Guiding Light canceled after 72 years

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS is pulling the plug on the soap opera “Guiding Light” after a 72-year run that predates television, the show a victim of the economy and changed viewing habits.

The drama’s final episode will air on Sept. 18.

The Guinness Book of World Records has cited it as the longest-running television drama. It began as a 15-minute serial on NBC Radio on Jan. 25, 1937, and debuted on CBS TV in 1952, focusing on the fictional town of Springfield and the Spaulding, Lewis and Cooper families.

“For many of us, it was the first show we ever watched,” said Lynn Leahey, editorial director of Soap Opera Digest. Unlike prime-time shows that came and went, it was a constant in people’s lives. “It really is heartbreaking to see something like this go away.”

Procter & Gamble Productions, which makes the show, informed cast and crew Wednesday at separate sets in New York and New Jersey. The company isn’t giving up on the story, and will explore different ways to keep it going after September, a spokeswoman said.

Soap operas have been in a long, slow decline in popularity, primarily because many of the women who made up their loyal audiences are no longer at home at that hour. They’re working, and can find the communal experience that their favorite soaps once gave them elsewhere.

“Guiding Light” had the lowest ratings of the eight daytime dramas on the air. When it leaves, CBS and ABC will have three weekday soap operas, with NBC having one.

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