should be ashamed of themselves for lying to the casts and the fans by denying that these shows were ever in danger in the first place.

  3. #3
    And the two soaps are being replaced by... *drumroll*... more talk shows!

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...s-slated/89488

    Is there a rule that every daytime talk show has to have a two-word title beginning with "the"?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by SpeedAndStrategy View Post
    And the two soaps are being replaced by... *drumroll*... more talk shows!

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...s-slated/89488

    Is there a rule that every daytime talk show has to have a two-word title beginning with "the"?
    OMG, when I read "The Chew" and "The Revolution" on ABC Soaps In Depth's twitter page, I thought this was just sarcasm or something. "The Chew"? That is the worst title for a show I have EVER heard. Even worse than "The Talk."

    And this line in the press release:
    "Series Will Sunset in a Manner That Honors Viewers and the Shows’ Creative Legacies"

    So much bull in that sentence, I CANNOT EVEN. Are you KIDDING me, ABC!? If they really cared about the viewers and the shows' legacies, they would have hired better writers and done better storytelling. This is what fans often talk about with their current soaps nowadays for the most part. After being in certain areas of the soap fandom for years, there are definitely reasons for why people tune out of these shows. David Kreizman, who was the latest AMC headwriter, was known to many fans to be one of the final nails in the coffin for Guiding Light. Same can be said for Jean Passanante and her work on ATWT. After ATWT was canceled, she immediately got work on OLTL (ATWT wasn't even off the air yet when it was announced she'd be joining)... after messing up it, and Another World, how she managed to get another soap writing job is beyond me.

    ETA: I notice at this point 5 of the 10 trending topics on twitter are AMC and OLTL related.

  5. #5
    The fact that they're being replaced by even MORE talk shows is really the rub. Aren't there enough talk shows on right now? Everyone is trying to be The View and even that "roundtable chatfest" concept is starting to get a bit long in the tooth, at this point. I want something informative or truly entertaining, not just a bunch of people sitting around gossiping - I can hear plenty of that at work, thank you. This is why I watch very little daytime television anymore (and what I do watch of it is not really on the major metworks, but is on the cable channels).


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  6. #6
    Yep. Game shows are likely popular during the mornings, and talk shows in the afternoon. It's no wonder a Pyramid revival didn't occur instead of The Talk. Let's Make A Deal and TPIR - two game shows that are one hour apiece - are perfect enough. Too costly to have two separate half hour game shows in daytime, it seems.

    Still, I am not surprised that All My Children and One Life To Live would eventually get axed. This means the only daytime soap remaining on the ABC airwaves will be General Hospital. The only network with more than one daytime soap will be CBS.

    I feel sorry for Susan Lucci as she will be out of the soap opera business, though.
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  7. #7
    Senior Member TheKid965's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by starwheel View Post
    The fact that they're being replaced by even MORE talk shows is really the rub. Aren't there enough talk shows on right now? Everyone is trying to be The View and even that "roundtable chatfest" concept is starting to get a bit long in the tooth, at this point. I want something informative or truly entertaining, not just a bunch of people sitting around gossiping - I can hear plenty of that at work, thank you. This is why I watch very little daytime television anymore (and what I do watch of it is not really on the major metworks, but is on the cable channels).
    This. And they don't even have to replace them with game shows for me to be satisfied (though of course that would be my ideal situation)... just do something a bit different than more daytime gabfests.

    I give CBS a pass on The Talk because, hey, it's a time-honored tradition in the Tee Vee game to always try to clone another network's successful series. That's just the nature of the one-eyed beast. The problem here is that ABC already has a very successful daytime talker in The View, indeed the one that everyone else is trying to clone. What do they stand to gain by putting two more series that on paper don't sound all that different from The View to begin with on the schedule?

    But I'm a solutions-oriented kind of guy, so if it were me in charge of ABC Daytime, here's what I would do: I'd move The View off the 11 AM hour, expand it to two hours, and stick it in the 1-3PM block, to create competition with The Talk on CBS. The 11 AM hour I'd simply turn back over to the affiliates, in all likelihood, or maybe I'd do a more issues-based talk show in that timeslot. That would simply make more sense than this, IMO, but that's just me.

    Quote Originally Posted by CardSharks8689 View Post
    I feel sorry for Susan Lucci as she will be out of the soap opera business, though.
    At least she exits having finally won her long-denied Emmy for Erica Kane, however many years ago that was. It would be different if that winless streak were still going on...

