A Look at “As the World Turns,” a Soap Opera

ATWT (As the World Turns) was an American television soap opera that ran on CBS from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created the show, which was written by Lloyd Gold and Jean Passanante. For 54 years, this programme has been effective in captivating the hearts of the audience. ATWT now has the fourth-longest continuous run of any daytime network soap, which is a huge accomplishment in and of itself.
Only Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, and General Hospital came close. The show was produced in Manhattan for the first 43 years, and then in Brooklyn from 2000 to 2010.
On August 21, 1967, the show went colour and increased its daily length from thirty minutes to one hour. The new period began on December 1, 1975. In terms of year-to-date ratings, As the World Turns was the most popular drama. Every day, nearly 10 million people tuned in to see the show.
Don MacLaughlin, Eileen Fulton, Helen Wagner, and Don Hastings were all nationally recognised at this time. Three of these actors — Fulton, Hastings, and Wagner – are known as the longest-serving actors in the history of American soap operas. As the World Turns reached its 10,000th episode on May 12, 1995.
As the World Turns taped its closing scenes for CBS on June 23, 2010. The finale, which has a dramatic plot, broadcast on the network on September 17th, 2010. Reruns of The Young and the Restless, Let’s Make a Deal, and The Price is Right took over the slot of As the World Turns for four weeks between September 20th and October 15th, 2010.
On October 18, 2010, As the World Turns was replaced with The Chat, a new talk show.
People followed and tuned in obsessively when radio soap operas premiered. Those were the days when soap opera episodes were only 15 minutes long. They used to make the plot drag on. However, shows like The Edge of Night and As the World Turns completely transformed the soap opera landscape.
These shows increased viewer interest in serials and plotlines by running thirty-minute episodes. It was also the first soap opera to have a two-family structure. The tale of ATWT was about a middle-class family, and while the plot was plodding, it was emotionally deep.
History and Achievements of Note
The show debuted on the network on April 2, 1956, and was one of the first thirty-minute daytime dramas, changing the perception of soap operas. All previous daytime dramas on television were just half as long. Furthermore, ATWT was one of CBS’s earliest expansions. In 1975, CBS increased the show’s duration to one hour.By 1958, As the World Turns was the most well-known daytime drama in the United States, a position it held until 1978. Furthermore, As the World Turns has won Daytime Emmy Awards in 1987, 1991, 2001, and 2003. It took home the award for Best Daytime Drama Series.
Awards
In 2007, Leah Laiman, Courtney Simon, Lisa Connor, Hogan Sheffer, Bettina Bradbury, Susan Dansby, Josh Griffith, Melissa Salmons, Jean Passanante, Christopher Whitesell, Anna Cascio, Paula Cwikly, Judy Tate, Richard Culliton, Judith Donato, Elizabeth Page, and Charlotte Gibson won Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Daytime Serial.
Furthermore, As the World Turns has won a total of 43 Daytime Emmy Awards. In 1999, it shared the award for Outstanding Original Song with General Hospital. In 2010, As the World Turns was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Daily Drama at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.