The longrunning soap All My Children that made Susan Lucci the most famous soap star in the world has just been cancelled in America.
The ABC network in America announced that All My Children - shown in South Africa on weekdays at 09:30 (with an 01:00 repeat at night) has been cancelled, along with another longtime American soap One Live to Live. Cheaper to produce talk shows will replace the two soaps. All My Children will end in September in America and will be replaced by The Chew, a foodcentric talk show.
''While we are excited about our new shows and the shift in our business, I can't help but recognize how bittersweet the change is," said Brian Frons, the president of daytime for Disney ABC/Television Group in a statement. He described both shows as ''iconic television''.
The soap opera genre in America is dying with the few remaining soaps - both NBC and ABC will now only have one left each - on life support. NBC still has Days of Our Lives (shown in South Africa on SABC2) and ABC will have General Hospital. CBS canceled Guiding Light and then As the World Turns (still currently on SABC2) last year.
UPDATE Thursday 14 April 22:18 - One minute ago Susan Lucci on the end of All My Children tweeted: ''It saddens me that All My Children is canceled. I've loved playing Erica Kane and working with Agnes Nixon & the incredible people at All My Children.''
