“As The World Turns” – Canceled

54 years – that's how long the daytime soap opera “As The World Turns” has been on the air. Now, CBS has announced that the final episode will air next September closing the curtain on a half-century long daily event.

From the CBS website the following summary:

CBS's daytime drama AS THE WORLD TURNS will broadcast its final episode in September 2010. At the time of its final broadcast, the series will have spanned 54 years and more than 13,000 episodes. “It's extremely difficult to say good-bye to a long-running series that's been close to our hearts for so long,” said Barbara Bloom, Senior Vice President, Daytime Programming. “The almanacs will show AS THE WORLD TURNS as a pioneer of the format, a hallmark for quality with its numerous Emmy's, the launching pad for many television and film stars and a daytime ratings powerhouse for parts of three decades. But, the true legacy of AS THE WORLD TURNS will be the fictional characters and stories of a small Midwest town that resonated every day with millions of viewers over multiple generations, becoming a treasured daytime institution in the process. We thank our partners at Procter & Gamble for the privilege of hosting this beloved series…the actors, writers, producers and crew who worked so hard and shared their amazing talents to bring this series to life…and, of course, the viewers who shared the journey on our network for so many years.”