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by SpeedAndStrategy View Post
    And the two soaps are being replaced by... *drumroll*... more talk shows!

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...s-slated/89488

    Is there a rule that every daytime talk show has to have a two-word title beginning with "the"?
    Heh, seriously. The next one to come along should just be called The Suck.

  9. #9
    New interview with Brian Frons, head of ABC daytime.

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Frons
    "I wanted to do shows that were unusual for daytime,"
    I'm sorry, but

    "What’s happening now is people are looking for information to make their lives better, they're obsessed about what they eat and they're obsessed with weight,"
    Because there already aren't enough cooking and lifestyle related shows on right now. Seriously, we have Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, The Doctors, segments on The View, I'm sure they're on The Talk, too; Rachael Ray, etc. Aren't about 6 hours a day now devoted to Martha Stewart programming on Hallmark Channel? How much more is needed? This is not an unusual type of programming for the day. Such utter BS.

    And as this article says, the decision to cancel AMC and OLTL was made two weeks ago, when they were still denying the rumors.

    Hoping this decision bites you in the butt, Frons.

  10. #10
    Think everyone sees the end of soaps coming. The ratings were hitting all time lows. Most prime time soaps die off quickly. The days of Dallas, Dynasty, Knots etc. are gone. Personally , I loved those old shows and haven't seen anything like that quality on any prime time show since. Only a matter of time that GH will be gone. ABC has no interest in anything but quick things that make you forget what you have watched a day ago.
    If the shows were replaced by something intelligent, I'd be o.k. with this. But it's mindless. At least a game show would be fun, but the fact that ABC didn't put on a game show isn't a good sign for the genre.
    Game shows aren't in the peril of soaps, but the world is changing. People want pseudo-reality shows, horse-crap medical advice that makes everyone think they know everything there is about medicine, Court Shows that give the 15 minutes to trolls and deviants and Talk shows that essentially are as shallow as a pond in the desert. At least game shows are fun. But the truth is people would rather watch something like Baggage or the NG instead of learning something. Word games shows are probably not returning on network.

    Welcome to the 'DUMMENING of AMERICA..." Ever hear the old adage " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"? Welcome to the new ABC.

    BTW, Frons is a creature from a slime mold. Anyone following Soapnet knows this.

  11. #11
    Senior Member TheKid965's Avatar
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    ▲ Wow.

    ...Wow.

    And I thought I could be cynical sometimes.

  12. #12
    Oh, and Jean Passanante, now that you won't be associated with co-head writing OLTL anymore, please stay away from DOOL and any other remaining shows. You've ruined enough soaps already.

  13. #13
    Soap Operas are a dying bread. They work well in Mexico (as Telenovelas) but, equal success in America. The future closing of SoapNet (announced months ago) by ABC/Disney was a tell-tale sign of trouble to come.
    With the economy in the toilet, I wouldn't be surprised if the networks all drop any scripted daytime programming and just air NEWS all day.

    NBC could air Today followed by Later Today and then Much Later Today. Once Leno retires again, they could then air Today's new spinoff Tonight.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by espnews26 View Post
    Soap Operas are a dying bread. They work well in Mexico (as Telenovelas) but, equal success in America. The future closing of SoapNet (announced months ago) by ABC/Disney was a tell-tale sign of trouble to come.
    With the economy in the toilet, I wouldn't be surprised if the networks all drop any scripted daytime programming and just air NEWS all day.

    NBC could air Today followed by Later Today and then Much Later Today. Once Leno retires again, they could then air Today's new spinoff Tonight.
    Just what we need - another three hours a day of Kathie Lee and Hoda acting tipsy on national TV. I'll bet Pat Weaver is looking down in disbelief at what his concept of daytime (and late-night) television has regressed to.


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  15. #15
    Foreign soaps continue to thrive, especially in places like the UK and Latin America, because when things go down in quality, they get fixed. They actually hire new writers who do well for the shows and actually give a crap about their fans. It's not like that in the US anymore. Here these days the higher ups just sit and watch hack after hack slowly destroy these shows. And I'd be willing to bet in the UK you would never see the same (s-bomb)ty writer work for 3 soaps, with 2 of them ending up canceled under their reign, and move onto a fourth one with plenty of fan backlash and a largely poor reputation for what they did completely wrong with each one.

    If DOOL is gone, then I am done with NBC daytime. I'm serious. What would they even do with that hour? Add more to The Today Show? For the most part I find that show to be utter insanity, and not in the good way.

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